A. S. BARNES & COMPANY'S PUBLIOATIOK: 
 
 Af 
 
 Til is 6 
 
 :it We 
 have f 
 Uuitod 
 
 MATHEMATICAL WORKS./ 
 
 '4 
 
 ■Ml a 
 't'l-al 
 
 THE TEACHER'S MATHEMATICAL TEXT BOOK AND CHAR 
 
 1. DAVIES| LOGIC AND UTILITY OF MATHEMATICS. 
 
 2. DA vies' normal chart of MATHEMATICAL S: 
 
A. S. BARNES & COMPANY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 VALIABLE LIBRARY ATO TEXT BOOFiS. 
 
 CrILLESPIE (Professor Wm. M.) ON ROADS AND RAILROAD^ 
 1 vol, 8vo. 
 
 '• A complete raauual for the plank and rail road builder." 
 
 MANSFIELD (Edward D.) ON AMERICAN EDUCATION. 
 
 1 A'ol. iSinn. 
 
 "■ A work of great practicfil value to every intelligent American." 
 
 "AGE'S (David P.) THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TEACIIINi;, 
 J vol. 12mo. 
 
 '•It is a grand book ; and I thank Heaven that you have written it." 
 
 Hon. Horace Mann., in a letter to the avtho,- 
 
 DAVIES' (Charles, LL.D.) LOGIC AND UTILITY OF MATili:: 
 MATICS. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 A vahiable book for every student's and teacher's library. 
 
 OLTON (Rev. Calvin) ON PUBLIC ECONOMY FOR THi 
 UNITED STATES. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 " Every free-trade man shoidd not fail to read it." 
 
 s^ COLTON'S (Rev. \yalter) DECK AND PORT, OR INCIDENTS Ol- 
 t;^ A CRUISE TO CALIFORNIA, i vol. 12mo. 
 
 ■ is full of glowing though t.s, sublime ti-uths, pure morals, and beaiiti 
 
 i isoas— a book that will never be out ot date" 
 
 1 <)j;i U.N h (Rev. WaUer) THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 
 1 vol. J'-'mo. With maps anci fir^niviiii^s. 
 
 All interested in this new (-oiiniry will peruse it witli delight. 
 
 MANSFIELD'S (Ed. D.) HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN WAl: 
 i vol. 12mo. With maps and engravings. 
 
 '"■The most authentic, work published in this country." 
 
 AIANSFIELDS (Edward D.) LIFE OF GEN. WINFIELD SCOT';' 
 1 vol. 12mo. With illustrations. 
 
 /riLLARD'S (Mrs. Emma) HISTORY OF THE U. STATES. 
 
 \'f ILLARD'S (Mrs. Emma) UNIVERSAL HISTORY in Perspectiv. , 
 
 ;OULD'S (Edward S.) ABRIDGMENT OF ALISON'S EUROPK 
 
 ^ BARKER'S (Richard G.) RHETORICAL READER, ismo. 
 
 .iROOKS' (Nathan C.) GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS. 
 
 i:iNGSLEY'S(Georg-e) CHURCH AND SCHOOL MUSIC BOOKS. 
 
 ( 'LARK-S (S. W.) NEW ENGLISH GRAMMAR. i2mo. 
 
 XORTHEND'S (Charles) ELOCUTIONARY WORKS. 3 vol^. 
 
 McINTIRE'S (James, M. D.) TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY ANJ ) 
 USE OF THE GLOBES. 
 
 :;ARTLETT'S (Prof. W. H. C, of tho ^^q^^ Pfn""t ?.Iilitary Academy 
 
 ■M.i.i'r;!^ 'n-.\'\'^- ' Mn.osoPHY. 
 
 . r -- 1fi\ pV'. fPlrth -:•% -rPs .-P-: 
 
^^"-prC^. 
 
 (/J-a% 
 
 yf. 
 
 

 
 4<S^<r 
 
 iJCHSJiKtit'iDY, Marcli ai, 1857. 
 
 A Card, 
 
 Mr. Editor. — I see by yoar paper of Moaday, 
 that I have l/een put in nomination for the of- 
 fice of Con.'^table, and in as much as tho nomi- 
 nation was unsolicited, and having no desire to 
 run for or from a Constable, I therefore respect- 
 fully decline running. 
 
 To avoid any mistako in future, I wish my 
 Democratic friends to understand, that I aspire , 
 to no oflBce whatever.. I might, however, atj 
 bome future time, posaibly bo induced to accept \ 
 a nomination for President, should there be any 
 lack of candidates for that office. 
 
 HARMON SEYMOUR. 
 
1 
 
Return i- 
 
 1 a J J 
 J 
 
THE 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SEYERAL STATES OF THE UNION 
 
 AND 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
 
 AND 
 
 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 TAKEN FROM AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PUBLISHED BY A. S. BARNES & CO., 
 
 51 JOHN-STKEET. 
 
 CINCINNATI :—H. W. DERBY & CO. 
 
 1852. 
 

 A. S. BARNES & CO.'S EDITION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ■10:;N^I;. Wi.E D STATES 
 
 ■•■■■'■'COtIstitutions. 
 
 THIS EDITION CONTAINS ALL THE NEW CONSTITUTIONS OF THE 
 VARIOUS STATES OF THE UNION TO THE SPKING OF 1852. 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year One Tliousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-two, 
 BY A. S. BARNES & CO., 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 • Southern District of New York. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page. 
 
 Declaration of Independence, ,--.---5 
 
 Constitution of the United States, ------ 9 
 
 Constitution of Maine, ---------23 
 
 " " New Hampshire, ------ 47 
 
 " •< Vermont, --------69 
 
 " " ' "Massachusetts, -------84 
 
 " " Rhode Island, - - - - - - -114 
 
 " " Connecticut, ------- 129 
 
 « " New York, 142 
 
 « " New Jersey, - -. 167 
 
 " " Pennsylvania, ------- 184 
 
 « '• Delaware, 199 
 
 " " Maryland, 220 
 
 « " Virginia, 243 
 
 " " North Carolina, 255 
 
 •• " South Carolina - - '- - - - 266 
 
 «* " Georgia, - - - 278 
 
 « " Florida, 292 
 
 f " Alabama, 307 
 
 " " Mississippi, -------_ 325 
 
 «* " Louisiana, -------- 341 
 
 " " Tennessee, 358 
 
 " " • Kentucky, 375 
 
 « " Ohio, 391 
 
 " " Indiana, - - - - - - -.. 494 
 
 " " Illinois, -------- 422 
 
 " " Michigan, 445 
 
 " " Missouri, -------- 457 
 
 " " Arkansas, ------.. 473 
 
 " " Texas, 49I 
 
 « " Iowa, 4O6 
 
 •* " Wisconsin, . 516 
 
 " ** Califoenia 537 
 
 ryi64183 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 
 
 When, iu the course of human events, it iDecomes necessary for 
 one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
 them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, 
 the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
 nature's G-od entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
 kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them 
 to the separation. 
 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created 
 equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- 
 able rights ;. that among these are life, liberty; and the pursuit of 
 happiness. (That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted 
 among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov- 
 erned ; and that, whenever any form of government becomes de- 
 structive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abol- 
 ish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on 
 such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them 
 shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness, j Pru- 
 dence, indeed, will dictate that governments, long established, Should 
 not be changed for light and transient causes ; and, accordingly, all 
 experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
 while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
 the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train 
 of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, 
 evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their 
 right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide 
 new guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient 
 sufferance of the colonies, and such is now the necessity which con- 
 strains them to alter their former systems of government. The 
 history of the present king of Grreat Britain is a history of repeated 
 injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establish- 
 ment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let 
 facts be submitted to a candid world : 
 
 He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and neces- 
 sary for the public good. 
 
DECLARATION OP INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
 pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his 
 assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
 neglected to attend to them. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
 districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of 
 representatron in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and 
 formidable to tyrants only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, un- 
 * ', Jcpf£fortab.le,' and, dJstHnt from the repository of their public records, 
 •fdr' the .S(i!:e j)V 2*1} 0(4^' -of fatiguing them into compliance with his 
 ; ,^ea^Tir&s.. ... ,. , , ' , 
 
 ,;' ; '' ;IJ»' ha{% disf^solte/^ 'representative houses repeatedly, for opposing 
 with manly '^riniiess' his invasions on the rights of the people. • 
 
 He has refased, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause 
 others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
 annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise ; 
 the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers 
 of invasion from without, and convulsions within. 
 
 He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states ; for 
 that purpose, obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, re- 
 fusing to pass others to encourage their migration thither, and rais- 
 ing the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 
 
 He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his 
 assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 
 
 He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure 
 of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms 
 of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 
 
 He has kept among us in time of peace, standing armies, without 
 the consent of our legislatures. 
 
 He has affected to render the military independent of, and supe- 
 rior to, the civil power. 
 
 He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction for- 
 eign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving 
 his assent to their acts of pretended legislation. 
 
 For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. 
 
 For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
 murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states. 
 
 For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world. 
 
 For imposing taxes on us without our consent. 
 
 For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury. 
 
 For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended of- 
 fences, 
 
 For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
 province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarg- 
 ing its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit in- 
 strument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies. 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
 and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments. 
 
 For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
 invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
 protection, and waging war against us. 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
 and destroyed the lives of our people. 
 
 He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign merce- 
 naries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, al- 
 ready begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely 
 paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
 head of a civilized nation. 
 
 He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 
 seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners 
 of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 
 
 He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
 deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless 
 Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished 
 destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress 
 in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been an- 
 swered only by repeated injuries. A prince, whose character is thus 
 marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the 
 ruler of a free people. 
 
 Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
 We have warned them, from time to time, of the attempts by their 
 legislature, to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. "We 
 have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and set- 
 tlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and mag- 
 nanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common 
 kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably in- 
 terrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been 
 de^f to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, 
 acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold 
 them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. 
 
 We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of Ameri- 
 ca, in Greneral Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge 
 of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and 
 by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly pub- 
 lish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of righi ought 
 to be, free and independent States ; that they are absolved from all 
 allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection be- 
 tween them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, to- 
 tally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent States, they have 
 full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish 
 commerce, and to do all other acts and tilings which independent 
 States may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration. 
 
8 
 
 DECLARATION OP INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 witli a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we 
 mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sa- 
 cred honor. 
 
 The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed, 
 and signed by the following members : 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK. 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 JosiAH Bartlett, 
 William Whipple, 
 Matthew Thornton. 
 
 Massachusetts Bay. 
 Samuel Adams, 
 John Adams, 
 Robert Treat Paine, 
 Elbridge Gerry. 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 Stephen Hopkins, 
 William Ellery. 
 
 Connedicvi. 
 Roger Sherman, 
 Samuel Huntington, 
 William Willums, 
 Oliver Wolcott. 
 
 New York. 
 William Floyd, 
 Philip Livingston, 
 Francis Lewis, 
 Lewis Morris. 
 
 New Jersey. 
 Richard Stockton, 
 John Witherspoon, 
 Francis Hopkinson, 
 John Hart, 
 Abraham Clark. 
 
 Lvania. 
 Robert Morris, • 
 Benjamin Rush, 
 Benjamin Franklin, 
 John Morton, 
 G-eorge Clymer, 
 James Smith, 
 
 George Taylor, 
 James Wilson, 
 George Ross. 
 
 Delaware. 
 CiESAR Rodney, 
 George Read, 
 Thomas M'Kean. 
 
 Maryland. 
 Samuel Chase, 
 William Paca, 
 Thomas Stone, 
 Charles Carroll, of 
 CarroUton. 
 
 George Wythe, 
 Richard Henry Lee, 
 Thomas Jefferson, 
 Benjamin Harrison, 
 Thomas Nelson, Jr. 
 Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
 Carter Braxton. 
 
 North Carolina. 
 William Hooper, 
 Joseph Hewes, 
 John Penn. 
 
 South Carolina. 
 Edward Rutledge, 
 Thomas Heyward, Jr. 
 Thomas Lynch, Jr. 
 Arthur Middleton. 
 
 Georgia. 
 Button Gwinnett, 
 Lyman Hall, 
 George Walton. 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, &c. 
 
 TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. 
 
 We, the undersigned, delegates of the States affixed to our 
 names, send greeting : 
 Whereas, the delegates of the United States of America, 
 in congress assembled did, on the fifteenth day of November, 
 in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
 seventy-seven, and in the second year of the independence 
 of America, agree to certain articles of confederation and 
 perpetual union between the states of New Hampshire, 
 Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
 tions, Connecticut, New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Caro- 
 lina, and Georgia, in the words following, viz : 
 
 Atticles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New- 
 Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 
 Connecticut. New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, 
 Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia. 
 
 Article 1. The style of this confederacy shall be, " The 
 United States of America." » 
 
 Art. 2. Each state retains its,sovereignty, freedom am 
 
 independence, and every power, ju'risdictigrn ana' rigtij: . 
 jyhich is not by this contederation expressly delegated tg 
 the United States in congress assembled. ^ 
 
 Art. y. The said states hereby severally enter into a 
 firm league of friendship with each other for their common 
 defence, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and 
 general welfare ; binding themselves to assist each other 
 against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or 
 any of them, on account of religion, .sovereignty, trade, or 
 any other pretext whatever. 
 
 Art. 4. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual 
 friendship and intercourse among the people of the different 
 states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these 
 states, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice ex- 
 cepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of 
 free citizens in the several states ; and the people of each 
 state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 Other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of 
 trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, imposi- 
 tions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants thereof respect- 
 ively, provided that such restrictions shall not extend so 
 far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any 
 state to any other state, of which the owner is an inhabitant ; 
 provided, also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction, 
 shall be laid by any state on the property of the United 
 States, or either of them. 
 
 If any person guilty of or charged with treason, felony, 
 or other high misdemeanor, in any state, shall flee from 
 justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall, 
 upon demand of the governor, or executive power of the 
 state from which he fled, be delivered up, 'and removed to 
 the state having jurisdiction of his offence. • 
 
 Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states 
 to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts 
 and magistrates of every other state. 
 
 Art. 5. For the more convenient management of the 
 general interests of the United States, delegates shall be 
 annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of 
 each state shall direct, to meet in congress on the first 
 Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved 
 to each state to recall its delegates or any of them, at any 
 ,time within the year, and to send others in their stead for 
 the remainder of the year. 
 
 No state shall be represented in congress by less than 
 two nor more than seven members ; and no person shall be 
 capable of being a delegate for more than three years in 
 any term of six years ; nor, shall any person, being a dele- 
 gate, be capable of holding an office under the United 
 States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives 
 any salary, fees, or emobiment of any kind. 
 
 Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting 
 of the states, and while they act as members of the com- 
 mittee of the states. 
 
 In determining questions in the United States in con- 
 gress assembled, each state shall have one vote. 
 I Freedom of speech and debate in congress shall not be 
 impeached or questioned in any court or place out of con- 
 gress ;j and the members of congress shall be protected in 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. Ill 
 
 their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the 
 time of their going to and from and attendance on congress, 
 except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 
 
 Art. 6. No state, without the consent of the United 
 States in congress assembled, shall send an embassy to, 
 or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, 
 agreement, alliance, or treaty, with any king, prince, or 
 state ; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or 
 trust under the United States or any of them, accept of 
 any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind what- 
 ever, from any king, prince, or foreign state ; nor shall the 
 United States in congress assembled, or any of them, grant 
 any title of nobility. 
 
 No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, con- 
 federation, or alliance whatever between them, without ^~, 
 the consent of the United States in congress assembled, ^ 
 specifying accurately the purpose for which the same is 
 to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 
 
 No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may in- 
 terfere with any stipulations in treaties entered into by 
 the United States in congress assembled, with any king, 
 prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties already pro- 
 posed by congress to the courts of France and Spain. 
 
 No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace, by 
 any state, except such number as shall be deemed necessa- 
 ry by the United States in congress assembled, for the de- 
 fence of such state or its trade; nor shall any body of 
 forces- be kept up by any state in time of peace, except 
 such number only as, in the judgment of the United States 
 in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to gar- 
 rison the forts necessary for the defence of such state ; but 
 every state shall always keep up a well-regulated and 
 disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and 
 shall provide and have constantly ready for use,, in public 
 stores, a number of field pieces and tents, and a proper 
 quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 
 
 No state shall engage in any war without the consent 
 of the United States in congress assembled, unless such 
 state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have re- 
 ceived certain advice of a resolution being formed by some 
 nation of Indians to invade such state, and the dansferis 
 
IV ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 SO imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United States 
 in congress assembled can be consulted; nor shall any- 
 state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, or 
 letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration 
 of war by the United States in congress assembled, and 
 then only against the kingdom or state, and the subjects 
 thereof, against which war has been so declared, and un- 
 der such regulations as shall be established by the United 
 States in congress assembled, unless such state be infested 
 by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitt-ed out 
 for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall 
 continue, or until the United States in congress assembled 
 shall determine otherwise. 
 
 Art. 7. When land forces are raised by any state for 
 the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of 
 colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state 
 respectively, by whom such forces shall be raised, or in 
 such manner as such state shall direct; and all vacancies 
 shall be filled up by the state which first made the ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 iVRT. 8. All charges of war, and all other expenses that 
 shall be incurred for the common defence or general wel- 
 fare, and allowed by the United States in congress as- 
 sembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, 
 which shall be supplied by the several states in proportion 
 to the value of all land within each state granted to or sur- 
 veyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and 
 improvements thereon shall be estimated, according to such 
 mode as the United States in congress assembled shall 
 from time to time direct and appoint. 
 
 Tlie taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and 
 levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of 
 the several states, within the time agreed upon by the 
 United States in congress assembled. 
 
 Art. 9. The United States in congress assembled shall 
 have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining 
 on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth 
 article : of sending and receiving ambassadors : entering into 
 treaties and alliances ; provided that no treaty of commerce 
 shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respec- 
 tive states shall be restrained fmm imposing such imposts 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 and duties on foreigners as their own people are subjected, 
 to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any 
 species of goods or commodities whatsoever: of estabhsh- 
 ing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land 
 or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken 
 by land or naval forces in the service of the United States 
 shall be divided or appropriated : of granting letters of 
 marque and reprisal, in times of peace: appointing courts 
 for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high 
 seas, and establishing courts for receiving and determining 
 finally appeals in all cases of captures ; provided, that no 
 member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any of 
 the said courts. 
 
 The United States in congress assembled shall also be 
 the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now 
 subsisting, or that hereafter majr arise between two or 
 more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any 
 other cause whatever ; which authority shall always be ex- 
 ercised in the manner following : whenever the legislative 
 or executive authority or lawful agent of any state in con- 
 troversy with another shall present a petition to congress, 
 stating the matter in question, and praying for a hearing, 
 notice thereof shall be given by order of congress to the 
 legislative or executive authority of the other state in con- 
 troversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the 
 parties, by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed 
 to appoint by joint consent commissioners or judges to con- 
 stitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in 
 question ; but if they cannot agree, congress shall name 
 three persons out of each of the United States, and from 
 the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike 
 out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall 
 be reduced to thirteen ; and from that number not less than 
 seven nor more than nine names, as congress shall direct, 
 shall, in the presence of congress, be drawn out by lot ; 
 and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any 
 five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and 
 finally determine the controversy, so always as a major 
 part of the judges, who shall hear the cause, shall agree 
 in the determination ; and if either party shall neglect to 
 attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons 
 
VI ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION". 
 
 which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall 
 refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate 
 three persons out of each state, and the secretary of con- 
 gress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; 
 and ihe judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed 
 in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and con- 
 clusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to 
 the authority of such court, or to appear, or defend their 
 claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to 
 pronounce sentence or judgment, which shall in like man- 
 ner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence, and 
 other proceedings, being in either case transmitted to con- 
 gress, and lodged among the acts of congress for the secu- 
 ( rity of the parties concerned : provided, that every com- 
 
 _y^ missioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath, 
 
 to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or 
 superior court of the state, where the cause shall be tried, 
 *' well and truly to hear and determine the matter in ques- 
 tion, according to the best of his judgment, without favor, 
 affection, or hope of reward :'•' provided also, that no state 
 shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United 
 States. 
 
 All controversies concerning the private right of soil, 
 claimed under different grants of two or more states, whose 
 jurisdiction as the}^ may respect such lands and the states 
 which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or 
 either of them being at the same time claimed. to have 
 originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, 
 shall, on the petition of either party to the congress of the 
 United States, be finally determined, as near as may be, 
 in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding 
 disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different 
 states. 
 
 The United States in congress assembled shall also have 
 the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the 
 r\ alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by 
 V^/ that of the respective states; fixing the standard of weights 
 and measures throughout the United States : regulating 
 the trade and managing all affairs with Indians not mem- 
 bers of any of the states; provided, that the legislative 
 right of any state within its own Umits be not infrii'iged or 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. Vll 
 
 violated : establishing and regulating post-offices from one 
 state to another, throughout all the United States, and ex- 
 acting such postage on the papers passing through the 
 same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the 
 said office : appointing all officers of the land forces in the 
 service of the United States, excepting regimental officers: 
 appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and com- 
 missioning all officers whatever in the service of the United 
 States : making rules for the government and regulation 
 of the said land and naval forces, and directing their ope- 
 rations. 
 
 The United States in congress assembled shall have 
 authority to appoint a committee to sit in the recess of 
 congress, to be denominated *' a committee of the states ;" 
 and to consist of one delegate from each state, and to ap- 
 point such other committees and civil officers as may be 
 necessary for managing the general affairs of the United 
 States, under their direction : to appoint one of their num- 
 ber to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve 
 in the office of president more than one year in any term 
 of three years : to ascertain the necessary sums of money 
 to be raised for the service of the United States, and to 
 appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public 
 expenses : to borrow money or emit bills on the credit of 
 the United States, transmitting every, half year to the re- 
 spective states an account of the sums of money so bor- 
 rowed or emitted : to build and equip a navy : to agree 
 upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions 
 from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number 
 of white inhabitants in each state ; which requisition shall 
 be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each state 
 shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and 
 clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier-like manner, at 
 the expense of the United States ; and the officers and men 
 so clothed, armed and equipped, shall march to the place 
 appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United 
 States in congress assembled : but if the United States in 
 congress assembled, shall, on consideration of circum- 
 stances, judge proper that any state should not raise men, or 
 should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any 
 other state should raise a greater number of men than the 
 
VIU ARTICLES OP CONFEDERATION. 
 
 quota thereof, such extra number shall bg raised, officered, 
 clothed, armed, and equipped, in the same manner as the 
 quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state 
 shall judge that such extra number cannot safely be spared 
 out of the same; in which case they shall raise, officer, 
 clothe, arm, and equip, as many of such extra number as 
 they judge can safely be spared. And the officers and 
 men so clotjied, armed, and equipped, shall march to the 
 place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the^ 
 United States in congress assembled. 
 
 The United States in congress assembled shall never 
 engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal 
 in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, 
 nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascer- 
 tain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and 
 welfare of the United States or any of them, nor emit bills, 
 nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor 
 appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels 
 of war to be built or purchased, or the number of land or 
 sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief 
 of the army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same; 
 nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourn- 
 ing from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes 
 of a majority of the United States in congress assembled. 
 
 The congress of the United States shall have power to 
 adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place 
 within the United States, so that no period of adjournment 
 be for a longer duration than the space of six months ; and 
 shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, ex- 
 cept such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or 
 military operations, as in their judgment require secresy ; 
 and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on 
 any question shall be entered on the journal when it is de- 
 sired by any delegate ; and the delegates of a state, or any 
 of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with a 
 transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are 
 above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several 
 states. 
 
 Art. 10. The committee of tTie stales, or any nine of 
 them, shall be authorized to execute in the recess of con- 
 gress, such of the powers of congress as the United States 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. IX 
 
 in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall, 
 from time to time, think expedient to vest them with ; pro- 
 vided that no power be delegated to the said committee, 
 for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, 
 the voice of nine states in the congress of the United States 
 assembled is requisite. 
 
 Art. 11. Canada, acceding to this confederation, and 
 joining in the measures of the United States, shall be ad- 
 mitted into, and entitled to, all the advantages of this union : 
 but no other colony shall be admitted into the same unless 
 such admission be agreed to by nine states. 
 
 Art. 12. All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, 
 debts contracted, by or under the authority of congress, be- 
 fore the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the 
 present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as 
 a charge against the United States, for payment and satis- 
 faction whereof the said United States and the public faith 
 are hereby solemnly pledged. 
 
 Art. 13. Every state shall abide by the determination 
 of the United States in congress assembled, on all ques- 
 tions which, by this confederation, are submitted to them. 
 And the articles of this confederation shall be inviolabl}^ 
 observed by every state, and the union shall be perpetual; 
 nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in 
 any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to in a con- 
 gress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed 
 by the legislature jof j&veryi..&taLft. 
 
 And whereas it has pleased the Great Governor of the 
 world to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respec- 
 tively represent in congress, to approve of and to authorize 
 us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual 
 union: Know ye. That we, the undersigned delegates, 
 by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that 
 purpose, do, by these presents, in the name and in behalf 
 of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and 
 confirm each and ever}^ of the said articles of confederation 
 and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and 
 things therein contained ; and we do further solemnly plight 
 and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they 
 shall abide by the determinations of the United States in 
 congress assembled, on all questions which, bv the said con* 
 2 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 tederalion, are submiued to them ; and that the arlicies 
 thereof shall be inviolably observed by the states we re- 
 spectively represent ; and that the union shall be per- 
 ' j)etual. 
 fn witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, in 
 congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the state of Penn- 
 sylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, and in 
 the third year of the independer^ce of America. 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of New Hampshire. 
 Josiah Bartlet, John Wentvvorth.jun., August 8, 1778. 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Massachusetts Bay. 
 John Hancock, Francis Dana, 
 
 Samuel Adams, James Lovell, 
 
 Elbridge Gerry, Samuel Holten. 
 
 On the part and in behalf of the state of Rhode Island and Providence 
 
 Plantations. 
 William Ellery, John Collins. • 
 
 Henry Marchant, 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Connecticut. 
 Roger Sherman, Titus Hosmer, 
 
 Samuel Huntington, Andrew Adams. 
 
 Oliver Wolcott, 
 
 On the part and behalf oj the state of New-York. 
 Jas. Duane, Wm. Duer, . 
 
 Fra. Lewis, Gouv. Morris, 
 
 On the part and in behalf of the state of New- Jersey. 
 Jno. Witherspoon, Nath. Scudder, Nov. 26, 1778. 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Pennsylvania. 
 Robt. Morris, William Clingan, 
 
 Daniel Roberdeau, Joseph Reed, 22d July, 1778. 
 
 Jona. Bayard Smith, 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Delaware. 
 ^Tho. M'Kean, Feb. 13, 1779, Nicholas Van Dyke. 
 
 John Dickinson, May 5th, 1779, 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Maryland. 
 John Hanson, March 1, 1781. Daniel Carroll, March 1, 1781. 
 
 On the fart and behalf of the state of Virginia. 
 Richard Henry Lee, Jno. Harvie, 
 
 John Banister, Francis Lightfoot Lee. 
 
 Thomas Adams, 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. XI 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of North- Carolina. 
 John Penn, July 21, 1778, Jno. Williams. 
 
 Corns. Harnett, 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of South- Carolina, 
 Henry Lanrens, Richard Hutson, '^ 
 
 William Henry Drayton, Thos. Heywoodjun. 
 
 Jno. Mathews, 
 
 On the part and behalf of the state of Georgia, 
 Jno. Walton, 24th July, 1778. Edwd. Langworthy. 
 
 Edwd. Telfair, 
 
 [^oTE — From the circumstance of delegates from ihe same state having signed 
 the articles of confederation at different times, as appears by the dates, it is probable 
 they affixed their names as they happened to be present in congress, after they had 
 been authorized by their constituents.] 
 
 [The above articles of confederation continued in force until the 4th day of March, 
 !789, when the constitution of the United States took eifect.] 
 

 1 * > ,» » » 3 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
 perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
 for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
 the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
 and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Of the Legislature. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 i. All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a 
 Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
 House of Representatives. 
 
10 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 / 1. The House of Kepresentatives shall be composed of members 
 chosen every second year by the people of the several states ; and 
 the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for 
 electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. 
 
 2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attain- 
 V ed to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of 
 
 the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
 of that state in which he shall be chosen. 
 
 3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
 the several states which may be included within this union, accord- 
 ing to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by add- 
 ing to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to 
 service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three- 
 fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 
 within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
 United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in 
 such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of represen- 
 tatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
 state shall have at least one representative ; and until such enume- 
 ration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled 
 to choose three ; Massachusetts eight ; Rhode Island and Providence 
 Plantations one ; Connecticut five ; Neio York six ; New Jersey four ; 
 Pennsylvania eight ; Delaware one ; Maryland six ; Virginia ten ; 
 North Carolina five.; South Carolina five ; and Georgia three. 
 
 4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, 
 the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill up 
 such vacancies. 
 
 5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and 
 other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 \ 
 
 ■\ 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
 senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six 
 years, and each senator shall have one vote. 
 
 2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of 
 the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into 
 three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
 vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at 
 the expiration of the fourth, and of the third class at the expiration 
 of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; 
 and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, during the 
 recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make 
 temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, 
 which shall then fill such vacancies. 
 
 ' 3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to 
 the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
 
THE UNITED STATES, 11 
 
 States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
 state for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 4. The Vice President of the United States shall be President 
 of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 
 
 5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a presi- 
 dent prp tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he 
 shall exercise the office of President of the United .States. 
 
 6. The Senate shall have the sole power td try all impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. \ . 
 When the President of the United States is tried, the chief justice ^ 
 shall preside ; and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
 rence of two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 7. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend further 
 than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
 any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States ; but 
 the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to in 
 dictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. 
 
 SECTTON IV. 
 
 1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for sena 
 tors and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the 
 legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make 
 or alter such regulations, except as to the place of choosing senators. 
 
 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
 such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
 shall by law appoint a diflferent day. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 1. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
 qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of each shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may ad- 
 journ from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attend- 
 ance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties 
 as each House may provide. 
 
 2. Each House may determine the rule of its proceedings, punish 
 its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of 
 two-thirds, expel a member. 
 
 3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
 time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
 judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members 
 of either House, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of 
 those present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 4. Neither House during the session of Congress shall, without 
 the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
 any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 
 
12 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 
 for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treas- 
 ury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during 
 their attendance at the session of their respective Houses,' and in 
 going to or returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate 
 in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which 
 he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority 
 of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
 ments whereof shall have been increased, during such time ; and no 
 person holding any office under the United States shall be a mem- 
 ber of either House during his continuance in office. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
 Kepresentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend- 
 ments, as on other bills. 
 
 2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Kepresenta- 
 tives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to 
 the President of the United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; 
 but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in 
 which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objection at large 
 on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon- 
 sideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it 
 shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by 
 which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds 
 of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
 votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
 names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
 on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be 
 returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after 
 it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like 
 manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjourn- 
 ment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of 
 the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary, (except 
 a question of adjournment,) shall be presented to the President of 
 the United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be 
 approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed 
 by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, accord- 
 ing to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 SECTION vm. 
 
 The Congress shall have power — 
 
 1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 13 
 
 the debts and provide for tlie common defense and general welfare 
 of the United States ] but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
 uniform throughout the United States : 
 
 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States : 
 
 3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
 several states, and with the Indian tribes : 
 
 4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
 on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States : 
 
 5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
 and fix the standard of weights and measures : 
 
 6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
 and current coin of the United States : 
 
 7. To establish post offices and post roads : 
 
 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing 
 for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their 
 respective writings and discoveries : 
 
 9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court : 
 
 10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the 
 high seas, and offences against the law of nations : 
 
 11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
 make rules concerning captures on land and water : 
 
 12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money 
 to that use shall be for a longer term than two years : 
 
 13. To provide and maintain a navy : 
 
 14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
 and naval forces : 
 
 15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws 
 of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions : 
 
 16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the mili- 
 tia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
 service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively the 
 appointment of the officers and the authority of training the militia 
 according to the discipline prescribed by Congress : 
 
 17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over 
 such district (not exceeding ten miles square,) as may, by cession 
 of particular states and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
 of government of the United States, and to exercise like authority 
 over all places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the 
 state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
 arsenals, docji-yards, and other needful buildings : and, 
 
 18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
 carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
 vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, 
 or any department or officer thereof. 
 
 SECTION IX 
 
 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
 states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
 
14 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importa- 
 tion, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 
 ■ 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended unless when,- in case of rebellion or invasion, the public 
 safety may require it, 
 
 3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law, shall be passed. 
 
 4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro- 
 portion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be 
 taken. 
 
 5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
 state. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
 or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another ; nor shall 
 vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
 duties in another. 
 
 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence 
 of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account 
 of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be pub- 
 lished from time to time. 
 
 7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States, and 
 no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, 
 without the consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, 
 office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign 
 state. 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
 grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of cre- 
 dit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment 
 of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impair- 
 ing the obligation of contracts ; or grant any title of nobility. 
 
 2. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any im- 
 posts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely 
 necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce 
 of all duties and imposts laid by any state on imports or exports 
 shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States, and all 
 such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of Congress. 
 No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on 
 tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
 agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, 
 or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent dan- 
 ger as will not admit of delay. 
 
 ARTICLE 11. 
 
 Of the Executive. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
 United States of America. He shall hold his office during the 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 15 
 
 term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen 
 for the same term, be elected as follows : — 
 
 2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
 thereof may direct,- a number of electors, equal to the whole number 
 of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled 
 in Congress ; but no senator or representative, or person holding 
 any office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be ap- 
 pointed an elector. 
 
 3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
 ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab- 
 itant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a 
 list of all the persons votfed for, and of the number of votes for 
 each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
 the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the 
 President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 
 presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
 certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person hav- 
 ing the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such 
 number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
 and if there be more than one who have such a majority, and have 
 an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall 
 immediately choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no 
 person have a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the 
 said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in 
 choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states ; the re- 
 presentation from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this 
 purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of 
 the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a 
 choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person 
 having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be Vice 
 President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal 
 votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors 
 and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be 
 the same throughout the United States. 
 
 5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the 
 United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall 
 be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person be 
 eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty- 
 five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United 
 States. 
 
 6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
 death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
 the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President ; and 
 the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death 
 resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice President, 
 declaring what officer shall then act as President : and such officer 
 
16 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed or a President 
 shall be elected. 
 
 7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
 compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished dur- 
 ing the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
 receive within that period any other emolument from the United 
 States, or any of them. 
 
 8. Before lie enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the 
 following oath or affirmation : 
 
 " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
 office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my 
 ability, preserve, protect, and defend the* Constitution of the United 
 States." 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
 navy of the United States and of the militia of the several states, 
 when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
 require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the 
 executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and 
 pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of 
 impeachment. 
 
 2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of 
 the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators 
 present concur : and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice 
 and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public 
 ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
 officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
 otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law. But 
 the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior offi- 
 cers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of 
 law, or in the heads of departments. 
 
 3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
 may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commis 
 sions, which shall expire at the end of their next session. 
 
 SECTION ni. 
 
 1. He shall, from time to time, give to Congress information of 
 the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
 measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on 
 extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them ; 
 and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time 
 of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
 proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; 
 he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed ; and shall 
 commission all the officers of the United States. 
 
THE UNITED STATES. if 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 1. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
 United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and 
 conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde- 
 meanors. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Of the Judiciary. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
 Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may, from 
 time to time order and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme 
 and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour ; 
 and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, 
 which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 
 
 SECTION II, 
 
 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity 
 arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
 treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all 
 cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to 
 all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies 
 to which the United States shall be a party ; to controversies between 
 two or more states ; between a state and citizens of another state ; 
 between citizens of different states ; between citizens of the same 
 state claiming lands under grants of different states ; and between 
 a state, or the citizens thereof and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 
 
 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and 
 consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme 
 Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before 
 mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both 
 as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations 
 as Congress shall make. 
 
 3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
 be by jury, and such trial shall be held in the state where the said 
 crimes shall have been committed ; but when not committed within 
 any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as Congress may 
 by law have directed. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
 war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
 and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on 
 the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession 
 in open court. 
 
 2. Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of trea- 
 son ; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or 
 forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 
 
18 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 MiscellaTieous. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1. Full faith and credit shall be given m. each state to the pub- 
 lic acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And 
 Congress may,'by genera^ laws, prescribe the manner in which such 
 acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof 
 
 SECTION n. 
 
 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges 
 and immunities of citizens in the several states. 
 
 2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other 
 crime, who shall flee from justice and be found in another state, 
 shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which 
 he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdic- 
 tion of the crime. 
 
 3. No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws 
 thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
 regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor ; but 
 shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or 
 labor may be due. 
 
 SECTION m. 
 
 1. New states may be admitted by Congress into this union ; but 
 no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of 
 any other state, nor any state be formed by the junction of two or 
 more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legisla- 
 tures of the states concerned, as well as of Congress. 
 , 2. Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful 
 rules and regulations respecting' the territory, or other property be- 
 longing to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall 
 be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States or 
 of any particular state. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 1. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union 
 a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
 against invasion ; and, on application of the legislature, or of the 
 executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domes- 
 tic violence. ' 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Of Amendments. 
 
 1. Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
 necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution ; or, on the 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 19 
 
 application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, 
 shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
 case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Con- 
 stitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
 several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
 or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress ; 
 provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect 
 the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; 
 and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
 suffrage in the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Miscellaneous. 
 
 1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
 adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
 States under this Constitution, as under the confederation. 
 
 2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
 shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
 shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be 
 the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in avery state shall be 
 bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to 
 the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the 
 members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judi- 
 cial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, 
 shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; 
 but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
 office, or public truit, under the United States. 
 
 ARTICLE VIL 
 
 Of ike Ratification. 
 
 1. The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be suffi- 
 cient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states 
 so ratifying. the same. 
 
 Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the states pre- 
 sent, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seVen, and of the Inde- 
 pendence of the United States of America the twelfth. In wit- 
 ness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 
 
 GEORaE WASHINGTON, 
 President J and Deputy from Virginia, 
 
20 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 John Langdon, 
 Nicholas G-ilman. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Nathaniel Grorman, 
 Rufus King. 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 
 William Samuel Johnson, 
 Roger Sherman. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 
 William Livingston, 
 David Br early, 
 William Patterson, 
 Jonathan Dayton. 
 
 PENNSYL"\fANIA. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin, 
 Thomas Mifflin, 
 Robert Morris, 
 George Clymer, 
 Thomas Fitzsimons, 
 Jared Ingersoll, 
 James Wilson, 
 Governeur Morris. 
 
 Attest^ 
 
 DELAWARE. 
 
 George Read, 
 Gunning Bedford, jun., 
 John Dickinson, 
 Richard Bassett, 
 Jacob Broom. 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 James M' Henry, 
 
 Daniel of St. Tho. Jenifer, 
 
 Daniel Carroll. 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 John Blair, 
 James Madison, jr. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA, 
 
 William Blount. 
 Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
 Hugh Williamson. 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 John Rutledge, 
 Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney, 
 Charles Pinckney, 
 Pierce Butler. 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 William Few, 
 Abraham Baldwin. 
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Art. 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
 ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridg- 
 ing the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the 
 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a 
 redress of grievances. 
 
 Art. 2. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security 
 of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall 
 not be infringed. 
 
 Art^ 3. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
 house without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in 
 a manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 21 
 
 Art. 4. The right or the people to be secure in their persons, 
 houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seiz- 
 ures, shall not be violated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon 
 probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
 describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
 seized. 
 
 Art. 5. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other- 
 wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
 grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in 
 the militia .when in actual service in time of war, or public danger : 
 nor shall any person be subject for the same offence, to be put twice 
 in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal 
 case, to be witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, 
 or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property 
 be taken for public use without just compensation. 
 
 -Art. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
 right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state 
 and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which 
 district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be 
 informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted 
 with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for 
 obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of 
 counsel for his defense. 
 
 Art. 7. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy 
 shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre- 
 served ; and no fact tried by jury shall be otherwise re-examined in 
 any court of the United States than according to the rules of the 
 common law. 
 
 Art. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 Art. 9: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, 
 shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
 people. 
 
 Art. 10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
 
 Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the 
 
 states respectively, or to the people. 
 
 ^ Art. 11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
 
 I construed to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or pro- 
 
 \ secuted against one of the United States by citizens of anothjer 
 
 ") state, or by citizens or subjects of another state, or by citizens or 
 
 r subjects of any foreign state. 
 
 'y Art. 12. ^ 1. The electors shall meet in their respective states, 
 and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, 
 at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; 
 they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, 
 and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President ; and 
 they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, 
 and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number 
 3 
 
22 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
 sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to 
 the President of the Senate : the President of the Senate shall, in 
 the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all 
 the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person 
 having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the Pres- 
 ident, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
 appointed ; and if no person have such a majority, then from the 
 persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list 
 of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
 shall choose immediately by ballot the President. But in choosing 
 the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation 
 from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall 
 consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a 
 majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the 
 House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the 
 right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of 
 March next following, then the Vice President shall act as Presi- 
 dent, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
 the President. 
 
 2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice Presi- 
 dent, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of 
 the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a 
 majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate 
 shall choose the Vice President: a quorum for the purpose shall 
 consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a major- 
 ity of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 
 
 3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Presi- 
 dent shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States. 
 
 Note. — At the fourth presidential election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 
 Burr were the democratic candidates for President and Vice President, By 
 the electoral returns they had an even number of votes. In the House of Re- 
 presentatives, Burr, by intrigue, got up a party to vote for him for President ; 
 and the House was so divided that there was a tie. A contest was carried 
 on for several days, and so warmly, that even sick members were brought 
 to the House on their beds. Finally one of Burr's adherents withdrew, and 
 Jefferson was elected hy orie majority — ^which was the cccasion of this twelfth 
 article. 
 
Mi\INE. 
 
 The first settlement in Maine was made in Bristol, on the east side of the 
 Damariscotta River, at Pemaquid Point. This State was originally granted 
 by James I. to the Plymouth Company, by whom it was transferred to Mason 
 and Gorges, in 1624, The territory was afterwards purchased by Massachu- 
 setts for jei,250, who obtained a confirmation of "the charter in 1691. This 
 State, formerly the District of Maine, became independent of Massachusetts 
 in 1820, and adopted its Constitution, 
 
 Area of Maine, 28,920 square miles — 3000 sq, m, having been taken from 
 it by the treaty at Washington, by which the boundary between the United 
 States and Great Britain was settled. Population, in 1850, 583,088, 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We the people of Maine, in order to establish justice, ensure 
 tranquillity, provide for our natural defense, promote our common 
 welfare, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of 
 liberty, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the 
 Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity so 
 favorable to the design ; and imploring his aid and direction in its 
 accomplishment, do agree to form ourselves into a free and indepen- 
 dent State, by the style and title of the State of Maine, and do or- 
 dain and establish the following Constitution for the government of 
 the same : 
 
24 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 / ARTICLE I. 
 
 Declaration of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men are born equally free and independent, and have 
 certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, among which are 
 those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possess- 
 ing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety 
 and happiness. 
 
 2. All power is inherent in the people : all free governments are 
 founded in their authority, and instituted for their benefit : they 
 have, therefore, an inalienable and indefeasible right to institute 
 government, and to alter, reform, or totally change the same, when 
 their safety and happiness require it. 
 
 3. All men have a natural and inalienable right to worship Al- 
 mighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and 
 no one shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty, 
 or estate, for worshiping God in the manner and season most agree- 
 able to the dictates of his own conscience, nor for his religious pro- 
 fessions or sentiments, provided he does not disturb the public 
 peace, nor obstruct others in their religious worship ; — and all per- 
 sons demeaning themselves peaceably, as good members of the State, 
 shall be equally under the protection of the laws, and no subordina- 
 tion nor preference, of any one sect or denomination to another, 
 shall ever be established by law, nor shall any religious test be re- 
 quired as a qualification for any office or trust under this State ; and 
 all religious societies in this State, whether incorporate or unincor- 
 porate, shall at all times have the exclusive right of electing their 
 public teachers, and contracting with them for their support and 
 maintenance. 
 
 4. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- 
 ments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of this liberty. 
 No laws shall be passed regulating or restraining the freedom of the 
 press : and, in prosecutions for any publication respecting the offi- 
 cial conduct of men in public capacity, or the qualifications of those 
 who are candidates for the suffrages of the people, or where the mat- 
 ter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may 
 be given in evidence ; and in all indictments for libels, the jury, after 
 having received the direction of the court, shall have a right to de- 
 termine, at their discretion, the law and the fact. 
 
 5. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
 possessions from unreasonable searches and seizures.; and no war- 
 rant to search any place, or seize any person or thing, shall issue 
 without a special designation of the place to be searched, and the 
 person or thing to be seized, nor without probable cause, supported 
 by oath or affirmation. 
 
 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a right to 
 be heard by himself and his counsel, or either, at his election : to 
 
MAINE. 25 
 
 demand the nature and cause of the accusation, and have a copy 
 thereof : 
 
 To be confronted by the witnesses against him : 
 To have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor : 
 To have a speedy, public, and impartial trial ; and, except in trials 
 by martial law or impeachment, by a jury of the vicinity. He shall \ 
 not be compelled to furnish or give evidence against himself, nor bey 
 deprived of his life, liberty, property, or privileges, but by judgmeq/ 
 of his peers, or the law of the land. 
 
 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or infamous . 
 crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except 
 in cases of impeachment, or in such cases of offences as are usually 
 cognizable by a justice of the peace, or in cases arising in the army 
 or navy, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or 
 public danger. The Legislature shall provide by law a suitable and 
 impartial mode of selecting juries ; and their usual number and 
 unanimity, in indictments and convictions, shall be held indispen- ^ 
 sable. 
 
 8. No person for the same offence shall be twice put in jeopardy 
 of life or limb. 
 
 9. Sanguinary laws shall not be passed : all penalties and punish- 
 ments shall be proportioned to the offence ; excessive bail shall not 
 be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel nor unusual pun- 
 ishments inflicted. 
 
 10. All persons, before conviction, shall be bailable except for 
 capital offences, where the proof is evident, or the presumption 
 great ; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- - 
 pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
 11. The Legislature shall pass no bill of attainder, ex post facto 
 law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, and no attainder 
 shall work corruption of blood nor forfeiture of estate. 
 
 12. Treason against this State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. 
 No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of 
 two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court. 
 
 13. The laws shall not be suspended, but by the Legislature or its 
 authority. 
 
 14. No person shall be subject to corporeal punishment under t\ 
 military law, except such as are employed in the army or navy, or in \^ 
 the militia when in actual service, in time of war, or public danger, n 
 
 15. The people have a right, at all times, in an orderly and peace- 
 able manner, to assemble and consult upon the common good, to give 
 instructions to their representatives, and to request of either de- 
 partment of the government, by petition or remonstrance, redress 
 of their wrongs and grievances. 
 
 16. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms for the com- 
 mon defense ; and this riarht shall never be questioned. 
 
26 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 1 7. No standing army shall be kept up in time of peace, without 
 the consent of the Legislature ; and the milit ary shall, in allcases, 
 and at all times, be in strict sul3ordination to the civil power. 
 
 18. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
 without the consent of the owner or occupant, nor in time of war, 
 but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 19. Every person, for an injury done him in his person, reputa- 
 tion, property, or immunities, shall have remedy by due course of 
 law ; and right and justice shall be administered freely and without 
 sale, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay. 
 
 20. In all civil suits, and in all controversies concerning property, 
 the parties shall have a right to a trial by jury, except in cases 
 where it has heretofore been otherwise practised : the party claim- 
 ing the right may be heard by himself and his counsel, or either, at 
 his election. 
 
 21. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without 
 just compensation ; nor unless the public exigencies' require it. 
 
 22. No tax or duty shall be imposed without the consent of the 
 people, or their representatives in the' Legislature. 
 
 23. No title of nobility or hereditary distinction, privilege, honor, 
 or emolument, shall ever be granted or confirmed ; nor shall any 
 office be created, the appointment to which shall be for a longer 
 time than during good behavior. • 
 
 24. The enumeration of certain rights shall not impair nor deny 
 others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 Electors. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of 
 twenty-one years and upwards, excepting paupers, persons under 
 guardianship, and Indians not taxed, having his residence establish- 
 ed in this State for the term of three months next preceding any 
 election, shall be an elector for Governor, senators, and representa- 
 tives, in the town or plantation where his residence is so established, 
 and the elections shall be by written ballot. But persons in the 
 military, naval, or marine service of the United States, or this 
 State, shall not be considered as having obtained such established 
 residence by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military 
 place, in any town or plantation : nor shall the residence of a stu- 
 dent at any seminary of learning entitle him to the right of suiFrage 
 in the town or plantation where such seminary is established. 
 
 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of 
 the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of election, during 
 their attendance at, going to, and returning therefrom. 
 
 3. No elector shall be obliged to do duty in the militia on any 
 day of election, except in time of war or public danger. 
 
MAINE. 27 
 
 4. The election of Governor, senators, and representatives shall 
 be on the second Monday of September, annually, forever. 
 
 ARTICLE III 
 
 Distribution of Powers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of this government shall be divided into three 
 distinct departments, the legislative., executive^ Budi judicial. 
 
 2. No person or persons, belonging to one of these departments, 
 shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the 
 Others, except in the cases herein expressly directed or permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 Part first. — Legislative Power — House of Represeiitatives. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct 
 branches : a House of Representatives and a Senate ; each to have a 
 negative on the other, and both to be styled the Legislature of 
 Maine : and the style of their acts and laws shall be, " Be it enacted., 
 by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled." 
 
 2. The House of Representatives shall consist of not less than 
 one hundred, nor more than two hundred members, to be elected by 
 the qualified electors for one year from the next day preceding the 
 annual meeting of the Legislature — which shall first be convened 
 under this Constitution, shall, on or before the fifteenth day of 
 August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty-one, and the Legislature within every subsequent period of 
 at most ten years, and at least five, cause the number of the inhab- 
 itaiits of the State to be ascertained, exclusive of foreigners not 
 naturalized, and Indians not taxed. The number of representatives 
 shall, at the several periods of mailing such enumeration, be fixed 
 and apportioned among the several counties, as near as may be, ac- 
 cording to the number of inhabitants, having regard to the relative 
 increase of population. The number of representatives shall, on 
 said first apportionment, be not less than one hundred nor more than 
 one hundred and fifty ; and whenever the number of representatives 
 shall be two hundred, at the next annual meetings of elections, 
 which shall thereafter be had, and at every subsequent period of 
 ten years, the people shall give in their votes whether the number 
 of representatives shall be increased or diminished ; and if a ma- 
 jority of votes are in favor thereof, it shall be the duty of the next 
 Legislature thereafter to increase or diminish the number by the 
 rule hereinafter prescribed. 
 
 3. Each town having fifteen hundred inhabitants may elect one 
 representative ; each town having three thousand seven hundred 
 and fifty may elect two ; each town having six thousand seven hun- 
 dred and fifty may elect three ; each town having ten thousand five 
 
28 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 hundred may elect four ; each town having fifteen thousand may 
 elect five : each town having twenty thousand two hundred and 
 fifty may elect six ; each town having twenty-six thousand two hun- 
 dred and fifty inhabitants may elect seven ; but no town shall ever 
 be entitled to more than seven representatives ; and towns and plan- 
 tations, duly organized, not having fifteen hundred inhabitants, shall 
 be classed, as conveniently as may be, into districts, containing that 
 number, and so as not to divide towns ; and each such district may 
 elect one representative ; and when on this apportionment, the 
 number of representatives shall be two hundred, a different appor- 
 tionment shall take place upon the above principle ; and, in case the 
 fifteen hundred shall be too large or too small to apportion all the 
 representatives to any county, it shall be so increased or diminished 
 as to give the number of representatives according to the above rule 
 and proportion ; and whenever any town or towns, plantation or 
 plantations, not entitled to elect a representative, shall determine 
 against a classification with any other town or plantation, the Legis- 
 lature may, at each apportionment of representatives, on the appli- 
 cation of such town or plantation, authorize it to elect a representa- 
 tive for such portion of time, and such periods, as shall be equal to 
 its portion of representation, and the right of representation, so 
 established, shall not be altered until the next general apportion- 
 ment. 
 
 4. No person shall be a member of the House of Kepresentatives, 
 unless he shall, at the commencement of the period for which he is 
 elected, have been five years a citizen of the United States : having 
 arrived at the age of twenty-one years ; have been a resident in this 
 State one year, or from the adoption of this Constitution ; and, for 
 the three months next preceding the time of his election, shall have 
 been, and during the period for which he is elected, shall continue 
 to be, a resident in the town or district which he represents. 
 
 5. The meetings for the choice of representatives shall be warned, 
 in due course of law, by the selectmen of the several towns, seven 
 days, at least, before the election ; and the selectmen thereof shall 
 preside impartially at such meetings, receive the votes of all the 
 qualified electors present, sort, count, and declare them, in open 
 town meeting, and in the presence of the town clerk, who shall form 
 a list of the persons voted for, with the number of votes for each 
 person against his name, shall make a fair record thereof in the 
 presence of the selectmen, and in open town meeting ; and a fair 
 copy of this list shall be attested by the selectmen and town clerk, 
 and delivered by said selectmen to each representative within ten 
 days next after such election. And the towns and plantations, or- 
 ganized by law, belonging to any class herein provided, shall hold 
 their meetings at the same time in the respective towns and planta- 
 tions ; and the town and plantation meetings in such towns and 
 plantations, shall be notified, held, and regulated, the votes received, 
 sorted, counted and declared, in the same manner. And the asses- 
 
MAINE. 29 
 
 sors and clerks of plantations shall have all the powers, and be 
 subject to all the duties, which selectmen and town clerks have, and 
 are subject to, by this Constitution. And the selecting^ of such 
 towns, and the 'assessors of such plantations so classed, shall, within 
 four days next after such meeting, meet at some place, to be pre- 
 scribed and notified by the selectmen or assessors of the eldest town 
 or plantation in such class, and the copies of said lists shall be then 
 examined and compared ; and, in case any person shall be elected 
 by a majority of all the votes, the selectmen or assessors shall deliv- 
 er the certified copies of such lists to the person so elected, within 
 ten days next after such election ; and the clefks of towns and plan- 
 tations, respectively, shall seal up copies of all such lists, and cause 
 them to be delivered into the secretary's office twenty days at least 
 before the first Wednesday in January, annually ; but, in case no - 
 person shall have a majority of votes, the selectmen and assessors 
 shall as soon as may be, notify another meeting, and the same pro- 
 ceedings shall be at every future meeting until an election shall have 
 been effected, provided, that the Legislature may, by law, prescribe a 
 different mode of returning, examining, and ascertaining the election 
 of the representatives in such classes. 
 
 6. Whenever the seat of a member shall be vacated, by death, 
 resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election. 
 
 7. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker, clerk, 
 and other officers. 
 
 . 8. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
 impeachment. 
 
 Part second. — Senate. 
 
 ^ 1. The Senate shall consist of not less than twenty, nor more 
 than thirty-one members ; elected at the same time, and for the same 
 term, as the representatives, by the qualified electors of the districts 
 into which the State shall from time to time be divided. 
 
 2. The Legislature which shall be first convened under this Con- 
 stitution shall, on or before the fifteenth day of August, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, and the 
 Legislature at every subsequent period of ten years, cause the State 
 to be divided into districts for the choice of senators. The district 
 shall conform, as near as may be, to county lines, and be apportioned 
 according to the number of inhabitants. The number of Senators- 
 shall not exceed twenty at the first apportionment, and shall, at each 
 apportionment, be increased, until they shall amount to thirty-one, 
 according to the increase in the House of Representatives. 
 
 3. The meetings for the election of senators shall be notified, 
 held, and regulated, and the votes received, sorted, counted, declared, 
 and recorded, in the same manner as those for representatives ; and 
 fair copies of the lists of votes shall be attested by the selectmen and 
 town clerks of towns, and the assessors and clerks of plantations, 
 
oO CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 and sealed up in open town and plantation meetings, and the town 
 and plantation clerks, respectively, shall cause the same to be deliv- 
 ered into the secretary's office thirty days at least hefore the first 
 Wednesday of January. All other qualified electors, living in pla- 
 ces unincorporated, who shall be assessed to the support of govern- 
 ment by the assessors of an adjacent town, shall have the privilege 
 of voting for senators, representatives, and governor, in such town, 
 and shall be notified by the selectmen thereof, for the purpose ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 4. The governor and council shall, as soon as may be, examine re- 
 turned copies of such lists, and, twenty days before the said first 
 Wednesday of January, issue a summons -o such persons as shall 
 appear to be elected bs a majority of the votes in each district, to 
 
 ■ attend that day and take their seats. 
 
 5. The Senate shall, on the said first Wednesday of January, an- 
 nually, determine who are elected by a majority of votes to be sena- 
 tors in each district : and, in case the full number of senators to be 
 elected from each district shall not have been so elected, the mem- 
 bers of the House of Representatives, and such senators as shall 
 have been elected, shall, from the highest number of the persons 
 voted for, on said lists, equal to twice the number of senators defi- 
 cient, in every district if there be so many voted for, elect, by joint 
 ballot, the number of senators required ; and in this manner all 
 vacancies in the Senate shall be supplied, as soon as may be after 
 such vacancies happen. 
 
 6. The senators shall be twenty-five years of age at the commence- 
 ment of the term for which they are elected, and in all other respects 
 their qualifications shall be the same as those of the representatives. 
 
 7. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments ; 
 and, when sitting for that purpose, shall be on oath or affirmation ; 
 and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
 thirds of the members present. Their judgment, however, shall not 
 extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to 
 hold or enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State ; 
 but the party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, 
 be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according 
 to law. 
 
 8. The Senate shall choose their president, secretary, and other 
 officers. 
 
 Part third. — Legislative Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall convene on the first Wednesday of 
 January, annually, and shall have full power to make and establish 
 all reasonable laws and regulations for the defense and benefit of 
 the people of this State, not repugnant to this Constitution, nor to 
 that of the United States. 
 
 2. Every bill or resolution, having the force of law, to which the 
 concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question 
 
MAINE. 31 
 
 of adjournment, which shall have passed both houses, shall be pre- 
 sented to the Governor, and if he approve, he shall sign it ; if not, 
 he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall 
 have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on its jour- 
 nals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, 
 two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass it, it shall be sent, to- 
 gether with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall be 
 reconsidered ; and, if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall 
 have the sanae effect as if it had been signed by the Governor ; but, 
 in all such cases, the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas 
 and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the 
 bill or resolution, shall be entered on the journals of both houses 
 respectively. If the bill or resolution shall not be reiurned by the 
 Governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, it shall have the same force, and effect as if 
 he had signed it ; unless the Legislature by their adjournment pre- 
 vent its return, in which case it shall have sueh force and effect. 
 unless returned within three days after their next meeting. 
 
 3.' Each house shall be the judge of the elections and qualifica- 
 tions of its own members, and a majority shall constitute a quorum 
 to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
 and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner 
 and under such penalties as each house shall provide. 
 
 4. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
 ish its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
 cause. 
 
 5. Each house shall keep a journal, and from time to time pub- 
 lish its proceedings, except such parts as, in their judgment, may 
 require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
 house, on any question, shall, at- the desire of one-fifth of those pre- 
 sent, be entered on the journals. 
 
 6. Each house, during its session, may punish, by imprisonment, • 
 any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behaviour 
 in its presence ; for obstructing any of its proceedings ; threatening, 
 assaulting, or abusing any of its members for anything said, done, 
 or doing, in either house : Provided, that no imprisonment shall 
 extend beyond the period of the same session. 
 
 7. The senators and representatives shall receive such compensa- 
 tion a& shall be established by law ; but no law increasing their 
 compensation shall take effect during the existence of the Legislature 
 which enacted it. The expenses of the members of the House of 
 Representatives in traveling to the Legislature and returning there- 
 from, once in each session, and no more, shall be paid by the State, 
 out of the public treasury, to every member who shall seasonably 
 attend, in the judgment of the House, and does not depart* there- 
 from without leave. 
 
 8 The senators and representatives shall, • in all cases, except 
 
32 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 treason, ffelony, or breach of tlie peace, be privileged from arrest 
 during their attendance at, going to, and returning from each ses- 
 sion of the Legislature, and no member shall be liable for anything 
 spoken in debate in either house, in any court or place elsewhere. 
 
 9. Bills, orders, or resolutions may originarte in either house, and 
 may be altered, amended, or rejected in the other ; but all bills for 
 raising a revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, 
 but the Senate may propose amendments, as in other cases ; pro- 
 vided, that they shall not, under color of amendment, introduce any 
 new matter, which does not relate to raising a revenue. 
 
 1 0. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit 
 under this State, which shall h^ve been created, or the emoluments 
 of which increased during such term, except such offices as may be 
 filled by elections by the people f provided that this prohibition 
 shall not extend to the members of the first Legislature. 
 
 11. No member of Congress, nor person holding any office under 
 the United States (post officers excepted), nor office of profit under 
 this State, justices of the peace, notaries public, coroners, and offi- 
 cers of the militia, excepted, shall have a seat in either house during 
 his being such member of Congress, or his continuing in such office. 
 
 12. Neither house shall, during the session, without the consent 
 of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which the houses shall be sitting. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 Part first. — Executive Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested 
 in a Grovernor. 
 
 2. The G-overnor shall be elected by the qualified electors, and shall 
 hold his office one year, from the first Wednesday of January in 
 each year. 
 
 3. The meetings for election of Grovernor shall be notified, held, 
 and regulated, and votes shall be received, sorted, counted, declared 
 and recorded, in the same manner as those for senators and repre- 
 sentatives. They shall be sealed and returned into the Secretary's 
 office in the same manner, and at the same tim.e, as those for senators. 
 And the Secretary of State for the time being shall, on the first 
 Wednesday of January then next, lay the list before the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, to be by them examined ; and, in case of 
 a choice by a majority of all the votes returned, they shall declare 
 and publish the same. But if no person shall have a majority of 
 votes, the House of Representatives shall, by ballot, from the per- 
 sons having the four highest numbers of votes on the list, if so 
 many there be, elect two persons, and make return of their names 
 to the Senate, of whom the Senate shall, by ballot, elect one, who 
 shall be declared the* Governor. 
 
\ 
 
 MAINE. 33 
 
 4. The Governor shall, at the commencemeiit of his term, be not 
 less than thirty years of age ; a natural born citizen of the United 
 States ; have been five years, or from the adoption of this Constitu- 
 tion, a resident of the State ; and at the time of his election, and 
 during the term for which he is elected, be a resident of said State. 
 
 5. No person holding any office or place under the United States, 
 this State, or any other power, shall exercise the office of Grovernor. 
 
 6. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
 compensation, which shall not be increased or diminished during his 
 continuance in office. 
 
 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the 
 State, and of the militia, except when called into the actual service 
 of the United States ; but he shall not march nor convey any of the 
 citizens out of the State without their consent, or that of the Legisla- 
 ture, unless it shall become necessary, in order to march or transport 
 them from one part of the State to another, for the defense thereof 
 
 8. He shall nominate, and, with the advice and consent of the 
 council, appoint, all judicial officers, the attorney -general, the sheriff, 
 coroners, registers of probate, and notaries public ; and he shall 
 also nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Council, ap- 
 point, all other civil and military officers whose appointment is not, 
 by this Constitution or shall not by law, be otherwise provided for ; 
 and every such nomination shall be made seven days at least prior 
 to such appointment. 
 
 • 9. He shall, from time to time, give the Legislature information of 
 the condition of the State, and recommend to their consideration 
 such measures as he may judge expedient. 
 
 10. He may require information from any military officer, or any 
 officer in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the 
 duties of their respective offices. 
 
 11. He shall have power, with the advice and consent of the 
 Council, to remit, after conviction, all forfeitures and penalties, and 
 grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 12. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 13. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Legisla- 
 ture ; and, in case of disagreement between the two houses with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as 
 he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next annual meet- 
 ing ; and if, since their last adjournment, the place where the Legis- 
 lature were next •to convene, shall have become dangerous from an 
 enemy, or contagious sickness, may direct the session to be held at 
 some other convenient place within the State. 
 
 14. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant by death, 
 resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the President of the 
 Senate, shall exercise the office of Governor until another Governor 
 shall be duly qualified ; and, in case of the death, resignation, re- 
 moval from office, or other disqualification of the President of the 
 Senate, so exercising the office of Governor, the Speaker of the 
 
34 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 House of Representatives shall exercise the office, until a President 
 of the Senate shall have been chosen ; and when the office of Grovernor, 
 President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House shall become 
 vacant, in the recess of the Senate, the person acting as Secretary of 
 State for the time being shall, by proclamation, convene the Senate, 
 that a President maybe chosen to exercise the office of Governor. And 
 whenever either the President of the Senate or Speaker of the 
 House "shall so exercise said office, he shall receive only the compen- 
 sation of Governor, but his duties as President or Speaker shall be 
 suspended ; and the Senate or House shall fill the vacancy, until his 
 duties as Governor shall cease. 
 
 Part second. — Council. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be a Council, to consist of seven persons, citizens 
 of the United States, and residents of this State, to advise the Gov- 
 ernor in the executive part of the government, whom the Governor 
 shall have full power, at his discretion, to assemble ; and he, with 
 the counselors, or a majority of them, may, from time to time, hold 
 and keep a council, for ordering and directing the affairs of State ac- 
 cording to law. 
 
 2. The counselors shall be chosen annually, on tjie first Wed- 
 nesday of January, by joint ballot of the senators and representa- 
 tives in convention ; and vacancies which shall afterwards happen, 
 shall be filled in the same manner ; but not more than one counsel- 
 or shall be elected from any district prescribed for the election of 
 senators ; and they shall be privileged from arrest in the same man- 
 ner as senators and representatives. 
 
 3. The resolutions and advice of council shall be recorded in a 
 register, and signed by the members agreeing thereto, which may be 
 called for by either house of the Legislature ; and any counselor 
 may enter his dissent to the resolution of the majority. 
 
 4. No member of Congress, or of the Legislature of this State, 
 nor any person holding any office under the United States, (post of- 
 ficers excepted,) nor any civil officers under this State, (justices of 
 the peace and notaries public excepted,) shall be counselors. And 
 no counselor shall be appointed to any office during the time for 
 
 "which he shall have been elected. 
 
 Part third. — Secretary. 
 Sec. 1. The Secretary of State shall be chosed annually, at the 
 first session of the Legislature, by joint ballot of the senators and 
 representatives in convention. 
 
 2. The records of the State shall be kept in the office of the Se- 
 cretary, who may appoint his deputies, for whose conduct he shall 
 be accountable. 
 
 3. He shall attend the Governor and Council, Senate and House 
 of Representatives, in person, or by his deputies, as they shall re- 
 spectively require. 
 
MAINE. ' 35 
 
 4. He shall carefully keep and preserve tlie records of all the 
 official acts and proceedings of the Grovernor and Council, Senate, 
 and House of Kepresentatives, and, when required, lay the same 
 before either branch of the Legislature, and perform such other duties 
 as are enjoined by this Constitution, or shall be acquired by law. 
 
 Part fourth. — Treasurer. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Treasurer shall be chosen annually, at the first ses- 
 sion of the Legislature, by joint ballot of the senators and represen- 
 tatives in convention, but shall not be eligible more than five years 
 successively. 
 
 2. The Treasurer shall, before entering on the duties of his office, 
 give bond to the State, with sureties, to the satisfaction of the Legis- 
 lature, for the faithful discharge of his trust. 
 
 3. The Treasurer shall not, during his continuance in office, en- 
 gage in any business of trade or commerce, or as a broker, nor as an 
 agent or factor for any merchant or trader. 
 
 4. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but by warrant 
 from the Governor and Council, and in consequence of appropria- 
 tions made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
 receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published at 
 the commencement of the annual session of the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE VL 
 
 Judicial Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Su- 
 preme Judicial Court, and such other courts as the Legislature 
 shall, from time to time, establish. 
 
 2. The justices of the Supreme Judicial Court shall, at stated 
 times, receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished during 
 their continuance in office, but they shall receive no other fee or 
 reward. 
 
 3. They shall be obliged to give their opinion upon important 
 questions of law, and upon solemn occasions, when required by the 
 Governor, Council, Senate, or House of Representatives. 
 
 4. All judicial officers, except justices of the peace, shall hold their 
 offices during good behavior, but not beyond the age of seventy 
 years. 
 
 5. Justices of the peace and notaries public shall hold their offices 
 during seven years, if they so long behave themselves well, at the 
 expiration of which term, they may be re-appointed, or others ap- 
 pointed, as the public interest may require. 
 
 6. The justices of the Supreme Judicial Court shall hold no office 
 under the United States, nor any state, nor any other office under 
 this State, except that of justice of the peace. 
 
36 ' CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 ARTICLE YIl. 
 
 Military. 
 Sec. 1. The captains and subalterns of the militia shall be elected 
 by the written votes of the members of their respective companies ; 
 the field-officers of regiments, by the written votes of the cap- 
 tains and subalterns of their respective regiments ; the brigadier- 
 generals, in like manner, by the field officers of their respective bri- 
 gades. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall, by law, direct the manner of notifying 
 the electors, conducting the elections, and making the returns to the 
 Governor of the officers elected ; and if the electors shall neglect or 
 refuse to make such elections, after being duly notified according to 
 law, the Grovernor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices. 
 
 3. The major-general shall be elected by the Senate and House 
 of Representatives, each having a negative on the other. The adju- 
 tant-general and quartermaster-general shall be appointed by the 
 Grovernor and Council ; but the adjutant-general shall perform the 
 duties of quartermaster-general, until otherwise directed by law. 
 The major-generals and brigadier-generals, and the commanding 
 officers of regiments and battalions, shall appoint their respective 
 stafi"-officers ; and all military officers shall be commissioned by the 
 Governor. 
 
 4. The militia, as divided into divisions, brigades, regiments, bat- 
 talions, and companies, pursuant to the laws now in force, shall 
 remain so organized, until the same shall be altered by the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 5. Persons of the denomination of Quakers and Shakers, justices 
 of the Supreme Judicial Court, and ministers of the gospel, may be 
 exempted from military duty ; but no other person, of the age of 
 eighteen and und6r the age of forty-five years, excepting officers of 
 the militia who have been honorably discharged, shall be so exempt- 
 ed, unless he shall pay an equivalent, to be fixed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE YIIL 
 
 Literature. 
 A general diffusion of the advantages of education being essen- 
 tial to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people : to 
 promote this important object, the Legislature are authorized, and 
 it shall be their duty, to require the several towns to make suitable 
 provision, at their own expense, for the support and maintenance 
 of public schools ; and it shall further be their duty to encourage 
 and suitably endow, from time to time, as the circumstances of 
 the people may authorize, all academies, colleges, and seminaries of 
 learning, within the State : provided, that no donation, grant, or en- 
 dowment, shall at any time be made by the Legislature, to any lite- 
 rary institution now established, or which may hereafter be estab- 
 
MAINE. 37 
 
 lished, unless at the time pf making such endowment, the Legisla- 
 ture of the State shall have the right to grant any further powerg 
 to alter, limit, or restrain any of the powers vested in any such 
 literary institution, as shall be judged necessary to promote the 
 best interests thereof. 
 
 ARTICLE ix. 
 
 General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every person elected or appointed to either of the places 
 or offices provided in this Constitution, and every person elected, 
 appointed, or commissioned, to any judicial, executive, military, or 
 other office under this State, shall, before he enter on the discharge 
 of the duties of his place or office, take and subscribe the following 
 
 oath or affirmation : " I, , do swear, that I will support the 
 
 Constitution of the United States and of this State, so long as I 
 shall continue a citizen thereof. So help me God." 
 
 " I, , do swear, that I will faithfully discharge, to the best 
 
 of my abilities, the duties incumbent on me as , according to 
 
 the Constitution and the laws of the State : so help me God :" pro- 
 vided, that an affirmation in the above forms may be substituted, 
 when the persons shall be conscientiously scrupulous of taking and 
 subscribing an oath. 
 
 The oaths or affirmations shall be taken and subscribed by the 
 Governor and counselors before the presiding officer of the Senate, 
 in the presence of both bouses of the Legislature, and by the sena- 
 tors and representatives before the Governor and Council, and by 
 the residue of said officers before such person as shall be prescribed 
 by the Legislature ; and, whenever the Governor or any counsellor 
 shall not be able to attend, during the session of the Legislature, to 
 take and subscribe said oaths or affirmations, such oaths or affirma- 
 tions may be taken and subscribed, in the recess of the Legislature, 
 before any justice of the Supreme Judicial Court: provided, that 
 the senators and representatives first elected under this Constitu- 
 tion shall take and subscribe such oaths or affirmations, before the 
 President of the Convention. 
 
 2. No person holding the office of justice of the Supreme Judi- 
 cial Court, or of any inferior court, attorney-general, county attor- 
 ney, treasurer of the State, adjutant-general, judge of probate, regis- 
 ter of probate, register of deeds, sheriffs or their deputies, clerks of 
 the judicial courts, shall be a member of the Legislature ; and any 
 person holding either of the foregoing offices, elected to and accept- 
 ing a seat in the Congress of the United States, shall thereby vacate 
 said office : and no person shall be capable of holding or exercising, 
 at the same time, within this State, more than one of the offices be- 
 fore mentioned. 
 
 3. All commissions shall be in the name of the State, signed by 
 
 4 
 
38 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the Governor, attested by the Secretary or his deputy, and have the 
 seal of the State thereto affixed. 
 
 4. And in case the elections required by this Constitution on the 
 first "Wednesday of January, annually, by the two houses of the 
 Legislature, shall not be completed on that day, the same may be 
 adjourned from day to day until completed, in the following order : 
 the vacancies in the Senate shall first be filled ; the Governor shall 
 then be elected, if there be no choice by the people ; and, after- 
 wards, the two houses shall elect the Council. 
 
 5. Every person holding any civil office under this State may be 
 removed, by impeachment, for misdemeanor in office ; and every 
 person holding any office may be removed by the Governor, with the 
 advice of the Council, on the address of both branches of the Legis- 
 lature. But, before such address shall pass either house, the causes 
 of removal shall be stated and entered on the journal of the house 
 in which it originated, and a copy thereof served on the person in 
 office, that he may be admitted to a hearing in his defense. 
 
 6. The tenure of all offices, which are not or shall not be other- 
 wise provided for, shall be during the pleasure of the Governor and 
 Council. 
 
 7. While the public expenses shall be assessed on polls and 
 estates, a general valuation shall be taken at least once in ten years. 
 
 8. All taxes upon real estate, assessed by authority of this State, 
 shall be apportioned and assessed equally, according to the just 
 value thereof 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Schedule. 
 
 Sec. 1. The first Legislature shall meet on the last "Wednesday 
 in May next. The elections on the second Monday in September, 
 annually, shall not commence until the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and twenty-one, and, in the meantime, the election for 
 Governor, senators and representatives, shall be on the first Mon- 
 day in April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty ; and. at this election the same proceedings shall be had 
 as are required at the elections provided for in this Constitution, on 
 the second Monday in September, annually, and the lists of the 
 votes for the Governor and senators shall be transmitted by the 
 town and plantation clerks, respectively, to the Secretary of State 
 'pro tem'pore, seventeen days at least before the last "Wednesday in 
 May next ; and the President of the Convention shall, in presence 
 of the Secretary of State, pro tem'pore., open and examine the attested 
 copies of said lists, so returned for senators, and shall have all the 
 powers, and be subject to all the duties in ascertaining, notifying, 
 and summoning the senators who appear to be elected, as the Gov- 
 ernor and Council have, and are subject to, by this Constitution : 
 provided, he shall notify said senators fourteen days at least before 
 
MAINE. 39 
 
 the last Wednesday in May, and vacancies shall be ascertained and 
 filled in the manner herein provided ; and the senators to be elected 
 on the said first Monday of April shall be apportioned as follows : 
 
 The county of York shall elect three ; the county of Cumberland 
 shall elect three ; the county of Lincoln shall elect three ; the county 
 of Hancock shall elect two ; the county of Washington shall elect 
 one ; the county of Kennebec shall elect three ; the county of Ox- 
 ford shall elect two ; the county of Somerset shall elect two ; the 
 county of Penobscot shall elect one. • 
 
 And the members of the House of Representatives shall be elect- 
 ed, ascertained, and returned in the same manner as herein provided 
 at elections on the second Monday of September : and the first 
 House of Representatives shall consist of the following number, to 
 be elected as follows : 
 
 County of York. — The towns of York and Wells may each elect 
 two representatives ; and each of the remaining towns may elect 
 one. 
 
 County of Cumberland. — The town of Portland may elect three 
 representatives ; North Yarmouth, two ; Brunswick, two ; Gorham, 
 two ; Freeport and Pownal, two ; Raymond and Otisfield, one ; 
 Bridgton, Baldwin, and Harrison, one ; Poland and Danville, one ; 
 and each remaining town, one. 
 
 County of Lincoln. — The towns of Georgetown and Phipsburg 
 may elect one representative ; Lewistown and Wales, one ; St. 
 George, Gushing, and Friendship, one ; Hope and Appleton Ridge, 
 one ; Jefferson, Putnam, and Patricktown Plantation, one ; Alba 
 and Whitefield, one ; Montville, Palermo, and Montville Planta- 
 tion, one ; Woolwich and Dresden, one ; and each remaining 
 town, one. 
 
 County of Hancock. — The town of Bucksport may elect one re- 
 presentative ; Deer Island, one ; Castine and Brooksville, one ; Or- 
 land and Penobscot, one ; Mount Desert and Eden, one ; Vinal- 
 haven and Isleborough, one ; Sedgwick and Bluehill, one ; Goulds- 
 borough, Sullivan, and Plantations Nos. 8 and 9, north of Sullivan, 
 one ; Surry, Ellsworth, Trenton, and Plantation of Mariaville, 
 one ; Lincolnville, Searsmont, and Belmont, one ; Belfast and 
 Northport, one ; Prospect and Swanville, one ; Frankfort and Mon- 
 roe, one ; Knox, Brooks, Jackson, and Thorndike, one. 
 
 County of Washington. — The towns of Steuben, Cherryfield, and 
 Harrington, may elect one representative ; Addison, Columbia, and 
 Jonesborough, one ; Machias, one ; Lubec, Dennysville, Plantations 
 No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12, one; Eastport, one ; Perry, Robin- 
 son, Calais, Plantations No. 3, No. 6, No. 7, No. 15, and No. 16, 
 one. 
 
 County of Kennebec. — The towns of Belgrade and Dearborn may 
 elect one representative ; Chesterville, Vienna, and Rome, one ; 
 Wayne and Fayette, one ; Temple and Wilton, one ; Winslow and 
 
40 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 China, one ; Fairfax and Freedom, one ; Unity, Joy, and Twenty- 
 five Mile Pond Plantation, one ; Harlem and Malta, one ; and each 
 remaining town, one. 
 
 County of Oxford. — The towns' of Dixfield, Mexico, Wield, and 
 Plantations Nos. 1 and 4, may elect one representative ; Jay and 
 Hartford, one ; Livermore, one ; Rumford, East Andover, and 
 Plantations Nos. 7 and 8, one ; Turner, one ; Woodstock, Paris, and 
 Greenwood, one ; Hebron and Norway, one ; Gilead, Bethel, New- 
 ry, Albaq^7, and Howard's Gore, one ; Porter, Hiram, and Brown- 
 field, one ; Waterford, Sweden, and Lovell, one ; Denmark, Frye- 
 burg, and Fryeburg Addition, one ; Buckfield and Sumner, one. 
 
 County of Somerset. — The town of Fairfield may elect one repre- 
 sentative ; Norridgwock and Bloomfield, one ; Starks and Mercer, 
 one ; Industry, Strong, and New Vineyard, one ; Avon, Phillips, 
 Freeman, and Kingfield, one ; Anson, New Portland, Embden, and 
 Plantation No. 1, one ; Canaan, Warsaw, Palmyra, St. Albans, and 
 Corinna, one ; Madison, Solon, Bingham, Moscow, and Northhill, 
 one ; Cornville, Athens, Harmony, Ripley, and Warrenstown, one. 
 
 County of Penobscot. — The towns of Hampden and Newburg may 
 elect one representative; Orrington, Brewer, and Eddington, and 
 Plantations adjacent, on the east side of Penobscot River, one ; 
 Bangor, Orono, and Sunkhaze Plantation, one ; Dixmont, Newport, 
 Carmel, Hermon, Stetson, and Plantation No. 4, in the 6th range, 
 one ; Levant, Corinth, Exeter, New Charlestown, Blakesburg, Plan- 
 tation No. 1, in 3d range, and Plantation No. 1, in 4th range, one ; 
 Dexterr, Garland, Guilford, Sangerville, and Plantation No. 3, in 
 6th range, one ; Atkinson, Sebec, Foxcroft, Brownville, Williams- 
 burgh, Plantation No. 1, in 7th range, and Plantation No. 3, in 7th 
 range, one. 
 
 And the Secretary of State, 'pro tempore^ shall have the same powers 
 and be subject to the same duties, in relation to the votes for Gov- 
 ernor, as the Secretary of State has, and is subject to, by this Con- 
 stitution : and the election of Governor shall, on the said last 
 Wednesday in May, be determined and declared in the same man- 
 ner as other elections of Governor are by this Constitution ; and, in 
 case of vacancy in said office, the President of the Senate, and 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall exercise the office as 
 herein otherwise provided, and the counselors. Secretary, and Trea- 
 surer, shall also be elected on the said day, and have the same 
 powers, and be subject to the same duties, as is provided in this 
 Constitution ; and in case of the death or other disqualification of 
 the President of this Convention, or of the Secretary of State pro 
 tempore^ before the election and qualification of the Governor, or Se- 
 cretary of State, under this Constitution, the persons to be designated 
 by this Convention, at their session in January next, shall have all 
 the powers, and perform all the duties, which the President of this 
 Convention, or the Secretary jpro tempore., to be by them appointed, 
 shall have and perform. 
 
MAINE. 41 
 
 2. The period for which the governors, senators and representa- 
 tives, counselors. Secretary, and Treasurer, first elected, or appoint- 
 ed, are to serve in their respective offices and places, shall commence 
 on the last Wednesday in May, ih the year of our Lord one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and twenty, and continue until the first Wednes- 
 day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty-two. 
 
 3. All laws now in force in this State, and not repugnant to this 
 Constitution, shall remain and be in force until altered or repealed 
 by the Legislature, or shall expire by their own limitation. 
 
 4. The Legislature, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall 
 deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this Constitution ; 
 and when any amendment shall be so agreed upon, a resolution 
 shall be passed and sent to the selectmen of the several towns, and 
 the assessors of the several plantations, empowering and directing 
 them to notify the inhabitants of their respective towns and planta- 
 tions, in the manner prescribed by law, at their next annual meet- 
 ings in the month of September, to give in their votes on the ques- 
 tion whether such amendment shall be made ; and if it shall appear 
 that a majority of the inhabitants voting on the question are in fa- 
 vor of such amendment, it shall become a part of this Constitution. 
 
 5. All officers provided for in the sixth section of an act of the 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, passed on the nineteenth day of 
 June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine- 
 teen, entitled, " An act relating to the separation of the District of 
 Maine from Massachusetts proper, and forming the same into a 
 separate and independent State," shall continue in office, as therein 
 provided ; and the following provisions of said act shall be a part of 
 this Constitution : subject,. however, to be modified, or annulled, as 
 therein is prescribed, and not otherwise, to wit: 
 
 " Sect. 1. Whereas it has been represented in this Legislature' 
 that a majority of the people of the District of Maine are desirous 
 of- establishing a separate and independent government within said 
 district: Therefore, 
 
 " Be it enacted^ by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen- 
 eral Court assembled^ and by the authority of the same^ That the con- 
 sent of this commonwealth be, and the same is hereby given, that 
 the district of Maine maybe formed and erected into a separate and 
 independent State, if the people of the said district shall, in the 
 manner and by the majority hereinafter mentioned, express theii: 
 consent and agreement thereto, upon the following terms and condi- 
 tions : and, provided the Congress of the United States shall give 
 its consent thereto before the fourth day of March next ; which 
 terms and conditions are as follows, viz. : 
 
 " First. All the lands and buildings belonging to the common- 
 wealth within Massachusetts proper, shall continue to belong to said 
 commonwealth ; and all the lands belonging to the commonwealth 
 within the district of Maine shall belong, the one half thereof to the 
 
42 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 said commonwealth, and the other half thereof to the State to be 
 formed within the said district, to be divided as is hereinafter men- 
 tioned ; and the lands within the said district, which shall belong 
 to the said commonwealth, shall- be free from taxation while the 
 title of the said lands remains in the commonwealth ; and the rights 
 of the commonwealth to their lands within said district, and the 
 remedies for the recovery thereof, shall continue the same within 
 the proposed State and in the courts thereof, as they now are within 
 the said commonwealth and in the courts thereof; for which pur- 
 poses, and for the maintenance of its rights and recovery of its 
 lands, the said commonwealth shall be entitled to. all other proper 
 and legal remedies, and may appear in the courts of the proposed 
 State, and in the courts of the United States holden therein ;. and 
 all rights of action for, or entry into lands, and of action upon 
 bonds, for the breach of the performance of the condition of set- 
 tling duties, so called, which have accrued, or may accrue, shall re- 
 main in this commonwealth, to be enforced, commuted, released, or 
 otherwise disposed of, in such manner as this commonwealth may 
 hereafter determine: provided, however, that whatever this com- 
 monwealth may hereafter receive or obtain on account thereof, if 
 any thing shall, after deducting all reasonable charges relating there- 
 to, be divided, one-third part thereof to the new State, and two- 
 third parts thereof to this commonwealth. 
 
 " Second. All the arms which have been received by this common- 
 wealth from the United States, under the law of Congress, entitled, 
 ' An act making provision for arming and equipping the whole body 
 of militia of the United States, passed April the twenty-third, one 
 thousand eight hundred and eight,' shall, as soon as the said district 
 shall become a separate State, be divided between the two States, in 
 proportion to the returns of the militia, according to which the said 
 
 *arms have been received from the United States, as aforesaid. 
 
 •' Third. All money, stock or other proceeds, hereafter derived 
 from the United States, on account of the claim of this common- 
 wealth, for disbursements made, and expenses incurred, for the defence 
 of the State during the late war with Great Britain, shall be re- 
 ceived by this commonwealth ; and when received, shall be divided 
 between the two States, in the proportion of two thirds to this com- 
 ip.onwealth, and one third to the new State. 
 
 " Fourth. All other property, of every description, belonging to 
 
 , th^ commonwealth, shall be holden and receivable by the same, as a 
 fund and security for all debts, annuities, and Indian subsidies, or 
 claims, due by said commonwealth ; and within two years after the 
 said district shall have become a separate State, the commissioners 
 to be appointed, as hereinafter provided, if the said States cannot 
 otherwise agree, shall assign a just portion of the productive proper- 
 ty so held by said commonwealth, as an equivalent and indemnifica- 
 tion to said commonwealth for all such debts, annuities, or Indian 
 subsidies, or claims, which may remain due, or unsatisfied ; and all 
 
MAINE. 43 
 
 the surplus of the said property, so holden, as aforesaid, shall be di- 
 vided between the said commonwealth and the said district of Maine, 
 in the proportion of two-thirds to the said commonwealth and one- 
 third to the said district ; and if, in the judgment of the said com- 
 missioners, the whole of said property, so held, as a fund and secu- 
 rity, shall not be sufficient indemnification for the purpose, the said 
 district shall be liable for, and shall pay to said commonwealth, one- 
 third of the deficiency. 
 
 " Fifth. The new State shall, as soon as the necessary arrange- 
 ments can be made for that purpose, assume and perform all the 
 duties and obligations of this commonwealth towards the Indians 
 within said district of Maine, whether the same arise from treaties, 
 or otherwise ; and for this purpose shall obtain the assent of said 
 Indians, and their release to this commonwealth of claims and stip- 
 ulations arising under the treaty at present existing between the 
 sa,id commonwealth and said Indians : and, as indemnification to 
 such new State therefor, this commonwealth, when such arrange- 
 ments shall be completed, and the said duties and obligations as- 
 sumed, shall pay to said new State the value of thirty thousand dol- 
 lars, in manner following, viz. : The said commissioners shall set off,, 
 by metes and bounds, so much of any part of the land, within the 
 said district, falling to this commonwealth, in the division of 'the 
 public lands hereinafter provided for, as, in their estimation, shall 
 be of the value of thirty thousand dollars ; and this commonwealth 
 shall, thereupon, assign the same to the said new State, or, in lieu 
 thereof, may pay the sum of thirty thousand dollars, at its election : 
 which election of the said commonwealth shall be made within one 
 year from the time that notice of the doings of the commissioners, 
 on this subject, shall be made known to the Grovernor and Council : 
 and if not made within that time, the election shall be with the new 
 State. 
 
 " Sixth. Commissioners, with the powers and for the purpose men- 
 tioned in this act, shall be appoinied in manner following : The exe- 
 cutive authority of each State shall appoint two ; and the four so 
 appointed, or the major part of them, shall appoint two more ; but, 
 if they cannot agree in the appointment, the executive of each State 
 shall appoint one in addition ; not, however, in that case, to be a cit- 
 izen of its own State. And any vacancy happening with respect to 
 the commissioners, shall be supplied in the manner provided for 
 their original appointment ; and, in addition to the powers herein- 
 before given to said commissioners, they shall have full power and 
 authority to divide all the public lands within the district between 
 the respective States, in equal shares, or moieties, in severalty, 
 having regard to quantity, situation, and quality ; they shall de- 
 termine what lands shall be surveyed and divided, from time to time, 
 the expenses of which surveys, and of the commissioners, shall be 
 borne equally by the two States. They shall keep fair records of their 
 doings, and of the surveys made by their direction, copies of which 
 
44 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 records, authenticated by them, shall be deposited, from time to 
 time, in the archives of the respective States ; transcripts of which, 
 properly certified, may be admitted in evidence, in all questions 
 touching the subject to which they relate. The executive authority 
 of each State may revoke the power of either or both its commis- 
 sioners ; having, however, first appointed a substitute or substitutes, 
 and may fill any vacancy happening with respect to its own comnais- 
 sioners; four of said commissioners shall constitute ^a quorum for 
 the transaction of business ; . their decision shall be final upon all 
 subjects within their cognizance. In case said commission shall ex- 
 pire, the same not having been completed, and either State shall re- 
 quest the renewal or filling up of the same, it shall be renewed or 
 filled up in the same manner as is herein provided for filling the 
 same in the first instance, and with the like powers : and if either 
 shall, after six months' notice, neglect or refuse to appoint its com- 
 missioners, the other may fill up the whole commission. 
 
 " Seventh. All grants of lands, franchises, immunities, corporate 
 or other rights, and all contracts for, or grants of lands not yet 
 located, which have been, or may be, made by the said common- 
 wealth, before the separation of said district shall take place, and 
 having or to have effect within the said district, shall continue in 
 full force, after the said district shall become a separate State. But 
 the grant which has been made to the President and trustees of 
 Bowdoin College, out of the tax laid upon the banks within this 
 commonwealth, shall be charged upon the tax upon the banks within 
 the said district of Maine, and paid according to the terms of said 
 grant ; and the President and trustees, and the overseers of said 
 College, shall have, hold, and enjoy their powers and privileges in 
 all respects : so that the same shall not be subject to be altered, 
 limited, annulled, or restrained, except by judicial process, according 
 to the principles of law ; and, in all grants hereafter to be made, by 
 either state, of unlocated land within the said district, the same re- 
 servations shall be made for the benefit of schools, and of the min- 
 istry, as have heretofore been usual in grants made by this com- 
 monwealth. And all lands heretofore granted by this commonwealth 
 to any religious, literary, or elemosynary corporation, or society, 
 shall be free from taxation, while the same continues to be owned 
 by such corporation or society. 
 
 " Eighth. No laws shall be passed in the proposed State, with re- 
 gard to taxes, actions, or remedies at law, or bars, or limitations 
 thereof, or otherwise making any distinction between the lands and 
 rights of property of proprietors not resident in, or not citizens of, 
 said proposed State, and the lands and rights of property of the cit- 
 izens of the proposed State, resident therein : and the rights and 
 liabilities of all persons shall, after the said separation, continue 
 the same as if the said district was still a part of this commonwealth, 
 in all suits pending, or judgments remaining unsatisfied, on the fif- 
 teenth day of March next, where the suits have been commenced in 
 
MAINE. 45 
 
 Massachusetts proper, and process has been served within the dis- 
 trict of Maine ; or commenced in the district of Maine, and process 
 has been served in Massachusetts proper, either by taking bail, 
 making attachments, arresting and 4etaining persons, or otherwise, 
 where execution remains to be done ; and in such suits, the courts 
 within Massachusetts proper, and within the proposed State, shall 
 continue to have the same jurisdiction as if the said district had 
 still remained . a part of the commonwealth. And this common- 
 wealth shall have the same remedies within the proposed State as it 
 now has, for the collection of all taxes, bonds, or debts, which may 
 be assessed, due, made, or contracted, by, to, or with the common- 
 wealth, on or before the said fifteenth day of March, within the said 
 district of Maine ; and all officers within Massachusetts proper and 
 the district of Maine shall conduct themselves accordingly. 
 
 " Ninth. These terms and conditions, as here set forth, when the 
 said district shall become a separate and independent State, shall, 
 ipso facto, be incorporated into, and become, and be a part of, any 
 constitution, provisional or other, under which the government of 
 the said proposed State shall, at any time hereafter, be administered ; 
 subject, however, to be modified or annulled by the agreement of 
 the Legislature of both the said States ; but by no other power or 
 body whatsoever." 
 
 Sec. 6. This Constitution shall be enrolled on parchment, de- 
 posited in the Secretary's office, and be the supreme law of the 
 State ; and printed copies thereof shall be prefixed to the books 
 containing the laws of this State. 
 
 Done in Convention, October 29, 1819. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 Adopted in pursuance of the Fourth Section of the Tenth Article of the 
 original Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE L 
 
 The electors resident in any city, may, at any meeting duly noti- 
 fied for the choice of representatives, vote for such representatives 
 in their respective ward meetings ; and the wardens in said wards 
 shall preside impartially at such meetings, receive votes of all quali- 
 fied electors present, sort, count, and declare *them in open ward 
 meetings, and, in the presence of the ward clerk, who shall form a 
 list of the persons voted for, with the number of votes for each per- 
 son against his name ; shall make a fair record thereof in the pres- 
 ence of the wardens, and in open ward meeting ; and a fair copy of 
 this list shall be attested by the warden and ward clerk, sealed up 
 
46 CONSTITUTION OF MAINE. 
 
 in open ward meeting, and delivered to the city clerk within twenty- 
 four hours after the close of the polls. And the aldermen of any 
 city shall be in session, at their usual place of meeting, within 
 twenty-four hours after any election, and in the presence of the city 
 clerk, shall examine and compare the copies of said lists ; and in 
 case any person shall have received a majority of all the votes, he 
 shall be declared elected by the aldermen ; and the city clerk of any 
 city shall make a record thereof, and the aldermen and city clerk 
 shall deliver certified copies of such lists to the person or persons 
 so elected, within ten days after the election. And the electors resi- 
 dent in any city may, at any meeting duly notified and holden for 
 the choice of any other civil officers for whom they have been re- 
 quired heretofore to vote in town meeting, vote for such officers in 
 their respective wards, and the same proceedings shall be had by 
 the warden and ward clerk in each ward, as in the case of votes for 
 representatives. And the aldermen of any city shall be in session 
 within twenty-four hours after the close of the polls in such meet- 
 ings, and in the presence of the city clerk, shall open, examine, and 
 compare the copies from the lists of votes given in the several wards, 
 of which the city clerk shall make a record, and a return thereof 
 shall be made into the Secretary of State's office, in the same man- 
 ner as selectmen of towns are required to do. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 No person, before conviction, shall be bailable for any of the 
 crimes which now are or have been denominated capital offences 
 since the adoption of the Constitution, when the proof is evident 
 or the presumption great, whatever the punishment of the crime 
 may be. 
 
 ARTICLE IIL 
 
 All judicial officers now in office, or who may be hereafter appoint- 
 ed, shall, from and after the first day of March in the year 1840, hold 
 their offices for the term of seven years from the time of their re- 
 spective appointments, (unless sooner removed by impeachment or 
 by address of both branches of the Legislature to the Executive,) 
 and no longer, unless re-appointed thereto. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 The second section, article fourth, part first, of the constitution, is 
 amended by substituting the w^ords one hundred and ffty-one for 
 " not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred," before the 
 word " members" in said section, so as to establish the number of 
 representatives for the state at the number of one hundred and fifty- 
 one ; and the latter part of said section, being the w^ords and sen- 
 tences following : " and, whenever the number of representatives 
 shall be two hundred, at the next annual meetings of election wh^ch 
 shall thereafter be had, and at every subsequent period of ten years, 
 
MAINE. a4i6 
 
 the people shall give in their votes, whether the number of repre- 
 sentatives shall be increased or diminished, and if a majority of votes 
 are in favor thereof, it shall be the duty of the next legislature 
 thereafter to increase or diminish the number by the rule hereinafter 
 prescribed," shall not be a part of the constitution ; but one hundred 
 and fifty-one representatives shall be apportioned according to the 
 rule in this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 [*The annual meeting of the legislature shall be on the second 
 Wednesday of May, in each year ; and the governor and other state 
 officers elected for the political year commencing on the first Wednes- 
 day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-five, shall hold their offices till the second Wednesday 
 of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 forty-six.] 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 The credit of the state shall not be directly or indirectly loaned in 
 any case. 
 
 The legislature shall not create any debt or debts, liability or lia- 
 bilities, on behalf of the state, which shall singly, or in the aggre- 
 gate, with previous debts and liabilities hereafter incurred at any one 
 time, exceed three hundred thousand, dollars, except to suppress 
 insurrection, to repel invasion, or for purposes of war; but this 
 amendment shall not be construed to refer to any money that has 
 been, or may be deposited with this state by the government of the 
 United States, or to any fund which the state shall hold in trust for 
 any Indian tribe. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 The constitution of this state is amended in the fifth section of the 
 first part of the fourth article, by striking out the words, " a majo- 
 rity of all the," and inserting instead thereof, the words, " the high- 
 est number of," and by striking out the words " a majority" where 
 they again occur in the same section, and inserting instead thereof, the 
 words " the highest number ;" also in the first amendment to the 
 constitution of this state, by striking out the words " a majority of 
 all the," and inserting instead thereof, the words " the highest num- 
 ber of." 
 
 ARTICLE VIIL 
 
 The annual meeting of the legislature shall be on the first Wednes- 
 day of January, in each year ; and the governor and other state 
 officers elected for- the political year commencing on the second 
 Wednesday of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-one, shall hold their offices till the first Wednesday 
 of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 fifty-two. 
 
 Annulled. See 8th Amendment. 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 New Hampshire was first visited by Europeans in 1614. The first settle- 
 ment was made at Dover and Portsmouth in 1623, three years after the land- 
 ing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, under a charter to F. Gorges, from James I. 
 
 The early inhabitants were greatly annoyed by the Indians, and, in their 
 repeated wars with them, suffered more than any other of the colonies. This 
 colony was twice united with that of Massachusetts. The final separation 
 took place in 1741, when the boundaries of the two colonies were settled. 
 New Hampshire publicly declared itself independent of Massachusetts, June 
 15th, 1776, and in December, of the same year, framed a temporary form of 
 government. The first Constitution was adopted in 1784. This State was 
 admitted into the Union in 1788. Its present Constitution was adopted in 
 1792. Area, 9,280 square miles. Population, in 1850, 317,864. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Bill of Rights. 
 
 Art. 1. All men are born equally free and independent : There- 
 fore, all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded 
 in consent, and instituted for the general good. 
 
48 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 2. All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights — 
 among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty, ac- 
 quiring, possessing, and protecting property ; and, in a word, of 
 seeking and obtaining happiness. 
 
 3. When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up 
 some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the 
 protection of, others ; and without such an equivalent the surrender 
 is void. 
 
 4. Among the natural rights, some are in their very nature un- 
 alienable, because no equivalent can be given or received for them. 
 Of this kind are the rights of conscience. 
 
 5. Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to wor- 
 ship Grod, according to the dictates of his own conscience and rea- 
 son : and no person shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his per- 
 son, liberty, or estate, for worshiping Grod in the manner most agree- 
 able to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious pro- 
 fession, sentiments, or persuasion; provided he doth not disturb 
 the public peace, or disturb others in their religious worship. 
 
 6. As morality and piety, rightly grounded on evangelical prin- 
 ciples, will give the best and greatest security to government, and 
 will lay, in the hearts of men, the strongest obligations to due sub- 
 jection ; and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propa- 
 gated through a society by the institution of the public worship of 
 the Deity, and of public instruction, in morality and religion ; there- 
 fore, to promote these important purposes, the people of this State 
 have a right to empower, and do hereby fully empower, the Legis- 
 lature, to authorize, from time to time, the several towns, parishes, 
 bodies corporate, or religious societies, within this State, to make 
 adequate provision, at their own expense, for the support and main- 
 tenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and moral- 
 
 Provided, notwithstanding, That the several towns, parishes, bodies 
 corporate, or religious societies, shall at all times have the exclusive 
 right of electing their own public teachers, and of contracting with' 
 them for their support and maintenance : And no person, of any one 
 particular religious sect or denomination, shall ever be compelled to 
 pay towards the support of the teacher or teachers of another per- 
 suasion, sect, or denomination. 
 
 And every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves 
 quietly, and as good citizens of the State, shall be equally under the 
 protection of the law : and no subordination of any one sect or de- 
 nomination to another, shall ever be established by law. 
 
 And nothing herein shall be understood to ajQFect any former con- 
 tracts made for the support of the ministry ; but all such contracts 
 shall remain, and be in the same state, as if this Constitution had 
 not been made. 
 
 7. The people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of 
 governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State ; 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. ^ 49 
 
 and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, 
 jurisdiction, and right, pertaining thereto, which is not, and may 
 not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States 
 of America in Congress assembled. 
 
 8. All power residing originally in, and being derived from the 
 people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their sub- 
 stitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. 
 
 9. No office or place whatsover, in government, shall be heredi- 
 tary — the ability and integrity requisite in all not being transmis- 
 sible to posterity or relations. 
 
 10. Government being instituted for the common benefit, protec- 
 tion, and security of the whole* community, and not for the private 
 interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men : 
 therefore, whenever the ends of the government are perverted, or 
 public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress 
 are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to, reform the old, 
 or establish a new government. The doctrine of non-resistance 
 against arbitrary power and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and de- 
 structive of the good and happiness of mankind. 
 
 11. All elections ought to be free, and every inhabitant of the 
 State, having the proper qualifications, has an equal right to elect, 
 and be elected, into office. 
 
 1 2. Every member of the community has a right to be protected 
 by it, in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property ; he is there- 
 fore jjound to contribute his share to the expense of such protection, 
 and to yield his personal service when necissary, or an equivalent. 
 But no part of a man's property shall be taken from him, or applied 
 to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative 
 body of the people. Nor are the inhabitants of this State control- 
 able by any other laws than those to which they, or their represen- 
 tative body, have given their consent. 
 
 13. No person who is conscientiously scrupulous about the law- 
 fulness of bearing arms, shall be compelled thereto, provided he will 
 pay an equivalent. 
 
 14. Every citizen of this State is entitled to a certain remedy, by 
 having recourse to the laws, for all injuries he may receive in his 
 person, property, or character ; to obtain right and justice freely, 
 without being obliged to purchase it ; completely, and without denial, 
 promptly, and without delay, conformable to the laws. 
 
 15. No person shall be held to answer for any crime or offence, 
 until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally, de- 
 scribed to him : nor be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence 
 against himself And every person shall have a right to produce 
 all proofs that may be favorable to himself ; to meet the witnesses 
 against him face to face ; and to be fully heard in his defense, 
 by himself and counsel. And no person shall be arrested, impri- 
 soned, despoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities, or privi- 
 leges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled, or deprived of his 
 
50 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment of liis peers, or the law 
 of the land. 
 
 16. No person shall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for 
 the same crime or offence. Nor shall the Legislature make any 
 law that shall subject any person to a capital punishment (excepting 
 for the government of the army and navy, and the militia in actual 
 service), without trial by jury. 
 
 17. In criminal prosecutions, the trial of facts, in the vicinity 
 where they happen, is so essential to the security of the life, liberty, 
 and estate, of the citizens, that no crime or offence ought to be tried 
 in any other county than that in which it is committed, except in 
 cases of general insurrection in any particular county, when it shall 
 appear to the judges of the superior courts that an impartial trial 
 cannot be had in the county where the offence may be committed, 
 and upon their report the Legislature shall think proper to direct 
 the trial in the nearest county in which an impartial trial can be 
 obtained. 
 
 18. All penalties ought to be proportioned to the nature of the 
 offence. No wise legislature will affix the same punishment to the 
 crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of mur- 
 der and treason. Where the same undistinguished severity is ex- 
 erted against all offences, the people are led to forget the real dis- 
 tinction in the crimes themselves, and to commit the most flagrant 
 with as little compunction as they do the lightest offences. For the 
 same reason, a multitude of sanguinary laws is both impolitic and 
 unjust : the true design 6f all punishments being to reform, not to 
 exterminate mankind. 
 
 19. Every person hath a right to be secure from all unreasonable 
 searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all 
 his possessions. Therefore, all warrants to search suspected places, 
 or arrest a person for examination or trial, in prosecution for crimi- 
 nal matters, are contrary to this right, if the cause or foundation of 
 them be not previously supported by oath or affirmation, and if the 
 order in a warrant of a civil officer, to make search in suspected 
 places, or to arrest one or more suspected persons, or to sei^e their 
 property, be not accompanied with a special designation of the per- 
 sons or objects of search, arrest, or seizure ; and no warrant ought 
 to be issued, but in cases, and with the formalities, prescribed by law. 
 
 20. In all controversies concerning property, and in all suits be- 
 tween two or more persons, excepting in cases wherein it hath been 
 heretofore otherwise used and practised, the parties have a right to 
 a trial by jury ; and this right shall be deemed sacred and inviola- 
 ble ; but the Legislature may, by the Constitution, be empowered to 
 make such regulations as will prevent parties from having as many 
 trials by jury, in the same suit or action, as hath been heretofore 
 allowed and practised, and to extend the civil jurisdiction of jus- 
 tices of the peace to the trials of suits where the sum demanded in 
 damages doth not exceed four pounds, saving the right of appeal to 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 51 
 
 either party. But no such regulations shall take away the right of 
 trial by jury, in any case not in this article before excepted, unless 
 in cases respecting mariners' wages. 
 
 21. In order to reap the fullest advantage of the inestimable pri- 
 vilege of the trial by jury, great care ought to be taken that none 
 but qualified persons should he appointed to serve ; and such ought 
 to be fully compensated for their travel, time, and attendance. 
 
 22. The liberty/ of the press is essential to the security of freedom 
 in a State ; it ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved. 
 
 23. Retrospective laws are highly injurious, oppressive, and un- 
 just. No such laws, therefore, should be made, either for the de- 
 cision of civil causes, or the punishment of offences. 
 
 24. A well regulated militia is the proper, natural, and sure de- 
 fense of a State. 
 
 25. Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to 
 be raised, or kept up, without the consent of the Legislature. 
 
 26. In all cases, and at all times, the military ought to be under 
 strict subordination to, and governed by the civil power. 
 
 27. No soldier, in time of peace, shall be quartered in any house, 
 without the consent of the owner ; and in time of war, such quarters 
 ought not to be made but by the civil magistrate, in a manner or- 
 dained by the Legislature. 
 
 28. No subsidy, charge, tax, impost, or duty shall be established, 
 fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatsoever, without the con- 
 sent of the people, or their representatives in the Legislature, or 
 authority derived from that body. 
 
 29. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, 
 ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority 
 derived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as 
 the Legislature shall expressly provide for. 
 
 30. The freedom of deliberation, speech, and debate, in either 
 house of the Legislature, is so essential to the rights of the people, 
 that it cannot be the foundation of any action, complaint, or prose- 
 cution, in any other court or place whatsoever. 
 
 31. The Legislature shall assemble for the redress of public griev- 
 ances, and for making such laws as the public good may require. 
 
 32. The people have a right, in an orderly and peaceable manner, 
 to assemble and consult upon the public good, give instructions to 
 their representatives, and to request of the legislative body, by way 
 of petition or remonstrance, redress of the wrongs done them, and 
 of the grievances they suffer. 
 
 33. No magistrate or court of law shall demand excessive bail or 
 sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punish- 
 ments. 
 
 34. No person can, in any case, be subjected to law martial, or to 
 any pains or penalties by virtue of that law, except those employed 
 in the army or navy, and except the militia in actual service, but by 
 authority of the Legislature. 
 
 5 
 
52 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 35. It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every in- 
 dividual, his life, liberty, property, and character, that there be an 
 impartial interpretation of the laws and administration of justice. 
 It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as 
 the lot of humanity will admit. It is therefore not only the best 
 policy, but for the security of the rights of the people, that the 
 judges of the Supreme Judicial Court should hold their offices so 
 long as they behave well ; subject, however, to such limitations, on 
 account of age, as may be provided by the Constitution of the State : 
 and that they should have honorable salaries, ascertained and estab- 
 lished by standing laws. 
 
 36. Economy being a most essential virtue in all states, especially 
 in a young one, no pension shall be granted but in consideration of 
 actual services ; and such pensions ought to be granted with great 
 caution by the Legislature, and never for more than one year at a 
 time. 
 
 37. In the government of this State, the three essential powers 
 thereof, to wit, the legislative, executive, and judicial, ought to be 
 kept as separate from, and independent of each other, as the nature 
 of a free government will admit, or as is consistent with that chain 
 of connection that binds the whole fabric of the Constitution in one 
 indissoluble bond of unity and amity. 
 
 38. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the 
 Constitution, and a constant adherence to justice, moderation, tem- 
 perance, industry, frugality, and all the social virtues, are indispen- 
 sably necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and good gov- 
 ernment ; the people ought, therefore, to have a particular regard to 
 all those principles in the choice of their officers and representatives : 
 And they have a right to require of their lawgivers and magistrates 
 an exact and constant observance of them in the formation and 
 execution of the laws necessary for the good administration of the 
 government. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Form of Government. 
 
 The people inhabiting the territory formerly called the province 
 of New Hampshire, do hereby solemnly and mutually agree with 
 each other to form themselves into a free, sovereign, and indepen- 
 dent body politic, or State, by the name of the State of New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 General Court. 
 
 The supreme legislative power, within this State, shall be vested 
 in the Senate and House of Representatives, each of which shall 
 have a negative on the other. 
 
 The Senate and House shall assemble every year on the first 
 Wednesday in June — and at such other times as they may judge 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 53 
 
 necessary ; and shall dissolve, and be dissolved, seven days next 
 preceding the said first Wednesday in June ; and shall be styled 
 The General Court of Neio Hampshire. 
 
 The Greneral Court shall forever have full power and authority to 
 erect and constitute judicatories and courts of record, or other 
 courts, to be holden in the name of the State, for the hearing, trying, 
 and determining all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, 
 plaints, actions, causes, matters, and things whatsoever, arising or 
 happening within this State, or between or concerning persons in- 
 habiting or residing, or brought within the same, whether the same 
 be criminal or civil, or whether the crimes be capital or not capital, 
 and whether the said pleas be real, personal, or mixed ; and for 
 awarding and issuing execution thereon. To which courts and judi- 
 catories, are hereby given and granted, full power and authority, 
 from time to time, to administer oaths or affiirmations, for the better 
 discovery of truth in any matter in controversy, or depending before 
 them. 
 
 And farther, full power and authority are hereby given and 
 granted to the said General Court, from time to time, to make, ordain, 
 and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, laws, 
 statutes, ordinances, directions, and instructions, either with penal- 
 ties, or without, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this 
 Constitution, as they may judge for the benefit and welfare of this 
 State, and for the governing and ordering thereof; and of the 
 citizens of the same, for the necessary support and defense of the 
 government thereof ; and to name and settle annually, or provide 
 by fixed laws for the naming and settling all civil officers within 
 this State ; such officers excepted, the election and appointment of 
 whom are hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided 
 for ; and to set forth the several duties, powers, and limits of the 
 several civil and military officers of this State, and the forms of 
 such oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively administered unto 
 them, for the execution of their several offices and places, so as the 
 same be not repugnant or contrary to this Constitution ; and also 
 to impose fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and other punishments: 
 and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, 
 rates, and taxes upon all the inhabitants of, and residents within, the 
 said State ; and upon all estates within the same ; to be issued and 
 disposed of b}^ warrant, under the hand of the Grovernor of this 
 State for the time being, with the advice and consent of the Council, 
 for the public service, in the necessary defense and support of the 
 Government of this State, and the protection and preservation of 
 the citizens thereof, according to such acts as are, or shall be, in 
 force within the same. 
 
 And while the public charges of government, or any part thereof, 
 shall be assessed on polls and estates in the manner that has been 
 heretofore practised, in order that such assessments may be made 
 with equality, there shall be a valuation of the estates, within the 
 
54 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 State, taken anew once in every five years at least, and as much 
 oftener as the Greneral Court shall order. 
 
 No member of the General Court shall take fees, be of counsel or 
 act as advocate, in any cause before either branch of the Legislature ; 
 and upon due proof thereof, such member shall forfeit his seat in 
 the Legislature. 
 
 The doors of the galleries of each house of the Legislature shall 
 be kept open to all persons who behave decently, except when the 
 welfare of the State, in the opinion of either branch, shall require 
 secrecy. 
 
 Senate. 
 
 The Senate shall consist of twelve members, who shall hold their 
 offices for one year, from the first Wednesday in June next ensuing 
 their election. 
 
 And that the State may be equally represented in the Senate, the 
 Legislature shall, from time to time, divide the State into twelve 
 districts, as nearly equal as may be without dividing towns and un- 
 incorporated places ; and in making this division, they shall govern 
 themselves by the proportion of public taxes paid by the said dis- 
 tricts, and timely make known to the inhabitants of the State the 
 limits of each district. 
 
 The freeholders and other inhabitants of each district, qualified 
 as in this Constitution is provided, shall annually give in their votes 
 for a senator, at some meeting holden in the month of March. 
 
 The Senate shall be the first branch of the Legislature : and the 
 senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz. : Every male 
 inhabitant of each town, and parish with town privileges, and places 
 unincorporated, in this State, of twenty-one years of age and up- 
 wards, excepting paupers, and persons excused from paying taxes at 
 their own request, shall have a right at the annual or other meet- 
 ings of the inhabitants of said towns and parishes, to be duly warn- 
 ed and holden annually forever in the month of March, to vote in 
 the town or parish wherein he dwells, for the senators of the county 
 or district whereof he is a member. • 
 
 Provided, nevertheless, That no person shall be capable of being 
 elected a senator, who is not seized of a freehold estate, in his own 
 right, of the value of two hundred pounds, lying within this State, 
 who is not of the age of thirty years, and who shall not have been 
 an inhabitant of this State for seven years immediately preceding 
 his election, and at the time thereof he shall be an inhabitant of the 
 district for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 And every person, qualified as the Constitution provides, shall be 
 considered an inhabitant for the purpose of electing and being 
 elected into any office or place within this State, in the town, parish, 
 and plantation where he dwelleth and hath his home. 
 
 And the inhabitants of plantations and places unincorporated, 
 qualified as this Constitution provides, who are or shall be required 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 55 
 
 to assess taxes upon themselves towards the support of government, 
 or shall be taxed therefor, shall have the same privilege of voting 
 for senators in the plantations and places wherein they reside, as 
 the ifihabitants of the respective towns and parishes aforesaid have. 
 And the meeting of such plantations and places for that purpose 
 shall be holden annually, in the month of March, at such places re- 
 spectively therein as the assessors thereof shall direct ; which as- 
 sessors shall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting 
 and returning the votes, as the selectmen and town clerks have in 
 their several towns by this Constitution. 
 
 The meetings for the choice of Grovernor, Council and senators 
 shall be warned, by warrant, from the selectmen, and governed by 
 a moderator, who shall, in the presence of the selectmen, (whose 
 duty it shall be to attend.) in open meeting, receive the votes of all 
 the inhabitants of such towns and parishes present, and qualified to 
 vote for senators ; and shall, in said meetings^ in presence of the 
 said selectmen and of the town clerk, in said meeting, sort and count 
 the said votes, and make a public declaration thereof, with the name 
 of every person voted for, and the number of votes for each person : 
 and the town clerk shall make a fair record of the same at large, in 
 the town book, and shall make out a fair attested copy thereof, to be 
 by him sealed up and directed to the Secretary of the State, with a 
 superscription expressing the purport thereof: and the said town 
 clerk shall cause such attested copy to be delivered to the sheriff of 
 the county in which such town or parish shall lie, forty days at 
 least before the first Wednesday in June ; or to the Secretary of 
 the State at least thirty days before the said first Wednesday in 
 June ; and the sheriff of each county, or his deputy, shall deliver 
 all such certificates by him received, into the Secretary's ofiice, at 
 least thirty days before the first Wednesday in June. 
 
 And that there may be a due meeting of senators on the first 
 Wednesday in June annually, the Governor and the majority of the 
 Council for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the 
 returned copies of such records, and, fourteen days before the said 
 first Wednesday in June, he shall issue his summons to such per- 
 sons as appear to be chosen senators by a majority of votes, to at- 
 tend and take their seats on that day. 
 
 Provided^ 7ieveriheless, That for the first year, the said returned 
 copies shall be examined by the President and a majority of the 
 Council then in office : and the said President shall, in like man- 
 ner, notify the persons elected, to attend and take their seats ae 
 cordingly. 
 
 And in case there shall not appear to be a senator elected by a 
 majority of votes, for any district, the deficiency shall be applied in 
 the following manner, viz. : The members of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, and such senators as shall be declared elected, shall take 
 the names of the two persons having the highest number of votes in 
 the district, and out of them shall elect by joint ballot the senator 
 
56 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 wanted for such district ; and in this manner all such vacancies 
 shall be filled up in every district of the State ; and in like manner 
 all vacancies in the Senate, arising by death, removal out of the 
 State, or otherwise, shall be supplied as soon as may be after such 
 vacancies happen. 
 
 The Senate shall be final judges of the elections, returns, and 
 qualifications of their own members, as pointed out in this Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 The Senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, provided 
 such adjournment do not exceed two days at a time. 
 
 Provided^ nevertheless^ That whenever they shall sit on the trial of 
 any impeachment, they may adjourn to such time and place as they 
 may think proper, although the Legislature be not assembled on 
 such day or at such place. 
 
 The Senate shall appoint their President and other officers, and 
 determine their own rules of proceedings : and not less than seven 
 members of this Senate shall make a quorum for doing business ; 
 and when less than eight senators shall be present, the assent of five 
 at least shall be necessary to render their acts and proceedings valid. 
 
 The Senate shall be a court, with full power and authority to 
 hear, try, and determine, all impeachments made by the House of 
 Representatives against any officer or officers of the State, for bribery, 
 corruption, malpractice, or maladministration in office ; with full 
 power to issue summons, or compulsory process, for convening wit- 
 nesses before them, with all necessary powers incident to a court of 
 trials ; but, previous to the trial of any such impeachment, the mem- 
 bers of the Senate shall be respectively sworn truly and impartially 
 to try and determine the charge and question, according to evidence. 
 And every officer, impeached for bribery, corruption, malpractice, 
 or maladministration in office, shall be served with an attested copy 
 of the impeachment and order of the Senate thereon, with such cita- 
 tion as the Senate may direct, setting forth the time and place of 
 their sitting to try the impeachment ; which service shall be made 
 by the sheriff, or such other sworn officer as the Senate may appoint, 
 at least fourteen days previous to the time of trial ; and such cita- 
 tion being duly served and returned, the Senate may proceed in 
 hearing of the impeachment, giving the person impeached, if he 
 shall appear, full liberty .of producing witnesses and proofs, and of 
 making his defense, by himself and counsel ; and may, also, upon 
 his refusing or neglecting to appear, hear the proofs in support of 
 the impeachment, and render judgment thereon, his non-appearance 
 notwithstanding ; and such judgment shall have the same force and 
 effect as if the person impeached had appeared and pleaded in the 
 trial. Their judgment, however, shall not extend further than re- 
 moval from office, disqualification to hold or enjoy any place of 
 honor, trust, or profit under this State ; but the party so convicted 
 shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and pun- 
 ishment according to the laws of the land. 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 57 
 
 Whenever the Governor shall be impeached, the Chief Justice 
 of the Supreme Judicial Court shall, during the trial, preside in the 
 Senate, hut have no vote therein. 
 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 There shall be, in the Legislature of this State, a representation 
 of the people, annually elected, and founded upon principles of 
 equality ; and in order that such representation may be as equal as 
 circumstances will admit, every town, parish, or place, entitled to 
 town privileges, having one hundred and fifty ratable male polls, of 
 twenty-one years of age, and upwards, may elect one representative : 
 if four hundred and fifty ratable male polls, may elect two represen- 
 tatives ; and so proceeding, in that proportion, make three hundred 
 such ratable polls the mean of increasing number, for every addi- 
 tional representative. 
 
 Such towns, parishes, or places, as have less than one hundred and 
 fifty ratable polls, shall be classed by the general assembly, for the 
 purpose of choosing a representative, and seasonably notified thereof 
 And in every class formed for the above-mentioned purpose, the 
 first annual meeting shall be held in the town, parish, or place 
 wherein most of the ratable polls reside ; and afterwards in that 
 which has the next highest number ; and so on, annually, by rota- 
 tion, through the several towns, parishes, or places forming the 
 district. 
 
 "Whenever any town, parish, or place entitled to town privileges, 
 as aforesaid, shall not have one hundred and fifty ratable polls, and 
 be so situated as to render the classing thereof with any other town, 
 parish, or place very inconvenient ; the general assembly may, upon 
 application of a majority of the votes of such town, parish, or place, 
 issue a writ for their selecting and sending a representative to the 
 General Court. 
 
 The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 annually, in the month of March, and shall be the second branch of 
 the Legislature. 
 
 All persons qualified to vote in the election of senators shall be 
 entitled to vote, within the district where they dwell, in the choice 
 of representatives. Every member of the House of Representatives 
 shall be chosen by ballot ; and for two years at least next preceding 
 his election, shall have been an inhabitant of this State ; shall have 
 an estate within the district which he may be chosen to represent, 
 of the value of one hundred pounds, one-half of which to be a free- 
 hold, whereof he is seized in his own right ; shall be, at the time of 
 his election, an inhabitant of the district he may be chosen to repre- 
 sent, and shall cease to represent sach district immediately on his 
 ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid. 
 
 The members of both houses of the Legislature shall be compen- 
 sated for their services out of the treasury of the State, by a law 
 
58 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 made for that purpose ; such members attending seasonably, and 
 not departing without license. All intermediate vacancies in the 
 House of Eepresentatives, may be filled up from time to time, in 
 the same manner as annual elections are made. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall be the grand inquest of the 
 State ; and all impeachments made by them shall be heard and tried 
 by the Senate. 
 
 All money-bills shall originate in the House of Representatives ; 
 but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other 
 bills. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall have the power to adjourn 
 themselves, but no longer than two days at a time. 
 
 A majority of the members of the House of Representatives shall 
 be a quorum for doing business ; but when less than two-thirds of 
 the House of Representatives elected shall be present, the assent of 
 two-thirds of those members shall be necessary to render their acts 
 and proceedings valid. 
 
 No member of the House of Representatives or Senate shall be 
 arrested or held to bail, on mesne process, during his going to, re- 
 turn from, 6r attendance upon the court. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall choose their own Speaker, 
 appoint their own officers, and settle the rules of proceedings in 
 their own house ; and shall be judge of the return, elections, and 
 qualifications of its members, as pointed out in this Constitution. 
 They shall have authority to punish, by imprisonment, every person 
 who shall be guilty of disrespect to the House in its presence, by 
 any disorderly and contemptuous behaviour, or by threatening or 
 ill treating any of its members ; or by obstructing its deliberations ; 
 every person guilty of a breach of its privileges, in making arrests 
 for debt, or by assaulting any member during his attendance at 
 any session ; in assaulting or disturbing any one of its officers in 
 the execution of any order or procedure of the House : in assault- 
 ing any witness or other person ordered to attend by, and during 
 his attendance on, the House, or in rescuing any person arrested by 
 order of the House, knowing them to be such. The Senate, Gov- 
 ernor, and Council shall have the same powers in like cases : pro- 
 vided that no imprisonment by either for any offence exceed ten 
 days. 
 
 The journal of the proceedings, and all the public acts of both 
 houses of the Legislature, shall be printed and published immedi- 
 ately after every adjournment or prorogation ; and upon motion 
 made by any one member, the yeas and nays upon any question 
 shall be entered in the journals : and any member of the Senate or 
 House of Representatives shall have a right, on motion made at the 
 time for that purpose, to have his protest or dissent, with the rea- 
 sons, against any vote, resolve, or bill passed, entered on the jour- 
 nals. 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 59 
 
 Executive power. — Governor, 
 
 The Governor shall be chosen annually, in the month of March ; 
 and the votes for Governor shall be received, counted, certified, and 
 returned in the same manner as the votes for senators ; and the 
 Secretary shall lay the same before the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives on the first Wednesday in June, to be by them examined ; 
 and in case of an election by a majority of votes through the State, 
 the choice shall be by them declared and published. 
 
 And the qualifications of electors of the Governor shall be the 
 same as those for senators ; and if no person shall have a majority 
 of votes, the Senate and House of Representatives shall, by joint 
 ballot, elect one of the two persons having the highest number of 
 votes, who shall be declared Governor. 
 
 And no person shall be eligible to this ofiice unless, at the time 
 of his election, he shall have been an inhabitant of this State for 
 seven years next preceding, and unless he shall be of the age of 
 thirty years, and unless he shall, at the same time, have an estate 
 of the value of five hundred pounds, one-half of which shall consist 
 of a freehold, in his own right, within the State. 
 
 In cases of disagreement between the two houses, with regard to 
 the time or place of adjournment or prorogation, the Governor, with 
 advise of Council, shall have a right to adjourn or prorogue the Ge- 
 neral Court, not exceeding ninety days at any one time, as he may 
 determine the public good may require, to meet at the place where 
 the General Court shall be at that time sitting ; and he shall dis- 
 solve the same seven days before the said first Wednesday in June. 
 
 And, in case of any infectious distemper prevailing in the place 
 where the said Court at any time is to convene, or any other cause 
 whereby danger may arise to the health or lives of the members 
 from their attendance, the Governor may direct the session to be 
 holden at some other, the most convenient place within the State. 
 
 Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the General 
 Court shall, before it become a law, be presented to the Governor : 
 if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with 
 his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who 
 shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to 
 reconsider it ; if, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house 
 shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with such objec- 
 tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, 
 and if approved by two-thirds of that house, shall become a law. But 
 in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
 yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for or against 
 the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. 
 If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days 
 (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
 same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
 
60 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 Legislature by their adjournment prevent its return, in whicli case 
 it shall not be a law. 
 
 Every resolve shall be presented to the Governor, and before the 
 same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disap- 
 proved by him, shall be repassed by the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
 case of a bill. 
 
 All judicial officers, the Attorney-general, solicitors, all sheriffs, 
 coroners, registers of probate, and all officers of the navy, and gene- 
 ral and field-officers of the militia, shall be nominated and appoint- 
 ed by the Governor and Council ; and every such nomination 
 shall be made at least three days prior to such appointment ; and 
 no appointment shall take place unless a majority of the Coun- 
 cil agree thereto. The Governor and Council shall have a negative 
 on each other, both in the nominations and appointments. Every 
 nomination and appointment shall be signed by the Governor and 
 Council, and every negative shall also be signed by the Governor or 
 Council who made the same. 
 
 The captains and subalterns, in the respective regiments, shall be 
 nominated by the field-officers, and, if approved by the Governor, 
 shall be appointed by him. 
 
 Whenever the chair of the Governor shall become vacant, by rea- 
 son of his death, absence from the State, or otherwise, the President 
 of the Senate shall, during such vacancy, have and exercise all the 
 powers and authorities which, by this Constitution, the Governor is 
 vested with, when personally present ; but when the President of 
 the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor, he shall not hold 
 his office in the Senate. 
 
 The Governor, with the advice of Council, shall have full power 
 and authority, in the recess of the General Court, to prorogue the 
 same from time to time, not exceeding ninety days, in any one re- 
 cess of said Court ; and during the session of said Court, to adjourn 
 or prorogue it to any time the two houses may desire, and to call it 
 together sooner than the time to which it may be adjourned or pro- 
 rogued, if the welfare of the State should require the same. 
 
 The Governor of this State for the time being, shall be command- 
 er-in-chief of the army and navy, and all the military forces of this 
 State, by sea and land ; and shall have full power, by himself or by 
 any chief commander, or other officer or officer^, from time to time, 
 to train, instruct, exercise, and govern the militia and navy ; and 
 for the special defense and safety of this State, to assemble in mar- 
 tial array, and put in warlike posture, the inhabitants thereof, and 
 to lead and conduct them, and with them encounter, repulse, repel, 
 resist, and pursue, by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, with- 
 in and without the limits t)f this State ; and also to kill, slay, de- 
 stroy if necessary, and conquer by all fitting ways, enterprise, and 
 means, all and every such person and persons as shall at any time 
 hereafter in a hostile manner attempt or enterprise the destruction, 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 61 
 
 invasion, detriment, or annoyance of this State ; and to nse and 
 exercise over the army and navy, and over the militia in actual ser- 
 vice, the law martial, in time of war, invasion, and also in rebellion, 
 declared by the Legislature to exist, as occasion shall necessarily 
 require. And surprise, by all ways and means whatsoever, all and 
 every such person or persons, with their ships, arms, ammunition, 
 and other goods, as shall in a hostile manner invade, or attempt the 
 invading, conquering, or annoying this State : And, in fine, the 
 Governor is Irereby entrusted with all other powers incident to the 
 office of captain-general and commander-in-chief, and admiral, to be 
 exercised agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Constitution, 
 and the laws of the land : Provided, that the Governor shall not at 
 any time hereafter, by virtue of any power by this Constitution 
 granted, or hereafter to be granted to him by the Legislature, trans- 
 port any of the inhabitants of this State, or oblige them to march 
 out of the limits of the same, without their free and voluntary con- 
 sent,- or the consent of the General Court, nor grant commissions 
 for exercising the law martial in any case, without the advice and 
 consent of the Council. 
 
 The power of pardoning offences, except such persons as may be 
 convicted of before the Senate, by impeachment of the House, shall 
 be in the Governor, by and with' the advice of the Council : but no 
 charter of pardon granted by the Governor, with advice of Council, 
 before conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same, notwith- 
 standing any general and particular expressions contained therein, 
 descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be pardoned. 
 
 No officer duly commissioned to command in the militia shall be 
 removed from his office, but b}'' the address of both houses to the 
 Goyernor, or by fair trial in court-martial, pursuant to the laws of 
 the State for the time being. 
 
 The commanding officers of the regiments shall appoint their ad- 
 jutants and quartermasters ; the brigadiers, their brigade-major ; 
 the major-generals, their aids ; the captains and subalterns, their 
 non-coilimissioned officers. 
 
 The Governor and Council shall appoint all officers of the conti- 
 nental army, whom, by the confederation of the United States, it is 
 provided that this State shall appoint ; as also all officers of forts 
 and garrisons. 
 
 The division of the militia into brigades, regiments, and compa- 
 nies, made in pursuance of the militia laws now in force, shall be 
 considered as the proper division of the militia of this State, until 
 the same shall be altered by some future law. 
 
 No moneys shall be issued out of the treasury of this State, and 
 disposed of. except such sums as may be appropriated for the re- 
 demption of bills of credit, or treasurer's notes, or for the payment 
 of interest arising thereon, by warrant under the hand of the Gov- 
 ernor for the time being, by and with the advice and consent of the 
 Council, for the necessary support and defense of this State, and 
 
62 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 for the necessary protection and preservation of the inhabitants 
 thereof, agreeably to the acts and resolves of the General Court. 
 
 All public boards, the commissary-general, all superintending 
 officers of public magazines and stores belonging to this State, 
 and all commanding officers of forts and garrisons within the same, 
 shall, once in every three months, officially and without requisition, 
 and at other times when required by the Governor, deliver to him 
 an account of all goods, stores, provisions, ammunition, cannon, with 
 their appendages, and small arms, with their accoutrements, and of 
 all other public property under their care respectively ; distinguish- 
 ing the quantity and kind of each, as particularly as may be : to- 
 gether with the condition of such forts and garrisons ; and the com- 
 manding officer shall exhibit to the Governor, when required by 
 him, true and exact plans of such forts, and of the land and sea, or 
 harbor or harbors adjacent. 
 
 The Governor and Council shall be compensated for their servi- 
 ces, from time to time, by such grants as the General Court shall 
 think reasonable. 
 
 Permanent and honorable salaries shall be established by law for 
 the justices of the Supreme Court. 
 
 Council. 
 
 There shall be annually elected, by ballot, five counselors, for ad- 
 vising the Governor in the executive part of the government. The 
 freeholders and other inhabitants, in each county, qualified to vote 
 for senators, shall, some time in the month of March, give in their 
 votes for one counselor ; which votes shall be received, sorted, counted, 
 certified, and returned to the secretary's office, in the same manner 
 as the votes for senators, to be by the Secretary laid before the Sen- 
 ate and House of Representatives on the first Wednesday in June. 
 
 And the person having a majority of votes in any county shall be 
 considered* as duly elected a counselor ; but if no person sliall have 
 a majority of votes in any county, the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives shall take the names of the two persons who have the 
 highest number of votes in each county and not elected, and out of 
 those two shall elect, by joint ballot, the counselor wanted for such 
 county. 
 
 Frovided, nevertheless, That no person shall be capable of being 
 elected a counselor who has not an estate of the value of five hun- 
 dred pounds within this State, three hundred pounds of which (or 
 more) shall be a freehold in his own right, and who is not thirty 
 years of age ; and who shall not have been an inhabitant of this 
 State for seven years immediately preceding his election ; and at the 
 time of his election an inhabitant of the county in which he is elected. 
 
 The Secretary shall, annually, seventeen days before the first 
 Wednesday in tfune, give notice of the choice of persons elected. 
 
 If any person shall be elected Governor, or member of either 
 branch of the Legislatue, and shall not accept the trust ; or if any 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 63 
 
 person elected a counselor shall refuse to accept the office ; or in 
 case of the death, resignation, or removal of any counselor out of 
 the State, the Governor may issue a precept for the election of a 
 new counselor in that county where such vacancy shall happen ; and 
 the choice shall be in the same manner as before directed : and the 
 Governor shall have full power and authority to convene the Council, 
 from time to time, at his discretion ; and with them, or the majority 
 of them, may, and shall, from time to time, hold a Council, for order- 
 ing and directing the affairs of the State according to the laws of 
 the land. 
 
 The members of Council may be impeached by the House, and 
 tried by the Senate, for bribery, corruption, malpractice, or malad- 
 ministration. 
 
 The resolutions and advice of the Council shall be recorded by 
 the Secretary, in a register, and signed by all the members present 
 agreeing thereto ; and tl^is record may be called for at any time by 
 either House of the Legislature ; and any member of the Council 
 may enter his opinion contrary to the resolutions 6f the majority, 
 with the reason for such opinion. 
 
 The Legislature may, if the public good shall hereafter require it, 
 divide the State into five districts as nearly equal as may be, gov- 
 erning themselves by the number of ratable polls, and proportion of 
 public taxes : each district to elect a counselor ; and in case of such 
 division, the manner of the choice shall be conformable to the pres- 
 ent mode of election in counties. 
 
 And whereas the elections appointed to be made by this Constitu- 
 tion on the first Wednesday of June annually, by the two houses of 
 the Legislature, may not be completed on that day, the said elec- 
 tions may be adjourned from day to day, until the same may be 
 completed ; and the order of the elections shall be as follows ; the 
 vacancies in the Senate, if any, shall be first filled up ; the Governor 
 shall then be elected, provided there shall be no choice of him by 
 the people ; and afterwards the two houses shall proceed to fill up 
 the vacancy, if any, in the Council. 
 
 Secretary^ Treasurer^ Commissary- General^ 6fc. 
 
 The Secretary, Treasurer, and Commissary-General shall be chosen 
 by joint ballot of the senators and representatives assembled in one 
 room. 
 
 The records of the State shall be kept in the office of the Secre- 
 tary, and he shall attend the Governor and Council, the Senate and 
 representatives, in person, or by deputy, as they may require. 
 
 The Secretary of State shall, at all times, have a deputy, to be by 
 him appointed ; for whose conduct in office he shall be responsible. 
 And in case of the death, removal, or inability of the Secretary, his 
 deputy shall exercise all the duties of the office of Secretary of this 
 State, until another shall be appointed. The Secretary, before he 
 enters upon the business of his office, shall give bond, with sufficient 
 
64 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sureties, in a reasonable sum, for the use of the State, for the punc- 
 tual performance of his trust. 
 
 County Treasurer^ <^c. 
 
 The county treasurers, and registers of deeds, shall he elected by 
 the inhabitants of the several towns in the several counties in the 
 State, according to the method now practised, and the laws of the 
 State. 
 
 Provided^ nevertheless^ The Legislature shall have authority to alter 
 the manner of certifying the votes, and the mode of electing those 
 officers ; but not so as to deprive the people of the right they now 
 have of electing them. 
 
 And the Legislature, on the application of the major part of the 
 inhabitants of any county, shall have authority to divide the same 
 into two districts for registering deeds, if to them it shall appear 
 necessary, each district to elect a register of deeds ; and before they 
 enter upon the business of their office, shall be respectively sworn 
 faithfully to. discharge the duties thereof, and shall severally give 
 bonds, with sufficient sureties, in a reasonable sum, for the use of 
 the county, for the punctual performance of their respective trusts. 
 
 Judiciary Power. 
 
 The tenure that all commissioned officers shall have by law in 
 their offices, shall be expressed in their respective commissions — all 
 judicial officers, duly appointed, commissioned, and sworn, shall hold 
 their offices during good behaviour, excepting those concerning 
 whom there is a different provision made in this Constitution ; Pro- 
 vided.^ nevertheless .^ the Governor, with consent of Council, may re- 
 move them upon the address of both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 Each branch of the Legislature, as well as the Governor and 
 Council, shall have authority to require the opinions of the justices 
 of the Superior Coilrt, upon important questions of law, and upon 
 solemn occasions. 
 
 In order that the people may not suffer from the long continuance 
 in place of any justice of the peace, who shall fail in discharging the 
 important duties of his office with ability and fidelity, all commis- 
 sions of justices of the peace shall becoijie void at the expiration of 
 five years from their respective dates ; and upon the expiration of 
 any commission, the same may, if necessary, be renewed, or another 
 person appointed, as shall most conduce to the well being of the 
 State. 
 
 All causes of marriage, divorce, and alimony, and all appeals from 
 the respective judges of probate, shall be heard and tried -by the 
 Superior Court until thp Legislature shall by law make other pro- 
 visions. 
 
 The General Court is empowered to give to justices of the peace 
 jurisdiction in civil causes, when the damages demanded shall not 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 65 
 
 exceed four pounds^ and the title of real estate is not concerned ; but 
 with right of appeal to either party to some other court, so that a 
 trial by jury in the last resort may be had. 
 
 No person shall hold the office of a judge in any court, or judge 
 of probate, or sheriff of any county, after he has attained the age of 
 seventy years. 
 
 No judge of any court, or justice of the peace, shall act as an 
 attorney, or be of counsel to any party, or originate any civil suit, 
 in matters which shall come or be brought before him as judge, or 
 justice of the peace. 
 
 All matters relating to the probate of wills, and granting letters 
 of administration, shall be exercised by the judges of probate, in 
 such manner as the Legislature have directed, or may hereafter 
 direct ; and the judges of probate shall hold their courts at such 
 l^lace or places, on such fixed days as the conveniency of the people 
 may require, and the Legislature from time to time appoint. 
 
 No judge or register of probate shall be of counsel, act as advo- 
 cate, or receive any fees as advocate or counsel, in any probate busi- 
 ness which is pending, or may be brought into any court of probate 
 in the county of which he is judge or register. 
 
 Clerks of Courts. 
 The judges of the courts (those of the probate excepted,) shall 
 appoint their respective clerks, to hold their office during pleasure ; 
 and no such clerks shall act as an attorney, or be of counsel, in any 
 cause in the court of which he is clerk, nor shall he draw any writ 
 originating a civil action. 
 
 Encouragement of Literature., <^c. 
 Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through a community, 
 being essential to the preservation of a free government ; and sprejid- 
 ing the opportunities and advantages of education through the vari- 
 ous parts of the country, being highly conducive to promote this 
 end : it shall be the duty of the legislators and magistrates, in all 
 future periods of this government, to cherish the interests of litera- 
 ture and the sciences, and all seminaries and public schools, to en- 
 courage private and public institutions, rewards, and immunities for 
 the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, man- 
 ufactures, and natural history of the country ; to countenance and 
 inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, pub- 
 lic and private charity, industry and economy, honesty and punctu- 
 ality, sincerity, sobriety, and all social affections and generous sen- 
 timents among the people. 
 
 Oath and subscriptions ; exclusion from offices ; commissions ; writs ; 
 confirmation of laios ; habeas corpus ; the enactirig style ; continu- 
 ance of officers ; provision for a future revision of the Constitution^ 6fc. 
 Any person chosen Governor, counselor, senator, or representa- 
 
66 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tive, military or civil officer (town officers excepted), accepting the 
 trust, shall, before he proceeds to execute the duties of his office, 
 make and subscribe the following declaration, viz. : 
 
 I, A. B., do solemnly swear, that I will bear faith and true alle- 
 giance to the State of New Hampshire, and will support the Con- 
 stitution thereof. So help me God. 
 
 I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely swear and affirm, that I will 
 faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties 
 
 incumbent on me as . — according to the best of my 
 
 abilities, agreeably to the' rules and regulations of this Constitu- 
 tion, and the laws of the State of New Hampshire. So help me 
 God. 
 
 Any person having taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance, 
 and the same being filed in the Secretary's office, he shall not be 
 obliged to take said oath again. 
 
 Provided always.. When any person chosen or appointed as afore- 
 said, shall be of the denomination called Quakers, or shall be scru- 
 pulous of swearing, and shall decline taking the said oaths, such 
 shall take and subscribe them, omitting the word swear., and like- 
 wise the words so help me God., subjoining, instead thereof, this I do 
 under the pains and penalties of ferjury. 
 
 And the oaths or affirmations shall be taken and subscribed by 
 the Governor, before the President of the Senate, in presence of 
 both houses of the Legislature, and by the senators and representa- 
 tives first elected under this Constitution, as altered and amended, 
 before the President of the State, and a majority of the Council 
 then in office, and forever afterwards before the Governor and 
 Council for the time being ; and by all other officers, before such 
 persons, and in such manner as the Legislature shall from time to 
 time appoint. 
 
 All commissions shall be in the name of the State of New Hamp- 
 shire, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary or his 
 deputy, and shall have the great seal of the State affixed thereto. 
 
 All writs issuing out of the clerk's office in any of the courts of 
 law, shall be in the name of the State of New Hampshire ; shall be 
 under the seal of the court whence they issue, and bear test of the 
 chief, first, or senior justice of the court ; but when such justice 
 shall be interested, then the writ shall bear test of some other jus- 
 tice of the court, to which the same shall be returnable ; and shall 
 be signed by the clerk of such court. 
 
 All indictments, presentments, and informations shall conclude 
 against the peace and dignity of the State. 
 
 The estate of such persons as may destroy their own lives shall 
 not for that offence be forfeited, but descend or ascend in the same 
 manner as if such persons had died in a natural way. Nor shall 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 67 
 
 any article which shall accidentally occasion the death of any per- 
 son, be henceforth deemed a deodand, or in any wise forfeited on 
 account of such misfortune. 
 
 All the laws which have heretofore been adopted, used, and ap- 
 proved in the Province, Colony, or State of New Hampshire, and 
 usually practised on in courts of law, shall remain and be in full 
 force until altered and repealed by the Legislature: such parts 
 thereof only excepted as are repugnant to the rights and liberties 
 contained in this Constitution : Provided, that nothing herein con- 
 tained, when compared with the twenty-third article in the bill of 
 rights, shall be construed to affect the laws already made respecting 
 the persons or estates of absentees. 
 
 The privilege and benefit of the habeas corpus shall be enjoyed 
 in this State, in the most free, easy, cheap, expeditious, and ample 
 manner, and shall not be suspended by the Legislature, except upon 
 the most urgent and pressing occasions, and for a time not exceed- 
 ing three months. 
 
 The enacting style, in making and passing acts, statutes, and laws, 
 shall be — Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives^ in 
 General Court convened. 
 
 No governor, or judge of the Supreme Judicial Court, shall hold 
 any office or place under the authority of this State, except such as 
 by this Constitution they are admitted to hold, saving that the 
 judges of the said Court may hold the offices of justice of the peace 
 throughout the State ; nor shall they hold any place or office, or re- 
 ceive any pension or salary, from any other State, government, or 
 power whatever. 
 
 No person shall be capable of exercising, at the same time, more 
 than one of the following offices within this State, viz., judge of pro- 
 bate, sheriff, register of deeds ; and never more than two offices of 
 profit, which may be held by appointment of the Grovernor, or Gov- 
 ernor and Council, or Senate and House of Representatives, or supe- 
 rior and inferior courts, military offices and offices of justices of the 
 peace excepted. 
 
 No person holding the office of judge of any court (except special 
 judges), Secretary, Treasurer of the State, Attorney-General, Com- 
 missary-General, military officers receiving pay from the continent 
 or this State (excepting officers of the militia occasionally called 
 forth on an emergency), register of deeds, sheriff, or officers of the 
 customs, including naval officers, collectors of excise, and State and 
 continental taxes, hereafter appointed, and not having settled their 
 accounts with the respective officers with whom it is their duty to 
 settle such accounts, members of Congress, or any person holding 
 any office under the United States, shall, at the same time, hold the 
 office of Governor, or have a seat in the Senate, or House of Repre- 
 sentatives, or Council ; but his being chosen, or appointed to, and 
 accepting the same, shall operate as a resignation of his seat in the 
 chair, Senate, or House of Representatives, or Council ; and the 
 6 
 
68 CONSTITUTION OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 places so vacated shall be filled up. No member of tlie Council 
 shall have a seat in the Senate or House of Representatives. 
 
 No person shall ever be admitted to hold a seat in the Legislature, 
 or any office of trust or importance under this government, who, in 
 the due course of law, has been convicted of bribery or corruption 
 in obtaining an election or appointment. 
 
 In all cases where sums of money are mentioned in this Consti- 
 tution, the value thereof shall be computed in silver, at six shillings 
 and eight pe?ice per ounce. 
 
 To the end that there may be no failure of justice, or danger to 
 the State, by the alterations and amendments made in the Constitu- 
 tion, the General Court is hereby fully authorized and directed to 
 fix the time when the alterations and amendments shall take effect, 
 and make the necessary arrangements accordingly. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the selectmen and assessors of the several 
 towns and places in this State, in warning the first annual meeting 
 for the choice of senators, after the expiration of seven years from 
 the adoption of this Constitution, as amended, to assert expressly in 
 the warrant, this purpose, among the others for the meeting, to wit : 
 to take the sense of the qualified voters on the subject of a revision 
 of the Constitution ; and the meeting being warned accordingly, and 
 not otherwise, the moderator shall take the sense of the qualified 
 voters present, as to the necessity of a revision ; and a return of the 
 number of votes for and against such necessity, shall be made by the 
 clerk, sealed up, and directed to the General Court, at their next 
 session ; and if it shall appear to .the General Court, by such return, 
 that the sense of the people of the State has been taken, and that, 
 in the opinion of the majority of the qualified voters in this State, 
 present and voting at said meetings, there is a necessity for a revi- 
 sion of the Constitution, it shall be the duty of the General Court 
 to call a convention for that purpose ; otherwise the General Court 
 shajl direct the sense of the people to be taken, and then proceed in 
 the manner before mentioned. The delegates to be chosen in the 
 same manner, and proportioned as the representatives to the Gene- 
 ral Court ; provided that no alteration shall be made in this Con- 
 stitution, before the same shall be laid before the towns and unin- 
 corporated places, and approved by two-thirds of the qualified voters 
 present and voting on the subject. 
 
 And the same method of taking the sense of the people as to a 
 revision of the Constitution, and calling a Convention for that pur- 
 pose, shall be observed afterwards, at the expiration of every seven 
 years. 
 
 This form of government shall be enrolled on parchment, and de- 
 posited in the Secretary's office, and be a part of the laws of the 
 land ; and printed copies thereof shall be prefixed to the books con- 
 taining the laws of this State in all future editions thereof. 
 
VERMONT. 
 
 Th.e first settlement in this State was at Fort Dummer, in the S. E. part ol 
 the State, from Mass. New York and New Hampshire respectively laid claim 
 to the territory till 1764, when N, Y. obtained a grant from the British Parlia- 
 ment, which put an end to the claim of N. H. N. Y. thereupon attempted to 
 enforce her jurisdiction, which was resisted by the inhabitants. They claimed 
 to be independent both of N. H. and N. Y,, and organized themselves in armed 
 bands, with Ethan Allen at their head, under the celebrated name of the 
 Green Mountain Boys. The contest continued and increased till the break- 
 ing out of the Revolutionary War. Owing to this claim of N. Y., Congress 
 refused to admit Vermont into the confederation. Vermont, in 1790, paid to 
 N. Y. S30,000 to withdraw her claim, and in 1791 was admitted to the union. 
 
 Notwithstanding this fourteenth State was not admitted into the union 
 until after the Revolutionary contest was over, yet she bore an important part 
 in that transaction, and her hardy sons gave ample proof of their bravery. A 
 range of mountains, covered with evergreens, nearly divides this State in its 
 centre from north to south. Hence its name, and hence the appellation Green 
 Mountain Boys. The first Constitution of this State was formed in 1777 ; the 
 present one was adopted July 3, 1793. Area, 9,700 sq. m. Population, in 
 1850, 313,611. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont. 
 Art. 1. That all men are born equally free and independent, and 
 have certain natural, inherent, and inalienable rights, amongst which 
 
70 • CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possess- 
 ing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness 
 and safety : therefore, no male person, born in this country, or 
 brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law to serve any per- 
 son as a servant, slave, or apprentice, after he arrives at the age of 
 twenty-one years, nor female, in like manner, after she arrives to 
 the age of eighteen years, unless they are bound by their own con- 
 sent, after they arrive to such age, or bound by the law for the pay- 
 ment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like. 
 
 2. That private property ought to be subservient to public uses 
 when necessity requires it ; nevertheless, when any person's prop- 
 erty is taken for the use of the public, the owner ought to receive an 
 equivalent in money. 
 
 3. That all men have a natural and inalienable right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences 
 and understandings, as in their opinion shall be regulated by the 
 word of God : and that no man ought to, or of right can, be com- 
 pelled to attend any religious worship, or erect or support any place 
 of worship, or maintain any minister, contrary to the dictates of his 
 conscience ; nor can any man be justly deprived or abridged of any 
 civil right as a citizen, on account of his religious sentiments or pe- 
 culiar mode of religious worship ; and that no authority can or 
 ought to be vested in or assumed by any power whatever, that shall 
 in any case interfere with, or in any manner control, the rights of 
 conscience in the free exercise of religious worship. Nevertheless, 
 every sect or denomination of Christians ought to observe the Sab- 
 bath, or Lord's day, and keep up some sort of religious worship, 
 which to them shall seem most agreeable to the revealed will of 
 God. 
 
 4. Every person within this State ought to find a certain remedy, 
 by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he 
 may receive in his person, property, or character ; he ought to ob- 
 tain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase 
 it ; completely, and without any denial ; promptly, and without de- 
 lay ; conformably to the law. 
 
 5. That the people of this State, by their legal representatives, 
 have the sole, inherent, and exclusive right of governing and regu- 
 lating the internal police of the same. 
 
 6. That all power being originally inherent in, and consequently 
 derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, wheth- 
 er legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants, and at 
 all times, in a legal way, accountable to them. 
 
 7. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common 
 benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, 
 and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single 
 man, family, or set of men, who are a part only of that community ; 
 and that the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and inde- 
 feasible right to reform or alter government, in such manner as 
 
VERMONT. 71 
 
 shall be, by that community, judged most conducive to the public 
 weal. 
 
 8. That all elections ought to be free and without corruption, and 
 that all freemen, having a sufficient evidence, common interest with, 
 and attachment to the community, have a right to elect officers, and 
 be elected into office, agreeably to the regulations made in this Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 9. That every member of society hath a right to be protected in 
 the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and therefore is bound 
 to contribute his proportion towards the expense of that protection, 
 and yield his personal service, when necessary, or an equivalent 
 thereto ; but no part of any person's property can be justly taken 
 from him, or applied to public uses, without his consent, or that of 
 the representative body of freemen ; nor can any man, who is con- 
 scientiously scrupulous of bearing arms, be justly compelled thereto, 
 if he will pay such equivalent ; nor are the people bound by auy law 
 but such as they have in like manner assented to, for their common 
 good ; and previous to any law being made to raise a tax, the pur- 
 pose for which it is to be raised ought to appear evident to the Legis- 
 lature to be of more service to the community than the money would 
 be if not collected. 
 
 10. That, in all prosecutions for criminal offences, a person hath 
 a right to be heard by himself and his counsel ; to demand the 
 cause and nature of his accusation ; to be confronted with the wit- 
 nesses ; to call for evidence in his favor, and a speedy public trial, 
 by an impartial jury of his country; without the unanimous con- 
 sent of which jury, he cannot be found guilty ; nor can he be com- 
 pelled to give evidence against himself; nor can any persoi 
 deprived of his liberty, except by the laws of the land, or 
 ment of his peers. 
 
 11. That the people have a right to hold themselves, their houses, 
 papers, and possessions, free from search or seizure ; and, therefore, 
 warrants without oath or affirmation first made, affording sufficient 
 foundation for them, and whereby an officer or messenger may be 
 commanded or required to search such suspected places ; or to seize 
 any person or persons, his, her, or their property, not particularly 
 described, are contrary to that right, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 12. That when an issue in fact, proper for the cognizance of a 
 jury, is joined in a court of law, the parties have a right to trial by 
 jury, which ought to be held sacred. 
 
 13. That the people have a right to a freedom of speech, and of 
 writing and publishing their sentiments concerning the transactions 
 of government, and therefore the freedom of the press ought not to 
 be restrained. 
 
 14. The freedom of deliberation, speech, and debate, in the 
 Legislature, is so essential to the rights of the people, that it cannot 
 be the foundation of any accusation, or prosecution, action, or com- 
 plaint, in any other court or place whatsoever. 
 
 he be com- * 
 >n be justly N 
 )r thejudg- j 
 
72 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 15. The power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, 
 ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority 
 derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases as this Con- 
 stitution, or the Legislature shall provide for. 
 
 16. That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of 
 themselves and the State ; and, as standing armies in time of peace 
 are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up ; and that the 
 military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed 
 by, the civil power. 
 
 17. That no person in this State can, in any case, be subjected to 
 law martial, or to any penalties or pains by virtue of that law, ex- 
 cept those employed in the army, and the militia in actual service. 
 
 18. The frequent recurrence to fundamental principles, and firm 
 adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality, 
 are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and 
 keep government free ; the people ought, therefore, to pay particular 
 attention" to these points, in the choice of officers and representa- 
 tives, and have a right, in a legal way, to exact a due and constant 
 regard to them, from their legislators and magistrates, in making 
 and executing such laws as are necessary for the good government 
 of the State. 
 
 19. That all people have a natural and inherent right to emigrate 
 from one State to another that will receive them. 
 
 20. That the people have a right to assemble together to consult 
 for their common good ; to instruct their representatives ; and apply 
 to the Legislature for redress of grievances by address, petition, or 
 remonstrance. 
 
 21. That no person shall be liable to be transported out of this 
 State for trial of any offence committed within the same 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Plan or Form of Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Commonwealth or State of Vermont shall be gov- 
 erned hereafter by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and 
 an assembly of representatives of the freemen of the same, in 
 manner and form following : 
 
 2. The supreme legislative power shall' be vested in a House 
 of Eepresentatives of the freemen of the Commonwealth or State of 
 Vermont. 
 
 3. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a Governor, 
 or, in his absence, a Lieutenant-Governor, and Council. 
 
 4. Courts of justice shall be maintained in every county in 
 this State, and also in new counties, when formed ; which courts 
 shall be open for the trial of all causes proper for their cognizance ; 
 and justice shall be therein impartially administered, without cor- 
 ruption or unnecessary delay. The judges of the Supreme Court 
 shall be justices of the peace throughout the State ; and the several 
 
VERMONT. 73 
 
 judges of the county courts, in their respective counties, by virtue 
 of their office, except in the trial of such causes as may be appealed 
 to the county court. 
 
 5. A future Legislature may, when they shall conceive the same 
 te be expedient and necessary, erect a Court of Chancery, with such 
 powers as are usually exercised by that Court, or as shall appear 
 for the interest of the commonwealth : Provided they do not con- 
 stitute themselves the judges of the said Court. 
 
 6. The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments shall be 
 separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly 
 belonging to the other. 
 
 7. In order that the freemen of this State may enjoy the benefit 
 of election as equally as may be, each town within this State that 
 consists or may consist of eighty taxable inhabitants within one 
 septenary, or seven years next after the establishing this Constitu- 
 tion, may hold elections therein, and choose each two representa- 
 tives ; and each other inhabited town in this State may, in like 
 manner, choose each one representative to represent them in General 
 Assembly, during the said septenary, or seven years ; and after that, 
 each/ inhabited town may, in like manner, hold such election, and 
 choose each one representative, forever thereafter. 
 
 8. The House of Bepresentatives of the freemen of this State 
 shall consist of persons most noted for wisdom and virtue, to be 
 chosen by ballot, by the freemen of every town in this State, re- 
 spectively, on the first Tuesday in September annually forever. 
 
 9. The representatives so chosen, a majority of whom shall con- 
 stitute a quorum for transacting any other business than raising a 
 State tax, for which two-thirds of the members elected shall be pre- 
 sent, shall meet on the second Thursday of the succeeding October, 
 and shall be styled The General Assembly of the State of Vermont : 
 they shall have power to choose their Speaker, Secretary of State, 
 their clerk, and other necessary officers of the House — sit on their 
 own adjournments — prepare bills, and enact them into laws — ^judge 
 of the elections and qualifications of their own members : they may 
 expel members, but not for causes known to their own constituents 
 antecedent to their own elections : they may administer oaths and 
 affirmations in matters depending before them, redress grievances, 
 impeach State criminals, grant charters of incorporation, constitute 
 towns, boroughs, cities, and counties : they may, annually, on their 
 first session after their election, in conjunction with the Council, or 
 oftener if need be, elect judges of the Supreme and several county 
 and probate courts, sherifi's, and justices of the peace ; and also with 
 the Council may elect major-generals and brigadier-generals, from 
 time to time, as often as there shall be occasion ; and they shall 
 have all other powers necessary for the Legislature of a free and 
 sovereign State : but they shall have no power to add to, alter, 
 abolish, or infringe any part of this Constitution. 
 
 10. The Supreme Executive Council of this State shall consist 
 
74 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of a Governor, Lieutenant-Grovernor, and twelve persons, chosen in 
 the following manner, viz. : The freemen of each town shall, on the 
 day of the election for choosing representatives to attend the Gren- 
 eral Assembly, bring in their votes for Governor, with his • name 
 fairly written, to the constable, who shall seal them up, and write 
 on them, votes for the Governor^ and deliver them to the representa- 
 tives chosen to attend the General Assembly ; and at the opening 
 of the General Assembly, there shall be a committee appointed out 
 of the Council and Assembly, who, after being duly sworn to the 
 faithful discharge of their trust, shall proceed to receive, sort, and 
 count the votes for the Governor, and declare the person who has 
 the major part of the votes, to be Governor for the year ensuing. 
 And if there be no choice made, then the Council and General As- 
 sembly, by their joint ballot, shall make choice of a Governor. 
 The Lieutenant-Governor and Treasurer shall be chosen in the 
 manner above directed. And each freeman shall give in twelve 
 votes, for twelve counselors, in the same manner, and the twelve 
 highest in nomination shall serve for the ensuing year as counselors. 
 
 11. The Governor, and, in his absence, the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 with the Council, a major part of whom, including the Governor, or 
 Lieutenant-Governor, shall be a quorum to transact business, shall 
 have power to commission all ofl&cers, and also to appoint officers, 
 except where provision is, or shall be otherwise made by law, or this 
 frame of government ; and shall supply every vacancy in any office, 
 occasioned by death, or otherwise, until the office can be filled in the 
 manner directed by law or this Constitution. 
 
 They are to correspond with other states, transact business with 
 officers of government, civil and military, and to prepare such busi- 
 ness as may appear to them necessary to lay before the General 
 Assembly. They shall sit as judges to hear and determine on im- 
 peachments, taking to their assistance, fot' advice only, the judges 
 of the Supreme Court, and shall have power to grant pardons, and 
 remit fines, in all cases whatsoever, except in treason and murder ; 
 in which they shall have power to grant reprieves, but not to par- 
 don, until after the end of the next session of the Assembly ; and 
 except in cases of impeachment, in which there shall be no remission 
 or mitigation of punishment, but by act of legislation. 
 
 They are also to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 They are to expedite the execution of such measures as may be re- 
 solved upon by the General Assembly ; and they may draw upon 
 the treasury for such sums as may be appropriated by the House of 
 Representatives. They may also lay embargoes, or prohibit the 
 exportation of any commodity, for any time not exceeding thirty 
 days, in the recess of the House only. They may grant such licenses 
 as shall be directed by law ; and shall have power to call together 
 the General Assembly, when necessary, before the day to which they 
 shall stand adjourned. The Governor shall be captain-general and 
 commander-in-chief of the forces of the State, but shall not command 
 
VERMONT. 75 
 
 in person, except advised thereto by the Council, and then only so 
 long as they shall approve thereof. And the Lieutenant-Grovernor 
 shall, by virtue of his office, be Lieutenant-General of all the forces 
 of the State. The Governor, Or Lieutenant-Governor, and. the 
 Council, shall meet at the time and place with the General Assem- 
 bly : the Lieutenant-Governor shall, during the presence of the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, vote and act as one of the Council : and the Gov- 
 ernor, and, in his absence, the Lieutenant-Governor, shall, by virtue 
 of their offices, preside in Council, and have a casting, but no other 
 vote. Every member of the Council shall be a justice of the peace, 
 for the whole State, by virtue of his office. The Governor and 
 Council shall have a Secretary, and keep fair books of their proceed- 
 ings, wherein any counselor may enter his dissent, with his reason 
 to support it ; and the Governor may appoint a Secretary for him- 
 self and his Council. 
 
 12. The representatives, having met and chosen their Speaker 
 and Clerk, shall, each of them, before they proceed to business, take 
 and subscribe, as well the oath or affirmation of allegiance hereinaf- 
 ter directed, except where they shall produce certificates of their 
 having heretofore taken and subscribed the same, as the following 
 oath or affirmation, viz. 
 
 " You, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that, as a member 
 
 of this Assembly, you will not propose or assent to any bill, vote, or 
 resolution, which shall appear to you injurious to the people, nor do 
 or consent to any act or thing whatsoever that shall have a ten- 
 dency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by 
 the Constitution of this State ; but will, in all things, conduct your- 
 self as a faithful, honest representative, and guardian of the people, 
 according to the best of your judgment and abilities : {in case of an 
 oath) so help you God. {And in case of an affi/rmalion) under the 
 pains and penalties of perjury." 
 
 13. The doors of the house in which the General Assembly of 
 this commonwealth shall sit, shall be open for the admission of all 
 persons who behave decently, except only when the welfare of the 
 State may require them to be shut. 
 
 14. The votes and proceedings of the General Assembly shall be 
 printed, when one-third of the members think it necessary, as soon 
 as convenient after the end of each session, with the yeas and nays 
 on any question, when required by any member, except where the 
 votes shall be taken by ballot,* in which case every member shall 
 have a right to insert the reasons of his vote upon the minutes. 
 
 15. The style of the laws of this State, in future to be passed, 
 shall be : It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
 Vermont. 
 
 16. To the end that laws, before they are enacted, may be more 
 maturely considered, and the inconvenience of hasty determinations, 
 as much as possible, prevented, all bills which originate in the As- 
 sembly shall be laid before the Governor and Council for their revi- 
 
76 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 sion and concurrence, or proposals of amendment ; who shall return 
 the same to the Assembly, with their proposals of amendment, if 
 any, in writing ; and if the same are not agreed to by the Assembly, 
 it shall be in the power of the Governor and Council to suspend the 
 passing of such bill until the next session of the Legislature : Pro- 
 vided, that if the Governor and Council shall neglect or refuse to 
 return any such bill to the Assembly, with written proposals of 
 amendment, within five days, or before the rising of the Legislature, 
 the same shall become a law. 
 
 1 7. No money shall be drawn out of the treasury, unless first ap- 
 propriated by act of legislation. 
 
 18. No person shall be elected a representative until he has re- 
 sided two years in this State ; the last of which shall be in the town 
 for which he is elected. 
 
 19. No member of the Council or House of Representatives shall, 
 directly or indirectly, receive any fee or reward to bring forward or 
 advocate any bill, petiti(^n, or other business to be transacted in the 
 Legislature ; or advocate any cause, as counsel, in either house of 
 legislation, except when employed in behalf of the State. 
 
 20. No person ought, in any case, or at any time, to be declared 
 guilty of treason or felony by the Legislature. 
 
 21. Every man of the full age of twenty-one years, having resided 
 in this State for the space of one whole year next before the election 
 of representatives, and is of a quiet and peaceable behavior, and will 
 take the following oath or affirmation, shall be entitled to all the 
 privileges of a freeman of this State. 
 
 " You solemnly swear (or affirm) that whenever you give your 
 vote of suffrage, touching any matter that concerns the State of Yer- 
 mont, you will do it so as in your conscience you shall judge will 
 most conduce to the belst good of the same, as established by the 
 Constitution, without fear or favor of any man." 
 
 22. The inhabitants of this State shall be trained and armed for 
 its defense, under such regulations, restrictions, and exceptions as 
 Congress, agreeably to the Constitution of the United States, and 
 the Legislature of this State, shall direct. The several companies 
 of militia shall, as often as vacancies happen, elect their captain and 
 other officers, and the captains and subalterns shall nominate and 
 recommend the field-officers of their respective regiments, who shall 
 appoint their staff-officers. 
 
 23. All commissions shall be in*the name of the freemen of the 
 State of Yermont, sealed with the State seal, signed by the Gover- 
 nor, and in his absence the Lieutenant-Governor, and attested by 
 the Secretary ; which seal shall be kept by the Governor. 
 
 24. Every officer of State, whether judicial or executive, shall be 
 liable to be impeached by the General Assembly, either when in 
 office or after his resignation or removal, for maladministration. All 
 impeachments shall be before the Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor, 
 and Council, who shall hear and determine the same, and may award 
 
VERMONT. 77 
 
 costs ; arid no trial or impeachment shall be a bar to a prosecution 
 at law. 
 
 25. As every freeman, to preserve his independence, if without a 
 sufficient astate, ought to have some profession, calling, trade, or 
 farm, whjreby he may honestly subsist, there can be no necessity 
 for, nor use in, establishing offices of profit, the usual effects of^ which 
 are dependence and servility, unbecoming freemen, in the possessors 
 or expectants, and faction, contention, and discord among the people. 
 But, if any man is called into public service, to the prejudice of his 
 private affairs, he has a right to a reasonable compensation ; and. 
 whenever an office, through increase of fees or otherwise, becomes so 
 profitable as to occasion many to apply for it, the profits ought to be 
 lessened by the Legislature. And if any officer shall wittingly and 
 wilfully take greater fees than the law allows him, it shall ever 
 after disqualify him from holding any office in this State, until he 
 shall be restored by act of legislation. 
 
 26. No person in this State shall be capable of holding or exer- 
 cising more than one of the following offices at the same time, viz. : 
 Grovernor, Lieutenant-Governor, Judge of the Supreme Court, Trea- 
 surer of the State, member of the Council, member of the General 
 Assembly, Surveyor-general, or sheriff. Nor shall any person, hold- 
 ing any office of profit or trust, under the authority of Congress, be 
 eligible to any appointment in the Legislature, or of holding any 
 executive or judiciary office under this State. 
 
 27. The Treasurer of the State shall, before the Governor and . 
 Council, give sufficient security to the Secretary of the State, in be- 
 half of the General Assembly ; and each high sheriff, before the first 
 judge of the county court to the treasurer of their respective coun- 
 ties, previous to their respectively entering upon the execution of 
 their offices, in such manner, and in sums, as shall be directed by 
 the Legislature. 
 
 28. The Treasurer's accounts shall be annually audited, and a 
 fair statement thereof laid before the General Assembly at their 
 session in October. 
 
 29. Every officer, whether judicial, executive, or military, in au- 
 thority under this State, before he enters upon the execution of his 
 office, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation of 
 allegiance to this State, unless he shall produce evidence that he has 
 before taken the same ; and also the following oath or affirmation of 
 office, except military officers, and such as shall Be exempted by the 
 Legislature. 
 
 The Oath or Affirmation of Office. 
 " You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will be true and 
 faithful to the State of Vermont, and that you will not, directly or 
 indirectly, do any act' or thing injurious to the Constitution or Gov- 
 ernment thereof, as established by convention : {If an oath) so help 
 you God. (If an affirmation) under the pains and penalties of per- 
 jury." 
 
78 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 The Oath or Affirmation of Office. 
 
 " You, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will faith- 
 fully execute the office of for the of ; and will 
 
 therein do equal ri^ht and justice to all men, to the best of your 
 judgment and abilities, according to law : (If an oath) so help you 
 God. [If an affirmation) under the pains and penalties of per- 
 jury." 
 
 30. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, until he shall have resided in this State four years 
 next preceding the day of his election. 
 
 31. Trials of issue, proper for the cognizance of a jury, in the 
 Supreme and county courts, shall be by jury, except where parties 
 otherwise agree , and great care ought to be taken to prevent cor- 
 ruption or partiality in the choice and return or appointment of 
 juries. 
 
 32. All prosecutions shall commence, Bj/ the authority of the State 
 of Vermont ; all indictments shall conclude with these words : 
 against the peace and dignity of the State. And all fines shall be 
 proportioned to the offences. 
 
 33. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presump- 
 tion or fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up 
 and assigning over, bona fide, all his estate, real and personal, in pos- 
 session, reversion, or remainder, for the use of *his creditors, in such 
 manner as shall be hereafter regulated by law. And all prisoners, 
 unless in execution or committed for capital offences, when the proof 
 is evident or presumption great, shall be bailable by sufficient sure- 
 ties ; nor shall excessive bail be exacted for bailable offences. 
 
 34. All elections, whether by the people or the Legislature, shall 
 be free and voluntary ; and any elector, who shall receive any gift 
 or reward for his vote, in meat, drink, monies, or otherwise, shall 
 forfeit his right to elect at that time, and suffer such other penalty 
 as the law shall direct ; and any person who shall, directly or indi- 
 rectly, give, promise, or bestow, any such rewards, to be elected, shall 
 thereby be rendered incapable to serve for the ensuing year, and be 
 subject to such further punishment as a future Legislature shall 
 direct 
 
 35. All deeds and conveyances of land shall be recorded in the 
 town clerk's office, in their respective towns ; and for want thereof, 
 in the county clerk's office of the same county. 
 
 36. The Legislature shall regulate entails in such manner as to 
 prevent perpetuities. 
 
 37. To deter more effectually from the commission of crimes, by 
 continued visible punishments of long duration, and to make sangui- 
 nary punishments less necessary, means ought to be provided for pun- 
 ishing by hard labor those who shall be convicted of crimes not cap- 
 ital, whereby the criminal shall be employed for the benefit of the 
 public, or for the reparation of injuries done to private persons : and 
 
VERMONT. 79 
 
 all persons, at proper times, ought to be permitted to see them at 
 their labor. 
 
 38. The estate of such persons as may destroy their own lives 
 shall not for that offence be forfeited, but descend or ascend in the 
 same manner, as if such persons had died in a natural way. Nor * 
 shall any article, which shall accidentally occasion the death of any 
 person, be henceforth deemed a deodand, or in any wise forfeited, on 
 account of such misfortune. 
 
 39. Every person of good character, who comes to settle in this 
 State, having first taken an oath or ifermation of allegiance to the 
 same, may purchase, or by other just means acquire, hold, and trans- 
 fer land or other real estate ; and, after one year's residence, shall 
 be deemed a free denizen thereof, and entitled to all rights of a nat- 
 ural born subject of this State, except that he shall not be capable 
 of being elected Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Treasurer, counsel- 
 or, or representative in Assembly until after two years' residence. 
 
 40. The inhabitants of this State shall have liberty, in seasonable 
 times, to hunt and fowl on the lands they hold, and on other lands 
 not enclosed ; and in like manner to fish in all beatable and other 
 waters, not private property, under proper regulations, to be here- 
 after made and provided by the General Assembly. 
 
 41. Laws for the encouragement of virtue and prevention of 
 vice and immorality oiight to be constantly kept in force, and duly 
 executed ; and a competent number of schools ought to be main- 
 tained in each town, for the convenient instruction of youth ; and 
 one or more grammar schools be incorporated, and properly sup- 
 ported in each county in this State. And all religious societies or 
 bodies of men, that may be hereafter united or incorporated for the ad- 
 vancement of religion and learning, or for other charitable purposes, 
 shall be*encouraged and protected in the enjoyment of the privileges, 
 immunities, and estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under 
 such regulations as the General Assembly of this State shall direct. 
 
 42. The declaration of the political rights and privileges of the in- 
 habitants of this State, is hereby declared to be a part of the Con- 
 stitution of this commonwealth, and ought not' to be violated on 
 any pretence whatsoever. 
 
 43. In order that the freedom of this commonwealth may be pre- 
 served inviolate forever, there shall be chosen, by ballot, by the 
 freemen of this State, on the last Wednesday in March, in the 
 year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, and on the last 
 Wednesday in March, in every seven years thereafter, thirteen per- 
 sons, who shall be chosen in the same manner the Council is chosen, 
 except they shall not be out of the Council or General Assembly, 
 to be called the Council of Censors : who shall meet together on 
 the first Wednesday in June next ensuing their election, the 
 majority of whom shall be a quorum in every case, except as to 
 calling a Convention, in which two-thirds of the whole number 
 elected shall agree, and whose duty it shall be to inquire, whether 
 
80 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 the Constitution has been preserved inviokte in every part dur- 
 ing the last septenary, including the year of their service, and 
 whether the legislative and executive branches of Groverninent have 
 performed their duty, as guardians of the people, or assumed to 
 themselves, or exercised other or greater powers than they are en- 
 titled to by the Constitution : They are also to inquire, whether the 
 public taxes have been justly laid and collected in all parts of this com- 
 monwealth : in what manner the public moneys have been disposed 
 of: and whether the laws have been duly executed. For these pur- 
 poses they shall have power to send for persons, papers, and records : 
 they shall have authority to pass public censures, to order impeach 
 ments, and to recommend to the Legislature the repealing such laws 
 as shall appear to them to have been passed contrary to the princi- 
 ples of the Constitution : These powers they shall continue to have 
 for and during the space of one year from the day of their election, 
 and no longer. The said Council of Censors shall also have power 
 to call a Convention, to meet within two years after their sitting, 
 if there appears to them an absolute necessity of amending any ar- 
 ticle of this Constitution, which may be defective : explaining such 
 as may be thought not clearly expressed : and of adding such as are 
 necessary for the preservation of the rights and happiness of the 
 people : but the articles to be amended, and the amendments pro- 
 posed, and such articles as are proposed to be added or abolished, 
 shall be promulgated at least six months before the day appointed 
 for the election of such Convention, for the previous consideration 
 of the people, that they may have an opportunity of instructing 
 their delegates on the subject. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 Adopted Art. 1 . No person, who is not already a freeman of 
 
 June 26, 1828. ^j^jg g^^^^^ ^YiqII be entitled to exercise the privilege of 
 a freeman, unless he be a natural-born citizen of this, or some one 
 of the United States, or until he shall have been naturalized agree- 
 ably to the acts of Congress, 
 
 Adopted 2. The most numerous branch of the Legislature of 
 Jan. 6, 1836. ^j^j^ g^^^^ gj^^jj hereafter be styled the House of Re- 
 presentatives. 
 
 3. The supreme legislative power of this State shall hereafter be 
 exercised by a Senate and the House of Representatives, which 
 shall be styled The General Assembly of the Slate of Vermont. Each 
 shall have and exercise the like powers in all acts of legislation^ and 
 no bill, resolution, or other thing, which shall have been passed by 
 the one, shall have the effect of, or be declared to be, a law, without 
 the concurrence of the other. Provided, that all revenue bills shall 
 originate in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may pro- 
 
VERMONT. 81 
 
 pose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. Neither house, 
 during the session of the General Assembly, shall, without the con- 
 sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
 place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting, and in case 
 of disagreement between the two houses, with respect to adjourn- 
 ment, the Grovernor may adjourn them to such time as he shall 
 think proper. 
 
 4. The Senate shall be composed of thirty senators, to be of the 
 freemen of the county for which they are elected respectively, who 
 are thirty years of age or upwards, and to be annually elected by 
 the freemen of each county respectively. Each county shall be en- 
 titled to one senator at least, and the remainder of the senators shall 
 be apportioned to the several counties, according to their population, 
 as the same was ascertained by the last census, taken under the au- 
 thority of the United States, regard being always had in such ap- 
 portionment, to the counties having the greatest fraction. But the 
 several counties shall, until after the next census of the United 
 States, be entitled to elect, and have their senators in the following 
 proportion ; to wit, Bennington county, two ; Windham county, 
 three ; Rutland county, three ; Windsor county, four ; Addison 
 county, three ; Orange county, three ; Washington county, two ; 
 Chittenden county, two ; Caledonia county, two ; Franklin county, 
 three ; Orleans county, one ; Essex county, one ; Grand Isle county, 
 one. The Legislature shall make a new apportionment of the se- 
 nators to the several counties, after the taking of each census of the 
 United States, or census taken for the purpose of such apportion- 
 ment by order of the Government of this State, regarding the above 
 provisions in this, article. 
 
 5. The freemen of the several towns in each county shall annually 
 give their votes for the senators apportioned to such county, at the 
 same time, and under the same regulations, as are now provided for 
 the election of counselors. And the person or persons, equal in 
 number to the number of senators, apportioned to such county, hav- 
 ing the greatest number of legal votes in such county respectively, 
 shall be the senator or senators of such county. 
 
 At every election of senators, after the votes shall have been 
 taken, the constable, or presiding officer, assisted by the selectmen 
 and civil authority present, shall sort and count the said votes, and 
 make two lists of the names of each person, with the number of votes 
 given for each, annexed to his name, a record of which shall be made 
 in the town clerk's office and shall seal up said lists separately, and 
 write, on each, the name of the town^ and these words : Votes for Se- 
 7iatory or Votes for Senators, as the case may be ; one of which lists 
 shall be delivered, by the presiding officer, to the representative of 
 said town (if any), and if none be chosen, to the representative of an 
 
 adjoining town, to be transmitted to the of the Senate ; the 
 
 other list, the said presiding officer shall, within ten days, deliver 
 to the clerk of the county for the same county ; and the clerk of each 
 
82 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 county court respectively, or in case of his absence or disability, 
 the sheriff of such county, or in case of the absence or disability of 
 both, the high bailiff of such county, on the tenth day after such elec- 
 tion, shall publicly open, sort, and count said votes, and make a record 
 of the same, in the office of the clerk of such county court, a copy 
 of which he shall transmit to the Senate ; and shall also, within ten 
 days thereafter, transmit to the person or persons elected, a certifi- 
 cate of his or their election : Provided, however, that the General 
 Assembly shall have power to regulate, by law, the mode of ballot- 
 ing for senators within the several counties, and to prescribe the 
 means and the manner, by which the result of the balloting shall be 
 ascertained, and through which the senators chosen 'shall be certi- 
 fied of their election, and for filling all vacancies in the Senate, 
 which shall happen by death, resignation, or otherwise. But they 
 shall not have power to apportion the senators to the several coun- 
 ties, otherwise than according to the population thereof, agreeably 
 to the provisions herein before ordained. 
 
 6. The Senate shall have the like powers to decide on the election 
 and qualifications of, and to expel any of its members, make its own 
 rules, and appoint its own officers, as are incident to, or are possessed 
 by, the House of Eepresentatives. A majority shall constitute a 
 quorum. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Sen- 
 ate, except when he shall exercise the office of Governor, or when 
 his office shall be vacant, or in his absence, in which cases the Sen- 
 ate shall appoint one of its own members to be President of the Sen- 
 ate, pro tempore^ and the President of the Senate shall have a cast- 
 ing vote, but no other. 
 
 7. The Senate shall have the sole power of trying and deciding 
 upon all impeachments : when* sitting for that purpose they shall be 
 on oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the 
 concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment, in 
 cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from 
 office, and disqualification to hold or enjoy any office of honor, or 
 profit, or trust, under this State. But the party convicted shall, 
 nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, 
 and punishment, according to law. 
 
 8. The supreme executive power of the State shall be exercised 
 by the Governor, or in case of his absence or disability, by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, who shall have all the powers and perform all 
 the duties vested in and enjoined upon the Governor and Council 
 by the eleventh and twenty-seventh sections of the second chapter 
 [part the second,] of the Constitution as at present established, ex- 
 cepting that he shall not sit as a judge in case of impeachment, nor 
 grant reprieve or pardon in any such case ; nor shall he command 
 the forces of the State in person, in time of war or insurrection, un- 
 less by the advice and consent of the Senate, and no longer than 
 they shall approve thereof. The Governor may have a Secretary 
 of civil and military affairs, to be by him appointed, during pleasure. 
 
 'Ji.li '. 
 
VERMONT. 83 
 
 whose services he may at all times command ; and for whose com- 
 pensation provision shall be made by law. 
 
 9. The votes for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Treasurer 
 of the State shall be sorted and counted, and the result declared by 
 a Committee, appointed by the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives. If at any time there shall be no election by the freemen, of 
 Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or Treasurer of the State, the 
 Senate and House of Representatives shall, by a joint ballot, elect 
 to fill the office, not filled by the freemen as aforesaid, one of the 
 three candidates for such office (if there be so many) for whom the 
 greatest number of votes shall have been returned. 
 
 10. The Secretary of State, and all officers whose elections are 
 not otherwise provided for, and who, under the existing provisions 
 of the Constitution, are elected by the Council and House of Repre- 
 sentatives, shall hereafter be elected by the Senate and House of 
 Representatives, in joint Assembly, at which the presiding officer 
 of the Senate shall preside, and such presiding officer in such joint 
 Assembly, shall have a casting vote, and no other. 
 
 1 1. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and House of 
 Representatives, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
 Governor ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; if not, he shall return it, 
 with his objections in writing, to the house in which it shall have 
 originated, which shall proceed to reconsider it. If, upon such re- 
 consideration, a majority of the house shall pass the bill, it shall, 
 together with the objections, be sent to the other house, by which it 
 shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by a majority of 
 that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes 
 of both houses shall be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of 
 the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the 
 journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
 by the Governor, as aforesaid, within five days (Sundays excepted,) 
 after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a 
 law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the two houses, by 
 their adjournment within three days after the presentment of such 
 bill, shall prevent its return ; in which case it shall not become a law. 
 
 12. The writ of habeas corpus shall in no case be suspended. It 
 shall be a writ issuable of right ; and the General Assembly shall 
 make provision to render it a speedy and efi"ectual remedy in all 
 cases proper therefor. 
 
 13. Such parts and provisions, only, of the Constitution of this 
 State, established by Convention on the 9th of July, 1793, as are 
 altered or suspended by any of the foregoing amendments, or are 
 repugnant thereto, shall hereafter cease to have efi'ect. 
 
 14. The assistant judges of the county court shall be elected by 
 the freemen of their respective counties. 
 
 15. Sheriffs and high bailiffs shall be elected by the freemen of 
 their respective counties. 
 
 16. State's attorneys shall be elected by the freemen of their 
 respective counties. 7 
 
84 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 17. Judges of probate shall be elected by the freemen of theii 
 respective probate districts. 
 
 18. Justices of the peace shall be elected by the freemen of their 
 respective towns ; and towns having less than one thousand inha- 
 bitants may elect any number of justices of the peace not exceed- 
 ing ^ve; towns having one thousand, and less than two thousand 
 inhabitants, may elect seven ; towns having two thousand, and less 
 than three thousand inhabitants, may elect ten; towns having three 
 thousand, and less than five thousand inhabitants, may elect twelve ; 
 and towns having five thousand, or more, inhabitants, may elect 
 fifteen justices of the peace. 
 
 19. All the officers named in the preceding articles of amendment 
 {articles 14 to 18) shall be annually elected by ballot, and shall hold 
 their offices for one year, said year commencing on the first day of 
 December next after their election. 
 
 20. The election of the several officers mentioned in the preceding 
 articles (articles 14 to 18), excepting town representatives, shall be 
 made at the times and in the manner now directed in the constitu- 
 tion for the choice of senators. And the presiding officer of each 
 freemen's meeting, after the votes shall have been taken, sorted and 
 counted, shall, in open meeting, make a certificate of the names of 
 each person voted for, with the number of votes given for each, 
 annexed to his name and designating the office for which the votes 
 were given, a record of which shall be made in the town clerk's 
 office, and he shall seal up said certificate, and shall write thereon the 
 
 name of the town and the words, Certificate of votes for , and 
 
 add thereto, in writing, the title of the office voted for, as the case 
 may be, and shall deliver such certificate to some representative 
 chosen as a member of the general assembly, whose duty it shall be 
 to cause such certificate of votes to be delivered to the committee 
 of the general assembly appointed to canvass the same. And at the 
 sitting of the general assembly, next after such balloting for the 
 officers aforesaid, there shall be a committee appointed of and by 
 the general assembly, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge 
 of their duty, and whose duty it shall be to examine such certificates 
 and ascertain the number of votes given for each candidate, and the 
 persons receiving the largest number of votes for the respective 
 offices, shall be declared duly elected, and by such committee be 
 reported to the general assembly, and the officers so elected shall be 
 commissioned by the governor. And if two or more persons desig- 
 nated for any one of said offices shall have received an equal number 
 of votes, the general assembly shall elect one of such persons to 
 such office. 
 
 21. The term of office of the governor, lieutenant governor, and 
 treasurer of the state, respectively, shall commence when they shall 
 be chosen and qualified, and shall continue for the term of one year, 
 or until their successors shall be chosen and qualified, or to the 
 adjournment of the session of the legislature, at which, by the con- 
 
VERMONT. «84 
 
 stitution and laws, their successors are required to be chosen, and not 
 after such adjournment. And the legislature shall provide, by gen- 
 eral law, declaring what officer shall act as governor whenever there 
 shall be a vacancy in both the offices of governor and lieutenant 
 governor, occasioned by a failure to elect, or by the removal from 
 office, or by the death, resignation, or inability of both governor and 
 lieutenant governor, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties 
 of the office of governor; and such officer, so designated, shall exer- 
 cise the powers and discharge the duties appertaining to the office 
 of governor accordingly, until the disability shall be removed, or a 
 governor shall be elected. And in case- there shall be a vacancy in 
 the office of treasurer, by reason of any of the causes enumerated, 
 the governor shall appoint a treasurer for the time being, who shall 
 act as treasurer until the disability shall be removed, or a new elec- 
 tion shall be made. 
 
 22. The treasurer of the state shall, before entering upon the duties 
 of his office, give sufficient security to the secretary of state, in behalf 
 of the state of Vermont, before the governor of the state, or one of 
 the judges of the supreme court. And sheriffs and high bailiffs, before 
 entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall give suffi- 
 cient security to the treasurer of their respective counties, before one 
 of the judges of the supreme court, or the two assistant judges of the 
 county court of their respective counties, in such manner and in such 
 sums as shall be directed by the legislature. • 
 
 23. The senate shall be composed of thirty senators, to be of the 
 freemen of the county for which they are elected, respectively, who 
 shall have attained the age of thirty years, and they shall be elected 
 annually by the freemen of each county respectively. 
 
 The senators shall be apportioned to the several counties, accord- 
 ing to the population, as ascertained by the census taken under the 
 authority of Congress in the year 1840, regard being always had, in 
 such apportionment, to the counties having the largest fraction, and 
 giving to each county at least one senator. 
 
 The legislature shall make a new apportionment of the senators 
 to the several counties, after the taking of each census of the United 
 States, or after a census taken for the purpose of such apportionment, 
 under the authority of this state, always regarding the above pro- 
 visions of this article. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 This ancient Commonwealth was first permanently settled by Europeans, 
 who landed at Plymouth, Dec. 22, 1620. The history of this State is full of 
 interest. Its name was probably derived from two Indian word : Mos and 
 Wetuset — the former signifying an Indian's arrow-head, and the latter a hiU. 
 
 The territory of Massachusetts, for many years, comprised two separate 
 colonies — the Plymouth colony and the colony of Massachusetts Bay. In 
 1692, these colonies were united under one charter, and received the name of 
 Massachusetts. The American Revolution was begun in this State, and here 
 the first American blood was spilled in achieving its n9ble conquests. Mas- 
 sachusetts furnished more men and more money than any other of the colo- 
 nies, in carrying. forward the war of the Revolution. It is the most thickly 
 settled State in the union, having about 100 inhabitants to the square mile. 
 The Constitution was framed in 1780. It has been several times amended. 
 Her House of Representatives is one of the largest legislative bodies in the 
 world.— Area, 7,800 sq. m. Population, in 1850, 994,499. 
 
 Boston, the capital, is the largest city in New England, with a population, 
 in 1845, of 120,000, and is the second commercial city in the union. John 
 Hancock, President of the first American Congress, and first to set his bold 
 hand to the Declaration ol Independence, was a citizen of Boston. It was, 
 also, the birth place of Benjamin Franklin, one of the five appointed tolrame 
 that interesting document. 
 
 684 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PKEAMBLE. 
 
 The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of 
 government, is to secure the existence of the body politic, to protect 
 it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it with the power of 
 enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural rights and the 
 blessings of life : 'and whenever these great objects are not obtained, 
 the people have a right to alter the government, and to take meas- 
 ures necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness. 
 
 The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individ-' 
 uals. It is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants 
 with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all 
 shall be governed by certain laws for the common good. It is the 
 duty of the people, therefore, in framing a Constitution of govern- 
 ment, to provide for an equitable mode of making laws, as well as 
 for an impartial interpretation and a faithful execution of them ; 
 that every man may, at all times, find his security in them. 
 
 We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with 
 grateful hearts the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe, 
 in affording us, in the course of his Providence, an opportunity, de- 
 liberately and peaceably, without fraud, violence, or surprise, of en- 
 tering into an original, explicit, and solemn compact with each 
 other ; and of forming a new Constitution of civil government, for 
 ourselves and posterity ; and devoutly imploring his direction in so 
 interesting a design, do agree upon, ordain, and establish, the fol- 
 lowing declaration of rights and frame of government, as the Con- 
 stitution of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 A Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitaiits of the Commo7iioealth of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Art. 1. All men are born free and equal, and have certain natu- 
 ral, essential, and inalienable rights : among which may be reckon- 
 ed the right of enjoying and defending their lives' and liberties ; 
 that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property ; in fine, that 
 of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.- 
 
 2. It is the right, as well as the duty, of all men in society, pub- 
 licly, and at stated reasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the 
 Great Creator and Preserver of the Universe. And no subject 
 shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty, or es- 
 tate, for worshiping God in the manner and seasons most agreeable 
 to the dictates of his own conscience : or for his religious profession 
 or sentiments ; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or 
 obstruct others in their religious worship. 
 
« 
 
 86 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 3. As the happiness of a people, and the good order and preser- 
 vation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion, 
 and morality ; and as these cannot be generally diffused throughout 
 the community, but by the institution of a public worship of God, 
 and of public institutions in piety, religion, and morality ; therefore, 
 to promote their happiness, and to secure the good order and pre- 
 servation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have 
 a right to invest their Legislature with power to authorize and re- 
 quire, and the Legislature shall, from time to tim«, authorize and 
 require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies 
 politic, or religious societies, to make suitable provision, at their 
 own expense, for the institution of the public worship of Grod, and 
 for the support and maintenance of public protestant teachers of 
 piety, religion, and morality, in all cases where such provision shall 
 not be made voluntarily. 
 
 All the people of the commonwealth have also a right to, and do, 
 invest their Legislature with authority to enjoin upon all the sub- 
 jects an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers, as 
 aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any one whose in- 
 structions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend : — 
 
 Provided, notwithstanding, that the several towns, parishes, pre- 
 cincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, shall, at all 
 times, have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, and 
 of contracting with them for their support and maintenance. 
 
 All moneys paid by the subject to the support of public worship, 
 and of the public teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uni- 
 formly applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of 
 his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be any on 
 whose instruction he attends ; otherwise it may be paid towards the 
 support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which 
 the said moneys are raised. 
 
 And every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves 
 peaceably, and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be 
 equally under the protection of the law ; and no subordination of 
 any sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law. 
 
 4. The people of this commonwealth have the sole and exclusive 
 right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign, and independent 
 State: and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every 
 power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not, or may not hereafter be 
 by them expressly delegated to the United States of America, in 
 Congress assembled. 
 
 5. All power residing originally in the people, and being derived 
 from them, the several magistrates and officers of government vested 
 with authority, whether legislative, executive, or judicial, are their 
 substitutes and agents, and are at all times accountable to them. 
 
 6. No man, or corporation, or association of men, have any other 
 title to obtain advantages, or particular and exclusive privileges, 
 distinct from thosj of the community, than what arises from the 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. ' 87 
 
 consideration of services rendered to the public. And this title 
 being, in nature, neither hereditary nor transmissible to children or 
 descendants, or relations of blood, the idea of a man born a magis- 
 trate, lawgiver, or judge, is absurd and unnatural. 
 
 7. Government is instituted for the common good : for the pro- 
 tection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people ; and not for 
 the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or any 
 one class of men. Therefore, the people alone have an incontesta- 
 ble, inalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government, and 
 to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their protection, 
 safety, prosperity, and happiness require it. 
 
 8. In order to prevent those who are vested with authority from 
 becoming oppressors, the people have a right, at such periods and 
 iii such manner as they shall establish by the frame of government, 
 to cause their public ofi&cers to return to private life, and to fill up 
 vacant places by certain and regular elections and appointments. 
 
 9. All elections ought to be free : and all the inhabitants of this 
 commonwealth, having such qualifications as they shall establish by 
 their frame of government, have an equal right to elect of&cers, and 
 to be elected for public employments. 
 
 10. Each individual of the society has a right to be protected by 
 it, in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to 
 the standing laws. He is obliged, consequently, to contribute his 
 share to the expense of this protection ; to give his personal service, 
 or an equivalent, when necessary. But no part of the property of 
 any individual can, with justice, be taken from him, or applied to 
 the public use, without his own consent, or that of the representa- 
 tive body of the people. In fine, the people of this commonwealth 
 are not controllable by any other laws than those to which their 
 constitutional representative body have given their consent. And 
 whenever the public exigencies require that the property of any in- 
 dividual shall be appropriated to public uses, he shall receive a rea- 
 sonable compensation therefor. 
 
 11. Every subject of the Commonwealth ought to find a certain 
 remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs 
 which he may receive, in his person, property, or character. He 
 ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged 
 to purchase it — completely, and without any denial — promptly, and 
 without delay — conformably to the laws. 
 
 12. No person shall be held to answer for any crime or offence, 
 until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally, des- 
 cribed to him ; or be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence against 
 himself. And every person shall have a right to produce all proofs 
 that may be favorable to him ; to meet the witnesses against him, 
 face to face, and be fully heard in his defense, by himself, or his 
 counsel, at his election. And no person shall be arrested, imprisoned, 
 or despoiled or deprived of his property, immunities, or privileges, 
 put out of the protection of the law, exiled or deprived of his life. 
 
CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 liberty^ or estate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of 
 the land. 
 
 And the Legislature shall not make any law that shall subject 
 any person to a capital or infamous punishment (excepting for the 
 government of the army arid navy) without trial by jury. 
 
 13. In criminal prosecutions the verification of facts, in the vicin- 
 ity where, they happen, is one of the greatest securities of the life, 
 liberty, and property of the citizen. 
 
 14. Every person has a right to be secure from all unreasonable 
 searches and seizures of his person, his house, his papers, and all 
 his possessions. All warrants, therefore, are contrary to this, right, 
 if the cause or foundation of them be not previously supported by 
 oath or affirmation ; and if the order, in a warrant to a civil officer, 
 to make search in all suspected places, or to arrest one or more sus- 
 pected persons, or to seize their property, be not accompanied with 
 a special designation of the persons or objects of search, arrest, or 
 seizure. And no warrant ought to be issued but in such cases, and 
 with the formalities prescribed by the laws, 
 
 15. In all controversies concerning property, and in all suits be- 
 tween two or more persons, (except in cases in which it has hereto- 
 fore been otherwise used and practised,) the parties have a right to 
 a trial by jury ; and this method of procedure sh^,ll be held sacred 
 — unless, in cases arising on the high seas, and such as relate to 
 mariners' wages, the Legislature shall hereafter find it necessary to 
 alter it. 
 
 16. The liberty of the press is essential to security of freedom in 
 a State ; it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 17. The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the com- 
 mon, defense. And as, in time of peace, armies are dangerous to 
 liberty, they ought not to be maintained, without the consent of the 
 Legislature : and the military power shall always be held in exact 
 subordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it. 
 
 18. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the 
 Constitution, and a constant adherence to those of piety, justice, 
 moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality, are absolutely ne- 
 cessary to preserve the advantages of liberty, and to maintain a free 
 government. The people ought, consequently, to have a particular 
 attention to all those principles, in the choice of their officers and 
 representatives, and they have a right to require of their lawgivers 
 and magistrates an exact and constant observance of them, in the 
 formation and execution of all laws necessary for the good adminis- 
 tration of the commonwealth. 
 
 19. The people have a right, in an orderly and peaceable manner, 
 to assemble to consult upon the common good ; give instruction to 
 their representatives ; and to request of the legislative body, by the 
 way of addresses, petitions, or remonstrances, redress of the wrongs 
 done them, and of the grievances they suffer. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 39 
 
 20. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of the 
 laws, ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature ; or by au- 
 thority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only 
 as the Legislature shall expressly provide for. 
 
 21. The freedom of deliberation, speech, and debate, in either 
 house of the Legislature, is so essential to the rights of the people, 
 that it cannot be the foundation of any accusation or prosecution, 
 action or complaint, in any other court or place whatsoever. 
 
 22. The Legislature ought frequently to assemble, for the redress 
 of grievances, for correcting, strengthening, and confirming the 
 laws, and for making new laws, as the common good may require. 
 
 23. No subsidy, charge, tax, impost, .or duties, ought to be estab- 
 lished, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatever, without 
 the consent of the people, or their representatives in the Legislature. 
 
 24. Laws made to punish for actions done before the existence of 
 such laws, and which have not been declared crimes by preceding 
 laws, are unjust, oppressive, and inconsistent with the fundamental 
 principles of a free government. 
 
 25. No person ought, in any case, or in any time, to be declared 
 guilty of treason or felony by the Legislature. 
 
 26. No magistrate or court of law, shall demand excessive bail or 
 sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punish- 
 ments. 
 
 27. In time of peace, no soldier ought to be quartered in any 
 house, without the consent of the owner ; and in time of war, such 
 quarters ought not to be made, but by the civil magistrate, in manner 
 ordained by the Legislature. 
 
 28. No person can, in any case, be subjected to law martial, or to 
 any penalties or pains by virtue of that law, (except those employed 
 in the army or navy, and except the militia in actual service,) but 
 by the authority of the Legislature. * 
 
 29. It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every indi- 
 vidual, his life, liberty, property and character, that there be an im- 
 partial interpretation of the laws, and administration of justice. It 
 is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial, 
 and independent, as the lot of humanity will admit. It is; therefore, 
 not only the best policy, but for the security of the rights of the 
 people, and of every citizen, that the judges of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court should hold their offices as long as they behave themselves well ; 
 and that they should have honorable salaries, ascertained and es- 
 tablished by standing laws. 
 
 30. In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative de- 
 partment shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or 
 either of them : the executive shall never exercise the legislative 
 and judicial powers, or either of them : the judicial shall never ex- 
 ercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to 
 the end that it may be a government of laws, and not of men. 
 
90 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Frame of Government. 
 
 The people inliabiting the territory formerly called the Province 
 of Massachusetts Bay, do hereby solemnly and mutually agree with 
 each other to form themselves into a free, sovereign, and indepen- 
 dent body politic, or State, by the name of The, Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 S 
 
 ECTION I. 
 
 The Legislative Power. — The General Court. 
 
 Art. 1. The department of legislation shall be formed by two 
 branches, a Senate and House of Representatives : each of which 
 shall have a negative on the other. 
 
 The legislative body shall assemble every year, on the last Wednes- 
 day of May, and at such other times as they shall judge necessary ; 
 and shall dissolve and be dissolved on the day next preceding the 
 last Wednesday in May ; and shall be styled. The General Court of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 2. No bill or resolve of the Senate or House of Representatives 
 shall become a law, and have force as such, until it shall have been 
 laid before the Governor for his revisal : and if he, upon such revi- 
 sion, approve thereof, he shall signify his approbation by signing 
 the same. But, if he have any objection to the passing of such bill 
 or resolve, he shall return the same, together with his objections 
 thereto, in writing, to the Senate or House of Representatives, in 
 whichsoever the same shall have originated ; who shall enter the ob- 
 jections sent down by the Grovernor, at large, on their records, and 
 proceed to reconsider the said bill or resolve ; but if, after such re- 
 consideration, two-thirds of the said Senate or House of Represen- 
 tatives shall, notwithstanding the said objections, agree to pass the 
 same, it shall, together with the objections, be sent to the other 
 branch of the Leg4slature, where it shall also be reconsidered, and 
 if approved by two-thirds of the members present, it shall have the 
 force of a law ; but in all such cases the votes of both houses shall 
 be determined by yeas and nays : and the names of the persons vot- 
 ing for or against the said bill or resolve, shall be entered upon the 
 public records of the commonwealth. 
 
 And, in order, to prevent unnecessary delays, if any bill or resolve 
 shall not be returned by the Grovernor within five days after it shall 
 have been presented, the same shall have the force of a law. 
 
 3. The G-eneral Court shall forever have full power and authority 
 to erect and constitute judicatories, and courts of record, or other 
 courts, to be held in the name of the commonwealth, for the hear- 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 91 
 
 ing, trying, and determining of all manner of crimes, oifences, pleas, 
 processes, plaints, actions, matters, causes, and things whatsoever, 
 arising or happening within the commonwealth, or between or con- 
 cerning persons inhabiting, or residing, or brought within the same . 
 whether the same be criminal or civil ; or whether the said crimes 
 be capital or not capital, or whether the said pleas be real, personal, 
 or mixed ; and for the awarding and making out of execution there- 
 upon ; to which courts and judicatories are hereby given and grant- 
 ed full power and authority, from time to time, to administer oaths 
 or affirmations, for the better discovery of truth in any matter in 
 controversy or depending before them. 
 
 4. And further, full power and authority are hereby given and 
 granted to the said General Court, from time to time, to make, or- 
 dain, and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, 
 laws, statutes, and ordinances, directions, and instructions, either 
 with penalties or without (so as the same be not repugnant or con- 
 trary to this Constitution), as they shall judge to be for the good 
 and welfare of this commonwealth, and for the government and order- 
 ing thereof, and of the citizens of the ^same, and for the necessary 
 support and defense of the government thereof; and to name and 
 settle annually, or provide by fixed laws for the naming and set- 
 tling all civil officers, within the said commonwealth, the election 
 and constitution of whom are not hereafter, in this form of govern- 
 ment, otherwise provided for : and to set forth the several duties, 
 powers, and limits of the several civil and military officers of this 
 commonwealth, and the forms of such oaths or affirmations shall be 
 respectively administered unto them for the execution of their seve- 
 ral offices and places, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to 
 this Constitution ; and to impose and levy proportionable and rea- 
 sonable assessments, rates, and taxes upon all the inhabitants of, 
 and persons resident, and estates lying within the said common- 
 wealth ; and also to impose and levy reasonable duties and excises 
 upon any produce, goods, wares, merchandises, and commodities 
 whatsoever, brought into, produced, manufactured, or being with- 
 in the same ; to be issued and disposed of by warrant under the 
 hand of the Governor of this commonwealth for the time being, with 
 the advice and consent of the Council, for the public service, in the 
 necessary defense and support of the government of the said com- 
 monwealth, and the protection and preservation of the citizens there- 
 of, according to such acts as are or shall be in force within the 
 same. 
 
 And while the public charges of government, or any part thereof, 
 shall be assessed on polls and estates in the manner that has hitherto 
 been practised ; in order that such assessments may be made with 
 equality, there shall be a valuation of estates within the common- 
 wealth taken anew once in every ten years, at the least, and as much 
 oftener as the General Court shall order. 
 
92 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Section ii. — Senate. 
 
 Art. 1. There shall be annually elected by the freeholders and 
 other inhabitants of this commonwealth, qualified as in this Consti- 
 tution is provided, forty persons to be counselors and senators for 
 the year ensuing their election ; to be chosen by the inhabitants of 
 the districts into which the commonwealth may .from time to time 
 be divided by the General Court for that purpose. And the Gene- 
 ral Court, in assigning the numbers to be elected by the representa- 
 tive districts, shall govern themselves by the proportion of the pub- 
 lic taxes paid by the said districts ; and timely make known to the 
 inhabitants of the commonwealth, the limits of each district, and the 
 numbers of counselors and senators to be chosen therein : provided 
 that the number of such districts shall never be less than thirteen ; 
 and that no district be so large as to entitle the same to choose more 
 than six senators. 
 
 And the several counties in this commonwealth shall, until the 
 General Court shall determine it necessary to alter the said dis- 
 tricts, be districts for choice»of counselors and senators, (except that 
 the cpunties of Duke's county and Nantucket shall form one dis- 
 trict for that purpose.) and shall elect the following number for 
 counselors and senators, viz. : 
 
 Sufi'olk . . . 
 
 . . six 
 
 York 
 
 two 
 
 Essex . . . 
 
 . . six 
 
 Duke's county and i 
 Nantucket \ ' 
 
 
 Middlesex . . 
 
 . . five 
 
 one 
 
 Hampshire . . 
 
 . . four 
 
 Worcester . . . . 
 
 five 
 
 Plymouth . . 
 
 . . three 
 
 Cumberland . . . 
 
 one 
 
 Barnstable . . 
 
 . . one 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 one 
 
 Bristol . . . 
 
 three 
 
 Berkshire . . . . 
 
 two 
 
 2. The Senate shall be the first branch of the Legislature : and 
 the senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz. : There 
 shall be a meeting on the first Monday in April, annually forever, 
 of the inhabitants of each town in the several counties of this com- 
 monwealth ; to be called by the selectmen, and warned in due 
 course of law, at least seven days before the first Monday in April, 
 for the purpose of electing persons to be senators and counselors. 
 And at such meetings every male inhabitant, of twenty-one years 
 of age and upwards, having a freehold estate within the common- 
 wealth of the annual income of three pounds, or any estate of the 
 value of sixty pounds, shall have a right to give in his vote for the 
 senators for the district of which he is an inhabitant ; and to re- 
 move all doubts concerning the word " inhabitant" in this Constitu- 
 tion, every person shall be considered as an inhabitant (for the pur- 
 pose of electing and being elected into any ofiice or place within this 
 State) in that town, district, or plantation, where he dwelleth or 
 hath his home. 
 
 The selectmen of the several towns shall preside at such meetings 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 93 
 
 impartially, and shall receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such 
 towns, present and qualified to vote for senators ; and shall sort and 
 count them in open town meeting, and in presence of the town clerk, 
 who shall make a fair record, in presence of the selectmen, and in 
 open town meeting, of the name of every person voted for, and of 
 the number of votes against his name ; and a fair copy of this record 
 shall be attested by the selectmen and the town clerk, and shall be 
 sealed up, directed to the Secretary of the Commonwealth for the 
 time being, with a superscription expressing the purports of the 
 contents tliereof, and delivered by the town clerk of such town to 
 the sheriff of the county in which such town lies, thirty days at 
 least before the last Wednesday in May, annually ; or it shall be 
 delivered into the Secretary's office seventeen days at least before 
 the said last Wednesday in May ; and the sheriff of each county 
 shall deliver all such certificates by him received into the Secre- 
 tary's office, seventeen days before the said last Wednesday in May. 
 And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, (qualified as 
 this Constitution provides.) who are or shall be empowered a^id re- 
 quired to assess taxes upon themselves, toward the support of gov- 
 ernment, shall have the same privilege of voting for counselors and 
 senators in the plantations where they reside, as town inhabitants 
 have in their respective towns ; and the plantation meetings for 
 that purpose shall be held annually on the same first Monday in 
 April, at such place in the plantations respectively as the assessors 
 thereof shall direct ; which assessors shall have like authority for 
 notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the 
 selectmen and town clerks have in their several towns, by this Con- 
 stitution ; and all other persons, living in places unincorporated 
 (qualified as aforesaid), who shall be assessed to the support of gov- 
 ernment by the assessors of an adjacent town, shall have the privi- 
 lege of giving in their votes for counselors and senators in the town 
 where they shall be assessed, and be notified of the place of meeting 
 by the selectmen of the town where they shall be assessed, for that 
 purpose, accordingly J 
 
 3. And that there may be a due Convention of senators on the 
 last Wednesday in May annually, the Governor and five of the 
 Council, for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the 
 returned copies of such records ; and, fourteen days before the said 
 day, he shall issue his summons to such persons as shall appear to 
 be chosen by the majority of votes, to attend on that day and take 
 their seats accordingly ; p/ovided, nevertheless, that, for the first 
 year, the said returned copies shall be examined by the President 
 and five of the Council of the former constitution of government ; 
 and the said President shall, in like manner, issue his summons to 
 the persons so elected, that they may take their seats as aforesaid. 
 
 4. The Senate shall be the final judge of the elections, returns, 
 and qualifications of their own members, as pointed out in the Con- 
 stitution ; and shall, on the said last Wednesday in May, annually, 
 
94 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 determine and declare who are elected by each district, to he sena- 
 tors, by a majority of votes : and in case there shall not appear to 
 be the full number of senators returned, elected by a majority of 
 votes for any district, the deficiency shall be supplied in the follow- 
 ing manner, viz. : The members of the House of Representatives, 
 and such senators as shall be declared elected, shall take the names 
 of such persons as shall be found to have the highest number of 
 votes in such district, and not elected, amounting to twice the num- 
 ber of senators wanting, if there be so many voted for ; and out of 
 these shall elect, by ballot, a number of senators sufficient to fill up 
 the vacancies in such district ; and in this manner all such vacan- 
 cies shall be filled in every district of the commonwealth : and, in 
 like manner, all vacancies in the Senate, arising by death, removal 
 out of the State, or otherwise, shall be supplied as soon as may be 
 after such vacancies shall happen : 
 
 5. Provided, nevertheless, that no person shall be capable of being 
 elected a senator, who is not seized in his own right of a freehold 
 within this commonwealth of the value of three hundred pounds at 
 least, or possessed of personal estate to the value of six hundred 
 pounds at least, or of both to the amount of the same sum ; and 
 who has not been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for the space 
 of five years immediately preceding his election ; and at the time of 
 his election he shall be an inhabitant in the district for which he 
 shall be chosen. ^ 
 
 6. The Senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, provided 
 such adjournments do not exceed two days at a time. 
 
 7. The Senate shall choose its own President, appoint its own 
 officers, and determine its own rules of proceedings. 
 
 8. The Senate shall be a court, with full authority to hear and de- 
 termine all impeachments made by the House of Representatives, 
 against any officer or officers of the commonwealth, for misconduct and 
 maladministration in their offices. But, previous to the trial of every 
 impeachment, the members of the Senate shall respectively be sworn, 
 truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, 
 according to evidence. Their judgment, however, shall not extend 
 further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold or 
 enjoy any place of honor, trust, or profit, under this commonwealth; 
 but the party so convicted shall be, nevertheless, liable to impeach- 
 ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the laws of the 
 land. 
 
 9. Not less than sixteen members of tHe Senate shall constitute a 
 quorum for doing business. 
 
 Section III. — House of Reprcscjitatives. 
 
 Art. 1. There shall be, in the Legislature of this commonwealth, 
 a representation of the people, annually elected, and founded upon 
 the principles of equality 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 95 
 
 2. And in order to provide for a representation of the citizens of 
 this commonwealth, founded on the principles of equalit}'', every 
 corporate town containing one hundred and fifty ratable polls may 
 elect one representative ; every corporate town containing three 
 hundred and seventy-five ratable polls may elect two representatives : 
 every corporate town containing six hundred ratable polls, may elect 
 three representatives, and proceeding in that manner, making two 
 hundred and twenty-five ratable polls the mean increasing number 
 for every additional representative : 
 
 Provided, nevertheless, that each town now incorporated, not 
 having one hundred and fifty ratable polls, may elect one represent- 
 ative. But no place shall hereafter be incorporated with the privi- 
 lege of electing a representative, unless there are, within the same, 
 one hundred and fifty ratable polls. 
 
 And the House of Representatives shall have power, from time 
 to time, to impose fines upon such towns as shall neglect to choose 
 and return members to the same, agreeably to this Constitution. 
 
 The expense of traveling to the Greneral Assembly, and returning 
 home once in every session, and no more, shall be paid by the gov- 
 ernment, out of the public treasury, to every member who shall at- 
 tend as seasonably as he can, in the judgment of the House, and 
 does not depart without leave. 
 
 3. Every member of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 by written votes ; and for one year at least next preceding his elec- 
 tion shall have been an inhabitant of, and have been seized in his 
 own right of a freehold of the value of one hundred pounds within 
 the town he shall be chosen to represent, or any ratable es- 
 tate, to the value of two hundred pounds ; and he shall cease to 
 represent the said town immediately on his ceasing to be qualified 
 as aforesaid. 
 
 4. Every male person (being twenty-one years of age, and resi- 
 dent of any particular town in this commonwealth, for the space of 
 one year next preceding) having a freehold estate within the same 
 town, of the annual income of three pounds, or any estate of the 
 value of sixty pounds, shall have a right to vote in the choice of a 
 representative, or representatives, for the said town. 
 
 5. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 annually, in the month of May, ten days, at least, before the last 
 Wednesday of that month. 
 
 6. The House of Representatives shall be the grand inquest of 
 this commonwealth ; and all impeachments, made by them, shall be 
 heard and tried by the Senate. 
 
 7. All money bills shall originate in the House of Representa- 
 tives : but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as 
 on other bills. 
 
 8. The House of Representatives shall have power to adjourn 
 themselves ; provided such adjournment shall not exceed two days 
 at a time. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 9. Not less than sixty members of the House of Eepresentatives 
 shall constitute a quorum for doing business. 
 
 10. The House of Representatives shall be the judge of the re- 
 turns, elections and qualifications ot its own members, as pointed 
 out in the Constitution ; shall choose their own Speaker ; appoint 
 their own officers, and settle their rules and orders of proceeding in 
 their own house. They shall have authority to punish, by imprison- 
 ment, every person (not a member) who shall be guilty of disrespect 
 to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous behaviour in its 
 presence ; or who, in the town where the General Court is sitting, 
 and during the time of its sitting, shall threaten harm to the body or 
 or estate of any of its members, for anything said or done in the 
 House ; or who shall assault any of them therefor ; or who shall as- 
 sault or arrest any witness or other person ordered to attend the 
 House, in his way in going or returning ; or who shall rescue any 
 person arrested by the order of the House. 
 
 And no member of the House of Representatives shall be arrested 
 or held to bail on mesne process, during his going into, returning 
 from, or his attending the Greneral Assembly. 
 
 11. The Senate have the same powers in the like cases ; and the 
 Grovernor and Council shall have the same authority to punish in 
 like cases : provided, that no imprisonment, on the warrant or order 
 of the Governor, Council, Senate or House of Representatives, for 
 either of the above described offences, be for a term, exceeding thirty 
 days. 
 
 And the Senate and House of Representatives may try and deter- 
 mine all cases where their rights and privileges are concerned, and 
 which by the Constitution, they have authority to try and determine 
 by committees of their own members, or in such other way as they 
 may respectively think best. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Section I. — Executive Power. Governor. 
 
 Art. .1. There shall be a Supreme Executive Magistrate, who shall 
 be styled the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : and 
 whose title shall be. His Excellency. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be chosen annually : and no person shall 
 be eligible to this office, unless at the time of his election he shall 
 have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for seven years next 
 preceding ; and unless he shall, at the same time, be seized in his 
 own right of a freehold within the commonwealth of the value of one 
 thousand pounds ; and unless he shall declare himself to be of the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 3. Those persons who shall be qualified to vote for senators and 
 representatives, within the several towns of this commonwealth, 
 shall, at a meeting to be called for that purpose, on the first Mon- 
 day in April, annually, give in their votes for a Governor to the se- 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 97 
 
 lectmen, who shall preside at such meetings ; and the town clerk, in 
 the presence and with the assistance of the selectmen, shall, in open 
 town meeting, sort and count the votes, and form a list of the per- 
 sons voted for, with the number of votes for each person, against 
 his name : and shall make a fair record of the same in the town 
 books, and a public declaration thereof in the said meeting ; and 
 shall, in the presence of the inhabitants, seal up copies of the said 
 lists, attested by him and the selectmen, and transmit the same to 
 the sheriff of the county, thirty days at least before the last Wednes- 
 day in May : and the sheriff shall transmit the same to the Secre- 
 tary's office seventeen days at least before the said last Wednesday in 
 May ; or the selectmen may cause returns of the same to be made 
 to the office of the Secretary of the commonwealth, seventeen days 
 at least before the said day ; and the Secretary shall lay the same 
 before the Senate and House of Representatives on the last Wednes- 
 day in May, to be by them examined : and in case of an election by 
 a majority of all the votes returned, the choice shall be by them de- 
 clared and published. But if no person shall have a majority of 
 votes, the House of Kepresentatives shall, by ballot, elect two out 
 of four persons, who had the highest number of votes, if so many 
 shall have been voted for : but, if otherwise, out of the number voted 
 for ; and make return to the Senate of the persons so elected ; on 
 which the Senate shall, by ballot, elect one who shall be declared 
 Governor. 
 
 4. The Governor shall have authority from time to time, at his 
 discretion, to assemble and call together the counselors of this com- 
 monwealth for the time being ; and the Governor, with the said 
 counselors, or five of them at least, shall, and may from time to time, 
 hold and keep a council, for the ordering and directing the affairs 
 of the commonwealth, agreeably to the Constitution or laws of the 
 land. 
 
 5. The Governor, with the advice of Council, shall have full 
 power and authority, during the session of the General Court, to 
 adjourn or prorogue the same, to any time the two houses shall de- 
 sire ; and to dissolve the same on the day next preceding the last 
 Wednesday in May, and in the recess of the said Court to prorogue 
 the same, from time to time, not exceeding ninety days in any one 
 recess ; and to call it together sooner than the time to which it may 
 be adjourned or prorogued, if the welfare of the commonwealth shall 
 require the same. And in case of any infectious distemper prevail- 
 ing in the place where the said Court is next, at any time, to con- 
 vene, or any cause happening, whereby danger may arise to the 
 health or lives of the members from their attendance, he may direct 
 the session to be held at some other of the most convenient places 
 within the State. 
 
 And the Governor shall dissolve the said General Court on the 
 day next preceding the last Wednesday in May. 
 
 6. In cases of disagreement between the two houses with regard 
 
 8 
 
98 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 to the necessity, expediency, or time of adjournment, or prorogation, 
 the Governor, with advice of the Council, shall have a right to ad- 
 journ or prorogue the General Court, not exceeding ninety days, as 
 he shall determine and the public good shall require. 
 
 7. The Governor of this commonwealth, for the time being, shall 
 be commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and of all the military 
 forces of the State, by sea and land , and shall have full power, by 
 himself, or by any commander, or other officer or officers, from time 
 to time, to train, instruct, exercise, and govern the militia and navy ; 
 and, for the special defense and safety of the commonwealth, to as- 
 semble in martial array, and put in warlike posture, the inhabitants 
 thereof; and to lead and conduct them, and with them to encoun- 
 ter, repel, resist, expel, and pursue, by force of arms, as well by sea 
 as by land, within or without the limits of this commonwealth ; and 
 also to kill, slay, and destroy, if necessary, and conquer, by all fit- 
 ting ways, enterprises, and means whatsoever, all and every *such 
 person or persons, as shall, at any time hereafter, in a hostile man- 
 ner, attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or 
 annoyance of this commonwealth ; and to use and exercise over the 
 army and navy, and over the militia in actual service, the law mar- 
 tial, in time of war or invasion, and also in time of rebellion (de- 
 clared by the Legislature to exist), as occasion shall necessarily re- 
 quire ; and to take and surprise, by all ways and means whatsoever, 
 all and every such person or persons (with their ships, arms, ammu- 
 nition, and goods) as shall, in a hostile manuer, invade, or attempt 
 the invading, conquering, or annoying this commonwealth ; and that 
 the Governor be intrusted with all these and other powers incident 
 to the offices of captain-general, and commander-in-chief, and admi- 
 ral, to be exercised agreeably to the rules and regulations of the 
 Constitution, and the laws of the land, and not otherwise. 
 
 Provided, that the said Governor shall not, at any time hereafter, 
 by virtue of any power by this Constitution granted, or hereafter to 
 be granted to him by the Legislature, transport any of the inhabi- 
 tants of this commonwealth, or oblige them to march out of the 
 limits of the same, without their free and voluntary consent, or the 
 consent of the General Court ; except so far as may be necessary 
 to march or transport them by land or water, for the defense of such 
 part of the State, to which they cannot conveniently have access. 
 
 8. The power of pardoning offences, except such as persons may 
 be convicted of before the Senate, by an impeachment of the House. 
 shall be in the Governor, by and with the advice of Council ; but 
 no charter of pardon, granted by the Governor, with advice of the 
 Council, before conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same, 
 notwithstanding any general or particular expressions contained 
 therein, descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be par- 
 doned. 
 
 9. All judicial officers, the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-Gene- 
 ral, all sheriffs, coroners, and registers of probate, shall be nominat- 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 99 
 
 ed and appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Council ; and every such nomination shall be made by the 
 Governor, and made at least seven days prior to such appointment. 
 
 10. The captains and subalterns of the militia shall be elected by 
 the written votes of the train band and alarm list of their respective 
 companies, of twenty-one years of age and upwards. The field offi- 
 cers of regiments shall be elected by the written votes of the cap- 
 tains and subalterns of their respective regiments. The brigadiers 
 shall be elected, in like manner, by the field officers of their respect- 
 ive brigades. And such officers, so elected, shall be commissioned 
 by the Governor, who shall determine their rank. 
 
 The Legislature shall, by standing laws, direct the time and man- 
 ner of convening the electors, and of collecting votes, and of certify- 
 ing to the Governor the officers elected. 
 
 The major-generals shall be appointed by the Senate and House 
 of Representatives, each having a negative upon the other ; and be 
 commissioned by the Governor. 
 
 And if the electors of brigadiers, field officers, captains, or subal- 
 terns, shall neglect or refuse to make such elections, after being duly 
 notified according to the laws of the time being, then the Governor, 
 with advice of the Council, shall appoint suitable persons to fill 
 such offices. * 
 
 And no officer, duly commissioned to command in the militia, 
 shall be removed from his office, but by the address of both houses 
 to the Governor, or by fair trial in court-martial, pursuant to the 
 laws of the commonwealth for the time being. 
 
 The commanding officers of regiments shall appoint their adju- 
 tants and quartermasters : the brigadiers their brigade-majors ; and 
 major-generals their aids : and the Governor shall appoint the adju- 
 tant-general. 
 
 The Governor, with advice of Council, shall appoint all officers of 
 the continental army, whom (by the confederation of the United 
 States (it is provided that this commonwealth shall appoint, as also 
 all officers of forts and garrisons. 
 
 The divisions of the militia into brigades, regiments, and compa- 
 nies, made in pursuance of the militia laws now in force, shall be 
 considered as the proper divisions of the militia of this common- 
 wealth, until the same shall be altered in pursuance of some future 
 law. 
 
 11. No moneys shall be issued out of the treasury of this com- 
 monwealth, and be disposed of (except such sums as may be ap- 
 propriated for the redemption of bills of credit or treasurer's notes, 
 or for the payment of interest arising thereon) but by warrant, under 
 the hand of the Governor for the time being, with the advice and 
 consent of the Council, for the necessary defense and Support of 
 the commonwealth, and for the protection and preservation of the 
 inhabitants thereof, agreeably to the act and resolves of the Gene- 
 ral Court. 
 
100 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 12. All public boards, tl^e commissary-general, all superintending 
 officers of public magazines and stores, belonging to this common- 
 wealth, and all commanding officers of forts and garrisons within the 
 same, shall, once in every three months, officially, and without requi- 
 sition, and at other times when required by the Governor, deliv^er to 
 him an account of all goods, stores, provisions, ammunition, cannon, 
 with their appendages, and small arms, with their accoutrements, and 
 of all other public property whatever, under their care respectively ; 
 distinguishing the quantity, number, quality, and kind of each, as 
 particularly as may be ; together with the condition of such forts and 
 garrisons. And the said commanding officer shall exhibit to the 
 Governor, when required by him, true and exact plans of such forts, 
 and of the land and sea, harbor or harbors, adjacent. 
 
 And the said boards, and all public officers shall communicate to 
 the Governor, as soon as may be after receiving the same, all dis- 
 patches and intelligence of a public nature, which shall be directed 
 to them respectively. 
 
 13. As the public good requires that the Governor should not be 
 under the undue influence of any of the members of the General 
 Court, by a dependence on them for his support : that he should in 
 all cases act with freedom for the benefit of the public ; that he 
 should not "have his attention necessarily diverted from that object 
 to his private concerns ; and that he should maintain the dignity of 
 the commonwealth, in the character of its chief magistrate, it is ne- 
 cessary that he should have an honorable, stated salary, of a fixed 
 and permanent value, amply sufficient for those purposes, and estab- 
 lished by standing laws ; and it shall be among the first acts of the 
 General Court, after the commencement of this Constitution, to 
 establish such salary by law accordingly. 
 
 Permanent and honorable salaries shall also be established by 
 law for the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court. 
 
 And if it shall be found that any of the salaries aforesaid, so es- 
 tablished, are insufficient, they shall, from time to time, be enlarged, 
 as the General Court shall judge proper. 
 
 Section II. — Lieutenant- Governw. 
 
 Art. 1. There shall be annually elected a Lieutenant-Governor 
 of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose title shall be. His 
 Honor ; and who shall be qualified, in point of religion, property, 
 and residence in the commonwealth, in the same manner with the 
 Governor ; and the day and manner of his election, and the qualifi- 
 cations of the electors, shall be the same as are required in the elec- 
 tion of a Governor. The return of the votes for this officer, and the 
 declaration of his election, shall be in the same manner : and if ,no 
 one person shall be found to have a majority of all the votes return- 
 ed, the vacancy shall be filled by the Senate and House of Represen- 
 tatives, in the same manner as the Governor is to be elected, in case 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. l^fX' 
 
 no one person shall have a majority of the votes of the people, to be 
 Grovernor. 
 
 2. The Grovernor, and in his absence the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 shall be the President of the Council, but shall have no vote in 
 Council ; and the Lieutenant-Governor shall always be a member of 
 the Council, except when the chair of the Governor shall be vacant. 
 
 3. Whenever the chair of the Governor shall be vacant by reason 
 of his death, or absence from the commonwealth, or otherwise, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor for the time being shall, during such vacancy, 
 perform all the duties incumbent upon the Governor, and shall have 
 and exercise all the power and authorities which, by this Constitu- 
 tion, the Governor is vested with, when personally present. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Council^ and the manner of settling elections hy the Legislature. 
 
 Art. 1. There shall be a Council for advising the Governor in 
 the executive part of government, to consist of nine persons, besides 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, whom the Governor, for the time being, 
 shall have full power and authority from time to time, at his discre- 
 tion, to assemble and call together : and the Governor, with the said 
 counselors, or five of them at least, shall and may, from time to time 
 hold and keep a Council, for the ordering and directing the affairs 
 of the commonwealth, according to the laws of the land. 
 
 2. Nine counselors shall be annually chosen from among the per- 
 sons returned from the counselors and senators, on the last Wednes- 
 day in May, by the joint ballot of the senators and representatives, 
 assembled in one room : and in case there shall not be found, upon 
 the first choice, the whole number of nine persons, who will accept 
 a seat in the Council, the deficiency shall be made up by the electors 
 aforesaid, from among the people at large ; and the number of sen- 
 ators left shall constitute the Senate for the year. The seats for the 
 persons thus elected from the Senate, and accepting the trust, shall 
 be vacated in the Senate. 
 
 3. The counselors, in the civil arrangements of the commonwealth., 
 shall have rank next after the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 4. Not more than two counselors shall be chosen out of any one 
 district of this commonwealth. 
 
 5. The resolutions and advice of the Council shall be recorded in 
 a register, and signed by the members present ; and this record may 
 be called for at any time by either house of the Legislature ; and 
 any member of the Council may insert his opinion, contrary to the 
 resolution of the majority. 
 
 6. Whenever the office of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor 
 shall be vacant, by reason of death, absence, or otherwise, then the 
 Council, or the major part of them, shall, during such vacancy, have 
 full power and authority to do and to execute all and every such 
 acts, matters, and things, as the Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor 
 
IM::'' 
 
 CONSTITUTION QF 
 
 might or could, by virtue of this Constitution, do or execute, if they 
 or either of them were personally present. 
 
 7. And whereas the elections appointed to be made by this Con- 
 stitution, on the last Wednesday in May annually, by the two 
 houses of the Legislature, may not be completed on that day, the 
 said elections may be adjourned from day to day until the same shall 
 be completed. And the order of election shall be as follows : the 
 vacancies in the Senate, if any, shall first be filled up ; the Gov- 
 . ernor and Lieutenant-Governor shall then be elected, provided there 
 shall be no choice of them by the people ; and afterwards the two 
 houses shall proceed to the election of the Council. 
 
 Section IY. — Secretary, Treasurer, Commissary, (Sfc. 
 
 Art. 1. The Secretary, Treasurer, and Receiver-General, and 
 the Commissary-General, notaries public, and naval officers, shall be 
 chosen annually, by joint ballot of the senators and representatives, 
 in one room ; and that the citizens of this commonwealth may be 
 assured, from time to time, that the moneys remaining in the public 
 treasur}^, upon the settlement and liquidation of the public accounts, 
 are their property, no man shall be eligible as Treasurer and Re- 
 ceiver-General more than five years successively. 
 
 2. The records of the commonwealth shall be kept in the office 
 of the Secretary, who may appoint his deputies, for whose conduct 
 he shall be accountable ; and he shall attend the Governor and 
 Council, the Senate and House of Representatives, in person, or by 
 his deputies, as they shall respectively require. 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 Judiciary Power. 
 
 Art. 1 . The tenure that all commissioned officers shall by law have 
 in their offices, shall be expressed in their respective commissions ; 
 all judicial officers, duly appointed, commissioned, and sworn, shall 
 hold their offices during good behaviour ; excepting such concerning 
 whom there is different provision made in this Constitution : Pro- 
 vided, nevertheless, the Governor, with consent of the Council, may 
 remove them upon the address of both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 2. Each branch of the Legislature, as well as the Governor and 
 Council, shall have authority to require the opinions of the justices 
 of the Supreme Judicial Court, upon important questions of law, 
 and upon solemn occasions. 
 
 3. In order that the people may not sufi'er from the long contin- 
 uance in place of any justice of the peace, who shall fail of dis- 
 charging the important duties of his office with ability or fidelity, 
 all commissions of justices of the peace shall expire and become void 
 in the term of seven years from their respective dates ; and upon 
 the expiration of any commission, the same may, if necessary, be 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 103 
 
 renewed, or another person appointed, as shall most conduce to the 
 well-being of the commonwealth. 
 
 4. The judges of probates of wills, and for granting letters of ad- 
 ministration, shall hold their courts at such place or places, on fixed 
 days, as the convenience of the people may require : and the Legis- 
 lature shall, from time to time hereafter, appoint such times and 
 places : until which appointments, the said courts shall be holden at 
 the times and places which the respective judges shall direct. 
 
 5. All the causes of marriage^ divorce, alimony, and all appeals 
 from the judges of probate, shall be heard and determined by the 
 Governor and Council, until the Legislature shall, by law, make 
 other provisions. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Delegates to Congress. 
 
 The delegates of this commonwealth to the Congress of the United 
 States shall, some time in the month of June annually, be elected 
 by joint ballot of the Senate and House of Representatives, assembled 
 together in one room ; to serve in Congress for one year, to com- 
 mence on the first Monday in November then next ensuing. They 
 shall have commission under the hand of the Governor, and the 
 great seal of the commonwealth ; but may be recalled at any time 
 within the year, and others chosen and commissioned in the same 
 manner, in their stead. 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 To tlie University at Cambridge^ and Encouragement of Literature^ dfc. 
 Section I. — The University. 
 
 Art. 1. Whereas our wise and pious ancestors, so early as the 
 year one thousand six hundred and thirty-six, laid the foundation of 
 Harvard College, in which university many persons of great emi- 
 nence have, by the blessing of God, been initiated into those arts 
 and sciences which qualified them for public employments both in 
 church and state : and whereas the encouragement of arts and sci- 
 ences, and all good literature, tends to the honor of God, the advan- 
 tage of the Christian religion, and the great benefit of this and the 
 other United States of America, it is declared that the President and 
 fellows of Harvard College in their corporate capacity, and their 
 successors in that capacity, their officers and servants, shall have, 
 hold, use, exercise, and enjoy, all the powers, authorities, rights, 
 liberties, privileges, immunities, and franchises, which they now 
 have, or are entitled to have, hold, use, exercise, and enjoy : and the 
 same are hereby ratified and confirmed unto them, the said Presi- 
 dent and fellows of Harvard College, and to their successors, and to 
 their officers and servants, respectively, forever. 
 
 2. And whereas there have been, at sundry times, by divers per- 
 
104 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sons, gifts, grants, devises of houses, lands, tenements, goods, chat- 
 tels, legacies, and conveyances, heretofore made, either to Harvard 
 College, in Cambridge, in New England, or to the President and 
 fellows of Harvard College, or to the said College, by some other 
 description, under several charges successively — it is declared, that 
 all the said gifts, grants, devises, legacies, and conveyances, are 
 hereby forever confirmed unto the President and fellows of Har- 
 vard College, and to their successors in the capacity aforesaid, 
 according to the true intent and meaning of the donor or donors, 
 grantor and grantors, devisor and devisors. 
 
 3. And whereas, by an act of the General Court of the colony of 
 Massachusetts Bay, passed in the year one thousand six hundred 
 and forty- two, the Governor and Deputy-Governor, for the time 
 being, and all the magistrates of that jurisdiction, were, with the 
 President and a number' of the clergy in the said act described, 
 constituted the overseers of Harvard College : and it being neces- 
 sary in this new Constitution of government, to ascertain who shall 
 be deemed successors to the said Governor, Deputy-Governor, and 
 magistrates, it is declared that the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Council, and Senate of this commonwealth, are and shall be deemed 
 their successors : who, with the President of Harvard College, for 
 the time being, together with the ministers of the Congregational 
 churches in the towns of Cambridge, Watertown, Charlestown, Bos- 
 ton, Roxbury, and Dorchester, mentioned in the said act, shall be, 
 and hereby are, vested with all the powers and authority belonging, 
 or in any way appertaining to the overseers of Harvard College ; 
 provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Le- 
 gislature of this commonwealth from making such alterations in the 
 government of the said university as shall be conducive to its advan- 
 tage, and the interest of the republic of letters, in as full a manner 
 as might have been done by the Legislature of the late province of 
 Massachusetts Bay. 
 
 Section II. — The Encouragement of Literature. 
 
 Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally 
 among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of 
 their rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the oppor- 
 tunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the coun- 
 try, and among the diiFerent orders of the people, it shall be the duty of 
 the legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this common- 
 wealth, to cherish the interest of literature and the sciences, and all 
 seminaries of them : especially the university at Cambridge, public 
 schools, and grammar schools in the towns ; to encourage private 
 societies and public institutions, by rewards, and immunities for the 
 promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufac- 
 tures, and a natural history of the country ; to countenance and in- 
 culcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public 
 and nrivafo -harity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 105 
 
 in all their dealings ; sincerity, good humor, and all social affec- 
 tions and generous sentiments among the people. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Oaths and subscriptions ; incompatibility of, and exclusion from, offices: 
 pecuniary qualifications ; commissioris ; writs ; confirmation of laws ; 
 habeas corpus ; the enacting style ; continuance of officers ; provisiori 
 for a future revisal of the Constitution, tSfc. 
 
 Art. 1. Any person chosen Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor, 
 counselor, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall, 
 before he proceed to execute the duties of his place or office, take, 
 make, and subscribe, the following declaration, viz. : 
 
 " I, A. B., do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and 
 
 have a firm persuasion of its truth ; and that I am seized and 
 
 possessed, in my own right, of the property required by the 
 
 Constitution, as one qualification for the office or place to 
 
 which I am elected." 
 
 And the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and counselors, shall 
 
 make and subscribe the said declaration in the presence of the two 
 
 houses of assembly; and the senators and representatives first 
 
 elected under this Constitution, before the President and five of the 
 
 Council of the former Constitution ; and, forever afterwards, before 
 
 the Governor and Council for the time being. 
 
 And every person chosen to either of the offices aforesaid, as also 
 any person appointed or commissioned to any judicial, executive, 
 military, or other office, under the government, shall, before he enter 
 on the discharge of the business of his place or office, take and sub- 
 scribe the following declaration and oaths, or affirmations, viz. : 
 "I, A. B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, 
 and declare, that the commonwealth of Massachusetts is, and of 
 right ought to be, a free, sovereign, and independent State , 
 and I do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the 
 said commonwealth, and that I will defend the same against 
 traitorous conspiracies, and all hostile attempts whatsoever : 
 and that I do renounce and abjure all allegiance, subjection, 
 and obedience to the King, Queeri, or government of Great Britain, 
 as the case may be, and every other foreign power whatsoever : 
 and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, 
 hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, superiority, pre- 
 eminence, authority, dispensing or other power, in any matter, 
 civil, ecclesiastical, or spiritual, within this commonwealth, ex- 
 cept the authority and power which is or may be vested by 
 their constituents in the Congress of the United States : And 
 I do further testify and declare, that no man or body of men 
 hath or can have any right to absolve or discharge me from the 
 obligation of this oath, declaration, or affirmation ; and that I do 
 make this acknowledgment, profession, testimony, declaration, 
 
106 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 denial, renunciation, and abjuration heartily and truly, accord- 
 ing to the common meaning and acceptation of the foregoing 
 words, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret re- 
 servation whatsoever. So help me God. 
 "I, A. B., do solemnly swear and affirm, that I will faithfully 
 and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent 
 
 on me as , according to the best of my abilities 
 
 and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of 
 
 the Constitution, and the laws of this commonwealth. So 
 
 help me God.'^ 
 
 Provided alwa3^s^ that when any person chosen or appointed as 
 
 aforesaid shall be of the denomination of the people called Quakers, 
 
 and shall decline taking the said oaths, he shall make his affirmation, 
 
 in the foregoing form, and subscribe the same, omitting the words, 
 
 ^' I do swear^^^ '■'■and abjure,^' ^^ oaih,''^ '■'and abjuration,^^ in the first 
 
 oath ; and in the second oath, the words " swear and^^^ and in each 
 
 of them the words "50 help me God ;^^ subjoining instead thereof, 
 
 " This I do under the pains and penalties of per jury .'''' 
 
 And the said oaths or affirmations shall be taken and subscri- 
 bed by the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and counselors, before 
 the President of- the Senate, in the presence of the two houses of 
 assembly : and by the senators and representatives first elected 
 under this Constitution, before the President and five of the Council 
 of the former Constitution; and, forever afterwards, before the 
 Governor and Council for the time being ; and by the residue of the 
 officers aforesaid, before such persons as, from time to time, shall 
 be prescribed by the Legislature. 
 
 2. No Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or judge of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, shall hold any office or place under the authority of 
 this commonwealth, except such as by this Constitution they are 
 admitted to hold, saving that the judges of the said Court may hold 
 the offices of justices of the peace throughout the State ; nor 
 shall they hold any other place or office, or receive any pension or 
 salary, from any other State, or government, or power whatever. 
 
 No person shall be capable of holding or exercising, at the same 
 time, more than one of the following offices within this State, viz. 
 judge of probate, sheriff, register of probate, or register of deeds : 
 and never more than any two offices, which are to be held by ap- 
 pointment of the Governor, or the Governor and Council, or the 
 Senate, or the House of Representatives, or by election of the peo- 
 ple of the State at large, or of the people of any county (military 
 officer and the office of justice of the peace excepted,) shall be held 
 by one person. 
 
 No person holding the office of judge of the Supreme Judicial Court, 
 Secretary, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, Treasurer, or Re- 
 ceiver-General, judge of probate, Commissary-General, President, 
 professor, or instructor of Harvard College, Sheriff, Clerk of the 
 House of Representatives, register of probate, register of deeds. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 107 
 
 clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, clerk of the inferior court of 
 common pleas, or officer of the customs, (including 'in this descrip- 
 tion naval officers.) shall at the same tin>e have a seat in the Senate 
 or House of Representatives ; but, their being chosen or appointed 
 to, and accepting the same, shall opperate as a resignation of their 
 seat in the Senate or House of Representatives ; and the place so 
 vacated shall be filled up. 
 
 And the same rule shall take place in case any judge of the said 
 Supreme Judicial Court, or judge of probate, shall accept a seat in 
 Council, or any counselor shall accept of either of those offices or 
 places. 
 
 And no person shall ever be admitted to hold a seat in the 
 Legislature, or any office of trust or importance under the govern- 
 ment of this commonwealth, who shall in the due course, of law 
 have been convicted of bribery or corruption in obtaining an elec- 
 tion or appointment. 
 
 3. In all cases where sums of money are mentioned in this Con- 
 stitution, the value thereof shall be computed in silver, at six shil- 
 lings and eight pence per ounce : and it shall be in the power of the 
 Legislature from time to time, to increase such qualifications, as to 
 property of the persons to be elected into offices, as the circum- 
 stances of the commonwealth shall require. 
 
 4. All commissions shall be in the name of the commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts ; signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secre- 
 tary or his deputy, and have the great seal of the commonwealth 
 affixed thereto. 
 
 5. All writs issuing out of the clerk's office, in any of the Courts 
 of law, shall be in the name of the commonwealth of Massachusetts ; 
 they shall be under the seal of the Court from whence they issue ; 
 they shall bear test of the first justice of the Court to which they 
 shall be returnable, (who is not a party,) and be signed by the clerk 
 of such Court. 
 
 6. All the laws which have heretofore been adopted, used, and 
 approved of in the province, colony, or State of Massachusetts Bay, 
 and usually practised on in the Courts of law, shall still remain 
 and be in full force, until altered or repealed by the Legislature : 
 such parts only excepted as are repugnant to the rights and liberties 
 contained in this Constitution. 
 
 7. The privilege and benefit of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
 be enjoyed in this commonwealth in the most free, easy, cheap, ex- 
 peditious, and ample manner : and shall not be suspended by the 
 Legislature, except upon the most urgent and pressing occasions, 
 and for a limited time, not exceeding twelve months. 
 
 8. The enacting style, in making and passing all acts, statutes, 
 and laws, shall be, '• Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives^ in General Court assembled^ and by the authority of the 
 same." 
 
 9. To the end there may be no failure of justice, or danger arise 
 
108 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 to the commonwealtli, from a change of the form of government, all 
 officers, civil and military, holding commissions under the govern- 
 ment and people of Massachusetts Bay in New England, and all 
 other officers of said government and people, at the time this Con- 
 stitution shall take effect, shall have, hold, use, exercise, and enjoy, 
 all the powers and authority to them granted or comiaitted, until 
 other persons shall be appointed in their stead ; and all courts of 
 law shall proceed in the execution of the business of their respective 
 departments : and all the executive and legislative officers, bodies, 
 and powers, shall continue in full force in the enjoyment and exer- 
 cise of all their trusts, employments, and authority, until the Gene- 
 ral Court, and the Supreme and executive officers, under this Con- 
 stitution, are designated and invested with their respective trusts, 
 powers, and authority. 
 
 10. In order the more effectually to adhere to the principles of 
 the Constitution, and correct those violations which by any means 
 may be made therein, as well as to form such alterations as from ex- 
 perience shall be found necessary, the General Court which shall be 
 in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, 
 shall issue precepts to the selectmen of the several towns, and to the 
 assessors of the unincorporated plantations, directing them to con- 
 vene the qualified voters of their respective towns and plantations, 
 for the purpose of collecting their sentiments on the necessity or 
 expediency of revising the Constitution, in order to amendments. 
 
 And if it shall appear, by the returns made, that two-thirds of 
 the qualified voters throughout the State, who shall assemble and 
 vote in consequence of the said precepts, are in favor of such revi- 
 sion or amendment, the General Court shall issue precepts, or direct 
 them to be issued from the Secretary's office, to the several towns, to 
 elect delegates to meet in convention, for the purpose aforesaid. 
 
 The said delegates to be chosen in the same manner and proportion, 
 as their representatives in the second branch of the Legislature are 
 by this Constitution to be chosen. 
 
 1 1. This form of government shall be enrolled on parchment, and 
 deposited in the Secretary's office, and be a part of the laws of the 
 land : and printed copies thereof shall be prefixed to the book con- 
 taining the laws of this commonwealth, in all future editions of the 
 said laws. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 Atit. 1. If any bill or resolve shall be objected to, and not ap- 
 proved of by the Governor ; and if the General Court shall adjourn 
 within five days after the same shall have been laid before the Gov- 
 ernor for his approbation, and thereby prevent his returning it, with 
 his objections, as provided by the Constitution ; such bill or resolve 
 shall not become a law, nor have force as such. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 109 
 
 2. The General Court shall have full power and authority to erect 
 or constitute municipal or city governments in any corporate town 
 or towns, in this commonwealth, and to ■ grant to the inhabitants 
 thereof such powers, privileges, and immunities, not repugnant to the 
 Constitution, as the General Court shall deem necessary or expedi- 
 ent for the regulation and government thereof, and to prescribe the 
 manner of calling and holding public meetings of the inhabitants 
 in wards, or otherwise, for tlie election of officers, under the Consti- 
 tution, and the manner of returning the votes given at such meet- 
 ings : provided, that no such government shall be erected or consti- 
 tuted in any town not containing twelve thousand inhabitants, nor 
 unless it be with the consent, and on the application of a majority 
 of the inhabitants of such town, present, and voting thereon, pursu- 
 ant to a vote at a meeting duly warned and holdenfor that purpose : 
 and provided, also, that all by-laws, made by such municipal or city 
 government, shall be subject, at all times, to be annulled by the 
 General Court. 
 
 3. Every male citizen of twenty-one years of age, and upwards, 
 (excepting paupers and persons under guardianship,) who shall have 
 resided within the commonwealth one year, and within the town or 
 district, in which he may claim a right to vote, six calendar months 
 next preceding any election of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 senators, representatives, and who shall have paid, by himself or 
 his parent, master or guardian, any State or county tax, which shall, 
 within two years next preceding such election, have been assessed 
 upon him, in any town or district of this commonwealth : arid also 
 every citizen, who shall be by law exempt from taxation, and who 
 shall be in all other respects qualified as above mentioned, shall 
 have a right to vote in such election of Governor, and Lieutenant- 
 Governor, senators, and representatives ; and no other person shall 
 be entitled to a vote in such election. 
 
 4. Notaries public shall be appointed by the Governor, in the 
 same manner as judicial officers are appointed, and shall hold their 
 offices during seven years, unless sooner removed by the Governor, 
 with the consent of the Council, and upon the address of both 
 houses of the Legislature. 
 
 In case the office of Secretary or Treasurer of the commonwealth 
 shall become vacant from any cause, during the recess of the Gene- 
 ral Court, the Governor, with the consent of the Council, shall nomi- 
 nate and appoint, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
 law, a competent and suitable person to such vacant offices, who 
 shall hold the same until a successor shall be appointed by the 
 General Court. 
 
 Whenever the exigencies of the commonwealth shall require the 
 appointment of a Commissary-General, he shall be nominated, ap- 
 pointed, and commissioned, in such manner as the Legislature may 
 by law prescribe. 
 
 All officers commissioned to command in the militia, may be re- 
 
110 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 moved from office in such manner as the Legislature may by law- 
 prescribe. 
 
 5. In tlie election of captains and subalterns of the militia, all the 
 members of their respective companies, as well those under as those 
 above the age of twenty-one years, shall have a right to vote. 
 
 6. Instead of the oath of allegiance, prescribed by the Constitu- 
 tion, the following oath shall be taken and subscribed* by every per- 
 son chosen or appointed to any office, civil or military, under the 
 government of this commonw^ealth, before he shall enter upon the 
 duties of his office, to wit : 
 
 " I, A. B., do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and alle- 
 giance to the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will support the 
 Constitution thereof So help me God." 
 
 Provided, that when any person shall be of the denomination 
 called Quakers, and shall decline taking said oath, he shall make 
 his affirmation in the ' foregoing form, omitting the word " swear," 
 and inserting, instead thereof, the word " affirm," and omitting the 
 words " so help me Grod," and subjoining, instead thereof, the words 
 " this I do under the pains and penalties of perjury." • 
 
 7. No oath, declaration, or subscription, excepting the oath pre- 
 scribed in the preceding article and the oath of office, shall be re- 
 quired of the Grovernor, Lieutenant-Grovernor, counselors, senators, 
 or representatives, to qualify them to perform the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 8. No judge of any court of this commonwealth, (except the Court 
 of Sessions,) and no person holding any office under the authority 
 of the United States, (postmasters excepted,) shall, at the same 
 time, hold the office of Grovernor, Lieutenant-Governor, or coun- 
 selor, or have a seat in the Senate or House of Representatives of 
 this commonwealth ; and no judge of any court of this common- 
 wealth, (except the Court of Sessions,) nor the Attorney-General, 
 Solicitor-General, county attorney, clerk of any court, sheriff, treas- 
 urer, and receiver-general, register of probate, nor register of deeds, 
 shall continue to hold his said office after being elected a member 
 of the Congress of the United States, and accepting that trust ; but 
 the acceptance of such trust, by any of the officers aforesaid, shall 
 be deemed and taken to be a resignation of his said office ; and 
 judges of the courts of common pleas shall hold no other office under 
 the government of this commonwealth, the office of the justice of the 
 peace and militia officers excepted. 
 
 9. If, at any time hereafter, any specific and particular amend- 
 ment or amendments to the Constitution be proposed in the Gene- 
 ral Court, and agreed to by a majority of the senators, and two- 
 thirds of the members of the House of Representatives present and 
 voting thereon, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be 
 entered on the journals of the two houses, with the yeas and nays 
 taken thereon, and referred to the General Court then next to be 
 chosen, and shall be published ; and if, in the General Court then 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. Ill 
 
 next chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments 
 shall be agreed to by a majority of the senators and two-thirds of 
 the members of the House of Representatives present and voting 
 thereon ; then it shall be the duty of the General Gourt to submit 
 such proposed amendment or amendments to the people ; and if 
 they shall be approved and ratified by a majority of the qualified 
 voters voting thereon, at meetings legally warned and liolden for 
 that purpose, they shall become part of the Constitution of this com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 Article of Amendment adopted March 24, 1837, as the I2th Article 
 of the Constitution. 
 
 In order to provide for a representation of the citizens of this 
 commonwealth, founded upon the principles of equality, a census of 
 the ratable polls in each city, town, and district of the common- 
 wealth, on the first day of May, shall be taken and returned into 
 the Secretary's office, in such manner as the Legislature shall pro- 
 vide, within the month of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-seven, and in every tenth year thereafter 
 in the month of May, in manner aforesaid ; and each town or city 
 having three hundred ratable polls at the last preceding decennial 
 census of polls, may elect one representative, and for every four 
 hundred and fifty ratable polls in addition to the first three hun- 
 dred, one representative more. 
 
 Any town having less than three hundred ratable polls, shall be 
 represented thus : the whole number of ratable polls, at the last pre- 
 ceding decennial census of polls, shall be multiplied by ten, and the 
 product divided by three hundred, and such town may elect one 
 representative as many years within ten years as three hundred is 
 contained in the product aforesaid. 
 
 Any city or town having ratable polls enough to elect one or 
 more representatives, with any number of polls beyond the neces- 
 sary number, may be represented as to that surplus number by mul- 
 tiplying such surplus number by ten, and dividing the product by 
 four hundred and fifty ; and such city or town may elect one ad- 
 ditional representative as many years within the ten years as four 
 hundred and fifty is contained in the product aforesaid. 
 
 Any two or more of the several towns and districts may, by con- 
 sent of a majority of the legal voters present at a legal meeting in 
 each of said towns and districts respectively, called for that purpose 
 and held previous to the first day of July, in the year in which the 
 decennial census of polls shall be taken, form themselves into a 
 representative district, to continue until the next decennial census 
 of polls, for the election of a representative or representatives ; and 
 such district shall have all the rights, in regard to representation, 
 which would belong to a town containing the same number of rata- 
 ble poUs. 
 
112 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 The Governor and Council shall ascertain and determine, within 
 the months of July and August, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and thirty-seven, according to the foregoing 
 principles, the number of representatives which each cit}^ town and 
 representative district is entitled to elect, and the number of years 
 within the period of ten years then next ensuing, tliat each city, 
 town and representative district may elect an additional representa- 
 tive ; and where any town has not a sufficient number of polls to 
 elect a representative each year, then how many years within the 
 ten years such town may elect a representative ; and the same shall 
 be done once in ten years thereafter, by the Governor and Council, 
 and the number of ratable polls in each decennial census of polls, 
 shall determine the number of representatives which each city, town 
 and representative district may elect as aforesaid ; and when the 
 number of representatives, to be elected by each city, town or repre- 
 sentative district, is ascertained or determined as aforesaid, the Gov- 
 ernor shall cause the same to be published forthwith for the infor- 
 mation of the people, and that number shall remain fixed and un- 
 alterable for the period of ten years. 
 
 All the provisions of the existing Constitution, inconsistent with 
 the provisions herein contained, are hereby wholly annulled. 
 
 Article of Amendment^ adopted April I7tk, 1840, as the ISth Article of 
 the Constitution. 
 
 A census of the inhabitants of each city and town, on the first day 
 of May, shall be taken, and returned into the Seocetary's office, on 
 or before the last day of June, of the year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and forty, and of every tenth year thereafter, which census 
 shall determine the apportionment of senators and representatives 
 for the term of ten years. 
 
 The several senatorial districts now existing, shall be permanent. 
 The Senate shall consist of forty members ; and in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and forty, and every tenth year thereafter, 
 the Governor and Council shall assign the number of senators to be 
 chosen in each district, according to the number of inliabitants in 
 the same. But, in all cases, at least one senator shall be assigned 
 to each district. 
 
 The members of the House of Representatives shall be appor- 
 tioned in the following manner : every town or city containing 
 twelve hundred inhabitants, may elect one representative ; and two 
 thousand four hundred inhabitants shall be the mean increasing 
 number which shall entitle it to an additional representative. 
 
 Every town containing less than twelve hundred inhabitants, shall 
 be entitled to elect a representative as many times, within ten years, 
 as the number one hundred and sixty is contained in the number of 
 the inhabitants of said town. 
 
 Such towns may also elect one representative for the year in 
 
MASSACHUSETTS. 113 
 
 which the valuation of estates within the Commonwealth shall be 
 settled. 
 
 Any two or more of the several towns may, by consent of a ma- 
 jority of the legal voters present at a legal meeting, va. each of said 
 towns respectively, called for that purpose, and held before the first 
 day of August, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty. 
 and every tenth year thereafter, form themselves into a representa- 
 tive district, to continue for the term of ten years ; and such district 
 shall have all the rights, in regard to representation, which would 
 belong to a town containing the same number of inhabitants. 
 
 The number of inhabitoliticH'j^^i^b.sbjo^gntitle a town to elect one 
 representative, and the nstitutions of goversaber which shall entitle 
 a town or city to elect mtime exists, till chaio the number by which 
 the population of towns, ie people, is sacredlyesentative every^ year, 
 is to be divided, shall be iits are instituted for7, by one tenth of the 
 numbers above mentioned,iple. All laws, theration of the common- 
 wealth shall have increasea and the burdens ojud seventy thousand, 
 and for every additional in*t citizens. thousand inhabitants, 
 
 the same addition of one ten>cl hath createdde, respectively, to the 
 said numbers above mentionea.iporal puni? 
 
 In the year of each decenniai'-^et ha' the Governor and Council 
 shall, before the first day of September, apportion the number of 
 representatives which each city, town and representative district is 
 entitled to elect, and ascertain how many years, within ten years, 
 any town may elect a representative, which is not entitled to elect 
 one every year ; and the Grovernor shall cause the same to be pub- 
 lished forthwith. 
 
 Nine counselors shall be annually chosen from among the people 
 at large, on the first Wednesday of January, or as soon thereafter as 
 may be, by the joint ballot of the senators and representatives as- 
 sembled in one room, who shall, as soon as may be, in like manner, 
 fill up any vacancies that may happen in the Council, by death, re- 
 signation, or otherwise. No person shall be elected a counselor, 
 who has not been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for the term 
 of five years immediately preceding his election ; and not more than 
 one counselor shall be chosen from any one senatorial district in the 
 commonwealth. 
 
 No possession of a freehold, or of any other estate, shall be re- 
 quired as a qualification for holding a seat in either branch of the 
 Greneral Court, or in the Executive Council. 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 This is the smallest State in the union. Its resources are greater, in pro- 
 portion to its inhabitants, than any other State. The first settlement was at 
 Providence, in 1643, by Roger Williams, and his associates, who were ban- 
 ished from Massachusetts on account of their views of religious toleration. 
 (See Gammers Life of Roger Williams, published by Gould, Kendall <^ Ldncoln, 
 Boston, 1846.) This State embraces what were "once the Rhode Island and 
 Providence plantations. In 1643, Mr. Williams went to England, and obtained 
 a patent from the Plymouth Colony, by which the two plantations were united 
 under one government. In 1663, upon the restoration of Charles II. to the 
 throne, a new charter was granted, which formed the basis of government till 
 1842, when the present Constitution was adopted. Thus, for almost two cen- 
 turies, was Rhode Island without a written Constitution — showing to the 
 world what a self-governed people may do. 
 
 Area, 1,360 sq. m. Population, in 1850, 147,544. 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 Raiified by the Vote of the People, Nov. 21, 22, and 23, 1842. 
 
 We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence 
 Plantations, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious 
 liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to 
 Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and to transmit 
 the same, unimpaired, to succeeding generations, do ordain and es- 
 tablish this Constitution of Government. 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 115 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Declaration of certain Constitutional Rights and Principles. 
 
 In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom 
 established by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for 
 our posterity, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable 
 rights and principles hereinafter mentioned, shall be established, 
 maintained, and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in 
 all legislative, judicial and executive proceedings. 
 
 Sec. 1. In the words of the Father of his Countr}^, we declare, 
 that '• the basis of our political systems is the right of the people to 
 make and alter their constitutions of government ; but that the Con- 
 stitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit ^nd 
 authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all." 
 
 2. All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety, 
 and happiness of the people. All laws, therefore, should be made 
 for the good of the whole ; and the burdens of the State ought to be 
 fairly distributed among its citizens. 
 
 3. Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free ; and all 
 attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by 
 civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and mean- 
 ness • and whereas a principal object of our venerated ancestors, in 
 their migration to this country and their settlement of this State, 
 was, as they expressed it, to holtl forth a lively experiment that a 
 flourishing civil State may stand and be best maintained with full 
 liberty in religious concernments : we, therefore, declare, that no 
 man shall be compelled to frequent or to support any religious wor- 
 ship, place or ministry whatever, except in fulfilment of his own 
 voluntary contract ; nor enforced, restrained, molested or burthened 
 in his body or goods ; nor disqualified from holding any office ; nor 
 otherwise suffer on account of his religious belief: and that every 
 man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his 
 own conscience, and to profess and by argument to maintain his 
 opinion in matters of religion ; and that the same shall in lio wise 
 diminish, enlarge or affect his civil capacity. 
 
 4. Slavery shall not be permitted in this State. 
 
 5. Every person within this State ought to find a certain remedy, 
 by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he 
 may receive in his person, property or character. He ought to ob- 
 tain right and justice freely, and without purchase, completely and 
 without denial ; promptly and without delay ; conformably to the 
 laws. 
 
 6. The right' of the people to be secure in their persons, papers, 
 and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
 not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue, but on complaint in 
 writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
 describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched and the 
 persons or things to be seized. 
 
116 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infa- 
 mous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, 
 except in cases of impeachment, or of such offences as are cogniza- 
 ble by a justice of the peace ; or in cases arising in the land or 
 naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war 
 or public danger. No person shall, after an acquittal, be tried for 
 the same offence. 
 
 8. Excessive hail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed, nor cruel punishments inflicted ; and all punishments ought 
 to be proportioned to the offence. 
 
 9. All persons imprisoned ought to -be bailed by sufficient surety, 
 unless for offences punishable by death or by imprisonment for life, 
 when the proof of guilt is evident, or the presumption great. The 
 privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
 when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety shall require 
 it ; nor ever without the authority of the General Assembly. 
 
 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right 
 to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury ; to be informed 
 of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the 
 witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining 
 them in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel in his defence, 
 and shall be at liberty to speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived 
 
 /of life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or 
 
 / the law of the land. 
 
 ( 11. The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presumption 
 of fraud, ought not to be continued in prison, after he shall have 
 delivered up his* property for the benefit of his creditors, in such 
 manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 12. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- 
 tracts, shall be passed. 
 
 13. No man in a court of common law shall be compelled to give 
 evidence criminating himself 
 
 14. Every man being presumed innocent, until he is pronounced 
 guilty by the law, no act of severity which is not necessary to secure 
 an accused person, shall be permitted. 
 
 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 16. Private property shall not be taken for public uses, without 
 just compensation. 
 
 17. The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the 
 rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have 
 been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this State. 
 But no new right is intended to be granted, nor any existing right 
 impaired by this declaration. 
 
 18. The military shall be held in strict subordination to the civil 
 authority. And the law martial shall be used and exercised in 
 such cases only as occasion shall necessarily require. 
 
 19. No soldier shall be quartered in any house, in time of peace, 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 117 
 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor, in time of war, but in man- 
 ner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 20. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of free- 
 dom in a state, any person may publish his sentiments on any sub- 
 ject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty ; and in all trials 
 for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, unless published from 
 malicious motives, shall be sufficient defense to the person charged. 
 
 21. The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble 
 for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the 
 powers of government, for redress of grievances, or for other pur- 
 poses, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
 
 22. The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be 
 infringed. 
 
 23. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be con- 
 strued to impair or deny others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Of the Qualification of Electors. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this State 
 for one year, and in the town or city in which he may claim a right to 
 vote, six months next preceding the time of voting, and who is really 
 and truly possessed in his own right of real estate in such town or 
 city of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars over and 
 above all incumbrances, or which shall rent for seven dollars per 
 annum over and above any rent reserved or 'the interest of any in- 
 cumbrances thereon, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, for the 
 life of any person, or an estate in reversion or remainder, which 
 qualifies no other person to vote, the conveyance of which estate, if 
 by deed, shall have been recorded at least ninety days, shall there- 
 after have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all 
 questions in all legal town or ward meetings so long as he continues 
 so qualified. And if any person hereinbefore described shall own 
 any such estate within this State out of the town or city in which 
 he resides, he shall have a right to vote in the election of all general 
 officers and members of the General Assembly in the town or city in 
 which he shall have had his residence and home for the term of six 
 months next preceding the election, upon producing a certificate 
 from the clerk of the town or city in which his estate lies, bearing 
 date within ten days of the time of his voting, setting forth that 
 such person has a sufficient estate therein to qualify him as a voter ; 
 and that the deed, if any, has been recorded ninety days. 
 
 2. Every male native citizen of the United States, of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this State 
 two years and in the town or city in which he may offer to vote, six 
 months next preceding the time of voting, whose name is registered 
 pursuant to the act calling the convention to frame this Constitu- 
 
118 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tion, or shall be registered in the office of the clerk of such town or 
 city at least seven days before the time he shall oiFer to vote, and 
 before the last day of December in the present year ; and who has 
 paid or shall pay a tax or taxes assessed upon his estate within this 
 State and within a year of the time of voting to the amount of one 
 dollar, or who shall voluntarily pay at least seven days before the 
 time he shall offer to vote, and before said last day of December, to 
 the clerk or treasurer of the town or city where he resides, the sum 
 of one dollar, or such sum as with his other taxes, shall amount to 
 one dollar, for the support of public schools therein, and shall make 
 proof of the same, by the certificate of the clerk, treasurer or collec- 
 tor of any town or city where such payment is made : or, who being 
 so registered, has been enrolled in any military company in this 
 State, and done military, service or duty therein, within the present 
 year, pursuant to law, and shall, (until other proof is required by 
 law,) prove by the certificate of the officer legally commanding the 
 regiment, or chartered, or legally authorized volunteer company in 
 which he may have served or done duty, that he has been equipped 
 and done duty according to law, or by the certificate of the commis- 
 sioners upon military claims, that he has performed military service, 
 shall have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on' 
 all questions in all legally organized town or ward meetings, until 
 the end of the first year after the adoption of this Constitution, or 
 until the end of the year eighteen hundred and forty-three. 
 
 From and after that time, every such citizen who has had the resi- 
 dence herein required, and whose name shall be registered in the 
 town where he resides, on or before the last day of December, in the 
 year next preceding the time of his voting, and who shall show by 
 legal proof, that he has for and within the year next preceding the 
 time he shall offer to vote, paid a tax or taxes assessed against him 
 in any town or city in this State, to the amount of one dollar, or 
 that he has been enrolled in a military company in this State, been 
 equipped and done duty therein, according to law, and at least, for 
 one day during such year, shall have a right to vote in the election 
 of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized town 
 or ward meetings : Provided, that no person shall at any time be 
 allowed to vote in the election of the city Council of the city of 
 Providence, or upon any proposition to impose a tax, or for the ex- 
 penditure of money in any town or city, unless he shall within the 
 year next preceding, have paid a tax, assessed upon his property 
 therein, valued at least at one hundred and thirty-four dollars. 
 
 3. The assessors of each town or city, shall annually assess upon 
 every person whose name shall be registered, a tax of one dollar, or 
 such sum as with his other taxes, shall amount to one dollar, which 
 registry tax shall be paid into the treasury of such town or city, and 
 be applied to the support of public schools therein : But no com- 
 pulsory process shall issue for the collection of any registry tax : 
 Provided, that the registry tax of every person who has performed 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 119 
 
 military duty according to tlie provisions of the preceding section, 
 shall be remitted for the year he shall perform such duty ; and the 
 registry tax assessed upon any mariner, for any year while he is at 
 sea, shall,.upon his application, be remitted ; and no person shall be 
 allowed to vote whose registry tax for either of the two years next 
 preceding the time of voting is not paid or remitted as herein pro- 
 vided. 
 
 4. No person in the military, naval, marine, or any other service 
 of the United States, shall be considered as having the required res- 
 idence by reason of being employed in any garrison, barrack or 
 military or naval station in this State : and no pauper, lunatic, per- 
 son non compos mentis, person under guardianship, or members of 
 the Narragansett tribe of Indians, shall be permitted to be registered 
 or to vote. Nor shall any person convicted of bribery or of any 
 crime deemed infamous at common law, be permitted to exercise 
 that privilege, until he be expressly restored thereto by act of the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 5. Persons residing on lands ceded by this State to the United 
 States, shall not be entitled to exercise the privilege of electors. 
 
 6. The Greneral Assembly shall have full power to provide for a 
 registry of voters, to prescribe the manner of conducting the elec- 
 tions, the form of certificates, the nature of the evidence to be re- 
 quired in case of a dispute as to the right of any person to vote* and 
 generally to enact all laws necessary to carry this article into effect, 
 and to prevent abuse, corruption, and fraud in voting. 
 
 ARTICLE 111.— Of the Distribution of Powers. 
 
 The powers of the government shall be distributed into three de- 
 partments ; the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. 
 
 ARTICLE lY.—Ofthe Legislative Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the State, 
 and any law inconsistent therewith shall be void. The Greneral 
 Assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry this Constitution 
 into effect. 
 
 2. The Legislative power, under this Constitution, shall be vested 
 in two houses, the one to be called the Senate, the other the House 
 of Representatives ; and both together the Greneral Assembly. The 
 concurrence of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment 
 of laws. The style of their laws shall be. It is enacted by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly as follows : 
 
 3. There shall be two sessions of the Greneral Assembly holden 
 annually ; one at Newport, on the first Tuesday of May, for the 
 purposes of election and other business ; the other on the last Mon- 
 day of October, which last session shall be holden at South Kings- 
 town, once in two years, and the intermediate years alternately at 
 Bristol, and East Greenwich ; and an adjournment from the October 
 session shall be holden annually at Providence. 
 
120 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 4. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fee, or be 
 of counsel in any case pending before either house of the General As- 
 sembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon , proof thereof to 
 the satisfaction of the house of which he is a member. 
 
 5. The person of every member of the General Assembly shall be 
 exempt from arrest, and his estate from attachment in any civil ac- 
 tion, during the session of the General Assembly, and two days before 
 the commencement, and two days after the termination thereof, and 
 all process served contrary hereto shall be void. For any speech 
 in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned in any 
 other place. 
 
 6. Each house shall be the judge of the elections and qualij&ca- 
 tions of its members ; and a majority shall constitute a quorum to 
 do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
 and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, 
 and under such penalties as may be prescribed by such house or by 
 law. The organization of the two houses may be regulated by law, 
 subject to the limitations contained in this Constitution. 
 
 7. Each house may determine its rules of proceeding, punisb 
 contempt, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the 
 concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member ; but not a second time 
 for the same cause. 
 
 8: Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings. The yeas 
 and nays of the members of either house, shall, at the desire of one- 
 fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 9. Neither house shall, during a session, without the consent of 
 the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which they may be sitting. 
 
 10. The General Assembly shall continue to exercise the powers 
 they have heretofore exercised, unless prohibited in this Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 1 1. The senators and representatives shall receive, the sum of one 
 dollar for every day of attendance, and eight cents per mile for 
 traveling expenses in going to and returning from the General As- 
 sembly. The General Assembly shall regulate the compensation of 
 the Governor and all other officers, subject to the limitations con- 
 tained in this Constitution. 
 
 12. All lotteries shall hereafter be prohibited in this State, except 
 those already authorized by the General Assembly. 
 
 13. The General Assembly shall have no power, hereafter, without 
 the express consent of the people, to incur State debts to an amount 
 exceeding fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of 
 insurrection or invasion, nor shall they in any case, without such 
 consent, pledge the faith of the State for the payment of the obliga- 
 tions of others. This section shall not be construed to refer to any 
 money that may be deposited with this State by the Government of 
 the United States. 
 
 14. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each House 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 121 
 
 of the General Assembly shall be required to every bill appropriat- 
 ing the public money or property for local or private purposes. 
 
 15. The Greneral Assembly shall, from time to time, provide for 
 making new valuations of property, for the assessment of taxes, in 
 such manner as they may deem best. A new estimate of such 
 property shall be taken before the first direct State tax, after the 
 adoption of this Constitution, shall be assessed. 
 
 16. The General Assembly may provide by law for the continuance 
 in office of any officers of annual election or appointment, until other 
 persons are qualified to take their places. 
 
 1 7. Hereafter, when any bill shall be presented to either house of 
 the General Assembly, to create a corporation for any other than for 
 religious, literary, or charitable purposes, or for a military, or fire 
 company, it shall be continued until another election of members of 
 the General Assembly shall have taken place, and such public notice 
 of the pendency thereof shall be given as may be required by law. 
 
 18. It shall be the duty of the two houses upon the request of 
 either, to join in grand committee for the purpose of elQcting Sena- 
 tors in Congress, at such times' and in such manner as may be pre- 
 scribed by law for said elections. 
 
 ARTICLE Y. — Of the House of Representatives. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall never exceed seventy- 
 two members, and shall be constituted on the basis of population, 
 always allowing one representative for a fraction exceeding half the 
 ratio ; but each town or city shall always be entitled to at least one 
 member ; and no town or city shall have more than one-sixth of the 
 whole number of members to which the House is hereby limited. 
 The present ratio shall be one representative to every fifteen hun- 
 dred and thirty inhabitants, and the General Assembly may, after 
 any new census taken by the authority of the United States, or of 
 this State, re-apportion the representation by altering the ratio ; but 
 no town or city shall be divided into districts for the choice of rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 2. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect its 
 speaker, clerks, and other officers. The senior member from the 
 town of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in the organization 
 of the House. 
 
 ARTICLE VI.— 0/ the Senate. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Senate shall consist of the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 of one Senator from each town or city in the State. 
 
 2. The Governor, and, in his absence, the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 shall preside in the Senate and in grand committee. The presiding 
 officer of the Senate and grand committee shall have -a right to vote 
 in case of equal division, .but not otherwise. 
 
 3. If, by reason of death, resignation, absence, or other cause, 
 
122 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ttere be no Governor or Lieutenant-Grovernor present, to preside in 
 the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their own members to preside 
 during such absence or vacancy ; and until such election is made by 
 the Senate, the Secretary of State shall preside. 
 
 4. The Secretary of State shall, by virtue of his office, be Secre- 
 tary of the Senate, unless otherwise provided by law ; and the Sen- 
 ate may elect such other officers as they may deem necessary. 
 
 ARTICLE VII.— 0/ the Executive Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. The chief executive power of this State shall be vested m 
 a Governor, who, together with a Lieutenant-Governor, shall be an- 
 nually elected by the people. 
 
 2. The Governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 3. He shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief of the mili- 
 tary and naval forces of this State, except when they shall be called 
 into the service of the United States. 
 
 4. He shall have power to grant reprieves after conviction, in all 
 cases except those of impeachment, until the end of the next session 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 5. He may fill vacancies in office not otherwise provided for by 
 this Constitution or by law, until the same shall be filled by the 
 General Assembly, or by the people. 
 
 6. In case of disagreement between the two houses of the General 
 Assembly, respecting the time or place of adjournment, certified to 
 him by either, he may adjourn them to such time and place as he 
 shall think proper ; provided that the time of adjournment shall not 
 be extended beyond the day of the next stated session. 
 
 7. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- 
 sembly at any town or city in this State, at any time not provided for 
 by law ; and in case of danger from the prevalence of epidemic or con- 
 tagious disease, in the place in which the General Assembly are by 
 law to meet, or to which they may have been adjourned ; or for other 
 urgent reasons, he may, by proclamation, convene said Assembly, at 
 any other place within this State. 
 
 8. All commissions shall be in the name and by authority of the 
 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ; shall be sealed 
 with the State seal, signed by the Governor and attested by the Se- 
 cretary. 
 
 9. In case of vacancy in the office of Governor, or of his inability 
 to serve, impeachment, or absence from the State, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor shall fill the office of Governor and exercise the powers 
 and authority appertaining thereto, until a Governor is qualified to 
 act, or until the office is filled at the next annual election. 
 
 10. If the offices of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor be both 
 vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, absence, or 
 otherwise, the person entitled to preside over the Senate for the time 
 being, shall in like manner fill the office of Governor during such 
 absence or vacancy. , 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 123 
 
 11. The compensation of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor 
 shall be established by law, and shall not be diminished during the 
 term for which they are elected. 
 
 12. The duties and powers of the Secretary, Attorney-General, 
 and General Treasurer, shall be the same under this Constitution 
 as are now established, or as from time to time may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII.— Of Elections. 
 Sec. 1. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, senators, representa- 
 tives. Secretary of State, Attorney-General, and General Treasurer, 
 shall be elected at the town, city, or ward meetings, to be holden on 
 the first Wednesday of April annually ; and shall severally hold 
 their offices for one year, from the first Tuesday of May next, suc- 
 ceeding, and until others are legally chosen, and duly qualified to fill 
 their places. If elected or qualified after the said first Tuesday of 
 May, they shall hold their offices for the remainder of the political 
 year, and until their successors are qualified to act. 
 
 2. The voting for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of 
 State, Attorney-General, General Treasurer, and representatives to 
 Congress, shall be by ballot ; senators and representatives to the 
 General Assembly, and town or city officers, shall be chosen by ballot 
 on demand of any seven persons entitled to vote for the same ; and 
 in all cases where an election is made by ballot or paper vote, the 
 manner of balloting shall be the same as is now required in voting 
 for general officers, until otherwise prescribed by law, 
 
 3. The names of the persons voted for as Governor, Lieutenant 
 Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney-General, and General Treas- 
 urer, shall be placed upon one ticket, and all votes for these officers 
 shall, in open town or ward meetings, be sealed up by the moderators 
 and town clerks and by the wardens and and ward clerks, who shall 
 certify the same and deliver or send them to the Secretary of State ; 
 whose duty it shall be securely to keep and deliver the same to the 
 grand committee, after the organization of the two houses at the an- 
 nual May session ; and it shall be the duty of the two houses, at 
 said session after their organization, upon the request of either house, 
 to join in grand committee, for the purpose of counting and de- 
 claring said votes, and of electing other officers. 
 
 4. The town and ward clerks shall also keep a correct list or regis- 
 ter, of all persons voting for general officers, and shall transmit a 
 copy thereof to the General Assembly, on or before the first day of 
 said May session. 
 
 5. The ballots for senators and representatives in the several 
 towns, shall in each case after the polls are declared to be closed, be 
 counted by the moderator, who shall announce the result, and the 
 clerk shall give certificates to the persons elected. If, in any case, 
 there be no election, the polls may be re-opened, and the like pro- 
 ceedings shall be had until an election ghall take place : Provided, 
 
124 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 however, that an adjournment or adjournments of the election may 
 be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. 
 
 6. In the city of Providence, the polls for senator and represen- 
 tatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the 
 day, and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the 
 close of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks in open ward 
 meeting, and afterwards delivered to the city clerk. The Mayor 
 and Aldermen shall proceed to count said votes within two days 
 from the dav of election ; and if no election of senator and repre- 
 sentatives, or if an election of only a portion of the representatives 
 shall have taken place, the Mayor and Aldermen shall order 
 a new election, to be held not more than ten days from the day 
 of the first election, and so on until the election shall be comple- 
 ted. Certificates of election shall be furnished by the city clerk to 
 the persons chosen. 
 
 7. If no person shall have a majority of votes for Grovernor, it 
 shall be the duty of the grand committee to elect one by ballot from 
 the two persons having the highest number of votes for the ofl&ce, 
 except when such a result is produced by rejecting the entire vote 
 of any town, or city, or ward, for informality or illegality, in which 
 case a new election by the electors throughout the State shall be or- 
 dered : and in case no person shall have a majority of votes for 
 Lieutenant-Governor, it shall be the duty of the grand committee 
 to elect one by ballot from the two persons having the highest num- 
 ber of votes for the office. 
 
 8. In case an election of the Secretary of State, Attorney-Gene- 
 ral, or General Treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors at the 
 annual election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly in grand committee, from the two candidates for such 
 office having the greatest number of the votes of the electors. Or in 
 case of a vacancy in either of said offic<»s from other causes, between 
 the sessions of the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint 
 some person to fill the same until a successor elected by the General As- 
 sembly is qualified to act ; and in such case, and also, in all other 
 cases of vacancies, not otherwise provided for, the General Assem- 
 bly may fill the same in any manner they may deem proper. 
 
 9. Vacancies from any cause in the Senate or House of Represen- 
 tatives may be filled up by a new election. 
 
 1 0. In all elections held by the people, under this Constitution, a 
 majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the election 
 of the persons voted for, 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— 0/ Qualifications for Office. 
 
 Sec. 1. No person shall be eligible to any civil office, (except the 
 office of school committee,) unless he be a qualified elector for such 
 office. 
 
 2. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office to 
 which he may have been elected, if he be convicted of having offer- 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 125 
 
 ed or procured any other person to offer, any bribe to secure his 
 election, or the election of any other person. 
 
 3. All general officers shall take the following engagement before 
 they act in their respective offices, to wit : You being 
 by the free vote of the electors of this State of Rhode Island and 
 Providence Plantations, elected unto the place of do 
 solemnly swear (or affirm) to be true and faithful unto this State, 
 and to si^port the Constitution of this State, and of the United 
 States ; that you will faithfully and impartially discharge all the du- 
 ties of your aforesaid office to the best of your abilities, according to 
 law ; So help you Grod. Or, this affirmation you make, and give 
 upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. 
 
 4. The members of the General Assembly, the judges of all the 
 courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound 
 by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution, and the Consti- 
 tution of the United States. 
 
 5. The oath, or affirmation, shall be administered to the Governor, 
 Lieutenant-Governor, senators and representatives, by the Secretary 
 of State, or, in his absence, by the Attorney-General. The Secre- 
 tary of State, Attorney General, and General Treasurer, shall be 
 engaged by the Governor, or by a justice of the Supreme Court. 
 
 6. No person holding any office under the government of the 
 United States, or of any other State or country, shall act as a general 
 officer, or as a member of the General- Assembly, unless at the time of 
 taking his engagement, he shall have resigned his office under such gov- 
 ernment ; and if any general officer, senator, representative, or judge 
 shall, after his election and engagement, accept any appointment 
 under any other government, his office under this shall be immedi- 
 ately vacated ; But this restriction shall not apply to any person 
 appointed to take depositions or acknowledgments of deeds, or other 
 legal instruments, by the authority of any other State or country. 
 
 ARTICLE X.—Of the Judicial Power. 
 
 Sec: 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in cue 
 Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the General Assembly 
 may, from time to time, ordain and establish. 
 
 2. The several courts shall have such jurisdiction as may from 
 time to time be prescribed by law. Chancery powers may be con- 
 ferred on the Supreme Court, but on no other court to any greater 
 extent than is now provided by law. 
 
 3. The judges of the Supreme Court shall, in all trials, instruct 
 the jury in the law. They shall also give their written opinion upon 
 any question of law, whenever requested by the Governor, or by 
 either house of the General Assembly. 
 
 4. The judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the two 
 houses in grand committee. Each judge shall hold his office until 
 his place be declared vacant by a resolution of the General Assem- 
 
126 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 bly to that eiFect ; which resolution shall be voted for by a majority 
 of all the members elected to the house in which it may originate, 
 and be concurred in by the same majority of the other house. Such 
 resolution shall not be entertained at any other than the annual 
 session for the election of public officers ; and in default of the pas- 
 sage thereof at said session, the judge shall hold his place as is here- 
 in provided. But a judge of any court shall be removed from office, 
 if, upon impeachment, he_ shall be found guilty of any official misde- 
 meanor. 
 
 5. In case of vacancy by death, resignation, removal from the 
 State or from office, refusal or inability to serve, of any judge of the 
 Supreme Court, the office may be filled by the grand committee, 
 until the next annual election, and the judge then elected shall hold 
 his office as before provided. In cases of impeachment, or tempo- 
 rary absence or inability, the Governor may appoint a person to dis- 
 charge the duties of the office during the vacancy caused thereby. 
 
 6. The judges of the Supreme Court shall receive a compensa- 
 tion for their services, which shall not be diminished during their 
 continuance in office. 
 
 7. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown may continue to 
 elect their wardens as heretofore. The othei* towns and the city of 
 Providence may elect such number of justices of the peace, resident 
 therein, as they may deem proper. The jurisdiction of said justices 
 and wardens shall be regulated by law. The justices shall be com- 
 missioned by the Governor. 
 
 ARTICLE 'XI.— Of Impeachments. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
 impeachments. A vote of two-thirds of all the members elected shall 
 be required for an impeachment of the Governor. Any officer im- 
 peached, shall thereby be suspended from office until judgment in 
 the case shall have been pronounced. 
 
 2. All the impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and when 
 sitting for that purpose, they shall be under oath or affirmation. No 
 person shall be convicted except by vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
 bers elected. When the Governor is impeached, the chief or pre- 
 siding justice of the Supreme Court for the time being, shall preside, 
 with a casting vote in all preliminary questions. 
 
 3. The Governor and all other executive and judicial officers, shall 
 be liable to impeachment ; but judgment in such cases shall not ex- 
 tend further than to removal from office. The person convicted, shall, 
 nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, accord- 
 ing to law. 
 
 ARTICLE XII.— Of Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. The diffusion of knowledge, as well as of virtue, among the 
 people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and liber- 
 
RHODE ISLAND. 127 
 
 ties, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to promote public 
 schools, and to adopt all means which they may deem necessary and 
 proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of 
 education. 
 
 2. The money which now is, or which may hereafter be appropri- 
 ated by law for the establishment of a permanent fund for the sup- 
 port of public schools, shall be securely invested and remain a per- 
 petual fund for that purpose. 
 
 3. All donations for the support of public schools or for other pur- 
 poses of education, which may be received by the General Assembly, 
 shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donbrs. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall make all necessary provisions by 
 law for carrying this article into effect. They shall not divert said 
 money or fund from the aforesaid uses, nor borrow, appropriate, or 
 use the same, or any part thereof, for any other purpose, under any 
 pretence whatsoever. 
 
 ARTICE XIIL— On Aniendments. 
 
 The General Assembly may propose amendments to this Consti- 
 tution by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each 
 house. Such propositions for amendment shall be published in the 
 newspapers, and printed copies of them shall be sent by the Secre- 
 tary of State, with the names of all the members who shall have 
 voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks 
 in the State. The said propositions shall be, by said clerks, inserted 
 in the warrants or notices by them issued, for warning the next an- 
 nual town and ward meetings in April ; and the clerks shall read 
 said propositions to the electors when thus assembled, with the 
 names of all the representatives and senators who shall have voted 
 thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of senators and 
 representatives shall be had. If a majority of all the members 
 elected to each house, at said annual meeting, shall approve any 
 proposition thus made, the same shall be published and submitted 
 to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval ; and if 
 then approved by three-fifths of the electors of the State present, and 
 voting thereon in town and ward meetings, it shall become a part 
 of the Constitution of the State. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. — Of the Adoption of this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 1. This Constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on 
 the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-three. The first election of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Secretary of State, Attorney-General, and General Treasurer, and 
 of senators and representatives under said Constitution, shall be 
 liad on the first Wednesday of April next preceding, by the electors 
 qualified under said Constitution. And the town and ward meet- 
 
128 CONSTITUTION OF RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 ings, therefore, shall be warned and conducted as is now provided 
 by law. All civil and military officers now elected, or who shall 
 hereafter be elected, by the Greneral Assembly, or other competent 
 authority, before the said first Wednesday of April, shall hold their 
 offices and may exercise their powers until the said first Tuesday of 
 May, or until their successors shall be qualified to act. All statutes, 
 public and private, not repugnant to this Constitution, shall continue 
 in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by 
 the Greneral Assembly. All charters, contracts, judgments, actions, 
 and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this Constitution had not 
 been made. The present government shall exercise all the powers 
 with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday of May, 
 one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, and until the govern- 
 ment under this Constitution is duly organized. 
 
 2. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
 adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the State as if 
 this Constitution had not been adopted. 
 
 3. The Supreme Court, established by this Constitution, shall 
 have the same jurisdiction as the Supreme Judicial Court at present 
 established, and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be 
 appealed to, or pending in the same ; and shall be held at the same 
 times and places, and in each county, as the present Supreme Judi- 
 cial Court, until otherwise prescribed by the G-eneral Assembly. 
 
 4. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown shall continue to 
 enjoy the exemptions from military duty which they now enjoy, until, 
 otherwise prescribed by law. 
 
CONNECTICUT. 
 
 This State consisted, at its first settlement, of three colonies, called Hart- 
 ford, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies. The colony of Say brook afterwards 
 became united with Hartford. The first English settlement was at Wind-' 
 sor, in 1633. by emigrants from Massachusetts — then a journey of fourteen 
 days from Boston — now of five hours. New Haven colony was settled by the 
 English in 1638. In 1662 these colonies were united under one government 
 by a charter from Charles 11. The New Haven colony refused to accede to this 
 charter until 1665. This charter was suspended in 1686, and Sir Edmund 
 Andross was appointed Governor-General 'of New England. Upon his arri- 
 val at Boston, he wrote to the colony of Connecticut, demanding of them their 
 charter. This they refused. In October, 1687, the Assembly met, as usual, 
 at Hartford. About this time, Sir Edmund, with his suit of more than sixty 
 regular troops, made their appearance in the Assembly, and demanded of 
 them their charter, declaring their government under it dissolved. A long dis- 
 cussion ensued, which continued till evening. Meantime a large number of 
 the inhabitants came together to witness the result. The charter was at 
 length brought and laid upon the table. Suddenly, at a signal, the lights were 
 all extinguished, and one Capt. Wadsworth, of Hartford, seized the char- 
 ter and bore it away, secreting it in a large hollow oak, standing near the 
 place. By this means, it was preserved. The old oak still stands, bearing the 
 significant name of the Old Charter Oak, (See Barber's Hist. Collections of 
 Conn.) This charter was confirmed after the revolution in England, of 1688, 
 and formed the basis of government until 1818, when the present Constitution 
 was adopted. 
 
 Area, 4,674 sq. m. Pop., in 1850, 370,791. 
 10 
 
130 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 The people of Connecticutj. acknowledging, with, gratitude, the 
 good providence of God in having permitted them to enjoy a free 
 government, do, in order more ejQFectually to define, secure, and per- 
 petuate the liberties, rights, and privileges which they have derived 
 from their ancestors, hereby, after a careful consideration and revis- 
 ion, ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of civil 
 government, 
 
 ARTICLE 1.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the great and essential principles of liberty and free gov- 
 ernment may be recognized and established, we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all men, when they form a social compact, are equal 
 in rights ; and that no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive 
 public emoluments or privileges from the community. 
 
 2. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free 
 governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their 
 benefit ; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefea- 
 sible right to alter their form of government in such manner as they 
 may think expedient. 
 
 3. The exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and wor- 
 ship, without discrimination, shall forever be free to all persons in 
 this State, provided that the right hereby declared and established 
 shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or to 
 justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the State. 
 
 4. No preference shall be given by law to any Christian sect or 
 mode of worship. 
 
 5. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that 
 liberty. 
 
 6. No law shall ever be passed to curtail or restrain .the liberty of 
 speech or of the press. 
 
 7. In all prosecutions or indictments for libels, the truth may be 
 given in evidence, and the jury shall have a right to determine the 
 law and the facts, under the direction of the court. 
 
 8. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and possessions, from unreasonable searches, or seizures ; and no 
 warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall issue, 
 without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable 
 cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 9. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a right to 
 be heard, by himself and by counsel : to demand the nature and 
 cause of the accusation ; to be confronted by the witnesses against 
 him ; to have compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his favor ; 
 
CONNECTICUT. I3i 
 
 and in all prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy- 
 public trial by an impartial jury. He shall not be compelled to\ 
 give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or 1 
 property, but by due course of law. And no person shall be holden 
 to answer for any crime, the punishment of which may be death or 
 imprisonment for life, unless on a presentment or an indictment of 
 a grand jury ; except in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, 
 when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. 
 
 10. No person shall be arrested, detained, or punished, except in 
 cases clearly warranted by law. \ 
 
 11. The property of no person shall be taken for public use, with A 
 out just compensation therefor. J 
 
 12. All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done 
 him in his person, property, or reputation, shall have remedy by due 
 course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, 
 denial, or delay. 
 
 13. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed. 
 
 14. All prisoners shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufiicient 
 sureties, except for capital offences, where the proof is evident, or 
 the presumption great ; and the privileges of the writ of habeas 
 corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or 
 invasion the public safety may require , it ; nor in any case, but by 
 the Legislature. 
 
 15. No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the 
 Legislature. 
 
 16. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble 
 for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the 
 powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper pur- 
 poses, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
 
 17. Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself 
 and the State. * 
 
 18. The military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict 
 subordination to the civil power. 
 
 19. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in a man- 
 ner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 20. No hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors shall ever be 
 granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 21. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 ARTICLE IL—Ofthe Distribution of Powers. 
 
 The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct 
 departments, and each of them confided to a separate magistracy, to 
 wit ; — those which are legislative, to one ; those which are executive, 
 to another ; and those which are judicial, to another. 
 
132 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE 111.— Of the Legislative Department. 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two 
 distinct houses or branches ; the one to be styled the Senate, the 
 other the House of Representatives, and both together the General 
 Assembly. The style of the* laws shall be: Be it enacted hy the 
 Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened. 
 
 2. There shall be one stated session of the General Assembly, to 
 be holden each year, alternately at Hartford and New Haven, on 
 the first Wednesday of May, and at such other times as the General 
 Assembly shall judge necessary ; the first session to be holden at 
 Hartford ; but the person administering the ofiice of Governor, 
 may, on special emergencies, convene the General Assembly at either 
 of said places at any other time. And in case of danger from the pre- 
 valence of contagious diseases in either of said places, or other cir- 
 cumstances, the person administering the ofiice of Governor, may, by 
 proclamation, convene said Assembly at any other place in this State. 
 
 3. The House of Representatives shall consist of electors residing 
 in towns from which they are elected. The number of representatives 
 from each town shall be the same as at present practised and allowed. 
 In case a new town shall hereafter be incorporated, such new town shall 
 be entitled to one representative only : and if such new town shall 
 be made from one or more towns, the town or towns from which the 
 same shall be made, shall be entitled to the same number of repre- 
 sentatives as at present allowed, unless the number shall be reduced 
 by the consent of such town or towns. 
 
 4. The Senate shall consist of twelve members, to be chosen an- 
 nually by the electors. 
 
 5. At the meetings of the electors, held in the several towns in 
 this State, in April annually, after the election of representatives, 
 the electors present shall be called upon to bring in their written 
 ballots for senators. The presiding officer shall receive the votes of 
 the electors, and count and declare them in open meeting. The 
 presiding officer shall also make duplicate lists of the persons voted 
 for, and of the number of votes for each, which shall b& certified by 
 the presiding officer ; one of which lists shall be delivered to the 
 town clerk, and the other, within three days after said meeting, 
 shall be delivered, under seal, either to the Secretar}'- or to the sheriff 
 of the county in which said town is situated ; which list shall be 
 directed to the Secretary, with a superscription expressing the pur- 
 port of the contents thereof And each sheriff who shall receive 
 such votes shall, within fifteen days after said meeting, deliver or 
 cause them to be delivered, to the Secretary. 
 
 6. The Treasurer, Secretary, and Comptroller, for the time being, 
 shall canvass the votes publicly. The twelve persons having the 
 greatest number of votes for senators shall be declared to be elected. 
 But, in cases where no choice is made by the electors, in conse- 
 quence of an equality of votes, the House of Representatives shall 
 
CONNECTICUT. 133 
 
 designate, by ballot, which of the candidates having such equal num- 
 ber of votes shall be declared to be elected. The return of votes, 
 and the result of the canvass, shall be submitted to the House of 
 Representatives, and also to the Senate, on the first day of the 
 session of the General Assembly, and each house shall be th^ final 
 judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members. 
 
 7. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a 
 Speaker, Clerk, and other officers. The Senate shall choose its clerk 
 and other officers, except the President. A majority of each house 
 shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number 
 may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent 
 members in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house 
 may prescribe. 
 
 8. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, 
 punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of 
 two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
 cause ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the 
 legislature of a free and independent State. 
 
 9. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish the same when required by one-fifth of its members, except 
 such parts as, in the judgment of a majority, require secrecy. The 
 yeas and nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of 
 one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journals. 
 
 10. The Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases of civil 
 process, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General 
 Assembly, and for four days before the commencement and after 
 the termination of any session thereof And for any speech or 
 debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 11. The debates of each house shall be public, except on such 
 occasions as in the opinion of the house may require secrecy. 
 
 ARTICLE lY.— Of the Executive DepartTnent. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of the State shall be 
 vested in a Governor, who shall be chosen by the electors of the 
 State, and shall hold his office for one year from the first Wednes- 
 day of May next succeeding his election^ and until his successor be 
 duly qualified. No person who is not an elector of this State, and 
 who has not arrived at the age of thif ty, shall be eligible. 
 
 2. At the meetings of the electors, in the respective towns, in the 
 month of April in each year, immediately after the election of sena- 
 tors, the presiding officers shall call upon the electors to bring in 
 their ballots for him whom they would elect to be Governor, with 
 his name fairly written. When such ballots shall have been received 
 and counted, in the presence of the electors, duplicate lists of the 
 persons voted for, and of the number of votes given for each, shall 
 be made and certified by the presiding officer, one of which lists . 
 shall be deposited in the office of the town clerk, within three 
 days, and the other within ten days after the said election, shall be 
 
134 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 transmitted to the Secretary, or to the sheriff of the county in 
 which such election shall have been held. The sheriff receiving 
 said votes shall deliver, or cause them to be delivered, to the Secre- 
 tary, within fifteen days next after said election. The votes so 
 returned shall be counted by the Treasurer, Secretary, and Comp- 
 troller, within the month of April : A fair list of the persons and 
 number of votes given for each, together with the returns of the 
 presiding officers, shall be,* by the Treasurer, Secretary, and Comp- 
 troller, made and laid before the General Assembly then next to be 
 holden, on the first day of the session thereof; and said Assembly 
 shall, after examination of the same, declare the person whom they 
 shall find to be legally chosen, and give him notice accordingly. If 
 no person shall have a majority of the whole number of said votes, 
 or if two or more shall have an equal and the greatest number of 
 said votes, then said Assembly, on the second day of their session, 
 by joint ballot of both houses, shall proceed, without debate, to 
 choose a G-overnor from a list of the names of the two persons hav- 
 ing the greatest number of votes, or of the names of the persons 
 having an equal and highest number of votes so returned as afore- 
 said. The General Assembly shall by law prescribe the manner in 
 which all questions concerning the election of a Governor or 
 Lieutenant-Governor shall be determined. 
 
 3. At the annual meetings of the electors, immediately after the 
 election of Governor, there also shall be chosen in the same manner 
 as is herein before provided for the election of Governor, a Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, who shall continue in office for the same time, and 
 possess the same qualifications. 
 
 4. The compensations of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 senators, and representatives, shall be established by law, and shall 
 not be varied so as to take effect until after an election which shall 
 next succeed the passage of the law establishing said compensation. 
 
 5. The Governor shall be captain-general of the militia of the 
 State, except when called into, the service of the United States. 
 
 6. He may require information, in writing, from the officers in 
 the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of 
 their respective offices. 
 
 7. The Governor, in case of a disagreement between the two houses 
 of the General Assembly respecting the time of adjournment, may 
 adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the 
 day of the next stated session. 
 
 8. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly in- 
 formation of the state of the government, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient. 
 
 9. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 10. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, after con- 
 viction, in all cases except those of impeachment, until the end of 
 the next session of the General Assembly, and no longer. 
 
 1 1 . All commissions shall be in the name and by authority of the 
 
CONNECTICUT. 135 
 
 State of Connecticut : shall be sealed with the State seal, signed by 
 the Governor, and attested by the Secretary. 
 
 12. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor. If he approve, 
 he shall sign and transmit it to the Secretary ; but if not, he shall 
 return it to the house in which it originated, with his objections, 
 which shall be entered on the journals of the house ; who shall pro- 
 ceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, that house 
 shall again pass it, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other 
 house, which shall also reconsider it. If approved, it shall become 
 a law. But, in such cases, the votes of both houses shall be deter- 
 mined by yeas and nays ; and the names of the members voting for 
 and against the bill shall be entered on the journals of ea(5h house 
 respectively. If the bill shall not be returned by the Governoi 
 within tliree days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been pre-, 
 sented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had 
 signed it ; unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, pre- 
 vent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 13. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be 
 President of the Senate, and have when in committee of the whole 
 a right to debate, and, when the Senate is equally divided, to give 
 the casting vote. 
 
 1 4. In case of the death, resignation, refusal to serve, or removal 
 from office of the Governor, or of his impeachment, or absence from 
 the State, the Lieutenant-Governor shall exercise the powers and 
 authority appertaining to the office of Governor, until another be 
 chosen at the next periodical election for Governor, and be duly 
 qualified ; or until the Governor impeached or absent shall be ac- 
 quitted or return. 
 
 15. When the government shall be administered by the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the 
 Senate, the Senate 'shall elect one of their members as President 
 pro tempore. And if, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, 
 the Lieutenant-Governor shall die, resign, refuse to serve, to be re- 
 moved from office, or if he shall be impeached, or absent from the 
 State, the President of the Senate pro tempore shall, in like manner, 
 administer the government until he be superseded by a Governor 
 or Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 16. If the Lieutenant-Governor shall be required to administer 
 the government, and shall, while in such administration, die or re- 
 sign during the recess of the General Assembly, it shall be the duty 
 of the Secretary, for the time being, to convene the Senate for the 
 purpose of choosing a President pro tempore. 
 
 17. A Treasurer shall annually be chosen by the electors at their 
 meeting in April : and the votes shall be returned, counted, canvas- 
 sed, and declared, in the same manner as is provided for the election 
 of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor ; but the votes for the jTrea- 
 surer shall be canvassed by the Secretary and Comptroller only 
 
136 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 He shall receive all moneys belonging to the State, and disburse the 
 same only as he may be directed by law. He shall pay no warrant 
 or order for the disbursement of public money, until the same has 
 been registered in the office of the Comptroller. 
 
 18. A Secretary shall be chosen next after the Treasurer, and in 
 the same manner ; and the votes for Secretary shall be returned to, and 
 counted, canvassed, and declared by the Treasurer and Comptroller. 
 He shall have the safe keeping and custody of the public records 
 and documents, and particularly of the acts, resolutions, and orders 
 of the General Assembly, and record the same ; and perform all 
 such duties as shall be prescribed by law. He shall be the keeper of 
 the seal of the State, which shall not be altered. 
 
 19. A Comptroller of the public accounts shall be annually ap- 
 pointed by the General Assembly. He shall adjust and settle all 
 public accounts and demands, except grants and orders of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. He shall prescribe the mode of keeping and ren- 
 dering all public accounts. He shall, ex officio^ be one of the auditors 
 of the accounts of the Treasurer. The General Assembly may as- 
 sign to him other duties in relation to his office, and to that of the 
 Treasurer, and shall prescribe the manner in which his duties shall 
 be performed. 
 
 20. A sheriff shall be appointed in each county, by the General 
 Assembly, who shall hold his office for three years, removable by 
 said Assembly, and shall become bound, with sufficient sureties, to 
 the Treasurer of the State for the faithful discharge of the duties 
 of his office, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law : in case 
 the Sheriff of any county shall die or resign, the Governor may fill 
 the vacancy occasioned thereby, until the same shall be filled by the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 21. A statement of all receipts, payments, funds, and debts of the 
 State, shall be published, from time to time, in such manner, and at 
 such periods, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 AETICLE V. — Of the Judicial DepdHment. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a Su- 
 preme Court of Errors, a Superior Court, and such inferior courts as 
 the General Assembly shall from time to time, ordain and establish ; 
 the powers and jurisdiction of which courts shall be defined by law. 
 
 2. There shall be appointed in each county a sufficient number of 
 justices of the peace, with such jurisdiction in civil and criminal 
 cases, as the General Assembly may prescribe. 
 
 3. The judges of the Supreme Court of Errors, of the Superior 
 and inferior courts, and all justices of the peace, shall be appointed 
 by the General Assembly, in such manner as shall by law be pre- 
 scribed. The judges of the Supreme Court, and of the Superior 
 Court, shall hold their offices during good behaviour ; but may be 
 removed by impeachment : and the Governor shall also remove them 
 on the address of two-thirds of the members of each house of the 
 
CONNECTICUT. 137 
 
 General Assembly ; all other judges and justices of the peace shall 
 be appointed annually. No judge or justice of the peace shall be 
 capable of holding his office after he shall arrive at the age of 
 seventy years. 
 
 ARTICLE VI.— 0/ the Quali/icatims of Electors. 
 
 Sec. 1. All persons who have been, or sh^H hereafter, previous to 
 the ratification of this Constitution, be admitted freemen, according 
 to the existing laws of this State, shall be electors. 
 
 2. Every white male citizen of the United States, who shall have 
 gained a settlement in this State, attained the age of twenty-one 
 years, and resided in the town in which he may offer himself to be 
 admitted to the privilege of an elector, at least six months preceding, 
 and have a freehold estate of the yearly value of seven dollars, in 
 this State ; or having been enrolled in the militia, shall have per- 
 formed military duty therein, for the term of one year next preced- 
 ing the time he shall offer himself for admission, or being liable 
 thereto, shall have been, by authority of law, excused therefrom ; or 
 shall have paid a State tax within the year next preceding the time 
 he shall present himself for such admission, and shall sustain a good 
 moral character, shall, on his taking such oath as may be prescribed 
 by law, be an elector. 
 
 3. The privileges of an elector shall be forfeited, by a conviction 
 of bribery, forgery, perjury, duelling, fraudulent bankruptcy, theft, 
 or other offence, for which an infamous punishment is inflicted. 
 
 4. Every elector shall be eligible to any office in this State, except 
 in cases, provided for in this Constitution. 
 
 5. The selectmen and town clerk of the several towns shall decide 
 on the qualifications of electors, at such times, and in such manner, 
 as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 6. Laws shall be made to support the privilege of free suffrage, pre- 
 scribing the manner of regulating and conducting meetings of the elec- 
 tors, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence 
 therein, from power, bribery, tumult, and other improper conduct. 
 
 7. In all elections of officers of the State, or members of the 
 Greneral Assembly, the votes of the electors shall be by ballot. 
 
 8. At all elections of officers of the State, or members of the 
 General Assembly, the electors shall be privileged from arrest dur- 
 ing their attendance upon, and going to and returning from, the 
 same, on any civil process. * 
 
 9. The meetings of the electors for the election of the several 
 State officers, by law annually to be elected, and members of the 
 General Assembly of this State, shall be holden on the first Mon- 
 day of April in each year. 
 
 ARTICLE VII.— 0/ Religion. 
 Sec. 1. It being the duty of all men to worship the Supreme 
 Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and their 
 
138 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 right to render that worship in the mode most consistent with the 
 dictates of their consciences : no person shall, by law, he compelled 
 to join or support, nor be classed with, or associated to, any congre- 
 gation, church, or religious association. But every person now be- 
 longing to such congregation, church, or religious association, shall 
 remain a member thereof, until he shall have separated himself there- 
 from, in the manner hereinafter provided. And each and every society 
 or denomination of Christians in this State, shall have and enjoy the 
 same and equal powers, rights, and privileges ; and shall have power 
 and authority to support and maintain the ministers or teachers of 
 their respective denominations, and to build and repair houses for 
 public worship, by a tax on the members of any such society only, 
 to be laid by a major vote of the legal voters assembled at any society 
 meeting, warned and held according to law, or in any other manner. 
 2. If any person shall choose to separate himself from the society 
 or denomination of Christians to which he may belong, and shall 
 leave a written notice thereof with the clerk of such society, he shall 
 thereupon be no longer liable for any future expenses which may be 
 incurred by said society. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII.— 0/ Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. The charter of Yale College, as modified by agreement 
 with the corporation thereof, in pursuance of an act of the General 
 Assembly, passed in May, 1792, is hereby confirmed. 
 
 2. The ifund, called the School Fund^ shall remain a perpetual fund, 
 the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated to the support 
 and encouragement of the public or common schools throughout the 
 State, and for the equal benefit of all the people thereof The value 
 and amount of said fund shall, as soon as practicable, be ascertained 
 in such manner as the General Assembly may prescribe, published, 
 and recorded in the Comptroller's office ; and no law shall ever be made 
 authorizing said fund to be diverted to any other use than the en- 
 couragement and support of public or common schools, among the 
 several school societies, as justice and equity shall require. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— 0/ Impeachments. 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. No person 
 shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- 
 bers present. When the Governor is impeached, the chief justice 
 shall preside. 
 
 3. The Governor, and all other executive and judicial officers, shall 
 be liable to impeachment ; but judgment in such cases shall not ex- 
 tend further than to removal from office, and disqualifications to 
 hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under this State. The* 
 party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indict- 
 ment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 4. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 
CONNECTICUT. 139 
 
 against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
 open court. No conviction of treason or attainder shall work cor- 
 ■ ruption of Wood or forfeiture. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the Gleneral Assembly, and all officers, execu- 
 tive, and judicial, shall, before they enter on the duties of their re- 
 spective offices, take the following oath or affirmation, to wit : 
 
 You do solemnly swear, (or affirm, as the case may be,) that you 
 will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Con- 
 stitution of the State of Connecticut, so long as you continue a 
 citizen thereof; and that you will faithfully discharge, according to 
 
 law, the duties of the office of to the best of your 
 
 abilities. So help you God. 
 
 2. Each town shall annually elect selectmen, and such officers of 
 local police, as the laws may prescribe. 
 
 3. The rights and duties of all corporations shall remain as if this 
 Constitution had not been adopted ; with the exception of such regu- 
 lations and restrictions as are contained in this Constitution. All 
 judicial and civil officers now in office, who have been appointed b}' 
 the General Assembly, and commissioned according to law, and all 
 such officers as shall be appointed by the said Assembly, and com- 
 missioned as aforesaid, before the first Wednesday of May next, 
 shall continue to hold their offices until the first day of June next, 
 unless they shall, before that time, resign, or be removed from office 
 according to law. • The Treasurer and Secretary shall continue in 
 office until a Treasurer and Secretary shall be appointed under this 
 Constitution. All military officers shall continue to hold and exer- 
 cise their respective offices, until they shall resign, or be removed 
 according to law. All laws not contrary to, or inconsistent with, 
 the provisions of this Constitution, shall remain in force until they 
 shall expire by their own limitation, or shall be altered or repealed 
 by the General Assembly, in pursuance of this Constitution. The 
 validity of all bonds, debts, contracts, as well of individuals as of 
 bodies corporate, or the State, of all suits, actions, or rights of action, 
 both in law and equity, shall continue as if no change had taken 
 place. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and General Assembl}', 
 which is to be formed in October- next, shall have, and possess, all 
 the powers and authorities not repugnant to, or inconsistent with, 
 this Constitution, which they now have and possess until the first 
 Wednesday of May next. 
 
 4. No judge of the Superior Court, or of the Supreme Court of 
 
 - Errors : or member of Congress ; no person holding any office 
 
 under the authority of the United States ; no person holding the 
 
 office of Treasurer, Secretary, or Comptroller ; no sheriff or sheriff's 
 
 deputy ; shall be a member of the General Assembly. 
 
140 
 
 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 ARTICLE XI. — Of Amendments of the Constitution. 
 Whenever a majority of the House of Representatives shall deem 
 it necessary to alter or amend this Constitution, they may propose 
 such alterations and amendments; which proposed amendments, 
 shall be continued to the next General Assembly, and be published 
 with the laws which may have been passed at the same session ; and 
 if two-thirds of each house, at the next session of said Assembly, 
 shall approve the amendments proposed, by yeas and nays, said 
 amendments shall, by the Secretary, be transmitted to the town 
 clerk in each town in this State ; whose duty it shall be to present 
 the same to the inhabitants thereof, for their consideration, at a 
 town meeting, legally warned and held for that purpose ; and if it 
 shall appear, in a manner to be provided by law, that a majority of 
 the electors present at such meetings shall have approved such 
 amendments, the same shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as 
 a part of this Constitution. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTTUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE 1.— Adopted November, 1828. 
 From and after the first Wednesday of May, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty, the Senate of this 
 State shall consist of not less than eighteen, nor more than twenty, 
 four members, and be chosen by districts. 
 
 ARTICLE 11.— Adopted November, 1828. 
 The G-eneral Assembly which shall be holden on the first Wed- 
 nesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
 nine, shall divide the State into districts, for the choice of senators. 
 ,and shall determine what number shall be elected in each, which 
 districts shall not be less than eight, nor more than twenty-four in 
 number, and shall always be composed of contiguous territory, and 
 in forming them no town shall be divided ; nor shall the whole or 
 part of one county be joined to the whole or part of another county, 
 to form a district ; regard being had to the population in said ap 
 portionment, and in forming said districts in such manner, that no 
 county shall have less than two senators. The districts, when estab- 
 lished, shall continue the same until the session pf the General As- 
 sembly next after the completioft of the next census of the United 
 States ; which said Assembly shall have power to alter the same, if 
 found necessary to preserve a proper equality between said districts 
 in respect to the number of inhabitants therein, according to the prin- 
 ciples above recited ; after which said districts shall not be altered^ 
 nor the number of senators altered, except at any session of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly next after the completion of a census of the United 
 States, and then only according to the principles above prescribed. 
 
 ARTICLE 111.— Adopted November, 1828. 
 At the meeting of the electors on the first Monday of April, in 
 
CONNECTICUT. " 141 
 
 the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty, and annually 
 thereafter, immediately after the choice of representatives, the elec- 
 tors qualified by law to vote in the choice of such representatives, 
 shall be called upon, by the presiding officer in such meeting, in the 
 several towns- within their districts respectively, to bring in their 
 ballots for such person or number of persons to be senator or sena- 
 tors for such districts in the next General Assembly, as shall by 
 law be allowed to such districts respectively ; which person or per- 
 sons, at the time of holding such meetings, shall belong to and 
 reside in the respective districts in which they shall be so balloted 
 for as aforesaid. And each elector present at such meeting, quali- 
 fied as aforesaid, may thereupon bring in his ballot or suffrage for 
 such person or persons as he shall choose to be senators for such 
 district, not exceeding the number by law allowed to the same, with 
 the name or names of such person or persons, fairly written* on one 
 piece of paper. And the votes so given in shall be received, counted, 
 canvassed and declared, in the same manner now provided by the 
 Constitution for the choice of senators. The person or persons (not 
 exceeding the number by law allowed to the districts in which such 
 votes shall be given in,) having the highest number of votes, shall be 
 declared to be duly elected for such districts. But in the event of 
 an equality of votes between two or more of the persons so voted 
 for, the House of Representatives shall in the manner provided for 
 by the Constitution, designate which of such person or persons shall 
 be declared to be duly elected. 
 
 ARTICLE IV .—Adopted November, 1831. 
 There shall annually be chosen and appointed a Lieutenant- 
 Governor, a Treasurer, and Secretary, in the same manner as is 
 provided in the second section of the fourth article of the Constitu- 
 tion of this State for the choice and appointment of a Governor. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Adopted November, 1836. 
 A Comptroller of public accounts, shall be annually chosen by the electors, 
 in their meeting in April, and in the same manner as the Treasurer and Sec- 
 retary are chosen ; and the votes for Comptroller shall be returned to, and 
 coimted, canvassed, and declared by the Treasurer and Secretary. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Adopted November, 1836. 
 
 The electors in the respective towns, on the first Monday of April in each 
 year, may vote for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Treasurer, Secretary, sen- 
 ators and representatives in the General Assembly, successively, or for any 
 number of said officers at the same time. And the General Assembly shall 
 have power to enact laws, regulating and prescribing the order and manner of 
 voting for said officers ; and also providing for the election of representatives, 
 at some time subsequent to the first Monday of April, in all cases when it 
 shall so happen that the electors in any to wn shall fail, on that day, to elect the 
 representative or representatives to which such town shall be by law entitled. 
 
 Provided, that in all elections of officers of the State, or members of the 
 General Assembly, the votes of the electors shall be by ballot, either written or 
 printed. 
 
 * Amendment, 183G. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 The first settlement of this State was made by the Dutch, in 1614, on Man- 
 hattan Island. They established a colonial government in 1629, under the 
 name of New Netherlands. In 1664, Charles II. granted to his brother, the 
 Duke of York, afterwards James II., a patent of a tract of country, compris- 
 ing the present States of New York and New Jersey. The same year Col. 
 Nichols, with a large force, took the country by conquest, for the Duke of 
 York, and gave it the name of " New York." In 1673, the territory was re- 
 captured by the Dutch ; but after a few months was restored by a treaty, and 
 the Duke of York took out a new patent. The first legislative body of this 
 province assembled in Oct. 1683. In 1693 Episcopacy was made the estab- 
 lished religion of this province. 
 
 New York bore a very important part both in the French and Revolutionary 
 wars. As it is the most populous State in the union, and has the largest legis- 
 lation in Congress, it has received the appellation of the Empire State. The 
 first Constitution was adopted in 1777, the second in 1822. (See Appendix.) 
 The present one was adopted Nov. 3d, 1846. 
 
 Area 46,000 sq. m. Population, 1850, 3,090,022. 
 
 The city of New York is the largest in the United States. Its population 
 in 1850 was 515,394, which, with Brooklyn rn-i V/illiamsburg (places con- 
 tiguous), make a population of more than 640,000. The city and county have 
 the same limits, embracing the island of Manhattan. It is about 14 miles 
 long, and its average width 1^ miles. The British had possession of this city 
 during most of the Revolution. They evacuated it Nov. 25, 1783, when Gen. 
 Washington with his troops marched in. Here the first Congress assembled 
 in 1789, and here was Gen. Washington inaugurated as the first President of 
 the United States of America, April 30, 1789. The house where the first Con- 
 gress assembled occupied the place where the Custom House now stands. 
 
 The chair in which Washington was inaugurated, and those occupied by 
 the members of the first Congress, may now be seen in the Common Council 
 Room of this City. 
 
NEW YORK. 143 
 
 CONSTITUTION, 
 
 We the People of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God 
 for our freedom : in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 AETICLE I. 
 
 Sec. 1. No member of this State shall he disfranchised, or de- 
 prived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen 
 thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers. 
 
 2. The trial by jury, in all cases in which it has been heretofore 
 used, shall remain inviolate forever. But a jury trial may be waived 
 by the parties in all civil cases in the manner to be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and 
 worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be al- 
 lowed in this State to all mankind ; and no person shall be rendered 
 incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters 
 of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured 
 shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or jus- 
 tify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. 
 
 4. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
 safety may require its suspension. 
 
 5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
 nor shall cruel and unusual punishment be inflicted, nor shall wit- 
 nesses be unreasonably detained. 
 
 6. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise in- 
 famous crime, (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia, 
 when in actual service ; and the land and naval forces in time of 
 war, or which this State may keep with the consent of Congress in 
 time of peace ; and in cases of petit larceny, under the regulation of 
 the Legislature,) unless on presentment or indictment of a grand 
 jury ; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party accused shall 
 be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in 
 civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy 
 for the same oiFcnce ; nor shall he be compelled in any criminal case, 
 to be a witness against himself ; nor be deprived of life, liberty or 
 property, w ithout due proc ess of law : nor shall private property 
 be taken forpubiic use Willl^ilt just"l3ompensation. 
 
 7. When private property shall be taken for any public use, the 
 compensation to be made therefor, when such compensation is not 
 made by the State, shall be ascertained by a jury, or by not less 
 than three commissioners appointed by a Court of Record, as shall 
 be prescribed by law. Private roads may be opened in the manner 
 to be prescribed by law ; but in every case the necessity of the road, 
 and the amount of all damages to be sustained by the opening there- 
 
144 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of, shall be first determined by a jury of freeholders, and such 
 amount, together with the expenses of the proceeding, shall be paid 
 by the person to be benefited. 
 
 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right ; 
 and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, 
 or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions or indictments for 
 libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it shall 
 appear to the jury, that the matter charged as libelous is true, and 
 was published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party 
 shall be acquitted ; and the jury shall have a right to determine the 
 law and the fact. 
 
 9. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch 
 of the Legislature, shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the 
 public moneys or property for local or private purposes. 
 
 10. No law shall be passed, abridging the right of the people 
 peaceably to assemble and to petition the government, or any de- 
 partment thereof, nor shall any divorce be granted, otherwise than 
 by due judicial proceedings, nor shall any lottery hereafter be au- 
 thorized, or any sale of lottery tickets allowed within this State. 
 
 11. The people of this State, in their right of sovereignty, are 
 deemed to possess the original and ultimate property in and to all 
 lands within the jurisdiction of the State ; and all lands the title to 
 which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert, or escheat to the 
 people. 
 
 12. All feudal tenures of every description, with all their inci- 
 dents, are declared to be abolished, saving however, all rents and 
 services certain which at any time heretofore have been lawfully cre- 
 ated or reserved. 
 
 13. All lands within this State are declared to be allodial, so that, 
 subject only to the liability to escheat, the entire and absolute prop- 
 erty is vested in the owners according to the nature of their respec- 
 tive estates. 
 
 14. No lease or grant of agricultural land, for a longer period 
 than twelve years, hereafter made, in which shall be resea-ved any 
 rent or service of any kind, shall be valid. 
 
 15. All fines, quarter sales, or other like restraints upon aliena- 
 tion reserved in any grant of land, hereafter to be made, shall be 
 void. 
 
 16. No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this State, 
 made since the fourteenth day of October one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and seventy-five ; or which may hereafter be made, of, or with 
 the Indians, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and 
 with the consent of the Legislature. 
 
 17. Such parts of the common law, and of the acts of the Legis- 
 lature of the colony of New-York, as together did form the law of 
 the said colony, on the nineteenth day of April one thousand seven 
 hundred and seventy-five, and the resolutions of the Congress of 
 
NEW YORK. 145 
 
 the said colony, and of the Convention of the State of New- York, in 
 force on the twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and 
 seventy-seven, which have not since expired, or be^en repealed or al- 
 tered ; and such acts of the Legislature of this State as are now in 
 force, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such 
 alterations as the Legislature shall make concerning the same. But 
 all such parts Of the common law, and such of the said acts, or parts 
 thereof, as are repugnant to this Constitution, are hereby abrogated ; 
 and the Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, shall appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall 
 be to reduce into a written and systematic code the whole body of 
 the law of this State, or so much and such parts thereof as to the 
 said commissoners shall seem practicable and expedient. And the 
 said commissioners shall specify such alterations and amendments 
 therein as they shall deem proper, and they shall at all times make 
 reports of their proceedings to the Legislature, when called upon to 
 do so ; and the Legislature shall pass laws regulating the tenure of 
 office, the filling of vacancies therein, and the compensation of the 
 said commissioners ; and shall also provide for the publication of 
 the said code, prior to its being presented to the Legislature for 
 adoption. 
 
 18. All grants of land within this State, made by the King of 
 Great Britain, or persons acting under his authority, after the four- 
 teenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy- 
 five, shall be null and void ; but nothing contained in this Consti- 
 tution shall affect any grants of land within this State, made by the 
 authority of the said King or his predecessors, or shall annul any char- 
 ters to bodies politic and corporate, by him or them made, before 
 that day ; or shall affect any such grants or charters since made by 
 this State, or by persons acting under its authority, or shall impair 
 the obligation of any debts contracted by this State, or individuals, 
 or bodies corporate, or any other rights of property, or any suits, 
 actions, rights of action, or other proceedings in courts of justice. 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 Sec. 1. Every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall 
 have been a citizen for ten days, and an inhabitant of this State one 
 year next preceding any election, and for the last four months a resi- 
 dent of the county where he may offer his vote, shall be entitled to 
 vote at such election in the election district of which he shall at the 
 time be a resident, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are 
 or hereafter may be elective by the people ; but such citizen shall 
 have been for thirty days next preceding the election, a resident of 
 the district from which the officer is to be chosen for whom he offers 
 his vote. But no man of color, unless he shall have been for three 
 years a citizen of this State, and for one year next preceding any 
 election shall have been seized and possessed of a freehold estate of 
 the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts 
 
146 
 
 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 and incumbrances charged thereon, and shall have been actually 
 rated, and paid a tax thereon, shall be entitled to Vote at such elec- 
 tion. And no person of color shall be subject to direct taxation 
 unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as afore- 
 said. 
 
 2. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage all 
 persons who have been or may be convicted of bribery, or larceny, or 
 of any infamous crime ; and for depriving every person who shall 
 make, or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wa- 
 ger depending upon the result of any election, from the right to vote 
 at such election. 
 
 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have 
 gained or lost a residence, by reason of his presence or absence, 
 while employed in the service of the United States ; nor while en- 
 gaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the United 
 States, or of the high seas ; nor while a student of any seminary of 
 learning ; nor while kept at any alms-house, or other asylum, at 
 public expense ; nor while confined in any public prison. 
 
 4. Laws shall be made for ascertaining by proper proofs the citi 
 zens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established. 
 
 5. All elections by the citizens shall be by ballot, except for such 
 town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a 
 Senate and Assembly. 
 
 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-two members, and the sena- 
 tors shall be chosen for two years. The Assembly shall consist of 
 one hundred and twenty-eight members, who shall be annually 
 elected. 
 
 3. The State shall be divided into thirty-two districts, to be called 
 Senate districts, each of which shall choose one Senator. The dis- 
 tricts shall be numbered from one to thirty-two inclusive. 
 
 District number one ( 1 ), shall consist of the counties of Suffolk. 
 Richmond and Queens. 
 
 District mtmber two (2), shall consist of the county of Kings. 
 
 Districts number three (3), number four (4), number five (5), and 
 number six (6), shall consist of the city and county of New- York ; 
 and the board of supervisors of said city and county shall, on or be- 
 fore the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 seven, divide the said city and county into the number of Senate 
 Districts, to which it is entitled, as near as may be of an equal 
 number of inhabitants, excluding aliens and persons of color not 
 taxed, and consisting of convenient and contiguous territory ; and 
 no Assembly District shall be divided in the formation of a Senate 
 District. The board of supervisors, when they shall have completed 
 such division, shall cause certificates thereof, stating the number 
 and boundaries of each district and the population thereof, to bo 
 
NEW YORK. 147 
 
 filed in the ofl&ce of the Secretary of State, and of the clerk of the 
 said city and county. 
 
 District number seven (7), shall consist of the counties of West- 
 chester, Putnam and Rockland. 
 
 District number eight (8), shall consist of the counties of Dutchess 
 and Columbia. 
 
 District number nine (9), shall consist of the counties of Orange 
 and Sullivan. 
 
 District number ten (10), shall consist of the counties of Ulster 
 and Greene. 
 
 District number eleven (11), shall consist of the counties of Al- 
 bany and Schenectady. 
 
 District number twelve (12), shall consist of the county of 
 Rensselaer. 
 
 District number thirteen (13), shall consist of the counties of 
 Washington and Saratoga. 
 
 District number fourteen (14), shall consist of the counties of 
 Warren, Essex, and Clinton. 
 
 District number fifteen (15), shall consist of the counties of St 
 Lawrence and Franklin. 
 
 District number sixteen (16), shall consist of the counties of Her- 
 kimer, Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery. 
 
 District number seventeen (17), shall consist of the counties of 
 Schoharie and Delaware. 
 
 District number eighteen (18), shall consist of the counties of 
 Otsego and Chenango. 
 
 District number nineteen (19), shall consist of the county of 
 Oneida. 
 
 District number twenty (20), shall consist of the counties of 
 Madison and Oswego. 
 
 District number twenty-one (21), shall consist of the counties of 
 Jefferson and Lewis. 
 
 District number twenty- two (22), shall consist of the county of 
 Onondaga. 
 
 District number twenty- three (23), shall consist of the counties of 
 Cortland, Broome and Tioga. 
 
 District number twenty-four (24), shall consist of the counties of 
 Cayuga and Wayne. 
 
 District number twenty-five (25), shall consist of the counties of 
 Tompkins, Seneca and Yates. 
 
 District number twenty-six (26), shall consist of the counties of 
 Steuben and Chemung. 
 
 District number twenty-seven (27), shall consist of the county of 
 Munroe. 
 
 District number twenty-eight (28), shall consist of the counties 
 of Orleans, Genesee and Niagara. 
 
 District number twenty-nine (29), shall consist of the counties 
 of Ontario and Livingston. 
 
148 CONSTITUlriON OF 
 
 District number thirty (30), sliall consist of the counties of Alle- 
 gany and Wyoming. 
 
 District number thirty-one (31), shall consist of the county of 
 Erie. 
 
 District number thirty-two (32), shall consist of the counties of 
 Chautauque and Cattaraugus. 
 
 4. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the State shall be taken, 
 under the direction of the Legislature, in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end of every ten years there- 
 after ; and the said districts shall be so altered by the Legislature, 
 at the first session after the return of every enumeration, that each 
 Senate district shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number 
 of inhabitants, excluding aliens, and persons of color not taxed ; and 
 shall remain unaltered until the return of another enumeration, and 
 shall at all times consist of contiguous territory ; and no county 
 shall be divided in the formation of a Senate district, except such 
 county shall be equitably entitled to two or more Senators. 
 
 5. The members of Assembly shall be apportioned among the 
 several counties of this State, by the Legislature, as nearly as may 
 be, according to the number of their respective inhabitants, exclud- 
 ing aliens, and persons of color not taxed, and shall be chosen by 
 single districts. 
 
 The several boards of supervisors in such counties of this State 
 as are now entitled to more than one member of Assembly, shall 
 assemble on the first Tuesday of January next, and divide their re- 
 spective counties into Assembly districts equal to the number of 
 members of Assembly to which such counties are now severaly en- 
 titled by law, and shall cause to be filed in the offices of the Secre- 
 tary of State and the clerks of their respective counties, a description 
 of such Assembly districts, specifying the number of each district 
 and the population thereof, according to the last preceding State 
 enumeration, as near as can be ascertained. Each Assembly district 
 shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, 
 excluding aliens, and persons of color not taxed, and shall consist of 
 convenient and contiguous territory ; but no town shall be divided 
 in the formation of Assembly districts. 
 
 The Legislature, at its first session after the return of every 
 enumeration, shall re-apportion the members of Assembly among 
 the several counties of this State, in manner aforesaid, and the boards 
 of supervisors in such counties as may be entitled, under such re- 
 apportionment, to more than one member, shall assemble at such 
 time as the Legislature making such re-apportionment shall pre- 
 scribe, and divide such counties into Assembly districts, in the 
 manner herein directed ; and the apportionment and districts so to 
 be made, shall remain unaltered until another enumeration shall be 
 taken under the provisions of the preceding section. 
 
 Every county heretofore established and separately organized, 
 except the county of Hamilton, shall always be entitled to one 
 
NEW YORK. 149 
 
 member of the Assembly, and no new county shall be hereafter 
 erected, unless its population shall entitle it to a member. 
 
 The county of Hamilton shall elect with the county of Fulton, 
 until the population of the county of Hamilton shall, according to 
 the ratio, be entitled to a member. 
 
 6. The members of the Legislature shall receive for their services 
 a sum not exceeding three dollars a day, from the commencement of 
 the session ; but such pay shall not exceed in the aggregate three 
 hundred dollars for per diem allowance, except in proceedings for 
 impeachment. The limitation as to the aggregate compensation 
 shall not take effect until the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 forty-eight. When convened in extra session by the Governor, they 
 shall receive three dollars per day. They shall also receive the sum 
 of one dollar for every ten miles they shall travel, in going to and 
 returning from their place of meeting, on the most usual route. 
 The Speaker of the Assembly shall, in virtue of his office, receive an 
 additional compensation equal to one-third of his per diem allowance 
 as a member. 
 
 7. No member of the Legislature shall receive any civil appoint- 
 ment within this State, or to the Senate of the United States, from 
 the Governor, the Governor and Senate, or from the Legislature, 
 during the term for which he shall have been elected : and all such 
 appointments, and all votes given for any such member, for any such 
 office or appointment, shall be void. 
 
 8. No person being a member of Congress, or holding any judicial 
 or military office under the United States, shall hold a seat in the 
 Legislature. And if any person shall, after his election as a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature, be elected to Congress, or appointed to any 
 office, civil or military, under the Government of the United States, 
 his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat. 
 
 9. The elections of Senators and members of Assembly, pursuant 
 to the provisions of this Constitution, shall be held on the Teusday 
 succeeding the first Monday of November, unless otherwise directed 
 by the Legislature, 
 
 10. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do 
 business. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceed- 
 ings, and be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of 
 its own members ; shall choose its own officers ; and the Senate shall 
 choose a temporary president, when the Lieutenant-Governor shall 
 not attend as president, or shall act as Governor. 
 
 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish the same, except such parts as may require secrecy. The doors 
 of each house shall be kept open, except when the public welfare 
 shall require secrecy. Neither house shall, without the consent of 
 the other, adjourn for more than two days. 
 
 12. For any speech or debate in either house of the Legislature, 
 the members shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
150 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 13. Any bill may originate in either house of the Legislature, 
 and all bills passed by one house may be amended by the other. 
 
 14. The enacting clause of all bills shall be, " The people of the 
 State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact 
 as follows : " and no law shall be enacted except by bill. 
 
 15. No bill shall be passed unless by the assent of a majority of 
 all the members elected to each branch of the Legislature, and the 
 question upon the final passage shall be taken immediately upon its 
 last reading, and the yeas and nays entered on the journal. 
 
 16. No private or local bill, which may be passed by the Legisla- 
 ture, shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed 
 in the title. 
 
 1 7. The Legislature may confer upon the boards of supervisors of 
 the several counties of the State, such further powers of local legis- 
 lation and administration, as they shall from time to time prescribe. 
 
 AKTICLE IV. 
 
 Sec. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who 
 shall hold his office for two years : a Lieutenant-Governor shall be 
 chosen at the same time, and for the same term. 
 
 2. No person, except a citizen of the United States, shall be 
 eligible to the office of Governor, nor shall any person be eligible to 
 that office, who shall not have attained the age of thirty years, and 
 who shall not have been five years next preceding his election, a 
 resident within this State. 
 
 3. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the 
 times and places of choosing members of the Assembly. The per- 
 sons respectively having the highest number of votes for Governor 
 and Lieutenant-Governor, shall be elected ; but in case two or more 
 shall have an equal and the highest number of votes for Governor, 
 or for Lieutenant-Governor, the two houses of the Legislature, at 
 its next annual session, shall, forthwith, by joint ballot, choose one 
 of the said persons so having an equal and the highest number of 
 votes for Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 4. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military and 
 naval forces of the State. He shall have power to convene the 
 Legislature (or the Senate only) on extraordinary occasions. He 
 shall communicate by message to the Legislature, at every session, 
 the condition of the State, and recommend such matters to them 
 as he shall judge expedient. He shall transact all necessary busi- 
 ness with the officers of Government, civil and military. He shall 
 expedite all such measures as may be resolved upon by the Legisla- 
 ture, and shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. He 
 •shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation to be 
 established by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished 
 after his election and during his continuance in office. 
 
 5. The Governor shall have the power to grant reprieves, commu- 
 
NEW YORK. . 151 
 
 tatioDS and pardons after conviction, for all offences except treason 
 and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions, and with such re- 
 strictions and limitations, as he may think proper, subject to such 
 regulation as may be provided by law relative to the manner of ap- 
 plying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have power 
 to suspend the execution of the sentence, until the case shall be re- 
 ported to the Legislature at its next meeting, when the Legislature 
 shall either pardon, or commute the sentence, direct the execution of 
 the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall annually com- 
 municate to the Legislature each case of reprieve, commutation or 
 pardon granted ; stating the name of the convict, the crime of which 
 he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the com- 
 mutation, pardon or reprieve. 
 
 6. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, or his removal 
 from office, death, inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
 the said office, resignation or absence from the State, the powers and 
 duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Grovernor for 
 the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease. But when 
 the Governor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the 
 State in time of war, at the head of a military force thereof, he shall 
 continue commander-in-chief of all the military force of the State. 
 
 7. The Lieutenant Governor shall possess the same qualifications 
 of eligibility for office as the Governor. He shall be President of 
 the Senate, but shall only have a casting vote therein. If during a 
 vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall be 
 impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incapable of performing 
 the duties of his office, or be absent from the State, the President 
 of the Senate shall act as Governor, until the vacancy be filled, or 
 the disability shall cease. 
 
 8. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, while acting as such, receive a 
 compensation which shall be fixed by law, and which shall not be 
 increased or diminished during his continuance in office. 
 
 9. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and Assembly, 
 shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor : if he 
 approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it with his ob- 
 jections to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall 
 enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon- 
 sider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members 
 present shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the ob- 
 jections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered ; 
 and if approved by two-thirds of all the members present, it shall 
 become a law, notwithstanding^ the objections of the Governor. But 
 in all such cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
 yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against 
 the bill, shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. 
 If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days 
 (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
 same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
 
152 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, prevent its return ; in 
 which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 ARTICLE y. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer and At- 
 torney-General shall be chosen at a general election, and shall hold 
 their ofl&ces for two years. Each of the officers in this article 
 named (except the Speaker of the Assembly), shall at stated times, 
 during his continuance in office, receive for his services, a compensa- 
 tion, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for 
 which he shall have been elected ; nor shall he receive, to his use, 
 any fees or perquisites of office, or other compensation. 
 
 2. A State Engineer and Surveyor shall be chosen at a general 
 election, and shall hold his office two years, but no person shall be 
 elected to said office who is not a practical engineer. 
 
 3. Three canal commissioners shall be chosen at the general elec- 
 tion, which shall be held next after the adoption of this Constitution ; 
 one of whom shall hold his office for one year, one for two years, and 
 one for three years. The commissioners of the canal fund shall 
 meet at the Capital on the first Monday of January, next after such 
 election, and determine by lot which of said commissioners shall 
 hold his office for one year, which for two, and which for three years ; 
 and there shall be elected annually, thereafter, one canal commis- 
 sioner, who shall hold his office for three years. 
 
 4. Three inspectors of State Prisons shall be elected at the gene- 
 ral election which shall be held next after the adoption of this Con- 
 stitution, one of whom shall hold his office for one year, one for two 
 years, and one for three years. The Governor, Secretary of State, 
 and Comptroller, shall meet at the Capital on the first Monday of 
 January next succeeding such election, and determine by lot which 
 of said inspectors shall hold his office for one year, which for two, 
 and which for three years ; and there shall be elected annually there- 
 after one inspector of State Prisons, who shall hold his office for 
 three years ; said inspectors shall have the charge and superintend- 
 ence of the State Prisons, and shall appoint all the officers therein. 
 All vacancies in the office of such inspector shall be filled by the 
 Governor, till the next election. 
 
 5. The Lieutenant-Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Secretary 
 of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General, and State Engi- 
 neer and Surveyor, shall be the commissioners of the land-office. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State. Comptroller, Trea- 
 surer, and Attorney-General, shall be the commissioners of the 
 canal fund. 
 
 The canal board shall consist of the commissioners of the canal 
 fand, the State Engineer and Surveyor, and the canal commissioners. 
 
 6. The powers and duties of the respective boards, and of the 
 several officers in this article mentioned, shall be such as now are or 
 hereafter may be prescribed by law. 
 
NEW YORK. 153 
 
 7. The Treasurer may be suspended from office by the Grovernor, 
 during the recess of the Legislature, and until thirty days after the 
 commencement of the next session of the Legislature, whenever it 
 shall appear to him that such Treasurer has, in any particular, vio- 
 lated his duty. The Governor shall appoint a competent person to 
 discharge the duties of the office, during such suspension of the 
 Treasurer. 
 
 8.' All offices for the weighing, gauging, measuring, culling or 
 inspecting any merchandize, produce, manufacture or commodity, 
 whatever, are hereby abolished, and no such office shall hereafter be 
 created by law ; but nothing in this section contained, shall abrogate 
 any office created for the purpose of protecting the public health, or the 
 interests of the State in its property, revenue, tolls, or purchases, or 
 of supplying the people with correct standards of weights and meas- 
 ures, or shall prevent the creation of any office for such purposes 
 hereafter. 
 
 ARTICLE VI 
 
 Sec. 1. The Assembly shall have the power of impeachment, by 
 the vote of a majority of all the members elected. The court for 
 the trial of impeachments, shall be composed of the President of 
 the Senate, the senators, or a major part of them, and the judges of 
 the Court of Appeals, or the major part of them. On the trial of an 
 impeachment against the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall 
 act as a member of the court. No judicial officer shall exercise his 
 office after he shall have been impeached, until he shall have been 
 acquitted. Before the trial of an impeachment, the members of the 
 court shall take an oath or affirmation, truly and impartially to try 
 the impeachment, accordiijg to evidence ; and no person shall be con- 
 victed, without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 
 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
 removal from office, or removal from office and disqualification to 
 hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under this State ; 
 but the party impeached shall be liable to indictment and punish- 
 ment according to law. 
 
 2. There shall be a Court of Appeals, composed of eight judges, 
 of whom four shall be elected by the electors of the State for eight 
 years, and four selected from the class of justices of the Supreme 
 Court having the shortest time to serve. Provision shall be made 
 by law, for designating one of the number elected, as chief judge, 
 and for selecting such justices of the Supreme Court, from time to 
 time, and for so classifying those elected, that one shall be elected 
 every second year. 
 
 3. There shall be a Supreme Court having general jurisdiction in 
 law and equity. 
 
 4. The State shall be divided into eight judicial districts, of which 
 the city of New-York shall be one ; the others to be bounded by 
 county lines, and to be compact and equal in population as nearly as 
 
154 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 may be. There shall be four justices of the Supreme Court in each 
 district, and as many more in the district composed of the city of 
 New-York, as may from time to time be authorized by law. but not 
 to exceed in the whole such number in proportion to its population, 
 as shall be in conformity with the number of such judges in the resi- 
 due of the State in proportion to its population. They shall be 
 classified so that one of the justices of each district shall go out of 
 ofl&ce at the end of every two years. After the expiration of their 
 terms under such classification, the term of their office shall be 
 eight years. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall have the same powers to alter and regu- 
 late the jurisdiction and proceedings in law and equity, as they have 
 heretofore possessed. 
 
 6. Provision may be made by law for designating from time to 
 time, one or more of the said justices, who is not a judge of the 
 Court of Appeals, to preside at the general terms of the said court, 
 to be held in the several districts. Any three or more of the said 
 justices, of whom one of the said justices so designated shall al- . 
 ways be one, may hold such general terms. And any one or more 
 of the justices may hold special terms and circuit courts, and any' 
 one of them may preside in courts of oyer and terminer in any 
 county. 
 
 7. The judges of the Court of Appeals and justices of the Su- 
 preme Court shall severally receive at stated times for their services, 
 a compensation to be established by law, which shall not be increased 
 or diminished during their continuance in office. 
 
 8. They shall not hold any other office of public trust. All votes 
 for either of them, for any elective office (except that of justice of 
 the Supreme Court, or judge of the Court of Appeals,) given by the 
 Legislature or the people, shall be void. They shall not exercise 
 any power of appointment to public office. Any male citizen of the 
 age of twenty-one years, of good moral character, and who possesses 
 the requisite qualifications of learning and ability, shall be entitled 
 to admission to practice in all the courts of this State. 
 
 9. The classification of the justices of the Supreme Court ; the 
 times and place of holding the terms of the Court of Appeals, and 
 of the general and special terms of the Supreme Court within the 
 several districts, and the circuit courts and courts of oyer and ter- 
 miner within the several counties, shall be provided for by law. 
 
 10. The testimony in equity cases shall be taken in like manner 
 as in cases at law. 
 
 11. Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of 
 Appeals, may be removed by concurrent resolutions of both houses 
 of the Legislature, if two-thirds of all the members elected to the 
 Assembly and a majority of all the members elected to the Senate, 
 concur therein. All judicial officers, except those mentioned in this 
 section, and except justices of the peace, and judges and justices of 
 inferior courts not of record, may be removed by the Senate, on the 
 
NEW YORK. 155 
 
 recommendation of the Governor ; but no removal shall be made by 
 virtue of this section, unless the cause thereof be entered on the 
 journals, nor unless the party complained of, shall have been served 
 with a copy of the complaint against him, and shall have had an 
 opportunity of being heard in his defense. On the question of re- 
 moval, the ayes and noes shall be entered on the journals. 
 
 12. The judges of the Court of Appeals shall be elected by the 
 electors of the State, and the justices of the Supreme Court by the 
 electors of the several judicial districts, at such times as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 13. In case the office of any judge of the Court of Appeals, or 
 justice of the Supreme Court, shall become vacant before the expi- 
 ration of the regular term for which he was elected, the vacancy 
 may be filled by appointment by the Grovernor, until it shall be sup- 
 plied at the next general election of judges, when it shall be filled 
 by election for the residue of the unexpired term. 
 
 14. There shall be elected in each of the counties of this State, 
 except the city and county of New-York, one county judge, who 
 shall hold his office for four years. He shall hold the county court, 
 and perform the duties of the office of surrogate. The county court 
 shall have such jurisdiction in cases arising in justices courts, and 
 in special cases, as the Legislature may prescribe ; but shall have no 
 original civil jurisdiction, except in such special cases. 
 
 The county judge, with two justices of the peace to be designated 
 according to law, may hold courts of sessions, with such criminal 
 jurisdiction as the Legislature shall prescribe, and perform such 
 other duties as may be required by law. 
 
 The county judge shall receive an annual salary, to be fixed by 
 the board of supervisors, which shall be neither increased nor di- 
 minished during his continuance in office. The justices of the peace, 
 for services in courts of sessions, shall be paid a per diem allow- 
 ance out of the county treasury. 
 
 In counties having a population exceeding forty thousand, the 
 Legislature may provide for the election of a separate officer to per- 
 form the duties of the office of surrogate. 
 
 The Legislature may confer equity jurisdiction in special cases 
 upon the county judge. 
 
 Inferior local courts, of civil and criminal jurisdiction, may be 
 established by the Legislature in cities ; and such courts, except for 
 the cities of New-York and Buffalo, shall have an uniform organi- 
 zation and jurisdiction in such cities. 
 
 15. The Legislature may, on application of the board of super- 
 visors, provide for the election of local officers, not to exceed two in 
 any county, to discharge the duties of county judge and of surro- 
 gate, in cases of their inability or of a vacancy, and to exercise such 
 other powers in special cases as may be provided by law. 
 
 16. The Legislature may reorganize the judicial districts at the 
 first session after the return of every enumeration under this Con- 
 
156 CONSTITUTION 
 
 stitution in the manner provided for in the fourth section of this 
 article and at no other time ; and they may, at such session, increase 
 or diminish the number of districts, but such increase or diminution 
 shall not be more than one district at any one time. Each district 
 shall have four justices of the Supreme Court ; but no diminution 
 of the districts shall have the effect to remove a judge from office. 
 
 17. The electors of the several towns, shall, at their annual town 
 meeting, and in such manner as the Legislature may direct, elect 
 justices of the peace, whose term of office shall be four years. In 
 case of an election to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 
 of a full term, they shall hold for the residue of the unexpired term. 
 Their number and classification may be regulated by law. Justices 
 of the peace and judged or justices of inferior courts not of record, 
 and their clerks, may be removed after due notice and an opportu- 
 nity of being heard in their defense by such county, city or State 
 courts as may be prescribed by law, for causes to be assigned in the 
 order of removal. 
 
 18. All judicial officers of cities and villages, and all such judicial 
 officers as may be created therein by law, shall be elected at such 
 times and in such manner as the Legislature may direct. 
 
 19. Clerks of the several counties of this State shall be clerks of 
 the Supreme Court, with such powers and duties as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. A clerk for the Court of Appeals, to be ex-officio 
 clerk of the Supreme Court, and to keep his office at the seat of 
 government, shall be chosen by the electors of the State ; he shall 
 hold his office for three years, and his compensation shall be fixed 
 by law and paid out of the public treasury. 
 
 20. No judical officer, except justices of the peace, shall receive, 
 to his own use, any fees or perquisites of office. 
 
 21. The Legislature may authorize the judgments, decrees and 
 decisions of any local inferior court of record of original civil juris- 
 diction, established in a city, to be removed for review directly into 
 the Court of Appeals. 
 
 22. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of all 
 statute laws, and of such judicial decisions as it may deem expedient. 
 And all laws and judicial decisions shall be free for publication by 
 any person. 
 
 23. Tribunals of conciliation may be established, with such 
 powers and duties as may be prescribed by law, but such tribunals 
 shall have no power to render judgment to be obligatory on the par- 
 ties, except they voluntarily submit their matters in difference and 
 agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto, in the presence of 
 such tribunal, in such cases as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 24. The Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, shall provide for the appointment of three commis- 
 sioners, whose duty it shall be to revise, reform, simplify and abridge 
 the rules and practice, pleadings, forms and proceedings of the 
 
NEW YORK. 157 
 
 courts of record of this State, and to report thereon to the Legisla- 
 ture, subject to their adoption and modification from time to time. 
 
 25. The Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, shall provide for the organization of the Court of Ap- 
 peals, and for transferring to it the business pending in the Court 
 for the Correction of Errors, and for the allowance of writs of error 
 and appeals to the Court of Appeals, from the judgments and de- 
 crees of the present Court of Chancery and Supreme Court, and of 
 the courts that may be organized under this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE VII 
 
 Sec. 1. After paying the expenses of collection, superintendence 
 and ordinary repairs, there shall be appropriated and set apart in 
 each fiscal year, out of the revenues of the State canals, commencing 
 on the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, 
 the sum of one million and three hundred thousand dollars, until 
 the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and 
 from that time the sum of one million and seven hundred thousand 
 dollars in each fiscal year, as a sinking fund, to pay the interest and 
 redeem the principal of tliat part of the State debt called the canal 
 debt, as it existed at the time first aforesaid, and including three hun- 
 dred thousand dollars then to be borrowed, until the same shall be 
 wholly paid ; and the principal and income of the said sinking fund 
 shall be sacredly applied to that purpose. 
 
 2. After complying with the provisions of the first section of this 
 article, there shall be appropriated and set apart out of the surplus 
 revenues of the State canals, in each fiscal year, commencing on the 
 first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, the 
 sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, until the time 
 when a sufficient sum shall have been appropriated and set apart, 
 under the said first section, to pay the interest and extinguish the 
 entire principal of the canal debt ; and after that period, then the 
 sum of one million and five hundred thousand dollars in each fiscal 
 year, as a sinking fund, to pay the interest and redeem the princi- 
 pal of that part of the State debt called the general fund debt, in- 
 cluding the debt for loans of the State credit to railroad companies 
 which have failed to pay the interest thereon, and also the contin- 
 gent debt on State stocks loaned to incorporated companies which 
 have hitherto paid the interest thereon, whenever and as far as any 
 part thereof may become a charge on the treasury or general fund, 
 until the same shall be wholly paid ; and the principal and income 
 of the said last mentioned sinking fund shall be sacredly applied to 
 the purpose aforesaid ; and if the payment of any part of the moneys 
 to the said sinking fund shall at any time be deferred, by reason of 
 the priority recognized in the first section of this article, the sum so 
 deferred, with quarterly interest thereon, at the then current rate, 
 shall be paid to the last mentioned sinking fund, as soon as it can 
 
158 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 be done consistently with the just rights of the creditors holding 
 said canal debt. 
 
 3. After paying the said expenses of superintendence and repairs 
 of the canals, and the sums appropriated by the first and second 
 sections of this article, there shall be paid out of the surplus rev- 
 enues of the canals, to the treasury of the State, on or before the 
 thirtieth day of September, in each year, for the use and benefit 
 of the general fund, such sum, not exceeding two hundred thousand 
 dollars, as may be required to defray the necessary expenses of the 
 State ; and the remainder of the revenues of the said canals shall, 
 in each fiscal year, be applied, in such manner as the Legislature 
 shall direct, to the completion of the Erie canal enlargement, and 
 the Genesee Yalley and Black Eiver canals, until the said canals 
 shall be completed. 
 
 If at any time after the period of eight years from the adoption 
 of this Constitution, the revenues of the State, unappropriated by 
 this article, shall not be sufficient to defray the necessary expenses 
 of the government, without continuing or laying sl direct tax, the 
 Legislature may, at its discretion, supply the deficiency, in whole 
 or in part, from the surplus revenues of the canals, after complying 
 with the provisions of the first two sections of this article, for paying 
 the interest and extinguishing the principal of the canal and general 
 fund debt ; but the sum thus appropriated from the surplus rev- 
 enues of the canals shall not exceed annually three hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars, including the sum of two hundred thousand 
 dollars, provided for by this section for the expenses of the govern- 
 ment, until the general fund debt shall be extinguished, or until the 
 Erie canal enlargement and Genesee Yalley and Black River canals 
 shall be completed ; and after that debt shall be paid, or the said 
 canals shall be completed, then the sum of six hundred and seventy- 
 two thousand five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as shall be 
 necessary, may be annually appropriate d to defray the expenses of 
 the government. 
 
 4. The claims of the State against any incorporated company to 
 pay the interest and redeem the principal of the stock of the State 
 loaned or advanced to such company, shall be fairly enforced, and 
 not released or compromised ; and the moneys arising from such 
 claims shall be set apart and applied as part of the sinking fund 
 provided in the second section of this article. But the time limited 
 for the fulfilment of any condition of any release or compromise 
 heretofore made or provided for, may be extended by law. 
 
 5. If the sinking funds, or either of them, provided in this article, 
 shall prove insufficient to enable the State, on the credit of such 
 fund, to procure the means to satisfy the claims of the creditors of 
 the State as they become payable, the Legislature shall, by equita- 
 ble taxes, so increase the revenues of the said funds as to make them, 
 respectively, sufficient perfectly to preserve the public faith. Every 
 contribution or advance to the canals, or their debt, from any source, 
 
NEW YORK. 159 
 
 other than their direct revenues, shall, with quarterly interest, at 
 the rates then current, be repaid into the treasury, for the use of 
 the State, out of the canal revenues, as soon as it can be done con- 
 sistently with the just rights of the creditors holding the said canal 
 debt. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall not sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of 
 any of the canals of the State ; but they shall remain the property 
 of the State and under its management, forever. 
 
 7. The Legislature shall never sell or dispose of the salt springs 
 belonging to this State. The lands contiguous thereto, and which 
 may be necessary and convenient for the use of the salt springs, 
 may be sold by authority of law and under the direction of the com- 
 missioners of the land office, for the purpose of investing the moneys 
 arising therefrom in other lands alike convenient: but by such 
 sale and purchase the aggregate quantity of these lands shall not 
 be diminished. 
 
 8. No moneys shall ever be paid out of the Treasury of this State, 
 or any of its funds, or any of the funds under its management, ex- 
 cept in pursuance of an appropriation by law ; nor unless such pay- 
 ment be made within two years liext after the passage of such appro- 
 priation act ; and every such law, making a new appropriation, or 
 continuing or reviving an appropriation, shall distinctly specify the 
 sum appropriated, and the object to which it is to be applied ; and it 
 shall not be sufficient for such law to refer to any other law to fix 
 such sum. « 
 
 9. The credit of the State shall not, in any manner, be given or 
 loaned to, or in aid of any individual association or corporation, • 
 
 10. The State may, to meet casual deficits or failures in revenues, 
 or for expenses not provided for, contract debts, but such debts, di- 
 rect and contingent, singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time 
 exceed one million of dollars ; and the moneys arising from the 
 loans creating such debts, shall be applied to the purpose for which 
 they were obtained, or to pay the debt so contracted, and to no other 
 purpose whatever. 
 
 11. In addition to the above limited power to contract debts, the 
 State may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or 
 defend the State in war ; but the money arising from the contract- 
 ing of such debts shall be applied to the purpose for which it was 
 raised, or to repay such debts, and to no other purpose whatever. 
 
 12. Except the debts specified in the tenth and eleventh sections 
 of this article, no debt shall be hereafter contracted by or on behalf 
 of this State, unless such debt shall be authorized by a law, for some 
 single work or object, to be distinctly specified threrein ; and such 
 law shall impose and provide for the collection of a direct annual tax 
 to pay, and sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, 
 and also to pay and discharge the principal of such debt within 
 eighteen 3'ears from the time of the contracting thereof 
 
 No such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, 
 
160 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 have been submitted to the people, and have received a majority of 
 all the votes cast for and against it, at such election. 
 
 On the final passage of such bill in either house of the Legisla- 
 ture, the question shall be taken by ayes and noes, to be duly entered 
 on the journals thereof, and shall be : " Shall this bill pass, and 
 ought the same to receive the sanction of the people ?" 
 
 The Legislature may at any time, after the approval of such law 
 by the people, if no debt shall have been contracted in pursuance 
 thereof, repeal the same ; and may at any time, by law, forbid the 
 contracting of any further debt or liability under such law ; but 
 the tax imposed by such act, in proportion to the debt and liability 
 which may have been contracted, in pursuance of such law, shall re- 
 main in force and be irrepealable, and be annually collected, until 
 the proceeds thereof shall have made the provision herein before 
 specified to pay and discharge the interest and principal of such 
 debt and liability. 
 
 The money arising from any loan or stock creating such debt or 
 liability, shall be applied to the work or object specified in the act 
 authorising such debt or liability, or for the repayment of such debt 
 or liability, and for no other purpose whatever. 
 
 No such law shall be submitted to be voted on, within three 
 months after its passage, or at any general election, when any other 
 law, or any bill, or any amendment to the Constitution, shall be sub- 
 mitted to be voted for or against. 
 
 13. Every law which imposes, continues orf revives a tax, shall 
 distinctly state the tax and the object to which it is to be applied ; 
 and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax 
 or object. 
 
 14. On the final passage, in either house of the Legislature, of 
 every act which imposes, continues, or revives a tax, or creates a debt 
 or charge, or makes, continues or revives any appropriation of public 
 or trust money or property, or releases, discharges, or commutes any 
 claim or demand of the State, the question shall be taken by ayes 
 and noes, which shall be duly entered on the journals, and three- 
 fifths of all the members elected to either house, shall, in all such 
 cases^ be necessary to constitute a quorum therein. 
 
 AETICLE Yin. 
 
 Sec. 1. Corporations may be formed under general laws; but 
 shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, 
 and in cases where in the judgment of the Legislature, the objects 
 of the corporation cannot be attained under general laws. All gen- 
 eral laws and special acts passed pursuant to this section, may be 
 altered from time to time or repealed. 
 
 2. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such individual 
 liability of the corporators and other means as may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
NEW YORK. 161 
 
 3. The term corporations as used in this article, shall be con- 
 strued to include all associations and joint-stock companies having 
 any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by in- 
 dividuals or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right 
 to sue and shall be subject to be sued in all courts in like cases as 
 natural persons. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting 
 any special charter for banking purposes ; but corporations or asso- 
 ciations may be formed for such purposes under general laws. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall have no power to pass any law sanction- 
 ing in any manner, directly or indirectly, the suspension of specie 
 payments, by any person, association or corporation issuing bank 
 notes of any description. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall provide by law for the registry of all 
 bills or notes, issued or put in circulation as money, and shall require 
 ample security for the redemption of the same in specie. 
 
 7. The stockholders in every corporation and joint-stock associa- 
 tion for banking purposes, issuing bank notes, or any kind of paper 
 credits to circulate as money, after the first day of January, one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty, shall be individually responsible 
 to the amount of their respective share or shares of stock in any 
 such corporation or association, for all its debts and liabilities of 
 every kind, contracted after the said first day of January, one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and fifty. 
 
 8. In case of the insolvency of any bank or banking association, 
 the bill-holders thereof shall be entitled to preference in payment, 
 over all other creditors of such bank or association. 
 
 9. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for the organ- 
 ization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power 
 of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts and 
 loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments, and in 
 contracting debt by such municipal corporations, 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Sec. 1. The capital of the common school fund; the capital of 
 the literature fund, and the capital of the United States deposit fund, 
 shall be respectively' preserved inviolate. The revenue of the said 
 common school fund shall be applied to the support of common 
 schools ; the revenues of the said literature fund shall be applied to 
 the support of academies, and the sum of twenty-five thousand dol- 
 lars of the revenues of the United States deposit fund shall each 
 year be appropriated to and made a part of the capital of the said 
 common school fund. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Sec. 1. Sheriffs, clerks of counties, including the register and 
 clerk of the city and county of New- York, coroners, and district at- 
 12 
 
162 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tornoys, shall Ibe chosen, by the electors of the respective counties^ 
 once in every three years and as often as vacancies shall happen. 
 Sheriffs shall hold no other office, and be ineligible for the- next 
 three years after the termination of their offices. They may be- re- 
 quired by law, to renew their security, from time to time ; and in 
 default of giving such new security, their offices shall be deemed 
 vacant. But the county shall never be made responsible for the 
 acts of the sheriff. 
 
 The Governor may remove any officer, in this section mentioned^ 
 within the term for which he shall have been elected ; giving to such 
 officer a copy of the charges against him, and an opportunity of 
 being heard in his defense. 
 
 2. All county officers whose election or appointment is not pro- 
 vided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors of 
 the respective counties, or appointed by the boards of supervisors, 
 or other county authorities, as the Legislature shall direct. All 
 city, town and village officers, whose ele.ction or appointment is not 
 provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors 
 of such cities, towns and villages, or of some division thereof, or ap- 
 pointed by such authorities thereof, as the Legislature shall desig- 
 nate for that purpose. All other officers whose election or appoint- 
 ment is not provided for by this Constitution, and all officers whose 
 offices may hereafter be created by law, shall be elected by the 
 people, or appointed, as the Legislature may direct. 
 
 3. When the duration of any offix3e is not provided by this Con- 
 stitution, it may be declared by law, and if not so declared, such office 
 shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 4. The time of electing all officers named in this article shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall provide for filling vacancies in office, and 
 in case of elective officers, no person appointed to fill a vacancy shall 
 hold his office by virtue of such appointment longer than the com- 
 mencement of the political year next succeeding the first annual 
 election after the happening of the vacancy. 
 
 6. The political year and legislative term, shall begin on the first 
 day of January ; and the Legislature shall every year assemble on 
 the first Tuesday in January, unless a different day shall be appoint- 
 ed by law. 
 
 7. Provisions shall be made by law for the removal for miscon- 
 duct or malversation in office of all officers (except judicial) whose 
 powers and duties are not local or legislative and who shall be elected 
 at general elections, and also for supplying vacancies created by such 
 removal. 
 
 8. The Legislature may declare the cases in which any office shall 
 be deemed vacant, where no provision is made for that purpose in 
 this Constitution. 
 
NEW YORK. 163 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 Sec. I. The militia of this State shall, at all times hereafter, be 
 armed and disciplined, and in readiness for service ; but all such in- 
 habitants of this State, of any religious denomination whatever, as 
 from scruples of conscience may be averse to bearing arms, shall be 
 excused therefrom, uptJn such conditions as shall be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 2. Militia officers shall be chosen or appointed as follows : — cap- 
 tains, subalterns and non-commissioned officers shall be chosen by 
 the written votes of the members of their respective companies. 
 Field officers of regiments and separate battalions, by the written 
 votes of the commissioned officers of the respective regiments and 
 separate battalions ; brigadier-generals and brigade inspectors, by 
 the field officers of their respective brigades ; major-generals, briga- 
 dier-generals and commanding officers of regiments or separate bat- 
 talions, shall appoint the staiT officers to their respective divisions, 
 brigades, regiments or separate battalions. 
 
 3. The Grovernor shall nominate, and with the consent of the 
 Senate appoint, all major-generals and the commissary-general. 
 The adjutant-general and other chiefs of staff departments, and the 
 aids-de-camp of the commander-in-chief, shall be appointed by the 
 Governor, and their commissions shall expire with the time for which 
 the, Governor shall have been elected. The commissary-general 
 shall hold his office for two years. He shall give security for the 
 faithful execution of the duties of his office, in such mannes and 
 amount as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall, by law, direct the time and manner of 
 electing militia officers, and of certifying their elections to the 
 Governor. 
 
 5. The commissioned officers of the militia shall be commissioned 
 by the Governor ; and no commissioned officer shall be removed from 
 office, unless by the Senate on the recommendation of the Governor, 
 stating the founds on which such removal is recommended, or by 
 the decision of a court martial, pursuant to law. The present 
 officers of the militia shall hold their commissions subject to remo- 
 val, as before provided. 
 
 6. In case the mode of election and appointment of militia officers 
 hereby directed, shall not be found conducive to the improvement 
 of the militia, the Legislature may abolish the same, and provide by 
 law for their appointment and removal, if two-thirds of the mem- 
 bers present in each house shall concur therein. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the Legislature and all officers, executive 
 and judicial, except such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, 
 shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take 
 and subscribe the following oath or affirmation : 
 
164 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 " I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as tlie case may be) that I will 
 support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution 
 of the State of New- York ; and that I will faithfully discharge the 
 duties of the office of according to the best of my ability." 
 
 And no other oath, declaration, or test shall be required as a quali- 
 fication for any office or public trust. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII 
 
 Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may 
 be proposed in the Senate and Assembly ; and if the same shall be 
 agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two 
 houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered 
 on their journals with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred 
 to the Legislature to be chosen at the tfext general election of Sen- 
 ators, and shall be published for three months previous to the time 
 of making such choice ; and if in the Legislature so next chosen, as 
 aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed 
 to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it 
 shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments to the people, in such manner and at such time 
 as the Legislature shall prescribe ; and if the people shall approve 
 and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of the 
 electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature, voting 
 thereon, such amendment or amendmetits shall become part of the 
 Constitution. 
 
 2. At the general election to be held in the year eighteen hundred 
 and sixty-six, and in each twentieth year thereafter, and also at such 
 time as the Legislature may by law provide, the question, " Shall 
 there be a Convention to revise the Constitution, and amend the 
 same ?" shall be decided by the electors qualified to vote for mem 
 bers of the Legislature ; and in case a majority of the electors so 
 qualified, voting at such election, shall decide in favor of a Conven- 
 tion for such purpose, the Legislature, at its next session, shall pro- 
 vide by law for the election of delegates to such Convention. 
 
 ARTICLE XIY. 
 
 Sec. 1 . The first election of senators and members of Assembly, 
 pursuant to the provisions of this Constitution, shall be held on the 
 Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-seven. 
 
 The senators and members of Assembly who may be in office on 
 the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 seven, shall hold their offices until and including the thirty-first day 
 of December following, and no longer. 
 
 2, The first election of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor under 
 this Constitution, shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first 
 Monday of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight ; . 
 
NEW YORK. 165 
 
 and the Governor and Lieutenant Governor in office when this Con- 
 stitution shall take eifect, shall hold their respective offices until and 
 including the thirty-first day of December of that year. 
 
 3. The Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney- 
 General, District-Attorney, Surveyor-General, canal commissioners, 
 and inspectors of State prisons, in office when this Constitution shall 
 take effect, shall hold their respective offices until and including the 
 thirty-first day of December, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 seven, and no longer. 
 
 4. The first election of judges and clerk of the Court of Appeals, 
 justices of the Supreme Court, and county judges, shall take place 
 at such time between the first Tuesday of April and the second 
 Tuesday of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, as 
 may be prescribed by law. The said courts shall respectively enter 
 upon their duties on the first Monday of July next thereafter ; 
 but the term of office of said judges, clerk and justices, as declared 
 by this Constitution, shall be deemed to commence op the first day 
 of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight. 
 
 '5. On the first Monday of July, one thousand eight hundred and 
 forty-seven, jurisdiction of all suits and proceedings then ])cnding in 
 the present Supreme Court and Court of Chancery, and all suits and 
 proceedings originally commenced and then pending in any court of 
 common pleas, (except in the city and county of New- York.) shall be- 
 come vested in the Supreme Court hereby established. Proceedings 
 pending in courts of common pleas and in suits originally commenced 
 in justices' courts, shall be transferred to the county courts provided 
 for in this Constitution, in such manner and forjn and undpr such regu- 
 lation as shall be provided by law. The courts of oyer and terminer 
 hereby established, shall, in their respective counties, have jurisdic- 
 tion, on and after the day last mentioned, of all indictments and 
 proceedings then pending in the present.courts of oyer and terminer, 
 and also of all indictments and proceedings then pending in the 
 present courts of general sessions of the peace, except in the city of 
 New York, and except in cases of which the courts of sessions here- 
 by established may lawfully take cognizance ; and of such indict- 
 ments and proceedings the courts of sessions hereby established shall 
 have jurisdiction on and after the day last mentioned. 
 
 6. The Chancellor and the present Supreme Court shall, respect- 
 ively, haye power to hear and determine any of* such suits and pro- 
 ceedings ready on the first Monday of July, one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-seven, for hearing or decision, and shall, for their 
 services therein, be entitled to their present rates of compensation 
 until the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 eight, or until all such suits and proceedings shall be sooner heard 
 and determined. Masters in chancery may continue to exercise the 
 functions of their office in the Court of Chancery, so long as the 
 Chancellor shall continue to exercise the functions of his office under 
 the provisions of this Constitution. 
 
166 CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK. 
 
 And the Supreme Court hereby established shall also have power 
 to hear and determine such of said suits and proceedings as may he 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 7. In case any vacancy shall occur in the office of Chancellor or 
 justice of the present Supreme Court, previously to the first day of 
 July, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, the Governor 
 may nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
 ate, appoint a proper person to fill such vacancy. Any judge of 
 the Court of Appeals or justice of the Supreme Court, elected under 
 this Constitution, may receive and hold such appointment. 
 
 8. The offices of Chancellor, justice of the existing Supreme 
 Court, circuit judge, vice-chancellor, assistant vice-chancellor, judge 
 of the existing county courts of each county. Supreme Court com- 
 missioner, master in chancery, examiner in chancery, and surrogate, 
 (except as herein otherwise provided,) are abolished from and after 
 the first Monday of July, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 seven, (1847..) 
 
 9. The Chancellor, the justices of the present Supreme Court, and 
 the circuit judges, are hereby declared to be severally eligible to any 
 office at the first election under this Constitution. 
 
 .10. Sherifi's, clerks of counties (including the register and clerk 
 of the city and county of New-York) and justices of the peace, and 
 coroners, in. office when this Constitution shall take efi"ect, shall hold 
 their respective offices until the expiration of the term for which 
 they were respectively elected. 
 
 11. Judicial officers in office when this Constitution shall take 
 effect, may .continue to receive such fees and perquisites of office as 
 are now authorized by law, until the first day of July, one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-seven, notwithstanding the provisions of 
 the twentieth section of the sixth article of this Constitution. 
 
 12. All local courts established in any city or village, including 
 the superior court, common pleas, sessions and surrogate's courts of 
 the city and county of New York, shall remain, until otherwise 
 directed by the Legislature, with their present powers and jurisdic- 
 tions .; and the judges of such courts, and any clerks thereof, in of- 
 fice on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and 
 forty-seven, shall continue in office until the expiration of their 
 terms of office, or until the Legislature shall otherwise direct. 
 
 13. This Constitution shall be in force from and including the 
 first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, 
 except as is herein otherwise provided. 
 
 g^" For the old Constitution of this State, see Appendix. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 
 
 New Jersey was settled by the Dutch from New York, as early as 1620, 
 The first settlement was at Bergen. In 1627 a colony of Swedes and Fins 
 located themselves on the Delaware. This State was included in the grant 
 of New York from Charles II. to the Duke of York. In 1664 the Duke made 
 a grant of New Jersey to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, They, by 
 an agreement with the people, established a provincial government in 1665. 
 The Dutch subdued the country in 1672, i)ut resigned it by treaty in 1674. 
 To avoid any difficulty in reference to titles, the Duke of York took out a new 
 patent, and divided the province into East and West Jersey, West Jersey 
 was assigned to the heirs of Lord Berkley, and East Jersey to Sir George Car- 
 teret. In 1675 the whole territory was purchased by a company of English 
 emigrants. They located at Salem, and formed the first English settlement 
 in this State. At length much dissatisfaction arose in regard to titles, which 
 created great confusion — in consequence of which the appointment of Gover- 
 nor was rend(;red very difficult. It was carried so far, that in 1702 the pro- 
 prietors surrendered the government to the English crown. This was accept- 
 ed by Clueen Anne, who established a royal government, which continued 
 until the Revolution of 1776. Some of the hardest battles of the Revolution- 
 ary war were fought in this State. The first Constitution was adopted by 
 New Jersey as a colony, in 1776. This remained unaltered until 1844, when 
 the present Constitution was agreed upon as a substitute 
 
 Area, 8,320 sq. m. Population, 1850, 489,3.33. 
 
168 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 CONSTITUTION, 
 
 In Convention^ begun at Trenton^ on the fourteenth day of May^ and 
 continued to tJie twenty-ninth day of June^ in the year of our Lord 
 on£. thousand eight hundred and forty four : 
 
 We, the people of the State of New- Jersey, grateful to Almighty 
 God for the civil aad religious liberty which he hath so long per- 
 mitted us to enjoy, and looking to him for a blessing upon our en- 
 deavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding 
 generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE I. — Rights and Privileges. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have 
 certain natural and inalienable rights, among which are those of en- 
 joying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and pro- 
 tecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 
 
 2. AH political power is inherent in the people. 
 
 Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit 
 of the people, and they have the right at all times to alter or reform 
 the same, whenever the public good may require it. 
 
 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of 
 worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeably to the dictates 
 of his own conscience : nor under any pretence whatever be com- 
 pelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his faith and judg- 
 ment ; nor shall any person be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or other 
 rates, for building or repairing any church or churches, place or 
 places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or minis- 
 try, contrary to what he believes to be right, or has deliberately and 
 voluntarily engaged to perform. 
 
 4. There shall be no establishment of one religious sect in prefer- 
 ence to another : no religious test shall be required as a qualification 
 for any ofiice or public trust ; and no person shall be denied the enjoy- 
 ment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles. 
 
 5. Every person may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. 
 No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, 
 or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the 
 truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it shall appear 
 to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was pub- 
 lished with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be 
 acquitted ; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law 
 and the fact. 
 
 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
 papers, and efi"ects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
 not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, 
 supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 
 place to be searched, and the papers and things to be seized. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 169 
 
 7. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate : but the 
 Legislature may authorise the trial of civil suits, when the matter 
 in dispute does not exceed fifty dollars, by a jury of six men. 
 
 8. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right 
 to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury ; to be in- 
 formed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be cbnfronted 
 with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for ob- 
 taining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel 
 in his defense. 
 
 9. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense, un- 
 less on the presentment of indictment of a grand jury, except in 
 cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices of the 
 peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in the militia, when in ac- 
 tual service in time of war or public danger. 
 
 1 0. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the same offence. 
 All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sure- 
 ties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or pre- 
 sumption great. 
 
 1 1 . The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended, unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
 may require it. 
 
 12. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil 
 power. 
 
 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in a 
 manner prescribed by law. 
 
 1 4. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it" or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
 open court. 
 
 15. Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines shall 
 not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments shall not be in- 
 flicted. 
 
 16. Private property shall not be taken for public use without 
 just compensation, but land may be taken for public highways as 
 heretofore, until the Legislature shall direct compensation to be 
 made. 
 
 17. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any action, or on 
 any judgment founded upon contract, unless in cases of fraud ; nor 
 shall any person be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. 
 
 18. The people have a right freely to assemble together, to con- 
 sult for the common good, to make known their opinions to their 
 representatives, and to petition for redress of grievances. 
 
 19. This enumeration of rights and privileges shall not be con- 
 strued to impair or deny others retained by the people. 
 
170 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 ARTICLE 11.— Right of Suffrage. 
 
 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of this State one 
 year, an^ of the county in which he claims his vote five months, 
 next before the election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that 
 now are, or hereafter may be, elective by the people ; provided^ that 
 no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United 
 States shall be considered a resident in this State, by being stationed 
 in any garrison, barrack, or military, or naval place or station within 
 the State ; and no pauper, idiot, insane person, or person convicted 
 of a crime which now excludes him from being a witness, unless 
 pardoned and restored by law to the right of suffrage, shall enjoy 
 the right of an elector. 
 
 2. The Legislature may pass laws to deprive persons of the right 
 of suffrage who shall be convicted of bribery at elections. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Distribution of the Powers of Government. 
 
 The powers of the Grovernment shall be divided into three dis- 
 tinct departments — the legislative, executive, and judicial ; and no 
 person or persons belonging to, or constituting one of these depart- 
 ments, shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either 
 of the others, except as herein expressly provided. 
 
 ARTICLE lY .—Legislative. 
 
 Sec. I. — 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a 
 Senate and General Assembly. 
 
 2. No person shall be a member of the Senate who shall not have 
 attained the age of thirty years, and have been a citizen and in- 
 habitant of the State for four years, and of the county for which 
 he shall be chosen one year, next before his election ; and no person 
 shall be a member of the General Assembly who shall not have at- 
 tained the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen and 
 inhabitant of the State for two years, and of the county for which he 
 shall be chosen one year next before his election ; provided^ that no 
 no person shall be eligible as a member of either house of the Legis- 
 lature, who shall not be entitled to the right of suffrage. 
 
 3. Members of the Senate and General Assembly shall be elected 
 yearly, and every year, on the second Tuesday of October; and the 
 two houses shall meet separately on the second Tuesday in January 
 next after the said day of election : at which time of meeting the 
 legislative year shall commence, but the time of holding such 
 election may be altered by the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. II. — 1 . The Senate shall be composed of one Senator from each 
 county in the State, elected by the legal voters of the counties re- 
 spectively, for three years. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 171 
 
 2. As soon as the Senate shall meet after the first election to be 
 held in pursuance of this Constitution, they shall be divided as equal- 
 ly as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the 
 first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year ;■ of the 
 second class at the expiration of the second year ; and of the third 
 class at the expiration of the third year ; so that one class may be 
 elected every year : and if vacancies happen, by resignation or other- 
 wise, the persons elected to supply such vacancies shall be elected 
 for the unexpired terms only. 
 
 Sec. III. — 1. The General Assembly shall be composed of mem- 
 bers annually elected by the legal voters of the counties respectively, 
 who shall be apportioned among the said counties as nearly as may 
 be according to the number of their inhabitants. The present ap- 
 portio^^ment shall continue until the next census of the United 
 States shall have been taken, and an apportionment of members of 
 the General Assembly shall be made by the Legislature at its first 
 session after the next and every subsequent enumeration or census, 
 and when made, shall remain unaltered until another enumeration 
 shall have been taken ; provided, that each county shall at all times 
 be entitled to one member : and the whole number of members shall 
 never exceed sixty. 
 
 Sec. IV. — 1. Each house shall direct writs of election for supply- 
 ing vacancies, occasioned by death, resignation or otherwise ; but if 
 no vacancies occur during the recess of the Legislature, the writs 
 may be issued by the Governor, under such regulations as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 2. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and 
 qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn 
 from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
 of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as 
 each house may provide. 
 
 3. Each house shall choose its own ofiicers, determine the rules 
 of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behaviour, and, 
 with the concurrence of two-thirds, may expel a member. 
 
 4. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
 time to time publish the same ; and the yeas and nays of the mem- 
 bers of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth 
 of those present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 5. Neither house, during the session of the Legislature, shall, 
 without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, 
 nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be 
 sitting. 
 
 6. All bills and joint resolutions shall be read three times in each 
 house, before the final passage thereof; and no bill or joint resolution 
 shall pass, unless there be a majority of all the members of each body 
 personally present, and agreeing thereto ; and the yeas and nays of 
 
172 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the members voting on such final passage shall be entered on the 
 journal. 
 
 7. Members of the Senate and General Assembly shall receive a 
 compO'nsation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid 
 out of the treasury of the State ; which compensation shall not ex- 
 ceed the sum of three dollars per day for the period of forty days 
 from the commencement of the session ; and shall not exceed the 
 sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day for the remainder of the 
 session. When convened in extra session by the Governorj they 
 shall receive such sum as shall be fixed for the first forty days of the 
 ordinary session. They shall also receive the sum of one dollar for 
 every ten miles they shall travel, in going to and returning from 
 their place of meeting, on the most usual route. The President of 
 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall, in 
 virtue of their offices, receive an additional compensation, equal to 
 one-third of their per diem allowance as members. 
 
 8. Members of the Senate and General Assembly shall, in all 
 cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged 
 from arrest during their attendance at the sitting of their respective 
 houses, and in going to and returning from the same : and for any 
 speech or debate, in either house, they shall not be questioned in 
 any other place. 
 
 Sec. y. — I. No member of the Senate or General Assembly shall, 
 during the time for which he was elected, be nominated or appointed 
 by the Governor, or by the Legislature in joint meeting, to any civil 
 office under the authority in this State, which shall have been created, 
 or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such 
 time. 
 
 2. If any member of the Senate or General Assembly shall be 
 elected to represent this State in the Senate or House of Represen- 
 tatives of the United States, and shall accept thereof, or shall ac- 
 cept of any office or appointment under the government of the 
 United States, his seat in the Legislature of this State shall thereby 
 be vacated. 
 
 3. No justice of the Supreme Court, nor judge of any other 
 court, sherifi", justice of the peace, nor any person or persons pos- 
 sessed of any office of profit under the government of this State, 
 shall be entitled to a seat either in the Senate or in the General 
 Assembly ; but, on being elected and taking his seat, his office, 
 shall be considered vacant ; and no person holding any office of 
 profit under the government of the United States shall be entitled 
 to a seat in either house. 
 
 Sec. VI. — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
 House of Assembly ; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
 amendments, as on other bills. 
 
 2. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but for appropria- 
 tions made by law. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 173 
 
 3. The credit of the State shall not be directly or indirectly 
 loaned in any case. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall not, in any manner, create any debt or 
 debts, liability or liabilities, of the State, which shall singly,- or in 
 the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities, at any time ex- 
 ceed one hundred thousand dollars, except for purposes of war, or 
 to repel invasion, or«to suppress insurrection, unless the same shall 
 be authorized by a law for some single object or work, to be dis- 
 tinctly specified therein ; which law shall provide the ways and 
 means, exclusive of loans, to pay the interest of such debt or liability 
 as it falls due, and also, to pay and discharge the principal of such 
 debt or liability within thirty -five years from the time of the con- 
 tracting thereof, and shall be irrepealable until such debt or lia- 
 bility, and the interest thereon, are fully paid and discharged ; and 
 no such law shall take eff'ect until it shall, at a general election, have 
 been submitted to the people, and have received the sanction of a 
 majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election ; 
 and all money to be raised by the authority of such law shall be ap- 
 plied only to the specific object stated therein, and to the payment 
 of the debt thereby created. This section shall not be construed to 
 refer to any money that has been, or may be deposited with this 
 State by the government of the United States. 
 
 Sec. VII. — 1. No divorce shall be granted by the Legislature. 
 
 2. No lottery shall be authorized by this State ; and no tickets in 
 any lottery not authorized by a law of this State, shall be bought or 
 sold within the State. 
 
 3. The Legislature shall not pass any bill of attainder, ex post 
 facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or depriving 
 a party of any remedy for enforcing a contract, which existed when 
 the contract was made. 
 
 4. To avoid improper influences which may result from intermix- 
 ing in one and the same act, such things as have no proper relation 
 to each other, every law shall embrace but one object, and that shall 
 be fe:pressed in the title. 
 
 5. The laws of this State shall begin in the following style : " Be 
 it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New 
 Jersey." 
 
 6. The fund for the support of free schools, and all money, stock, 
 and other property, which may hereafter be appropriated for that 
 purpose, or received into the treasury under the provision of any 
 law heretofore passed to augment the said fund, shall be securely 
 invested, and remain a perpetual fund ; and the income thereof, 
 except so much as it may be judged expedient to apply to an in- 
 crease of the capital, shall be annually appropriated to the support 
 of public schools, for the equal benefit of all the people of the State ; 
 and it shall not be competent for the Legislature to borrow, appro- 
 
174 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 priate, or use tlie said fund, or any part thereof, for any other pur- 
 pose, under any pretence whatever. 
 
 •7. No private or special law shall be passed, authorizing the sale 
 of any lands belonging in whole or in part to a minor or minors, or 
 other persons who may at the time be under any legal disability to 
 act for themselves. 
 
 8. The assent of three-fifths of the members elected to each house 
 shall be requisite to the passage of every law for granting, continu- 
 ing, altering, amending, or renewing charters for banks, or money 
 corporations ; and all such charters shall be limited to a term not 
 exceeding twenty years. 
 
 9. Individuals^ or private corporations, shall not be authorized to 
 take private property for public use, without just compensation first 
 made to the owners. 
 
 10. The Legislature may vest in the circuit courts, or courts of 
 common pleas, within the several counties of this State, chancery 
 powers, so far as relates to the foreclosure of mortgages, and sale of 
 mortgaged premises. 
 
 Sec. VIII. — 1. Members of the Legislature shall, before they 
 enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the 
 following oath or affirmation : 
 
 " I do solemnly swear, (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will 
 support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution 
 of the State of New Jersey, and that I will faithfully discharge the 
 duties of senator (or member of the General Assembly, as the case 
 may be,) according to the best of my ability." 
 
 And members elect of the Senate or General Assembly, are 
 hereby empowered to administer to each other the said oath or 
 affirmation, 
 
 ARTICLE Y .—Executive. 
 
 Sec. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the legal voters of the 
 State. The person having the highest number of votes shall be the 
 Governor ; but if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, 
 one of them shall be chosen Governor by the votes of the majority 
 of the members of both houses in joint meeting. Contested elections 
 for the office of Governor shall be determined in such manner as the 
 Legislature shall direct by law. When a Governor is to be elected 
 by the people, such election shall be held at the time when, and at 
 the places where the people shall respectively vote for members of 
 the Legislature. 
 
 3. The Governor shall hold his office for three years, to com- 
 mence on the third Tuesday of January next ensuing the election 
 for Governor by the people, and to end on the Monday preceding 
 the third Tuesday of January, three years thereafter ; and he shall 
 be incapable of holding that office for three years next after his term 
 of service shall have expired ; and no appointment or nomination to 
 
NEW JERSEY. 175 
 
 office shall be made by the Governor during the last week of his 
 said term. 
 
 4. The Governor shall not be less than thirty years of age, and 
 shall have been, for twenty years, at least, a citizen of the United 
 States, and a resident of this State seven years next before his elec- 
 tion, unless he shall have been absent during that time, on the public 
 business of the United States, or of this State. 
 
 5. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
 compensation which shall be neither increased nor diminished during 
 the period for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 6. He shall be the commander-in-chief of all the military and 
 naval forces of the State ; he shall have power to convene the Legis- 
 lature, whenever, in his opinion, public necessity requires it ; he 
 shall communicate, by message, to the Legislature at the opening of 
 each session, and at such other times as he may deem necessary, 
 the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he may 
 deem expedient ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
 cuted, and grant, under the great seal of the State, commissions to 
 all such officers as shall be required to be commissioned.. 
 
 7. Every bill which shall have passed both houses, shall be pre- 
 sented to the Governor : if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, 
 he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall 
 have orignated, who shall enter the objections at large on their 
 journal, and proceed to re-consider it ; if, after such re-consideration, 
 a majority of the whole number of that house shall agree to pass the 
 bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, 
 by whom it shall likewise be re considered, and if approved of by a 
 majority of the whole number of that house, it shall become a law ; 
 but in neither house shall the vote be taken on the same day on 
 which the bill shall be returned to it ■ and in all such cases the 
 votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
 names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
 on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be 
 returned by the Governor, within five days (Sundays excepted) 
 after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, 
 in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature by their 
 adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 8. No member of Congress, or person holding an office under 
 the United States, or this State, shall exercise the office of Gov- 
 ernor ; and in case the Governor, or person administering the gov- 
 ernment, shall accept any office under the United States, or this 
 State, his office of Governor shall thereupon be vacant. 
 
 9. The Governor, or person administering the government, shall 
 have power to suspend the collection of fines and forfeitures, and to 
 grant reprieves, to extend until the expiration of a time not exceed- 
 ing ninety days after conviction ; but this power shall not extend to 
 cases of impeachment. 
 
 10. The Governor, or person administciing the government, the 
 
176 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Chancellor, and the six judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, 
 or a major part of them, of whom the Governor, or the person ad- 
 mmistering the government shall be one, may remit fines and for- 
 feitures, and grant pardons after conviction, in all cases except 
 impeachment. 
 
 J 1. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this State, 
 shall be liable to impeachment for misdemeanor in office, during 
 their continuance in office, and for two years thereafter. 
 
 12. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the 
 Governor, the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office shall de- 
 volve upon the President of the Senate ; and in case of Jiis death, resig- 
 nation, or removal, then upon the Speaker of the House of Assembly, 
 for the time being, until another Governor shall be elected and quali- 
 fied ; but in such case, another Governor shall be chosen at the next 
 election for members of the Legislature, unless death, resignation, 
 or removal shall occur within thirty days immediately preceding 
 such next election, in which case a Governor shall be chosen at the 
 .second succeeding election for members of the Legislature. When 
 a vacancy happens, during the recess of the Legislature, in any office 
 which is to be filled by the Governor and Senate, or by the Legisla- 
 ture in joint meeting, the Governor shall fill such vacancy, and. the 
 commission shall expire at the end of the next session of the Legis- 
 lature, unless a successor shall be sooner appointed : when a vacancy 
 happens in the office of clerk or surrogate of any county, the Gov- 
 ernor shall fill such vacancy, and the commission shall expire when 
 a successor is elected and qualified. 
 
 13. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his absence 
 from the State, or inability to discharge the duties of his office, the 
 powers, duties, and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the 
 President of the Senate ; and in case of his death, resignation, or 
 removal, then upon the Speaker of the House of Assembly for the 
 time being, until the Governor, absent or impeached, shall return or 
 be acquitted, or until the disqualification or inability shall cease, or 
 until a new Governor be elected and qualified. 
 
 14. In case of a vacancy in the office of Governor, from any other 
 cause than herein enumerated, or in case of the death of the Gov- 
 ernor elect, before he is qualified into office, the powers, duties, and 
 emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the President of the 
 Senate, or Speaker of the House of Assembly, as above provided 
 for, until a r■e^Y Governor be elected and qualified. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Judiciary. 
 
 Sec. I. — 1. The judicial power shall be vested in a Court of Er- 
 rors and Appeals, in the last resort in all causes, as heretofore ; a 
 Court for the trial df Impeachments ; a Court of Chancery ; a Pre- 
 rogative Court ; a Supreme Court ; circuit courts, and such inferior 
 courts as now exist, and as may be hereafter ordained and estab- 
 
NEW JERSEY. 177 
 
 lished by law ; which inferior courts the Legislature may alter or 
 abolish, as the public good shall require. 
 
 Sec, II. — 1. The Court of Errors and Appeals shall consist of 
 the Chancellor, the justice of the Supreme Court, and six judges, or 
 a major part of them ; which judges are to be appointed for six 
 years. 
 
 2. Immediately after the court shall first assemble, the six 
 judges shall arrange themselves in such manner that the seat of one 
 of them shall be vacated every year, in order that thereafter one 
 judge may be annually appointed. 
 
 3. Such of the six judges as shall attend the court shall receive, 
 respectively, a per diem compensation, to be provided by law. 
 
 4. The Secretary of State shall be clerk of this court. 
 
 5. When an appeal from an order or decree shall be heard, the 
 Chancellor shall inform the court, in writing, of the reasons for his 
 order or decree ; but he shall not sit as a member, or have a voice 
 in the hearing or final sentence. 
 
 6. When a writ of error shall be brought, no justice who has 
 given a judicial opinion in the cause, in favor of or against any error 
 complained of, shall sit as a member, or have a voice on the hearing, 
 or for its affirmance or reversal ; but the reasons for such opinion 
 shall be assigned to the court in writing. 
 
 Sec. III. — 1. The House of Assembly shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching, by a vote of a majority of all the members ; and all 
 impeachments shall be tried by the Senate : the members, when sit- 
 ting for that purpose, to be on oath or affirmation " truly and im- 
 partially to try and determine the charge in question according to 
 evidence :" and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
 rence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate. 
 
 2. Any judicial officer impeached shall be suspended from exer- 
 cising his office until his acquittal. 
 
 3. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend farther 
 than to removal from office and to disqualification to hold and enjoy 
 any office of honor, profit, or trust under this State ; but the party 
 convicted shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, and pun- 
 ishment, according to law. • 
 
 4. The Secretary of State shall be the clerk of this court. 
 
 Sec. IV. — 1. The Court of Chancery shall consist of a Chancellor, 
 
 2. The Chancellor shall be the ordinary, or surrogate general, 
 and judge of the Prerogative Court. 
 
 3. All persons aggrieved by any order, sentence, or decree of the 
 Orphans' Court, may appeal from the same, or from any part there- 
 of, to the Prerogative Court ; but such order, sentence, or decree shall 
 not be removed into the Supreme Court, or Circuit Court, if the sub- 
 ject matter thereof be within the jurisdiction of the Orphans' Court. 
 
 4. The Secretary of State shall be the register of the Prerogative 
 
 13 
 
178 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Court, and shall perform the duties required of him by law in that 
 respect. 
 
 Sec. Y. — 1. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice 
 and four associate justices. The number of associate justices may 
 be increased or decreased by law, but shall never be less than two. 
 
 2. The circuit courts shall be held in every county of this State, 
 by one or more of the justices of the Supreme Court, or a judge ap- 
 pointed for that purpose ; and shall in all cases within the county, 
 except in those of a criminal nature, have common law jurisdiction 
 concurrent with the Supreme Court ; and any final judgment of a 
 Circuit Court may be docketed in the Supreme Court, and shall 
 operate as a judgment obtained in the Supreme Court, from the time 
 of such docketing. 
 
 3. Final judgments in any circuit court may be brought, by 
 writ of error, into the Supreme Court, or directly into the Court of 
 Errors and Appeals. 
 
 Sec. VI. — 1. There shall be no more than five judges of the infe- 
 lior court of Common Pleas in each of the counties in this State, 
 after the terms of the judges of said court now in office shall termi- 
 nate. One judge for each county shall be appointed every year, 
 and no more, except to fill vacancies, which shall be for the unex- 
 pired term only. 
 
 2. The commissions for the first appointments of judges of said 
 court, shall bear date and take efiect on the first day of April next ; 
 and all subsequent commissions for judges of said court shall bear 
 date and take effect on the first day of April in every successive 
 year, except commissions to fill vacancies, which shall bear date and 
 take effect when issued. 
 
 Sec. VII. — 1. There may be elected under this Constitution 
 two, and not more than five, justices of the peace in each of the 
 townships of the several counties of this State, and in .each of the 
 wards, in cities that may vote in wards. When a township or ward 
 contains two thousand inhabitants, or less, it may have two justices ; 
 when it contains more than two thousand inhabitants, and not more 
 than four thousand, it may have four justices ; and when it contains 
 more than four thousand inhabitants, it may have five justices ; pro- 
 vided, that whenever any township, not voting in wards, contains 
 more than seven thousand inhabitants, such township may have an 
 additional justice for each additional three thousand inhabitants 
 above four thousand. 
 
 2. The population of the townships in the several counties of the 
 State and of the sevetal wards, shall be ascertained by the last pre- 
 ceding census of the United States, until the Legislature shall pro- 
 vide by law some other mode of ascertaining it. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 179 
 
 ARTICLE yil. 
 
 Appointing Power and Tenure of Office. — Militia Offi/^ers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for enrolling, organiz- 
 ing^ and arming the militia. 
 
 2. Captains, subalterns, and non-commissioned officers shall be 
 elected by the members of their respective companies. 
 
 3. Field officers of regiments, independent battalions and squad- 
 rons, shall be elected by the commissioned officers of their respective 
 regiments, battalions, or squadrons. 
 
 4. Brigadier-generals shall be elected by the field officers of their 
 respective brigades. 
 
 5. Major-generals shall be nominated by the Governor, and ap- 
 pointed by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall provide, by law, the time and manner of 
 electing militia officers, and of certifying their elections to the Gov- 
 ernor, who shall grant their commissions and determine their rank, 
 when not determined by law ; — and no commissioned officer shall be 
 removed from office but by the sentence of a court martial, pursuant 
 to law. 
 
 7. In case the electors of subalterns, captains, or field officers, 
 shall refuse or neglect to make such elections, the Governor shall 
 have power to appoint such officers, and to fill all vacancies caused 
 by such refusal or neglect. 
 
 8. Brigade inspectors shall be chosen by the field officers of their 
 respective brigades. 
 
 9. The Governor shall appoint the adjutant-general, quartermas- 
 ter-general, and all other militia officers whose appointment is not 
 otherwise provided for in this Constitution. 
 
 10. Major-generals, brigadier-generals, and commanding officers 
 of regiments, independent battalions, and squadrons, shall appoint 
 the staff officers of their divisions, brigades, regiments, independent 
 battalions, and squadrons, respectively. 
 
 Civil Officers. 
 
 Sec. II. — 1. Justices of the Supreme Court, Chancellor, and judges 
 of the Court of Errors and Appeals, shall be nominated by the 
 Governor, and appointed by him, with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate. 
 
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, and Chancellor, shall hold 
 their offices*for the term of seven years ; shall, at stated times, re- 
 ceive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished 
 during the term of their appointments ; and they shall hold no other 
 office under the government of this State, or the United States. 
 
 2. Judges of the Court of Common Pleas shall be appointed by 
 Senate and General Assembly, in joint meeting. 
 
 They shall hold their offices for five years : but when appointed to 
 fill vacancies, they shall hold for the unexpired term only. 
 
180 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 3. The State Treasurer and the keeper and inspectors of the 
 State Prison, shall be appointed by the Senate and Gleneral Assem- 
 bly, in joint meeting. 
 
 They shall hold their offices for one year, and until their succes- 
 sors shall be qualified into office. 
 
 4. The Attorney-Greneral, prosecutors of the pleas, clerk of the 
 Supreme Court, clerk of the Court of Chancery, and Secretary of 
 State, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appointed by him, 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
 
 They shall hold their offices for five years. 
 
 5. The law reporter shall be appointed by the justices of the Su- 
 preme Court, or a majority of them ; and the chancery reporter shall 
 be appointed by the Chancellor. 
 
 They shall hold their offices for five years. 
 
 6. Clerks and surrogates of counties shall be elected by the peo- 
 ple of their respective counties, at the annual election for members 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 They shall be commissioned by the Governor, and hold their offi- 
 ces for five years. 
 
 7. Sheriffs and coroners shall be elected annually by the people 
 of their respective counties, at the annual elections for members of 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 They may be re-elected until they shall have served three years, 
 but no longer ; after which, three years must elapse before they can 
 be again capable of serving. 
 
 8. Justices of the peace shall be elected by ballot at the annual 
 meetings of the townships in the several counties of the State, and 
 of the wards in cities that may vote in wards, in such manner, and 
 under such regulations, as may be hereafter provided by law. 
 
 They shall be commissioned for the county, and their commissions 
 shall bear date and take effect on the first day of May next after 
 their election. 
 
 They shall hold their offices for five years : — except when elected 
 to fill vacancies, they shall hold for the unexpired term only ; pro- 
 vided, that the commission of any justice of the peace shall become 
 vacant upon his ceasing to reside in the township in which he was 
 elected. 
 
 The first election for justices of the peace shall take place at the 
 next annual town meetings of the townships in the several counties 
 of the State, and of the wards in cities that may vote in wards. 
 
 9. All other officers, whose appointments are not otberwise pro- 
 vided for by law, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appoint- 
 ed by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and they 
 shall hold their offices for the time prescribed by law. 
 
 10. All civil officers nominated by the Governor, and appointed 
 by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be com- 
 missioned by the Governor. 
 
 11. The term of office of all officers elected or appointed pursu- 
 
NEW JERSEY. 181 
 
 ant to the provisions of this Constitution, except when herein other- 
 wise directed, shall commence on the day of the date of their respec- 
 tive commissions ; but no commission for any of&ce shall bear date 
 prior to the expiration of the term of the incumbent of said office. 
 
 ARTICLE Ylll.— General Provisions. 
 
 1. The Secretary of State shall be ex-officio an auditor of the 
 accounts of the Treasurer, and, as such, it shall be his duty to assist 
 the Legislature in the annual examination and settlement of said 
 accounts, until otherwise provided by law. 
 
 2. The seal of the State shall be kept by the Governor or person 
 administering the Government, and used by him officially, and shall 
 be called the great seal of the State of New Jersey. 
 
 3. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the 
 authority of the State of New Jersey, sealed with the great seal, 
 signed by the Governor, or person administering the Government, 
 and countersigned by the Secretary of State, and shall run thus : 
 
 " The State of New Jersey to , greeting." All writs 
 
 shall be in the name of the State ; and all indictments shall con- 
 clude in the following manner, viz. : " against the peace of this State, 
 the government and dignity of the same." 
 
 4. This Constitution shall take effect and go into operation on 
 the second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-four. 
 
 ARTICLE lX.—Amend7ne7ds, 
 
 Any specific amendment or amendments to the Constitution may 
 be proposed in the Senate or General Assembly, and if the same 
 shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of 
 the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be 
 entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and 
 referred to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be pub- 
 lished for three months previous to making such choice, in at least 
 one newspaper of each county, if any be published therein ; and if 
 in the Legislature next chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments, or any of them, shall be agreed to by a ma- 
 jority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the 
 duty of the Legislature to submit to such proposed amendment or 
 amendments ; or such of them as may have been agreed to as afore- 
 said by the two Legislatures, to the people, in such manner and at 
 such time, at least four months after the adjournment of the Legis- 
 lature, as the Legislature shall prescribe; and if the people, at a 
 special election to be held for that purpose only, shall approve and 
 ratify such amendment or amendments, or any of them, by a majori- 
 ty of the electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature 
 voting thereon, such amendment or amendments, so approved and 
 ratified, shall become part of the Constitution ; provided, that if more 
 
182 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 than one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted in such 
 manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amend- 
 ment separately and distinctly ; but no amendment or amendments 
 shall be submitted to the people by the Legislature oftener than 
 once in five years. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— Schedule. 
 
 That no inconvenience may arise from the change in the Constitu- 
 tion of this State, and in order to carry the same into complete 
 operation, it is hereby declared and ordained, that — 
 
 1. The common law and the statute laws now in force, not re- 
 pugnant to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire 
 by their own limitation, or be altered or repealed by the Legislature ; 
 and all writs, actions, causes of such action, prosecutions, contracts, 
 claims, and rights of individuals, and of bodies corporate, and of 
 the State, and all charters of incorporations, shall continue, and all 
 indictments which shall have been found, or which may hereafter be 
 found, for any crime or offence committed before the adoption of this 
 Constitution, may be proceeded upon as if no change had taken 
 place. The several courts of law and equity, except as herein other- 
 wise provided, shall continue with the like powers and jurisdiction 
 as if this Constitution had not been adopted. 
 
 2. All officers now filling any office or appointment, shall continue 
 in the exercise of the duties thereof, according to their respective 
 commissions or appointments unless by this Constitution it is oth- 
 erwise directed. 
 
 3. The present Grovernor, Chancellor, and Ordinary or Surrogate- 
 General, and Treasurer of this State, shall continue in office until 
 successors elected or appointed under this Constitution shall be 
 sworn or affirmed into office. 
 
 4. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the present 
 Governor, the person who may be Vice-President of the Council at the 
 time of the adoption of this Constitution shall continue in office, and 
 administer the government, until a Governor shall have been elected 
 and sworn or affirmed into office under this Constitution. 
 
 5. The present Governor, or in case of his death, or disability to 
 act, the Vice-President of Council, together with the present mem- 
 bers of the Legislative Council and Secretary of State shall consti- 
 tute a board of State canvassers, in the manner now provided by 
 law, for the purpose of ascertaining and declaring the result of the 
 next ensuing election for Governor, members of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, and electors of the President and Vice-President, 
 
 6. The returns of the votes for Governor, at the said next ensuing 
 election shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State, the votes 
 counted, and the election declared, in the manner now provided by 
 law in the case of the election of electors of President and Vice- 
 President. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 183 
 
 7. The election of clerks and surrogates in those counties where 
 the term of office of the present incumbent shall expire previous to 
 the general election of eighteen hundred and forty-five, shall be held 
 at the general election next ensuing the adoption of this Constitu- 
 tion ; the result of which election shall be ascertained in the man- 
 ner now provided by law for the election of sheriffs. 
 
 8. The elections for the year eighteen hundred and forty-four 
 shall take place as now provided by law. 
 
 9. It shall be the duty of the Grovernor to fill all vacancies in 
 office happening between the adoption of this Constitution and the 
 first session of the Senate, and not otherwise provided for ; and the 
 commissions shall expire at the end of the first session of the Sen- 
 ate, or when a successor shall be elected or appointed and qualified, 
 
 10. The restriction of the pay of members of the Legislature, after 
 forty days from the commencement of the session, shall not be ap- 
 plied to the first Legislature convened under this Constitution. 
 
 11. Clerks of counties shall be clerks of the inferior courts of 
 common pleas and quarter sessions of the several counties, and per- 
 form the duties, and be subject to the regulations now required of 
 them by law, until otherwise ordained by the Legislature. 
 
 12. The Legislature shall pass all laws necessary to carry into 
 effect the provisions of the Constitution. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Pennsylvania was first settled by the Swedes in 1638, who purchased the 
 territory from the natives, but they were conquered by the Dutch in 1654. 
 At the time the English took New Netherland, in 1664, the Dutch possessions 
 on the Delaware river fell into their hands, and for several years were subject 
 to the Governor of New York. In 1681, Pennsylvania was granted by 
 Charles II. to William Penn, a member of the Society of Friends, in consi- 
 deration of the services of his father as British Admiral. In 1682, Penn dis- 
 posed of some 20,000 acres to a company of Friends for :e400 sterling. A 
 colony of 2000 came over about this time, and settled in Philadelphia. The 
 State was governed by deputies, appointed by the proprietors, until the com- 
 mencement of the Revolutionary War. Penn died in 1718, leaving his inte- 
 rests in Pennsylvania as an inheritance to his children. Their claim was 
 eventually purchased by the commonwealth for i;i30,000 sterling. In 1768, 
 Mason and Dixon's line was drawn to mark the boundary between this State 
 and Maryland; and, in 1784, the north-western portion of this State, not 
 being included in the former purchase, was bought of the Indians. The first 
 Constitution was adopted in 1776, the second in 1790, and the present one in 
 1838. 
 
 Area, 46,000 sq. m. Pop., in 1850, 2,311,681. 
 
 Philadelphia is the most important city in Pennsylvania, and next to New 
 York in the Union, with a population of 220,423. It is marked for its regu- 
 larity and beauty. This city was the seat of the General Government from 
 1776 to 1800, when it was removed to Washington. Among its many public 
 buildings is the old State House, in Chesnut street, erected 1735. In this 
 Congress sat when Independence was declared, and here the Convention as- 
 sembled that framed the Constitution of the United States. The room in 
 which they sat is carefully preserved as it was. The original bell, cast many 
 years before the Declaration, still hangs in the tower, and bears this interest- 
 ing inscription : " Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabi- 
 tants thereof." — Levit, xxv. 10 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 185 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We, the People of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, ordain and 
 establish this Constitution for its government. 
 
 AKTICLE I. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislative power of this commonwealth shall be 
 vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 2. The representatives shall be chosen annually, by the citizens 
 of the city of Philadelphia, and of each county respectively, on the 
 second Tuesday of October. 
 
 3. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
 the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant 
 of the State three years next preceding his election, and the last 
 year thereof an inhabitant of the district in and for which he shall 
 be chosen a representative, unless he shall have been absent on the 
 public business of the United States or of this State. 
 
 4. Within three years of the first meeting of the General Assem- 
 bly, and within every subsequent term of seven years, an enumera- 
 tion of the taxable inhabitants shall be made in such manner as shall 
 be directed by law. The n^umber of representatives shall at the 
 several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the Legis- 
 lature, and apportioned among the city of Philadelphia and the seve- 
 ral counties, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each ; 
 and shall never be less than sixty nor greater than one hundred. 
 Each county shall have at least one representative, but no county 
 hereafter created shall be entitled to a separate representation until a 
 suf&cient number of taxable inhabitants shall be contained within it 
 to entitle them to one representative, agreeably to the ratio which 
 shall then be established. 
 
 5. The senators shall be chosen for three years by the citizens of 
 Philadelphia and of the several counties, at the same time, in the 
 same manner, and at the same places where they shall vote for rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 6. The number of senators shall, at the several periods of making 
 the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the Legislature, and 
 apportioned among the districts formed as hereinafter, directed ac- 
 cording to the number of taxable inhabitants in each ; and shall never 
 be less than one-fourth, nor greater than one-third of the number 
 of representatives. 
 
 7. The senators shall be chosen in districts, to be formed by the 
 Legislature ; but no district shall be so formed as to entitle it to elect 
 more than two senators, unless the number of taxable inhabitants 
 in any city or county shall, at any time, be such as to entitle it to 
 elect more than two, but no city or county shall be entitled to elect 
 
186 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 more than four senators ; when a district shall be composed of two 
 or more counties, they shall be adjoining ; neither the city of Phila- 
 delphia nor any county shall be divided in forming a district. 
 
 8. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the 
 'age of twenty-five years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of 
 
 the State four years next before his election, and the last year 
 thereof an inhabitant of the district for which he shall be chosen, 
 unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United 
 States or of this State ; and no person elected as aforesaid shall 
 hold said office after he shall have removed from such district. 
 
 9. The senators who may be elected at the first general election 
 after the adoption of the amendments to the Constitution, shall be 
 divided by lot into three classes. The seats of the senators of the 
 first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year : of the 
 second class at the expiration of the second year ; and of the third 
 class at the expiration of the third year ; so that thereafter one-third 
 of the whole number of senators may be chosen every year. The 
 senators elected before the amendments to the Constitution shall be 
 adopted shall hold their offices during the term for which they shall 
 respectively have been elected. 
 
 10. The G-eneral Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday of 
 January, in every year, unless sooner convened by the Grovernor. 
 
 11. Each house shall choose its speaker and other officers; and 
 the Senate shall also choose a speaker pro tempore, when the speaker 
 shall exercise the office of Grovernor. 
 
 12. Each house shall judge of the qualifications of its members. 
 Contested elections shall be determined by a committee to be selected, 
 formed and regulated in such manner as shall be directed by law. 
 A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business ; 
 but a smaller number may adjourn from day to da}^, and may be au- 
 thorized by law to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
 manner and under such penalties as may be provided. 
 
 13. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
 ish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
 cause ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of 
 the Legislature of a free State. 
 
 1 4. The Legislature shall not have power to enact laws annulling 
 the contract of marriage in any case where, by law, the courts of 
 this commonwealth are, or hereafter may be, empowered to decree a 
 divorce. 
 
 15. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish them weekly, except such parts as may require secrecy : and the 
 yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire 
 of any two of them, be entered on the journals. 
 
 16. The doors of each house and of committees of the whole shall 
 be open, unless when the business shall be such 9,s ought to be kept 
 secret. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 187 
 
 17. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 IS. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 
 for their services to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasu- 
 ry of the commonwealth. They shall in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, and breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
 during their attendance at the session of their respective 'houses, 
 and in going to and returning from the same. And for any speech 
 or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other 
 place. 
 
 19. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under 
 this commonwealth which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
 of which shall have been increased during such time ; and no mem- 
 ber of Congress or other person holding any office, (except of attor- 
 ney-at-law and in the militia) under the United States or this com- 
 monwealth, shall be a member of either house during his continu- 
 ance in Congress or in office. 
 
 20. When vacancies happen in either house, the speaker shall 
 issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 21. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
 Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments as in other 
 bills. 
 
 22. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse- 
 quence of appropriations made by law. 
 
 23. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be pre- 
 sented to the Grovernor. If he approve, he shall sign it, but if he 
 shall not approve, he shall return it with his objections to the house 
 in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
 large upon their journals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after 
 such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass 
 the bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, by 
 which likewise it shall be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds 
 of that house, it shall be a law. But in such cases the votes of 
 both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
 of the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the 
 journals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be re- 
 turned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it 
 shall have beenpresented to him, it shall be a law in like manner 
 as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their ad- 
 journment, prevented its return, in which case it shall be a law, 
 unless sent back within three days after their next meeting. 
 
 24. Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) 
 shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take efiect, 
 be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be repassed by two- 
 
188 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 thirds of both houses according to the rules and limitations pre- 
 scribed in case of a bill. 
 
 25. No corporate body shall be hereafter created, renewed or ex- 
 tended with banking or discounting privileges, without six months' 
 previous public notice of the intended application for the same in 
 such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Nor shall any char- 
 ter for the purposes aforesaid, be granted for a longer period than 
 twenty years, and every such charter shall contain a clause reserv- 
 ing to the Legislature the power to alter, revoke or annul the same, 
 whenever in their opinion it may be injurious to the citizens of the 
 commonwealth, in such manner, however, that no injustice shall be 
 done to the corporators. No law hereafter enacted, shall create, 
 renew, or extend the charter of more than one corporation. 
 
 ARTICLE n. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this commonwealth shall 
 be vested in a Governor. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be chosen on the second Tuesday of Octo- 
 ber, by the citizens of the commonwealth, at the places where they 
 shall respectively vote for representatives. The returns of every 
 election for Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat 
 of government, directed to the speaker of the Senate, who shall open 
 and publish them in the presence of the members of both houses of 
 the Legislature. The person having the highest number of votes 
 shall be Governor. But if two or more shall be equal and highest 
 in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of 
 the members of both houses. Contested elections shall be deter- 
 mined by a committee to be selected from both houses of the Legis- 
 lature, and formed and regulated in such manner as shall be directed 
 by law. 
 
 3. The Governor shall hold his ofl&ce during three years from the 
 third Tuesday of January next ensuing his election, and shall not 
 be capable of holding it longer than six in any term of nine years. 
 
 4. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a citizen 
 and an inhabitant of this State seven years next before his election ; 
 unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the Uni- 
 ted States, or of this State. 
 
 5. No member of Congress or person holding any office under the 
 United States, or this State, shall exercise the office of Governor. 
 
 6. The Governor shall at stated times receive for his services a^ 
 compensation, which shall be neither increased nor diminished du- 
 ring the period for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 commonwealth, and of the militia, except when they shall be called 
 into the actual service of the United States. 
 
 8. He shall appoint a Secretary of the commonwealth during 
 pleasure, and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 189 
 
 consent of the Senate, appoint all judicial officers of courts of record, 
 unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution. He shall have 
 power to fill all vacancies that may happen in such judicial offices 
 during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall 
 expire at the end of their next session ; Provided, that in acting on 
 executive nominations the Senate shall sit with open doors, and in 
 confirming or rejecting the nominations of the Governor, the vote 
 shall be taken by yeas and nays. 
 
 9. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and grant 
 reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 10. He may require information in writing, from the officers in 
 the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of 
 their respective offices. 
 
 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly in- 
 formation of the state of the commonwealth, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient. 
 
 12. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- 
 sembly ; and in case of disagreement between the two houses, with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he 
 shall think proper, not exceeding four months. 
 
 13. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 14. In case of the death or resignation of the Governor, or his re- 
 moval from office, the Speaker of the Senate shall exercise the office 
 of governor, or until another governor shall be duly qualified ; but 
 in such case another Governor shall be chosen at the next annual 
 election of representatives, unless such death, resignation, or removal, 
 shall occur within three calendar months immediately preceding 
 such next annual election, in which case a Governor shall be chosen 
 at the second succeeding annual election of representatives. And if 
 the trial of a contested election shall continue longer than until the 
 third Monday of January next ensuing the election of Governor, the 
 Governor of the last year, or the Speaker of the Senate who may be 
 in the exercise of the executive authority, shall continue therein until 
 the determination of such contested election, and until a Governor 
 shall be duly qualified as aforesaid. 
 
 15. The Secretary of the commonwealth shall keep a fair register 
 of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, 
 when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes and vouchers 
 relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature, and shall 
 perform such other duties as shall be enjoined him by law. 
 
 ARTICLE in. 
 
 Sec. 1. In elections by the citizens, every white freeman of the 
 age of twenty-one years, having resided in this State one year, and 
 in the election district where he ofi"ers to vote, ten days immediately 
 preceding such election, and within two years paid a State or county 
 tax, which, shall have been assessed at least ten days before the elec- 
 
190 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tion. shall enjoy the rights of an elector. But a citizen of the Uni- 
 ted States, who had p-reviously been a qualified voter of this State, 
 and removed therefrom and returned, and who shall have resided in 
 the election district, and paid taxes as aforesaid, shall be entitled to 
 vote, after residing in the State six months : Provided, that white 
 freemen, citizens of the United States, between the ages of twenty- 
 one and twenty-two years, and having resided in the State one year, 
 and in the election district ten days as aforesaid, shall be entitled to 
 vote, although they shall not have paid taxes. 
 
 2. All elections shall be by ballot, except those by persons in their 
 representative capacities, who shall vote viva voce. 
 
 3. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach 
 of surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attend- 
 ance on elections, and in going to and returning from them. 
 
 ARTICLE lY. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; when sitting 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. No 
 person shall be convicted, without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 the members present. 
 
 4. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this common- 
 wealth, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; 
 but judgment, in such cases, shall not extend further than to removal 
 from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or 
 profit, under this commonwealth : the party, whether convicted or 
 acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictme.nt, trial, judgment 
 and punishment according to law. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this commonwealth shall be vested 
 in a Supreme Court, in courts of oyer and terminer and general jail 
 delivery, in a court of common pleas, orphans' court, register's court, 
 and a court of quarter sessions of the peace for each county ; in jus- 
 tices of the peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature may, 
 from time to time establish. 
 
 2. The judges of the Supreme Court, of the several courts of 
 common pleas, and of such other courts of record as are or shall be 
 established by law, shall be nominated by the Governor, and by and 
 with the consent of the Senate appointed and commissioned by him. 
 The judges of the Supreme Court shall hold their offices for the 
 term of fifteen years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. 
 The president judges of the several courts of common pleas, and of 
 such other courts of record as are or shall be established by law, and 
 all other judges required to be learned in the law. shall hold their 
 offices for the term of ten years, if they shall so long behave them- 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 191 
 
 selves well. The associate judges of the courts of common pleas 
 shall hold their offices for the term of five years, if they shall so 
 long behave themselves well. But for any reasonable cause, which 
 shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment, the Governor may 
 remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each branch of 
 the Legislature. The judges of the Supreme Court, and the presi- 
 dents of the several courts of common pleas, shall at stated times 
 receive for their services an adequate compensation, to be fixed by 
 law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office ; 
 but they shall receive no fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any 
 other office of profit under this commonwealth. 
 
 3. Until otherwise directed by law, the courts of common pleas 
 shall continue as at present estaolished. Not more than five coun- 
 ties shall at any time be included in one judicial district organized 
 for said courts. 
 
 4. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court shall extend ovor the 
 State ; and the judges thereof shall, by virtue of their office, be jus- 
 tices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, in the several 
 counties. 
 
 5. The judges of the court of common pleas, in each county, 
 shall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and 
 general jail delivery, for the trial of capital and other offenders 
 therein ; any two of said judges, the president being one, shall be a 
 quorum ; but they shall not hold a court of oyer and terminer, or 
 jail delivery in any county, when the judges of the Supreme Court, 
 or any of them shall be sitting in the same county. The party ac- 
 cused, as well as the commonwealth, may, under such regulations as 
 shall be prescribed by law, remove the indictment and proceedings, 
 or a transcript thereof, into the Supreme Court. 
 
 6. The Supreme Court, and the several courts of common pleas, 
 shall, beside the powers heretofore usually exercised by them, have 
 the powers of a Court of Chancery, so far as relates to the perpetu- 
 ating of testimony, the obtaining of evidence from places not within 
 the State, and the care of the persons and estates of those who are 
 non compos mentis. And the Legislature shall vest in the said 
 courts such other powers to grant relief in equity, as shall be found 
 necessary ; and may, from time to time, enlarge or diminish those 
 powers or vest them in such other courts as they shall judge proper, 
 for the due administration of justice. 
 
 7. The judges of the court of common pleas of each county, any 
 two of whom shall be a quorum, shall compose the court of quarter 
 sessions of the peace, and orphans' court thereof ; and the register 
 of wills, together with the said judges, or any two of them, shall 
 compose the register's court of each county. 
 
 8. The judges of the courts of common pleas shall, within their 
 respective counties, have like powers with the judges of the Supreme 
 Court, to issue writs of certiorari to the justices of the peace, and to 
 
192 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 cause their proceedings to be brought before them, and the like 
 Iright and justice to be done. 
 
 9. The president of the court in each circuit within such circuit, 
 and the judges of the court of common pleas within their respective 
 counties, shall be justices of the peace, so far as relates to criminal 
 matters. 
 
 10. A register's office, for the probate of wills and granting let- 
 ters of administration, and an office for the recording of deeds, shall 
 be kept in each county. 
 
 1 1. The style of all process shall be, " The commonwealth of Penn- 
 sylvania." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by 
 the authority of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and conclude, 
 " against the peace and dignity of the same." 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Sec. 1. Sheriffs and coroners shall, at the times and places of 
 election of representatives, be chosen by the citizens of each county. 
 One person shall be chosen for each office, who shall be commission- 
 ed by the Grovernor. They shall hold their offices for three years, 
 if they shall so long behave themselves well, and until a successor 
 be duly qualified ; but no person shall be twice chosen or appointed 
 sheriff in any term of six years. Vacancies in either of the said 
 offices shall be filled by an appointment, to be made by the Governor, 
 to continue until the next general election, and until a successor 
 shall be chosen and qualified as aforesaid. 
 
 2. The freemen of this commonwealth shall be armed, organized, 
 and disciplined for its defense, when and in such manner as may be 
 directed by law. Those who conscientiously scruple to bear arms, 
 shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for per- 
 sonal service. 
 
 3. Prothonotaries of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the 
 said court for the term of three years, if they so long behave them- 
 selves well. Prothonotaries and clerks of the several other courts, 
 recorders of deeds, and registers of wills, shall at the times and 
 places of election of representatives, be elected by the qualified elec- 
 tors of each county, or the districts over which the jurisdiction of 
 said courts extends, and shall be commissioned by the Grovernor. 
 They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long be- 
 have themselves well, and until their successors shall be duly quali- 
 fied. The Legislature shall provide by law the number of persons 
 in each county who shall hold said offices, and how many and which 
 of said offices shall be held by one person. Vacancies in any of the 
 said offices shall be filled by appointments to be made by the Gov- 
 ernor, to continue until the next general election, and until succes- 
 sors shall be elected and qualified as aforesaid. 
 
 4. Prothonotaries, clerks of the peace and orphans' courts, record- 
 ers of deeds, registers of wills, and sheriffs, shall keep their offices in 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 193 
 
 the county town of the county in which they, respectively, shall be 
 officers, unless when the Governor shall, for special reasons, dispense 
 therewith, for any term not exceeding five years after the county 
 shall have been erected. 
 
 5. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of 
 the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be sealed with the State 
 seal, and signed by the Grovernor. 
 
 6. A State Treasurer shall be elected annually, by joint vote of 
 both branches of the Legislature. 
 
 7. Justices of the peace or aldermen shall be elected in the sev- 
 eral wards, boroughs, and townships, at the time of the election of 
 constables by the qualified voters thereof, in such number as shall 
 be directed by law, and shall be commissioned by the Governor for 
 a term of five years. But no township, ward or borough, shall elect 
 more than two justices of the peace or aldermen without the consent 
 of a majority of the qualified electors within such township, ward or 
 borough. 
 
 8. AH officers whose election or appointment is not provided for 
 in this Constitution, shall be elected or appointed as shall be directed 
 by law. No person shall be appointed to any office within any 
 county who shall not have been a citizen and an inhabitant therein 
 one year next before his appointment, if the county shall have been 
 so long erected ; but if it shall not have been so long erected, then 
 within the limits of the county or counties out of which it shall have 
 been taken. No member of Congress from this State, or any person 
 holding or exercising any office or appointment of trust or profit 
 under the United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise 
 any office in this State, to which a salary is, or fees or perquisites 
 are, by law, annexed : and the Legislature may by law declare what 
 State offices are incompatible. No member of the Senate or of the 
 House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Governor to any 
 office during the term for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 9. All officers for a term of years shall hold their offices for the 
 terms respectively specified, only on the condition that they so long 
 behave themselves well ; and shall be removed on conviction of mis- 
 behavior in office or of any infamous crime. 
 
 10. Any person who shall, after the adoption of the amendments 
 proposed by this Convention to the Constitution, fight a duel, or send 
 a challenge for that purpose, or be aider or abettor in fighting a duel, 
 shall be deprived of the right of holding any office of honor or profit 
 in this State, and shall be punished otherwise in such manner as is. 
 or may be prescribed by law ; but the executive may remit the said 
 offence and all its disqualifications. 
 
 ARTICLE VIL 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, 
 provide, by law, for the establishment of schools throughout the 
 State, in such manner that the poor may be taught gratis. 
 14 
 
194 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. The arts and sciences shall be promoted in one or more semi 
 naries of learning. 
 
 3. The rights, privileges, immunities and estates of religious soci- 
 eties and corporate bodies, shall remain as if the Constitution of this 
 State had not been altered or amended. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall not invest any corporate body or individ- 
 ual with the privilege of taking private property for public use, with- 
 out requiring such corporation or individual to make compensation 
 to the owners of said property, or give adequate security therefor, 
 before such property shall be taken. 
 
 ARTICLE VIIL 
 
 Members of the General Assembly and all officers, executive and 
 judicial, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Consti- 
 tution of this commonwealth, and to perform the duties of their re- 
 spective offices with fidelity. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 That the general^ great and essential principles cf liberty and free gov- 
 ernment may he recognized arid unalterably established^ we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all men are born equally free and independent, and 
 have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those 
 of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, 
 and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own 
 happiness. 
 
 2. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free govern- 
 ments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, 
 safety, and happiness : For the advancement of those ends, they 
 have, at all times, an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, re- 
 form, or abolish their government, in such manner as they may think 
 proper. 
 
 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; 
 that no man can, of right, be compelled to attend, erect or support 
 any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his con- 
 sent ; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control 
 or interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no preference 
 shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishments or modes 
 of worship. 
 
 4. That no person who acknowledges the being of a God and a 
 future state of rewards and punishments, shall, on account of his re- 
 ligious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust 
 or profit under this commonwealth. 
 
 5. That elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 6. That trial by jury shall be as heretofofe, and the right thereof 
 remain inviolate. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 195 
 
 7. That the printing presses shall be free to every person, who 
 undertakes to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or any 
 branch of government : and no law shall ever be made to restrain 
 the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opin- 
 ions is one of the invaluable rights of man ; and every citizen may 
 freely speak, writ« and print on any subject, being responsible for 
 the abuse of that liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of pa- 
 pers, investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in a public 
 capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public informa- 
 tion, the truth thereof may be given in evidence ; and, in all indict- 
 ments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law 
 and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases. 
 
 8. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers 
 and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and that 
 no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, 
 shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor with- 
 out probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to 
 be heard by himself and his counsel, to demand the nature and cause 
 of the accusation against him, to meet the witnesses face to face, to 
 have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and in 
 prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy trial by an im- 
 partial jury of the vicinage : that he cannot be compelled to give 
 evidence against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty or 
 property, unleg^jjy the judgment of his pjsers or the law of thejand^ 
 
 10. That noperson shall^ for any inTictaBe offence7Te"pfbcee3ed 
 against criminally by information ; except in cases arising in the land 
 or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of 
 war or public danger ; or by leave of the court for oppression and 
 misdemeanor in office. No person shall for the same offence be twice 
 put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall any man's property be 
 taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his represen 
 tatives, and without just compensation being made. 
 
 11. That all courts shall be open, and every man for an injury 
 done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have reme- 
 dy "by the due course of law, and right and justice administered 
 without sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought against the 
 commonwealth in such manner, in such courts, and in such cases, as 
 the Legislature may by law direct. 
 
 12. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless 
 by the Legislature, or its authority. 
 
 13. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 
 
 1 4. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, un- 
 less for capital offences, when the proof is evident or presumption 
 great : and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
 suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
196 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 15. That no commissioD of oyer and terminer or jail delivery shall 
 be issued. 
 
 16. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong pre- 
 sumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering 
 up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 1 7. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing contracts, 
 shall be made. 
 
 18. That no person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the 
 Legislature. 
 
 19. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood ; nor, except 
 during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the common 
 wealth : that the estates of such persons as shall destroy their own 
 lives, shall descend or vest as in case of natural death ; and if any 
 person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by 
 reason thereof 
 
 20. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to as- 
 semble together for their common good, and to apply to those in- 
 vested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or 
 other proper purposes, by petition, redress, or remonstrance. 
 
 21. That the right of the citizens to bear arms, in defense of them- 
 selves and the State, shall not be questioned. 
 
 22. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up, 
 without the consent of the Legislature ; and the military shall, in all 
 cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 23. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
 house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in 
 a manner to be prescribed b}^ law. 
 
 24. That the Legislature shall not grant any title of nobility or 
 hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment to which 
 shall be for a longer term than during good behaviour. 
 
 25. That emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 
 
 26. To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we 
 have delegated, we declare, that every thing in this article is excepted 
 out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain 
 inviolate. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be pro- 
 posed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same 
 shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 'elected to each 
 house, such proposed amendment or amendjijaents shall be entered on 
 their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and the Secre- 
 tary of the commonwealth shall cause the same to be published three 
 months before the next election, in at least one newspaper in every 
 county in which a newspaper shall be published ; and if in the Legis- 
 lature next afterwards chosen, such proposed amendment or amend- 
 ments shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 197 
 
 each house, the Secretary of the commonwealth shall cause the same 
 again to be published in manner aforesaid, and such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments shall be submitted to the people in such man- 
 ner, and at such time, at least three months after being so agreed 
 to by the two houses, as the Legislature shall prescribe ; and if the 
 people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by 
 a majority of the qualified voters of this State voting thereon, such 
 amendment or amendments shall become a part of the Constitution, 
 but no amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people 
 oftener than once in five years: provided, that if more than one 
 amendment be submitted^ they shall be submitted in such manner 
 and form, that the people may vote for or against each amendment 
 separately and distinctly. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and ameiidmenis 
 in the Constitution of this Commonwealth^ and in order to carry the 
 same into complete operation^ it is hereby declared and ordained, that : 
 
 1. All laws of this Commonwealth in force at the time when the 
 said alterations and amendments in the said Constitution shall take 
 efiect, and not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, prosecutions, 
 actions, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies cor- 
 porate, shall continue as if the said alterations and amendments had 
 not been made. 
 
 2. The alterations and amendments in the said Constitution shall 
 take effect from the first day of January, eighteen hundred and 
 thirty-nine. 
 
 3. The clauses, sections, and articles of the said Constitution 
 which remain unaltered, shall continue to be construed and have 
 effect as if the said Constitution had not been amended, 
 
 4. The General Assembly which shall convene in December, 
 eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, shall continue its session, as here- 
 tofore, notwithstanding the provision in the eleventh section of th'fe 
 first article, and shall at all times be regarded as the first General 
 Assembly under the amended Constitution. 
 
 5. The Governor, who shall be elected in October, eighteen hun- 
 dred and thirty-eight, shall be inaugurated on the third Tuesday in 
 January, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine ; to which time the pre- 
 sent executive term is extended. 
 
 6. The commissions of the judges of the Supreme Court who may 
 be in office on the first day of January next, shall expire in the fol- 
 lowing manner: — The commission which bears the earliest date 
 shall expire on the first day of January, anno domini one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-two : the commission next dated shall ex- 
 pire on the first day of January, anno domini one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-five : the commission next dated shall expire on 
 the first day of January, anno domini one thousand eight hundred 
 
19S CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 and forty-eight : the commission next dated shall expire on the first 
 day of January, anno domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one ; 
 and the commission last last dated shall expire on the first day of 
 January, anno domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. 
 
 7. The commissions of the president judges of the several judi- 
 cial districts, and of the associate law judges of the first judicial dis- 
 trict, shall expire as follows : — The commissions of one-half of those 
 who shall have held their offices ten years or more, at the adoption 
 of the amendments to the Constitution, shall expire on the twenty- 
 seventh day of February, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 nine : the commissions of the other half of those who shall have held 
 their offices ten years or more, at the adoption of the amendments 
 to the Constitution, shall expire on the twenty-seventh day of Feb- 
 ruary, one thousand hundred and forty-two : the first half to em- 
 brace those whose commissions shall bear the oldest date. The 
 commissions of all the remaining judges who shall not have held 
 their offices for ten years at the adoption of the amendments to the 
 Constitution, shall expire on the twenty-seventh day of February 
 next after the end of ten years from the date of their commissions. 
 
 8. The recorders of the several mayors' courts and other criminal 
 courts in this Commonwealth, shall be appointed for the same time and 
 in the same manner as the president judges of the several judicial dis- 
 tricts ; of those now in office, the commission oldest in date shall ex- 
 pire on the twenty-seventh day of February, one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-one, and the others every two years thereafter 
 according to their respective dates : those oldest in date expiring first. 
 
 9. The Legislature, at its first session under the amended Constitution, shall di- 
 vide the other associate judges of the State into four classes. The commissions of 
 those of the first class shall expire on the twenty-seventh day of Februaiy, eighteen 
 hundred and forty : of those of the second class on the twenty-seventh day of Feb- 
 ruary, eighteen hundred and forty one : of those of the third class on the twenty- 
 seventh day of February, eighteen hundred and forty-two : and those of the fourth 
 class on the twenty-seventh day of February, eighteen hundred and forty-three. 
 The said classes, from the first to the fourth, shall be arranged according to the 
 seniority of the commissions of the several judges. 
 
 1 10. Prothonotaries, clerks of the several courts, (except of the Supreme Court,) 
 recorders of deeds, and registers of wills, shall be first elected under the amended 
 Constitution, at the election of representatives, in the year eighteen hundred and 
 thirty-nine, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 11. The appointing power shall remain as heretofore, and all officers in the ap- 
 pointment of the executive department shall continue in the exercise of the duties 
 of their respective offices until the Legislature shall pass such laws as may be 
 required by the eighth section of the sixth article of the amended Constitution, and 
 until appointments shall be made under such laws; unless their commissions shall 
 be superseded by new appointments, or shall sooner expire by their own limitations, 
 or the said offices shall become vacant by death or resignation, and such laws shall 
 be enacted by the first Legislature under the amended Constitution. 
 
 12. The first election for aldermen and justices of the peace shall be held in the 
 year eighteen hundred and forty, at the time fixed for the election of constables. 
 The Legislature at its first session under the amended Constitution, shall provide 
 for the said election, and for subsequent similar elections. The aldermen and justi- 
 ces of the peace now in commission, or who may in the interim be appointed, shall 
 continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices until fifteen days after the 
 day which shall be fixed by law for the issuing of new commissions, at the expira- 
 tion of v/hich time their commissions shall expire. 
 
DELAWARE. 
 
 Delaware, npxt to Rhode Island, is the smallest State in the union. It was 
 first settled in 1627, by the Swedes and Fins. They landed at Cape Hen- 
 lopen, and on account of its beauty called it " Paradise Point." They organ- 
 ized a government, and built several forts for their protection. But they 
 were too weak to sustain themselves against the Dutch, who had commenced 
 making inroads upon them. In 1655 the Dutch took the territory by conquest. 
 In 1664 the English conquered the Dutch, and they were under the jurisdic- 
 tion of New York until 1682. About this time William Penn obtained a 
 grant of Delaware from the Duke of York, and it was for many years under 
 the government of Pennsylvania, 
 
 It adopted its first Constitution in 1776, and its present one in 1831. 
 
 Area 2,120 sq. m. Population, 91,535. 
 
 CONSTITUTION.* 
 
 We^ the People, hereby ordain and establish this Constitution of gov- 
 ernment for the State of Delaware. 
 
 Through divine goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of 
 worshiping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of 
 their consciences, of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of ac- 
 quiring and protecting reputation and property, and, in general, 
 of attaining objects suitable to their condition, without injury by 
 one to another ; and as these rights are essential to their welfare, 
 for the due exercise thereof, power is inherent in them ; and there- 
 fore all just authority in the institutions of political society is 
 
 * The amendments are in brackets. 
 
200 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 derived from the people, and established with their consent, to ad- 
 vance their happiness : And they may for this end, as circumstances 
 require, from time to time, alter their Constitution of government. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Sec. 1. Although it is the duty of all men frequently to assemble 
 together for the public worship of the Author of the Universe, and 
 piety and morality, on which the prosperity of communities depends, 
 are thereby promoted ; yet no man shall, or ought to be compelled 
 to attend any religious worship, to contribute to the erection or sup- 
 port of any place of worship, or to the maintenance of any ministry, 
 against his own free will and consent : and no power shall or ought 
 to be vested in or assumed by any magistrate, that shall in any case 
 interfere with, or in any manner control the rights of conscience, in 
 the free exercise of religions worship : nor shall a preference be 
 given by law to any religious societies, denomination or modes of 
 worship. 
 
 2. No religious test shall be required as a qualification to any 
 ofl&ce, or public trust, under this State. 
 
 3. All elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 4. Trial by jury, shall be as heretofore. 
 
 5. The press shall be free to every citizen who undertakes to ex- 
 amine the ofi&cial conduct of men acting in a public capacity ; and 
 any citizen may print on any such subject, being responsible for the 
 abuse of that liberty. In prosecutions for publications investing 
 the proceedings of officers, or where the matter published is proper 
 for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence ; 
 and in all indictments for libels, the jury may determine the facts 
 and the law, as in other cases. 
 
 6. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
 possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures : and no 
 warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall 
 issue without describing them as particularly as may be, nor then, 
 unless there be probable cause supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 7. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be 
 heard by himself and his counsel, to be plainly and fully informed 
 of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to meet the 
 witnesses in their examination face to face, to have compulsory pro- 
 cess in due time, on application by himself, his friends, or counsel, 
 for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and a speedy and public trial by 
 an impartial jury : he shall not be compelled to give evidence against 
 himselfynor shall he be deprived of life, liberty, or property, unless 
 
 judgment of his peers or the law of the land. 
 
 8. No person shall for any indictable offence be proceeded against 
 criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land and 
 naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or 
 public danger, and no person shall be for the same offence twice put 
 
DELAWARE. 201 
 
 in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall any man's property be taken or 
 applied to public use without the consent of his representatives, and 
 without compensation being made. 
 
 9. All courts shall be open : and every man for an injury done 
 him in his reputation, person, movable or immovable possessions, 
 shall have remedy by the due course of law, and justice administered 
 according to the very right of the cause and the law of the land, 
 without sale, denial, or unreasonable delay or expense ; and every 
 action shall be tried in the county in which it shall be commenced, 
 unless when the judges of the court in which the cause is to be tried, 
 shall determine that an impartial trial therefor cannot be had in 
 that county. Suits may be brou^t against the State, according to 
 such regulations -as shall be made by law. 
 
 10. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, but by au- 
 thority of the Legislature. 
 
 11. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed, nor cruel punishment inflicted : and in the construction of 
 jails, a proper regard shall be had to the health of prisoners. 
 
 12. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless 
 for capital ofi'ences, when the proof is positive or the presumption 
 great : and when persons are confined on accusation for such offen- 
 ces, their friends and counsel may at proper seasons have access to 
 them. 
 
 13. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
 14. No commission of oyer and terminer or jail delivery shall be 
 issued. 
 
 15. No attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except dur- 
 ing the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate. The estates of 
 those who destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in case of 
 natural death ; and if any person be killed by accident, no forfeiture 
 shall be thereby incurred. 
 
 16. Although disobedience to laws by a part of the people, upon 
 suggestions of impolicy or injustice in them, tends by immediate 
 efiect and the influence of example, not only to endanger the public 
 welfare and safety, but also in governments of a republican form, 
 contravenes the social principles of such governments founded on 
 common consent for common good ; yet the citizens have a right in 
 an orderly manner to meet together, and to apply to persons intrusted 
 with the powers of government, for redress of grievances or other 
 proper purposes, by petition, remonstrance, or address. 
 
 17. No standing army shall be kept up without the consent of the 
 Legislature : and the military shall, in all cases and at all times, be 
 in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 1 8. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but by a civil 
 magistrate, in a manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
202 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 i 
 
 19. No hereditary distinction shall be granted, nor any office cre- 
 ated or exercised, the appointments to which shall he for a longer 
 term than during good behavior ; and no person holding any office 
 under this State, shall accept of any office or title of any kind what- 
 ever, from any King, Prince or foreign State, 
 
 We declare, that every thing in this article is reserved out of the 
 general powers of government hereinafter mentioned. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a 
 General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
 Representatives. " 
 
 2. The representatives shall be chosen [for two years] by the 
 citizens residing in the several counties. 
 
 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
 the age of twenty-four years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant 
 of the State three years next preceding the first meeting of the 
 Legislature after his election, and the last year of that term an in- 
 habitant of the county in which he shall be chosen, unless he shall 
 have been absent on the public business of the United States, or of 
 this State. 
 
 There shall be seven representatives chosen in each county, until 
 a greater number of representatives shall by the Greneral Assembly 
 be judged necessary ; and then, two-thirds of each branch of the 
 Legislature concurring, they may by law make provision for increas- 
 ing their number. 
 
 3. The senators shall be chosen for [four] years by the citizens 
 residing in the several counties. 
 
 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the 
 age of twenty-seven years, and have in the county in which he shall 
 be chosen, a freehold estate in two hundred acres of land, or an es- 
 tate in real or personal property, or in either, of the value of one 
 thousand pounds at least, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of 
 the State three years next preceding the first meeting of the Legis- 
 lature after his election, and the last year of that term an inhabitant 
 of the county in which he shall be chosen, unless he shall have been 
 absent on the public business of the United States or of this State. 
 
 There shall be three senators chosen in each county. When a 
 greater number of senators shall by the Greneral Assembly be judged 
 necessary, two -thirds of each branch concurring, they may by law 
 make provision for increasing their number ; but the number of 
 senators shall never be greater than one-half, nor less than one- 
 third of the number of representatives. 
 
 [If the office of representative, or the office of senator, become 
 Vacant before the regular expiration of the term thereof, a representa- 
 tive or a senator shall be elected to fill such vacancy, and shall hold 
 the office for the residue of said term. 
 
 When there is a vacancy in either house of the Greneral Assembly, 
 
DELAWARE. )C{Jij 
 
 and the Greneral Assembly is not in session, the Governor shall have 
 power to issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy ; which writ 
 shall be executed as a writ issued by a speaker of either house in 
 case of vacancy.] 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday of Janu- 
 ary, biennially, unless sooner convened by the Governor. 
 
 [The first meeting of the General Assembly, under this amended 
 Constitution, shall be on the first Tuesday of January, in the year 
 of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, which 
 shall be the commencement of the biennial sessions.] 
 
 5. Each house shall choose its speaker and other ofiicers ; and also 
 each house, whose speaker shall exercise the office of Governor, may 
 choose a speaker pro tempore. 
 
 6. Each house shall judge of the elections, returns, and qualifica- 
 tions of its own members ; and a majority of each shall constitute a 
 quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from 
 day to day, and shall be authorized to compel the attendance of ab- 
 sent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as shall be 
 deemed expedient. 
 
 7. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
 any of its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds, expel a member, and shall have all other powers neces- 
 sary for a branch of the Legislature of a free and independent State. 
 
 8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish 
 them immediately after every session, except such parts as may re- 
 quire secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members on any question 
 shall, at the desire of any member, be entered on the journal. 
 
 9. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, shall 
 be open, unless wheii the business is such as ought to be kept secret. 
 
 10. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for mofe than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 1 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 
 for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
 treasury of the State ; but no law varying the compensation shall 
 take effect, until an election of the representatives shall have inter- 
 vened. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of 
 the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the 
 sessions of their respective houses, and in going to and returning 
 from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house, they 
 shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 12. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this 
 State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which 
 shall have been increased during such time. No person concerned 
 in any army or navy contracts, nor member of Congress, nor any 
 person holding any office under this State or the tjnited States, 
 except the Attorney-General, officers usually appointed by the courts 
 
204 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of justice, respectively, attorneys-at-law, and officers in the militia, 
 holding no disqualifying office, shall during his continuance in Con- 
 gress or in office, be a senator or representative. 
 
 13. When vacancies happen in either house, writs of election shall 
 be issued by the speakers respectively, or in cases of necessity, in 
 such other manner as shall be provided by law; and the persons 
 thereupon chosen shall hold their seats as long as those in whose 
 stead they are elected might have done, if such vacancies had not 
 happened. 
 
 14. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
 Representatives ; but the Senate may propose alterations as on other 
 bills ; and no bill, from the operations of which, when passed into a 
 law, revenue may incidentally arise, shall be accounted a bill for 
 raising revenue ; nor shall any matter or clause whatever, not imme- 
 diately relating to and necessary for raising revenue, be in any manner 
 blended with or annexed to a bill for raising revenue. 
 
 1 5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence 
 of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account 
 of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be pub- 
 lished at least once in every two years. 
 
 16. [The State Treasurer shall be appointed biennially by the 
 House of Representatives, with the concurrence of the Senate. In 
 case of vacancy in the office of State Treasurer in the recess of the 
 General Assembly, either through omission of the General Assembly 
 to appoint, or by the death, removal out of the State, resignation, or 
 inability of the State Treasurer, or his failure to give security, the 
 Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment, to continue until the 
 next meeting of the General Assembly. The State Treasurer shall 
 settle his accounts annually with the General Assembly, or a com- 
 mittee thereof, which shall be appointed at every bienniel session. 
 No person who hath served in the office of State Treasurer -shall be 
 eligible to a seat in either house of the General Assembly until he 
 shall have made a final settlement of his accounts as treasurer, and 
 discharged the balance, if any due thereon. 
 
 17. No act of incorporation, except for the renewal of existing 
 corporations, shall be hereafter enacted without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of each branch of the Legislature, and with a reserved 
 power of revocation by the Legislature ; and no act of incorporation 
 which may be hereafter 'enacted shall continue in force for a longer 
 period than twenty years, without the re-enactment of the Legislature, 
 unless it be an incorporation for public improvement.] 
 
 ARTICLE IIL 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive powers of the State shall be vested 
 in a Governor. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be chosen by the citizens of the State. 
 The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up, and 
 
DELAWARE 201 
 
 immediately delivered by the returning officers of the several coun- 
 ties to the Speaker of the Senate, [or in case of the vacancy of the 
 office of the Speaker of the Senate, or his absence from the State, to 
 the Secretary of State,] who shall keep the same until a Speaker of 
 the Senate shall be appointed, to whom they shall be immediately 
 delivered after his appointment, who shall open and publish the 
 same in the presence of the members of both houses of the Legisla- 
 ture. Duplicates of the said returns shall also be immediately 
 lodged with the prothonotary of each county. The person having 
 the highest number of votes shall be Grovernor : but if two or more 
 shall be equal in the highest number of votes, the members of the 
 two houses shall, by joint ballot, choose one of them to be Grov- 
 ernor : and if, upon such ballot, two or more of them shall still be 
 equal and highest in votes, the Speaker of the Senate shall have an 
 additional casting vote 
 
 Contested elections of a Governor shall be determined by a joint 
 committee, consisting of one-third of all the members of each branch 
 of the Legislature, to be selected by ballot of the house respectively; 
 every person of the committee shall take an oath or affirmation, that 
 in determining the said election, he will faithfully discharge the 
 trust reposed in him : and the committee shall always sit with 
 open doors. 
 
 3. The Governor shall hold his office during [four] years from 
 the third Tuesday in January next ensuing his election, and shall 
 not be [eligible a second time to said office.] 
 
 4. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a citi- 
 zen and inhabitant of the United States twelve years next before 
 the first meeting of the Legislature after his election, and the last 
 six of that term an inhabitant of this State, unless he shall have 
 been absent on the public business of the United States or of this 
 State. 
 
 5. No member of Congress, nor person holding any office 
 under the United States, or this State, shall exercise the office of 
 Governor. 
 
 6. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services an 
 adequate salary, to be fixed by law, which shall be neither increased 
 nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been 
 elected. 
 
 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the 
 State, and of the militia ; except when they shall be called into the 
 service of the United States. 
 
 8. He shall appoint all officers whose offices are established by 
 this Constitution, or shall be established by law, and whose appoint- 
 ments are not herein otherwise provided for ; but no person shall 
 be appointed to an office within a county, who shall not have a 
 right to vote for representatives, and have been an inhabitant 
 therein one year next before his appointment, nor hold the office 
 longer than he continues to reside in the county. No member of 
 
206 ■ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Congress, nor any person holding or exercising any office under the 
 United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise the office of 
 judge, treasurer, attorney-general, secretary, prothonotary, register 
 for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration, re- 
 corder, sheriff, or any office under this State, with a salary by law 
 annexed to it, or any other office which the Legislature shall declare 
 incompatible with offices or appointments under the United States. 
 No person shall hold more than one of the following offices at the 
 same time, to wit: treasurer, attorney-general, prothonotary, regis- 
 ter, or sheriff. All commissions shall be in the name of the State, 
 shall be sealed with the great seal, and be signed and tested by the 
 Governor. 
 
 9. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and to 
 grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. [He 
 shall set forth in writing, fully, the grounds of all reprieves, par- 
 dons, and remissions, to be entered in the register of his official acts, 
 and laid before the General Assembly at their next session.] 
 
 10. He may require information in writing from the officers in 
 the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties 
 of their respective offices. 
 
 1 1 . He shall from time to time give to the General Assembly 
 information of affairs concerning the State, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient. 
 
 12. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- 
 sembly ; and in case of disagreement between the two houses with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as 
 he shall think proper, not exceeding three months. 
 
 13. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 14. [Upon any vacancy happening in the office of Governor by 
 his death, removal, resignation, or inability, the Speaker of the Sen- 
 ate shall exercise the office until a Governor elected by the people 
 shall be duly qualified. If there be no Speaker of the Senate, or 
 upon a further vacancy happening in the office by his death, remo- 
 val, resignation, or inability, the Speaker of the House of Represen- 
 tatives shall exercise the office until a Governor elected by the peo- 
 ple shall be duly qualified. If the person elected Governor shall die, 
 or become disqualified, before the commencement of his term of 
 office, or shall refuse to take the same, the person holding the office 
 shall continue to exercise it, until a Governor shall be elected and 
 duly qualified. If upon a vacancy happening in the office of Gov- 
 ernor, there be no other person who can exercise said office within 
 the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary of State shall exer- 
 cise the same until the next meeting of the General Assembly, who 
 shall immediately proceed to elect, by joint ballot of both houses, a 
 person to exercise the office until a Governor, elected by the people, 
 shall be duly qualified. If a vacancy occur in the office of Gov- 
 ernor, or if the Governor elect die, or become disqualified, before 
 the commencement of his term, or refuse to take the office, an elec- 
 
DELAWARE. 207 
 
 I 
 
 tion for Governor shall be held at the next general election, unless 
 the vacancy happen within six days next preceding the election, ex- 
 clusive of the day of the happening of the vacancy and the day of 
 the election : in that case, if an election for Governor would not 
 have been held at said election, without the happening of such 
 vacancy, no election for Governor shall be held at said election in 
 consequence of such vacancy.] If the trial of a contested election 
 shall continue longer than until the third Tuesday of January next 
 ensuing the election of a Governor, the Governor of the last year, or 
 the Speaker of the Senate, or of the House of Representatives, 
 who may then be in the exercise of the executive authority, shall 
 continue therein until a determination of such contested election. 
 The Governor shall not be removed from his office for inability, but 
 with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of each 
 branch of the Legislature. 
 
 15. A Secretary shall be appointed and commissioned during the 
 Governor's continuance in office, if he shall so long behave himself 
 well. He shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and pro- 
 ceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required by either branch 
 of the Legislature, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers, 
 relative thereto, before them, and shall perform such other duties as 
 shall be enjoined him by law. He shall have a compensation for his 
 services, to be fixed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 Sec. 1. [All elections for Governor, senators, representatives, sher- 
 iffs, and coroners, shall be held on the second Tuesday of November, 
 and be by ballot : and in such elections every free white male citizen of 
 the age of twenty-two years or upwards, having resided in the State 
 one year next before the election, and the last month thereof in the 
 county where he offers to vote, and having within two years next 
 before the election paid a county tax, which shall have been assessed 
 at least six months before the election, shall enjoy the right of an 
 elector ; and every free white male citizen of the age of twenty-one 
 years, and under the age of twenty-two years, having resided as 
 aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote without payment of any tax : pro- 
 vided, that no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the 
 United States shall be considered as acquiring a residence in this 
 State, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military or 
 naval place or station within this State ] and no idiot, or insane per- 
 son, or pauper, or person convicted of a crime deemed by law felony, 
 shall enjoy the right of an elector ; and that the Legislature may 
 impose the forfeiture of the right of suffrage as a punishment for 
 crime.] 
 
 2. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of 
 the peace, be privileged from an arrest during their attendance at 
 elections, and in going to and returning from them. 
 
208 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE Y. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
 impeaching : but two-thirds of all the members must concur in an 
 impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and 
 when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affir- 
 mation to do justice according to the evidence. No person shall be 
 convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators. 
 
 2. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this State, shall 
 be liable to impeachment for treason, bribery, or any high crime or 
 misdemeanor in office. Judgment in such cases shall not extend 
 further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any 
 office of honor, trust, or profit under this State ; but the party con- 
 victed shall nevertheless be subject to indictment, trial, judgment, 
 and punishment according to law. 
 
 3. Treason against this State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, or in adhering to the enemies of the Government, giving 
 them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, 
 unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on 
 confession in open court. 
 
 ARTICLE VL 
 
 Sec. 1 . [The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Court of 
 Errors and Appeals, a Superior Court, a Court of Chancery, an Or- 
 phan's Court, a Court of Oyer and Terminer, a Court of General 
 Sessions of the peace and jail delivery, a Register's Court, justices 
 of the peace, and such other courts as the General Assembly, with 
 the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of both houses 
 shall from time to time establish.] 
 
 2. [To compose the said courts there shall be five judges in the 
 State. One of them« shall be Chancellor of the State : he shall also 
 be President of the Orphan's Court : he may be appointed in any 
 part of the State. The other four judges shall compose the Superior 
 Court, the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and the Court of Gene- 
 ral Sessions of the peace and jail delivery, as hereinafter prescribed. 
 One of them shall be Chief-Justice of the State, and may be ap- 
 pointed in any part of it. The other three judges shall be associate 
 judges, and one of them shall reside in each county.] 
 
 3. [The Superior Court shall consist of the Chief- Justice and two 
 associate judges. The Chief-Justice shall preside in every county, 
 and in his absence the senior associate judge sitting in the county 
 shall preside. No associate judge shall sit in the county in which 
 he resides. Two of the said judges shall constitutie a quorum. One 
 may open and adjourn the Court, and make all rules necessary for 
 the expediting of business. 
 
 This Court shall have jurisdiction of all causes of a civil nature, 
 real, personal, and mixed, at common law, and all other the jurisdic- 
 
DELAWARE. 209 
 
 I 
 
 tion and powers vested by the laws of this State in the Supreme 
 Court or Court of Common Pleas.] 
 
 4. [The Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery 
 shall be composed in each county of the same judges and in the 
 same manner as the Superior Court. Two shall constitute a quorum. 
 One may open and adjourn the Court. This Court shall have all the 
 jurisdiction and powers vested by the laws of this State in the Court 
 of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery.] 
 
 5. [The Chancellor shall hold the Court of Chancery. This Coijrt 
 shall have all the powers vested by the laws of this State in the 
 Court of Chancery.] 
 
 6. [The Court of Oyer and Terminer shall consist of all the 
 judges except the Chancellor. Three of the said judges shall con- 
 stitute a quorum. One may open and adjourn the Court. This 
 Court shall exercise the jurisdiction now vested in the courts of Oyer 
 and Terminer and General Jail Delivery by the laws of this State. 
 In the absence of the Chief-Justice the senior associate present shall 
 preside.] 
 
 7. [The Court of Errors and Appeals shall have jurisdiction to 
 issue writs of error to the Superior Court, and to receive appeals 
 from the Court of Chancery, and to determine finally all matters in 
 error in the judgments and proceedings of said Superior Court, and 
 all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final decrees and pro- 
 ceedings in chancery. The Court of Errors and appeals upon a writ 
 of error to the Superior Court shall consist of three judges at least : 
 that is to say, the Chancellor, who shall preside, the associate judge 
 who could not on account of his residence sit in the cause below, 
 and one of the judges who did sit in the said cause. The judges of 
 the Superior Court to whom it appertains to hold the Superior Court 
 in each county shall sit alternately in the Court of Errors and Ap- 
 peals in cases in error brought from the Superior Court held in such 
 county, according to the following rotation : th9,t is to say, if the 
 judgment below be rendered in the Court in New Castle county at 
 the first term of the said Court there, the Chief- Justice shall sit ; if 
 at the second term of said Court there, the associate judge for Kent 
 county shall sit ; and if at the third term of said Court there, the 
 associate judge for Sussex county shall sit. If the judgment below 
 be rendered in the Court in Kent county at the first term of said 
 Court there, the associate judge for Sussex county shall sit ; if at the 
 second term of the said Court there, the associate judge for New Castle 
 county shall sit ; and if at the third term of the Court there, the Chief- 
 Justice shall sit. If the judgment below be rendered in the Court 
 in Sussex county at the first term of said Court there, the associate 
 judge for New Castle county shall sit ; if at the second term of said 
 Court there, the Chief- justice shall sit, and if at the third term of said 
 Court there, the associate judge for Kent county shall sit ; and so from 
 term to term, in every succeeding rotation, the judges beginning and 
 following each other in the same order. But if in any case in the 
 
 15 
 
210 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Court of Errors and Appeals, the judge wlio sat in the cause below, 
 and ought according to this provision to sit in the Court of Errors and 
 Appeals, be absent, unable, or disqualified, then either of the other 
 judges who sat in the cause below may sit ; and the Court shall have 
 power to prevent any inconvenience or delay from observing the ro- 
 tation above described, by making an order or regulation for either 
 of the judges who sat in the cause below, to sit in such cause in the 
 Court of Errors and Appeals. If a judge did not sit in the cause 
 below, he shall sit in the said cause in the Court of Errors and Ap- 
 peals, unless there be a legal exception to him ; but the Court, if there 
 be three judges present, may proceed in his absence. 
 
 Whenever the Superior Court consider that a question of law ought 
 to be decided before all the judges, they shall have power, upon the 
 application of either party, to direct it to be heard in the Court of 
 Errors and Appeals ; and in that case the Chancellor and four 
 judges shall compose the Court of Errors alid Appeals, the Chan- 
 cellor presiding, and any four of them being a quorum ; and in 
 the absence of the Chancellor, the Chief- Justice shall preside. The 
 Superior Court in exercising this power may direct a cause to be 
 proceeded in to verdict and judgment in that Court, or to be oth- 
 erwise proceeded in, as shall be best for expediting justice. 
 
 Upon appeal from the Court of Chancery, the Court of Errors 
 and Appeals shall consist of the Chief- Justice and three associate 
 judges ; any three of them shall be a quorum.] 
 
 8. [In matters of chancery jurisdiction in which the Chancellor 
 is interested, the Chief- Justice sitting in the Superior Court without 
 the associate judges, shall have jurisdiction, with an appeal to the 
 Court of Errors and Appeals, which shall consist in this case of the 
 three associate judges, the senior associate judge presiding.] 
 
 9. [The Governor shall have power to commission a judge ad litem, 
 to decide any cause in which there is a legal exception to the Chan- 
 cellor, or any judge, so that such appointment is necessary to con- 
 stitute a quorum in either court. The commission in such case 
 shall confine the office to the cause, and it shall expire on the de- 
 termination of the cause. The judge so appointed shall receive a 
 reasonable compensation, to be fixed by the Greneral Assembly. 
 A member of Congress, or any person holding or exercisipg an 
 office under the United States, shall not be disqualified from being 
 appointed a judge ad litem.'] 
 
 10. [The Orphans' Court in each county, shall be held by the 
 Chancellor and the associate judge residing in the county; the 
 Chancellor being president. Either of them, in the absence of the 
 other, may hold the Court. When they concur in opinion, there 
 shall be no appeal from their decision except in matter of real 
 estate. When their opinions are opposed, or when a decision is 
 made by one of them, and in all matters involving a right to real 
 estate, or the appraised value or other value thereof, there shall be 
 an appeal to the Superior Court for the county, which shall have 
 
DELAWARE. 211 
 
 final jurisdiction in every sucli case. This Court shall have all the 
 jurisdiction and powers vested by the laws of this State in the Or- 
 phans' Court.] 
 
 11. [The jurisdiction of each of the aforesaid courts shall be co- 
 extensive with the State. Process may be issued out of each court, 
 in either county, into every county.] 
 
 12. [The General Assembly, notwithstanding any thing contained 
 in this article, shall have power to repeal or alter ■ any act of the 
 General Assembly, giving jurisdiction to the courts of Oyer and 
 Terminer and General Jail Delivery, or to the Supreme Court, or the 
 Court of Common Pleas, or the Court of General Quarter Sessions 
 of the Peace and General Jail Delivery, or the Orphans' Court, or to 
 the Court of Chancery, in any matter, or giving any power to either 
 of said courts. Until the General Assembly shall otherwise direct, 
 there shall be an appeal to the Court of Errors and Appeals in all 
 cases in which there is an appeal, according to any act of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, to the high Court of Errors and Appeals.] 
 
 13. [Until the General Assembly shall otherwise provide, the 
 Chancellor shall exercise all the powers which any law of the State 
 vests in the Chancellor besides the general powers of the Court of 
 Chancery ; and the Chief Justice and associate judges shall each 
 singly exercise all the powers which any law of this State vests in the 
 judges singly of the Supreme Court or Court of Common Pleas.] 
 
 14. [The Chancellor and judges shall respectively hold their 
 offices during good behavior, and receive for their services a com- 
 pensation which shall be fixed by law and paid quarterly, and shall 
 not be less than the following sums, that is to say : — the annual 
 salary of the Chief Justice shall not be less than the sum of one 
 thousand two hundred dollars : and the annual salary of the Chan- 
 cellor shall not be less than the sum of one thousand one hundred 
 dollars : and the annual salaries of the associate judges, respec- 
 tively, shall not be less than the sum of one thousand dollars each. 
 They shall hold no other office of profit, nor receive any fees or per- 
 quisites in addition to their salaries for business done by them. 
 The Governor may, for any reasonable cause, in his discretion, re- 
 move any of them on the address of two-thirds of all the members 
 of each branch of the General Assembly. In all cases where the 
 Legislature shall so address the Governor, the cause of removal shall 
 be entered on the journals of each house. The judge against whom 
 the Legislature may be about to proceed, shall receive notice there- 
 of, accompanied with the causes alleged for his removal, at least five 
 days before the day on which either house of the General Assembly 
 shall act thereupon.] 
 
 1 5. [The General Assembly may by law give to any inferior courts 
 by them to be established, or to one or more justices of the peace, 
 jurisdiction of the criminal matters following, that is to say : assaults 
 and batteries, keeping without license a public house of entertain- 
 ment, tavern, inn, ale-house, ordinary or victualling house, retailing 
 
212 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 or selling without license, wine, rum, brandy, gin, whiskey, or spirit- 
 uous or mixed liquors contrary to law, disturbing camp-meetings 
 held for the purpose of religious worship, disturbing other meetings 
 for the purpose of religious worship, nuisances, horse-racing, cock- 
 fighting, and shooting matches, larcenies committed by negroes or 
 mulattoes, and the offence of knowingly buying, receiving or con- 
 cealing by negroes or mulattoes, of stolen goods and things the sub- 
 ject of larceny, and of any negro or mulatto being accessary to any 
 larceny. The General Assembly may by law regulate this jurisdic- 
 tion, and provide that the proceedings shall be with or without in- 
 dictment by grand jury, or trial by petit jury, and may grant or deny 
 the privilege of appeal to the Court of Greneral Sessions of the Peace : 
 the matters within this section shall be and the same hereby are ex- 
 cepted and excluded from the provision of the Constitution, that — 
 '* No person shall for an indictable offence be proceeded against 
 criminally by information," — and also from the provision of the Con- 
 stitution concerning trial by jury. 
 
 16. In civil causes when pending, the [Superior] Court shall have 
 the power, before judgment, of directing upon such terms as they 
 shall deem reasonable, amendments in pleadings and legal proceed- 
 ings, so that by error in any of them, the determination of causes, 
 according to their real merits, shall not be hindered ; and also of di- 
 recting the examination of witnesses that are aged, very infirm, or 
 going out of the State, upon interrogatories de benne esse, to be read 
 in evidence, in case of the death or departure of the witnesses before 
 the trial, or inability by reason of age, sickness, bodily infirmity, or 
 imprisonment, then to attend ; and also the power of obtaining evi- 
 dence from places not within this State. 
 
 17. At any time pending an action for debt or damages, the de- 
 fendant may bring into court a sum of money for discharging the 
 same, and the cost then accrued, and the plaintiff not accepting 
 thereof, it shall be delivered for his use to the clerk or prothonotary 
 of the court; and if, upon the final decision of the cause, the plain- 
 tiff shall not recover a greater sum than that so paid into court for 
 him, he shall not recover any costs accruing after such payment, ex- 
 cept where the plaintiff is an executor or administrator. 
 
 18. By the death of any party, no suit in chancery or at law, 
 where the cause of action survives, shall abate, but until the Legis- 
 lature shall otherwise provide, suggestion ' of such death being en- 
 tered of record, the executor or administrator of a deceased peti- 
 tioner or plaintiff may prosecute the said suit ; and if a respondent 
 or defendant dies, the executor or administrator being duly served 
 with a scire facias, thirty days before the term thereof, shall be con- 
 sidered as a party to the suit, in the same manner as if he had vol- 
 untarily made himself a party : and in any of those cases, the court 
 shall pass a decree, or render judgment for or against the executors 
 or administrators, as to right appertains. But where an executor 
 or administrator of a deceased respondent or defendant becomes a 
 
DELAWARE. 213 
 
 party, the Court, upon motion, shall grant such a continuance of the 
 cause as to the judges shall appear proper. 
 
 19. Whenever a person, not being an executor or administrator, 
 appeals from a decree of the Chancellor, or applies for a writ of error, 
 such appeal or writ shall be no stay of proceeding in the chancery, 
 or the court to which the writ issues, unless the appellant or plaintiflf 
 in error shall give sufficient security, to be approved respectively by 
 the Chancellor, or by a judge of the court from which the writ issues, 
 that the appellant or plaintiflf in error shall prosecute respectively 
 his appeal or writ to eflfect, and pay the condemnation money and all 
 costs, or otherwise abide the decree in appeal, or the judgment in 
 error, if he fail to make his plea good. 
 
 20. No writ of error shall be brought upon any judgment hereto- 
 fore confessed, entered, or rendered, but within five years from this 
 time ; nor upon any judgment hereafter to be confessed, entered, or 
 rendered, but within five years after the confessing, entering, or ren- 
 dering thereof ; unless the person entitled to such writ be an infant, 
 feme covert, non compos mentis, or a prisoner, and then with five 
 years exclusive of the time of such disability. 
 
 2 1 . An executor, administrator, or guardian shall file every account 
 with the register for the county, who shall, as soon as conveniently 
 may be, carefully examine the particulars with the proofs thereof, in 
 the presence of such executor, administrator, or guardian, and shall 
 adjust and settle the same, according to the very right of the matter 
 and the law of the land ; which account so settled, shall remain in 
 his office for inspection ; and the executor, administrator, or guardian 
 shall, within three months after such settlement, give due notice in 
 writing to all persons entitled to shares of the estate, or to their 
 guardians respectively, if residing within the State, that the account 
 is lodged in the said office for inspection. [Exceptions may be made 
 by persons concerned, to both sides of every such account, either 
 denying the justice of the allowances made to the accountant, or 
 alleging further charges against him ; and the exceptions shall be 
 heard in the Orphan's Court for the county ; and thereupon the ac- 
 count shall be adjusted and settled according to the right of the 
 matter and the law of the land.] 
 
 22. The register's of the several counties shall respectively hold 
 the Register's Court in each county. Upon the litigation of a cause, 
 the depositions of the witnesses examined shall be taken at large in 
 writing, and make* part of the proceedings in the cause. This Court 
 may issue process throughout the State, to compel the attendance of 
 witnesses. Appeals may be made from the Register's Court to the 
 [Superior] Court, whose decisions shall be final. In cases where a 
 register is interested in questions concerning the probate of wills, 
 the granting letters of administration, or executors, administrators, 
 or guardians' accounts, the cognizance thereof shall belong to the 
 Orphan's Court, with an appeal to the [Superior] Court, whose de- 
 cisions shall be final. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 23. [The prothonotary of the Superior Court may issue process, 
 take recognizances of bail, and enter judgments, according to law 
 and the practice of the Court.] No judgment in one county shall 
 bind lands or tenements in auoiher^ujitilsitestatum fieri facias hemg 
 issued, shall be entered of record in the office of the prothonotary 
 of the county wherein the lands or tenements are situated. 
 
 24. The Grovernor shall appoint a competent number of persons 
 to the office of justice of the peace, not exceeding twelve in each 
 county, until two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature shall by 
 law direct an addition to the number, who shall be commissioned for 
 seven years, if so long they shall behave themselves well, but may 
 be removed by the Governor within that time on conviction of mis- 
 behavior in office, or on the address of both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 25. The style in all process and public acts shall be, " The State 
 of Delawa/rey Prosecutions shall be carried on in the name of the 
 State. 
 
 ARTICLE VIL 
 
 Sec. 1. The members of the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives, the Chancellor, the judges, and the Attorney-General shall, 
 by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the 
 State ; and the Treasurer, Secretary, prothonotaries, registers, record- 
 ers, sheriffs, and coroners,- shall, by virtue of their offices, be conser- 
 vators thereof within the counties respectively in which they reside. 
 
 2. The representative, and, when there shall be more than one, 
 the representatives of the people of this State in Congress, shall be 
 voted for at the same places where representatives in the Legisla- 
 ture are voted for, and in the same manner. 
 
 3. [The sheriff and coroner of each county shall be chosen by the 
 citizens residing in such county. They shall hold their respective 
 offices for two years, if so long they behave themselves well, and un- 
 til successors be duly qualified ; but no person shall be twice chosen 
 sheriff upon election by the citizens in any term of four years. They 
 shall be commissioned by the Governor. The Governor shall fill va- 
 cancies in these offices by appointments to continue until the next 
 election, and until successors shall be duly qualified. The Legisla- 
 ture, two-thirds of each branch concurring, may vest the appoint- 
 ment of sheriffs and coroners in the Governor ; but no person shall 
 be twice appointed sheriff in any term of six years.] 
 
 4. The Attorney-General, [registers in chancery,] prothonota- 
 ries, registers, clerks of the orphans' court and of the peace, shall 
 respectively be commissioned for five years, if so long they shall be- 
 have themselves well : but may be removed by the Governor within 
 that time on conviction of misbehavior in office, or on the address of 
 both houses of the Legislature. Prothonotaries, [registers in chan- 
 cery,] clerks of the orphans' court, registers, recorders, and sheriffs, 
 shall keep their offices in the town or place in each county in which 
 the [superior] court [is] usually held. 
 
DELAWARE. 215 
 
 5. Attorneys-at-law, all inferor offices in the treasury department, 
 election officers, officers relating to taxes, to the poor, and to high- 
 ways, constables and hundred officers, shall be appointed in such 
 manner as is or may be directed by law. 
 
 6. All salaries and fees annexed to officers shall be moderate ; and 
 no officer shall receive any fees whatever without giving to the per- 
 son who pays, a receipt for them, if required, therein specifying 
 every particular and the charge for it. 
 
 7. No costs shall be paid by a person accused on a bill being re- 
 turned ignoramus, nor on acquittal by a jury. 
 
 8. The rights, privileges, immunities, and estates of religious so- 
 cieties and corporate bodies shall remain as if the Constitution of 
 this State had not been altered. No [ordained] clergyman or [or- 
 dained] preacher of the Grospel of any denomination shall be capa- 
 ble of holding any civil office in the State, or of being a member of 
 either branch of the Legislature while he continues in the exercise 
 of the pastoral or clerical functions. 
 
 9. All the laws of this State existing at the time of making this 
 Constitution, and not inconsistent with it, shall remain in force, un- 
 less they shall be altered by future laws ; and all actions and pros- 
 ecutions now pending shall proceed as if this Constitution had not 
 been made. 
 
 10. This Constitution shall be prefixed to every edition of the 
 laws made by direction of the Legislature. 
 
 11. The Legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, pro- 
 vide by law for ascertaining what statutes and parts of statutes shall 
 continue to be in force within this State ; for reducing them and all 
 acts of the Greneral Assembly into such order, and publishing them 
 in such manner, that thereby the knowledge of them may be gener- 
 ally diffused ; for choosing inspectors and judges of elections, and 
 regulating the same in such manner as shall most effectually guard 
 the rights of the citizens entitled to vote ; for better securing per- 
 sonal liberty, and easily and speedily redressing all wrongful re- 
 straints thereof; for more certainly obtaining returns of impartial 
 juries ; for dividing lands and tenements in sales by sheriffs, where 
 they will bear a division, into as many parcels as may be without 
 spoiling the whole, and for advertising and making the sales in such 
 manner, and at such times and places as may render them most ben- 
 eficial to all persons concerned; and for establishing schools, and 
 promoting arts and sciences. 
 
 12. [No property qualification shall be necessary to the holding 
 of any office in this State, except the office of senator in the General 
 Assembly, and the office of assessor, inquisitor on lands, and levy 
 court commissioner, and except such offices as the General Assembly 
 shall by law designate.] 
 
 ARTICLE VIIL 
 Members of the General Assembly and all officers, executive and 
 judicial, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support the Con- 
 
216 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 stitution of this State, and to perforin the duties of their respective 
 offices with fidelity. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 The General Assembly, whenever two-thirds of each house shall 
 deem it necessary, may, with the approbation of the Governor, pro- 
 pose amendments to this Constitution, and at least three, and not 
 more than six mouths before the next general election of represent- 
 atives, duly publish them in print for the consideration of the peo- 
 ple ; and if three-fourths of each branch of the Legislature shall, af- 
 ter such an election and before another, ratify the said amendments, 
 they shall be valid to all intents and purposes as parts of this Con- 
 stitution. No convention shall be called but by the authority of the 
 people : and an unexceptionable mode of making their sense known 
 will be for them at a [special election on the third Tuesday of May 
 in any year] to vote by ballot for or against a convention, as they 
 shall severally choose to do ; and if thereupon it shall appear that a 
 majority of all the citizens in the State, having right to vote for rep- 
 resentatives, have voted for a convention, the General Assembly shall 
 accordingly at their next session call a convention, to consist of at 
 least as many members as there ar^ in both houses of the Legisla- 
 ture, to be chosen in the same manner, at the same places, and at 
 the same time that representatives are by the citizens entitled to 
 vote for representatives, on due notice given for one month, and to 
 meet within three months after they shall be elected. [The major- 
 ity of all the citizens in the State having right to vote for represent- 
 atives shall be ascertained by reference to the highest number of 
 votes cast in the State at any one of the three general elections, 
 next preceding the day of voting for a convention, except when they 
 may be less than the whole number of votes voted both for and 
 against a convention, in which case the said majority shall be ascer- 
 tained by reference to the number of votes given on the day of vot- 
 ing for or against a convention ; and whenever the General Assem- 
 bly shall deem a convention necessary, they shall provide by law for 
 the holding of a special election for the purpose of ascertaining the 
 sense of the majority of the citizens of the State entitled to vote for 
 representatives.] 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 That no inconveniences may arise from the amendments of the 
 Constitution of this State, and in order to carry the same into com- 
 plete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained as follows : — 
 
 Sec. 1. The offices of the present Senate. and Representatives 
 shall not be vacated by any amendment of the Constitution made 
 in this Convention, nor otherwise affected, except that the terms of 
 the representatives and the terms of the senators which will ex- 
 pire on the first Tuesday of October, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, are hereby extended to the 
 second Tuesday of November, in that year : and the terms of the 
 
DELAWARE. 217 
 
 senators which will expire on the first Tuesday of October, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, are 
 hereby extended to the second Tuesday of November, in that year : 
 And the terms of the Senators which will expire on the first Tues- 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and thirty-four, are hereby extended to the second Tuesday 
 of November, in that year. 
 
 The General Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday of Janu- 
 ary next, and shall not be within the amended provision respecting 
 biennial sessions, which biennial sessions shall commence with the ses- 
 sion of the General Assembly on the first Tuesday of January, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three. 
 
 2. The ofl&ces of the present sheriffs and coroners shall not be vaca- 
 ted by any amendment to the Constitution, made in this Convention, 
 nor otherwise affected, except that the term of office of the sheriff of Sus- 
 sex county is hereby extended to the second Tuesday of November, in 
 the j'-ear of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and 
 until a successor be duly qualified : and on the second Tuesday of No- 
 vember, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 two, shall be the first election for sheriff in Sussex county under this 
 amended Constitution. And the term of the present coroner for 
 Sussex county is hereby extended to the second Tuesday of No- 
 vember, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-four, and until a successor shall be duly qualified ; and on the 
 said last mentioned day shall be the first election for coroner in 
 Sussex county under this amended Constitution. 
 
 The terms of the present sheriffs and coroners for Kent county 
 and New Castle county are hereby extended to the second Tuesday 
 of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and thirty-three, and until successors to them respectively be duly 
 qualified ; and on or after the first Tuesday of November, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, the* 
 Governor shall have power to appoint a sheriff and a coroner for 
 New Castle county, and a sheriff and coroner for Kent county, to 
 continue in office until the second Tuesday of November, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, and 
 until successors to them respectively be duly qualified. And on 
 the said last mentioned day shall be the first election for sheriff and 
 for coroner in New Cfistle county and in Kent county under this 
 amended Constitution, unless a vacancy happen in the office of 
 sheriff or coroner of New Castle or Kent county, or of coroner for 
 Sussex county before the second Tuesday of November, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two ; in which 
 case an election shall be held on that day for a sheriff or a coroner 
 under this amended Constitution, in place of the sheriff or coroner 
 whose office had become vacant. 
 
 3. The first election for representatives under this amended Con- 
 stitution shall be held on the second Tuesday of November, in the 
 
218 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 year of our Lord one thousand oiglit hundred and tliirty-two ; 
 which shall be the commencement of biennial elections. At this 
 election one senator shall be chosen in each county for four years. 
 Also at the biennial election to be held in the several counties on the 
 second Tuesday of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-four, two senators shall be chosen in each 
 county for four years each. But as the term of one senator in each 
 county will expire on the second Tuesday of November, in. the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, when no 
 election will be held to provide for this special case, a senator shall 
 be chosen in each county, at the election held on the second Tues- 
 day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and thirty-two, for one year, to succeed the senator for such 
 county whose term shall expire on the second Tuesday of Novem- 
 ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-three, and to continue in of&ce until the. second Tuesday in 
 November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-four, when two . senators shall be chosen in each county as 
 afore-provided. 
 
 4. The term of office of the present Governor shall not be vaca- 
 ted nor extended by amendment made to the Constitution in this 
 Convention ; but the said office shall continue during the original 
 term thereof, but the ninth and fourteenth sections of the third arti- 
 cle of this Constitution shall be immediately in force as amended. 
 An election for Grovernor shall be held on the second Tuesday of 
 November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-two. 
 
 5. This Constitution as amended, so far as shall concern the ju- 
 dicial department, shall commence and be in operation from and 
 after the third Tuesday of January, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and thirty-two. All the courts of justice 
 
 ' now existing shall continue with their present jurisdiction, and the 
 Chancellor and judges and the clerks of the said courts shall continue 
 in office until the said third Tuesday of January, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two ; upon which day 
 the said courts shall be abolished, and the offices of the said Chan- 
 cellor, judges, and clerks shall expire. All writs of error and ap- 
 peals and proceedings which, on the third Tuesday of January, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight Jiundred and thirty-two, 
 shall be depending in the high Court of Errors and Appeals, and 
 all the books, records, and papers of said Court shall be transferred 
 to the Court of Errors and Appeals established by this amended 
 Constitution ; and the said writs of errors, appeals, and proceedings 
 shall be proceeded in, in the said Court of Errors and Appeals, to 
 final judgment, decree, or other determination. 
 
 All suits, proceedings, and matters which, on the third Tuesday 
 of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and thirty-two, shall be depending in the Supreme Court, or Court 
 
DELAWARE. 219 
 
 of Common Pleas, and all books, records, and papers of tlie said 
 Courts, shall be transferred to the Superior Court established by 
 this amended Constitution, and the said suits, proceedings, and 
 matters shall be proceeded in to final judgment or determination in 
 the said Superior Court. All indictments, proceedings, and mat- 
 ters which, on the third Tuesday of January, in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, shall be depending in 
 the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace and Jail De- 
 livery, shall be transferred to and proceeded in to final judgment 
 and determination in the Court of General Sessions of the Peace 
 and Jail Delivery, established by this amended Constitution, and 
 all books, records, and papers of said Court of General Quarter Ses- 
 sions of the Peace and Jail Delivery shall be transferred to the 
 said Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery. All 
 suits, proceedings, and matters which on the third Tuesday of Jan- 
 uary, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty- two, shall be depending in the Court of Chancery or in the 
 Orphans' Court, and all records, books, and papers of said courts 
 respectively, shall be transferred to the Court of Chancery or Or- 
 phans' Court respectively, established by this amended Constitu- 
 tion, and the said suits, proceedings, and matters shall proceed in 
 to final decree, order, or other determination. 
 
 6. The register's courts and justices of the peace shall not be affect- 
 ed by any amendments of the Constitution made in this Convention ; 
 but the said courts and the terms of office of registers and justices 
 of the peace shall remain the same as if said amendments had not 
 been made. 
 
 7. The General Assembly shall have power to make any law ne- 
 cessary to carry into effect this amended Constitution. 
 
 8. The provision in the twentieth section of the sixth article of 
 this amended Constitution (being the thirtieth section of the sixth 
 article of the original Constitution) of limitation of writs of error, 
 shall have relation to, and take date from, the twelfth day of June, 
 in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety- 
 two, the date of said original Constitution. 
 
 9. The Governor shall have power to issue writs of election to 
 supply vacancies in either house of the General Assembly that have 
 happened or may happen. 
 
 10. It is declared that nothing in this amended Constitution 
 gives a writ of error from the Court of Errors and Appeals to the 
 Court of Oyer and Terminer, or Court of General Sessions of the 
 Peace and Jail Delivery, nor an appeal from the Court of General 
 Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery. 
 
 The acts of the General Assembly, increasing the number of jus- 
 tices of the peace, shall remain in force until repealed by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly ; and no office shall be vacated by the amendment to 
 this Constitution, unless the same be expressly vacated thereby, or 
 the vacating the same is necessary to give effect to the amendments. 
 
MARYLAND 
 
 In 1632, George Calvert TLord Baltimore), a distinguished Catholic, ap- 
 plied to Charles I. for a territory north of Virginia, for the purpose of es- 
 tablishing a colony. Before the grant had passed the royal seal, Lord B. 
 died. About two months afterwards, the territory was granted to Cecil Cal- 
 vert, oldest son of Geo., now Lord B. In honor of Henrietta Maria,* it was call- 
 ed Maryland. Leonard Calvert, brother of Lord B., was appointed first Gov. 
 He, with about 200 Catholic emigrants, came over in 1634, and located them- 
 selves at St. Mary's. Many circumstances favored the settlement and in- 
 crease of Maryland. The soil and the climate were inviting, but what added 
 more to its growth, was that equal protection was granted to all religious de- 
 nominations, and the people were permitted to make their own laws. The 
 first assembly was composed of all the freemen in the colony. In 1639, there 
 was a change — the House of Assembly was made up of representatives chosen 
 by the people. In 1650, there was another change, and a Constitution adopt- 
 ed, by which the Legislature was divided into two houses, one to be composed 
 of representatives chosen by the people ; the other of persons appointed by 
 the proprietors. But there was no permanent government, as changes were 
 continually taking place, until the beginning of the Revolution, when the 
 authority fell in the hands of the people. In 1776, they adopted their second 
 Constitution, and their present Constitution in 1851. Maryland, from the first, 
 was active in resisting British oppression, and bore her full share in the hardships 
 of the Revolutionary War. 
 
 Area, 13,959. Pop., 1850, 583,035. 
 
 * Queen of Charles L 
 
MARYLAND. 221 
 
 ADOPTED IN CONVENTION, WHICH ASSEMBLED AT THE CITY OF ANNAP- 
 OLIS ON THE FOURTH DAY OF NOVEMBER, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND 
 FIFTY, AND ADJOURNED ON THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF MAY, EIGH- 
 TEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE. 
 
 THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 
 
 We, the People of the State of Maryland, grateful to Alrrpighty God 
 for our civil and religious liberty, and talcing into our serious con- 
 sideration the best means of establishing a good Constitution in this 
 State, for the sure foundation and more permanent security thereof 
 declare : 
 
 Art. 1. That all government of right originates from the people, 
 is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of 
 the whole; and they have at all times, according to the mode pre- 
 scribed in this Constitution, the unalienable right to alter, reform, or 
 abolish their form of government, in such manner as they may deem 
 expedient. 
 
 2. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and ex- 
 clusive right of regulating the internal government and police 
 thereof. 
 
 3. That the inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the common 
 law of England, and the trial by jury according to the course of 
 that law, and to the benefit of such of the English statutes as 
 existed on the fourth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy- 
 six, and which, by experience, have been found applicable to their 
 local and other circumstances, and have been introduced, used and 
 practised by the courts of law or equity, and also of all acts of 
 Assembly in force on the first Monday of November, eighteen 
 hundred and fifty, except such as may have since expired, or may be, 
 altered by this Constitution, subject, nevertheless, to the revision of, 
 and amendment or repeal by the Legislature of this State ; and the 
 inhabitants of Maryland are also entitled to all property derived to 
 them from or undei" the charter granted by his Majesty Charles the 
 First, to Csecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore. 
 
 4. That all persons invested with the legislative or executive 
 powers of government are the trustees of the public, and as such 
 accountable for their conduct; wherefore, whenever the ends of 
 government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, 
 and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and 
 of right ought to reform the old or establish a new government. 
 The doctrine of non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppres- 
 sion is absurd, slavish and destructive of the good and happiness of 
 mankind. 
 
222 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 5. That the right of the people to participate in the Legislature is 
 the best security of liberty, and the foundation of all free govern- 
 ment ; for this purpose elections ought to be free and frequent, and 
 every free white male citizen having the qualifications prescribed by 
 the Constitution, ought to have the right of suffrage. 
 
 6. That the legislative, executive and judicial powers of govern- 
 ment ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other ; and 
 no person exercising the functions of one of said departments, shall 
 assume or discharge the duties of any other. 
 
 7. That no power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, 
 unless by or derived from the Legislature, ought to be exercised or 
 allowed. 
 
 8. That freedom of speech and debate or proceedings in the 
 Legislature, ought not to be impeached in any court of judica- 
 ture. 
 
 9. That Annapolis be the place for the meeting of the Legisla- 
 ture ; and the Legislature ought not to be convened or held at any 
 other place but from evident necessity. 
 
 10. That for the redress of grievances, and for amending, strength- 
 ening and preserving the laws, the Legislature ought to be frequently 
 convened. 
 
 IL That every man hath a right to petition the Legislature for 
 the redress of grievances in a peaceable and orderly manner. 
 
 12. That no aid, charge, tax, burthen, or fees, ought to be rated 
 or levied, under any pretence, without the consent of the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 13. That the levying of taxes by the poll is grievous and oppres- 
 sive, and ought to be abolished ; that paupers ought not to be 
 assessed for the support of government, but every other person in 
 the State, or person holding property therein, ought to contribute his 
 proportion of public taxes, for the support of government, according 
 to his actual worth in real or personal property ; yet fines, duties, 
 or taxes may properly and justly be imposed or laid, on persons or 
 property, with a political view, for the good government and benefit 
 of the community. 
 
 14. That sanguinary laws ought to be avoided as far as is con- 
 sistent with the safety of the State ; and no law to inflict cruel and 
 unusual pains and penalties ought to be made in any case, or at any 
 time hereafter. 
 
 15. That retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the 
 existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are 
 oppressive, unjust and incompatible with liberty ; wherefore, no ex 
 post facto law ought to be made. 
 
 16. That no law to attaint particular persons of treason or felony, 
 ought to be made in any case, or at any time hereafter. 
 
 17. That every free man, for any injury done to him in his per- 
 son or property, ought to have remedy by the course of the law of 
 the land, and ought to have justice and right, freely without sale, 
 
MARYLAND. 223 
 
 fully without any denial, and speedily without delay, according to 
 the law of the land. 
 
 18. That the trial of facts where they arise, is one of the greatest 
 securities of the lives, liberties, and estate of the jteople. 
 
 19. That in all criminal prosecutions, every man hath a right to 
 be informed of the accusation against him ; to have a copy of the 
 indictment or charge, in due time (if required) to prepare for his 
 defence ; to be allowed counsel ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
 against him ; to have process for his witnesses ; to examine the wit- 
 nesses for and against him on oath ; and to a speedy trial by an 
 impartial jury, without whose unanimous consent he ought not to be 
 found guilty. 
 
 20. That no man ought to be compelled to give evidence against 
 hirnself in a court of common law, or in any other court, but in 
 such cases as have been usually practised in this State, or may here- 
 after be directed by the Legislature. 
 
 21. That no free man ought to be taken or imprisoned, or dis- 
 seized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, 
 or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or pro- 
 perty, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land ; 
 provided, that nothing in this article shall be so construed as to pre- 
 vent the Legislature from passing all such laws foi* the government, 
 regulation and disposition of the free colored population of this State 
 as they may deem necessary. 
 
 22. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted by the courts 
 of law. 
 
 23. That all warrants, without oath, or affirmation, to search sus- 
 pected places, or to seize any person or property, are ^ grievous and 
 oppressive ; and all general warrants to search suspected places, or 
 to apprehend suspected persons, without naming or describing the 
 place, or the person in special, are illegal, and ought not to be 
 granted. 
 
 24. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood, or for- 
 feiture of estate. 
 
 25. That a well regulated militia is the proper and natural defence 
 of a free government. 
 
 26. That standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not 
 to be raised or kept up without consent of the Legislature. 
 
 27. That in all cases and at all times the military ought to be 
 under strict subordination to, and control of, the civil power. 
 
 28. That no soldier ought to be quartered in any house in time of 
 peace without the consent of the owner, and in time of war in such 
 manner only as the Legislature shall direct. 
 
 29. That no person, except regular soldiers, mariners, and ma- 
 rines, in the service of this^ State, or militia when in actual service, 
 ought in any case to be subject to, or punishable by, martial law. 
 
 30. That the independency and uprightness of judges are essential 
 
224: CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 to the impartial administration of justice, and a great security to the 
 rights and liberties of the people ; wherefore the judges shall not be 
 removed, except for misbehaviour, on conviction in a court of law, 
 or by the governor, upon the address of the General Assembly; 
 provided, that two-thirds of all the members of each house concur 
 in such address. No judge shall hold any other office, civil or 
 military, or political trust or employment of any kind whatsoever, 
 under the constitution or laws of this State, or of the United States, 
 or any of them, or receive fees or perquisites of any kind for the 
 discharge of his official duties. 
 
 31. That a long continuance in the executive departments of 
 power or trust is dangerous to liberty ; a rotation, therefore, in 
 those departments is one of the best securities of permanent free- 
 dom. 
 
 32. That no person ought to hold at the same time more than 
 one office of profit, created by the constitution or laws of this State ; 
 nor ought any person in public trust to receive any present from any 
 foreign prince, or State, or from the United States, or any of them, 
 without the approbation of this State. 
 
 33. That as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such 
 manner as he thinks most acceptable to Him, all persons are equally 
 entitled to protection in their religious liberty ; wherefore, no person 
 ought, by any law, to be molested in his person or estate, on 
 account of his religious persuasion or profession, or for his religious 
 practice, unless under color of religion any man shall disturb the 
 good order, peace, or safety of the State, or shall infringe the laws 
 of morality, or injure others in their natural, civil, or religious 
 rights ; nor ought any person to be compelled to frequent or main- 
 tain or contribute, unless on contract, to maintain any place of w^or- 
 ship or any ministry ; nor shall any person be deemed incompetent 
 as a witness or juror who believes in the existence of a God, and 
 that under his dispensation such person will be held morally account- 
 able for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefor, either in this 
 world or the world to come. 
 
 34. That no other test or qualification ought to be required, on 
 admission to any office of trust or profit, than such oath of office as 
 may be prescribed by this Constitution, or by the laws of the State, 
 and a declaration of belief in the Christian religion ; and if the 
 party shall profess to be a Jew, the declaration shall be of his belief 
 in a future state of rewards and punishments. 
 
 35. That every gift, sale or devise of land, to any minister, public 
 teacher or preacher of the gospel, as such, or to any religious sect, 
 order or denomination, or to or for the support, use or benefit of, or 
 in trust for any minister, public teacher, or preacher of the gospel, 
 as such, or any religious sect, order or denomination, and every gifl 
 or sale of goods or chattels to go in succession, or to take place 
 afler the death of the seller or donor, to or for such support, use or 
 benefit j and, also, every devise of goods or chattels, to or for the 
 
MARYLAND. 226 
 
 support, use or benefit of any minister, public teacher or preacher of 
 the gospel, as such ; or any religious sect, order or denomination, 
 without the leave of the Legislature, shall be void ; except always, 
 any sale, gift, lease or devise of any quantity of land, not exceeding 
 five acres, for a church, meeting house or other house of worship, 
 or parsonage, or for a burying ground, which shall be improved, 
 enjoyed or used only for such purpose ; or such sale, gift, lease or 
 devise shall be void. 
 
 36. That the manner of administering an oath or affirmation to 
 any person, ought to be such as those of the religious persuasion, 
 profession or denomination of which he is a member, generally 
 esteem the most effectual confirmation by the attestation of the 
 Divine Being. 
 
 37. That the city of Annapolis ought to have all its rights, priv- 
 ileges and benefits, agreeably to its charter, and the acts of As- 
 sembly confirming and regulating the same ; subject to such altera- 
 tions as have been or as may be made by the Legislature. 
 
 38. That the liberty of the press ought to be inviolably preserved. 
 
 39. That monbpolies are odious, contrary to the spirit of a free 
 government and the principles of commerce, and ought not to be 
 suffered. 
 
 40. That no title of nobility or hereditary honors ought to be 
 granted in this State. 
 
 4L That the Legislature ought to encourage the diffusion of 
 knowledge and virtue, the promotion of literature, the arts, sciences, 
 agriculture, commerce and manufactures, and the general meliora- 
 tion of the condition of the people. 
 
 42. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair 
 or deny others retained by the people. 
 
 43. That this Constitution shall not be altered, changed or abo- 
 lished, except in the manner therein prescribed and directed. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE. \,— Elective Franchise. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every free white male person, of twenty-one years of 
 age or upwards, who shall have been one year next preceding the 
 election a resident of the State, and for six months a resident of 
 the city of Baltimore, or of any county in which he may offer to 
 vote, and being at the time of the election a citizen of the United 
 States, shall be entitled to vote in the M'ard or election district in 
 which he resides, in all elections hereafter to be held ; and at all 
 such elections the vote shall be taken by ballot. And in case any 
 county or city shall be so divided as to form portions of different 
 electoral districts for the election of Congressmen, Senator, delegate, 
 16 
 
226 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 or other officer or officers, then to entitle a person to vote for such 
 officer, he must have been a resident of that part of the county or 
 city which shall form a part of the electoral district in which he 
 offers to vote, for six months next preceding the election ; but a 
 person who shall have acquired a residence in such county or city 
 entitling him to vote at any such election, shall be entitled to vote 
 in the election district from which he removed, until he shall have 
 acquired a residence in the part of the county or city to which he has 
 removed. 
 
 2. That if any person shall give, or offer to give, directly or in- 
 directly, any bribe, present or reward, or any promise, or any 
 security for the payment or delivery of money or any other thing, 
 to induce any voter to refrain from casting his vote, or forcibly to 
 prevent him in any way from voting, or to obtain or procure a vote 
 for any candidate or person proposed or voted for, as elector of 
 President and Vice-President of the United States, or Representative 
 in Congress, or for any office of profit or trust created by the Con- 
 stitution or laws of this State, or by the ordinances or authority of 
 the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, the person giving or 
 offering to give, and the person receiving the same, and any person 
 who gives or causes to be given an illegal vote, knowing it to be so, 
 at any election to be hereafter held in this State, shall, on conviction 
 in a court of law, in addition to the penalties now or hereafter to be 
 imposed by law, be forever disqualified to hold any office of profit 
 or trust, or to vote at any election thereafter. ' * 
 
 3. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly of Maryland to 
 pass laws to punish with fine and imprisonment any person who 
 shall remove into any election district or ward of the city of Bal- 
 timore, not for the purpose of acquiring a bona fide residence therein, 
 but for the purpose of voting therein at an approaching election, or 
 who shall vote in any election district or ward in which he does not 
 reside (except in the case provided for in the first article of the Con- 
 stitution), or shall, at the same election, vote in more than one elec- 
 tion district or ward, or shall vote or offer to vote, in any name not 
 his own, or in place of any other person of the same name, or shall 
 vote in any county in which he does not reside. 
 
 4. Every person elected or appointed to any office of profit or 
 trust under the Constitution or laws made pursuant thereto, before 
 he shall enter upon the duties of such office, shall take and sub- 
 scribe the following oath or affirmation : I-, A. B., do swear (or 
 affirm, as the case may be), that I will support the constitution of 
 the United States, and that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance 
 to the State of Maryland, and support the Constitution and laws 
 thereof; that I will to the best of my skill and judgment diligently 
 and faithfully, without partiality or prejudice, execute the office of 
 
 according to the Constitution and laws of this State, and 
 
 that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I have not, in 
 any manner, violated the provisions thereof in relation to bribery 
 
MARYLAND. 227 
 
 of voters or preventing legal or procuring illegal votes to be given ; 
 (and if a Governor, Senator, member of the House of Delegates, 
 or Judge), " that I will not directly or indirectly receive the profits 
 or any part of the profits of any other office during the time of my 
 
 acting as = — ." And if any person elected or appointed to office 
 
 as aforesaid, shall refuse or neglect to take the said oath or affirma- 
 tion, he shall be considered as having refused to accept the said 
 office, and a new election or appointment shall be made as in case of 
 refusal or resignation, and any person swearing or affirming falsely 
 in the premises, shall, on conviction thereof in a court of law, incur 
 the penalties for wilful and corrupt perjury, and be thereafler in- 
 capable of voting at any election, and also incapable of holding any 
 office of profit or trust in this State. 
 
 5. That no person above the age of twenty-one years, convicted 
 of larceny or other infamous crime, unless he shall be pardoned by 
 the Executive, shall ever thereafter be entitled to vote at any elec- 
 tion in this State, and no person under guardianship as a lunatic, or 
 as a person non compos mentis, shall be entitled to vote. 
 
 ARTICLE II. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. — The Executive power of the State shall be vested in a 
 Governor, whose term of office shall commence on the second Wed- 
 nesday of January next ensuing his election, and continue for four 
 years, and until his successor shall have qualified. 
 
 2. The first election for Governor under this Constitution shall be 
 held on the first Wednesday of November, in the year eighteen 
 hundred and fifty-three, and on the same day and month in every 
 fourth year thereafter, at the places of voting for delegates to the 
 General Assembly, and every person qualified to vote for delegates 
 shall be qualified and entitled to vote for Governor ; the election to 
 be held in the same manner as the election of delegates, and the 
 returns thereof, under seal, to be addressed to the Speaker of the 
 House of Delegates, and enclosed and transmitted to the Secretary 
 of State, and delivered to the said Speaker at the commencement of 
 the session of the Legislature next ensuing said election. 
 
 3. The Speaker of the House of Delegates shall then open the 
 said returns in the presence of both Houses, and the person having 
 the highest number of votes, and being constitutionally eligible, shall 
 be the Governor, and shall qualify in the manner herein prescribed, 
 on the second Wednesday of January next ensuing his election, or 
 as soon thereafter as may be practicable. 
 
 4. If two or more persons shall have the highest and an equal 
 number of votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the 
 Senate and House of Delegates ; and all questions in relation to the 
 eligibility of Governor, and to the returns of said election, and to 
 the number and legality of votes therein given, shall be determined 
 by the House of Delegates. And if the person or persons having 
 the highest number of votes be ineligible, the Governor shall be 
 
228 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 chosen by the Senate and House of Delegates. Every election of 
 Governor, by the Legislature, shall be determined by a joint ma- 
 jority of the Senate and House of Delegates, and the vote shall be 
 taken viva voce. But if two or more persons shall have the highest 
 and an equal number of votes, then a second vote shall be taken, 
 which shall be confined to the persons having an equal number ; and 
 if the votes should again be equal, then the election of Governor 
 shall be determined by lot between those who shall have the highest 
 and an equal number on the first vote. 
 
 5. The State shall be divided into three districts — St. Mary's, 
 Charles, Calvert, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and 
 Howard counties, and the city of Baltimore to be the first ; the 
 eight counties of the Eastern shore to be the second ; and Baltimore, 
 Harford, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Carroll counties, to 
 be the third. The Governor, elected from the third district in 
 October last, shall continue in office during the term for which he 
 was elected. The Governor shall be taken from the first district, at 
 the first election of Governor under this Constitution; from the 
 second district at the second election, and from the third district at 
 the third election, and in like manner, afterwards, from each district, 
 in regular succession. 
 
 6. A person to be eligible to the office of Governor, must have 
 attained the age of thirty years, and been for five years a citizen of 
 the United States, and for five years next preceding his election a 
 resident of the State, and for three years a resident of the district 
 from which he was elected. 
 
 7. In case of the death or resignation of the Governor, or of his 
 removal from the State, the General Assembly, if in session, or if 
 not, at their, next session, shall elect some other qualified resident 
 of the same district, to be the Governor for the residue of the term 
 for which the said Governor had been elected. 
 
 8. In case of any vacancy in the office of Governor during the 
 recess of the Legislature, the President of the Senate shall discharge 
 the duties of said office till a Governor is elected as herein pro- 
 vided for ; and in case of the death or resignation of said President, 
 or of his removal from the State, or of his refusal to serve, then the 
 duties of said office shall, in like manner, and for the same interval, 
 devolve upon the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the Legis- 
 lature may provide by law for the case of impeachment or iiiability 
 of the Governor, and declare what person shall perform the executive 
 duties during such impeachment or inability ; and for any vacancy 
 in said office, not herein provided for, provision may be made by 
 law, and if such vacancy should occur without such provision being 
 made, the Legislature shall be convened by the Secretary of State 
 for the purpose of filling said vacancy. 
 
 9. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the land and 
 naval forces of the State, and may call out the militia to repel 
 invasions, suppress insurrections, and enforce the execution of the 
 
MARYLAND. 229 
 
 laws ; but shall not take the command in person without the consent 
 of the Legislature. 
 
 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. He shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent 
 of the Senate, appoint all civil and military officers of the State, 
 whose appointment or election is not otherwise herein provided for, 
 unless a different mode of appointment be prescribed by the law 
 creating the office. 
 
 12. In case of any vacancy during the recess of the Senate, in 
 any office which the Governor has power to fill, he shall appoint 
 some suitable person to said office, whose commission shall continue 
 in force till the end of the next session of the Legislature, or till 
 some other person is appointed to the same office, whichever shall 
 first occur, and the nomination of the person thus appointed during 
 the recess, or of some other person in his place, shall be made to the 
 Senate within thirty days after the next meeting of the Legislature. 
 
 13. No person, after being rejected by the Senate, shall be again 
 nominated for the same office at the same session, unless at the 
 request of the Senate ; or be appointed to the same office during 
 the recess of the Legislature. 
 
 14. All civil officers appointed by the Governor and Senate shall 
 be nominated to the Senate within fifty days from the commence- 
 ment of each regular session of the Legislature ; and their term of 
 office shall commence on the first Monday of May next ensuing their 
 appointment, and continue for two years (unless sooner removed 
 from office) and until their successors, respectively, qualify according 
 to law. 
 
 15. The Governor may suspend or arrest any military officer of 
 the State, for disobedience of orders, or other military oflTence, and 
 may remove him in pursuance of the sentence of a court-martial ; 
 and may remove for incompetency or misconduct, all civil officers 
 who receive appointments from the executive for a term not exceed- 
 ing two years. 
 
 16. The Governor may convene the Legislature, or the Senate 
 alone, on extraordinary occasions ; and whenever, from the presence 
 of an enemy or from any other cause, the seat of government shall 
 become an unsafe place for the meeting of the Legislature, he may 
 direct their sessions to be held at some other convenient place. 
 
 17. It shall be the duty of the Governor semi-annually, and 
 oftener if he deem it expedient, to examine the bank-book, account 
 books, and official proceedings of the Treasurer and Comptroller of 
 the State. 
 
 18. He shall, from time to time, inform the Legislature of the 
 condition of the State, and recommend to their consideration such 
 measures as he may judge necessary and expedient. 
 
 19. He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, except 
 in cases of impeachment, and in cases in which he is prohibited by 
 
 other articles of this Constitution, and to remit fines and forfeitures 
 
230 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 for offences against the State ; but shall not remit the principal or 
 interest of any debt due to the State, except in cases of fines and 
 forfeitures ; and befbre granting a nolle prosequi, or pardon, he shall 
 give notice, in one or more newspapers, of the application made for 
 it, and of the day on or after which his decision will be given ; and 
 in every case in which he exercises this power, he shall report to 
 either branch of the Legislature, whenever required, the petitions, 
 recommendations and reasons which influence his decision. 
 
 20. The Governor shall reside at the seat of government, and 
 shall receive for his services an annual salary of thirty-six hundred 
 dollarap- 
 
 21. When the public interest requires it, he shall have power to 
 employ counsel, who shall be entitled to such compensation as the 
 Legislature may allow in each case after the services of such coun- 
 sel shall have been performed. 
 
 22. A Secretary of State shall be appointed by the Governor, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall continue 
 in office, unless sooner removed by the Governor, till the end of the 
 official term of the Governor from whom he received his appoint- 
 ment, and shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars. 
 
 23. He shall carefully keep and preserve a record of all official 
 acts and proceedings (which may, at all times, be inspected by a 
 committee of either .branch of the Legislature), and shall perform 
 such other duties as may be prescribed by law, or as may properly 
 belong to his office. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall consist of two distinct branches, a 
 Senate and a House of Delegates, which shall be styled " The 
 General Assembly of Maryland." 
 
 2. Every county of the State, and the city of Baltimore, shall be 
 entitled to elect one Senator, who shall be elected by the qualified 
 voters of the counties and city of Baltimore, respectively, and who 
 shall serve for four years from the day of their election. 
 
 3. The Legislature, at its first session after the returns of the 
 national census of eighteen hundred and sixty are published, and in 
 like maimer after each subsequent census, shall apportion the mem- 
 bers of the House of Delegates among the several counties of the 
 State, according to the population -of each, and shall always allow to 
 the city of Baltimore four more delegates than are allowed to the 
 most populous county, but no county shall be entitled to less than 
 two members, nor shall the whole number of delegates ever exceed 
 eighty, or be less than sixty-five ; and until the apportionment is 
 made under the census of eighteen hundred and sixty, St.' Mary's 
 county shall be entitled to two delegates; Kent, two ; Anne Arun- 
 del, three; Calvert, two; Charles, two; Baltimore county, six; 
 Talbot, two ; Somerset, four ; Dorchester, three ; Cecil, three ; 
 Prince George's, three ; Queen Anne's, two ; Worcester, three ; 
 
MARYLAND. 231 
 
 Frederick, six ; Harford, three ; Caroline, two ; Baltimore city, ten ; 
 Washington, five; Montgomery, two ; Allegany, four ; Carroll, three ; 
 and Howard, two. 
 
 4. The members of the House of Delegates shall be elected by 
 the qualified voters of the counties and city of -Baltimore respec- 
 tively, to serve for two years from the day of their election. 
 
 5. The first election for delegates shall take place on the first 
 Wednesday of November, eighteen hundred and fifty-one ; and the 
 elections for delegates, and for one-half of the senators, as nearly 
 as practicable, shall be held on the same day in every second year 
 thereafter, but an election for senators shall be held in the year 
 eighteen hundred and fifty-one, in Howard county, and all those 
 counties in which senators were elected in the year eighteen hundred 
 and forty-six. 
 
 6. Immediately after the Senate shall have convened after the first 
 election under this Constitution, the senators shall be divided by lot 
 into two classes, as nearly equal in number as may be — the senators 
 of the first class shall go out of ofhce at the expiration of two years, 
 and senators shall be elected on the first Wednesday of November, 
 eighteen hundred and fifty-three, for the term of four years, to sup- 
 ply their places ; so that, after the first election, one-half of the 
 senators may be chosen every second year ; provided, that in no 
 case shall any senator be placed in a class which shall entitle him to 
 serve for a longer term than that for which he was elected. In case 
 the number of senators be hereafter increased, such classification of 
 the additional senators shall be made as to preserve as nearly as 
 may be an equal number in each class. 
 
 7. The General Assembly shall meet on the first Wednesday of 
 January, eighteen hundred and fifly-two, on the same day, in the 
 year eighteen hundred and fifly-three, and on the same day in the 
 year eighteen hundred and fifly-four, and on the same day in every 
 second year thereafter, and at no other time unless convened by the 
 proclamation of the Governor. 
 
 8. The General Assembly may continue their first two sessions 
 after the adoption of this Constitution, as long as, in the opinion of 
 the two houses, the public interests may require it, but all subse- 
 quent regular sessions of the General Assembly shall be closed on 
 the 10th day of March next ensuing the time of their commence- 
 ment, unless the same shall be closed at an earlier day by the agree- 
 ment of the two houses. 
 
 9. No person shall be eligible as a senator or delegate who, at 
 the time of his election, is not a citizen of the United States, and 
 who has not resided at least three years next preceding the day of 
 his election in this State, and the last year thereof in the county or 
 city which he may be chosen to represent, if such count}^ or city 
 shall have been so long established, and if not, then in the county 
 from which, in whole or in part, the same may have been formed ; 
 nor shall any person be eligible as a senator unless he shall have 
 
232 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 attained the age of twenty-five years, nor as a delegate unless he 
 shall have attained the age of twenty-one years at the time of his 
 election. 
 
 10. No member of Congress, or persons holding any civil or mil- 
 itary office under the United States, shall be eligible as a senator or 
 delegate ; and if any person shall, after his election as a senator or 
 delegate, be elected to Congress, or be appointed to any office, civil 
 or military, under the government of the United States, his accep- 
 tance thereof shall vacate his seat. 
 
 11. No minister or preacher of the Gospel, of any denomination, 
 and no person holding any civil office of profit or trust under this 
 State, except justices of the peace, shall be eligible as senator- or 
 delegate. 
 
 12. Each house shall be judge of the qualifications and elections 
 of its members, subject to the laws of the State — appoint its own 
 officers, determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish a mem- 
 ber for disorderly or disrespectful behavior, and with the consent of 
 two-thirds, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a 
 second time for the same offence. 
 
 13. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum for the 
 transaction of business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day 
 to day, and compel the attendance of absent members in such man- 
 ner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe. 
 
 14. The doors of each house and of committees of the whole 
 shall be open, except when the business is such as ought to be kept 
 secret. 
 
 15. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause 
 the same to be published. The yeas and nays of members on any 
 question shall, at the call of any five of them, in the House of 
 Delegates, or one in the Senate, be entered on the journal. 
 
 16. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than three days ; nor to any other place than that in which 
 the house shall be sitting, without the concurrent vote of two-thirds 
 of the members present. 
 
 17. The style oT all laws of this State shall be, " Be it enacted 
 by the General Assembly of Maryland," and all laws shall be passed 
 by original bill, and every law enacted by the Legislature shall 
 embrace but one subject, and that shall be described in the title, and 
 no law or section of law shall be revived, amended or repealed by 
 reference to its title or section only ; and it shall be the duty of 
 the Legislature, at the first session after the adoption of this Consti- 
 tution, to appoint two commissioners learned in the law, to revise 
 and codify the laws of this State; and the said commissioners shall 
 report the said code, so formed, to the Legislature, within a time to 
 be by it determined for its approval, amendment, or rejection ; and, 
 if adopted after the revision and codification of the said laws, it shall 
 be the duty of the Legislature, in amending any article or section 
 thereof, to enact the same as the said article or section would read 
 
MARYLAND. 233 
 
 when amended. And whenever the Legislature shall enact any 
 public general law, not amendatory of any section or article in the 
 said code, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to enact the same 
 in articles and sections, in the same manner as the said code may be 
 arranged ; and to provide for the publication of all additions and 
 alterations which may be made to the said code, and it shall also be 
 the duty of the Legislature to appoint one or more commissioners 
 learned in the law, whose duty it shall be to revise, simplify, and 
 abridge the rules of practice, pleadings, forms of conveyancing, and 
 proceedings of the courts of record, in this State. 
 
 18. Any bill may originate in either house of the General 
 Assembly, and be altered, amended or rejected by the other, but no 
 bill shall originate in either house during the last three days of the 
 session, or become a law, until it be read on three different days of 
 the session in each house, unless three-fourths of the members of 
 the house, where such bill is pending, shall so determine. 
 
 19. No bill shall become a law unless it be passed in each house 
 by a majority of the whole number of members elected, and on its 
 final passage the ayes and noes be recorded. 
 
 20. No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the State, 
 except in accordance with an appropriation made by law, and every 
 such law shall distinctly specify the sum appropriated, and the object 
 to which it shall be applied, provided that nothing herein contained 
 shall prevent the Legislature from placing a contingent fund at the 
 disposal of the Executive, who shall report to the Legislature at each 
 session the amount expended and the purposes to which it was 
 applied ; an accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of 
 the public money shall be attached to and published with the laws 
 after each regular session of the General Assembly. 
 
 21. No divorce shall be granted by the General Assembly. 
 
 22. No debt shall hereafter be contracted by the Legislature, 
 unless such debt shall be authorized by a law providing for the col- 
 lection of an annual tax or taxes sufficient to pay the interest on 
 such debt as it falls due, and also to discharge the principal thereof 
 within fifteen years from the time of contracting the same, and the 
 taxes laid for this purpose shall not be repealed or applied to any other 
 object until the said debt and the interest thereon shall be fully 
 discharged, and the amount of debts so contracted and remaining 
 unpaid shall never exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The 
 •credit of the State shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to or 
 in aid of any individual, association or corporation, nor shall the 
 General Assembly have the power, in any mode, to involve the 
 State in the construction of works of internal improvement, or in 
 any enterprise which shall involve the faith or credit of th§ State, or 
 make any appropriations therefor. 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, to any other purpose, until the interest and debt 
 
284 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 are fully paid, or the sinking fund shall be equal to the amount of 
 the outstanding debt ; but the Legislature may, without laying a tax, 
 borrow an amount never to exceed fifty thousand dollars, to meet 
 temporary deficiencies in the Treasury, and may contract debts to 
 any amount that may be necessary for the defence of the State. 
 
 23. No extra compensation shall be granted or allowed by the 
 General Assembly to any public officer, agent, servant or con- 
 tractor, after the services shall have been rendered or the contract 
 entered into. Nor shall the salary or compensation of any public 
 officer be increased or diminished during his term of office. 
 
 24. No Senator or Delegate, after qualifying as such, shall, during 
 the term for which he was elected, be eligible to any office which 
 shall have been created, or the salary or profits of which shall have 
 been increased during such term, or shall, during said term, hold any 
 office or receive the salary or profits of any office, under the appoint- 
 ment of the Executive or Legislature. 
 
 25. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during the session 
 of the General Assembly, any person not a member, for disrespect- 
 ful or disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of 
 its proceedings or any of its officers in the execution of their duties ; 
 provided such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed ten 
 days. 
 
 26. The members of each house shall, in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, or other criminal offence, be privileged from arrest during 
 their attendance at the session of the General Assembly, and in 
 going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for every 
 thirty miles such member may reside from the place at which the 
 General Assembly is convened. 
 
 27. No Senator or Delegate shall be liable, in any civil action or 
 criminal prosecution whatever, for words spoken in debate. 
 
 28. The House of Delegates may inquire, on the oath of wit- 
 nesses, into 'all complaints, grievances and offences, as the Grand 
 Inquest of the State, and may commit any person for any crime to 
 the public jail, there to remain until discharged by due course of 
 law — they may examine and pass all accounts of the State, relating 
 either in the collection or expenditure of the revenue, and appoint 
 auditors to state and adjust the same — they may call for all public 
 or official papers, and records, and send for persons whom they may 
 judge necessary in the course of their inquiries concerning affairs 
 relating to the public interest, and may direct all office bonds which 
 shall be made payable to the State, to be sued for any breach of 
 duty. 
 
 29. In case of death, disqualification, resignation, refusal to act, 
 expulsion or removal from the county or city for which he shall have 
 been elected, of any person who shall have been chosen as a dele- 
 gate or senator, or in case of a tie between two or more such quali- 
 fied persons, a warrant of election shall be issued by the Speaker of 
 the House of Delegates or President of the Senate, as the case may 
 
MARYLAND. 235 
 
 be, for the election of another ptrson in his place, of which election, 
 not less than ten days notice shall be given, exclusive of the day of 
 the publication of the notice and of the day of election ; and in case 
 of such resignation or refusal to act, being communicated in writing, 
 to the Governor, by the person making it, or if such death occur 
 during the legislative recess and more than ten days before its ter- 
 mination, it shall be the duty of the Governor to issue a warrant of 
 election to supply the vacancy thus created in the same manner that 
 the said Speaker or President might have done during the session 
 of the Legislature ; provided, however, that unless ^ meeting of the 
 General Assembly may intervene, the election thus ordered to fill 
 such vacancy shall be held on the day of the ensuing election for 
 delegates and senators. 
 
 30. The Senators and delegates shall receive a per diem of four 
 dollars, and such mileage as may be allowed by law, and the pre- 
 siding officer of each house shall be allowed an addition of one dollar 
 per day. No book or other printed matter not appertaining to the 
 business of the session, shall be purchased or subscribed for, for the 
 use of the members or be distributed among thftm, at the public 
 expense. 
 
 31. No law passed by the General Assembly shall take effect 
 until the first day of June next after the session at which it may be 
 passed, unless it be otherwise expressly declared therein. 
 
 32. No law shall be passed creating the office of Attorney-Gen- 
 eral. 
 
 33. The General Assembly shall have full power to exclude from 
 the privilege of voting at elections, or of holding any civil or mili- 
 tary office in this State, any person who may thereafi;er be convicted 
 of perjury, bribery, or other felony, unless such person shall have 
 been pardoned by the Executive. 
 
 34. Every bill, when passed by the General Assembly, and 
 sealed with the Great Seal, shall be presented to the Governor, who 
 shall sign the same in the presence of the presiding officers and chief 
 clerks of the Senate and House of Delegates. Every law shall be 
 recorded in the office of the Court of Appeals, and in due time be 
 printed, published and certified under the Great Seal to the several 
 courts in the same manner as has been heretofore usual in this State. 
 
 35. No person who may hereafter be a collector, receiver or 
 holder of public moneys, shall be eligible as Senator or Delegate, or 
 to any office of profit or trust under this State, until he shall have 
 accounted for and paid into the treasury all sums on the books 
 thereof, charged to and due by him. 
 
 36. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, either in or out of this State, fight a duel with deadly- 
 weapons, or send or accept a challenge so to do, or who shall act as 
 second, or knowingly aid or assist in any manner those thus offend- 
 ing, shall ever thereafter be incapable of holding any office of trust 
 or profit under this State. 
 
236 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 37. No lottery grant shall ever hereafter be authorized by the 
 Legislature. 
 
 38. The General Assembly shall pass laws necessary to protect 
 the property of the wife from the debts of the husband during her 
 life, and for securing the same to her issue after her death. 
 
 39. Laws shall be passed by the Legislature to protect from 
 execution a reasonable amount of the property of a debtor, not 
 exceeding in f alue the sum of five hundred dollars. 
 
 40. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the adoption of 
 this Constitution, adopt some simple and uniform system of charges 
 in the offices of clerks of courts and registers of wills in the coun- 
 ties of this State and the city of Baltimore, and for the collection 
 thereof; provided, the amount of compensation to any of said 
 officers shall not exceed the sum of twenty -five hundred dollars a 
 year, over and above office expenses, and compensation to assistants ; 
 and provided, further, that such compensation of clerks, registers, 
 assistants, and office expenses, shall always be paid out of the fees 
 or receipts of the offices respectively. 
 
 41. The House of Delegates shall have the sole power of im- 
 peachment in all cases, but a majority of all the members must 
 concur in an impeachment ; all impeachments shall be tried by the 
 Senate, and when sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or 
 affirmation to do justice according to the law and evidence, but no 
 person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 all the senators. 
 
 42. That it shall be the duty of the Legislature so soon as the 
 public debt shall have been fully paid off, to cause to be transferred 
 to the several counties and the city of Baltimore, stock in the inter- 
 nal improvement companies, equal to the amount respectively paid 
 by each towards the erection and completion of said works, at the 
 then market value of said stock. 
 
 43. The Legislature shall not pass any law abolishing the relation 
 of master or slave, as it now exists in this State. . 
 
 44. No person shall be imprisoned for debt. 
 
 45. The Legislature hereafter shall grant no charter for banking 
 purposes, or renew any banking corporation now in existence, except 
 upon the condition that the stockholders and directors shall be liable 
 to the amount of their respective share or shares of stock in such 
 banking institution for all its debts and liabilities upon note, bill -or 
 otherwise ; and upon the further condition that no director or other 
 officer of said corporation shall borrow any money from said cor- 
 poration ; and if any director or other officer shall be convicted upon 
 indictment of directly or indirectly violating this article, he shall be 
 punished by fine or imprisonment at the discretion of the Court. All 
 banks shall be open to inspection of their books, papers and ac- 
 counts, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 46. The Legislature shall enact no law authorizing private pro- 
 perty to be taken for public use without just compensation as agreed 
 
MARYLAND. 237 
 
 Upon between the parties or awarded by a jury, being first paid or 
 tendered to the party entitled to such compensation. 
 
 47. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall 
 not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, and in 
 cases where, in the judgment of the Legislature, the object of the 
 corporation cannot be attained under general laws. All laws and 
 special acts pursuant to this section may be altered from time to 
 time, or repealed ; provided nothing herein contained shall be con- 
 strued to alter, change or amend in any manner the article in rela- 
 tion to Banks. 
 
 48. The Legislature shall make provision for all cases of con- 
 tested elections of any of the officers not herein provided for. 
 
 49. That the rate of interest in this State shall not exceed six per 
 cent, per annum, and no higher rate shall be taken or demanded, and 
 the Legislature shall provide, by law, all necessary forfeitures and 
 penalties against usury. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Judiciary Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Judicial power of this State shall be vested in a 
 Court of Appeals, in Circuit Courts, in such Courts for the city of 
 Baltimore as may be hereinafter prescribed, and in Justices of the 
 Peace. 
 
 2. The Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction only, 
 which shall be co-extensive with the limits of the State. It shall 
 consist of a chief justice and thr'ee associate justices, any three of 
 whom shall form a quorum, whose judgment shall be final and con- 
 clusive in all cases of appeals ; and who shall have the jurisdiction 
 which the present Court of Appeals of this State now has, and such 
 other appellate jurisdiction as hereafter may be provided for by law. 
 And in every case decided, an opinion, in writing, shall be filed, and 
 provision shall be made, by law, for publishing reports of cases 
 argued and determined in the said court. The Governor, for the 
 time being, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
 designate the chief justice, and the Court of Appeals shall hold its 
 sessions at the city of Annapolis, on the first Monday of June, and 
 the first Monday of December, in each and every year. 
 
 3. The Court of Appeals shall appoint its own clerk, who shall 
 hold his office for six years, and may be re-appointed at the end 
 thereof; he shall be subject to removal by the said, court for incom- 
 petency, neglect of duty, misdemeanor in office, and for such other 
 causes as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. The State shall be divided into four Judicial districts : Alle- 
 gany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore, and Harford 
 counties, shall compose the first ; Montgomery, Howard, Anne 
 Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary's, Charles and Prince George's, the 
 second ; Baltimore city, the third ; and Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, 
 Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset, and Worcester, shall com- 
 pose the fourth district. And one person from among those learned 
 
238 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 in the law, having been admitted to practice in this State, and who 
 shall have been a citizen of this State at least five years, and above 
 the age of thirty years at the time of his election, and a resident of 
 the judicial district, shall be elected from each of said districts by 
 the legal and qualified voters therein, as a judge of the said Court 
 of Appeals, who shall hold his office for the term of ten years from 
 the time of his election, or until he shall have attained the age of 
 seventy years, whichever may first happen, and be re-eligible thereto 
 until he shall have attained the age of seventy years, and not after, 
 subject to removal for incompetency, wilfbl neglect of duty, or mis- 
 behavior in office, on conviction in a court of law, or by the Gover- 
 nor upon the address of the General Assembly, two-thirds of the 
 members of each house concurring in such address ; and the salary 
 of each of the Judges of the Court of Appeals shall be two thousand 
 five hundred dollars annually, and shall not be increased or dim- 
 inished during their continuance in office ; and no fees or perquisites 
 of any kind, shall be allowed by law to any of the said judges. 
 
 5. No Judge of the Court of Appeals shall sit in any case wherein 
 he may be interested, or where either of the parties may be con- 
 nected with him by affinity or consanguinity within such degrees as 
 may be prescribed by law, or when 1^ shall have been of counsel 
 in said case ; when the Court of Appeals, or any of its members 
 shall be thus disqualified to hear and determine any case or cases in 
 said court, so that by reason thereof no judgment can be rendered 
 in said court, the same shall be certified to the Governor of the 
 State, who shall immediately commission the requisite number of 
 persons learned in .the law for the trial and determination of said 
 case or cases. 
 
 6. All Judges of the Court of Appeals, of the Circuit Courts, and 
 of the Courts for the city of Baltimore, shall, by virtue of their 
 offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. 
 
 7. All public commissions and grants. shall run thus : "The State 
 of Maryland," &c., and shall be signed by the Governor, with the 
 seal of the State annexed ; all writs and process shall run in the 
 same style, and be tested, sealed and signed as usual ; and all in- 
 dictments shall conclude "against the peace, government and dignity 
 of the State." 
 
 8. The State shall be divided into eight Judicial Circuits, in man- 
 ner and form following, to wit: St. Mary's, Charles and Prince 
 George's counties shall be the first ; Anne Arundel, Howard, Cal- 
 vert and Montgomery counties shall be the second ; Frederick and 
 Carroll counties shall be the third ; Washington and Allegany coun- 
 ties shall be the fourth ; Baltimore city shall be the fifth ; Baltimore, 
 Harford and Cecil counties shall be the sixth ; Kent, Queen Aime's, 
 Talbot and Caroline counties shall be the seventh ; and Dorchester, 
 Somerset and Worcester counties shall be the eighth ; and there shall 
 be elected, as hereinafter directed, for each of the said Judicial Cir- 
 cuits, except the fifth, one person from among those learned in the 
 
MARYLAND. 239 
 
 law, having been admitted to practice in this State, and who shall 
 have been a citizen of this State at least five years, and above the 
 age of thirty years at the time of his election, and a resident of the 
 Judicial Circuit to be Judge thereof; the said Judges shall be styled 
 Circuit Judges, and shall respectively hold a term of their courts at 
 least twice in each year, or oftener if required by law, in each 
 county composing their respective circuits ; and the said courts shall 
 be called Circuit Courts for the county in which they may be held, 
 and shall have and exercise in the several counties of this State, all 
 the power, authority and jurisdiction which the county courts of this 
 State now have and exercise, or which may hereafter be prescribed 
 by law, and the said Judges in their respective circuits, shall have 
 . and exercise all the power, authority and jurisdiction of the present 
 Court of Chancery of Maryland ; provided, nevertheless, that Bal- 
 timore county court may hold its sittings within the limits of the 
 city of Baltimore, until provision shall be made by law for the loca- 
 tion of a county seat within the limits of the said county proper, 
 and the erection of a court-house and all other appropriate buildings, 
 for the convenient administration of justice in said court. 
 
 9. The Judges of the several judicial circuits shall be citizens of 
 the United States, and shall have resided five years in this State, 
 and two years in the judicial circuit for which they may be respec- 
 tively elected, next before the time of their election, and shall reside 
 therein while they continue to act as Judges; they shall be taken 
 from among those who, having the other qualifications herein 'pre- 
 scribed, are most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound 
 legal knowledge, and shall be elected by the qualified voters of the 
 said circuits, and shall hold their offices for the term of ten years, 
 removable for misbehavior,. on conviction in a court of law or by 
 the Governor, upon the address of the General Assembly, provided 
 that two-lhirds of the members of each house shall concur in such 
 address, and the said Judges shall each receive a salary of two 
 thousand dollars a-year, and the same shall not be increased or 
 diminished during the time of their continuance in office ; and no 
 judge of any court in this State, shall receive any perquisite, fee, 
 commission or reward, in addition thereto, for the performance of 
 any judicial duty. 
 
 10. There shall be established for the city of Baltimore one court 
 of law, to be styled " the Court of Common Pleas," which shall have 
 civil jurisdiction in all suits where the debt or damage claimed shall 
 be over one hundred dollars, and shall not exceed five hundred dol- 
 lars ; and shall, also, have jurisdiction in all cases of appeal from 
 the judgment of justices of the peace in the said city, and shall have 
 jurisdiction in all applications for the benefit of the insolvent laws 
 
 of this State, and the supervision and control of the trustees thereof. 
 
 11. There shall also be established, for the city of Baltimore, 
 another court of law, to be styled the Superior Court of Baltimore 
 city, which shall have jurisdiction over all suits where the debt or 
 
240 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 damage claimed shall exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, and 
 in case any plaintiff or plaintiffs shall recover less than the sum or 
 value of five hundred dollars, he or they shall be allowed or 
 adjudged to pay costs in the discretion of the court. The said court 
 shall also have jurisdiction as a court of equity within the limits of 
 the said city, and in all other civil cases which have not been here- 
 tofore assigned to the Court of Common Pleas, 
 
 12. Each of the said two courts shall consist of one Judged, who 
 shall be elected by the legal and qualified voters of the said city, 
 and shall hold his office for the term of ten years, subject to the pro- 
 visions of this Constitution, with regard to the election and qualifi- 
 cation of Judges and their removal from office, and the salary of 
 each of the said Judges shall be twenty -five hundred dollars a-year ; 
 and the Legislature shall, whenever it may think the same proper 
 and expedient, provide, by law, another court for the city of Bal- 
 timore, to consist of one Judge to be elected by the qualified voters 
 of the said city, who shall be subject to the same constitutional pro- 
 visions, hold his office for the same term of years, and receive the 
 same compensation as the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of 
 the said city, and the said court shall have such jurisdiction and 
 powers as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 13. There shall also be a criminal court for the city of Baltimore, 
 to be styled the Criminal Court of Baltimore, which shall consist of 
 one Judge, who shall also be- elected by the legal and qualified 
 voters of the said city, and who shall have and exercise all the 
 jurisdiction now exercised by Baltimore city court, and the said 
 Judge shall receive a salary of two thousand dollars a-year and 
 shall be subject to the provisions of this Constitution with regard to 
 the election and qualifications of Judges, term of office, and removal 
 therefrom. 
 
 14. There shall be in each county a clerk of the Circuit Court, who 
 shall be elected by the qualified voters of each county, and the per- 
 son receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared and 
 returned duly elected clerk of said Circuit Court for the said county, 
 and shall hold his office for the term of six years from the time of 
 his election, and until a new election is held; shall be re-eligible 
 thereto, and subject to removal for wilful neglect of duty, or other 
 misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a court of law. There shall 
 also be a clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in Baltimore city, 
 and a clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore city, and there shall 
 also be a clerk of the Criminal Court of Baltimore city, and each of 
 said clerks shall be- elected as aforesaid by the qualified voters of 
 the city of Baltimore, and shall hold his office for six years from the 
 time of his election, and until a new election is held, and be re- 
 eligible thereto, subject, in like manner, to be removed for wilful 
 neglect of duty or other misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a 
 court of law. In case of a vacancy in the office of a clerk, the Judge 
 or Judges of the court, of which he was clerk, shall have the power 
 
MARYLAND. 241 
 
 to appoint a clerk until the general election of delegates held next 
 thereafter, when a clerk shall be elected to fill such vacancy. 
 
 15. The clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Baltimore city, 
 shall have authority to issue within the said city, all marriage and 
 other licenses required by law, subject to such provisions as the 
 Legislature shall hereafter prescribe ; and the clerk of the Superior 
 Court for said city, shall have the custody of all deeds, conveyances, 
 and other papers now remaining in the office of the clerk of Balti- 
 more county court, and shall hereafter receive and record all deeds, 
 conveyances, and other papers which are required by law to be re- 
 corded in said city. He shall also have the custody of all other 
 papers connected with the proceedings on the law or equity side of 
 Baltimore county court, and of the dockets thereof, so far as the same 
 have relation to Baltimore city. 
 
 16. That the clerk of the Court of Appeals, and the clerks of the 
 Circuit Courts in the several counties, shall respectively perform all 
 the duties and be entitled to the fees which appertain to the offices 
 of the clerks of Court of Appeals for the Eastern and Western 
 Shores and of the clerks of County Courts, and the clerks of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, the Superior Court, and the Criminal Court 
 for Baltimore city, shall perform all the duties appertaining to their 
 respective offices, and heretofore vested in the clerks of Baltimore 
 County County Court and Baltimore City Court respectively, and 
 be entitled to all the fees now allowed by law; and all laws relat- 
 ing to the clerks of Court of Appeal, clerks of the several County 
 Courts and Baltimore City Court, shall be applicable to the clerks 
 respectively of the clerk of Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts, the 
 Court of Common Pleas, the Superior Court, and the Criminal 
 Court of Baltimore city, until otherwise provided by law ; and the 
 said clerks, when duly elected and qualified according to law, shall 
 have the charge and custody of the records and other papers belong- 
 ing to their respective offices. 
 
 17. The qualified voters of the city of Baltimore, and of the 
 several counties of the State, shall, on the first Wednesday of No- 
 vember, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and on the same day of the 
 same month ip. every fourth year forever thereafter, elect three men 
 to be Judges of the Orphans' Court of said city and counties respec- 
 tively, who shall be citizens of the State of Maryland, and citizens 
 of the city or county for which they may be severally elected at the 
 time of their election. They shall have all the powers now vested 
 in the Orphans' Courts of this State, subject to such changes therein 
 as the Legislature may prescribe, and each of said Judges shall be 
 paid at a per diem rate, for the time they are in session, to be fixed 
 by the Legislature, and paid by the said counties and city re- 
 spectively. 
 
 18. There shall be a Register of Wills in each county of the State, 
 and in the city of Baltimore, to be elected. by the legal and qualified 
 voters of said counties and city respectively, who shall hold his 
 
242 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 office for six years from the time of his election, and until a new 
 election shall take place, and be re-eligible thereto, subject to be re- 
 moved for wilful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, in the 
 same manner that the clerks of the county courts are removable. 
 In the event of any vacancy in the office of Register of Wills, said 
 vacancy shall be filled by the Judges of the Orphans' Court until 
 the general election next thereafter for Delegates to the General 
 Assembly, when a Register shall be elected to fill such vacancy. 
 
 19. The Legislature at its first session after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, shall fix the number of Justices of the Peace and Con- 
 stables for each ward of the city of Baltimore, and for each election 
 district in the several counties, who shall be elected by the legal 
 and qualified voters thereof respectively, at the next general elec- 
 tion for delegates thereafter, and shall hold their offices for two 
 years from the time of their election, and until their successors in 
 office are elected and qualified ; and the Legislature may, from time 
 to time, increase or diminish the number of Justices of the Peace 
 and Constables to be elected in the several wards and election dis- 
 ti'icts, as the wants and interests of the people may require. They 
 shall be, by virtue of their offices, conservators of the peace in the 
 said counties and city respectively, and shall have such duties and 
 compensation as now exist, or may be provided for by law. In the 
 event of a vacancy in the office of a ttustice of the Peace, the Go- 
 vernor shall appoint a person to serve as Justice of the Peace, until 
 the next regular election of said officers, and in case of a vacancy in 
 the office of Constable, the County Commissioners of the county, in 
 which a vacancy may occur, or the Mayor and City Council of Balti- 
 more, as the case may be, shall appoint a person to serve as Con- 
 stable until the next regular election thereafter for said officers. An 
 appeal shall lie in all civil cases from the judgment of a Justice of 
 the Peace to the Circuit Court, or to the Court of Common Pleas 
 of Baltimore city, as the case may be, and on all such appeals, 
 either party shall be entitled to a trial by jury, according to the 
 laws now existing, or which may be hereafter enacted. And the 
 Mayor and City Council may provide, by ordinance, from time to 
 time, for the creation and government of such temporary additional 
 police, as they may deem necessary to preserve the public peace. 
 
 20. There shall be elected in each county and in the city of Balti- 
 more, every second year two persons for the office of sheriff" for each 
 county, and two for the said city, the one of whom having the 
 highest number of votes of the qualified voters of said county or 
 city, or if both have an equal number, either of them, at the discre- 
 tion of the Governor, to be commissioned by the Governor for the 
 said office, and, having -served for two years, such person shall be 
 ineligible for the two years next succeeding ; i)ond with security, to 
 be taken every year, and no sheriff" shall be qualified to act before 
 the same be given. In case of death, refusal, disqualification or re- 
 moval out of the county, before the expiration of the said two years, 
 
MARYLAND. a24:2 
 
 the other person chosen as aforesaid, shall be commissioned by the 
 Grovernor to execute the said office for the residue of the said two 
 years, the said person giving bond with security as aforesaid. No 
 person shall be eligible to the office of sheriff but a resident of such 
 county or city respectively, who shall have been a citizen of this 
 State at least five years preceding his election, and above the age of 
 twenty-one years. The two candidates, properly qualified, having 
 the highest number of legal ballots, shall be declared duly elected 
 for the office of sheriff for such county or city, and returned to the 
 Governor, with a certificate of the number of ballots for each of 
 them. 
 
 21. Coroners, Elisors and Notaries Public shall be appointed for 
 each county and the city of Baltimore, in the manner now prescribed 
 by law, or in such other manner as the General Assembly may 
 hereafter direct. 
 
 22. No Judge shall sit in any case wherein he may be interested, 
 or where either of the parties may be connected with him by affinity 
 or consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by law, 
 or where he shall have been of counsel in the case ; and whenever 
 any of the judges of the circuit courts, or of the courts for Baltimore 
 city, shall be thus disqualified, or whenever, by reason of sickness, 
 or any other cause, the said judges, or any of them, may be 'unable 
 to sit in any cause, the parties may, by consent, appoint a proper 
 person to try the said cause, or the judges, or any of them, shall do 
 so when directed by law. 
 
 23. The present Chancellor and the Register in Chancery, and, in 
 the event of any vacancy in their respective offices, their successors 
 in office respectively, who are to be appointed as at present, by the 
 Governor and Senate, shall continue in office, with the powers and 
 compensation as at present established, until the expiration of two 
 years after the adoption of this Constitution by the people, and until 
 the end of the session of the Legislature next thereafter, after which 
 the said offices of Chancellor and Register shall be abolished. The 
 Legislature shall, in the mean time, provide by law for the record- 
 ing, safe-keeping, or other disposition, of the records, decrees, and 
 other proceedings of the Court of Chancery, and for the copying and 
 attestation thereof, and for the custody and use of the Great Seal of 
 the State, when required, after the expiration of the said two years, 
 and for transmitting to the said counties, and to the city of Balti- 
 more, all the cases and proceedings in said Court then undisposed of 
 and unfinished, in such manner, and under such regulations as may 
 be deemed necessary and proper : Provided, that no new business 
 shall originate in the said Court, nor shall any cause be removed to 
 the same from any other court, from and after the ratification of 
 this Constitution. 
 
 24. The first election of Judges, Clerks, Registers of Wills, and 
 all other officers, whose election by the people is provided for in 
 this article of the Constitution, except justices of the peace and con- 
 
2426 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 stables, shall take place throughout the State on the first Wednes- 
 day of November next after the ratification of this Constitution by 
 the people. 
 
 25. In case of the death, resignation, removal, or other disqualifi- 
 cation of a judge of any of the courts of law, the Governor, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall thereupon appoint a 
 person, duly qualified, to fill said office until the next general elec- 
 tion for delegates thereafter; at which time an election shall be held 
 as hereinbefore prescribed, for a judge, who shall hold the said office 
 for ten years, according to the provisions of this Constitution. 
 
 26. In case of the death, resignation, removal, or other disqualifi- 
 cation of the judge of an Orphans' Court, the vacancy shall be filled 
 by the appointment of the Governor, by and with, the advice and 
 consent of the Senate. 
 
 27. Whenever lands lie partly in one county, and partly in 
 another, or partly in a county and partly in the City of Baltimore, 
 or whenever persons proper to be made defendants to proceedings 
 in Chancery, reside some in one county and some in another, that 
 court shall have jurisdiction in which proceedings shall have been 
 first commenced, subject to such rules, regulations and alterations as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 28. In all suits or actions at law, issues from the Orphans' Court 
 or from any court sitting in equity, in petitions for freedom, and in 
 all presentments and indictments now pending, or which may be 
 pending at the time of the adoption of this Constitution by the people, 
 or which may be hereafter instituted in any of the courts of law of 
 this State, having jurisdiction thereof, the judge or judges thereof, 
 upon suggestion in writing, if made by the State's Attorney, or the 
 prosecutor for the State, or upon suggestion in writing, supported 
 by affidavit, made by any of the parties thereto, or other proper 
 evidence, that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in the court 
 where such suit or action at law, issues or petitions, or presentment 
 and indictment is depending, shall order and direct the record of 
 proceedings in such^suit or action, issues or petitions, presentment 
 or indictment, to be transmitted to the court of any adjoining 
 county ; provided, that the removal in all civil causes be confined 
 to an adjoining county within the judicial circuit, except as to the 
 city of Baltimore, where the removal may be to an adjoining 
 county, for trial, which court shall hear and determine the same 
 in like maimer as if such suit or action, issues or petitions, pre- 
 sentment or indictment, had been originally instituted therein; 
 and provided also, that such suggestion shall be made as afore- 
 said, before or during the term in which the issue or issues may 
 be joined in said suit or action, issues or petition, presentment 
 or indictment, and that such further remedy in the premises may 
 be provided by law, as the Legislature shall from time to time 
 direct and enact. 
 
 29. All Election of judges, and other officers provided for by 
 
MARYLAND. c242 
 
 this Constitution, shall be certified, and the returns made by the 
 clerks of the respective counties to the Governor, who shall issue 
 commissions to the different persons for the offices to which they 
 shall have been respectively elected; and in all such elections, 
 the person having the greatest number of votes, shall be de- 
 clared to be elected. 
 
 30. If in any case of election for Judges, Clerks of the Courts 
 of Law and Registers of Wills, the opposing candidates shall 
 have an equal number of votes, it shall be the duty of the Go- 
 vernor to' order a new election ; and in case of any contested elec- 
 tion, the Governor shall send the returns to the House of Delegates, 
 who shall judge of the election and qualification of the candidates at 
 such election. 
 
 31. Every person of good moral character, being a voter, shall 
 be admitted to practice law in all the courts of law in this State, in 
 his own case. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.—The State's Attorneys. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be an attorney for the State in each county 
 and the. city of Baltimore, to be styled "The State's Attorney," 
 who shall be elected by the voters thereof, respectively, on the first 
 Wednesday of November next, and on the same day every fourth 
 year thereafter, and hold his office for four years from the first Mon- 
 day of January next ensuing his election, and until his successor 
 shall be elected and qualified, and shall be re-eligible thereto, and 
 be subject to removal therefrom for incompetency, wilful neglect of 
 duty or misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a court of law. 
 
 2. All elections for the State's Attorney shall be certified to, and 
 returns made thereof, by the clerks of the said counties and city to 
 the Judges thereof having criminal jurisdiction, respectively, whose 
 duty it shall be to decide upon the elections and qualifications of the 
 persons returned, and in case of a tie between two or more persons, 
 to designate which of said persons shall qualify as State's Attorney, 
 and to administer the oaths of office to the persons elected. 
 
 3. The State's Attorney shall perform such duties and receive 
 such fees and commissions as are now prescribed by law for the 
 Attorney General and his deputies, and such other duties, fees and 
 commissions as may hereafter be prescribed by law, and if any 
 State's Attorney shall receive any other fee or reward than such as 
 is, or may be allowed by law, he shall, on conviction thereof, be re- 
 moved from office. 
 
 4. No person shall be eligible to the office of State's Attorney 
 who has not been admitted to practice the law in this State, and who 
 has not resided for at least one year in the county or city in which 
 he may be elected. 
 
 5. In case of vacancy in the office of State's Attorney, or of his 
 removal from the county or city in which he shall have been elected, 
 or on his conviction as herein before specified, the said vacancy 
 
24:2d CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 shall be filled by the Judge of the county or city, respectively, 
 having criminal jurisdiction in which said vacancy shall occur, until 
 the election and qualification of his successor ; at which election said 
 vacancy shall be filled by the voters of the said county or city, for 
 the residue of the term thus made vacant. 
 
 6. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the Court of Appeals, and 
 the Commissioner of the Land Office, respectively, whenever a case 
 shall be brought into said court or office, in which the State is a 
 party, or has an interest, immediately to notify the Governor 
 thereof. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. — Treasury Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be a Treasury Department, consisting of a 
 Comptroller, chosen by the qualified electors of the State, at each 
 election of members of the House of Delegates, who shall receive 
 an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars ; and of a 
 treasurer, to be appointed by the two Houses of the Legislature, at 
 each session thereof, on joint ballot, who shall also receive an annual 
 salary of two thousand five hundred dollars ; and neither of the said 
 officers shall be allowed or receive any fees, commissions, or per- 
 quisites of any kind, in addition to his salary, for the performance 
 of any duty or service whatever. In case of a vacancy in either of 
 the offices, by death or otherwise, the Governor, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the Senate, shall fill such vacancy by appoint- 
 ment, to continue until another election by the people, or a choice 
 by the Legislature, as the case may be, and the qualification of the 
 successor. The Comptroller and the Treasurer shall keep their 
 offices at the seat of Government, and shall take such oath, and enter 
 into such bonds, for the faithfiil discharge of their duties, as the 
 Legislature shall prescribe. 
 
 2. The Comptroller shall have the general superintendence of the 
 fiscal affairs of the State : he shall digest and prepare plans for the 
 improvement and management of the revenue, and for the support 
 of the public credit ; prepare and report estimates of the revenue 
 and expenditure of the State : superintend and enforce the collection 
 of all taxes and revenue ; adjust, settle and preserve all public ac- 
 counts ; decide on the forms of keeping and stating accounts; grant, 
 under regulations prescribed by law, all warrants for moneys to be 
 paid out of the Treasury, in pursuance of appropriations by law ; 
 prescribe the formalities of the transfer of stock or other evidences 
 of the State debt ; and countersign the same, without which such 
 evidences shall not be valid ; he shall make full reports of all his 
 proceedings, and of the state of the Treasury Department within 
 ten days after the commencement of each session of the Legislature, 
 and perform such other duties as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. The Treasurer shall receive and keep the moneys of the State, 
 and disburse the same upon warrants drawn by the Comptroller, 
 "and not otherwise ; he shall take receipts for all moneys paid by 
 
MARYLAND. € 242 
 
 him, and all receipts for moneys received by him shall be endorsed 
 upon warrants signed by the Comptroller, without which warrant, 
 so signed, no acknowledgment of money received into the Treasury 
 shall be valid ; and upon warrants issued by the Comptroller he 
 shall make arrangements for the payment of the interest of the pub- 
 lic debt, and for the purchase thereof, on account of the sinking fund. 
 Every bond, certificate, or other evidence of the debt of the State, 
 shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the Comp- 
 troller, and no new certificate or other evidence intended to replace 
 another shall be issued until the old one shall be delivered to the 
 Treasurer, and authority executed in due form for the transfer of the 
 » same shall be filed in his office, and the transfer accordingly made 
 on the books thereof, and the certificate or other evidence cancelled ; 
 but the Legislature may make provision for the loss of certificates 
 or other evidence of the debt. 
 
 4. The Treasurer shall render his accounts quarterly to the Comp- 
 troller ; and on the third day of each session of the Legislature he 
 shall submit to the Senate and House of Delegates fair and accurate 
 copies of all accounts by him from time to time rendered and settled 
 with the Comptroller. He shall at all times submit to the Comp- 
 troller, the inspection of the moneys in his hands, and perform all 
 other duties that shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE Nil.— Su7idry Officers. 
 
 Sec. 1. At the first general election of Delegates to the General 
 Assembly, after the adoption of this Constitution, four Commis- 
 sioners shall be elected as hereinafter provided, who shall be styled 
 " Commissioners of Public Works," and who shall exercise a dili- 
 gent and faithful supervision of all public works, in which the State 
 may be interested as stockholder or creditor, and shall represent the 
 State in all meetings of the stockholders, and shall appoint the 
 Directors in every Rail Road or Canal Company, in which the State 
 has the constitutional power to appoint Directors. It shall also be 
 the duty of the Commissioners of Public Works to review, from 
 time to time, the rate of tolls adopted by any company ; use all 
 legal powers which they may possess to obtain the establish- 
 ment of rates of tolls, which may prevent an injurious competi- 
 tion with each other, to the detriment of the interests of the State ; 
 and so to adjust them as to promote the agriculture of the State. 
 It shall also be the duty of the said Commissioners of Public 
 Works to keep a journal of their proceedings ; and at each regular 
 session of the Legislature to make to it a report, and to recom- 
 mend such legislation as they shall deem necessary and requisite 
 to promote or protect the interest of the State in the Public Works ; 
 and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law. 
 They shall each receive such salary as may be allowed by law, 
 which shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance 
 in office. 
 
242/ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. For the election of the Commissioners of Public Works, the 
 State shall be divided into four districts. The counties of Allegany, 
 Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore and Harford, shall con- 
 stitute the first district. The counties of Montgomery, Howard, 
 Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary's, Charles and Prince George's, 
 shall constitute the second district. Baltimore city shall constitute 
 the third district. The counties of Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, Tal- 
 bot, Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset, and Worcester, shall constitute 
 the fourth district. One commissioner shall be elected in each dis- 
 trict, who shall have been a resident thereof at least five years next 
 preceding his election. 
 
 3. The said Commissioners shall be elected by the qualified voters 
 of their districts respectively ; the returns of their election shall be 
 certified to the Governor, who shall, by proclamation, declare the 
 result of the election. Two of the said commissioners, first elected, 
 shall hold their office for four years, and the other two for two years 
 from the first Monday of December next succeeding their election. 
 And at the first meeting after their election, or as soon thereafter as 
 practicable, they shall determine, by lot, who of their number shall 
 hold their offices for four and two years respectively ; and thereafter 
 there shall be elected as aforesaid, at each general election of Dele- 
 gates, two commissioners for the term of four years, to be taken 
 from the districts respectively wherein the commissioners resided at 
 the time of their election, whose term of service has expired. And 
 in case of a vacancy in the office of either of said commissioners, by 
 death, resignation, or otherwise, the Governor, by and with the ad- 
 vice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint some qualified person 
 from the same district, to serve until the next general election of 
 Delegates, when an election shall be held, as aforesaid, for a com- 
 missioner for the residue of said term. And in case of an equal 
 division in the Board of Commissioners, on any subject committed 
 to their charge, the Treasurer of the State shall have power, and 
 shall be called on to decide the same. And in the event of a tie 
 vote for any two of the candidates for the office of commissioner in 
 the same district, it shall be the duty of the Governor to commission 
 one or the other of the candidates having the equal number of votes. 
 And if the Governor doubt the legality or result of any election 
 held for said commissioners, it shall be his duty to send the returns 
 of such election to the House of Delegates, who shall judge of the 
 election and qualification of the candidates at such election. 
 
 4. During the continuance of the lottery system in this State, 
 there shall be elected by the legal and qualified voters of the State, 
 at every general election for delegates to the General Assembly, one 
 Commissioner of Lotteries, who shall hold his office for two years, 
 and till the qualification of his successor, and shall be re-eligible. 
 His whole compensation shall be paid out of the fund raised for the 
 Maryland Consolidated Lottery grants, and shall not exceed the 
 amount of commissions received by one of the present Lottery Com- 
 
MARYLAND. g 242 
 
 missioners, out of said fund ; and he shall give such bond, for the 
 faithful performance of his duties as is now given by the Lottery 
 Commissioners. The term of the Commisstoner, who shall be 
 elected at the general election for Delegates next succeeding the 
 adoption of this Constitution, shall commence at the expiiation of 
 the commissTons of the present Lottery Commissioners, and conti- 
 nue for two years, and till the qualification of his successor. 
 
 5. From and after the first day of April, eighteen hundred and 
 fifty-nine, no lottery scheme shall be drawn, for any purpose what- 
 ever, nor shall any lottery ticket be sold in this State ; and it shall 
 be the duty of the several commissioners elected under this Consti- 
 tution, to make such contract or contracts as will extinguish all ex- 
 isting lottery grants before the said first day of April, eighteen hun- 
 dred and fifty-nine, and also secure to the State a clear yearly re- 
 venue equal to the average amount derived by the State fiom the 
 system for the last five years; but ho such contract or contracts 
 shall be valid until approved by the Treasurer and Comptroller. 
 
 6. There shall be a Commissioner of the Land Office elected by 
 the qualified voters of the State, at the first general election of De- 
 legates to the Assembly after the ratification of this. Constitution, 
 who shall hold his office for the term of six years from the first day 
 of January next after his election. The returns of said election 
 shall be made to the Governor, and in the event of a tie between 
 any two or more candidates, the Governor shall direct a new elec- 
 tion to be held by writs to the several sheriffs, who shall hold said 
 election after at least twenty days notice, exclusive of the day of 
 election. The said Commissioner •shall sit as judge of the Land 
 Office, and receive therefore the sum of two hundred dollars per 
 annum, to be paid out of the State Treasury. He shall also per- 
 form the duties of the Register of the Land Office, and be entitled 
 to receive therefore the fees How chargeable in said office ; and he 
 shall also perform the duties of Examiner General, and be entitled 
 to receive therefore the fees now chargeable by said officer. The 
 office of Register of the Land Office and Examiner General shall be 
 abolished from and after the election and qualification of the Com- 
 missioner of the Land Office. 
 
 7 The State Librarian shall be elected by the joint vote of the 
 two branches of the Legislature, for two years, and until his suc- 
 cessor shall be elected and qualified. His salary shall be one thou- 
 sand dollars per annum. He shall perform such duties as are now 
 or may hereafter be prescribed by law. 
 
 8. The county authorities now known as Levy Courts or County 
 Commissioners, shall hereafter be styled " County Commissioners," 
 and shall be elected by general ticket, and not by districts, by the 
 voters of the several counties, on the first Wednesday in November, 
 one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and on the same day in 
 every second year thereafter. Said Commissioners shall exercise 
 such powers and duties only as the Legislature may from time to 
 
242^ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 time prescribe; but such powers and duties, and the tenure of 
 office, shall be uniform throughout the State, and the Legislature 
 shall, at or before its second, regular session, after the adoption of 
 this Constitution, pass such laws as may be necessary for determin- 
 ing the number for each county, and ascertaining and defining the 
 powers, duties, and tenure of office of said Commissioners ; and until 
 the passage of such laws the Commissioners elected under this Con- 
 stitution shall have and exercise all the powers and duties in their 
 respective counties, now exercised by the county authorities under 
 the laws of the State. 
 
 9. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the election 
 of Road Supervisors, in the several counties, by the voters of the 
 election districts respectively, and may provide by law for the elec- 
 tion or appointment of such other county officers as may be re- 
 quired, and are not herein provided for, and prescribe their powers 
 and duties ; but the tenure of office, their powers and duties, and 
 mode of appointment, shall be uniform throughout the State. 
 
 10. The qualified voters of each county, and the city of Baltimore, 
 shall, at the first election of delegates after the adoption of this Con- 
 stitution, and every two years thereafter, elect a Surveyor for the 
 counties, and the city of Baltimore respectively, whose duties and 
 compensation shall be the same as are now prescribed by law for 
 the county and city surveyors respectively, or as may hereafter be 
 prescribed by law. The term of office of said county and city sur- 
 veyors respectively, shall commence on the first Monday of January 
 next succeeding their election. And vacancies in said office of sur- 
 veyors, by death, resignation, or removal from their respective 
 counties or city, shall be filled by the Commissioners of the coun- 
 ties, or Mayor and City Council of Baltimore respectively. 
 
 11. The qualified voters of Worcester county shall, at the first 
 election of delegates after the adoption of this Constitution, and 
 every two years thereafter, elect a Wreck-Master for the said county, 
 whose duties and compensation shall be the same as are now pres- 
 cribed or may be hereafter prescribed by law. The term of office 
 of said Wreck-Master shall commence on the first Monday of 
 January next succeeding his election ; and a vacancy in said office, 
 by death, resignation, or removal from the county, shall be filled by 
 the county commissioners of said county, for the residue of the 
 term thus made vacant. 
 
 AETICLE Ym.—New Counties. 
 
 Sec. 1. That part of Anne Arundel county called Howard Dis- 
 trict, is hereby erected into a new county, to be called Howard 
 county, the inhabitants whereof shall have, hold and enjoy all such 
 rights and privileges as are held and enjoyed by the inhabitants of 
 the other counties in this State ; and its civil and municipal officers, 
 at the time of the ratification of this Constitution, shall continue in 
 office until their successors shall have been elected or appointed, 
 
MARYLAND. 1 242 
 
 and shall have qualified as such ; and all rights, powers and obliga- 
 tions incident to Howard District of Anne Arundel county shall 
 attach to Howard county. 
 
 2. When that part of Allegany county, lying south and west of a 
 line beginning at the summit of Big Back Bone or Savage Moun- 
 tain, where that mountain is crossed by Mason and Dixon's line, 
 and running thence by a straight line, to the middle of Savage river 
 where it empties into the Potomac river, thence by a straight line, 
 to the nearest point or boundary of the State of Virginia ; then with 
 said boundary to the Fairfax stone, shall contain a population of ten 
 thousand, and the majority of electors thereof shall desire to separate 
 and form a new county, and make known their desire by petition to 
 the Legislature, the Legislature shall direct at the next succeeding 
 election, that the Judges shall open a book at each election district 
 in said part of Allegany county, and have recorded therein the vote 
 of each elector " For or Against" a new county. In case the ma- 
 jority are in favor, then said part of Allegany county to be de- 
 clared an independent county, and the inhabitants whereof shall have, 
 and enjoy all such rights and privileges as are held and enjoyed by 
 the inhabitants of the other counties in this State. Provided, that 
 the whole representation in the General Assembly of the county, 
 when divided, shall not exceed the present delegation of Allegany 
 county, allowed under this Constitution until after the next census. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. L It shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass laws for 
 the enrolment of the Militia ; to provide for districting the State 
 into Divisions, Brigades, Battalions, Regiments, and Companies, 
 and to pass laws for the effectual encouragement of volunteer corps 
 by some mode which n?iay induce the formation and continuance of 
 at least one volunteer company in every county and division in the 
 city of Baltimore. The company, battalion, and regimental officers 
 (staff officers excepted) shall be elected by the persons composing 
 their several companies, battalions and regiments. 
 
 2. The Adjutant General shall be appointed by the Governor, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He shall hold his 
 office for the term of six years, and receive the same salary as here- 
 tofore, until changed by the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE X. — Miscellaneous. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every officer of this State, the Governor excepted, the 
 entire amount of whose pay or compensation received for the dis- 
 charge of his official duties shall exceed the yearly sum of three 
 thousand dollars, shall keep a book, in which shall be entered every 
 sum or sums of money received by him or on his account as a pay- 
 ment or compensation for his performance of official duties, a copy 
 of which entries in said book, verified by the oath of the officer by 
 whom it is directed to be kept, shall be returned yearly to the Trea- 
 
242^* CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 surer of the State for his inspection and that of the General As- 
 sembly of Maryland ; and each of ^uch officers, when the amount 
 received by him for the year shall exceed the sum of three thousand 
 dollars, shall yearly pay over to the treasurer the amount of such 
 excess by him received, subject to such disposition thereof as the 
 Legislature may deem just and equitable. And any such officer 
 failing to comply with the said requisition, shall be deemed to have 
 vacated his office, and be subject to suit by the State for the amount 
 that ought to have been paid into the treasury. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall have power to pass all such laws as may 
 be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers 
 vested by this Constitution, in any department or office of the Go- 
 vernment, and the duties imposed upon them thereby. 
 
 3. If in any election directed by this Constitution any two or more 
 candidates shall have the highest and an equal number of votes, a 
 new election shall be ordered, unless in cases specially provided for 
 by the Constitution. 
 
 4. The trial by jury of all issues of fact in civil proceedings, in 
 the several courts of law in this State, where the amount in con- 
 troversy exceeds the sum of five dollars, shall be inviolably pre- 
 served. 
 
 5. In the trial of all criminal cases the jury shall be the judges of 
 law as well as fact. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall have power to regulate by law all mat- 
 ters which relate to the judges, time, place and manner of holding 
 elections in this State, and of making returns thereof, provided that 
 the tenure and term of office, and the day of election shall not be 
 affected thereby. 
 
 7. All rights vested, and all liabilities incurred shall remain as if 
 this Constitution had not been adopted. 
 
 8. The Governor and all officers, civil and military, now holding 
 commissions under this State shall continue to hold and exercise 
 their offices, according to their present tenure, until they shall be 
 superseded, pursuant to the provisions of this Constitution, and until 
 their successors be duly qualified. 
 
 9. The sheriffs of the several counties of this State, and of the 
 city of Baltimore, shall give notice of the several elections autho- 
 rized by this Constitution, in the manner prescribed by existing laws 
 for elections under the present Constitution. 
 
 10. This Constitution, if adopted by a majority of the legal votes 
 cast on the first Wednesday of June next, shall go into operation on 
 the fourth day of July next, and on and after said day shall super- 
 sede the present Constitution of this State. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. — Amendment of the Constitution. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Legislature, at its first session imme- 
 diately succeeding the returns of every census of the United States, 
 hereafter taken, to pass a law for ascertaining, at the next general 
 
MARYLAND. ^242 
 
 election of Delegates, the sense of the people of Maryland in regard 
 to the calling a Convention for altering the Constitution ; and in 
 case the majority of votes cast at said election shall be in favor of 
 .calling a Convention, the Legislature shall provide for assembling 
 such Convention, and electing Delegates thereto at the earliest con- 
 venient day; and the Delegates to the said Convention shall be 
 elected by the several counties of the State and the city of Balti- 
 more, in proportion to their representation respectively in the 
 Senate and House of Delegates, at the time when said Convention 
 may be called. 
 
VIRGINIA. 
 
 Of the original thirteen colonies, this was the largest. It was named Vir- 
 ginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, in honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Clueen of Eng- 
 land, who had granted him the country. He attempted to settle it, but failed. A 
 grant was made of it to the London Company as early as 1606. Soon after, 
 they sent out three ships with one hundred and five persons to begin a settle- 
 ment. They located themselves at Jamestown, on the James river, in 1607. 
 These adventurers sufiered much for want of provisions, and in four months 
 from the time of their landing, fifty of their little company had perished. In 
 1608, 120 new settlers arrived. In 1609, the London Company obtained a new 
 charter, with greater power and privileges. When Charles 11. was in exile, Va. 
 invited him to become her King, which was prevented by his returning to Eng- 
 land ; hence Va. was called the old dominion. In 1619, the first legislative body 
 ever held in America, met at Jamestown. As many had become dissatisfied, 
 and contemplated returning to England, the London Company, in 1620, sent 
 orer more than ninety girls to be disposed of as wives among the young plant- 
 ers. At first the price was 100 lbs. of tobacco each, but the demand was so 
 great, that it was increased to 160 lbs. The infant colony sufiered much from 
 the Indians, and for want of provisions ; so that, in 1624, out of about 9000 
 persons who had come over, only 1800 were living. 
 
 In 1624 King James dissolved the London Company, assumed the govern- 
 ment, and appointed a Governor. The colonists submitted reluctantly to this 
 till 1636, when they took the government into their own hands, sending back 
 to England the Governor appointed by the King. This State adopted its first 
 Constitution in 1776, the second in 1830, the present one in 1851. 
 
 Virginia has the honor of being the birth-place of six of the Presidents of 
 the United States, viz. : Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, 
 and Tyler. 
 
 Area, 64,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 1,421,081, of which 473,026 are slaves. 
 Free colored, 53,906. 
 
244 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 BILL OF RIGHTS. 
 
 [Passed June 12, 1776.] 
 
 ADOPTED WITHOUT ALTERATION BY THE CONVENTION OF 1829-'30, AND 
 
 RE-ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENTS BY THE CONVENTION OF 1850-'51. 
 
 A Declaration of Rights made by the Representatives of the good peo- 
 ple of Virginia^ assembled in full and free Convention^ which rights 
 do pertain to them and their posterity as the basis and foundation 
 of government. 
 
 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and 
 have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state 
 of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their pos- 
 terity ; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means 
 of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining 
 happiness and safety. 
 
 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from the 
 people ; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all 
 times amenable to them. 
 
 3. That government is, or ought to be instituted for the common 
 benefit, protection and security of the people, nation or community : 
 of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best 
 which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and 
 safety, and is most effectually secured against the dangei; of mal-ad- 
 ministration ; and that, when any government shall be found inade- 
 quate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community 
 hath an indubitable, unalienable and indefeasible right to reform, 
 alter or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive 
 to the public weal. 
 
 4. That no man, or set of men are entitled to exclusive or sepa- 
 rate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in conside- 
 ration of public services, which, not being descendible, neither ought 
 the offices of magistrate, legislator or judge to be hereditary. 
 
 5. That the legislative, executive and judicial powers should be 
 separate and distinct ; and that the members thereof may be re- 
 strained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burthens 
 of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private 
 station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, 
 and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain and regular elec- 
 tions, in which all, or any part of the former members to be again 
 eligible or ineligible, as the laws shall direct. 
 
 6. That all elections ought to be free, and that all men having 
 sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attach- 
 ment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, and cannot be 
 taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their 
 own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound 
 by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the 
 public good 
 
 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by 
 
VIRGINIA. 245 
 
 . .^ J 
 
 any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, 
 is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. 
 
 8. That, in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right 
 to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted 
 with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and 
 to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, 
 without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty ; nor 
 can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man j 
 be deprived of his liberty, except by the law of the land or the I 
 judgment of his peers. 
 
 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessite 
 fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may 
 be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact 
 committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose 
 offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are 
 grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 11. That, in controversies respecting property, and suits between 
 man and man, the ancient trial by jury of twelve men is preferable 
 to any other, and ought to be held sacred. 
 
 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of 
 liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. 
 
 13. That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the 
 people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a 
 free state ; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided 
 as' dangerous to liberty ; and that in all cases the military should be 
 under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power. 
 
 14. That the people have a right to uniform government ; and 
 therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the 
 government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within 
 the limits thereof. 
 
 15. That no ftee government, or the blessing of liberty, can be 
 preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, mo- 
 deration, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent recur- 
 rence to fundamental principles. 
 
 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and 
 the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and 
 conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are 
 equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the 
 dictates of conscience ; and that it is the mutual duty of all to prac- 
 tice christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Whereas, the Delegates and Representatives of the good people 
 of Virginia, in Convention assembled, on the twenty-ninth day of 
 June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sev- 
 enty-six: reciting and declaring, that whereas, George the Third, 
 18 
 
246 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 « ' ■ 
 
 king of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover, before that 
 time entrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in the government 
 of Virginia, had endeavored to pervert the same into a detestable and 
 insupportable tyranny, by putting his negative on laws the most 
 wholesome and necessary for the public good; by denying his 
 governors permission to pass laws of immediate and pressing import- 
 ance, unless suspended in their operation for his assent, and when so 
 suspended neglecting to attend to them for many years ; by refusing 
 to pass certain other laws, unless the persons to be benefited by 
 them would relinquish the inestimable right of representation in the 
 le''gislature ; by dissolving legislative assemblies repeatedly and con- 
 tinually, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions of the rights 
 of the people; when dissolved, by refusing to call others for a long 
 space of time, thereby leaving the political system without any legis- 
 lative head ; by endeavoring to prevent the population of our coun- 
 try, and for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization 
 of foreigners ; by keeping among us, in time of peace, standing armies 
 and ships of war ; by affecting to render the military independent 
 of and superior to the civil power ; by combining with others to 
 subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pre- 
 tended acts of legislation, for quartering large bodies of armed troops 
 among us, for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world, for 
 imposing taxes on us without our consent, for depriving us of the 
 benefits of the trial by jury, for transporting us beyond seas to be 
 tried for pretended offences, for suspending our own legislatures and 
 declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all 
 cases whatsoever ; by plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts, burn- 
 ing our towns, and destroying the lives of our people ; by inciting 
 insurrections of our fellow subjects with the allurements of forfeiture 
 and confiscation ; by prompting our negroes to rise in arms among 
 us, those very negroes, whom by an inhuman use of his negative he 
 had refused us permission to exclude by law ; by endeavoring to 
 bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, 
 whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of 
 all ages, sexes and conditions of existence ; by transporting hither a 
 large army of foreign mercenaries, to complete the work of death, 
 desolation and tyranny, then already begun, with circumstances of 
 cruelty and perfidy, unworthy the head of a civilized nation ; by 
 answering our repeated petitions for redress with a repetition of inju- 
 ries ; and finally, by abandoning the helm of government, and decla- 
 ring us out of his allegiance and protection ; by which several acts 
 of misrule, the government of this country as before exercised under 
 the crown of Great Britain, was totally dissolved : did, therefore, 
 having maturely considered the premises, and viewing with gi*eat 
 concern the deplorable condition to which this once happy country 
 would be reduced, unless some regular adequate mode of civil polity 
 should be speedily adopted, and in cdmpliance with the recommen- 
 
VIRGINIA. 247 
 
 dation of the general Congress, ordain and declare a form of govern- 
 ment of Virginia : 
 
 And whereas, a Convention held on the first Monday in October, 
 in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, did propose 
 to the people of the commonwealth an amended Constitution or 
 form of government, which was ratified by them : 
 
 And whereas, the General Assembly of Virginia, by an act passed 
 on the fourth of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 fifty, did provide for ,the election, by the people, of delegates to meet 
 in general convention, to consider, discuss and propose a new Con- 
 stitution or alterations and amendments to the existing Constitution 
 of this Commonwealth ; and by an act, passed on the thirteenth of 
 March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, did fur- 
 ther provide for submitting the same to the people for ratification or 
 rejection : 
 
 We, therefore, the Delegates of the good people of Virginia, 
 elocted and in Convention assembled, in pursuance of said acts, do 
 propose to the people the following Constitution and Form of Gov- 
 ernment for this Commonwealth : 
 
 ARTICLE \.— Bill of Rights, 
 
 The Declaration of Rights, as amended and prefixed to this Con- 
 stitution, shall have the same relation thereto as it had to the former 
 Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE II.— Division of Powers. 
 
 The Legislative, Executive and Judiciary Departments shall be 
 separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly 
 belonging to either of the others ; nor shall any person exercise the 
 powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that 
 justices of the peace shall be eligible to either House of Assembly, 
 
 ARTICLE III— Qualification of Voters. 
 
 1. Every white male citizen of the Commonwealth, of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who has been a resident of the State for two years, 
 and of the county, city or town where he offers to vote for twelve 
 months next preceding an election, and no other person, shall be 
 qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly and all offi- 
 cers elective by the people : but no person in the military, naval or 
 marine service of the United States shall be deemed a resident of 
 this State, by reason of being stationed therein. And no person 
 shall have the right to vote, who is of unsound mind, or a pauper, 
 or a non-commissioned officer, soldier, seaman or marine in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, or who has been convicted of bribery in 
 an election, or of any infamous offence. 
 
 2. The General Assembly at its first session after the adoption of 
 this Constitution, and afterwards as occasion may require, shall cause 
 every city or town, the white population of which exceeds five thou- 
 
248 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sand, to be laid off into convenient wards, and a separate place of 
 voting to be established in each, and thereafter no inhabitant^ of such 
 city or town shall be allowed to vote except in the ward in which he 
 resides. 
 
 3. No voter during the time for holding any election at which he 
 is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform military service, 
 except in time of war or public danger ; to work upon the public 
 roads, or to attend any court as suitor, juror or witness ; and no 
 voter shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his 
 attendance at elections, or in going to and returning from them. 
 
 4. In all elections votes shall be given openly, or viva voce, and 
 not by ballot. But dumb persons, entitled to suffrage, may vote by 
 ballot. 
 
 ' ARTICLE IV. — Legislative Department. 
 
 1. The Legislature shall be, formed of two distinct branches, which 
 together shall be a complete Legislature, and shall be called the Gen- ■ 
 eral Assembly of Virginia. 
 
 HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 
 
 2. One of these shall be called the House of Delegates, and shall 
 consist of one hundred and fifty-two members, to be chosen biennially 
 for and by the several counties, cities, and towns of the Common- 
 wealth, and distributed and apportioned as follows : 
 
 The Counties of Augusta and Rockingham and the city of Rich- 
 mond shall each elect three delegates : 
 
 The Counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Berkeley, Campbell, Fau- 
 quier, Franklin, Frederick, Halifax, Hampshire, Harrison, Jefferson, 
 Kanawha, Loudoun, Marion, Monongalia, Monroe, Norfolk, Pittsyl- 
 vania, Preston, Rockbridge, Shenandoah and Washington shall each 
 elect two delegates : 
 
 The Counties of Botetourt and Craig shall together elect two dele- 
 gates : 
 
 The Counties of Accomac, Alexandria, Amherst, Appomattox, 
 Barbour, Brunswick, Buckingham, Cabell, Caroline, Carroll, Char- 
 lotte^ ■ Chesterfield, Clarke, Culpepper, Dinwiddle, Fairfax, Floyd, 
 Fluvanna, Giles, Gloucester, Goochland, Grayson, Greenbrier, Hano- 
 ver, Hardy, Henrico, Henry, Highland, Isle of Wight, Jackson, 
 King William, Lee, Lewis, Louisa, Lunenberg, Madison, Marshall, 
 Mason, Mercer, Mecklenberg, Montgomery, Morgan, Nansemond, 
 Nelson, Northampton, Page, Patrick, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Prin- 
 cess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince William, Pulaski, Putnam, Ran- 
 dolph, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Scott, Smyth, Southampton, Spott- 
 sylvania, Taylor, Upshur, Warren, Wayne, Wetzel, Wood, and 
 Wythe, and the cities of Norfolk and Petersburg shall each elect one 
 delegate : 
 
VIRGINIA. 249 
 
 The Counties of Lee and Scott in addition to the delegate to be 
 elected by each, shall together elect one delegate. 
 
 The following counties and cities shall compose election districts : 
 Alleghany and Bath : Amelia and Nottoway : Logan, Boone and 
 Wyoming: Braxton and Nicholas: Charles City, James City and 
 New Kent : Cumberland and Powhatan : Doddridge and Tyler : 
 Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, and the City of Williamsburg : Es- 
 sex, and King and Queen : Fayette and Raleigh : Gilmer and Wirt, 
 Greene and Orange : Greenesville and Sussex : King George and 
 Stafford : Lancaster and Northumberland : Matthews and Middle- 
 sex : Pleasants and Ritchie: Prince George and Surry : and Rich- 
 mond and Westmoreland : each of which districts shall elect one 
 delegate. 
 
 At the first general election under this Constitution the County of 
 Ohio shall elect three delegates, and the Counties of Brooke and 
 Hancock shall together elect one delegate; at the second general 
 election the County of Ohio shall elect two delegates and the Coun- 
 , ties of Brooke and Hancock shall each elect one delegate ; and so on, 
 alternately, at succeeding general elections. 
 
 At the first general election the County of Russell shall elect two 
 delegates, and the County of Tazewell shall elect one delegate ; at 
 the second general election the County of Tazewell shall elect two 
 delegates and the County of Russell shall elect one delegate ; and so 
 on, alternately, at succeeding general elections. 
 
 The General Assembly shall have power upon application of a 
 majority of the voters of the County of Campbell to provide, that 
 instead of the two delegates to be elected by said County, the town 
 of Lynchburgh shall elect one delegate and the residue of the County 
 of Campbell shall elect one delegate. 
 
 3. The other house of the General Assembly shall be called the 
 Senate, and shall consist of fifty members, to be elected for the term 
 of four years ; for the election of whom, the counties, cities, and 
 towns shall be divided into fifty districts. Each county, city, and 
 town of the respective districts, at the time of the first election of its 
 delegate or delegates under this Constitution, shall vote for one Sena- 
 tor, and the Sheriffs or other officers holding the election for each 
 county, city, and town, within five days at farthest after the last elec- 
 tion in the district, shall meet at the Court House of the county or 
 city first named in the district, and from the polls so taken in their 
 respective counties, cities, and towns, return as Senator the person 
 who has received the greatest number of votes in the whole district. 
 Upon the assembling of the Senators so elected, they shall be divi- 
 ded into two equal classes, to be numbered by lot. The term of 
 service of the Senators of the first class shall expire with that of the 
 delegates first elected under this Constitution ; and of the Senators 
 of the second class at the expiration of two years. thereafter ! and this 
 alternation shall be continued, so that one half of the Senators may 
 be chosen every second year. 
 
250 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SECTION IV. THE SENATE. 
 
 I. For the election of Senators, the counties of Accomac and 
 Northampton shall form one district : 
 
 II. The City of Norfolk shall be another district : 
 
 III. The counties of Norfolk and Princess Anne shall form another 
 district : 
 
 IV. The counties of Isle of Wight, Nansemond, and Surry, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 V. The counties of Sussex, Southampton, and Greenesville, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 VI. The City of Petersburg and the County of Prince George shall 
 form another district : 
 
 VII. The counties of Dinwiddle, Amelia, and Brunswick, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 VIII. The counties of Powhatan, Cumberland, and Chesterfield, 
 shall form another district : 
 
 IX. The counties of Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward, 
 shall form another district : 
 
 X. The counties of Mecklenburg and Charlotte shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XI. The county of Pittsylvania shall be another district : 
 
 XII. The county of Halifax shall be another district : 
 
 XIII. The counties of Henry, Patrick, and Franklin, shall form 
 another district. 
 
 XIV. The county of Bedford shall be another district : 
 
 XV. The counties of Campbell and Appomattox shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XVI. The City of Williamsburg, and the counties of James City, 
 Charles City, New Kent, Yoi-k, Elizabeth City, and Warwick, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 XVII. The counties of Henrico and Hanover shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XVIII. The City of Richmond shall be another district : 
 
 XIX. The counties of Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 XX. The counties of Richmond, Lancaster, Northumberland and 
 Westmoreland shall form another district : 
 
 XXI. The counties of King and Queen.^ King William and Essex, 
 shall form another district : 
 
 XXII. The counties of Caroline and Spottsylvania shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XXIII. The counties of Stafford, King George, and Prince William, 
 shall form another district : 
 
 XXIV. The counties of Fairfax and Alexandria shall form another 
 district : 
 
 xxv. The countv of Loudoun shall be another district : 
 
VIRGINIA. 251 
 
 XXVI. The counties of Fauquier and Rappahannock shall form 
 another district : 
 
 xxvii. The counties of Madison, Culpeper, Orange, and Greene, 
 shall form another district : 
 
 XXVIII. The county of Aibermarle shall be another district : 
 
 XXIX. The counties of Louisa, Goochland, and Fluvanna, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 XXX. The counties of Nelson, Amherst, and Buckingham, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 XXXI. The counties of Jefferson and Berkeley shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XXXII. The counties of Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 XXXIII. The counties of Frederick, Clarke, and Warren, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 XXXIV. The counties of Shenandoah and Page shall form another 
 district : 
 
 XXXV. The counties of Rockingham and Pendleton shall form 
 another district : 
 
 XXXVI. The county of Augusta shall be another district : 
 
 XXXVII. The counties of Bath, Highland, and Rockbridge, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 XXXVIII. The counties of Botetourt, Alleghany, Roanoke, and 
 Craig, shall form another district : 
 
 XXXIX. The counties of Carroll, Floyd, Grayson, Montgomery, and 
 Pulaski, shall form another district : 
 
 XL. The counties of Mercer, Monroe, Giles, and Tazewell, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 xLi. The counties of Smyth, Wythe, and Washington, shall form 
 another district : 
 
 xLii. The counties of Scott, Lee, and Russell,* shall form another 
 district : 
 
 xLiii. The counties of Boone, Logan, Kanawha, Putnam, and Wyo- 
 ming, shall form another district : 
 
 xLiv. The counties of Nicholas, Fayette, Pocahontas, Raleigh, 
 Braxton, and Greenbrier, shall form another district : 
 
 XLV. The counties of Mason, Jackson, Cabell, Wayne, and Wirt, 
 shall form another district: 
 
 XLvi. The counties of Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Pleasants, 
 and Wood, shall form another district : 
 
 xLvii. The counties of Wetzel, Marshall, Marion, and Tyler, shall 
 form another district : 
 
 XL VIII. The counties of Upshur, Barbour, Lewis, Gilmer, and Ran- 
 dolph, shall form another district : 
 
 xLix. The counties of Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor, shall form 
 another district : • 
 
 L. The counties of Brooke, Hancock and Ohio shall form another 
 district. 
 
252 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 5. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in every tenth year there- 
 after, in case it can agree upon a principle of representation, to re-ap- 
 portion representation in the Senate and House of Delegates in accord- 
 ance therewith ; and in the event the General Assembly, at the first 
 or any subsequent period of re-apportionment, shall fail to agree 
 upon a principle of representation and to re-apportion representation 
 in accordance therewith, each House shall separately propose a 
 scheme of representation, containing a principle or rule for the 
 House of Delegates, in connection with a principle or rule for the 
 Senate. And it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at the 
 same session, to certify to the Governor, the principles or rules of re- 
 presentation which the respective Houses may separately propose, to 
 be applied in making re-apportionments in the Senate and in the 
 House of Delegates : and the Governor shall, as soon thereafter as 
 may be, by proclamation, make known the propositions of the re- 
 spective Houses, and require the voters of the Commonwealth to 
 assemble at such time as he shall appoint," at their lawful places of 
 voting, and decide by their votes between the propositions thus pre- 
 sented. In the event the General Assembly shall fail, in the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, or in any tenth year there- 
 after to make such re-apportionment or certificate, the Governor 
 shall, immediately after the adjournment of the General Assembly, 
 by proclamation, require the voters of the Commonwealth to assem- 
 ble, at such time as he shall appoint, at their lawful places of voting, 
 and to declare by their votes : 
 
 First, whether representation in the Senate and House of Dele- 
 gates shall be apportioned on the " Suffrage Basis ;" that is, accord- 
 ing to the number of voters in the several counties, cities, towns and 
 Senatorial districts of the Commonwealth : 
 
 Or second, whether representation in both Houses shall be appor- 
 tioned on the " Mixed Basis ;" that is, according to the number of 
 white inhabitants contained, and the amount of all State taxes paid, 
 in the several counties, cities and towns of the Commonwealth, de- 
 ducting therefrom all taxes paid on licenses and law process, and any 
 capitation tax on free negroes, allowing one delegate for every seven- 
 ty-sixth part of said inhabitants, and one delegate for every seventy- 
 sixth part of said taxes, and distributing the Senators in like man- 
 ner: 
 
 Or third, whether representation shall be apportioned in the Senate 
 on taxation ; that is, according to the amount of all State taxes, paid 
 in the several counties, cities and towns of the Commonwealth, de- 
 ducting therefrom all taxes paid on licenses and law process, and any 
 capitatipn tax on free negroes, and in the House of Delegates on the 
 " Suffrage Basis" as aforesaid : 
 
 Or fourth, whether representation shall be apportioned in the Sen- 
 
VIRGINIA. 253 
 
 ate on the "Mixed Basis" as aforesaid, and in the House of Dele- 
 gates on the " Suffrage Basis" as aforesaid : and each voter shall cast 
 his vote in favor of one of said schemes of apportionment, and no 
 more. 
 
 6. It shall be the duty of the Sheriffs and other officers taking said 
 polls, to keep the same open for the period of three days, and with- 
 in five days afler they are closed, to certify true copies thereof to the 
 Governor, who shall, as early as may be, ascertain the result of said 
 vote, and make proclamation thereof; and in case it is ascertained 
 that a majority of all the votes cast is in favor of either of the prin- 
 ciples of representation, referred as aforesaid to the choice of the 
 voters, the governor shall communicate the result of such vote to the 
 general assembly at its first regular session thereafter ; but in case 
 it is ascertained that a majority of all the votes cast is not in favor 
 of either of the principles of representation referred as aforesaid 
 to the choice of the voters, it shall be the duty of the governor, as 
 soon as may be after ascertaining that fact, in like manner to cause 
 the voters to decide between the two principles of representation which 
 shall, at such previous voting, have received the greatest number of 
 votes ; and he shall ascertain and make proclamation of the result 
 of the said last vote, and communicate the same to the general as- 
 sembly at its next regular session ; and in either case, the General 
 Assembly, at the regular session thereof which shall be held next 
 after the taking of the vote, the result of which shall have been so 
 communicated to it by the Governor, shall re-apportion represent- 
 ation in the two houses respectively in accordance with thci prin- 
 ciple of representation in each, for which a majority of the votes cast 
 were given ; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly in 
 every tenth year thereafter to re-apportion and distribute the num- 
 ber of senators and delegates in accordance with the same principle. 
 
 7. Any person may be elected Senator, who, at the time of elec- 
 tion, has attained the age of twenty-five years, and is actually a re- 
 sident within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the 
 General Assembly, according to this Constitution. And any person 
 may be elected a member of the House of the Delegates, who, at the 
 time of election, has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is 
 actually a resident within the county, city, town, or election district, 
 qualified to vote fOr members of the General Assembly, according to 
 this Constitution ; but no person holding a lucrative office, no min- 
 ister of the gospel or priest of any religious denomination, no sala- 
 ried officer of any banking corporation or company, and no attorney 
 for the Commonwealth, shall be capable of being elected a member 
 of either house of Assembly. The removal of any person elected to 
 either branch of the General Assembly from the county, city, tpwn 
 or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office. 
 
 8. The General Assembly shall meet once in every two years, and 
 not oftener, unless convened by the Governor in the manner pre- 
 scribed in this Constitution. No session of the General Assembly, 
 
254 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 after the first under this Constitution, shall continue longer than 
 ninety days, without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members 
 elected to each house, in which case, the session may be extended 
 for a further period, not exceeding thirty days. Neither house, dur- 
 ing the session of the General Assembly shall, without the consent 
 of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
 place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. A majority 
 of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller 
 number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be authorized to 
 compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under 
 such penalties as each house may provide. 
 
 9. The House of Delegates shall choose its own Speaker, and in 
 the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, or when he shall exercise 
 the office of Governor, the Senate shall choose from their own body, 
 a president jpro tempore : and each house shall appoint its own offi- 
 cers, settle its own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election 
 for supplying intermediate vacancies : but if vacancies shall occur 
 during the recess of the General Assembly, such writs may be issued 
 by the Governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
 law. Each house shall judge of the election, qualification and returns 
 of its members, may punish them for disorderly behavior, and, with 
 the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time 
 for the same offence. 
 
 10. The members of the Assembly shall receive for their services 
 a compensation, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the pub- 
 lic treasury; but no act increasing such compensation shall take 
 effect until after the end of the term for which the members of the 
 House of Delegates voting thereon were elected. And no senator 
 or delegate during the term for which he shall have been elected, 
 shall be appointed to any civil office of profit under the Common- 
 wealth, which has been created, or the emoluments of which have 
 been increased, during such term, except offices filled by elections 
 by the people. 
 
 11. Bills and resolutions may originate in either of the two 
 houses of the General Assembly, to be approved or rejected by the 
 other, and may be amended by either house, with the consent of the 
 other. 
 
 12. Each house of the General Assembly shall keep a journal of 
 its proceedings, which shall be published from time to time, and the 
 yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, 
 shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the 
 journal. No bill shall become a law, until it has been read on three 
 different days of the session, in the house in which it originated, un- 
 less two-thirds of the members elected to that house, shall otherwise 
 determine. 
 
 13. The whole number of members to which the State may at 
 any time be entitled in the House of Representatives of the United 
 States, shall be apportioned as nearly as may be, amongst the seve- 
 
VIRGINIA. a254 
 
 ral counties, cities and towns of the State, according to their respec- 
 tive numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
 number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of 
 years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifth of all other persons. 
 
 14. In the apportionment, the State shall be divided into districts 
 corresponding in number with the representatives to which it may 
 be entitled in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the 
 United States, which shall be formed respectively of contiguous 
 counties, cities and towns, be compact, and include, as nearly as may 
 be, an equal number of the population, upon which is based repre- 
 sentation in the House of Representatives of the United States. 
 
 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not, in any 
 case, be suspended. The General Assembly shall not pass any bill 
 of attainder ; or any ex post facto law ; or any law impairing the ob- 
 ligation of contracts ; or any law whereby private property shall be 
 taken for public uses without just compensation ; or any law abridg- 
 ing the freedom of speech or of the press. No man shall be com- 
 pelled to ft-equent or support any religious worship, place or minis- 
 try whatsoever ; nor shall any man be enforced, restrained, molest- 
 ed or burthened in his body or goods, or otherwise suffer, on account 
 of his religious opinions or belief; but all men shall be free to pro- 
 fess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of reli- 
 gion, and the same shall in no wise affect, diminish or enlarge their 
 civil capacities. And the General Assembly shall not prescribe any 
 religious test whatever ; or confer any peculiar privileges or advantages 
 on any sect or denomination ; or pass any law requiring or authorizing 
 any religious society, or the people of any district within this Common- 
 wealth, to levy on themselves or others any tax for the erection or 
 repair of any house for public worship, or for the support of any 
 church or ministry ; but it shall be left free to every person to select 
 his religious instructor, and to make for his support such private con- 
 tract as he shall please. 
 
 16. No law shall embrace more than one object, which shall be 
 expressed in its title : nor shall any law be revived or amended by 
 reference to its title, but the act revived, or section amended, shall 
 be re-enacted and published at length. 
 
 17. The General Assembly may provide that no person shall be 
 capable of holding, or being elected to, any post of profit, tmst or 
 emolument, civil or military, legislative, executive or judicial, 
 under the government of this Commonwealth, who shall hereafter 
 fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, the prob- 
 able issue of which may be the death of the challenger or challenged, 
 or who shall be second to either party, or shall in any manner aid 
 or assist in such duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such chal- 
 lenge or acceptance ; but no person shall be so disqualified by reason 
 of his having heretofore fought such duel, or sent or accepted such 
 challenge, or been second in such duel, or bearer of such challenge 
 or acceptance. 
 
2546 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 18. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Judges, and all others 
 offending against the State, by mal-administration, corruption, 
 neglect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor, shall be im- 
 peachable by the House of Delegates, and be prosecuted before the 
 Senate, which shall have the sole power to try impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation ; 
 and no person shall be convicted, without the concurrence of two- 
 thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment 
 shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualifica- 
 tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the 
 Commonwealth ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be sub- 
 ject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. 
 The Senate may sit during the recess of the General Assembly 
 for the trial of impeachments. 
 
 SLAVES AND FREE NEGROES. 
 
 19. Slaves hereafter emancipated shall forfeit their freedom by 
 remaining in the Commonwealth more than twelve months after 
 they become actually free, and shall be reduced to slavery, under 
 such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 20. The General Assembly may impose such restrictions and con- 
 ditions as they shall deem proper on the power of slave owners to 
 emancipate their slaves ; and may pass laws for the relief of the 
 Commonwealth from the free negro population by removal or other- 
 wise. 
 
 21. The General Assembly shall not emancipate any slave, or the 
 descendant of any slave, either before or after the birth of such 
 descendant. 
 
 TAXATION AND FINANCE. 
 
 22. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the Common- 
 wealth, and all property, other than slaves, shall be taxed in propor- 
 tion to its value, which shall be ascertained in such manner as may 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 23. Every slave who has attained the age of twelve years shall 
 be assessed with a tax equal to and not exceeding that assessed on 
 land of the value of three hundred dollars. Slaves under that age 
 shall ft-ot be subject to taxation ; and other taxable property may be 
 exempted from taxation, by the vote of a majority of the whole 
 number of members elected to each house of the General Assembly. 
 
 24. A capitation tax, equal to the tax assessed on land of the 
 value of two hundred dollars, shall be levied on every white male 
 inhabitant who has attained the age of twenty-one years ; and one 
 equal moiety of the capitation tax upon white persons, shall be 
 applied to the purposes of education in primary and free schools ; 
 but nothing herein contained shall preveut exemptions of taxable 
 polls in cases of bodily infirmity. 
 
 25. The General Assembly may levy a tax on incomes, salaries 
 
VIRGINIA. c254 
 
 and licenses ; but no tax shall -be levied on property from which 
 any income so taxed is derived, or on the capital invested in the 
 trade or business in respect to which the license so taxed is issued. 
 
 26. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance 
 of appropriations made by law; and a statement of the receipts, 
 disbursements, appropriations and loans shall be published after the 
 adjournment of each session of the General Assembly, with the acts 
 and resolutions thereof. 
 
 27. On the passage of every act which imposes, continues, or 
 revives a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or 
 revives any appropriation of public or trust money or property, 
 releases, discharges, or commutes any claim or demand of the State, 
 the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
 persons voting for and against the same shall be entered on the 
 journals of the respective houses, and a majority of all the mem- 
 bers elected to each house shall be necessary to give it the force of a 
 law. 
 
 28. The liability to the State of any incorporated company or 
 institution, to redeem the principal and pay the interest of any loan 
 heretofore made, or which may hereafter be made, by the State, to 
 such company or institution, shall not be released ; and the General 
 Assembly shall not pledge the faith of the State, or bind it in any 
 form, for the debts or obligations of any company or corporation. 
 
 29. There shall be set apart annually, from the accruing revenue, 
 a sum equal to seven per cent, of the State debt existing on the first 
 day of January in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
 two. The fund thus set apart shall be called the Sinking Fund, and 
 shall be applied to the payment of the interest of the State debt, 
 and the principal of such part as may be redeemable. If no part be 
 redeemable, then the residue of the Sinking Fund, after the payment 
 of such interest, shall be invested in the bonds or certificates of debt 
 of this Commonwealth, or of the United States, or of some of the 
 States of this Union, and applied to the payment of the State debt, 
 as it shall become redeemable. Whenever, after the said first day 
 of January, a debt shall be contracted by the Commonwealth, there 
 shall be set apart in like manner, annually, for thirty -four years, a 
 sum exceeding by one per cent, the aggregate annual interest agreed 
 to be paid thereon, at the time contracted, which sum shall be part 
 of the Sinking Fund, and shall be applied in the manner before 
 directed. The General Assembly shall not otherwise appropriate 
 any part of the Sinking Fund or its accruing interest, except in time 
 of war, insurrection oi* invasion. 
 
 30. The General Assembly may, at any time, direct a sale of the 
 stocks held by the Commonwealth in internal improvement and 
 other companies ; but the proceeds of such sale, if made before the 
 payment of the public debt, shall constitute a part of the Sinking 
 Fund and be applied in like manner. 
 
 31. The General Assembly shall not contract loans or cause to be 
 
254:d CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 issued certificates of debt or bonds 'of the State, irredeemable for a 
 period greater than thirty-four years. 
 
 GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
 
 32. The General Assembly shall not grant a charter of in- 
 corporation to any church or religious denomination, but may 
 secure the title to church property to an extent to be limited by 
 law. 
 
 33. No lottery shall hereafter be authorized by law, and the 
 buying, selling or transferring of tickets or chances in any lottery 
 not now authorized by a law of this State, shall be prohibited. 
 
 34. No new county shall be formed with an area less than six 
 hundred square miles ; nor shall the county or counties from which 
 it is formed be reduced below that area; nor shall any county, 
 having a white population less than five thousand, be deprived of 
 more than one-fifth of such population ; nor shall a county having a 
 larger white population be reduced below four thousand. But any 
 county, the length of which is three times its mean breadth, or 
 which exceeds fifty miles in length, may be divided at the discretion 
 of the General Assembly. In all general elections the voters in any 
 county, not entitled to separate representation, shall vote in the same 
 election district. 
 
 35. The General Assembly shall confer on the courts the power 
 to grant divorces, change the names of persons, and direct the sale 
 of estates belonging to infants and other persons under legal disabi- 
 lities, but shall not, by special legislation, grant relief in such cases, 
 or in any other case of which the courts or other tribunals may have 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 36. The General Assembly shall provide for the periodical regis- 
 tration in the several counties, cities and towns, of the voters therein, 
 and for the annual registration of the births, marriages and deaths 
 in the white population, and of the births and deaths in the colored 
 population of the same, distinguishing between the numbers of free 
 colored persons and slaves. 
 
 37. The General Assembly, at intervals of five years from 
 the dates of the returns of the census of the United States, shall 
 cause to be taken a census and such statistics of this State 
 as may be prescribed by law ; which census and statistics shall 
 be returned to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, who shall com- 
 pare and correct the returns and report the same to the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 38. The manner of conducting and making returns of elections, 
 of determining contested elections, and of filling vacancies in office, in 
 cases not specially provided for by this Constitution, shall be pre- 
 scribed by law ; but special elections to fill vacancies in the office of 
 Judge of any court shall be for a full term. And the General As- 
 sembly may declare the cases in which any office shall be deemed 
 vacant, when no provision is made for that purpose in this Constitution. 
 
VIRGINIA. e254 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 
 GOVERNOR. 
 
 1. The Chief Executive power of this Commonwealth shall be 
 vested in a Governor. He shall hold the office for the term of four 
 
 years, to commence on the day of next succeeding his 
 
 election, and be ineligible to the same office for the term next suc- 
 ceeding that for which he was elected, and to any other office during 
 his term of service. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the voters, at the times and 
 places of choosing members of the General Assembly. Returns of 
 the election shall be transmitted, under seal, by the proper officers 
 to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, who shall deliver them to 
 the Speaker of the House of Delegates, on the first day of the next 
 session of the General Assembly. The Speaker of the House of 
 Delegates shall within one week thereafter, in the presence of a 
 majority of the Senate and House of Delegates, open the said returns, 
 and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the highest 
 number of votes shall be declared elected ; but if two or more shall 
 have the highest and an equal number of votes, one of them shall be 
 chosen Governor by the joint vote of the two houses of the General 
 Assembly. Contested elections for Governor shall be decided by a 
 like vote, and the mode of proceeding in such cases shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor unless he 
 has attained the age of thirty years, is a native citizen of the United 
 States, and has been a citizen of Virginia for five years next preced- 
 ing his election. 
 
 4. The Governor shall reside at the seat of Government ; shall 
 receive five thousand dollars for each year of his service, and, while 
 in office, shall receive no other emolument from this or any other 
 government. 
 
 5. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed ; com- 
 municate to the General Assembly at every session the condition of 
 the Commonwealth ; recommend to- their consideration such mea- 
 sures as he may deem expedient ; and convene the General Assembly 
 on application of a majority of the members of both houses thereof, 
 or when in hi« opinion : the interest of the Commonwealth may 
 require it. He shall be commander in chief of the land and naval 
 forces of the State ; have power to embody the militia to repel inva- 
 sion, suppress insurrection and enforce the execution of the laws ; 
 conduct, either in person or in such other manner as shall be pres- 
 cribed by law, all intercourse with other and foreign States; and, 
 during the recess of the General Assembly, fill pro tempore all 
 vacancies in those offices for which the Constitution and laws make . 
 no provision : but his appointments to such vacancies shall be by 
 commissions to expire at the end of thirty days after the commence- 
 ment of the next session of the General Assembly. He shall have 
 
254/ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 power to remit fines and penalties, in such cases and under such 
 rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law ; and, except 
 when the prosecution has been carried on by the House of Dele- 
 gates, or the law shall otherwise particularly direct, to grant re- 
 prieves and pardons after conviction, and to commute capital pun- 
 ishment. But he shall communicate to the General Assembly at 
 each session, the particulars of every case of fine or penalty 
 remitted, of reprieve or pardon granted and of punishment com- 
 muted, with his reasons for remitting, granting or commuting the 
 same. 
 
 6. He may require information in writing from the officers in the 
 Executive department upon any subject relating to the duties of 
 their respective offices ; and may also require the opinion in writing 
 of the Attorney General upon any question of law connected with 
 his official duties. 
 
 7. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of the Common- 
 wealth of Virginia, and be attested by the Governor with the seal 
 of the Commonwealth annexed. 
 
 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. 
 
 8. A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time, and 
 for the same term, as the Governor : and his qualification and the 
 manner of his election in all respects shall be the same. 
 
 9. In case of the removal of the Governor from office, or of his 
 death, failure to qualify, resignation, removal from the State, or 
 inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the said 
 office, with its compensation, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant 
 Governor ; and the General Assembly shall provide by law for the 
 discharge of the Executive functions in other necessary cases. 
 
 10. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the Senate, 
 but shall have no vote ; and while acting as such, shall receive a 
 compensation equal to that allowed to the Speaker of the House of 
 Delegates. 
 
 SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH, TREASURER AND AUDITOR. 
 
 11. A Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer and an Auditor 
 of Public Accounts shall be elected by the joint vote of the two 
 houses of the General Assembly, and continue in office for the term 
 of two years, unless sooner removed. 
 
 12. The Secretary shall keep a record of the official acts of the 
 Governor, which shall be signed by the Governor and attested by 
 the Secretary ; and when required, he shall lay the same, and any 
 papers, minutes and vouchers pertaining to his office, before either 
 
 . house of the General Assembly ; and shall perform such other duties 
 as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 13. The powers and duties of the Treasurer and Auditor shall be 
 such as now are, or may be hereafter prescribed by law. 
 
VIRGINIA. g 264 
 
 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS. 
 
 14. There shall be a Board of Public Works, to consist of three 
 Commissioners. The State shall be divided into three districts, 
 containing as nearly as may be equal numbers of voters, and the 
 voters of each district shall elect one Commissioner, whose term of 
 office shall be six years; but of those first elected, one, to be desig- 
 nated by lot, shall remain in office for two years only, and one other, to 
 be designated in like manner, shall remain in office for four years only. 
 
 15. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adoption 
 of this Constitution, shall provide for the election and compensation 
 of the Commissioners, and the organization of the Board. The Com- 
 missioners first elected shall assemble on a day to be appointed by 
 law, and decide by lot the order in which their terms of service shall 
 expire. 
 
 16. The Board of Public Works shall appoint all officers employed 
 on the public works, and all persons representing the interest of the 
 Commonwealth in works of internal improvement, and shall per- 
 form such other duties as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 17. The members of the Board of Public Works may be removed 
 by the concurrent vote of a majority of all the members elected to 
 each house of the General Assembly ; but the cause of removal shall 
 be entered on the journal of each house. 
 
 18. The General Assembly shall have power, by a vote of three- 
 fifths of the members elected to each house, to abolish said board 
 whenever in their opinion a board of public works shall no longer be 
 necessary. 
 
 MILITIA. 
 
 19. The mariner of appointing militia officers shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. — Judiciary Department 
 
 1. There shall be a Supreme Court of Appeals, District Courts 
 and Circuit Courts. The jurisdiction of these tribunals, and of the 
 Judges thereof, except so far as the same is conferred by this Con- 
 stitution, shall be regulated by law. 
 
 JUDICIAL DIVISIONS. 
 
 2. The State shall be divided into twenty-one judicial circuits, ten 
 districts and five sections. 
 
 I. The counties of Princess Anne, Norfolk, Nansemond, Isle of 
 Wight, Southampton, Greenes ville, Surry and Sussex and the city 
 of Norfolk shall constitute the first circuit. 
 
 II. The counties of Prince George, Dinwiddle, Brunswick, Meck- 
 lenburg, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Amelia, Chesterfield and Powhatan 
 and the City of Petersburg shall constitute the second circuit. 
 
 III. The counties of Cumberland, Buckingham, Appomattox. 
 
 19 
 
204:h CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Campbell, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Halifax and the town of 
 Lynchburg shall constitute the third circuit. 
 
 IV. The counties of Pittsylvania, Bedford, Franklin, Patrick and 
 Henry shall constitute the fourth circuit. 
 
 V. The counties of A.ccomac and Northampton shall constitute the 
 fifth circuit. 
 
 VI. The counties of Elizabeth City^ Warwick, York, Gloucester, 
 Mathews, Middlesex, Henrico, New Kent, Charles City and James 
 City, and the City of Williamsburg shall constitute the sixth circuit. 
 
 VII. The City of Richmond shall be the seventh circuit. 
 
 VIII. The counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, 
 Westmoreland, King George, Spottsylvania, Caroline, Hanover, 
 King William, King and Queen and Essex shall constitute the eighth 
 circuit. 
 
 IX. The counties of Stafford, Prince William, Alexandria, Fairfax, 
 Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock shall constitute the ninth 
 circuit. 
 
 X. The counties of Culpeper, Madison, Greene, Orange, Albe- 
 marle, Louisa, Fluvanna and Goochland shall constitute the tenth 
 circuit. 
 
 XI. The counties of Nelson, Amherst, Rockbridge, Augusta and 
 Bath shall constitute the eleventh circuit : 
 
 XII. The counties of Pendleton, Highland, Rockingham, Page, 
 Shenandoah, Warren and Hardy shall constitute the twelfth circuit : 
 
 XIII. The counties of Clarke, Frederick, Hampshire, Morgan, 
 Berkeley and Jefferson shall constitute the thirteenth circuit : 
 
 XIV. The counties of Monroe, Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Alle- 
 ghany, Botetourt, Roanoke and Craig shall constitute the fourteenth 
 circuit : 
 
 XV. The counties of Giles, Mercer, Raleigh, Wyoming, Logan, 
 Boone, Fayette and Nicholas shall constitute the fifteenth circuit : 
 
 XVI. The counties of Grayson, Carroll, Wythe, Floyd, Pulaski 
 and Montgomery shall constitute the sixteenth circuit : 
 
 XVII. The counties of Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Russell, 
 Scott and Lee shall constitute the seventeenth circuit : 
 
 XVIII. The counties of Wayne, Cabell, Mason, Jackson, Putnam 
 and Kanawha shall constitute the eighteenth circuit. 
 
 XIX. The counties of Wood, Wirt, Gilmer, Braxton, Lewis, 
 Ritchie, Doddridge and Pleasants shall constitute the nineteenth 
 circuit : 
 
 XX. The counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, 
 Tyler and Monongalia shall constitute the twentieth circuit : 
 
 XXI. And the counties of Harrison, Marion, Taylor, Preston, 
 Barbour, Randolph and Upshur shall constitute the twenty-first 
 circuit. 
 
 L The first and second circuits shall constitute the first district ; 
 the third and fourth circuits, the second district ; the fifth, sixth and 
 seventh circuits, the third district ; the eighth and ninth circuits, the 
 
VIRGINIA. z254 
 
 I 
 
 fourth district ; the tenth and eleventh circuits, the fifth district ; the 
 twelfth and thirteenth circuits, the sixth district ; the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth circuits, the seventh district ; the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 circuits, the eighth district; the eighteenth and nineteenth circuits, 
 the ninth district ; and the twentieth and twenty-first circuits, the 
 tenth district. 
 
 2. The first and second districts shall constitute the first section ; 
 the third and fourth districts, the second section ; the fifth and sixth 
 districts, the third section ; the seventh and eighth districts, the 
 fourth section ; and the nine and tenth districts, the fifth section. 
 
 3. The General Assembly may, at the end of eight years after the 
 adoption of this Constitution, and thereafter at intervals of eight 
 years, re-arrange the said circuits, districts and sections, and place 
 any number of circuits in a district, and of districts, in a section ; 
 but each circuit shall be altogether in one district, and each district 
 in one section; and there shall not be less than two districts and 
 four circuits in a section, and the number of sections shall not be 
 increased or diminished. 
 
 CIRCUIT COURTS. 
 
 6. For each circuit, a Judge shall be elected by the voters thereof, 
 who shall hold his office for the term of eight years, unless sooner 
 removed in the manner prescribed by this Constitution. He shall 
 at the time of his election be at least thirty years of age, and during 
 his continuance in office, shall reside in the circuit of which he is judge. 
 
 7. A Circuit Court shall be held at least twice a year by the 
 Judge of each circuit, in every county and corporation thereof, 
 wherein a Circuit Court is now or may hereafter be established. 
 But the Judges in the same district may be required or authorized 
 to hold the courts of their respective circuits alternately, and a 
 Judge of one circuit to hold a court in any other circuit. 
 
 DISTRICT COURTS. 
 
 8. A District Court shall be held, at least once a year, in every 
 district, by the Judges of the circuits constituting the section and the 
 Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals for the section of which the 
 district forms a part, any three of whom may hold a court ; but no 
 Judge shall sit or decide upon any appeal taken from his own 
 decision. The Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of one sec- 
 tion, may sit in the District Courts of another section, when required 
 or authorized by law to do so. 
 
 9. The district courts shall not have original jurisdiction, except 
 in cases of habeas corpus^ mandamus and prohibition. 
 
 COURTS OF APPEALS. 
 
 10. For each section, a Judge shall be elected by the voters 
 thereof, who shall hold his office for the term of twelve years, unless 
 
254^' CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sooner removed in the manner prescribed by this Constitution. He 
 shall at the time of his election be at least thirty-five years of age, 
 and during his continuance in office, reside in the section for which 
 he is elected. 
 
 1 1 . The Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of the five Judges 
 so elected, any three of whom may hold a court. It shall have 
 appellate jurisdiction only, except in cases of habeas corpus^ man- 
 damus and prohibition. It shall not have jurisdiction in civil causes 
 where the matter in controversy, exclusive of costs, is less in value 
 or amount than five hundred dollars, except in controversies concern- 
 ing the title or boundaries of land, the probat of a will, the appoint- 
 ment or qualification of a personal representative, guardian, com- 
 mittee or curator ; or concerning a mill, road, way, ferry or landing, 
 or the right of a corporation or of a county to levy tolls or taxes ; 
 and except in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus and prohibition^ 
 and cases involving freedom, or the constitutionality of a law. 
 
 12. Special Courts of Appeals, to consist of not less than three 
 nor more than five Judges, may be formed of the Judges of the 
 Supreme Court of Appeals, and of the Circuit Courts, or any of 
 them, to try any cases remaining on the dockets of the present Court 
 of Appeals when the Judges thereof cease to hold their offices ; or 
 to try any cases which may be on the dockets of the Supreme Court 
 of Appeals established by this Constitution, in respect to which a 
 majority of the Judges of said court may be so situated as to make 
 it improper for them to sit on the hearing thereof. 
 
 13. When a judgment or decree is reversed or affirmed by the 
 Supreme Court of Appeals, the reasons therefor shall be stated in 
 writing, and preserved with the record of the case. 
 
 GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
 
 14. Judges shall be commissioned by the Governor, and shall re- 
 ceive fixed and adequate salaries, which shall not be diminished dur- 
 ing their continuance in office. The salary of a Judge of the Su- 
 preme Court of Appeals shall not be less than three thousand dol- 
 lars and that of a Judge of a Circuit Court not less than two thou- 
 sand dollars per annum, except that of the Judge of the fifth circuit, 
 which shall not be less than fifteen hundred dollars per annum ; and 
 each shall receive a reasonable allowance for necessary travel. 
 
 15. No Judge during his term of service shall hold any other 
 office, appointment or public trust, and the acceptance thereof shall 
 vacate his judicial office ; nor shall he during such term, or within 
 one year thereafter, be eligible to any political office. 
 
 16. No Election of Judge shall be held within thirty days of the 
 time of holding any election of Electors of President and Vice Pre- 
 sident of the United States, of Members of Congress or of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly. 
 
 17. Judges may be removed from office by a concurrent vote of 
 both houses of the General Assembly, but a majority of all the 
 
 I 
 
VIRGINIA. A; 254 
 
 members elected to each house must concur in such vote ; and the 
 cause of removal shall be entered on the journal of each house. The 
 judge, against whom the General Assembly may be about to pro- 
 ceed, shall receive notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the 
 causes alleged for his removal, at least twenty days before the day 
 on which either house of the General Assembly shall act thereupon. 
 
 18. The officers of the Supreme Court of Appeals and of the Dis- 
 trict Courts shall be appointed by the said Courts respectively, or by 
 the Judges thereof in vacation. Their duties, compensation,* and 
 tenure of office, shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 19. The voters of each county or corporation in which a Circuit 
 Court is held shall elect a clerk of such court, whose term of office 
 shall be six years. The Attorney for the Commonwealth elected 
 for a county or corporation wherein a Circuit Court is directed to be 
 held, shall be attorney for the Commonwealth for that court. But 
 in case a Circuit Court is held for a City, or for a County and City, 
 there shall be an Attorney for the Commonwealth for such Court, to 
 be elected by the voters of such City, or County and City, and to 
 continue in office for the term of four years. The duties and com- 
 pensation of these officers, and the mode of removing them from 
 office, shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 20. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of clerk of any court, 
 such court may appoint a clerk pro tempore^ who shall discharge the 
 duties of the office until the vacancy is filled. 
 
 21. The General Assembly shall provide for the compensation of 
 jurors-, but appropriations for that purpose, shall not be made from 
 the State treasury, except in prosecutions for felony and misde- 
 meanor. 
 
 22. At every election of ^ Governor, an attorney general shall be 
 elected by the voters of the Commonwealth, for the term of four 
 years. He shall be commissioned by the Governor, shall perform 
 such duties and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by 
 law, and be removable in the manner prescribed for the removal of 
 Judges. 
 
 23. Judges and all other officers, whether elected or appointed, 
 shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices after 
 their terms of service have expired, until their successors are 
 qualified. 
 
 24. Writs shall mn in the name of the Commonwealth of Vir- 
 ginia and be attested by the clerks of the several courts. Indict- 
 ments shall conclude, against the peace and dignity of the Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 COUNTY COURTS. 
 
 * 
 
 25. There shall be in each county of the Commonwealth, a County 
 Court, which shall be held monthly, by not. less than three, nor more 
 than five Justices, except when the law shall require the presence of 
 a greater number. 
 
254 Z CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 26. The jurisdiction of the said court shall be the same as that of 
 the existmg. County Courts, except so far as it is modified by this 
 Constitution or may be changed by law. 
 
 27. Each County shall be laid off into districts, as nearly equal 
 as may be in territory and population. In each district there shall 
 be elected by the voters thereof, four Justices of the Peace, who 
 shall be commissioned by the Governor, reside in their respective 
 districts, and hold their office for the term of four years. The jus- 
 tices so elected shall choose one of their own body, who shall be 
 the presiding Justice of the County Court, and whose duty it shall 
 be to attend each term of said court. The other justices shall be 
 classified by law for the performance of their duties in court. 
 
 28. The Justices shall receive for their services in court, a per 
 diem compensation, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
 County treasury ; and shall not receive any fee or emolument for 
 other judicial services. 
 
 29. The power and jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace within 
 their respective Counties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 COUNTY OFFICERS. 
 
 30. The voters of each County shall elect a Clerk of the County 
 Court, a Surveyor, an Attorney for the Commonwealth, a Sheriff, 
 and so many Commissioners of the Revenue as may be authorized by 
 law, who shall hold their respective offices as follows : The Clerk, 
 and the Surveyor, for the term of six years ; the Attorney, for the 
 term of four years ; the Sheriff, and the Commissioners, for the term 
 of two years. Constables, and Overseers of the Poor, shall be 
 elected by the voters, as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 31. The officers mentioned in the preceding section, except the 
 Attorneys, shall reside in the Counties or Districts for which they 
 were respectively elected. No person elected for two successive 
 terms to the office of Sheriff, shall be re-eligible to the same office 
 for the next succeeding term ; nor shall he, during his term of ser- 
 vice, or within one year thereafter, be eligible to any political office. 
 
 32. The Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Attorneys for the Com- 
 monwealth, Clerks of the Circuit and County Courts, and all other 
 County officers, shall be subject to indictment for malfeasance, mis- 
 feasance, or neglect of official duty, and upon conviction thereof, their 
 offices shall become vacant. 
 
 CORPORATION COURTS AND OFFICERS.* 
 
 33. The General Assembly may vest such jurisdiction as shall be 
 deemed necessary in Corporation Courts, and in the Magistrates who 
 
 'may belong to the corporate body. 
 
 34. All officers appertaining to the Cities and other Municipal 
 Corporations, shall be elected by the qualified voters, or appointed 
 by the constituted authorities of such Cities or Corporations, as may 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
VIRGINIA. m254 
 
 Done in Convention, in the city of Richmond, on the first day of 
 August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 fifty-one, and in the seventy-sixth year of the Commonwealth of 
 Virginia. 
 
 JOHN Y. MASON, 
 
 President of the Convention, 
 S. D. Whittle, 
 
 Secretary of the Convention. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 1. It shall be the duty of the President of this Convention, immediately on its 
 adjournment, to certify to the Governor a copy of the Bill of Rights and Constitu- 
 tion adopted, together with this Schedule. 
 
 2. Upon the receipt of such certified copy, the Governor shall, forthwitli, an- 
 nomice the fact by Proclamation, to be published in such newspapers of the State 
 as may be deemed requisite for general information : and, shall annex to his Pro- 
 clamation a copy of the Bill of Rights and Constitution, together with this Schedule : 
 which Proclamation, Bill of Rights, Constitution and Schedule, shall be published 
 in the manner indicated, for the period of one month ; and ten printed copies 
 thereof shall, by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, be immediately transmitted, 
 by mail, to the Clerk of each County and Corporation Court in this Commonwealth, 
 to be by such Clerk submitted to the examination of any person desiring the same. 
 
 3. The Officers authorized by existing laws to conduct General Elections, shall, 
 at the places appointed for holding the same, open a Poll Book on the Fourth 
 Thursday in October next, to be headed " The Constitution as amended, and Sche- 
 dule," and to contain two separate columns ; the first column to be headed " For 
 Ratifying ;" the other, to be headed, " For Rejecting." And such officers, keeping 
 said Polls open for the space of three days, shall then and there receive, and record 
 in said Poll Book, the votes for and against this Constitution and Schedule, of all per- 
 sons qualified, under the existing or amended Constitution to exercise the right of 
 suffrage. 
 
 4. The taking of the polls, the duties to be performed by the officers, the privi- 
 lege of the voters, and the penalties attaching iox misconduct on the part of any 
 person, shall be, in all things, as jDrescribed by the second, third, fourth, seventh, 
 eighth and ninth sections of the act of the General Assembly, passed March the 
 fourth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, entitled " An act to take the sense 
 of the people upon the call of a Convention, and providing for organizing the 
 same," so far as the provisions of said sections may be applicable. 
 
 5. It shall be the duty of the Governor, upon receiving the returns of said offi- 
 cers, to ascertain the result thereof, and forthwith to declare the same by his Pro- 
 clamation, stating the aggregate vote in the State for and against the ratification 
 of the amended Constitution and Schedule which shall be published at least once a 
 week until the second Monday in December next, in such newspapers as, in his 
 opinion, will be best calculated to diffiise general information thereof: and if it ap- 
 pear that a majority of the votes cast is in favor of ratification, the Governor, at 
 the same time, and in like manner, shall make Proclamation for holding, on the 
 day last mentioned, a General Election throughout the State for Delegates and 
 Senators to the General Assembly, according to the apportionment and districts 
 prescribed in this Constitution ; and also for the election of a Governor, Lieutenant 
 Governor, and Attorney General. 
 
 6. The officers authorized by existing laws to hold and conduct General Elec- 
 
254:71 ' CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 tions, shall hold and conduct the elections herein required, and such officers and 
 all other persons shall be governed and controlled therein by the provisions of said 
 laws, so far as the same may be applicable to, and necessary for, the proper con- 
 ducting of the said elections. Duplicate poUs shall be separately kept for Go- 
 vernor and Lieutenant Governor, for Attorney General, and for Senators and De- 
 legates to the General Assembly, which shall be verified by the oaths of the 
 officers conducting the elections. 
 
 I. The verified duplicate polls for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney 
 General, shall be deposited with the Clerks of the several Counties and Cities, who 
 shall retain one in their respective offices, and transmit the other, by mail, to the 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 
 8. In the election of Senators and Delegates for districts formed of more than 
 one County and City, the officers conducting the same, at the court-houses of the 
 several Counties and Cities forming each District, shall assemble on the eighth day 
 after the commencement of the said election at the court-house of the County or 
 City first named as one of the Counties of the District, shall compare the polls 
 and ascertain the result : and shall deliver and return certificates of election ac- 
 cording to the laws now in force. 
 
 9. The members of the General Assembly so elected shall meet at the Capitol, 
 in the City of Richmond, on the second Monday in January, in the year one thou- 
 sand, eight hundred and fifty-two, and then and there organize as the General 
 Assembly of Virginia ; but before ' such organization, they shall respectively take 
 the oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth, and the other oaths of office required 
 by the laws now in force. 
 
 10. The election of Members of the General Assembly under this Constitution 
 shall vacate the seats of those elected under the present Constitution. 
 
 II. The official terms of the Delegates first elected to the General Assembly 
 under this Constitution shall expire on the thirtieth day of June, in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. 
 
 12. The official terms of the first Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney 
 General elected under this Constitution, shall expire on the thirty-first day of 
 December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. 
 
 13. The present Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals and of the Circuit 
 Courts, and their successors, who may be appointed under the existing Constitu- 
 tion, shall remain in office until such time as the law may prescribe for the com- 
 mencement of the official terms of the Judges under the amended Constitution and 
 no longer : which time, shall not be more than six months after the termination of 
 the first session of the General Assembly under the amended Constitution. 
 
 14. The Executive Department of the Government shall remain as at present 
 organized ; and the Governor and Councillors of State and their successors appointed 
 under the existing Constitution, shall continue in office until a Governor elected 
 under this Constitution shall be qualified ; and all other persons in office when this 
 Constitution is adopted, except as is herein otherwise expressly directed, shall con- 
 tinue in office until their successors are qualified : and vacancies in office, happen- 
 iug before such qualification, shall be filled in the manner now prescribed by law. 
 
 15. All the Courts of Justice now existing shall continue with their present 
 jurisdiction until and except so far as tlie Judicial system may or shall be other- 
 wise organized ; and all laws in force when this Constitution is adopted, and not 
 inconsistent therewith, and all rights, prosecutions, actions, claims and contracts 
 shall remain and continue as if this Constitution was not adopted. 
 
 16. The General Assembly shall pass all laws necessary for carrying this Consti- 
 tution into full effect and operation. 
 
 Done in Convention, in the city of Richmond, on the first day of August, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and in the seventy- 
 sixth year of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 
 
 JOHN Y. MASON", 
 S. D. Whittle, . President of the Convention. 
 
 Secretary of the Convention. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 \ 
 
 Sir Robert Heath, in 1630, obtained a grant of a territory south of Vir- 
 ginia, which was named Carolina. The first settlement made in this State 
 was at Albemarle, by emigrants from Virginia. These persons fled from 
 religious persecution in Virginia, and here for many years they enjoyed free- 
 dom and plenty. As Sir R. Heath had not complied with the conditions of 
 his title, in 1663 this territory was granted to Lord Clarendon and others. 
 They organized a government on very liberal principles, and adopted a Con- 
 stitution which was prepared by the celebrated John Locke. This Constitu- 
 tion provided that the Governor should hold his office during life, and that the 
 office should be hereditary. This Constitution created great disorder in the 
 colony, and was abolished in 1693. In 1729 the Crown purchased from the 
 proprietors the Carolinas for jC 17,500 sterling, and established two separate 
 governments, called North and South Carolina, In 1776 this State adopted 
 its Constitution, which, with a few modifications, continues to the present time. 
 
 Area, 48,000 sq. miles. Pop. in 1850, 868,903. Slaves, 288,412. Free col- 
 ored, 27,271, 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Art. I. The legislative authority shall be vested in two distinct 
 branches, both dependent on the people, to wit, a Senate and House of 
 Commons. 
 
 II. The Senate shall be composed of representatives, annually 
 chosen by ballot, one for each county in the State. 
 
 III. The House of Commons shall be composed of representa- 
 tivesj annually chosen by ballot, two for each county, and one for 
 
 L 
 
256 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 each of the towns of Edenton, Newbern, Wilmington, Salisbury, 
 Hillsborough, and Halifax. 
 
 IV. The Senate and House of Commons, assembled for the pur- 
 pose of legislation, shall be denominated the General Assembly. 
 
 V. Each member of the Senate shall have usually resided in the 
 county in which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding 
 his election, and for the aame time shall have possessed,and continue 
 to possess, in the county which he represents, not less than throe 
 hundred acres of land in fee. 
 
 VI. Each member of the House of Commons shall have usually 
 resided in the county in which he is chosen for one year immedi- 
 ately preceding his election, and for six months shall have possessed, 
 and continue to possess, in the county which he represents, not less 
 than one hundred acres of land in fee, or for the term of his own 
 life. 
 
 VII. All freemen of the age of twenty-one years, who have been 
 inhabitants of any one county within the State twelve months im- 
 mediately preceding the day of any ielection,.and possessed of a free- 
 hold, within the same county, of fifty acres of land, for six months 
 next before, and at the day of election, shall be entitled to vote for 
 a member of the Senate. 
 
 VIII. All freemen of the age of twenty-one years, who have 
 been inhabitants of any one county within the State twelve months 
 immediately preceding the day of any election, and shall have paid 
 public taxes, shall be entitled to vote for members of the House of 
 Commons, for the county in which he resides. 
 
 IX. All persons possessed of a freehold, in any town in this State, 
 having a right of representation, and also all freemen, who have been 
 inhabitants of any such town twelve months next before, and at the 
 day of election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entitled 
 to vote for a member to represent such town in the House of Com- 
 mons : provided, always, that this section shall not entitle any in- 
 habitant of such town to vote for members of the House of Com- 
 mons for the county in which he may reside ; nor any freeholder in 
 such county, who resides without or beyond the limits of such town, 
 to vote for a member of the said town. 
 
 X. The Senate and House of Commons, when met, shall each 
 have power to choose a Speaker and other their officers ; be judges 
 of the qualifications and elections of their members ; sit upon their 
 own adjournments from day to day ; and prepare bills to be passed 
 into laws. The two houses shall direct writ of election, for supply- 
 ing intermediate vacancies : and shall also jointly, by ballot, adjourn 
 themselves to any future day and place. 
 
 XI. All bills shall be read three times in each house, before they 
 pass into laws, and be signed by the speakers of both houses. 
 
 XII. Every person, who shall be chosen a member of the Senate 
 or House of Commons, or appointed to any office or place of trust, 
 before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 257 
 
 b 
 
 sliall take an oath to the State : and all officers shall take an oath 
 of office. 
 
 XIII. The General Assembly shall, by joint ballot of both houses, 
 appoint judges of the supreme courts of law and equity, judges of 
 admiralty, and attorney-general, who shall be commissioned by the 
 Governor, and hold their offices during good behavior. 
 
 XIV. The Senate and House of Commons shall have power to 
 appoint the generals and field officers of the militia, and all officers 
 of the regular army of this State. 
 
 XV. The Senate and House of Commons, jointly, at their first 
 meeting after each annual election, shall by ballot, elect a Gover- 
 nor for one year, who shall not be eligible to that office longer than 
 three years, in six successive years ; that no person under thirty 
 years of age, and who has not been a resident in this State above 
 five years, and having, in the State, a freehold in lands and tene- 
 ments, above the value of one thousand pounds, shall be eligible as 
 a Governor. 
 
 XVI. The Senate and House of Commons, jointly, at their first 
 meeting, after each annual election, shall, by ballot, elect seven per- 
 sons to be a Council of State for one year ; who shall advise the 
 Governor in the execution of his office : and that four members shall 
 be a quorum ; their advice and proceedings shall be entered in a 
 journal, to be kept for that purpose only, and signed by the mem- 
 bers present; to any part of which any member present may enter 
 his dissent. And such journal shall be laid before the General As- 
 sembly when called for by them. 
 
 XVII. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept 
 by the Governor, and used by him as occasion may require ; and 
 shall be called, the great seal of the Stale of North Carolina^ and shall 
 be affixed to all grants and commissions. 
 
 XVIII. The Governor, for the time being, shall be captain-gen- 
 eral and commander-in-chief of the militia ; and in the recess of the 
 General Assembly, shall have power, by and with the advice of the 
 Council of State, to embody the militia for the public safety. 
 
 XIX. The Governor, for the time being, shall have power to draw 
 for and apply such sums of money as shall be voted by the General 
 Assembly, for the contingencies of government, and be accountable 
 to them for the same. He also may, by and with the advice of the 
 Council of State, lay embargoes, or prohibit the exportation of any 
 commodity, for any term not exceeding thirty days, at any one time 
 in the recess of the General Assembly ; and shall have the power of 
 granting pardons and reprieves, except where the prosecution shall 
 be carried on by the General Assembly, or the law shall otherwise 
 direct ; in which case he may, in the recess, grant a reprieve until 
 the next sitting of the General Assembly ; and he may exercise all 
 the other executive powers of government, limited and restrained, 
 as by this Constitution is mentioned, and according to the laws of 
 the State. And, on his death, inability, or absence from the State, 
 
258 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the Speaker of the Senate, for the time being, and in case of his 
 death, inability, or absence from the State, the Speaker of the House 
 of Commons, shall exercise the powers of government, after such 
 death, or during such absence or inability of the Governor, or 
 Speaker of the Senate, or until a new nomination is made by the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 XX. In every case where any officer, the right of whose appoint- 
 ment is by this Constitution vested in the General Assembly, shall, 
 during their recess, die, or his office by other means become vacant, 
 the Governor shall have power, with the advice of the Council of 
 State, to fill up such vacancy, by granting a temporary commission, 
 which shall expire at the end of the next session of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 XXI. The Governor, judges of the supreme court of law and 
 equity, judges of admiralty, and attorney-general, shall have adequate 
 salaries, during their continuance in office. 
 
 XXII. The General Assembly shall, by joint ballot of both houses, 
 annually appoint a treasurer or treasurers for this State. 
 
 XXIII. The Governor, and other officers ofiending against the 
 State, by violating any part of this Constitution, maladministration, 
 or corruption, may be prosecuted, on the impeachment of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, or presentment of the grand jury of any court of su- 
 preme jurisdiction in this State. 
 
 XXIV. The General Assembly shall, by joint ballot of both 
 houses, triennially appoint a Secretary for this State. 
 
 XXV. No persons who heretofore have been, or hereafter may be 
 receivers of public moneys, shall have a seat in either house of Gene- 
 ral Assembly, or be eligible to any office in this State, until sucb 
 person shall have fully accounted for, and paid into the treasury, all 
 sums for which they may be accountable and liable. 
 
 XXVI. No treasurer shall have a seat, either in the Senate, 
 House of Commons, or Council of State, during his continuance in 
 that office, or before he shall have finally settled his accounts with 
 the public, for all the moneys which may be in his hands, at the ex- 
 piration of his office, belonging to the State, and hath paid the same 
 into the hands of the succeeding treasurer. 
 
 XXVII. No officer in the regular army or navy, in the service 
 and pay of the United States, of this State, or any other State, nor 
 any contractor or agent for supplying such army or navy with cloth- 
 ing or provisions, shall have a seat either in the Senate, House of 
 Commons, or Council of State, or be eligible thereto ; and any mem 
 ber of the Senate, House of Commons, or Council of State, being ap 
 pointed to, and accepting of such office, shall thereby vacate his seat. 
 
 XXVIII. No member of the Council of State shall have a seat, 
 either in the Senate or House of Commons. 
 
 XXIX. No judge of the supreme court of law and equity, or 
 judge of admiralty, shall have a seat in the Senate, House of Com 
 mons, or Council of State. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 259 
 
 XXX. No Secretary of this State, Attorney-Greneral, or clerk of 
 any court of record, shall have a seat in the Senate, House of Com- 
 mons, or Council of State. 
 
 XXXI. No clergyman, or preacher of the gospel, of any denomi- 
 nation, shall be capable of being a member of either the Senate, 
 House of Commons, or Council of State, while he continues in the 
 exercise of his pastoral function. 
 
 XXXII. No person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth 
 of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of either the Old 
 or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompati- 
 ble with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of 
 holding any office, or place of trust or profit, in the civil department, 
 within this State. 
 
 XXXIII. The justices of the peace, within their respective coun 
 ties in this State, shall in future be recommended to the Governoi 
 for the time being, by the representatives in General Assembly ; 
 and the Governor shall commission them accordingly : and the jus- 
 tices, when so commissioned, shall hold their offices' during good be- 
 havior, and shall not be removed from office by the General Assem- 
 bly, unless for misbehavior, absence, or inability. 
 
 XXXIV. There shall be no establishment of any one religious 
 church or denomination in this State, in preference to any other ; 
 neither shall any person, on any pretence whatsoever, be compelled 
 to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith or judg- 
 ment, nor be obliged to pay for the purchase of any glebe, or the 
 building of any house of worship, or for the maintainance of any 
 minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right, or has vol- 
 untarily and personally engaged to perform ; but all persons shall 
 be at liberty to exercise their own mode of worship : provided, that 
 nothing herein contained shall be construed to exempt preachers of 
 treasonable or seditious discourses, from legal trial and punishment. 
 
 XXXV. No person in the State shall hold more than one lucra- 
 tive office at any one time ; provided that no appointment in the 
 militia, or the office of a justice of the peace, shall be considered as 
 a lucrative office. 
 
 XXXVI. All commissions and grants shall run in the name 
 of the State of North Carolina, and bear test, and be signed by the 
 Governor. All writs shall run in the same manner, and bear test, 
 and be signed by the clerks of the respective courts. Indictments 
 shall conclude, agai?ist the peace and dignity of the State. 
 
 XXXVII. The .delegates for this State to the Continental Con- 
 gress, while necessary, shall be chosen annually by the General As- 
 sembly, by ballot ; but may be superseded, in the mean time, in the 
 same manner ; and no person shall be elected to serve in that ca- 
 »pacity for more than three years successively. 
 
 XXXVIII. There shall be a sheriff, coroner, or coroners, and 
 constables, in each county within this State. 
 
 XXXIX. The person of a debtor, where there is not a strong pre- 
 
260 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering 
 up, bona fide, all his estate, real and personal, for the use of his credi- 
 tors, in such manner a-s shall hereafter be regulated by law. All 
 prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital 
 offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. 
 
 XL. Every foreigner who comes to settle* in this State, havinp^ 
 first taken an oath of allegiance to the same, may purchase, or h} 
 other just means, acquire, hold, and transfer land, or other real es- 
 tate, and after one year's residence be deemed a free citizen. 
 
 XLI. A school or schools shall be established by the Legisla- 
 ture, for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to 
 the masters, paid by the puT^lic, as may enable them to instruct at 
 low prices ; and, all useful learning shall be duly encouraged and 
 promoted in one or more universities. 
 
 XLII. No purchase of lands shall be made of the Indian natives, 
 but on behalf of the public, by authority of the General Assembly. 
 
 XLIII. The future Legislature of this State shall regulate en- 
 tails, in such a manner as to prevent perpetuities. 
 
 XLIV. The declaration of rights is hereby declared to be part of 
 the Constitution of this State, and ought never to be violated on 
 any pretence whatsoever. 
 
 XLV. Any member of either house of Greneral Assembly shall 
 have liberty to dissent from and protest against any act or resolve 
 which he may think injurious to the public, or any individual, and 
 have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journals. 
 
 XLVI. Neither house of the General Assembly shall proceed 
 upon public business, unless a majority of all the members of such 
 house are actually present ; and that upon a motion made and sec- 
 onded, the yeas and nays, upon any question, shall be taken and en- 
 tered on the journals : and that the journals of the proceedings of 
 both houses of the General Assembly shall be printed, and made 
 public, immediately after their adj'ournment. 
 
 This Constitution is not intended to preclude the present Con- 
 gress from making a temporary provision, for the well ordering of 
 this State, until the General Assembly shall establish government 
 agreeable to the mode herein before described. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 Made in Convention^ June 4, 1835, and ratified hy the People^ No- 
 vember 9, to take effect January 1, 1836. 
 
 ARTICLE i 
 
 Sec. I. — 1. The Senate of this State shall consist of fifty repre- 
 sentatives, biennially chosen by ballot, and to be elected by dis- 
 tricts ; which districts shall be laid ofi" by the General Assembly,- 
 at its first session after the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 forty-one ; and afterwards, at its first session after the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-one ; and then every twenty 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 261 
 
 years thereafter, in proportion to the public taxes paid into the 
 treasury of the State, by the citizens thereof ; and the average of 
 the public taxes paid by each county into the treasury of the State, 
 for the five years preceding the laying off of the districts, shall be 
 considered as its proportion of the public taxes, and constitute the 
 basis of apportionment : Provided that no county shall be divided 
 in the formation of a senatorial district. And when there are one 
 or more counties having an excess of taxation above the ratio to 
 form a senatorial district, adjoining a county or counties deficient 
 in such ratio, the excess or excesses aforesaid shall be added to the 
 taxation of the county or counties deficient ; and if, with such addi- 
 tion, the county or counties receiving it shall have the requisite ratio, 
 such county and counties each shall constitute a senatorial district. 
 
 2. The House of Commons shall be composed of one hundred and 
 twenty representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by 
 counties according to their federal population, that is, according to 
 their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to 
 the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service 
 for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths ot 
 all other persons ; and each county shall have at least one member 
 in the House of Commons, although it may not contain the requi- 
 site ratio of population. 
 
 3. This apportionment shall be made by the General Assembly, at 
 the respective times and periods when the districts for the Senate 
 are hereinbefore directed to be laid off; and the said apportionment 
 shall be made according to an enumeration to be ordered by the 
 General Assembly, or according to the census which may be taken 
 by order of Congress, next preceding the making such apportionment. 
 
 4. In making the apportionment in the House of Commons, the 
 ratio of representation shall be ascertained by dividing the amount 
 of federal population in the State, after deducting that compre- 
 hended within those counties which do not severally contain the one 
 hundred-and- twentieth part of the entire federal population afore- 
 said, by the number of representatives less than the number assigned 
 to the said counties. To each county containing the said ratio, 
 and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned one representa- 
 tive ; to each county containing twice, but not three times the said 
 ratio, there shall be assigned two representatives, and so on progres- 
 sively ; and then the remaining representatives shall be assigned 
 severally to the counties having the largest fractions. 
 
 Sec. II — 1. Until the first session of the General Assembly, which 
 shall be had after the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, the 
 Senate shall be composed of members to be elected from the seA^eral 
 districts hei^einafter named, that is to say, the first district shall 
 •consist of the counties of Perquimons and Pasquotank ; the 2d dis- 
 trict, of Camden and Currituck ; the 3d district, Gates and Chowan ; 
 the 4th district, Washington and Tyrrell ; the 5th district, North- 
 ampton ; the 6th district, Hertford ; the 7th district, Bertie ; the 
 
262 coNSTiTunoN of 
 
 8th district, Martin ; the 9th district, Halifax ; the 10th districtj 
 Nash; the 1 1th district. Wake; the 12th district, Franklin; the 
 13th district, Johnston ; the 14th district, Warren; the 15th dis- 
 trict, Edgecomb ; the 16th district, Wayne ; the 17th district, Green 
 and 'Lenoir ; the 18th district, Pitt: the 19th district, Beaufort and 
 Hyde; t^he 20th district, Carteret and Jones; the 21st district. 
 Craven ; the 22d district, Chatham ; the 23d district, Granville ; 
 the 24th district. Person ; the 25th district, Cumberland ; the 26th 
 district, Sampson ; the 27th district, New-Hanover ; the 28th dis- 
 trict, Duplin ; the 29th district, Onslow ; the 30th district, Bruns- 
 wick, Bladen, and Columbus; the 31st district, Robeson and Rich- 
 mond : the 32d district, Anson ; the 33d district, Cabarrus ; the 34th 
 district, Moore and Montgomery ; the 35th district, Caswell ; the 
 36th district, Rockingham ; the 37th district, Orange ; the .38th 
 district, Randolph ; the 39th district, Guilford ; the 40th district, 
 Stokes ; the 41st district. Rowan ; the 42d district, Davidson ; the 
 43d district, Surry ; the 44th district, Wilkes and Ashe ; the 45th 
 district, Burke and Yancy ; the 46th district, Lincoln ; the 47th 
 district Iredell ; the 48th district, Rutherford ; the 49th district, 
 Buncombe, Haywood and Macon ; the 50th district, Mecklenburg: 
 — each district to be entitled to one senator. 
 
 2. Until the first session of the General Assembly after the year 
 eighteen hundred and forty-one, the House of Commons shall be 
 composed of members elected from the counties in the following 
 manner, viz. : The counties of Lincoln and Orange shall elect four 
 members each. The counties of Burke, Chatham, Granville, Guil- 
 ford, Halifax, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Surry, . 
 Stokes, and Wake shall elect three members each. The counties of 
 Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Buncombe, Cumberland, Craven, Caswell, 
 Davidson, Duplin, Edgecomb, Franklin, Johnston, Montgomery, 
 New-Hanover, Northampton, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, 
 Richmond, Rockingham, Sampson, Warren, Wayne, and Wilkes 
 shall elect two members each. The counties of Ashe, Bladen, 
 Brunswick, Camden, Columbus, Chowan, Currituck, Carteret, Ca- 
 barrus, Gates, Greene, Haywood, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, 
 Macon, Moore, Martin, Nash, Onslow, Pasquotank, Perquimons, 
 Tyrrell, Washington, and Yancy shall elect one member each. 
 
 Sec. III. — 1, Each member of the Senate shall have usually re- 
 sided in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately 
 preceding his election, and for the same time shall have possessed 
 and continu: to possess in the district which he represents, not 
 less than throe hundred acres of land in fee. 
 
 2. All free men of the age of twenty-one years, (except as is herein- 
 after declared) who have been inhabitants of any one district within 
 the State twelve months immediately preceding the day of any 
 election, and possessed of a freehold within the same district of fifty 
 acres of land, for six months next before and at the day of election, 
 shall be entitled to vote for a member of the Senate. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 263 
 
 3. No free negro, free mulatto, or free person of mixed blood, de- 
 scended from negro ancestors to the fourth generation inclusive, 
 (though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white per- 
 son,) shall vote for members of the Senate or House of Commons. 
 
 Sec. IV. — 1. In the election of all officers, whose appointment is 
 conferred on the General Assembly by the Constitution, the votes 
 shall be viva voce. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall have power to pass laws regula- 
 ting the mode of appointing and removing militia officers. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall have power to pass general laws 
 regulating divorce and alimony, but shall not have power to grant 
 a divorce or secure alimony in any individual case. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall not have power to pass any private 
 law to alter the name of any person, or to legitimate any persons 
 not born in lawful wedlock, or to restore to the rights of citizenship 
 any person convicted of an infamous crime ; but shall have power 
 to pass general laws regulating the same. 
 
 5. The General Assembly shall not pass any private law, unless 
 it shall be made to appear that thirty days notice of application to 
 pass such law shall have been given, under such directions and in 
 such manner as shall be provided by law. 
 
 6. If vacancies shall occur by death, resignation or otherwise, 
 before the meeting of the General Assembly, writs may be issued by 
 law. the Governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
 
 7. The General Assembly shall meet biennially, and at each bien- 
 nial session shall elect, by joint vote of the two houses, a Secretary 
 of State, Treasurer, and Council of State, who shall continue in 
 office for the term of two years. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Governor shall be chosen by the qualified voters for 
 the members of the House of Commons, at such time and places as 
 members of the General Assembly are elected. 
 
 2. He shall hold his office for the term of two years from the time of 
 his installation, and until another shall be elected and qualified : but 
 he shall not be eligible more than four years in any term of six years. 
 
 3. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up 
 and transmitted to the seat of government, by the returning officers, 
 directed to the Speaker of the Senate, who shall open and publish 
 them in the presence of a majority of the members of both houses 
 of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number 
 of votes shall be Governor ; but if two or more shall be equal and 
 highest in votes^ one of them shall be chosen Governor by joint vote 
 of both houses of the General Assembly. 
 
 4. Contested elections for Governor shall be determined by both 
 houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 5. The Governor elect shall enter on the duties of the office on 
 
 20 
 
264 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the first day of January next after his election, having previously 
 taken the oaths of ofl&ce in the presence of the members of both 
 branches of the General Assembly, or before the Chief Justice of the 
 Supreme Court, who, in case the Grovernor elect should be prevented 
 from attendance before the G-eneral Assembly, by sickness or other 
 unavoidable cause, is authorized to administer the same. 
 
 AKTICLE III. 
 
 Sec. I. — -4. The Governor, judges of the Supreme Court, and 
 judges of the Superior Courts, and all other officers of this State, 
 {except justices of the peace and militia officers,) may be impeached 
 for wilfully violating any article of the Constitution, maladministra- 
 tion, or corruption. 
 
 2. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
 than to remove from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
 office of honor, trust, or profit under this State ; but the party con- 
 victed may nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and 
 punishment, according to law. 
 
 3. The House of Commons shall have the sole power of impeach- 
 ment. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
 No person shall be convicted upon any impeachment, unless two- 
 thirds of the senators present shall concur in such conviction ; and 
 before the trial of any impeachment, the members of the Senate 
 shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try and 
 determine the charge in question, according to evidence. ' 
 
 Sec. II. — 1. Any judge of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior 
 Courts, may be removed from office for mental or physical inability, 
 upon a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of both branches of the 
 General Assembly. The judge against whom the Legislature may 
 be about to proceed, shall receive notice thereof, accompanied by a 
 copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least twenty days be- 
 fore the day on which either branch of the General Assembly shall 
 act thereon. 
 
 The salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior 
 Courts, shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 
 
 Sec. III. Upon the conviction of any justice of the peace of any 
 infamous crime, or of corruption or mal-practice in office, the com- 
 mission of such justice shall be thereby vacated, and he shall be for- 
 ever disqualified from holding such appointment. 
 
 Sec. IV. The General Assembly, at its first session after the 
 year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and from time to 
 time thereafter, shall appoint an Attorney-General, who shall be 
 commissioned by the Governor, and shall hold his office for the term 
 of four years ; but if the General Assembly should hereafter extend 
 the term during which solicitors of the State shall hold their offices, 
 then they shall have power to extend the term of office of the At- 
 torney-General to the same period. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 265 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 Sec. I. — 1. No convention of the people shall be called by the 
 General Assembly, unless by the concurrence of two-thirds of all 
 the members of each house of the General Assembly. 
 
 2. No part of the Constitution of this State shall be altered, un- 
 less a bill to alter the same shall have been read three times in each 
 house of the General Assembly, and agreed to by three-fifths of the 
 whole number of members of each house respectively ; nor shall any 
 alteration take place until the bill so agreed to shall have been pub- 
 lished six months previous to a new election of members to the 
 General Assembly. If, after such publication, the alteration pro- 
 posed by the preceding General Assembly shall be agreed to in the 
 first session thereafter, by two thirds of the whole representation in 
 each house of the General Assembly, after the same shall have been 
 read three times on three several days, in each house, then the said 
 General Assembly shall prescribe a mode by which the amendment 
 or amendments may be submitted to the qualified voters of the 
 House of Commons throughout the State ; and if, upon comparing 
 the votes given in the whole State, it shall appear that a majority of 
 the voters have approved thereof, then, and not otherwise, the same 
 shall become a part of the Constitution. 
 
 Sec. II. The thirty-second section of the Constitution shall be 
 amended to read as follows : No person who shall deny the being 
 of God, or the truth of the Christian religion, or the divine authority 
 of the Old or New Testament, or who shall hold religious principles 
 incompatible with the freedom or safety of the State, shall be capa- 
 ble of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil de- 
 partment within this State. 
 
 Sec. III. — 1. Capitation tax shall be equal throughout the State, 
 upon all individuals subject to the same. 
 
 2. All free males over the age of twenty-one years, and under the 
 age of forty-five years, and all slaves over the age of twelve years, 
 and under the age of fifty years, shall be subject to capitation tax, 
 and no other person shall be subject to such tax : provided, that 
 nothing herein contained shall prevent exemptions of taxable polls, 
 as heretofore prescribed by law, in cases of bodily infirmity. 
 
 Sec. IV. No person who shall hold any office or place of trust or 
 profit under the United States, or any department thereof, or under 
 this State, or any other State or government, shall hold or exercise 
 any other office or place of trust or profit under the authority of this 
 State, or be eligible to a seat in either house of the General Assem- 
 bly : provided, that nothing herein contained shall extend to officers 
 in the militia ot justices of the peace. 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 The first settlement in South Carolina was made at Port Royal, m 1670. 
 The following year a settlement was commenced at Old Charleston (above 
 its present site.) In 1680 they abandoned that location, and laid the founda- 
 tion of the present city of Charleston. In 1690 a colony of French refugees* 
 settled in this State, In 1703 the Church of England was established by law. 
 But things were in a very unsettled state for some time, and in 1719 the colo- 
 nists renounced the proprietory government. In 1629 the territory was pur- 
 chased ol the proprietors, as narrated in the account of North Carolina. In 
 1752 about 1600 foreign Protestants, who had fled from persecution, arrived in 
 Carolina, which added much interest to its settlement. This State suffered 
 much in wars with the Indians, The first Constitution was formed in 1775 — 
 the present one in 1790. 
 
 The British troops occupied Charleston in 1780. Several hard battles were 
 fought in this State, the most important of which was at Eutaw Springs, in 
 1781, which in effect terminated the war in this State. 
 
 Area 25,000 sq. m. Pop. 18.50, 66S,.107,of ^^hich 381,925 are slaves, Free 
 blacks, 8.769. 
 
 * Huguenots, 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 267 
 
 CONSTITUTION, 
 
 We, the Delegates of the People of the State of South Carolina, in 
 general Conv.ention met, do ordain and establish this Constitution 
 
 for its government. 
 
 AETICLE I. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative authority of this State shall he vested in 
 a Greneral Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
 chosen by ballot, every second year, by the citizens of this State, 
 qualified as in this Constitution is provided. 
 
 3. The several election districts in this State shall elect the fol- 
 lowing number of representatives, viz. : Charleston, including St. 
 Philip and St. Michael, fifteen members ; Christ Church, three 
 members ; St. John, Berkley, three members ; St. Andrew, three 
 members ; St. George, Dorchester, three members ; St. James, 
 Goose Creek, three members; St. Thomas and St. Dennis, three 
 members ; St. Paul, three members ; St. Bartholomew, three 
 members ; St. James, Santee, three members ; St. John, Colleton, 
 three members ; St. Stephen, three members ; St. Helena, three 
 members ; St. Luke, three members ; Prince William, three mem- 
 bers ; St. Peter, three members ; All Saints, (including its ancient 
 boundaries,) one member ; Winyaw, (not including any part of All 
 Saints,) three members : Kingston, (not including any part of All 
 Saints,) two members ; Williamsburg, two members ; Liberty, two 
 members ; Marlborough, two members ; Chesterfield, two members ; 
 Darlington, two members ; York, three members ; Chester, two 
 members ; Fairfield, two members ; Richland, two members ; Lan- 
 caster, two members ; Kershaw, two members ; Claremont, two 
 members ; Clarendon, two members ; Abbeville, three members ; 
 Edgefield, three members ; Newberry, (including the fork between 
 Broad and Saluda rivers,) three members ; Laurens, three mem- 
 bers :. Union, two members; Spartan, two. members ; Greenville, 
 two members ; Pendleton, three members ; St. Matthew, two mem- 
 bers ; Orange, two members ; Winton, (including the district be- 
 tween Savannah river, and the north fork of Edisto,) three members ; 
 Saxe Gotha, three members. 
 
 4. Every free white man, of the age of twenty-one years, being a 
 citizen of this State, and having resided therein two years previous 
 to the day of election, and who hath a freehold of fifty acres of land, 
 or a town lot, of which he hath been legally seized and possessed, at 
 least six months before such election, or, not having such freehold 
 or town lot, hath been a resident in the election district, in which 
 he ofiers to give his vote, six months before the said election, and 
 hath paid a tax the preceding year of three shillings sterling towards 
 
268 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 tlie support of tliis government, sliall have a right to vote for a 
 member or members, to serve in either branch of the Legislature, 
 for the election district in which he holds such property, or is so 
 resident. 
 
 5. The returning officer, or any other person present, entitled to 
 vote, may require any person who shall offer his vote at an election, 
 to produce a certificate of his citizenship, and a receipt from the 
 tax collector of his having paid a tax, entitling him to vote, or to 
 swear, or affirm, that he is duly qualified to vote agreeably to this 
 Constitution. 
 
 6. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, unless he is a free white man, of the age ef twenty-one 
 years, and hath been a citizen and resident in, this State three years 
 previous to his election. If a resident in the election district, he 
 shall not be eligible to a seat in the House of Representatives, 
 unless he be legally seized and possessed, in his own right, of a 
 settled freehold estate of five hundred acres of land, and ten 
 negroes ; or of a real estate, of the value of one hundred and fifty 
 pounds sterling, clear of debt. If a non-resident, he shall be legally 
 seized and possessed of a settled freehold estate therein, of the 
 value of five hundred pounds sterling, clear of debt. 
 
 7. The Senate shall be composed of members to be chosen for 
 four years, in the following proportions, by the citizens of this State, 
 qualified to elect members to the House of Representatives, at the 
 same time, in the same manner, and at the same places, where they 
 shall vote for representatives, viz. : Charleston^, (including St. Philip 
 and St. Michael,) two members ; Christ Church, one member ; St. 
 John, Berkeley, one member ; St. Andrew, one member ; St. George, 
 one member ; St. James, Goose Creek, one member ; St. Thomas 
 and St. Dennis, one member ; St. Paul, one member ; St. Bartholo- 
 mew, one member ; St. James, Santee, one member ; St. John, Col- 
 leton, one member; St. Stephens, one member; St. Helena, one 
 member ; St. Luke, one member ; Prince William, one member ; St. 
 Peter, one membo-r ; All Saints, one member ; Winyaw and Wil 
 liamsburgh, one member : Liberty and Kingston, one member ; Marl- 
 borough, Chesterfield and Darlington, two members ; York, one mem- 
 ber ; Fairfield, Richland and Chester, one member ; Lancaster and 
 Kershaw, one member ; Claremont and Clarendon, one member ; 
 Abbeville, one member ; Edgefield, one member ; Newbury, (includ- 
 ing the fork between Broad and Saluda rivers,) one member ; Lau- 
 rens, one member ; Union, one member ; Spartan, one member ; 
 Greenville, one member ; Pendleton, one member ; St. Matthew and 
 Orange, one member ; Winton, (including the district between Sa- 
 vannah river and the north fork of Edisto,) one member ; Saxe 
 Gotha, one member. 
 
 8. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the Senate, unless he is 
 a free white man, of the age of thirty years, and hath been a citizen 
 and resident in this State five years previous to his election. If a 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 269 
 
 resident in the election district, lie shall not be eligible unless he 
 be legally seized and possessed, in his own right, of a settled free- 
 hold estate of the value of three hundred pounds sterling, clear of 
 debt. If a non-resident in the election district, he shall not be eli- 
 gible unless he be legally seized and possessed, in his own right, of 
 a settled freehold estate, in the said district, of the value of one 
 thousand pounds sterling, clear of debt 
 
 9. Immediately after the senators shall be assembled, in consequence 
 of the first election, they shall be divided by lot into two classes. 
 The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the 
 expiration of the second year, and of the second class, at the end of 
 the fourth year ; so that one-half thereof, as near as possible, may 
 be chosen, forever thereafter, every second year, for the term of 
 four years. 
 
 10. Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall 
 be chosen on the second Monday in October next, and the day fol- 
 lowing : and on the same days in every second year thereafter, in 
 such manner, and at such times, as are herein directed ; and shall 
 meet on the fourth Monday in November annually, at Columbia, 
 (which shall remain the seat of government until otherwise deter- 
 mined, by the concurrence of two-thirds of both branches of the 
 whole representation,) unless the casualties of war, or contagious 
 disorders should render it unsafe to meet there ; in either of which 
 cases, the Governor or commander-in-chief for the time being may, 
 by proclamation, appoint a more secure and convenient place of 
 meeting. 
 
 11. Each house shall judge of the elections, returns, and qualifi- 
 cations of its own members ; and a majority of each house shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn 
 from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
 of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as may 
 be provided by law. 
 
 12. Each house shall choose by ballot its own ofiicers, determine 
 its rules of proceeding, punish its members for disorderly behavior, 
 and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a 
 second time for the same cause. 
 
 13. Each house may punish, by imprisonment, during sitting, any 
 person, not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, 
 by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence — or who, 
 during the time of its sitting, shall threaten harm to body or estate 
 of any member, for anything said or done in either house ; or who 
 shall assault any of them therefor ; or who shall assault or arrest 
 any witness or other person ordered to attend the house, in his going 
 to or returning therefrom ; or who shall rescue any person arrested 
 by order of the house. 
 
 14. The members of both houses shall be protected in their per- 
 sons and estates, during their attendance on, going to, and returning 
 from the Legislature, and ten days previous to their sitting, and ten 
 
270 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 days after the adjournment of the Legislature. But these privileges 
 shall not be extended so as to protect any member who shall be 
 charged with treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 
 
 15. Bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the House of Kep- 
 resentatives, but may be altered, amended, or rejected by the Senate. 
 All other bills may originate in either house, and may be amended, 
 altered, or rejected by the other. 
 
 16. No bill or ordinance shall have the force of law, until it shall 
 have been read three times, and on three several days, in each house, 
 has had the Great Seal affixed to it, and has been signed, in the 
 Senate-House, by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 17. No money shall be drawn out of the public treasury, but by 
 the legislative authority of the State. 
 
 1 8. The members of the Legislature, who shall assemble under 
 this Constitution, shall b€ entitled to receive out of the public trea- 
 sury, as a compensation for their expenses, a sum not exceeding seven 
 shillings sterling a day, during their attendance on, going to, and 
 returning from the Legislature : but the same may be increased or 
 diminished by law, if circumstances shall require ; but no alterations 
 shall be made by any Legislature, to take effect during the existence 
 of the Legislature which shall make such alteration. 
 
 19*. Neither house shall, durkig their session, without the consent 
 • of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
 place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 20. No bill or ordinance, which shall have been rejected by either 
 house, shall be brought in again during the sitting, without leave of 
 the house, and notice of six days being previously given. 
 
 21. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature whilst 
 he holds any office of profit or trust under this State, the United 
 States, or either of them, or under any other power — except officers 
 in the militia, army, or navy of this State, justices of the peace, or 
 justices of the county courts, while they receive no salaries ; nor 
 shall any contractor of the army or navy of this State, the United 
 States, or either of them, or the agents of such contractor, be eligi- 
 ble to a seat in either house. And if any member shall accept or 
 exercise any of the said disqualifying offices, he shall vacatie his 
 seat. 
 
 22. If any election district shall neglect to choose a member or 
 members, on the days of election, or if any person chosen a member 
 of either house shall refuse to qualify and take his seat, or should 
 die, depart the State, or accept any disqualifying office, a writ of 
 election shall be issued by the President of the Senate, or Speaker 
 of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, for the purpose 
 of filling up the vacancy thereby occasioned, for the remainder of 
 the term for which the person so refusing to qualify, dying, depart- 
 ing the State, or accepting a disqualifying office, was elected to 
 serve. 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 271 
 
 23. And whereas the ministers of the Gospel are, hj their pro- 
 fession, dedicated to the service of Grod, and the care of*^ souls, and 
 ought not to be diverted from the great duty of their functions : 
 therefore, no minister of the Grospel, or public preacher, of any re- 
 ligious persuasion, whilst he continues in the exercise of his pastoral 
 functions, shall be eligible to the office of Grovernor, Lieutenant- 
 Crovernor, or a seat in the Senate or House of Representatives. 
 
 ARTICLE II. ^ 
 
 Sec. 1, The executive authority of this State shall be invested in 
 a Governor, to be chosen in manner following : as soon as may be, 
 after the first meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
 and at every first meeting of the House of Representatives thereaf- 
 ter, when a majority of both houses shall be present, the Senate and 
 House of Representatives shall, jointly, in the House of Representa- 
 tives, choose, by ballot, a Governor, to continue for two years, and 
 until a new election shall be made. • 
 
 2. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, unless he 
 hath attained the age of thirty years, and hath resided within this 
 State, and been a citizen thereof, ten years, and unless he be seized 
 and possessed of a settled estate within the same, in his own right, 
 of the value of fifteen hundred pounds sterling, clear of debt. 
 
 No person, having served two years as Governor, shall be re-eligible, 
 to that office, till after the expiration of four years. 
 
 No person shall hold the office of Governor, or any other office or 
 commission, civil or military, except in the militia, either in this 
 State or under any State, or the United States, or in any other 
 power, at one and the same time. 
 
 3. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be chosen at the same time, in 
 the same manner, continue in office for the same period, and be pos- 
 sessed of the same qualifications, as the Governor. 
 
 4. A member of the Senate or House of Representatives, being 
 chosen, and acting as Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, shall va- 
 cate his seat, and another person shall be elected in his stead. 
 
 5. In case of the impeachment of the" Governor, or his removal 
 from office, death, resignation, or absence from the State, th« Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor shall succeed to his office. And in case of the im- 
 peachment of the Lieutenant-Governor, or his removal from office, 
 death, resignation, or absence from the State, the President of the 
 Senate shall succeed to his office, till a nomination to those offices 
 respectively shall be made by the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives, for the remainder of the time for which the officer so impeach- 
 ed, removed from office, dying, resigning, or being absent, was 
 elected. 
 
 6. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
 navy of this State, and of the militia, except when they shall be 
 called into the actual service of the United States. 
 
272 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 7. He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, after con- 
 viction, except in . cases of impeachment, in such manner, on such 
 terms, and under restrictions, as he shall think proper, and he shall 
 have power to remit fines and forfeitures, unless otherwise directed 
 by law. 
 
 8. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed in 
 mercy. 
 
 9. He shall have power to prohibit the exportation of provision, 
 for any time not exceeding thirty days. 
 
 10. He shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
 tion, which shall neither be increased or diminished during the 
 period for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 11. All officers in the executive department, when required by 
 the Grovernor, shall give him information, in writing, upon any sub- 
 ject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 12. The Grovernor shall, from time to time, give to the Greneral 
 Assembly information of the condition of the State, and recom- 
 mend to their coirsideration such measures as he shall judge neces- 
 sary or expedient. 
 
 13. He may, on extraordinary occasions, converte the General 
 Assembly, and, in case of disagreement between the two houses 
 with respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time 
 as he shall think proper, not beyond the fourth Monday in the 
 
 •month of November then ensuing. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power shall be vested in such superior and 
 inferior courts of law and equity, as the Legislature shall, from time 
 to time, direct and establish. 
 
 The judges of each shall hold their commissions during good 
 behavior ; and judges of the superior courts shall, at stated times, 
 receive a compensation for their services, which shall neither be 
 increased or diminished during their continuance in office : but they 
 shall receive no fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any other office 
 of profit or trust, under this State, the United States, or any other 
 power. 
 
 2. The style of all processes shall be, " the State of South Caro- 
 lina.'''' All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the 
 authority of the State of South Carolina, and conclude — " against 
 the peace and dignity of the same." 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 All persons who shall be chosen or appointed to any office of 
 profit or trust, before entering on the execution thereof, shall take 
 the following oath : " I do swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, 
 according to the Constitution of this State, to exercise the office to 
 which I have been appointed, and will to the best of my abilities, 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 273 
 
 discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend the 
 Constitution of this State, and of the United States." 
 
 ARTICLE Y. 
 
 Sec. 1. That the House of Representatives shall have the sole 
 power of impeaching ; but no impeachment shall be made, unless 
 with the concurrence of two-thirds of the House of Representatives. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sit- 
 ting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or or affirma- 
 tion : and no person shall be convicted without the ct)ncurrence of 
 two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 3. The Grovernor, Lieutenant-Governor, and all the civil officers, 
 shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but 
 judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to a removal 
 from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, 
 or profit, under this State. The party convicted shall, nevertheless, 
 be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according 
 to law. 
 
 ARTICLE VI 
 
 Sec. 1. The judges of the superior courts, the commissioners of 
 the treasury, Secretary of the State, and Surveyor-General, shall be 
 elected by the joint ballot of both houses, in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. The commissioners of the treasury. Secretary of this 
 State, and Surveyor-General, shall hold their offices for four years :- 
 but shall not be eligible again for four years after the expiration of 
 the time for which they shall have been elected. 
 
 2. All other officers shall be appointed as they hitherto have been, 
 until otherwise directed by law ; but sheriff's shall hold their offices 
 for four years, and not be again eligible for four years after the 
 term for which they shall have been elected. 
 
 3. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of 
 the State of South Carolina, and be sealed with the seal of the State, 
 and be signed by the Governor. 
 
 ARTICLE VIL 
 
 All laws in force in this State at the passing of this Constitution, 
 shall so continue until altered or repealed by the Legislature ; ex- 
 cept where they are temporary, in which case they shall expire at 
 the times respectively limited for their duration, if not continued by 
 act of the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE Yin. 
 
 Sec. 1. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession 
 and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall, forever 
 hereafter, be allowed within this State to all mankind : Provided, 
 that the liberty of conscience thereby declared, shall not be so con- 
 strued as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices incon- 
 sistent with the peace or safety of this State. 
 
274 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. The rights, privileges, immunities, and estates of both civil and 
 religious societies and of corporated bodies, shall remain as if the 
 Constitution of this State had not been altered or amended. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Sec. 1. All power is originally vested in the people ; and all 
 free governments are founded on their authority, and are instituted 
 for their peace, safety, and happiness. 
 
 2. No freeman of this State shall be taken, or imprisoned, or 
 disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or ex- 
 iled, or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty, or 
 property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the 
 land : nor shall any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law im- 
 pairing the obligation of contracts, ever be passed by the Legislature 
 of this State. 
 
 3. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. 
 
 4. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall not grant any title of nobility or hered 
 itary distinction, nor create any ofi&ce, the appointment to which shall 
 be for any longer time than during good behavior. 
 
 6. The trial by jury, as heretofore used in this St^te, and the lib- 
 erty of the press, shall be forever inviolably preserved. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Sec. 1. The business of the treasury shall be in future conducted 
 by two treasurers, one of whom shall hold his office and reside in 
 Columbia ; and the other shall hold his office and reside in Charles- 
 ton. 
 
 2. The Secretary of State and Surveyor-ironeral shall hold their 
 offices both in Columbia and in ' Charleston. They shall reside at 
 one place, and their deputies at the other. 
 
 3. At the conclusion of the circuits, the judges shall meet and sit 
 at Columbia, for the purpose of hearing and determining all motions 
 which may be made for new trials, and in arrest of judgments, and 
 such points of law as may be submitted to them. From Columbia 
 they shall proceed to Charleston, and there hear and determine all 
 such motions for new trials, and in arrest of judgment, and such 
 points of law as may be submitted to them. 
 
 4. The G-overnor shall always preside, during the sitting of the 
 Legislature, at the place where their sessions may be held, and at 
 all other times, wherever, in his opinion, the public good may re- 
 quire. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall, as soon as may be convenient, pass laws 
 for the abolition of the rights of primogenitures, and for giving an 
 equitable distribution of the real estate of intestates. 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 275 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 No convention of the people shall be called, unless by the concur- 
 rence of two-thirds of both branches of the whole representation. 
 
 No part of this Constitution shall be altered, unless a bill to alter 
 the same shall have been read three times in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, and three times in the Senate, and agreed to by two-thirds 
 of both branches of the whole representation ; neither shall any al- 
 teration take place until the bill so agreed to be published three 
 months previous to a new election for members to the House of Rep- 
 resentatives ; and if the alteration proposed by the Legislature shall 
 be agreed to in their first session by two-thirds of the whole repre- 
 sentation in both branches of the Legislature, after the same shall 
 have been read three times, on three several days in each house, then 
 and not otherwise, the same shall become a part of the Constitution. 
 
 I 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ATMndmcnts ratified December 17, 1808. 
 
 The following sections, in amendment of the third, seventh, and 
 ninth sections of the first article of the Constitution of this State, 
 shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, valid parts of the said 
 Constitution ; and the said third, seventh, and ninth sections, or such 
 parts thereof as are repugnant to such amendments, are hereby re- 
 pealed and made void. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall consist of one hun- 
 dred and twenty four members, to be apportioned among the several 
 election districts of the State, according to the number of white in- 
 habitants contained, and the amount of all taxes raised by the Leg- 
 islature, whether direct or indirect, or of whatever species, paid in 
 each, deducting therefrom all taxes paid on account of property held 
 in any other district, and adding thereto all taxes elsewhere paid on 
 account of property held in such district. An enumeration of the 
 white inhabitants, for this purpose, shall be made in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and nine, and in the course of every tenth 
 year thereafter, in such manner as shall be by law directed : and 
 representatives shall be assigned to the different districts in the 
 above mentioned proportion, by act of the Legislature, at the ses- 
 sion immediately succeeding the above numeration. 
 
 '2. If the enumeration herein directed should not be made in the 
 course of the year appointed for the purpose by these amendments, 
 it shall be the duty of the Governor to have it effected as soon 
 tliereafter as shall be practicable. 
 
 3' In assigning representatives to the seveial districts of the 
 
276 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 State, the Legislature shall allow one representative for every 
 sixty-second part of the whole number of white inhabitants in the 
 State ; and one representative also for every sixty-second part of the 
 whole taxes raised by the Legislature of the State. The Legisla- 
 ture shall further allow one representative for such fractions of the 
 sixty-second part of the white inhabitants of the State, and of the 
 sixty-second part of the taxes raised by the Legislature of the State, 
 as, when added together, form a unit. 
 
 4. In every apportionment of representation under these amend- 
 ments, which shall take place after the first apportionment, the 
 amount of taxes shall be estimated from the average of the ten preced- 
 ing years ; but the first apportionment shall be founded upon 
 the tax of the preceding year, excluding from the amount thereof 
 the whole produce of the tax on sales at public auction. 
 
 5. If, in the apportionment of representatives under these amend- 
 ments, any election district shall appear not to be entitled, from its 
 population and its taxes, to a representative, such election district 
 shall, nevertheless, send one representative ; and, if there should be 
 still a deficiency of the number of representatives required by these 
 amendments, such deficiency shall be supplied by assigning repre- 
 sentatives to those election districts having the largest surplus 
 fractions ; whether those fractions consist of a combination of popu- 
 lation and of taxes, or of population or of taxes separately, until the 
 number of one hundred and twenty-four members be provided. 
 
 6. No apportionment, under these amendments shall be con- 
 strued to take effect, in any manner, until the general election 
 which shall succeed such apportionment. 
 
 7. The election districts, for members of the House of Representa- 
 tives, shall be and remain as heretofore established, except Saxe 
 Gotha and Newberry ; in which the boundaries shall be altered, as 
 follows, viz : That part of Lexington in the fork of Broad and Sa- 
 luda rivers, shall no longer compose a part of the election district 
 of Newberry, but shall be henceforth attached to, and form a part 
 of Saxe Gotha. And, also, except Orange and Barnwell, or Winton, 
 in which the boundaries shall be altered as follows, viz. : That part 
 of Orange in the fork of Edisto shall no longer compose a part of 
 the election district of Barnwell, or Winton, but shall be henceforth 
 attached to, and form a part of, Orange election district. 
 
 8. The Senate shall be composed of one member from each elec- 
 tion district, as now established for the election of members of the 
 House of Bepresentatives, except the district formed by the par- 
 ishes' of St. Philip and St. Michael, to which shall be allowed two 
 senators, as heretofore. 
 
 9. The seats of those senators who under the Constitution shall 
 represent two or more election districts, on the day preceding the 
 second Monday of October, which will be in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and ten, shall be vacated on that day, and the new 
 senators who shall represent such districts under these amend- 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 277 
 
 ments, shall, immediately after they shall have been assembled un- 
 der the first election, be divided by lots into two classes ; the seats 
 of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration 
 of the second year, and of the second class, at the expiration of the 
 fourth year ; and the number in these classes shall be so propor- 
 tioned, that one-half of the whole number of senators may, as nearly 
 as possible, continue to be chosen thereafter every second year. 
 
 10. None of these amendments becoming parts of the Constitu- 
 tion of this State shall be altered, unless a bill to alter the same 
 shall have been read on three several days in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, and on three several days in the Senate, and agreed to 
 at the second and third reading by two-thirds of the whole repre- 
 sentation in each branch of the Legislature ; neither shall any alter- 
 ation take place, until the bill so agreed to be published three 
 months previous to a new election for members to the House of 
 Representatives ; and if the alteration proposed by the Legislature 
 shall be agreed to in their first session, by two-thirds of the whole 
 representation, in each branch of the Legislature, after the same 
 shall have been read on three several days in each house, then, and 
 not otherwise, the same shall become a part of the Constitution. 
 
 Amendment ratified December 19, 1816. 
 
 That the third section of the tenth article of the Constitution of 
 this State be altered and amended to read as follows : The judges 
 shall, at such times and places as shall be prescribed by act of the 
 Legislature of this State, meet and sit for the purpose of hearing 
 and determining all motions which may be made for new trials, 
 and in arrest of judgment, and such points of law as may be sub- 
 mitted to them. 
 
GEORGIA. 
 
 Georgia was the latest settled of the original thirteen States. In 1732, 
 George II. (for whom the State was named), granted this territory to a 
 a company of benevolent individuals, for the purpose of providing an asylum 
 for the poor of England, and for the persecuted!^ Protestants of all nations. 
 The affairs of the colony were committed to a board of 20 trustees. In 1733 
 James Oglethorpe, with 130 emigrants, commenced a settlement at Savannah 
 The next year a large number of poor persons arrived. But many of these 
 emigrants were found to be idle and inefficient. This led the trustees to make 
 liberal offers to any who would settle in this colony. By this hundreds were 
 induced to come over from Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1740 as 
 many as 2500 emigrants had settled in this colony, of whom more than 1500 
 were the poor of Europe, and for whose support the trustees had expended 
 S500,000. But the trustees, being disappointed in their expectations, gave up 
 their charter in 1752, and Georgia was brought under regulations similar to the 
 other colonies. The first Constitution was formed in 1777, the second in 
 1785, and the present one in 1798 — and was amended in 1839. 
 
 Area 58,000 sq. m. Pop. 1850, 905,999, of which 362,966 were slaves, and 
 2,586, Free blacks. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Sec. 1 . The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments of 
 government shall be distinct, and each department shall be confided 
 to a separate body of magistracy : and no person or collection of 
 persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power 
 properly attached to either of the others, except in the instances 
 herein expressly permitted. 
 
GEORGIA. 279 
 
 2. The legislative power shall be vested in two separate and dis- 
 tinct branches, to wit : a Senate and House of Representatives, to 
 be styled " /Ae General Assembly.''^ 
 
 3. The Senate shall be elected annually, on the first Monday in 
 November, until such day of election be altered by law ; and shall 
 be composed of one member from each county, to be chosen by the 
 electors thereof 
 
 4. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the 
 age of twenty-five years ; and have been nine years a citizen of the 
 United States, and three years an inhabitant of this State, and shall 
 have usually resided within the county for which he shall be returned, 
 at least one year immediately preceding his election, except persons 
 who may have been absent on public business of this State or of the 
 United States,) and is, and shall have been possessed, in his own 
 right, of a settled freehold estate of the value of five hundred dol- 
 lars, or of taxable property to the amount of one thousand dollars, 
 within the county, or for one year preceding his election ; and whose 
 estate shall, on a reasonable estimation, be fully competent to the 
 discharge of his just debts, over and above that sum. 
 
 5. The Senate shall elect, by ballot, a president out of their own 
 body. 
 
 6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation : 
 and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
 thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment 
 shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification 
 to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, within this 
 State ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be subject to in- 
 dictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 7. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
 from all the counties which now are, or hereafter may be, included 
 within this State, according to their respective numbers of free white 
 persons, and including three-fifths of all the people of color. The 
 actual enumeration shall be made within two years, and within every 
 subsequent term of seven years thereafter, at such time and in such 
 manner as this Convention may direct. Each county containing 
 three thousand persons, agreeably to the foregoing plan of enumera- 
 tion, shall be entitled to two members : seven thousand to three 
 members ; and twelve thousand to four members : but each county 
 shall have at least one, and not more than four members ; the rep- 
 resentatives shall be chosen annually, on the first Monday in No- 
 vember, until such day of election be altered by law. Until the 
 aforesaid enumeration shall be made, the several counties shall be 
 entitled to the following number of representatives, respectively : 
 Camden two ; Grlynn two ; Liberty three ; M'Intosh two ; Bryan 
 one ; Chatham four ; Effingham two ; Scriven two : Montgomery 
 two ; Burke three ; Bullock one ; Jeffisrson three ; Lincoln two ; 
 Elbert three ; Jackson two : Richmond three : Wilkeb four ; Colum- 
 
 21 
 
280 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 bia three ; Warren three ; Washington three ; Hancock four ; Greene 
 three; Oglethorpe three; and Franklin two. 
 
 8. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
 to the age of twenty-one years, and have been seven years a citizen 
 of the United States, three years an inhabitant of this State, and 
 have usually resided in the county in which he shall be chosen, one 
 year immediately preceding his election, (unless he shall have been 
 absent on public business of this State or of the United States.) 
 and shall be possessed in his own right of a settled freehold estate 
 of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, or of taxable property 
 to the amount of five hundred dollars within the county, for one 
 year preceding his election ; and whose estate shall, on a reasonable 
 estimation, be competent to the discharge of his just debts, over and 
 above that sum. 
 
 9. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and 
 other ofl&cers. 
 
 10. They shall have solely the power to impeach all persons who 
 have been or may be in office. 
 
 1 1. No person holding any military commission or other appoint- 
 ment, having any emolument or compensation annexed thereto, un- 
 der this State or the United States, or either of them, except justices 
 of the inferior court, justices of the peace, and officers of the militia, 
 nor any person who has had charge of public moneys belonging to 
 the State, unaccounted for and unpaid, or who has not paid all legal 
 taxes or contributions to the govern^ient required of him, shall have 
 a seat in either branch of the Greneral Assembly ; "nov shall any 
 senator or representative be elected to any office or appointment bj" 
 the Legislature, having any emoluments or compensation annexed 
 thereto, during the time for which he shall have been elected, with 
 the above exception, unless he shall decline accepting his seat, by 
 notice to the executive within twenty days after he shall have been 
 elected ; nor shall any member, after having taken his seat, be eligi- 
 ble to any of the aforesaid offices or appointments during the time 
 for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 12. The meeting of the General Assembly shall be annually, on 
 the second Tuesday in January, until such day of meeting be altered 
 by law : a majority of each branch shall be authorized to proceed to 
 business ; bat a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and 
 compel the attendance of their members in such manner as each 
 house may prescribe. 
 
 ] 3. Each house shall be the judges of the elections, returns, and 
 qualifications of its own members ; with powers to expel or punish, 
 by censuring, fining, and imprisoning, or either, for disorderly be- 
 havior ; and may expel any person convicted of any felonious or in- 
 famous offence ; each house may punish by imprisonment, during 
 session, any person not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect 
 by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence, or who, 
 during session, shall threaten harm to the body or estate of any 
 
GEORGIA. 281 
 
 member, for anything said or done in either house, or who shall 
 assault any of them therefor ; or who shall assault or arrest any wit- 
 ness in going to or returning from, or who shall rescue any person 
 arrested "by order of either house. 
 
 14. No senator or representative shall be liable to be arrested dur- 
 ing his attendance on the General Assembly, or for ten days previous 
 to its sitting, or for ten days after the rising thereof, except for trea- 
 son, felony, or breach of the peace ; nor shall any member be liable 
 to answer for any thing spoken in debate in either house, in any 
 court or place elsewhere ; but shall nevertheless be bound to answer 
 for perjury, bribery, or corruption. 
 
 15. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish them immediately after their adjournment ; and the yeas and 
 nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two 
 members, be entered on the journals. 
 
 1 6. All bills for raising revenue or appropriating moneys, shall 
 originate in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate shall 
 propose or concur with amendments, as in other bills. 
 
 1 7. Every bill shall be read three times and on three separate 
 days, in each branch of the General Assembly, before it shall pass, 
 unless in cases of actual invasion or insurrection ; nor shall any law 
 or ordinance pass, containing any matter different from what is ex- 
 pressed in the title thereof ; and all acts shall be signed by the 
 President in the Senate, and Speaker in the House of Representa- 
 tives : No bill or ordinance which shall have been rejected by either 
 house, shall be brought in again during the session, under the same 
 or any other title, without the consent of two-thirds of each branch. 
 
 18. Each senator and representative before he be permitted to 
 take his seat, shall take an oath, or make affirmation, that he hath 
 not practised any unlawful means, either directly or indirectly, to 
 procure his election ; and every person shall be disqualified from 
 serving as a Senator or Representative, for the term for which he 
 shall have been elected, who shall be convicted of having given or 
 offered any bribe, or treat, or canvassed for such election ; and every 
 candidate employing like means, and not elected, shall, on convic- 
 tion, be ineligible to hold a seat in either house, or to hold any office 
 of honor or profit for the term of one year, and to such other disa- 
 bilities or penalties as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 19. Every member of the Senate and House of Representatives 
 shall, before he takes his seat, take the following oath or affirmation, 
 to wit : " I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) 
 that I have not obtained my election by bribery, treats, canvassing, 
 or other undue or unlawful means, used by myself, or others by my 
 desire or approbation, for that purpose ; that I consider myself con- 
 stitutionally qualified as a Senator or Representative ; and that, on 
 all questions and measures which may come before me, I will give 
 
 *my vote, and so conduct myself, as may, in my judgment, appear 
 most conducive to the interest and prosperity of this State : and 
 
282 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; and to the 
 utmost of my power and ability observe, conform to, support, and 
 defend the Constitution thereof" 
 
 20. No person who hath been or may be convicted of felony be- 
 fore any court of this State, or any of the United States, shall be 
 eligible to any office or appointment of honor, profit, or trust, within 
 this State. 
 
 21. Neither house, during the session of the General Assembly, 
 shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three 
 days, nor to any other place than that at which the two branches 
 shall be sitting ; and in case of disagreement between the Senate 
 and House of Representatives, with respect to their adjournment, 
 the Governor may adjourn them. 
 
 22. The General Assembly shall have power to make all laws 
 and ordinances which they shall deem necessary and proper for the 
 good of the State, which shall not be repugnant to this Consti- 
 tution. 
 
 23. They shall have power to alter the boundaries of the present 
 counties, and lay oif new ones, as well out of the counties already 
 laid ofi", as out of the other territory belonging to the State ; but 
 the property of the soil, in a free government, being one of the es- 
 sential rights of a free people, it is necessary, in order to avoid dis- 
 putes, that the limits of this State should be ascertained with pre- 
 cision and exactness ; and this Convention, composed of the imme- 
 diate representatives of the people, chosen by them to assert their 
 rights, to revise the powers given by them to the government, and 
 from whose will all ruling authority of right flows, doth assert and 
 declare, the boundaries of this State shall be as follows, that is to 
 say : the limits, boundaries, jurisdictions, and authority of the State 
 of Georgia, do, and did, and of right ought to, extend from the sea 
 or mouth of the river Savannah, along the northern branch or 
 stream thereof, to the fork or confluence of the rivers now called 
 Tugalo and Keowee, and from thence along the most northern 
 branch or stream of the said river Tugalo, till it intersect the north- 
 ern boundary line of South Carolina, if the said branch or stream of 
 Tugalo extends so far north, reserving all the islands in. the said 
 river Savannah and Tugalo to Georgia ; but, if the head spring or 
 source of any branch or stream of the said river Tugalo does not 
 extend to the north boundary line of South Carolina, then a west 
 line to the Mississippi, to be drawn from the head spring or source 
 of the said branch or stream of Tugalo river, which extends to the 
 highest northern latitude : thence, down the middle of the said river 
 Mississippi, until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty- 
 first degree of north latitude ; south, by a line drawn due east, 
 from the termination of the line last mentioned, in the latitude of 
 thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river 
 Apalachicola, or Chatahoochee : thence, along the middle thereof, to 
 its junction with Flint river ; thence, straight to the head of St. 
 
GEORGIA. 283 
 
 Mary's river ; and thence, along the middle of St. Mary's river, to 
 the Atlantic ocean, and from thence to the mouth or inlet of Sa- 
 vannah river, the place of beginning : including and comprehending 
 all the lands and waters within the said limits, boundaries, and ju- 
 risdictional rights ; and also all the islands within twenty leagues 
 of the sea coast. And this Convention doth further declare and as- 
 sert, that all the territory without the present temporary line, and 
 within the limits aforesaid, is now, of right, the property of the free 
 citizens of this State, and held by them in sovereignty, inalienable 
 but by their consent. Provided, nevertheless, That nothing herein 
 contained shall be construed so as to prevent a sale to, or contract 
 with the United States, by the Legislature of this State, of and for 
 all or any part of the western territory of this State, lying westward 
 of the river Chatahoochee, on such terms as may be beneficial to 
 both parties ; and may procure an extension of settlement, and ex- 
 tinguishment of Indian claims, in and to the vacant territory of this 
 State to the east and north of the said river Chatahoochee, to which 
 territory, such power of contract or sale, by the Legislature, shall 
 not extend : And provided also, The Legislature may give its con- 
 sent to the establishment of one or more governments westward 
 thereof ; but monopolies of land by individuals being contrary to 
 the spirit of our free government, no sale of territory of this State, 
 or any part thereof, shall take place to individuals or private com- 
 panies, unless a county or counties shall have been first laid off, 
 including such territory, and the Indian rights shall have been ex- 
 tinguished thereto. 
 
 24. The foregoing section of this article having declared the com- 
 mon rights of the free citizens of this State, in and to all the terri- 
 tory without the present temporary boundary line, and within the 
 limits of this State thereby defined, by which the contemplated 
 purchases of certain companies of a considerable portion thereof are 
 become constitutionally void ; and justice and good faith require, 
 that the State should not detain a consideration for a contract whio-h 
 has failed ; the Legislature, at their next session, shall make pro- 
 vision by law for returning to any person or persons who has or 
 have bonajuk deposited moneys for such purchases in the treasury 
 of this State : Provided, that the same shall not have been drawn 
 therefrom in terms of the act passed the thirteenth day of Febru- 
 ary, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, commonly called 
 the rescinding act, or the appropriation laws of the years one thou- 
 sand seven hundred and ninety-six and one thousand seven hundred 
 and ninety-seven; nor shall the moneys paid for such purchases 
 ever be deemed a part of the funds of this State, or be liable to ap- 
 propriation as such ; but until such moneys be drawn from the trea- 
 sury, they shall be considered altogether at the risk of the persons 
 who have deposited the same. No money shall be drawn out of the 
 treasury or from the public funds of this State, except by appropri- 
 ation made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
 
284 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published 
 from time to time. No vote, resolution, law, or order, shall pass the 
 Greneral Assembly, granting a donation or gratuity in favor of any 
 person whatever, but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 25. It shall be the duty of the justices of the inferior court, or 
 any three of them, in each county respectively, within sixty days 
 after the adjournment of this Convention, to appoint one or more fit 
 persons in each county, not exceeding one for each battalion district, 
 whose duty it shall be to take a full and accurate census or enume- 
 ration of all free white persons and people of color residing therein, 
 distinguishing, in separate columns, the free white persons from 
 persons of color, and return the same to the clerks of the superior 
 courts of the several counties, certified under their hands, on or be- 
 fore the first day of December next ; the persons so appointed, being 
 first severally sworn before the said justices, or either of them, duly 
 and faithfully to perform the trust reposed in them ; and it shall be 
 the duty of the said clerks to transmit all such returns, under seal, 
 directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, at the 
 first session of the Legislature thereafter. And it shall be the duty 
 of the General Assembly, at their said first session, to apportion the 
 members of the House of Representatives among the several coun- 
 ties, agreeably to the plans prescribed by this Constitution, and to 
 provide an adequate compensation for the taking of the said census. 
 Every person whose usual place of abode shall be in any family on 
 the first Monday in July next, shall be returned as of such family ; 
 and of every person occasionally absent at the time of taking the 
 enumeration, as belonging to that place in which he usually resides. 
 The General Assembly shall, by law, direct the manner of taking 
 such census or enumeration, within every subsequent term of seven 
 years, in conformity to this Constitution. And it is declared to be 
 the duty of all officers, civil and military, throughout the State, to 
 be aiding and assisting in the true and faithful execution thereof 
 In case the justices of the inferior courts should fail to make such 
 appointments, or if there should not be a sufficient number of such 
 justices in any county, then the justices of the peace, or any three of 
 them, shall have and exercise like powers and authority respecting 
 the said census ; and if the census or enumeration of any county shall 
 not be so taken and returned, then, and in that case, the General As- 
 sembly shall apportion the representation of such county according to 
 the best evidence in their power, relative to its population. 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 Sec. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who 
 shall hold his office during the term of two years, and until such 
 time as a successor shall be chosen and qualified. He shall have a 
 competent salary, established by law, which shall not be increased or 
 
GEORGIA. 
 
 diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected : 
 neither shall he receive, within that period, any other emolument 
 from the United States, or either of them, or from any foreign 
 power. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the General Assembly, at 
 their second annual session after the rising of this Convention, and 
 at every second annual session thereafter, on the second day after 
 the two houses shall be organized and competent to proceed to bu- 
 siness. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who shall 
 not have been a citizen of the United States twelve years, and an 
 inhabitant of this State six years, and who hath not attained to the 
 age of thirty years, and who does not possess five hundred acres 
 of land, in his own right, within this State, and other property 
 to the amount of four thousand dollars, and whoso estate shall not, 
 on a reasonable estimation, be competent to the discharge of his 
 debts, over and above that sum. 
 
 4. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the Governor, 
 the President of the Senate shall exercise the executive powers of 
 government until such disability be removed, or until the next 
 meeting of the General Assembly.' 
 
 5. The Governor shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, 
 take the following oath or affirmation : " I do solemly swear (or af- 
 firm, as the case may be) that I will faithfully execute the office of 
 Governor to the State of Georgia ; and will, to the best of my abil- 
 ities, preserve, protect, and defend the said State, and cause justice 
 to be executed in mercy therein, according to the Constitution and 
 laws thereof" 
 
 6. He shall bo commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia thereof 
 
 7. He shall have power to grant reprieves for offences against the 
 State, except in cases of impeachment, and to grant pardons or to 
 remit any part of a sentence, in all cases after conviction, except for 
 treason or murder, in which cases he may respite the execution, and 
 make report thereof to the next General Assembly, by whom a par- 
 don may be granted. 
 
 8. He shall issue writs of election to fill up all vacancies that 
 happen in the Senate or House of Representatives ; and shall have 
 power to convene the General Assembly on extraordinary occasions : 
 and shall give them, from time to time, information of the state of 
 the republic, and recommend to their consideration such measures 
 as he may deem necessary and expedient. 
 
 9. When any office shall become vacant by death, resignation, or 
 otherwise, the Governor shall have the power to fill such vacancj : 
 and persons so appointed shall continue in office until a successor 
 is appointed, agreeably to the mode pointed out by this Constitution 
 or by the Legislature. 
 
 1 0. He shall have the revision of all bills passed by both houses, 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 before the same shall become laws ; but two-thirds of both houses 
 may pass a law notwithstanding his dissent ; and if any bill should 
 not be returned by the Governor within five days after it hath been 
 presented to him, the same shall be a law unless the General As- 
 sembly, by their adjournment, shall prevent its return. 
 
 11. Every vote, resolution, or order, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, 
 shall be presented to the Governor ; and, before it shall take effect, 
 be approved by him ; or, being disapproved, may be repassed by 
 two-thirds of both houses, according to the rules and limitations pre- 
 scribed in case of a bill. 
 
 12. There shall be a Secretary of the State, a Treasurer, and a 
 Surveyor-General, appointed in the same manner and at the same 
 session of the Legislature, and they shall hold their offices for the 
 like period as the Governor, and shall have a competent salary, in- 
 cluding such emoluments as may be established by law, which shall 
 not be increased or diminished during the period for which they 
 shall have been elected. 
 
 13. The great seal of the State shall be deposited in the office of 
 the Secretary of State, and shall, not be affixed to any instrument 
 of writing, but by order of the Governor or General Assembly ; and 
 the General Assembly shall, at their first session after the rising of 
 this Convention, cause the great seal to be altered by law. 
 
 14. The Governor shall have power to appoint his own secre- 
 
 taries. 
 
 ARTICLE IIL 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in a Su- 
 perior Court, and in such inferior jurisdictions as the Legislature 
 shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges of the 
 Superior Court shall be elected for the term of three years, remov- 
 able by the Governor, on the address of two-thirds of both houses 
 for that purpose, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. The 
 Superior Court shall have exclusive and final jurisdiction in all 
 criminal cases which shall be tried in the county wherein the crime 
 was committed, and in all cases respecting titles to land, which shall 
 be tried in the county where the land lies ; and shall have power to 
 correct errors in inferior judicatories by writs of certiorari^ as well 
 as errors in the superior courts, and to order new trials on proper 
 and legal grounds ; Provided, that such new trials shall be deter- 
 mined, and such errors corrected, in the Superior Court of the 
 county in which such action originated. And the said Court shall 
 also have appellative jurisdiction in such other cases as the Legisla- 
 ture may by law direct, which shall in no case tend to remove the 
 cause from the county in which the action originated ; and the judges 
 thereof, in all cases of application for new trials, or correction of 
 error, shall enter their opinions on the minutes of the Court. The 
 inferior courts shall have cognizance of all other civil cases, which 
 
GEORGIA. 28% 
 
 shall be tried in the county wherein the defendant resides, except 
 in cases of joint obligers, residing in different counties, which may 
 be commenced in either county : and a copy of the petition and 
 process, served on the party or parties residing out of the county 
 in which the suit may be commenced, shall be deemed sufficient ser- 
 vice, under such rules and regulations as the Legislature may 
 direct ; but the Legislature may, by law, to which two-thirds of each 
 branch shall concur, give concurrent jurisdiction to the superior 
 courts. The superior and inferior courts shall sit in each county 
 twice in every year, at such stated times as the Legislature shall 
 appoint. 
 
 2. The judges shall have salaries adequate to their services, estab- 
 lished by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during 
 their continuance in office ; but shall not receive any other perqui- 
 sites or emoluments whatever, from parties or others, on account of 
 any duty required of them. 
 
 3. There shall be a State's attorney and solicitors appointed by 
 the Legislature, and commissioned by the Governor, who shall hold 
 their offices for the term of three years, unless removed by sentence 
 on impeachment, or by the Governor, on the address of two-thirds 
 of each branch of the General Assembl}''. They shall have salaries 
 aqeduate to their services, established by law, which shall not be 
 increased or diminished during their continuance in office. 
 
 4. Justices of the inferior courts shall be appointed by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, and be commissioned by the Governor, and shall hold 
 their commissions during good behavior, or as long as they respec- 
 tively reside in the county for which they shall be appointed, unless 
 removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the Governor, on the 
 address of two-thirds of each branch of the General Assembly. 
 They may be compensated for their services in such manner as the 
 Legislature may by law direct. 
 
 5. The justices of the peace shall be nominated by the inferior 
 courts of the several counties, and commissioned by the Governor ; 
 and there shall be two justices of the peace in each captain's district, 
 either or both of wh(jm shall have power to try all cases of a civil 
 nature within their district, where the debt or litigated demand 
 does not exceed thirty dollars, in such manner as the Legislature 
 may by law direct. They shall hold their appointments during good 
 behavior, or until they shall be removed by conviction, on indictment 
 in the Superior Court, for malpractice in office, or for any felonious 
 or infamous crime, or by the Governor, on the address of two-thirds 
 of each branch of the Legislature. 
 
 6. The powers of a court of ordinary, or register of probates, shall 
 be invested in the inferior courts of each county, from whose decis- 
 ion there may be an appeal to the Superior Court, under such re- 
 strictions and regulations as the General Assembly may by law 
 direct ; but the inferior court shall have power to vest the care of 
 the records, and other proceeiings therein, in the clerk, or such 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 other person as they may appoint, and any one or more justices of 
 the said coxirt, with such clerk or other person, may issue citations 
 and grant temporary letters, in time of vacation, to hold until the 
 next meeting of the said court ; and such clerk or other person may 
 grant marriage licenses. 
 
 7. The judges of the superior courts, or any one of them, shall 
 have power to issue writs of mandamus^ prohibition, scire facias, and 
 all other writs which may be necessary for carrying their powers 
 fully into effect. 
 
 8. Within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, the 
 body of our laws, civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested, and 
 arranged under proper heads, and promulgated in such manner as 
 the Legislature may direct : and no person shall be debarred from 
 advocating or defending his cause, before any court or tribunal, 
 either by himself or counsel, or both. 
 
 9. Divorces shall not be granted by the Legislature, until the par- 
 ties shall have had a fair trial before the Superior Court, and a ver- 
 dict shall have been obtained, authorizing a divorce upon legal prin- 
 ciples. And in such cases, two-thirds of each branch of the Legis- 
 lature may pass acts of divorce accordingly. 
 
 10. The clerks of the superior and inferior courts shall be ap- 
 pointed in such manner as the Legislature may by law direct, shall 
 be commissioned by the Governor, and shall continue in office during 
 good behavior. 
 
 1 1 . Sheriffs shall be appointed in such manner as the General 
 Assembly may by law direct, and shall hold their appointments for 
 the term of two years unless sooner removed by sentence on im- 
 peachment, or by the Governor on the address of two-thirds of the 
 justices of the inferior court and of the peace in the county ; but no 
 person shall be twice elected sheriff within any term of four years ; 
 and no county officer after the next election shall be chosen at the 
 time of electing a senator or representative. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Sec. 1. The electors of members of the General Assembly shall 
 be citizens and inhabitants of this State, and shall have attained the 
 age of twenty-one years, and have paid all taxes which may have 
 been required of them, and which they may have had an opportunity 
 of paying, agreeably to law, for the year preceding the election, and 
 shall have resided six months within the county : provided, that in 
 case of an invasion, and the inhabitants shall be driven from any 
 county, so as to prevent an election therein, such refugee inhabitants, 
 being a majority of the voters of such county, may meet under the 
 direction of any three justices of the peace thereof, in the nearest 
 county, not in a state of alarm, and proceed to an election, without 
 having paid such tax so required of electors ; and the persons elected 
 thereat shall be entitled to their seats. 
 
GEORGIA. 289 
 
 2. All elections by tlie General Assembly shall be by joint ballot 
 of both branches of the Legislature ; and when the Senate and 
 House of Kepresentatives unite for the purpose of electing, they 
 shall meet in the representative chamber, and the President of the 
 Senate shall in such case preside, receive the ballots, and declare the 
 person or persons elected. In all elections by the people, the elec- 
 tors shall vote viva voce, until the Legislature shall otherwise direct. 
 
 3. The general officers of the militia shall be elected by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, and shall be commissioned by the Governor. All 
 other officers of the militia shall be elected in such manner as the 
 Legislature may direct, and shall be commissioned by the Governor ; 
 and all militia officers now in commission, and those which may be 
 hereafter commissioned, shall hold their commissions during their 
 usual residence within the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or 
 company to which they belong, unless removed by sentence of a court- 
 martial, or by the Governor, on the address of two-thirds of each 
 branch of the General Assembly. 
 
 4. All persons appointed by the Legislature to fill vacancies shall 
 continue in office only so long as to complete the time for which their 
 predecessors were appointed. 
 
 5. Freedom of the press, and trial by jury, as heretofore used in 
 this State, shall remain inviolate ; and no ex post facto law shall be 
 
 6. No person who heretofore hath been, or hereafter' may be, a 
 collector, or holder of public moneys, shall be eligible to any office 
 in this State, until such person shall have accounted for and paid 
 into the treasury all sums for which he may be accountable or liable. 
 
 7. The person of a debtor, where there is not a strong presump- 
 tion of fraud, shall not be detained in prison after delivering up, 
 bonajlde, all his estate, real and personal, for the use of his creditors, 
 in such manner as shall be hereafter regulated by law. 
 
 8. Convictions on impeachments which have heretofore taken place, 
 are hereby released, and persons lying under such convictions re- 
 stored to citizenship. 
 
 9. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when 
 in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 
 
 10. No person within the State shall, upon any pretence, be de- 
 prived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping God in a manner 
 agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend any 
 place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment ; nor shall 
 he ever be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or any other rate for the build- 
 ing or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of any 
 minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or 
 hath voluntarily engaged to do. No one religious society shall ever 
 be established in this State, in preference to any other ; nor shall 
 any person be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on ac- 
 count of his religious principles. 
 
 ♦ 11. There shall be no future importation of slaves into this State, 
 
290 (CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 from Africa or any foreign place, after the first day of October next. 
 The Legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipa- 
 tion of slaves without the consent of each of their respective owners, 
 previous to such emancipation. They shall have no power to prevent 
 emigrants from either of the United States to this State, from bring- 
 ing with them such persons as may be deemed slaves by the laws 
 of any one of the United States. 
 
 1 2. Any person who shall maliciously dismember or deprive a 
 slave of his life, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted 
 in case the like offence had been committed on a free white person, 
 and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection by such slave, 
 and unless such death should happen by accident, in giving such 
 slave moderate correction. 
 
 13. The arts and sciences shall be promoted, in one or more semi- 
 naries of learning ; and the Legislature shall, as soon as convenient- 
 ly may be, give such further donations and privileges to those al- 
 ready established, as may be necessary to secure the objects of their 
 institution ; and it shall be the duty of the Greneral Assembly, at 
 their next session, to provide effectual measures for the improvement 
 and permanent security of the funds and endowments of such in- 
 stitutions. 
 
 14 All civil officers shall continue in the exercise of the duties 
 of their several offices, during the periods for which they were ap- 
 pointed, or until they shall be superseded by appointments made in 
 conformity to this Constitution : and all laws now in force shall con- 
 tinue to operate, so far as they are compatible with this Constitution, 
 until repealed ; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly 
 to pass all necessary laws and regulations for carrying this Consti- 
 tution into full effect. 
 
 15. No part of this Constitution shall be altered, unless a bill for 
 that purpose, specifying the alterations intended to be made, shall 
 have been read three times in the House of Representatives, and 
 three times in the Senate, on three several days in each house, and 
 agreed to by two-thirds of each house respectively ; and when any 
 such bill shall be passed in manner aforesaid, the same shall be pub- 
 lished at least six months previous to the next ensuing annual elec- 
 tion for members of the Greneral Assembly ; and if such alterations, 
 or any of them, so proposed, shall be agreed to in their first session 
 thereafter, by two-thirds of each branch of the General Assembly, 
 after the same shall have been read three times, on three separate 
 days, in each respective house, then, and not otherwise, the same 
 shall become a part of this Constitution. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 Adopted in 1839. 
 
 Whereas a part of the thirty-first section of the first article of the 
 Constitution is in the following words, viz. : The Senate shall be 
 
GEORGIA. 291 
 
 elected annually ; and a part of the seventh section of the first ar- 
 ticle is in the following words : The representatives shall be chosen 
 annually ; and a part of the twelfth section of the first article is in 
 the following words : The meeting of the General Assembly shall 
 be annually , and whereas a part of the third section of the third 
 article is in the following words : There shall be a State's Attorney 
 and Solicitor appointed by the Legislature and commissioned by the 
 Governor, who shall hold their offices for the term of three years ; 
 and a part of the fifteenth section of the fourth article is in the fol- 
 lowing words : The same shall be published at least six months pre- 
 vious to the next ensuing annual election for members of the 
 General Assembly ; and whereas the before-recited clauses require 
 amendments. 
 
 Sec. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is 
 hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, that, so soon as this 
 act shall have passed, agreeably to the requisitions of the Constitu- 
 tion, the following shall be adopted in lieu of the foregoing clau- 
 ses : In the third section of the first article, the following, to wit : 
 The Senate shall be elected biennially^ after the passage of this 
 act — the first election to take place on the first Monday in 1843. 
 In lieu of the seventh section of the first article, the following : The 
 representatives shall be elected biennially, after the passing of this 
 act — the first election to take place the first Monday in October, 
 eighteen hundred and forty-three ; and in lieu of the clause in the 
 twelfth section in the first article, the following : The meeting of 
 the General Assemby shall be biennially, after the passage of this 
 act, on the first Monday in November ; and in lieu of the clause in 
 the third section of the third article, the following, to wit : There 
 shall be a State Attorney and Solicitor elected by the Legislature, 
 who shall hold their office for the term of four years ; and in lieu 
 of the clause in the fifteenth section of the fourth article, the follow- 
 ing : The same shall be published at least six months previous to 
 the next ensuing biennial election for members of the General As- 
 sembly — the provisions of this act not to go into effieet until the 
 year eighteen hundred and forty-three. 
 
 2. And be it further enacted, by the authority of the aforesaid, 
 that whenever it shall so happen that the term of office of any of 
 the judges, State Attorney, or solicitors, shall expire at any time 
 during the recess of the General Assembly, then and in that case it 
 shall be the duty of his excellency, the Governor, to fill such va- 
 cancy by appointment, until the next General Assembly thereafter 
 to be held, when such vacancy shall be filled by election by the Le- 
 gislature, until the next election of judges, State's Attorney, or so- 
 licitors, shall take place. 
 
FLORIDA. 
 
 Florida was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, sailing under the English Flag, 
 in 1497. Ponce de Leon, a Spanish adventurer from Hispaniola, explored this 
 country in part in 1512, and again in 1516. 
 
 In 1539, Hernando de Soto, who had been an officer under Pizarro in the 
 conquest of Peru, sailed from Cuba (of which he was Governor), with an 
 armed force to Florida. They soon overrun the peniwBula, but his followers 
 were mostly cut off, and he soon after died. 
 
 In 1763 this territory was ceded to Great Britain by Spain, in exchange for 
 Havanna. The Spanish reconquered it in 1781, and it was confirmed to them 
 in 1783. In 1821 the Spaniards ceded it to the United States, as a compensa- 
 tion for spoliations in their commerce. 
 
 This State was admitted into the Union on the 3d of March 1845, Its 
 Constitution was adopted in 1838. Area, 57,000 sq. ms. Pop. in 1850, 87,387. 
 of which 39,341 are slaves, and 926 Free blacks. 
 
 CONSTITUTION, 
 
 We, the people of the Territory of Florida, by our delgates in 
 Convention assembled, at the city of St. Joseph, on Monday, the 
 third day of December, a. d. 1838, and of the Independence of the 
 United States the sixty-third year, having and claiming the right of 
 admission into the Union, as one of the United States of America, 
 consistent with the principles of the federal Constitution, and by 
 virtue of the treaty of amity, settlement, and limits between the 
 United States of America and the King of Spain, ceding the pro- 
 vinces of East' and West Florida to the United States ; in order to 
 secure to ourselves and our posterity the enjoyment of all the rights 
 of life, liberty, and property, and the pursuit of happiness, do mu- 
 tually agree, each with the other, to form ourselves into a free and 
 independent State, by the name of the State of Florida. 
 
FLORIDA. 293 
 
 ARTICLE 1.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the great and essential principles of liberty and free govern- 
 ment may be recognized and established, we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are 
 equal, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among 
 which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty ; of ac- 
 quiring, possessing, and protecting property and reputation ; and of 
 pursuing their own happiness. 
 
 2. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free , 
 governments are founded on their authority, and established for 
 their benefit ; and therefore they have, at all times, an inalienable 
 and indefeasible right to alter or abolish their form of government 
 in such manner as they may deem expedient. 
 
 3. That all men have a natural and inalienable right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience ; 
 and that no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious 
 establishment, or mode of worship, in this State. 
 
 4. That all elections shall be free and equal, and that no property 
 qualification for eligibility to office, or for the right of suffrage, shall 
 ever be required in this State. 
 
 5. That every citizen may feely speak, write, and publish his sen- 
 timents, on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that lib- 
 erty ; and no law shall ever be passed to curtail, abridge, or restrain 
 the liberty of speech or of the press. 
 
 6. That the right of trial by jury shall forever remain inviolate. 
 
 7. That -the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches ; and that 
 no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall 
 issue, without describing the place to be searched, and the person or 
 thing to be seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, 
 supported by oath or affirmation 
 
 8. That no freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his 
 freehold, liberties, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, 
 or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the 
 land. 
 
 9. That all courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury 
 done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have reme- 
 dy by due course of law ; and right and justice administered without 
 sale, denial, or delay. 
 
 10. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to 
 be heard, by himself or counsel, or both ; to demand the nature and 
 cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against 
 him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his fa- 
 vor ; and in all prosecutions by indictment or presentment, a speedy 
 and public trial, by an impartial jury of the county or district where 
 the offence was committed and shall not be compelled to give evi- 
 dence ao;ainst himself 
 
294 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 1 1 . That all persons shall be bailable, by sufficient securities, un- 
 less in capital offences, where the proof is evident or the presumption 
 strong ; and the privilege of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
 unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may 
 require it. 
 
 12. That excessive bail shall in no case be required ; nor shall 
 excessive fines be imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments 
 be inflicted. 
 
 13. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in 
 jeopardy of life or limb. 
 
 1 4. That private property shall not be taken or applied to public 
 use, unless just compensation be made therefor. 
 
 15. That in all prosecutions and indictments for libel, the truth 
 may be given in evidence ; and if it shall appear to the jury that 
 the libel is true, and published with good motives, and for justifiable 
 ends, the truth shall be a justification : and the jury shall be the judges 
 of the law and facts. 
 
 16. That no person shall be put to answer any criminal charge, 
 but by presentment, indictment, or impeachment. 
 
 17. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeit- 
 ure of estate. 
 
 18. That retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the 
 existence of such laws, and by them only declared penal or criminal, 
 are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty ; wherefore no 
 ex post facto law shall ever be made. 
 
 19. That no law impairing the obligation of contracts shall ever 
 be passed. 
 
 20. That the people have a right, in a peaceable manner, to as- 
 semble together to consult for the common good ; and to apply to 
 those invested with the powers of government for redress of griev- 
 ances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
 
 2 1 . That the free white men of this State shall have a right to 
 keep and to bear arms for their common defense. 
 
 22. That no soldier, in time of peace, shall be quartered in any 
 house, without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in 
 a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 23. That no standing army shall be kept up, without the consent 
 of the Legislature ; and the military shall, in all cases, and at all 
 times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 24. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius 
 of a free State, and ought not to be allowed. 
 
 25. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors, shall 
 ever be granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 26. That frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is abso- 
 lutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 
 
 27. That, to guard against transgressions upon the rights of the 
 people, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of 
 the general powers of government, and shall forever remain invio- 
 
FLORIDA. 295 
 
 late ; and that all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provi- 
 sions, shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE II. — Distribution of the Powers of Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Florida 
 shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them 
 confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit : those which are 
 legislative, to one, those which are executive, to another, and those 
 which are judicial, to another. 
 
 2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those de- 
 partments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of 
 the others, except in the instances expressly provided in this Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Executive Befartmemi. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a chief 
 magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of 
 Florida. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected for four years, by the qualified 
 electors at the time and place where they shall vote for representa- 
 tives ; and shall remain in office until a successor be chosen and 
 qualified ; and shall not be eligible to a re-election until the expira- 
 tion of four years thereafter. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor unless he 
 shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall have been a citizen 
 of the United States ten years, or an inhabitant of Florida at the 
 time of the adoption of this Constitution (being a citizen of the 
 United States), and shall have been a resident of Florida at least 
 five years next preceding the day of election. 
 
 4. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up 
 and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Speaker 
 of the House of Representatives, who shall, during the first week of 
 the session open and publish them in the presence of both houses 
 of the General Assembly ; and the person having the highest num- 
 ber of votes shall be Governor. But if two or more shall be equal, 
 and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the 
 joint vote of the two houses ; and contested elections for Governor 
 shall be determined by both houses of the General Assembly, in 
 such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his ser- 
 vices, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term 
 for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 6. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia thereof 
 
 7. He may require information in writing from the officers of the 
 executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 8. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
 
 22 
 
296 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the General Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different 
 place if that shall have become dangerous from an enemy or from 
 disease; and, in case of disagreement between the two houses with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
 time as he shall think proper — not beyond the day of the next 
 meeting designated by this Constitution. 
 
 9. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly, in- 
 formation of the state of the government, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 1 0. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. In all criminal and penal cases (except of treason and im- 
 peachment), after conviction, he shall have power to grant reprieves 
 and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and 
 regulations as shall be prescribed by law ; and in cases of treason, 
 he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
 ate, to grant reprieves and pardons ; and he may, in the recess of 
 the Senate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 12. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the 
 Governor, and used by him officially, with such device as the Gov- 
 ernor first elected may direct ; and the present seal of the territory 
 shall be the seal of the State, until otherwise directed by the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. 
 
 13. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
 of the State of Florida, be sealed with the State seal, and signed by 
 the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State. 
 
 1 4. There shall be a Secretary of State appointed by a joint vote 
 of both houses of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office 
 during the term of four years ; and he shall keep a fair register of 
 the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when 
 required, lay the same and all papers, minutes, and vouchers rela- 
 tive thereto, before the General Assembly, and shall perform such 
 other duties as may be required of him by law. 
 
 15. Vacancies that happen in offices the appointment of which is 
 vested in the General Assembly, or given to the Governor with the 
 advice and consent of the Senate, shall be filled by the Governor 
 during the recess of the General Assembly, by granting commissions, 
 which shall expire at the end of the next session. 
 
 1 6. Every bill, which shall have passed both houses of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor ; if he approve, 
 he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to 
 the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the ob- 
 jections at large upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it : and 
 if, after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number elected 
 to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the 
 objections, to the other house, by which* it shall likewise be reconsid- 
 ered ; and if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to 
 that houscj it shall become a law. But in such cases, the votes of 
 
FLORIDA. 29^ 
 
 both houses shall be by yeas and nays, and the names of the members 
 voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each 
 house, respectively ; and if any bill shall not be returned by the 
 Governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if 
 he had signed it, unless the Greneral Assembly, by their adjournment, 
 prevent its return ; in which case, it shall not be a law. 
 
 1 7. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, 
 shall be presented to the Grovernor ; and, before it shall take effect, 
 be approved by him, or, being disapproved, be repassed by both 
 houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a 
 bill. 
 
 1 8. In case of the impeachment of the Grovernor, his removal from 
 office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, 
 the President of the Senate shall exercise all the power and author- 
 ity appertaining to the office of Governor, during the term for which 
 the Governor was elected ; unless the General Assembly shall pro- 
 vide by law for the election of a Governor to fill such vacancy, or 
 until the Governor so absent or impeached shall return or be ac- 
 quitted. 
 
 19. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President 
 of the Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qual- 
 ify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives shall, in like manner, administer the government. 
 
 20. The President of the Senate, or Speaker of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, during the time he administers the government, shall 
 receive the same compensation which the Governor would have re- 
 ceived. 
 
 21. The Governor shall always reside, during the sessions of the 
 General Assembly, at. the place where their sessions are held, and at 
 all other times, wherever, in their opinion, the public good may require. 
 
 22. No person shall hold the office of Governor, and any other office 
 or commission, civil or military, either in this State, or under any 
 State, or the United States, or any other power, at one and the same 
 time, except the President of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, when he shall hold the office, as aforesaid. 
 
 23. A State treasurer and comptroller of public accounts shall be 
 elected by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, at 
 each regular session thereof 
 
 ARTICLE lY .—Legislative DcpartTnent. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two 
 distinct branches — the one to be styled the Senate, the other the 
 House of Representatives, and both together " the General Assembly 
 of the State of Florida ;" and the style of the laws shall be, " Be it 
 enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of 
 Florida in General Assembly convened." 
 
298 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 by the qualified voters, and shall serve for the term of one year, from 
 the day of the commencement of the general election, and no longer; 
 and the sessions of the General Assembly shall be annual, and com- 
 mence on the fourth Monday in November, in each year, or at such 
 other times as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. The representatives shall be chosen every year, on the first 
 Monday in the month of October, until otherwise directed by law. 
 
 4. No person shall be a representative unless he be a white man, 
 a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of 
 the State two years next preceding his election, and the last year 
 thereof a resident of the county for which he shall be chosen, and 
 shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 5. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the 
 term of two years, at the same time, in the same manner, and in the 
 same places, where they vote for members of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives ; and no man shall be a senator unless he be a white man, 
 a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of 
 this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year 
 thereof a resident of the district or county for which he shall be 
 chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-five years. 
 
 6. The senators, after their first election, shall be divided by lot 
 into two classes ; and the seats of the senators of the first class shall 
 be vacated at the expiration of the first year, and of the second class 
 at the expiration of the second year ; so that one-half thereof, as near 
 as possible, may be chosen forever thereafter, annually, for the term 
 of two years. 
 
 7. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a 
 Speaker and its other officers ; and the Senate a President and its 
 other officers ; and each house shall be judge of the qualifications, 
 elections, and returns of its members ; but a contested election shall 
 be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law. 
 
 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
 ness, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
 compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and un- 
 der such penalties as each house may prescribe. 
 
 9. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, 
 punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent 
 of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
 cause. 
 
 10. Each house during the session, may punish by imprisonment 
 any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior 
 in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings, provided 
 such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the end of the session 
 
 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause 
 the same to be published immediately after its adjournment ; and 
 the yeas and nays of the members of each house shall be taken and 
 entered upon the journals, upon the final passage of every bill, and 
 
FLORIDA. . 299 
 
 may bv any two members, be required upon any other question ; and 
 any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from, or 
 protest against, any act or resolution which he may think injurious 
 to the public or an individual, and have the reasons of his dissent 
 entered on the journal. 
 
 12. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the 
 session of the General Assembly, and in going to or returning from 
 the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member 
 may reside from the place at which the General Assembly is con- 
 vened ; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not 
 be questioned in any other place. 
 
 13. The General Assembly shall make provision by law for filling 
 vacancies that may occur in either house, by the death, resignation, 
 or otherwise, of any of its members. 
 
 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occa- 
 sions as, in the opinion of the house, the public safety may imperi- 
 ously require secrecy. 
 
 15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 they may be sitting. 
 
 16. Bills may originate in either house of the General Assembly, 
 and all bills passed by one house may be discussed, amended, or re- 
 jected by the other ; but no bill shall have the force of law until, on 
 three several days, it be read in each house, and free discussion be 
 allowed thereon, unless, in cases of urgency, four-fifths of the house 
 in which the same shall be depending, may deem it expedient to dis-^ 
 pense with the rule ; and every bill having passed both houses, shall 
 he signed by the Speaker and President of their respective houses. 
 
 17. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive, from 
 the public treasury, such compensation for his services as may be 
 fixed by law ; but no increase of compensation shall take effect dur- 
 ing the term for which the representatives were elected when such 
 law passed. 
 
 18. The number of members of the House of Representatives 
 shall never exceed sixiy. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Judicial Department 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State, both as to matters of 
 law and equity, shall be vested in a Supreme Court, courts of chan- 
 cery, circuit courts, and justices of the peace : provided the General 
 Assembly may also vest such criminal jurisdiction as may be deemed 
 necessary in corporation courts ; but such jurisdiction shall not ex- 
 tend to capital offences. 
 
 2. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed in this 
 Constitution, shall have ajpeilate jurisdiction only, which shall be 
 CO- extensive with the State under such restrictions and regulations, 
 
300 . CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 not repugnant to this Constitution, as may from time to time be 
 prescribed by law; provided that the^said Court shall always have 
 power to issue writs of injunction^ mandamus^ quo tvarranto, habeas 
 corpus, and such other remedial and original writs as may be neces- 
 sary to give it a general superintendence and control of all other 
 courts. 
 
 3. For the term of five years, from the election of the judges of 
 the circuit courts, and thereafter until the Greneral Assembly shall 
 otherwise provide, the powers of the Supreme Court shall be vested 
 in, and its duties performed by, the judges of the several circuit 
 courts within this State ; and they or a majority of them, shall hold 
 such sessions of the Supreme Court, and at such times, as may be 
 directed by law. 
 
 4. The Supreme Court, when organized, shall be holden at such 
 times and places as may be provided by law. 
 
 5. The State shall be divided into at least four convenient cir 
 cuits ; and until other circuits shall be provided for by the G-eneral 
 Assembly, the arrangement of the circuits shall be the western, 
 middle, eastern, and southern circuits ; and for each circuit there 
 shall be appointed a judge, who shall, after his appointment, reside 
 in the circuit for which he has been appointed, and shall, at stated 
 times, receive for his services a salary of not less than two thousand 
 dollars per annum, which shall not be diminished during the con- 
 tinuance of sucJi judge in ofiice ; but the judges shaU receive no 
 fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit under 
 this State, the United States, or any other power. 
 
 6. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction in all mat- 
 ters, civil and criminal, within this State, not otherwise excepted in 
 this Constitution. 
 
 7. A circuit court shall be held in such counties, and at such 
 times and places therein, as may be prescribed by law ; and the 
 judges of the several circuit courts may hold courts for each other, 
 and shall do so when directed by law. 
 
 8. The Greneral Assembly shall have power to establish and or- 
 ganize a separate Court or courts of original equity jurisdiction ; 
 but until such Court or courts shall be established and organized, the 
 circuit courts shall exercise such jurisdiction. 
 
 9. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the appoint- 
 ment, in each county, of an officer to take probate of wills, to grant 
 letters testamentary of administration and guardianship ; to attend 
 to the settlements of the estates of decedents and of minors, and to 
 discharge the duties usually pertaining to courts of ordinary, subject 
 to the direction and supervision of the courts of chancery, as may 
 be provided by law. 
 
 10. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be from 
 time to time appointed or elected in and for each county, in such 
 mode and for such term of office as the G-eneral Assembly may di- 
 rect, and shall possess such jurisdiction as may be prescribed by 
 
FLORIDA. 301 
 
 law ; aud in cases tried before a justice of the peace, the right of ap- 
 peal shall be secured, under such rules and regulations as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 11. Justices of the Supreme Court, chancellors, and judges of 
 the circuit courts, shall be elected by the concurrent vote of a major- 
 ity of both houses of the Greneral Assembly. 
 
 12. The judges of the Circuit Court shall, at the first session of 
 the General Assembly to be holden under this Constitution, be elect- 
 ed for the term of five years, and shall hold their offices for that 
 term, unless sooner removed under the provisions made in this 
 Constitution for removal of judges by address or impeachment ; and 
 at the expiration of five years, the justices of the Supreme Court 
 and the judges of the circuit courts shall be elected for the term of 
 and during their good behavior ; and for wilful neglect of duty, or 
 other reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for im- 
 peachment, the Governor shall remove any of them, on the address 
 of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly ; provided, 
 however, that the cause or causes shall be stated at length in such 
 address, and entered on the journals of each house ; and provided, 
 further, that the cause or causes shall be notified to the judge so in- 
 tended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his 
 own defense, before any vote for such address shall pass ; and in 
 such cases the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on 
 the journals of each house respectively. 
 
 13. The clerk of the Supreme Court, and the clerks of the courts 
 of chancery, shall be elected by the General Assembly ; and the 
 clerks of the circuit courts shall be elected by the qualified electors, 
 in such mode as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 14. The justices of the Supreme Court, chancellors, and judges- 
 of the circuit courts, shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservators 
 of the peace throughout the State, and justices of the peace in their 
 respective counties. 
 
 15. The style of all processes shall be, " the State of Florida; " 
 and all criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name of the 
 State of Florida, and all indictments shall conclude, " against the 
 peace and dignity of the same." 
 
 16. There shall be an Attorney-General for the State, who shall 
 reside at the seat of government. It shall be his duty to attend all 
 sessions of the General Assembly, and, upon the passage of any act, 
 to draught and submit to the General Assembly, at the same session, 
 all necessary forms of proceedings under such laws, which, when 
 approved, shall be published therewith ; and he shall perform such 
 other duties as may be prescribed by law. He shall be elected by 
 joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly, and shall 
 hold his office for four years ; but may be removed by the Governor, 
 on the address of two-thirds of the two houses of the General As- 
 sembly ; and shall receive for his services a compensation to be fixed 
 by law. 
 
302 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 17. There shall be one solicitor for each circuit, who shall reside 
 therein, to he elected by the joint vote of the Greneral Assembly, 
 who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and shall receive 
 for his services a compensation to be fixed by law. 
 
 18. No justice of the Supreme Court shall sit as judge, or take 
 part in the appellate court, on the trial or hearing of any case which 
 shall have been decided by him in the court below. 
 
 19. The General Assembly shall have power to establish in each 
 county a board of commissioners for the regulation of the county 
 business therein. 
 
 20. No duty not judicial shall be imposed by law upon the justices 
 of the Supreme Court, chancellors, or the judges of the circuit courts 
 of this State. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 The Right of Suffrage and Qualifications of officers ; Civil Offices ; 
 and Impeachments and Removals from Office. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every free white male person of the age of twenty-one 
 years and upwards, and who shall be, at the time of offering to vote, 
 a citizen of the United States, and who shall have resided and had 
 his habitation, domicil, home, and place of permanent abode, in 
 Florida, for two years next preceding the election at which he shall 
 offer to vote, and who shall have at such time, and for six months 
 immediately preceding said time shall have had his habitation, domi- 
 cil, home, and place of permanent abode, in the county in which he 
 may offer to vote, and who shall be enrolled in the militia thereof 
 (unless by law exempted from serving in the militia,) shall be deemed 
 a qualified elector at all elections under this Constitution, and none 
 others, except at elections by general ticket in the State or district 
 prescribed by law : in which cases, the elector must have been a resi- 
 dent of the State two years next preceding the election, and six 
 months within the election district in which he offers to vote : pro- 
 vided that no soldier, seaman, or marine in the regular army or navy 
 of the United States, unless he be a qualified elector of the State 
 previous to his enlistment as such soldier, seaman or marine in the 
 regular army or navy of the United States, or the revenue service, 
 shall be considered a resident of the State, in consequence of being 
 stationed within the same. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall, at its first session, provide for 
 the registration of all the qualified electors in each county, and 
 thereafter, from time to time, of all who may become such qualified 
 electors. 
 
 3. No president, director, cashier, or other officer, of any banking 
 company in this State, shall be eligible to the office of Governor, 
 senator, or representative to the General Assembly of this State, so 
 long as he shall be such president, director, cashier, or other officer, 
 nor until the lapse of twelve months from the time at which he shall 
 have ceased to be such president, director, cashier, or other officer. 
 
FLORIDA. 303 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall have power to exclude from every 
 office of honor, trust, or profit, within the State, and from the right 
 of sufirage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infa- 
 mous crime. 
 
 5. No person shall be capable of holding, or of being elected to 
 any post of honor, profit, trust, or emolument, civil or military, leg- 
 islative, -executive or judicial, under the government of this State, 
 who shall hereafter fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to 
 fight a duel, the probable issue of which may be the death of the 
 challenger or challenged, or who shall be a second to either party, or 
 who shall in any manner aid or assist in such duel, or shall be know- 
 ingly the bearer of such challenge or acceptance, whether the same 
 occur or be committed in or out of the State. 
 
 6. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of pub- 
 lic moneys, shall have a seat in either house of the Greneral Assem- 
 bly, or be eligible to any office of trust or profit under this State, 
 until he shall have accounted for, and paid into the treasury, all 
 sums for which he may be accountable. 
 
 7. No Governor, member of Congress, or of the General Assem- 
 bly of this State, shall receive a fee, be engaged as counsel, agent, or 
 attorney, in any civil case or claim against this State, or to which 
 this State shall be a party, during the time he shall remain in office. 
 
 8. No Governor, justice of the Supreme Court, chancellor, or 
 judge in this State, shall be eligible to election or appointment to 
 any other and different station, or office, or post of honor or emolu- 
 ment, under this State, or to the station of senator or representa- 
 tive in the Congress of the United States from this State, until one 
 year after he shall have ceased to be such governor, justice, chan- 
 cellor, or judge. 
 
 9. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil ofece of profit 
 under this State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
 of which shall have been increased, during such term, except such 
 offices as may be filled by elections by the people. 
 
 10. No minister of the gospel shall be eligible to the office of gov- 
 ernor, senator, or member of the House of Representatives of this 
 State. 
 
 11. Members of the General Assembly, and all officers, civil and 
 military, before they enter upon the execution of their respective 
 
 offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation : " I, , do 
 
 swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Consti- 
 tution of this State, to exercise the office to which I have been^elected 
 (or appointed), and will, to the best of my abilities, discharge the 
 duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of 
 this State and of the United States." 
 
 12. Every person shall be disqualified from serving as governor 
 senator, representative, or from holding any other office of honor or 
 profit in this State, for the term for which he shall have been elected. 
 
304 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 who sliall have been convicted of having given or offered any bribe 
 to procure his election. 
 
 13. Laws shall be made by the General Assembly, to exclude 
 from office and from suffrage those who shall have been, or may 
 thereafter be, convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high 
 crime or misdemeanor ; and the privilege of suffrage shall be sup- 
 ported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate 
 penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, 
 or other improper practices. 
 
 14. All civil officers of the State at large shall reside within the 
 State, and all district or county officers within their respective dis- 
 tricts or counties, and shall keep their respective offices at such 
 places therein as may be required by law. 
 
 15. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate by 
 law in what cases and what deduction from the salaries of public 
 officers shall be made for neglect of duty in their official capacity. 
 
 16. Returns of elections for members of Congress and the Gene- 
 ral Assembly shall be made to the Secretary of State, in manner to 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 17. In all elections by the General Assembly, the vote shall be 
 viva voce ; and in all elections by the people, the vote shall be by 
 ballot. 
 
 1 8. No member of Congress, or person holding or exercising any 
 office of profit under the United States, or under any foreign power, 
 shall be eligible as a member of the General Assembly of this State, 
 or hold or exercise any office of profit under the State ; and no per- 
 son in this State shall ever hold two offices of profit at the same 
 time, except the office of justice of the peace, notary public, consta- 
 ble, and militia offices. 
 
 19. The General Assembly shall by law pi'ovide for the appoint- 
 ment or election and the removal from office, of all officers, civil and 
 military, in this State, not provided for in this Constitution. 
 
 20. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of 
 Kepresentatives. 
 
 21. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when 
 sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirma- 
 tion ; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 22. The Governor, and all civil officers, shall be liable to impeach- 
 ment for any misdemeanor in office : but judgment in such cases 
 shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualifi- 
 cation to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under this State : 
 but the parties shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, and 
 punishment, according to law. 
 
 ARTICLE Nil.— Militia. 
 All militia officers shall be elected by those persons who are sub- 
 
FLORIDA. 
 
 305 
 
 jecirto military duty, within their respective companies, regiments, 
 or battalions. 
 
 ARTICLE YllL—Taxatio7i and Revenue. 
 
 No greater amount of tax or revenue -shall be levied, than may be 
 required for the necessary expenses of government. A regular 
 statement of the receipts and expenditures of all the public moneys 
 shall be published annually, with the laws of the General Assembly. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 This article provides for the taking of the census every ten years, 
 of the inhabitants of the State ; and that to the whole number of free 
 white inhabitants shall be added three-fifths of the number of slaves : 
 and that the representatives shall be equally apportioned in the dif- 
 ferent counties, according to such enumeration : each county shall 
 have at least one representative, and increase in a uniform ratio of 
 population. The State is divided into sixteen senatorial districts : 
 each district shall be entitled to at least one senator ; the number of 
 senators shall not be less than one-fourth, nor more than one-half, of 
 the whole number of representatives, and chosen in the same manner. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— Education. 
 The proceeds of all lands granted by the United States, for the 
 use of schools, shall remain a perpetual fund — the interest of which 
 shall be used for the benefit of said sqhools, and for no other purpose. 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 This article makes it the duty of the General Assembly to provide 
 for the safety, security, and appropriation of the proceeds of the pub- 
 lic lands. And it also provides for the encouragement of such 
 internal improvements as are essential to the development of the 
 resources jf the country. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 This article refers only to the extent of the jurisdiction of Florida, 
 embracing the territory ceded to the United States in 1819. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. — Banks and other Corporations. 
 
 No act of incorporation shall be passed, or altered, except by the 
 assent of two-thirds of each branch of the Legislature. No bank 
 charter shall be granted for more than twenty years, nor shall it be 
 extended, or renewed. The capital of a bank shall" not exceed one 
 hundred thousand dollars ; nor shall a dividend be made exceeding 
 ten per cent, a year. Stockholders shall be individually liable for 
 the debts of the bank ; and no note shall be issued for less than five 
 dollars. The credit of the State shall not be pledged in aid of any 
 corporalion whatsoever. 
 
306 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 No convention of tlie people shall be called, nnless by the con- 
 currence of two-thirds of eagh house of the General Assembly. No 
 part of the Constitution shall be altered, unless the bill to alter first 
 be read three times in each house, for three several days, and agreed 
 to by two-thirds of each house ; the same to be published six months 
 previous to a new election for members of the House of Representa- 
 tives. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 The seat of government shall remain at Tallahasse for the term 
 of five years ; the G-eneral Assembly then shall have the power to 
 remove it to some other point for five years. 
 
 ARTICLE XYl.— General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws 
 for the emancipation of slaves. 
 
 2. They shall have no power to prevent emigrants to this State , 
 from bringing with them such persons as may be deemed slaves by the 
 laws of any one of the United States : provided they shall have power 
 to enact laws to prevent the introduction of any slaves who may 
 have committed crimes in other States. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall have power to pass laws to prevent 
 free negroes, mulattoes, and other persons of color, from immigrating 
 to this State, or from being discharged from on board any vessel in 
 any of the ports of Florida. 
 
 4. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid. and comfort. 
 No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of 
 two witnesses to the same overt act, or his confession in open court. 
 
 5. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be allowed 
 but by the judgment of a court, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 6. The General Assembly shall declare by law, what parts of the 
 common law, and what parts of the civil law, not inconsistent with 
 this Constitution, shall be in force in this State. 
 
 7. The oaths of officers, directed to be taken under this Consti- 
 tution, may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace of 
 the territory or State of Florida, until otherwise prescribed by law. 
 
ALABAMA. 
 
 This State was first included in the territorial limits of Georgia, except a 
 small part which belonged to Florida. In 1802 Georgia ceded to the United 
 States all her territory lying west of the Chatahooche river and extending to 
 the Mississippi river. In 1817 it was constituted the Mississippi territory. 
 In 1820 it became an independent State, and was admitted into the Union . 
 Alabama adopted its Constitution in 1819. 
 
 Area, 46,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 771,671— of whom 342,894 are slaves. 
 Free colored, 2,250. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE 1.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and 
 free government may be recognized and established, we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are 
 equal in rights ; and that no man or set of men are entitled to exclu- 
 sive, separate public emoluments or privileges, but in consideration 
 of public services. 
 
 2. All- political power is inherent in the people, and all free gov- 
 ernments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their 
 
308 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 benefit : and, therefore, they have at all times an inalienable and 
 indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of govern- 
 ment, in such manner as they may think expedient. 
 
 3. No person within this State shall, upon any pretence, be depri- 
 ved of the inestimable privilege of worshiping God in the manner 
 most agreeable to his own conscience ; nor be compelled to attend 
 any place of worship ; nor shall any one ever be obliged to pay any 
 tithes, taxes, or other rate, for the building or repairing any place 
 of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry. 
 
 4. No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or 
 interfere with the rights of conscience. 
 
 5. No person shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his reli- 
 gious profession, sentiments, or persuasions, provided he does not 
 disturb others in their religious worship. 
 
 6. The civil rights, privileges, or capacities of any citizen, shall 
 in no way be diminished, or enlarged, on account of his religious 
 principles. 
 
 7. There shall be no establishment of religion by law ; no prefer- 
 ence shall ever be given by law to any religious sect, society, de- 
 nomination, or mode of worship : and no religious test shall ever be 
 required as a qualification to any ofl&ce or public trust under this 
 State. 
 
 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. 
 
 9. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and possessions, from unreasonable seizures or searches ; and no 
 warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall 
 issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without 
 probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused has a right to be 
 heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of 
 the accusation, and have a copy thereof : to be confronted by the 
 witnesses against him : to have compulsory process for obtaining 
 witnesses in his favor, and in all prosecutions, by indictment or 
 information, a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county 
 or district in which the offence shall have been committed : he shall 
 not be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor shall he be 
 deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by due course of law. 
 
 11. No person shall be accused, arrested, or detained, except in 
 cases ascertained by law, and according to the forms which the same 
 has prescribed : and no person shall be punished, but in virtue of a 
 law, established and promulgated prior to the offence, and legally 
 applied. 
 
 12. No person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against 
 criminally, by information ; except in cases arising in the land and 
 naval forces, or the militia when in actual service, or, by leave of the 
 court, for oppression or misdemeanor in office. 
 
 13. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy 
 
ALABAMA. 309 
 
 of life or limb ; nor shall any person's property be taken or applied 
 to public use, unless just compensation be made therefor. 
 
 14. All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done 
 him, in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by 
 due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, 
 denial, or delay. 
 
 15. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by 
 the General Assembly, or its authority. 
 
 16. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 
 
 1 7. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient 
 securities, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or 
 the presumption great : and the privilege of the writ of " habeas 
 corpus" shall not be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion, or 
 invasion, the public safety may require it. 
 
 18. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption 
 of fraud, shall not be detained in prison, after delivering up his es- 
 tate for "the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 19. No ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of con- 
 tracts, shall be made. 
 
 20. No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the Greneral 
 Assembly. No attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor for- 
 feiture of estate. 
 
 21. The estates of suicides shall descend or vest as in cases of nat- 
 ural death ; if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be 
 no forfeiture by reason thereof. 
 
 22. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble 
 together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with 
 the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper 
 purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
 
 23. Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself 
 and the State. 
 
 24. No standing army shall be kept up without the consent of 
 the Greneral Assembly ; and, in that case, no appropriation of money 
 for its support shall be for a longer term than one year ; and the 
 military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordina- 
 tion to the civil power. 
 
 25. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in a 
 manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 26. No title of nobility, or hereditary distinction, privilege, honor, 
 or emolument, shall ever he granted or conferred in this State ; nor 
 
 . shall any office be created, the appointment of which shall be for a 
 longer term than during good behavior. 
 
 27. Emigration from this State shall not be prohibited, nor shall 
 any citizen be exiled. 
 
 28. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
310 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 29. No person shall be debarred from prosecuting or defending 
 any civil cause, for or against him or herself, before any tribunal in 
 this State, by him or herself or counsel. 
 
 30. This enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to 
 deny or disparage others retained by the people ; and to guard 
 against any encroachments on the rights herein retained, or any 
 transgression of any of the high powers herein delegated, we declare, 
 that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers 
 of government, and shall forever remain inviolate ; and that all laws 
 contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE 11.— Distribution of Powers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Alabama 
 shall be divided into three distinct departments ; and each of them 
 confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit : those which are 
 legislative to one ; those which are executive to another ; and those 
 which are judicial to another. 
 
 2. No person, or collection of persons, being one of those depart- 
 ments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the 
 others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or 
 permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Legislative De'partment. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two 
 distinct branches : the one to be styled the Senate, and the other 
 the House of Representatives, and both together " the General As- 
 sembly of the State of Alabama ;" and the style of their laws shall 
 be, " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
 the State of Alabama, in G-eneral Assembly convened." 
 
 2. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 by the qualified electors, and shall serve for the term of one year, 
 from the day of the commencement of the general election, and no 
 longer. 
 
 3. The representatives shall be chosen every year, on the first 
 Monday and the day following in August, until otherwise directed 
 by law. 
 
 4. No person shall be a representative, unless he be a white man, 
 a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of 
 this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year 
 thereof a resident of the county, city, or town, for which he shall be 
 chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 5. Every white male person of the age of twenty-one years, or 
 upwards, who shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have 
 resided in this State one year next preceding an election, and the 
 last three months within the county, city, or town, in which he ofi"ers 
 to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector : provided, that no sol- 
 dier, seaman, or marine, in the regular army or navy of the United 
 ■States, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State ; and 
 
ALABAMA. 311 
 
 provided, also, that no elector shall be entitled to vote except in 
 the county, city, or town, (entitled to separate representation,) in 
 which he may reside at the time of the election. 
 
 6. Electors shall, in all cases, except in those of treason, felony, 
 or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their at- 
 tendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same. 
 
 7. In all elections by the people, the electors shall vote by ballot, 
 until the Greneral Assembly shall otherwise direct. 
 
 8. Elections for representatives for the several counties shall be 
 held at the place of holding their respective courts, and at such other 
 places as may be prescribed by law : Provided, that when it shall ap- 
 pear to the Gi-eneral Assembly that any city or town shall have a 
 number of white inhabitants equal to the ratio then fixed, such city 
 or town shall have a separate representation, according to the num-- 
 ber of white inhabitants therein ; which shall be retained so long as 
 such city or town shall contain a number of white inhabitants equal 
 to the ratio which may from time to time be fixed by law ; and there- 
 after, and during the existence of the right of separate representa- 
 tion, in such city or town, elections for the county in which such city 
 or town (entitled to such separate representation) is situated, shall 
 not be held in such city or town ; but it is understood and hereby 
 declared, that no city or town shall be entitled to separate repre- 
 sentation, unless the number of white inhabitants in the county in 
 which such city or town is situated, residing out of the limits of said 
 city or town, be equal to the existing ratio ; or unless the residuum 
 or fraction of such city or town shall, when added to the white in- 
 habitants of the county residing out of the limita of said city or 
 town, be equal to the ratio fixed for law by one representative ; and 
 provided, that, if the residuum or fraction of any city or town, enti- 
 tled to separate representation, shall, when added to the residuum of 
 the county in which it may lie, be equal to the ratio fixed by law for 
 one representative, then the aforesaid county, city, or town, having 
 the largest residuum, shall be entitled to such representation : and 
 provided, also, that when there are two or more counties adjoining, 
 which have residuums or fractions over and above the ratio then 
 fixed by law, if said residuums or fractions, when added together, 
 will amount to such ratio, in that case one representative shall be 
 added to that county having the largest residuum. 
 
 9. The Greneral Assembly shall, at their first meeting and in the 
 years one thousand eight hundred and twenty, one thousand eight 
 hundred and twenty-three, one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
 six, and every six years thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made 
 of all the inhabitants of the State, and the whole number of the rep- 
 resentatives shall, at the first session held, after making every such 
 enumeration, be fixed by the Greneral Assembly, and apportioned 
 among the several counties, cities, or towns, entitled to separate 
 representation, according to their respective numbers of white in- 
 habitants ; and the said apportionment, when made, shall not be 
 
 23 
 
312 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 subject to alteration, until after the next census shall be taken. The 
 House of Representatives shall not consist of less than forty-four nor 
 more than sixty members, until the number of white inhabitants 
 shall be one hundred thousand, and after that event, the whole num- 
 ber of representatives shall never be less than sixty, nor more than 
 one hundred : Provided, however, that each county shall be entitled 
 to at least one representative. 
 
 1 0. The General Assembly shall, at the first session, after making 
 every such enumeration, fix by law the whole number of senators, 
 and shall divide the State into the same number of districts, as 
 nearly equal in the number of white inhabitants as may be, each of 
 which districts shall be entitled to one senator and no more : Pro- 
 vided, that the whole number of senators shall never be less than 
 •one-fourth, nor more than one-third, of the whole number of rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 11. When a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more 
 counties, the counties of which such district consists shall not be en- 
 tirely separated by any county belonging to another district ; and 
 no county shall be divided in forming a district. 
 
 12. Senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors, for the 
 term of three years, at the same time, in the same manner, and at 
 the same places, where they may vote for members of the House of 
 Representatives and no person shall be a senator unless he be a 
 white man, a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an 
 inhabitant of this State two years next preceding his election, and 
 the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be 
 chosen, and shall have attained to the age of twenty-seven years. 
 
 13. The senators chosen according to the apportionment under 
 the census ordered to be taken in one thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty-six, when convened, shall be divided by lot into three 
 classes, as nearly equal as may be. The seats of the senators of the 
 first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, those 
 of the second class at the expiration of the second year, and those 
 of the third class at the expiration of the third year, so that one- 
 third may be annually chosen thereafter, and a rotation thereby kept 
 up perpetually. Such mode of classifying new additional senators 
 shall be observed as will, as nearly as possible, preserve an equality 
 of members in each class. 
 
 14. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose 
 a speaker, and its other officers ; and the Senate shall annually choose 
 a President, and its other officers ; each house shall judge of the 
 qualifications, elections, and returns of its own members : but a con- 
 tested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be di- 
 rected by law. 
 
 15. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do bu- 
 siness, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
 compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and 
 under such nenalties, as each house may provide. 
 
ALABAMA. 313 
 
 16. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, 
 punish members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of 
 two-thirds expel a member ; but not a second time for the same 
 cause ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of 
 the Legislature of a free and independent State. 
 
 1 7. Each house during the session, may punish by imprisonment, 
 any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior 
 in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings : Provided, 
 that such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight 
 hours. 
 
 18. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause 
 the same to be published immediately after its adjournment, except- 
 ing such parts as, in its judgment, may require secrecy ; and the 
 yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall 
 at the desire of any two members present, be entered on the jour- 
 nals. And any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent 
 from, or protest against, any act or resolution which he may think 
 injurious to the public or an individual, and have the reasons of his 
 dissent entered on the journals. 
 
 19. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the 
 session of the Greneral Assembly, and in going to and returning 
 from the same : allowing one day for every twenty miles such mem- 
 bers may reside from the place at which the General Assembly is 
 convened ; nor shall any member be liable to answer for anything 
 spoken in debate in either house, in any court or place elsewhere. 
 
 20. When vacancies happen in either house, the Governor, or the 
 person exercising the powers of the Governor, shall issue writs of 
 election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 21. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occa- 
 sions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy. 
 
 22. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 they may be sitting. 
 
 23. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered, 
 or rejected by the other : but no bill shall have the force of a law 
 until on three several days it be read in each house, and free discus- 
 sion be allowed thereon, unless in cases of urgency, four-fifths 
 of the house in which the bill shall be depending may deem it ex- 
 pedient to dispense with this rule : and every bill, having passed 
 both houses, shall be signed b}'' the Speaker and President of their 
 respective houses : provided that all bills for raising revenue shall 
 originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may 
 amend or* reject them as other bills. 
 
 24. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive from the 
 public treasury such compensation for his services as may be fixed 
 by law ; but no increase of compensation shall take efiect during the 
 session at which such increase shall have been made. 
 
314 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 25. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit 
 under this State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
 of which shall have been increased, during such term ; except such 
 offices as may be filled by elections by the people. 
 
 26. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, 
 (the office of postmaster excepted,) this State, or any other power, 
 shall be eligible to the Greneral Assembly ; provided that offices in 
 the militia to which there is attached no annual salary, or the office 
 of justice of the peace, or that of the quorum of the county court, 
 while it has no salary, shall not be deemed lucrative. 
 
 27. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of public 
 moneys shall have a seat in either house of the General Assembly, 
 or be eligible to any office of trust or profit under this State, until 
 he shall have accounted for, and paid into the treasury, all sums for 
 which he may be accountable. 
 
 28. The first election for senators and representatives shall be 
 general throughout the State ; and shall be held on the third 
 Monday and Tuesday in September next. 
 
 29. The first session of the General Assembly shall commence on 
 the fourth Monday in October next, and be held at the town of 
 Huntsville, and all subsequent sessions at the town of Cahawba, 
 until the end of the first session of the General Assembly to be held 
 in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five ; during 
 that session the General Assembly shall have power to designate by 
 law (to which the executive concurrence shall not be required) the 
 permanent seat of government, which shall not thereafter be changed ; 
 Provided, however, that unless such designation be then made by 
 law, the government shall continue permanently at the town of Ca- 
 hawba ; and provided, also, that the General Assembly shall make 
 no appropriations previous to the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty-five, for the building of any other state house than that 
 now provided for by law. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested 
 in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of 
 Alabama. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors at the 
 time and places when they shall respectively vote for representatives. 
 
 3. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up, 
 and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Speaker 
 of the House of Representatives, who shall, during the first week 
 of the session, open and publish them in presence of both houses 
 
 'of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number 
 of votes shall be Governor, but if two or more shall be equal and 
 highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint 
 vote of both houses. Contested elections for Governor shall be de- 
 
ALABAMA. 315 
 
 termined by both houses of the G-eneral Assembly, in such manner 
 as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. The Governor shall hold his office for the term of two years 
 from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be du- 
 ly qualified, but shall not be eligible for more than four years in any 
 term of six years : he shall be at least thirty years of age, shall be a 
 native citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this 
 State at least four years next preceding the day of his election. 
 
 5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his servi- 
 ces, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for 
 which he shall have been elected. 
 
 6. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called 
 into the service of the United States. And when acting in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, the Greneral Assembly shall fix his rank. 
 
 7. He may require information in writing from the officers in the 
 executive depaitment on any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. « 
 
 8. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
 the General Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different 
 place, if that shall have become, since their last adjournment, dan- 
 gerous from an enemy or from contagious disorders ; in case of dis- 
 agreement between the two houses, with respect to the time of ad- 
 journment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think prop- 
 er, not beyond the day of the next annual meeting of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 9. He shall from time to time give to the General Assembly in- 
 formation of the state of the government, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. In all criminal and penal cases, except in those of treason 
 and impeachment, he shall have power to grant reprieves and par- 
 dons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regula- 
 tions as shall be prescribed by law. In cases of treason he shall 
 have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to 
 grant reprieves and pardons ; and he may, in the recess of the Sen- 
 ate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 1 2. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the 
 Governor, and used by him officially, and the present seal of the 
 territory shall be the seal of the State, until otherwise directed by 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 13. All commissions shall be in the name, and by the authority 
 of the State of Alabama, be sealed with the State seal, signed by 
 the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State. 
 
 14. There shall be a Secretary of State appointed by joint vote 
 of both houses of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office 
 during the term of two years. He shall keep a fair register of all 
 
16 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when re- 
 quired, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative 
 thereto, before the General Assembly ; and shall perform such other 
 duties as may be required of him by law. 
 
 15. Vacancies that may happen in offices, the appointment to 
 which is vested in the General Assembly, shall be filled by the Gov- 
 ernor during the recess of the General Assembly, by granting com- 
 missions which shall expire at the end of the next session. 
 
 16. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor ; if he approve, 
 he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to 
 the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the ob- 
 jections at large upon the journals, and proceed to reconsider it ; 
 if, after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number elected 
 to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the 
 objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
 sidered ; if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to 
 that house, it shall become a law : but in such cases the votes of both 
 houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
 members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the jour- 
 nals of each house respectively : if any bill shall not be returned by 
 the Governor within five days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have 
 been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if 
 he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, 
 prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 17. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, 
 shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take effi3ct, 
 be approved by him ; or being disapproved, shall be re-passed by 
 both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
 case of a bill. 
 
 18. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal 
 from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the 
 State, the President of the Senate shall exercise all the power and 
 authority appertaining to the office of Governor, until the time point- 
 ed out by this Constitution for the election of Governor shall arrive, 
 unless the General Assembly shall provide by law for the election of 
 a Governor to fill such vacancy, or until the Governor absent or 
 impeached shall return or be acquitted. 
 
 19. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Presi- 
 dent of the Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to 
 qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives shall in like manner administer the gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 20. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, during the time they respectively administer the 
 government, shall receive the same compensation which the Gov- 
 
ALABAMA. 317 
 
 ernor would have received, had he been employed in the duties 
 of his office. 
 
 21. The Grovernor shall always reside, during the session of 
 the G eneral Assembly, at the place where their session may be held, 
 and at all other times, wherever, in their opinion, public good may 
 require. 
 
 22. No person shall hold the office of Governor, and any other 
 office or commission, civil or military, either in this State, or under 
 any state or the United States, or any other power, at one and the 
 same time. 
 
 33. A State Treasurer and a Comptroller of public accounts 
 shall be annually elected, by joint vote of both houses of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 24. A sheriff shall be elected in each county by the qualij&ed elec- 
 tors thereof, who shall hold his office for the term of three years un- 
 less sooner removed, and who shall not be eligible to serve either as 
 principal or deputy for the three succeeding years. Should a va- 
 cancy occur subsequent to an election, it shall be filled by the Gov- 
 ernor, as in other cases, and the person so appointed shall continue 
 in office until the next general election, when such vacancy shall be 
 filled by the qualified electors, and the sheriff then elected shall 
 continue in office for three years. 
 
 Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The G-eneral Assembly shall provide by law for the or- 
 ganizing and disciplining the militia of this State, in such manner 
 as they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitu- 
 tion and laws of the United States in relation thereto. 
 
 2. Any person who conscientiously scruples to bear arms shall 
 not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal 
 service. 
 
 3. The Governor shall have power to call forth the militia to exe- 
 cute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and repel 
 invasions. 
 
 4. All officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed in such 
 manner as may be prescribed by law : Provided, that the General 
 Assembly shall not make any such elections or appointments, other 
 than those of adjutants-general, and quarter-masters-general. 
 
 5. The Governor shall appoint his aids-de-camp ; majors-general, 
 their aids-de-camp, and all other division staff-officers ; brigadiers- 
 general shall appoint their aids, and all other brigade staff-officers ; 
 and colonels shall appoint their regimental staff-officers. 
 
 6. The General Assembly shall fix by law the method of dividing 
 the militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and com- 
 panies : and shall fix the rank of all staff-officers. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Judicial Department. 
 Sec. 1 . The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one 
 
318 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Supreme Court, circuit courts to be held in each county in the 
 State, and such inferior courts of law and equity, to consist of not 
 more than five members, as the General Assembly may, from time 
 to time, direct, ordain, and establish. 
 
 2. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed by this 
 Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be 
 co-extensive with the State, under such restrictions and regula- 
 tions, not repugnant to this Constitution, as may from time to time 
 be prescribed by law : Provided that the Supreme Court shall have 
 power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas 
 corpus, and such other remedial and original writs as may be neces- 
 sary to give it a general superintendence and control of inferior 
 jurisdictions. 
 
 3. Until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe, the 
 powers of the Supreme Court shall be vested in, and its duties shall 
 be performed by, the judges of the several circuit courts within this 
 State : and they, or a majority of them, shall hold such sessions of 
 the Supreme Court, and at such times as may be directed by law : 
 Provided, that no judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed 
 before the commencement of the first session of the General Assem- 
 bly, which shall be begun and held after the first day of January, 
 in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. 
 
 4. The Supreme Court shall be holden at the seat of govern- 
 ment, but may adjourn to a difierent place, if that shall become 
 dangerous from an enemy or from disease. 
 
 5. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, and each 
 circuit shall contain not less than three, nor more than six counties ; 
 and for each circuit there shall be appointed a judge, who shall, 
 after his appointment, reside in the circuit for which he may be 
 appointed. 
 
 6. The circuit court shall have original jurisdiction in all mat- 
 ters, civil and criminal, within this State, not otherwise excepted in 
 this Constitution ; but in civil cases, only when the matter or sum 
 in controversy exceeds fifty dollars. 
 
 7. A circuit court shall be held in each county in the State, at 
 least twice in every year, and the judges of the several circuit 
 courts may hold courts for each other, when they may deem it ex- 
 pedient, and shall do so when directed by law. 
 
 8. The General Assembly shall have power to establish a court or 
 courts of chancery, with original and appellate equity jurisdiction ; 
 and until the establishment of such court or courts, the said juris- 
 diction shall be vested in the judges of the circuit courts respec- 
 tively : Provided, that the judges of the several circuit courts shall 
 have power to issue writs of injunction, returnable into the courts 
 of chancery. 
 
 9. The General Assembly *shall have power to establish, in each 
 county within this State, a court of probate, for the granting of let- 
 ters testamentary and of administration, and for orphans' business. 
 
ALABAMA. 319 
 
 10. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be appoint- 
 ed in and for each county, in such mode, and for such term 
 of office, as the General Assembly may direct. Their jurisdiction 
 in civil cases shall be limited. to causes in which the amount 
 in controversy shall not ex:ceed fifty dollars. And in all cases, tried 
 by a justice of the peace, right of appeal shall be secured, under 
 such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 11. Judges of the Supreme and circuit courts, and courts of 
 chancery, shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compen- 
 sation, which shall be fixed by law, and shall not be diminished 
 during their continuance in office : but they shall receive no fees or 
 perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit or trust under 
 this State, the United States, or any oth^r power. 
 
 12. Chancellors, judges of the Supreme Court, judges of the cir- 
 cuit courts, and judges of the inferior courts, shall be elected by 
 joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly. 
 
 13. The judges of the several courts in this State shall hold their 
 offices during good behavior ; and for wilful neglect of duty, or other 
 reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeach- 
 ment, the Governor shall remove any of them, on the address of 
 two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly ; provided how- 
 ever, that the cause or causes for which such removal shaH bB re- 
 quired, shall be stated at length in such address, and entered on 
 the journals of each house ; and provided further, that the cause or 
 causes shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed, and 
 he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defense, before any 
 vote for such address shall pass ; and in all such cases the vote shall 
 be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of each 
 house respectively ; and provided also, that the judges of the seve- 
 ral circuit courts who shall be appointed before the commencement 
 of the first session of the General Assembly which shall be begun 
 and held after the first day of January in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight? hundred and twenty-five, shall only hold their offices 
 during good behavior, until the end of the said session, at which 
 time their commissions shall expire. 
 
 14. No person who shall have arrived at the age of seventy years 
 shall be appointed to, or continue in the office of judge in this State. 
 
 15. Clerks of the circuit and inferior courts in this State shall be 
 elected by the qualified electors in each county, for the term of four 
 years, and may be removed from office for such cause, and in such 
 manner as may be prescribed by law ; and should a vacancy occur, 
 subsequent to an election, it shall be filled by the judge or judges 
 of the courts in which such vacancy exists ; and the person so ap- 
 pointed shall hold his office until the next general election ; provi- 
 ded, however, that after the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty-six, the General Assembly may prescribe a different mode 
 of appointment, but shall not make such appointment. 
 
 16. The judges of the Supreme Court shall, by virtue of their 
 
320 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State ; as also 
 the judges of the circuit courts in their respective districts, and 
 judges of the inferior courts in their respective counties. 
 
 17. The style of all processes &hall be "the State of Alabama," 
 and all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name, and by the 
 authority of the State of Alabama, and shall conclude " against the 
 peace and dignity of the same." 
 
 18. There shall be an Attorney-Greneral for the State, and as 
 many solicitors as the General Assembly may deem necessary, to be 
 elected by a joint vote thereof, who shall hold their offices for the 
 term of four years, and shall receive for their services a compensa- 
 tion, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in 
 office. 
 
 Sec. I. The House of Eepresentatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate : when sitting 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation ; and 
 no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
 of the members present. 
 
 3. The Governor and all civil officers shall be liable to impeach- 
 ment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment in such cases 
 shall not extend further than to removal from office, and to disqual- 
 ification ^0 hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the State ; 
 but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to 
 indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. Gerieral Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. The members of the General Assembly, and all officers, 
 executive, and judicial, before they enter on the execution of their 
 respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation, to wit : 
 " I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will sup- 
 port the Constitution of the United States, and Constitution of the 
 State of Alabama, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that 
 I will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties of 
 , according to law. So help me God^ 
 
 2. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession 
 in open court. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall have power to pass such penal 
 laws to suppress the evil practice of duelling, extending to disquali- 
 fication from office or the tenure thereof, as they may deem ex 
 pedient. 
 
 4. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office or 
 place of honor or profit, under the authority of the State, who shall 
 
ALABAMA.^ 321 
 
 be convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his 
 election or appointment. 
 
 5. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, from suffrage, and 
 from serving as jurors, those who shall hereafter be convicted cf 
 bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors. 
 The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating 
 elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influ- 
 ence thereon, from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper conduct. 
 
 6. In all elections by the General Assembly, the members thereof 
 shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered- on the journals. 
 
 7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse- 
 quence of an appropriation made by law ; and a regular statement 
 and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys 
 shall be published annually. 
 
 8. All lands liable to taxation in this State, shall be taxed in 
 proportion to their value. 
 
 9. The General Assembly shall direct, by law, in what manner, 
 and in what courts, suits may be brought against the State. 
 
 10. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate by 
 law, the cases in which deductions shall be made from the salaries 
 of public officers, for neglect of duty in their official capacities, and 
 the amount of such deduction. 
 
 11. Absence on business of this State, or of the United States, or 
 on a visit, or necessary private business, shall not cause a forfeiture 
 of a residence once obtained. 
 
 12. No member of Congress, nor any person holding any office 
 of profit or trust under the United States, (the office of postmaster 
 excepted,) or either of them, or any foreign power, shall hold or ex- 
 ercise any office of profit under this State. 
 
 13. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be granted 
 but in cases provided for by law, by suit in chancery : and no decree 
 for such divorce shall have effect until the same shall be sanctioned 
 by two-thirds of both houses of the General Assembly. 
 
 14. In prosecutions for the publishing of papers investigating the 
 official conduct of officers or men in public capacity, or when the 
 matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof 
 may be given in evidence : and in all indictments for libels, the jury 
 shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the di- 
 rection of the courts. 
 
 15. Returns of all elections for officers who are to be commissioned 
 by the Governor, and for members of the General Assembly, shall 
 be made to the Secretary of State. 
 
 16. No new county shall be established by the General Assembly, 
 which shall reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from 
 which it shall be taken, to a less content than nine hundred square 
 miles ; nor shall any county be laid off of less contents. Every new 
 county, as to the right of suffrage and representation, shall be con- 
 
322 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sidered as a part of the county or counties from which, it was taken, 
 until entitled by numbers to the right of separate representation. 
 
 1 7. The General Assembly shall, at their first session, which may 
 be holden in the year eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, or at the 
 n0xt succeeding session, arrange and designate boundaries for the 
 several counties within the limits of this State, to which the Indian 
 title shall have been extinguished, in such manner as they may deem 
 expedient, which boundaries shall not be afterwards altered, unless 
 by the agreement of two-thirds of both branches of the General 
 Assembly ; and in all cases of ceded territory acquired by the State, 
 the General Assembly may make such arrangements and designa- 
 tions of the boundaries of counties within such ceded territory, as 
 they may deem expedient, which shall only be altered in like manner ; 
 provided, that no county hereafter to be formed shall be of less ex- 
 tent than nine hundred square miles. 
 
 18. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, to pass such 
 laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbi- 
 trators, to be appointed by the parties, who may choose that summary 
 mode of adjustment. 
 
 19. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as cir- 
 cumstances will permit, to form a penal code, founded on principles 
 of reformation, and not of -vindictive justice. 
 
 20. Within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, the 
 body of our laws, civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested, and 
 arranged under proper heads, and promulgated in such manner as 
 the General Assembly may direct : and a like revision, digest, and 
 promulgation shall be made within every subsequent period of ten 
 years. 
 
 21. The General Assembly shall make provision by law for ob- 
 taining correct knowledge of the several objects proper for improve- 
 ment in relation to the navigable waters, and to the roads in this 
 State, and for making a systematic and economical application of the 
 means appropriated to those objects. 
 
 22. In the event of the annexation of any foreign territory to this 
 State, by a cession from the United States, laws may be passed, ex- 
 tending to the inhabitants of such territory ail the rights and privi- 
 leges which may be required by the terms of such cession ] anything, 
 in this Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Education. 
 
 Schools, and the means of education, shall for ever be encouraged 
 in this State ; and the General Assembly shall take measures to pre- 
 serve from unnecessary waste or damage such lands as are, or hereaf- 
 ter may be, granted by the United States for the use of schools within 
 each township in this State, and apply the funds, which may be 
 raised from such lands, in strict conformity to the object of such 
 grant. The General Assembly shall take like measures for the im- 
 provement (f f such lands as have been or may be hereafter granted 
 
ALABAMA. 
 
 323 
 
 by the United States to this State, for the support of a seminary of 
 learning, and the moneys, which may be raised from such lands, by 
 rent, lease, or sale, or from any other quarter, for the purpose afore- 
 said, shall be and remain a fund for the exclusive support of a State 
 University, for the promotj^pn of the arts, literature, and the scien- 
 ces ; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as early as 
 may be, to provide e^ectual means for the improvement and perma 
 nent security of the funds and endowments of such institution. 
 
 Establishment of Banks. 
 
 One State bank may be established, with such number of 
 branches as the General Assembly may, from time to time, deem ex- 
 pedient : Provided, that no branch bank shall be established, nor 
 bank charter renewed, under the authority of this State, without the 
 concurrence of two-thirds of both houses of the General Assembly ; 
 and provided, also, that not more than one bank nor branch bank 
 shall be established, nor bank charter renewed, at any one session 
 of the General Assembly ; nor shall any bank or branch bank be 
 established, or bank charter renewed, but in conformity with the 
 following rules : 
 
 1st. At least two-fifths of the capital stock shall be reserved for 
 the State. 
 
 2d. A proportion of power, in the direction of the bank shall be 
 reserved to the State, equal at least to its proportion of stock therein. 
 
 3d. The State, and the individual stockholders, shall be liable re- 
 spectively, for the debts of the bank, in proportion to their stock 
 holden therein. 
 
 4th." The remedy for collecting debts shall be reciprocal, for and 
 against the bank. 
 
 5th. No bank shall commence operations until half of the capital 
 stock subscribed for be actually paid in gold or silver, which 
 amount shall, in no case be less than one hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 6th. In case any bank or branch bank shall neglect or refuse to pay, 
 on demand, any bill, note, or obligation, issued by the corporation, 
 according to the promise therein expressed, the holder of any such 
 note, bill, or obligation, shall be entitled to receive and recover in- 
 terest thereon, until the same shall be paid, or specie payments are 
 resumed, by said bank, at the rate of twelve per cent, per annum 
 from the date of such demand, unless the General Assembly shall 
 sanction such suspension of specie payments ; and the General As- 
 sembly shall have power, after such neglect or refusal, to adopt such 
 measures as they may deem proper, to protect and secure the rights 
 of all concerned : and to declare the charter of such bank forfeited. 
 
 7th. After the establishment of a general State bank, the banks of 
 this State now existing may be admitted as branches thereof, upon 
 such terms as the Legislature and the said banks may agree, subject 
 nevertheless to the preceding rules. 
 
324 CONSTITUTION OP" ALABAMA. 
 
 Slave'<. 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws for 
 the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, or 
 without paying their owners, previous to such emancipation, a full 
 equivalent in money for the slaves so ema^icipated. They shall have 
 no power to prevent emigrants to this State from bringing with them 
 such persons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any one of the 
 United States, so long as any person of the same age or description 
 shall be continued in slavery by the laws of "this State: provided, 
 that such person or slave be the bona fide property of such emigrants : 
 and provided, also, that laws may be passed to prohibit the introduc- 
 tion into this State of slaves who have committed high crimes in 
 other states or territories. They shall have power to pass laws to 
 permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the rights 
 of creditors, and preventing them from becoming a public charge. 
 They shall have full power to prevent slaves from being brought 
 into this State as merchandise, and also to oblige the owners of slaves 
 to treat them with humanity, to provide for them necessary food and 
 clothing, to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or 
 limb ; and in case of their neglect or refusal to comply with the di- 
 rections of such laws, to have such slave or slaves sold for the bene- 
 fit of the owner or owners. 
 
 2. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes of higher grade than 
 petit larceny, the Greneral Assembly shall have no power to deprive 
 them of an impartial trial by a petit jury. 
 
 3. Any person who shall maliciously dismember or deprive a slave 
 of life, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflict d in case the 
 like offence had been committed on a free white person, and on the 
 like proof, except in case of insurrection of such slave. 
 
 Mode of Amending and Revising the Constitution. 
 The General As.sembly, whenever two-thirds of each house shall 
 deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this Constitution ; 
 which proposed amendments shall be duly published in print, at least 
 three months before the next general election of representatives, for 
 the consideration of the people ; and it shall be the duty of the several 
 returning officers, at the next general election which shall be held 
 for representatives, to open a poll for, and make a return to the Sec- 
 retary of the State for the time being, of the names of all those voting 
 for representatives, who have voted on such proposed amendments ; 
 and if thereupon it shall appear that a majority of all the citizens 
 of this State voting for representatives, have voted in favor of such 
 proposed amendments, and two-thirds of each house of the next 
 General Assembly shall, after such an election, and before another, 
 ratify the same amendments by yeas and nays, they shall be valid, 
 to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitution : provided, 
 that the said proposed amendments shall, at each of the said sessions. 
 have been read three times, on three several days in each house. 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 In 1716 the French formed a settlement at Natchez, and claimed the terri- 
 tory as belonging to Louisiana. This colony was massacred by the Indians 
 in 1729. In 1763 it was ceded to the British, and north of the 31st degree of 
 north latitude, was in the chartered limits of Georgia ; south of that belonged 
 to West Florida. This part was ceded to the United States by Spain, in 
 1798. In 1800 this State, with Alabama, was constituted a territory. In 1817 
 •Mississippi was separated from Alabama, and became an independent State. 
 It adopted its first Constitution in 1817, which was revised in 1832. 
 
 Area, 45,760 sq. miles. Pop. in 1850, 592,853, of whom 300,419 were slaves. 
 Free negroes, 898. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 AKTICLE 1.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and 
 free government may be recognized and established, we declare : — 
 
 Sec. 1 . That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are 
 equal in rights ; and that no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclu- 
 sive, separate public emoluments or privileges from the community, 
 but in consideration of public services. 
 
326 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free 
 governments are founded on their authority and established for their 
 benefit ; and, therefore, they have at all times an inalienable and 
 indefeasible right to alter or abolish their form of government, in 
 such manner as they may think expedient. 
 
 3. The exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and wor- 
 ship, without discrimination, shall forever be free to all persons in 
 this State : Provided, that the right hereby declared and established 
 shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or jus- 
 tify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the State. 
 
 4. No preference shall ever be given by law to any religious 
 sect, or mode of worship. 
 
 5. That no person shall be molested for his opinions on any sub- 
 ject whatever, nor suffer any civil or political incapacity, or ac- 
 quire any civil or political advantage, in consequence of such opin- 
 ions, except in cases provided for in this Constitution. 
 
 6. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects ; being responsible for the abuse of that 
 liberty. 
 
 7. No law shall ever be passed to curtail or restrain the liberty 
 of speech, or of the press. 
 
 8. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be 
 given in evidence ; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter 
 charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives 
 and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted ; and the jury 
 shall have the right to determine the law and the facts. 
 
 9. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and possessions from unreasonable seizures and searches ; and that no 
 warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall 
 issue without describing the place to be searched, and the person or 
 thing to be seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, 
 supported by oath or afl&rmation. 
 
 10. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to 
 be heard, by himself or counsel, or both ; to demand the nature and 
 caijse of the accusation ; to be confronted by the witnesses against 
 him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his 
 favor ; and in all prosecutions by indictment or information a 
 speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the county where 
 the offence was committed ; that he cannot be compelled to give 
 evidence against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty 
 or property, but by due course of law. 
 
 1 1 . No person shall be accused, arrested or detained, except in 
 case^ ascertained by law, and according to the form which the same 
 has prescribed ; and no person shall be punished but in virtue of a 
 law established and promulgated prior to the offence, and legally 
 applied. 
 
 12. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be pro- 
 ceeded agair.st criminally by information : except in cases arising in 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 327 
 
 the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, or 
 by leave of the court, for misdemeanor in office. 
 
 13. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy 
 of life or limb ; nor shall any person's property be taken or applied 
 to public use without the consent of the Legislature, and without just 
 compensation being first made therefor. 
 
 14. That all courts shall be open, and every person for an injury 
 done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have reme- 
 dy by due course of law, and right and justice administered with- 
 out sale, denial or delay. 
 
 15. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except 
 by the Legislature, or its authority. 
 
 16. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 
 
 17. That all prisoners shall before conviction be bailable by suf- 
 ficient securities, except for capital offences, where the proof is evi- 
 dent, or the presumption great ; and the privilege of the writ of 
 habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, when in case of rebel- 
 lion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 
 
 18. That the person of a debtor, when there is not strong pre- 
 sumption of fraud, shall not be detained in prison, after delivering 
 up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 19. No conviction for any offence shall work corruption of blood 
 or forfeiture of estate : The Legislature shall pass no bill of attain- 
 der, ex fost facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts. 
 
 20. No property qualification for eligibility to office, or for the 
 right of suffrage, shall ever be required by law in this State. 
 
 21. That the estates of suicides shall descend or vest as in cases 
 of natural death : and if any person shall be killed by casualty, 
 there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof 
 
 22. That the citizens have a right in a peaceable manner, to as- 
 semble together for their common good, and to apply to those vested 
 with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other 
 proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. 
 
 23. Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself 
 and of the State. 
 
 24. No standing army shall be kept up without the consent of the 
 Legislature ; and the military shall in all cases, and at all times, be 
 in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 25. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
 house, without the consent of the owner, or in time of war, but in 
 manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 26. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors shall 
 ever be granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 27. Emigration from this State shall not be prohibited, nor shall 
 any free white citizen of this State ever be exiled under any pre- 
 tence whatever. 
 
 24 
 
3i^ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 28. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 29. No person shall he debarred from prosecuting or defending 
 any civil cause for or against him or herself before any tribunal in 
 this State, by him or herself, or counsel or both. 
 
 30. No person shall ever be appointed or elected to any office in 
 this State for life or during good behavior ; but the tenure of all 
 offices shall be for some limited period of time, if the person ap- 
 pointed or elected thereto shall so long behave well. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 To guard against transgressions of the high powers herein dele- 
 gated, we declare, that everything in this article is excepted out of 
 the general powers of government, and shall forever remain invio- 
 late ; and that all laws contrary thereto or to the following provis- 
 ions, shall be void. 
 
 AKTICLE IL— Distribution of Powers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Mississip- 
 pi, shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of 
 them confided to a separate body of magistracy ; to wit : those 
 which are legislative to one, those which are judicial to another, and 
 those which are executive to another. 
 
 2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of these de- 
 partments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of 
 the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or 
 permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every free white male person of the age of twenty-one 
 years or upwards, who shall be a citizen of the United States, and 
 shall have resided in this State one year next preceding an election, 
 and the last four months within the county, city or town in which 
 he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector. And any such 
 (qualified elector who may happen to be in any county, city or town 
 other than that of his residence at the time of an election, or who 
 shall have removed to any county, city or town within four months 
 preceding the election, from any county, city or town, in which he 
 would have been a qualified elector had he not so removed, may 
 vote for any State or district officer or member of Congress, for 
 Avhom he could have voted in the county of his residence, or the 
 county, city or town, from which he may have so removed. 
 
 2. Electors shall, in all cases, except in those of treason, felony 
 or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, "during their at- 
 tendance on elections, and going to and returning from the same. 
 
 3. The first election shall be by ballot, and all future elections, 
 by the people, shall be regulated by law. 
 
 4. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two dis- 
 tinct branches ; the one to be styled " the Senate," the other '^ the 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 329 
 
 House of Representatives ;" and both together, " the Legislature of 
 the State of Mississippi." And the style of their laws shall be, " Be 
 it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi^ 
 
 5. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen 
 by the qualified electors, and shall serve for the term of two years, 
 from the day of the comimencement of the general election, and no 
 longer. 
 
 6. The representatives shall be chosen every two years, on the 
 first Monday and day following in November. 
 
 7. No person shall be a representative unless he be a citizen of 
 the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State 
 two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a 
 resident of the county, city or town for which he shall be chosen : 
 and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 8. Elections for representatives for the several counties, shall be 
 held at the places of holding their respective courts, or in the seve- 
 ral election districts into which the county may be divided ; Provi- 
 ded^ That when it shall appear to the Legislature that any city or 
 town hath a number of free white inhabitants equal to the ratio 
 then fixed, such city or town shall have a separate representation, 
 according to the number of free white inhabitants therein, which 
 shall be retained so long as such city or town shall contain a num- 
 ber of free white inhabitants equal to the existing ratio, and there- 
 after and during the existence of the right of separate representation 
 in such city or town, elections for the county in which such city or 
 town entitled to a separate representation is situated, shall not be 
 held in such city or town. And provided^ That if the residuum or 
 fraction of any city or town entitled to separate representation shall, 
 when added to the residuum in the county in which it may lie, be 
 equal to the ratio fixed by law for one representative ; then the afore- 
 said county, city or town, having the largest residuum, shall be en- 
 titled to such representation : And provided also, That when there 
 are two or more counties adjoining, which have residuums over and 
 above the ratio then fixed by law, if said residuums, when added 
 together, will amount to such ratio, in that case one representative 
 shall be added to that county having the largest residuum. 
 
 9. The Legislature shall at their first session, and at periods of 
 not less than every four, nor more than every six years, until the 
 year 1845, and thereafter at periods of not less than every four, nor 
 more than every eight years, cause an enumeration to be made of 
 all the free white inhabitants of this State, and the whole number 
 of representatives shall, at the several periods of making such 
 enumeration, be fixed by the Legislature, and apportioned among 
 the several counties, cities or towns, entitled to separate representa- 
 tion, according to the number of free white inhabitants in each, and 
 shall not be less than thirty-six nor more than one hundred: Fro- 
 iiided, however, That each county shall always be entitled to at least 
 one representative. 
 
^0 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 10. The whole number of senators shall, at the several periods of 
 making the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the Legisla- 
 ture, and apportioned among the several districts to be established 
 by law, according to the number of free white inhabitants in each, 
 and shall never be less than one-fourth, nor more than one-third of 
 the whole number of representatives. 
 
 U. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors, for 
 four years, and on their being convened in consequence of the first 
 election, they shall be divided by lot from their respective districts 
 into two classes as nearly equal as can be. — And the seats of the 
 senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
 second year. 
 
 12. Such mode of classifying new additional senators shall be ob- 
 served as will as nearly as possible preserve an equality of numbers 
 in each class. 
 
 13. When a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more 
 counties, it shall not be entirely separated by any county belonging to 
 another district ; and no county shall be divided in forming a dis- 
 trict. 
 
 14. No person shall be a senator unless he be a citizen of the 
 United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State four 
 years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resi- 
 dent of the district for which he shall be chosen, and have attained 
 the age of thirty years. 
 
 15. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose 
 a Speaker and its other ojB&cers, and the Senate shall choose a 
 President and its officers, and each house shall judge of the quali- 
 fications and elections of its own members : but a contested 
 election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed 
 by law. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do 
 business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and 
 may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and 
 under such penalties as each house may provide. 
 
 16. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, 
 punish members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of two- 
 thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause : 
 and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Leg- 
 islature of a free and independent State. 
 
 17. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish the same ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
 house, on any question, shall at the desire of any three members 
 present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 1 8. When vacancies happen in either house, the Grovernor, or the 
 person exercising the powers of iihe Governor, shall issue writs of 
 election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 19. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except of trea- 
 son, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during 
 the session of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 331 
 
 the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member 
 may reside from the place at which the Legislature is convened. 
 
 20. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during the session, 
 any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in 
 its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings : Provided. 
 such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours. 
 
 21. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occa- 
 sions of great emergency, as, in the opinion of the house, may require 
 secrecy. 
 
 22. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 they may be sitting. 
 
 23. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered 
 or rejected by the other, but no bill shall have the force of a law, 
 until on three several days, it be read in each house, and free dis- 
 cussion be allowed thereon, unless four-fifths of the house in which 
 the bill shall be pending, may deem it expedient to dispense with 
 this rule ; and every bill having passed both houses, shall be signed 
 by the Speaker and President of their respective houses. 
 
 24. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
 Representatives, but the Senate may amend or reject them as other 
 bills. 
 
 25. Each member of the Legislature shall receive from the pub- 
 lic treasury a compensation for his services which may be increased 
 or diminished by law ; but no increase of compensation shall take 
 effect during the session at which such increase shall have been 
 made. 
 
 26. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed 
 to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been 
 created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, 
 during such term, except such offices as may be filled by 
 elections by the people ; and no member of either house of the 
 Legislature shall after the commencement of the first session of the 
 Legislature after his election, and during the remainder of the term 
 for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appoint- 
 ment to which may be made in whole or in part by either branch of 
 the Legislature. 
 
 27. No judge of any court of law or equity. Secretary of State, 
 Attorney-General, clerk of any court of record, sheriff or collector, 
 or any person holding a lucrative office under the United States 
 or this State, shall be eligible to the Legislature : Provided^ That 
 offices in the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, 
 and the office of justice of the peace shall not be deemed lucrative. 
 
 28. No person who hath heretofore been, or hereafter may be, a 
 collector or holder of public moneys, shall have a seat in either hou^e 
 of the Legislature, until such person shall have accounted for, and 
 paid into the treasury, all sums for which he may be accountable. 
 
332 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 29. The first election for senators and representatives shall ^e 
 general throughout the State, and shall be held on the first Monday 
 and day following in November, 1833; and thereafter, there shall 
 be biennial elections for senators to fill the places of those whose 
 term of service may have expired. 
 
 30. The first and all future sessions of the Legislature shall be 
 held in the town of Jackson, in the county of Hinds, until the year 
 1850. During the first session thereafter, the Legislature shall have 
 power to designate by law the permanent seat of government : Pro- 
 vided, however, That unless such designation be then made by law, 
 the seat of government shall continue permanently at the town of 
 Jackson. The first session shall commence on the third Monday in 
 November, in the year 1833 ; and in every two years thereafter, 
 at such time as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 31. The Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor of 
 public accounts, and Attorney-deneral, shall reside at the seat of 
 government. 
 
 ARTICLE lY. — Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one 
 High Court of Errors and Appeals, and such other courts of law and 
 equity as are hereafter provided for in this Constitution. 
 
 2. The High Court of Errors and Appeals shall consist of three 
 judges, any two of whom shall form a quorum. The Legislature 
 shall divide the State into three districts, and the qualified electors 
 of each district shall elect one of said judgesifor the term of six 
 years. 
 
 3. The office of one of said judges shall be vacated in two years, 
 and of one in four years, and of one in six years, so that at the ex- 
 piration of every two years, one of said judges shall be elected as 
 aforesaid. 
 
 4. The High Court of Errors and Appeals shall have no jurisdic- 
 tion, but such as properly belongs to a Court of Errors and Appeals. 
 
 5. All vacancies that may occur in said court, from death, resig- 
 nation, or removal, shall be filled by election as aforesaid: Provided, 
 however, that if the unexpired term do not exceed one year, the 
 vacancy shall be filled by executive appointment. 
 
 6. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the High 
 Court of Errors and Appeals, who shall not have attained, at the 
 time of his election, the age of thirty years. 
 
 7. The High Court of Errors and Appeals shall be held twice in 
 each year, at such place as the Legislature shall direct, until the 
 
 , year eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and afterwards at the seat of 
 government of the State. 
 
 8. The Secretary of State, on receiving all the official returns of 
 the first election, shall proceed, forthwith, in the presence and with 
 the assistance of two justices of the peace, to determine by lot among 
 the three candidates having the highest number of votes, which of 
 
MISSISSIPPI 333 
 
 said judges elect shall serve for the term of two years, which shall 
 serve for the term of four years, and which shall serve for the term 
 of six years, and having so determined the same, it shall be the du- 
 ty of the Governor to issue commissions accordingly. 
 
 9. No judge shall sit on the trial of any cause when the parties 
 or either of them shall he connected with him by aJB&nity or consan- 
 guinity, or when he may be interested in the same, except by consent 
 of the judge and of the parties ; and whenever a quorum of said court 
 are situated as aforesaid, the Governor of the State shall in such 
 case specially commission two or more men of law-knowledge for 
 the determination thereof 
 
 10. The judges of said court shall receive for their services a com- 
 pensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be diminished during 
 their continuance in office". 
 
 i 1. The judges of the Circuit Court shall be elected by the quali- 
 fied electors of each judicial district, and hold their offices for the 
 term of four years, and reside in their respective districts. 
 
 12. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the Cir- 
 cuit Court, who shall not at the time of his election, have attained 
 the age of twenty-six years. 
 
 13. The State shall be divided into convenient districts, and each 
 district shall contain not less than three nor more than twelve coun- 
 ties. 
 
 14. The Circuit Court shall have original jurisdiction in all mat- 
 ters, civil and criminal, within this State; but in civil eases only 
 when the principal of the sum in controversy exceeds fifty dollars. 
 
 15. A Circuit Court shall be held in each county of this State, at 
 least twice in each year ; and the judges of said courts, shall inter- 
 change circuits with each other, in such manner as may be prescribed 
 by law, and shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed 
 by law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in 
 office. 
 
 16. A separate Superior Court of Chancery shall be established, 
 with full jurisdiction in all matters of equity ; provided, however, 
 the Legislature may give to the Circuit Courts of each county equity 
 jurisdiction in all cases where the value of the thing, or amount in 
 controversy, does not exceed five hundred dollars ; also, in all cases 
 of divorce, and for the foreclosure of mortgages. The Chancellor 
 shall be elected by the qualified electors of the whole State, for the 
 term of six years, and shall be at least thirty years old at the time 
 of his election. 
 
 17. The style of all process, shall be " The State of Mississippi," 
 and all prosecutions shall be carriecJIbn in the name and by the au- 
 thority of " The State of Mississippi," and shall conclude, " against 
 the peace and dignity of the same." 
 
 18. A Court of Probates shall be established in each county of this 
 State, with jurisdiction in all matters testamentary and of adminis- 
 tration in orphans' business, and the allotment of dower, increase of 
 
334 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 idiotcy and lunacy, and of persons non compos mentis ; tlie judge of 
 said court shall be elected by the qualified electors of the respective 
 counties, for the term of two years. 
 
 19. The clerk of the High Court of Errors and Appeals shall be 
 appointed by said court for the term of four years, and the clerks 
 of the circuit, probate, and other inferior courts, shall be elected by 
 the qualified electors of the respective counties, and shall hold their 
 ofiices for the term of two years. 
 
 20. The qualified electors of each county shall elect five persons 
 for the term of two years, who shall constitute a board of police for 
 each county, a majority of whom may transact business ; which body 
 shall have full jurisdiction over roads, highways, ferries, and bridges, 
 and all other matters of county police, and shall order all county 
 elections to fill vacancies that may occur in the offices of their re- 
 spective counties: the clerk of the Court of Probate shall be the 
 clerk of the board of county police. 
 
 21. No person shall be eligible as a member of said board, who 
 shall not have resided one year in the county : but this qualification 
 shall not extend to such new counties as may hereafter be establish- 
 ed until one year after their organization ; and all vacancies that 
 may occur in said board shall be supplied by election as aforesaid to 
 fill the unexpired term. 
 
 22. The judges of all the courts of the State, and also the mem- 
 bers of the board of county police, shall in virtue of their offices be 
 conservators of the peace, and shall be by law vested with ample 
 powers in this respect. 
 
 23. A competent number of justices of the peace and constables 
 shall be chosen in each county by the qualified electors thereof, by 
 districts, who shall hold their offices for the term of two years. The 
 jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall be limited to causes in 
 which the principal of the amount in controversy shall not exceed 
 fifty dollars. In all causes tried by a justice of the peace,the right 
 of appeal shall be secured under such rules and regulations as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 24. The Legislature may from time to time establish such other 
 inferior courts as may be deemed necessary, and abolish the same 
 whenever they shall deem it expedient. 
 
 25. There shall be an Attorney-Greneral elected by the qualified 
 electors of the State ; and a competent number of district attorneys 
 shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective districts, 
 whose compensation and term of service shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 26. The Legislature shall provide by law for determining contested 
 elections of judges of the Higl^ourt of Errors and Appeals of the 
 circuit and probate courts, and other officers. 
 
 27. The judges of the several courts of this State, for wilful ne- 
 glect of duty or other reasonable cause, shall be removed by the 
 Grovernor on the address of two-thirds of both houses of the Legis- 
 lature ; the address to be by joint vote of both houses. The cause 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 335 
 
 or causes for which such removal shall be required, shall he stated 
 at length in such address, and on the journals of each house. The 
 judge so intended to be removed, shall be notified and admitted to 
 a hearing in his own defense before any vote for such address shall 
 pass ; the vote on such address shall be taken by yeas and nays, and 
 entered on the journals of each house. 
 
 28. Judges of probate, clerks, sheriffs, and other county officers, 
 for wilful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, shall be liable 
 to presentment or indictment by a grand jury, and trial by a petit 
 jury, and upon conviction shall be removed from office. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The chief executive power of this State shall be vested 
 in a Governor ; who shall hold his office for two years from the time 
 of his instaQation. 
 
 2. The Gd^trnor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the 
 State. The returns of every election for Governor, shall be sealed 
 up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Sec- 
 retary of State, who shall deliver them to the Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, at the next ensuing session of the Legislature, 
 during the first week of which session the Speaker shall open and 
 publish them in the presence of both houses of the Legislature. 
 The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor ; 
 but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, then one of 
 them shall be chosen Governor by the joint ballot of both houses of 
 the Legislature. Contested elections for Governor shall be deter- 
 mined by both houses of the Legislature, in such manner as shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 3. The Governor shall be at least thirty years of age, shall have 
 been a citizen of the United States for twenty years, shall have resi- 
 ded in this State at least five years next preceding the day of his 
 election, and shall not be capable of holding the office more than 
 four years in any term of six years. 
 
 4. He shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
 tion which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for 
 which he shall be elected. 
 
 5. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy in this 
 State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the 
 service of the United States. 
 
 6. He may require information in writing, from the officers in the 
 executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 7. He may, in cases of emergency, convene the Legislature at the 
 seat of government, or at a different place, if that shall have become, 
 since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy or from dis- 
 ease ; and in case of disagreement between the two houses with re- 
 spect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he 
 
336 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 shall think proper, not beyond the day of the- next stated meeting 
 of the Legislature. 
 
 8. He shall from time to time give to the Legislature information 
 cf the state of the government, and recommend to their considera- 
 tion such measures as he may deem necessary and expedient. 
 
 9. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 10. In all criminal and penal cases, except in those of treason and 
 impeachment, he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, 
 and remit fines ; and in cases of forfeiture to stay the collection until 
 the end of the next session of the Legislature, and to remit forfeit- 
 ures by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In cases of 
 treason he shall have power to grant reprieves by and with the ad- 
 vice and consent of the Senate, but may respite the sentence until 
 the end of the next session of the Legislature. 
 
 11. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
 of the State of Mississippi ; be sealed with the great seal, and 
 signed by the Grovernor, and be attested by the Secretary of State. 
 
 12. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the 
 Governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called the great 
 seal of the State of Mississippi. 
 
 13. All vacancies not provided for in this Constitution shall be 
 filled in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe. 
 
 14. The Secretary of State shall be elected by the qualified elec- 
 tors of the State, and shall continue in office during the term of 
 two years. He shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and 
 proceedings of the Grovernor, and shall, when required, lay the same, 
 and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the 
 Legislature, and shall perform such other duties as may be required 
 of him by law. 
 
 15. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the Legis- 
 lature shall be presented to the Governor ; if he approve, he shall 
 sign it, but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the house 
 in which it shall have originated, which shall enter the objections at 
 large upon their journals, and proceed to reconsider it. If after 
 such reconsideration two-thirds of the house shall agree to pass the 
 bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, by which 
 it shall likewise be reconsidered : if approved by two-thirds of that 
 house, it shall become a law. But in such case the votes of both 
 houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
 members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the jour- 
 nals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
 by the Governor within six days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
 have been presented to him, the same shall become a law in like 
 manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature by their ad- 
 journment prevent its return, in which case it shall become a law. 
 
 16. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary, except resolutions for the purpose of 
 obtaining the joint action of both houses, and on questions of ad- 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 337 
 
 journment, shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall 
 take effect be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be re- 
 passed by both houses according to the rules and limitations pre- 
 scribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 1 7. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant by death, 
 resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the President of the 
 Senate shall exercise the office of Governor until another Governor 
 shall be duly qualified ; and in case of the death, resignation, remo- 
 val from office, or other disqualification of the President of the 
 Senate so exercising the office of Governor, the Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives shall exercise the o$ce, until the Presi- 
 dent of the Senate shall have been chosen ; and when the office of 
 Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House shall 
 become vacant, in the recess of ihe Senate, the person acting as 
 Secretary of State for the time being, shall by proclamation convene 
 the Senate, that a President may be chosen to exercise the office of 
 Governor. 
 
 18. When either the President or Speaker of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives shall so exercise said office, he shall receive the com- 
 pensation of Governor only, and his duties as President or Speaker 
 shall be suspended, and the Senate or House of Representatives, as 
 the case may be, shall fill the vacancy until his duties as Governor 
 shall cease. 
 
 19. A sheriff, and one or more coroners, a Treasurer, Surveyor, 
 and ranger shall be elected in each county by the qualified electors 
 thereof, who shall hold their office, for two years, unless sooner remov- 
 ed ; except that the coroner shall Ifold his office until his successor 
 be duly qualified. 
 
 20. A State Treasurer and auditor of public accounts shall be 
 elected by the qualified electors of the State, who shall hold their 
 offices for the term of two years, unless sooner removed. 
 
 Militia. 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing and 
 disciplining the militia of this State, in such manner as they shall 
 deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of 
 the United States in relation thereto. 
 
 2. Commissioned officers of the militia (staff-officers and the offi- 
 cers of volunteer companies excepted) shall be elected by the persons 
 liable to perform military duty, and the qualified electors within their 
 respective commands, and shall be commissioned by the Governor. 
 
 3. The Governor shall have power to call forth the militia to execute 
 the laws of the State, to suppress insurrection, and repel invasion. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Impeachments. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be en oath or affirmation. No 
 
338 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 the members present. 
 
 3. The Grovernor, and all civil officers, shall be liable to impeach- 
 ment for any misdemeanor in office, but judgment in such cases shall 
 not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification 
 to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the State ; but the 
 party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indict- 
 ment, trial, and punishment, according to law, as in other cases. 
 
 ARTICLE Yll.— General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive 
 and judicial, before they enter upon the duties of their respective 
 offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation, to wit : " I sol- 
 emnly swear (or affirm, as the case^may be) that I will support the 
 Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State 
 of Mississippi, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I 
 will faithfully discharge to the best of my abilities the duties of the 
 office of -, according to law. So help me GodP 
 
 2. The Legislature shall pass such laws to prevent the evil prac- 
 tice of duelling as they may deem necessary, and may require all 
 officers, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, to 
 take the following oath or affirmation : " I do solemnly swear (or 
 affirm, as the case may be) that I have not been engaged in a duel, 
 by sending or accepting a challenge to fight a duel, or by fighting 
 a duel since the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, nor will I be so engaged 
 during my continuance in offices ho help me GodP 
 
 3. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession 
 in open court. 
 
 4. Every person shall be disqualified from holding an office or 
 place of honor or profit under the authority of this State, who shall 
 be convicted of having given or ofi"ered any bribe to procure his elec- 
 tion. Laws shall be made to exclude from office and from suffrage 
 those who shall thereafter be convictedof bribery, perjury, forgery, or 
 other high crimes or misdemeanors. The privilege of free suffrage 
 shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, un- 
 der adequate penalties, all undue influence therein from power, bri- 
 bery, tumult, or other improper conduct. 
 
 5. No person who denies the being of a God, or a future state of 
 rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil depart- 
 ment of this State. 
 
 6. No law of a general nature, unless otherwise provided for, 
 shall be enforced until sixty days after the passage thereof 
 
 7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence 
 of an appropriation made by law, nor shall any appropriation of money 
 
MISSISSIPPI. 339 
 
 for the support of an army be made for a longer term than one year. 
 
 8. No money from the treasurer shall be appropriated to objects 
 of internal improvement, unless a bill for that purpose be approved 
 by two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature ; and a regular 
 statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of public 
 moneys shall be published annually. 
 
 9. No law shj^ll ever be passed to raise a loan of money upon the 
 credit of the State, or to pledge the faith of the State for the pay- 
 ment or redemption of any loan or debt, unless such law be propos- 
 ed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and be agreed to by 
 a majority of the members of each house, and entered on their jour- 
 nals with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and be referred to the 
 next succeeding Legislature, and published for three months previous 
 to the next regular election, in three newspapers of the State ; and 
 unless a majority of each branch of the Legislature, so elected, after 
 such publication, shall agree to, and pass such law ; and in such case 
 the yeas and nays shall be taken, and entered on the journals of 
 each house : Provided, that nothing in this section shall be so con- 
 strued as to prevent the Legislature from negotiating a further loan 
 of one and a half million of dollars, and vesting the same in stock 
 reserved to the State by the charter of the Planters' Bank of the State 
 of Mississippi. 
 
 10. The Legislature shall direct, by law, in what manner and in 
 what courts suits may be brought against the State. 
 
 11. Absence on business of this State, or of the United States, 
 or on a visit, or necessary private business, shall not cause a for- 
 feiture of citizenship or residence once obtained. 
 
 12. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to regulate, by law, 
 the cases in which deductions shall be made from salaries of public 
 officers for neglect of duty in their official capacity, and the amount 
 of such deduction. 
 
 13. No member of Congress nor any person holding any office of 
 profit or trust under the United States, (the office of post-master ex- 
 cepted,) or any other State, of the Union, or under any foreign power, 
 shall hold or exercise any office of trust or profit under this State. 
 
 14. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good 
 government, the preservation of liberty, and the happiness of man- 
 kind, schools, and the means of education, shall forever be encour- 
 aged in this State. 
 
 15. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be granted, 
 but in cases provided for by law, by suit in chancery. 
 
 16. Returns of all elections by the people shall be made to the 
 Secretary of State in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 17. No new county shall be established by the Legislature, which 
 shall reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from which it 
 may be taken, to less contents than five hundred and seventy-six. 
 square miles ; nor shall any new county be laid ofif of less contents. 
 
 18. The Legislature shall have power to admit to all the rights and 
 
340 CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 privileges of free white citizens of this State, all such persons of the 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians, as shall choose to remain 
 in this State, upon such terms as the Legislature may from time to 
 time deem proper. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the 
 emancipation of slaves without the consent of theiiv owners, unless 
 where the slave shall have rendered to the State some distinguished 
 service ; in which case the owner shall be paid a full equivalent for 
 the slave so emancipated. They shall have no power to prevent 
 emigrants to this State from bringing with them such persons as 
 are deemed slaves by the laws of any one of the United States, so 
 long as any person of the same age or description shall be continued 
 in slavery by the laws of this State ; Provided, that such person or 
 slave be the bona fide property of such emigrants ; and provided 
 also, that laws may be passed to prohibit the introduction into this 
 State of slaves who may have committed high crimes in other States. 
 They shall have power to pass laws to permit the owners of slaves to 
 emancipate them, saving the rights of creditors, and preventing them 
 from becoming a public charge. They shall have full power to oblige 
 the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity ; to provide for 
 them necessary clothing and provisions ; to abstain from all injuries 
 to them, extending to life or limb ; and in case of their neglect or 
 refusal to comply with the directions of such laws, to have such slave 
 or slaves sold for the benefit of the owner or owners. 
 
 2. The introduction of slaves into this State as merchandize, or 
 for sale, shall be prohibited from and after the first day of May, 
 eighteen hundred and thirty-three: Provided, that the actual settler 
 or settlers shall not be prohibited from purchasing slaves in any 
 State in this Union, and bringing them into this State for their own 
 individual use, until the year eighteen hundred and forty-five. 
 
 3. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes of which the punish- 
 ment is not capital, no inquest by a grand jury shall be necessary; 
 but the^roceedings in such cases shall be regulated by law. 
 
 Mode of revising the Constitution. 
 
 Whenever two-thirds of each branch of the Legislature shall deem 
 any change, alteration, or amendment necessary to this Constitution, 
 such proposed change, alteration, or amendment shall be read and pas- 
 sed by a majority of two-thirds of each house respectively on each day, 
 for three several days. Public notice thereof shall then be given by 
 tlie Secretary of State, at least six months preceding the next gen- 
 eral election, at which the qualified electors shall vote directly for or 
 against such change, alteration, or amendment ; and if it shall ap- 
 pear that a majority of the qualified electors voting for members of 
 the Legislature, shall have voted for the proposed change, alteration, 
 or amendment, then it shall be inserted by the next succeeding 
 Legislature, as a part of this Constitution, and not otherwise. 
 
LOUISIANA. 
 
 This State was first explored by the French, and named Louisiana in honor 
 of Louis XIV. In 1699 a French settlement was begun at Ibberville, by 
 M. Ibberville. His efforts were followed up by M. Crozat, a man of wealth, 
 who held the trade of the country for several years. About the year 1717, he 
 transferred all his interest in the province to a chartered company, at the head 
 of which was the celebrated John Law, whose speculations involved the ruin 
 of one half of the French nobility. In 1731, the company resigned all their 
 rights to the crown, by whom the whole of Louisiana was ceded to Spain in 
 1762. In 1800, Spain reconveyed it to the French, from whom it was pur- 
 chased by the United States, in 1803, for ^15,000,000. Louisiana became a State 
 in 1812, and adopted a Constitution. The present one was adopted in 1845, 
 
 Area, 45,350 sq. miles. Pop. in 1850, 500,763. Slaves, 230,807. Free col- 
 ored, 15,685. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of the State of Louisiana do ordain and establish 
 this Constitution : 
 
 Art. 
 
 TITLE l.-— Distribution of Powers. 
 1. The powers of the government of the State of Louisiana 
 
 shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them 
 be confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit : those which 
 
342 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 are legislative to one ; those whicli are executive to another; and 
 those which are judicial to another. 
 
 2. No one of these departments, nor any person holding office in 
 one of them, shall exercise power properly belonging to either of 
 the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or 
 permitted. 
 
 TITLE II. — Legislative Depat-tTnent. 
 
 V 
 
 Art. 3. The legislative powers of the State shall be vested in two 
 distinct branches, the one to be styled the " House of Representa- 
 tives," the other " The Senate," and both " The General Assembly 
 of the State of Louisiana." 
 
 4. The members of the House of Representatives shall continue 
 in service for the term of two years, from the day of the closing of 
 the general elections. 
 
 5. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Monday in No- 
 vember, every two years ; and the election shall be completed in 
 one day. The G-eneral Assembly shall meet every second year, on 
 the third Monday in January next ensuing the election, unless a 
 different day be app:)inted by law, and their session shall be held at 
 the seat of government. 
 
 6. No person shall be a representative, who, at the time of his 
 election, is not a free white male, and has not been for three years 
 a citizen of the United States, and has not attained the age of 
 twenty-one years, and resided in the State for the three years next 
 preceding the election, and the last year thereof in the parish for 
 which he may be chosen. 
 
 7. Elections for representatives for the several parishes, or repre- 
 sentative districts, shall be held at the several election precincts 
 established by law. The Legislature may delegate the power of 
 establishing election prenivcts to the parochial or municipal au- 
 thorities. 
 
 8. Representation in the House of Representatives shall be equal 
 and uniform, and shall be regulated and ascertained by the number 
 of qualified electors. Each parish shall have at least one represent- 
 ative ; no new parish shall be created with a territory less than six 
 hundred and twenty-five square miles, nor with a number of electors 
 less than the full number entitling it to a representative, nor when 
 the creation of such new parish would leave any other parish with- 
 out the said extent of territory and number of electors. The first 
 enumeration to be made by the State authorities under this Consti- 
 tution, shall be in 1847, the second in 1855, and the subsequent 
 enumerations shall be made every tenth year thereafter, in such 
 manner as shall be prescribed by law 
 
 At the first regular session of the Legislature after the making of 
 each enumeration, the Legislature shall apportion the representation 
 amongst the several parishes and election districts, on the basis of 
 qualified electors as aforesaid. A renresentative number shall be 
 
LOUISIANA. 343 
 
 fixed, and each parish and election district shall have as many rep- 
 resentatives as the aggregate number of its electors will entitle it 
 to, and an additional representative for any fraction exceeding one- 
 half the representative number. The number of representatives 
 shall not be more than one hundred, nor less than sevent3^ 
 
 9. The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker and 
 other officers. 
 
 10. In all elections by the people, every free white male, who has 
 been two years a citizen of the United States, who has attained the 
 age of twenty-one years, and resided in the State two consecutive 
 years next preceding the election, and the last year thereof in the 
 parish in which he offers to vote, shall have the right of voting : pro- 
 videdj that no person shall be deprived of the right of voting, who, 
 at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, was entitled to that 
 right under the Constitution of 1812. Electors shall in all cases, 
 except treason, felony, breach of surety of the peace, be privileged 
 from arrest during their attendance at, going to, or returning from 
 elections. 
 
 1 1 . Absence from the State for more than ninety consecutive 
 days, shall interrupt the acquisition of the residence required in the 
 preceding section, unless the person abs^ting himself shall be a 
 house-keeper, or shall occupy a tenement for carrying on business, 
 and his dwelling-house or tenements for carrying on business shall 
 be actually occupied during his absence, by his family, or servants, 
 or some portion thereof, or by some one employed by him. 
 
 12. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of the 
 United States, no pauper, no person under interdiction, nor under 
 conviction of any crime punishable with hard labor, shall be entitled 
 to vote at any election in this State. 
 
 13. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election held in 
 this State, except in the parish of his residence and in cities and 
 towns divided into election precincts, in the election precinct in 
 which he resides. 
 
 14. The members of the Senate shall be chosen for the term of 
 four 3^ears. The Senate, when assembled, shall have the power to 
 choose its officers every two years. 
 
 15. The Legislature, in every year in which they shall apportion 
 representation in the House of Representatives, shall divide the 
 State into senatorial districts. No parish shall be divided in the 
 formation of a senatorial district, except Orleans. The number of 
 senators shall be thirty-two, and they shall be apportioned among 
 the senatorial districts according to the total population contained 
 in the several districts : provided, that no parish shall be entitled to 
 more than one-eighth of the whole number of senators. 
 
 16. In all apportionments of the Senate, the population of the city 
 of New Orleans shall be deducted from the population of the whole 
 State, and the remainder of the population divided by the number 
 twenty-eight, and the result produced by this division shall be the 
 
 25 
 
344 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 senatorial ratio entitling a senatorial district to a senator. Single 
 or contigious parishes shall be formed into districts having a popu- 
 lation the nearest possible to the number entitling a district to a 
 senator ; and if in the apportionment to be made, a parish or dis- 
 trict fall short of or exceed the ratio one-fifth, then a district may 
 be formed having not more than two senators, but not otherwise. 
 
 17. At the first session of the General Assembly after this Con- 
 stitution takes effect, the senators shall be equally divided, by lot, 
 into two classes ; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
 vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at 
 the expiration of the fourth year ; so that one half shall be chosen 
 every two years, and a rotation thereby kept up perpetually. In 
 case any district shall have elected two or more senators, said sena- 
 tors shall vacate their seats respectively at the end of two and four 
 years, and lots shall be drawn between them. . 
 
 18. No person shall be a senator who at the time of his election, 
 has not been a citizen of the United States ten years and who has 
 not attained the age of twenty-seven years, and resided in the State 
 four years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof, in 
 the district in which he may be chosen. 
 
 19. The first election for senators shall be general throughout the 
 State, and at the same time that the general election for represent- 
 atives is held ; and thereafter there shall be biennial elections to fill 
 the place of those whose time of service may have expired. 
 
 20. Not less than a majority of the members of each house of the 
 G-eneral Assembly shall form a quorum to do business ; but a smaller 
 number may adjourn from day to day and shall be authorized by law 
 to compel the attendance of absent members. 
 
 2 1 . Each house of the G-eneral Assembly shall judge of the qual- 
 ification, election and returns of its members : but a contested elec- 
 tion, shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by 
 law. 
 
 22. Each house of the General Assembly may determine the rules 
 of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly behavior, and 
 with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second 
 time for the same offence. 
 
 23. Each house of the General Assembly shall keep and publish 
 a weekly journal of its proceedings ; and the jesLS and nays of the 
 members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of them, 
 be entered on the journal. 
 
 24. Each house may punish by imprisonment any person not a 
 member for disorderly behavior, such imprisonment not to exceed 
 ten days for any one offence. 
 
 25. Neither house, during the session of the General Assembly, 
 shall without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three 
 days, nor to any place than that in which they may be sitting. 
 
 26. The members of the General Assembly shall receive from the 
 public treasury a compensation for their services which shall be four 
 
LOUISIANA. 345 
 
 dollars per day during their attendance, going to and returning from 
 tlie session of their respective houses. The compensation may be 
 increased or diminished by law ; but no alteration shall take effect 
 during the period of service of \the members of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives by whom such alteration shall be made. No session 
 shall extend to a period beyond sixty days, to date from its com- 
 mencement. This provision shall not apply to the first Legislature 
 which is to convene after the adoption of this Constitution. 
 
 27. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases, ex- 
 cept treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from 
 arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respective 
 houses, and going to or returning from the same, and for any speech or 
 debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 28. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed or elected 
 to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been 
 created, or the emoluments of which shail have been increased during 
 the time such senator or representative was in office, except to such 
 offices or appointments as may be filled Iby the election of the 
 people. 
 
 29. No person, while he continues to exercise the functions of a 
 clergyman, priest, or teacher of any religious persuasion, society or 
 sect, shall be eligible to the General Assembly. 
 
 30. No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, 
 or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall 
 be eligible to the General Assembly, or to any office of profit or trust 
 under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge 
 for the amount of such collection, and for all public moneys with 
 which he may have been entrusted. 
 
 31 No bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several 
 days, it be read over in each house of the General Assembly, and 
 free discussion allowed thereon ; unless in case of urgency, four-fifths 
 of the house where the bill shall be pending, may deem it expedient 
 to dispense with this rule. 
 
 32. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
 Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments as in other 
 bills ; provided they shall not introduce any new matter under color 
 of an amendment, which does not relate to raising revenue. 
 
 33. The General Assembly shall regulate bylaw by whom, and in 
 what manner writs of election shall be issued to fill the vacancies 
 which may happen in either branch thereof. 
 
 34. A majority of all the members elected to the Senate shall be 
 required for the confirmation or rejection of officers, to be appointed 
 by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and 
 the Senate in deciding thereon shall vote by yeas and nays, and the 
 names of the senators voting for and against the appointments, res- 
 pectively, shall be entered on a journal to be kept for that purpose, 
 and made public at the end of each session, or before. 
 
346 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 35. Returns of all elections for members of the General Assem- 
 bly shall be made to the Secretary of State. 
 
 36. A Treasurer of the State shall be elected biennially by joint 
 ballot of the two houses of the General Assembly. The Governor 
 shall have power to fill any vacancy which may happen in that office 
 during the recess of the Legislature. 
 
 37. In the year in which a regular election for a senator of the 
 United States is to take place, the members of the General Assem- 
 bly shall meet in the hall of the House of Representatives, on the 
 Monday following the meeting of the Legislature, and proceed to 
 said election. • 
 
 TITLE 111.— Executive Department. 
 Art. 38. The supreme executive power of the State shall be 
 vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the 
 State of Louisania. He shall hold his office during the term of 
 four years ; and together with the Lieutenant-Governor, chosen for 
 the same term, shall be elected by the qualified electors at the 
 time and place of voting for representatives ; and the returns 
 shall be made to the General Assembly, on the second day of the 
 session of the General Assembly next to be holden. The persons 
 having the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected. But 
 if two or more persons shall be equal in the highest number of votes 
 polled, one of them shall immediately be chosen Governor, by the 
 joint vote of the members of the General Assembly. The Lieu 
 tenant-Governor is chosen in the same manner as the Governor. 
 
 39. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five 
 years, been fifteen years a citizen of the United States, and a resi- 
 dent within the State for the same space of time next preceding his 
 election. 
 
 40. The Governor shall enter on the discharge of his duties on 
 the fourth Monday of January next ensuing his election. 
 
 41. The Governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four 
 years after the expiration of the time for which he shall have been 
 elected. 
 
 42. No member of Congress or person holding any office under 
 the United States, or minister of any religious society, shall be 
 eligible to the of&ce of Governor or Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 43. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal 
 from office, death, refusal or inability to qualify, resignation, or ab- 
 sence from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall 
 devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor, for the residue of the term, 
 or until the Governor absent or impeached shall return or be ac- 
 quitted. The Legislature may provide by law for the case of re- 
 moval, impeachment, death, resignation, disability, or refusal to quali- 
 fy, of both the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, declaring what 
 officer shall act as Governor ; and such officer shall act accordingly, 
 until the disability be removed, or for the residue of the term. 
 
LOUISIANA 347 
 
 44. The Lieutenant-Governor, or other officer discharging the du- 
 ties of Governor, shall, during his* administration, receive the same 
 compensation to which the Governor would have been entitled, had 
 he continued in office. 
 
 45. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be 
 President of the Senate, but shall have only a casting vote therein. 
 Whenever he shall administer the government, or shall be unable to 
 attend as President of the Senate, the senators shall elect one of their 
 own members as President of the Senate for the time being. 
 
 46. While he acts as President of the Senate, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor shall receive for his services the same compensation which 
 shall for the same period be allowed to the Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, and no more. 
 
 47. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves for all of- 
 fences against the State, and except in cases of impeachment, shall, 
 with the consent of the Senate, have power to grant pardons and re- 
 mit fines and forfeitures, after conviction. In cases of treason, he 
 may grant reprieves, until the end of the next session of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, in which the power of pardoning shall be vested. 
 
 48. The Governor shall at stated times receive for his services a 
 compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished dur- 
 ing the term for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 49. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called 
 into the service of the United States. 
 
 50. He shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent 
 of the Senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established by this 
 Constitution, and whose appointment is not therein otherwise pro- 
 vided for : provided, however, that the Legislature shall have -a right 
 to prescribe the mode of appointment to a-ll other offices established 
 by law. 
 
 51. The Governor shall have power to fill vacancies that may hap- 
 pen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
 shall expire at the end of the next session, unless otherwise provid- 
 ed for in this Constitution ; but no person who has been nominated 
 for office, and rejected by the Senate, shall be appointed to the same 
 office during the recess of the Senate. 
 
 52. He may require information in writing from the officers in the 
 executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 53. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly in- 
 formation respecting the situation of the State, and recommend to 
 their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 54. He may on extraordinary occasions convene the General As- 
 sembly at the seat of Government, or at a different place if that 
 should have become dangerous from an enemy or from epidemic ; 
 and in case of disagreement between the two housee as to the time 
 
348 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think 
 proper, not exceeding four months*. 
 
 55. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 56. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be pre- 
 sented to the Governor ; if he approve, he shall sign it, if not, he 
 shall rekirn it with his objections to the house in which it originated, 
 which snail enter the objections at large upon its journal, and pro- 
 ceed to re-consider it ; if after such re-consideration, two-thirds of 
 all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it 
 shall be sent, with the objections to the other house, by which it 
 shall likewise be re-considered, and if approved by two-thirds of all 
 the members elected to that house, it shall be a law ; but in such 
 cases the vote of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
 and the names of the members voting for and against the bill, shall 
 be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill 
 shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays ex- 
 cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law 
 in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, 
 by adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall be a law. 
 unless sent back within three days after their next meeting. 
 
 57. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of 
 both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, 
 shall be presented to the Governor ; and before it shall take effect, 
 be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be re-passed by two- 
 thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assem- 
 bly. 
 
 58. There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall hold his of&ce 
 during the time for which the Governor shall have been elected. 
 The records of the State shall be kept and preserved in the office 
 of the Secretary ; he shall keep a fair register of the official acts 
 and proceedings of the Governor, and when necessary, shall attest 
 them. He shall, when required, lay the said register, and all papers, 
 minutes, and vouchers relative to his office, before either house of 
 the General Assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may 
 be enjoined on him by law. 
 
 59. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
 of the State of Louisiana, and shall be sealed with the State seal, 
 and signed by the Governor. 
 
 60. The free white men of the State shall be armed and disciplined 
 for its defense : but those who belong to religious societies whose 
 tenets forbid them to carry arms, shall not be compelled so to do, 
 but shall pay an equivalent for personal services. 
 
 61. The militia of the State shall be organized in such manner as 
 may be hereafter deemed most expedient by the Legislature. 
 
 TITLE IV. — Judiciary Department. 
 
 Art. 62. The judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme Court, 
 in district courts, and in justices of the peace, 
 
 \ 
 
LOUISIANA. 349 
 
 63. The Supreme Court, except in cases hereinafter provided, 
 shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which jurisdiction shall extend 
 to all cases when the matter in. dispute shall exceed three hundred 
 dollars, and to all cases in which the constitutionality or legality 
 of any tax, toll, or impost of any kind or nature soever, shall be in 
 contestation, whatever may be the amount thereof ; and likewise to 
 all fines, forfeitures, and penalties imposed by municipal corpora- 
 tions, and in criminal cases on questions of law alone, whenever the 
 punishment of death or hard labor may be inflicted, or when a fine 
 exceeding three hundred dollars is actually imposed. 
 
 64. The Supreme Court shall be composed of one Chief-Justice, 
 and of three associate-justices, a majority of whom shall constitute 
 a quorum. The Chief- Justice shall receive a salary of six thousand 
 dollars, and each of the associate-judges a salary of five thousand 
 five hundred dollars annually. The Court shall appoint its own 
 clerks. The judges shall be appointed for the term of eight years. 
 
 65. When the first appointments are made under this Constitution, 
 the Chief-Justice shall be appointed for eight years, one of the asso- 
 ciate-judges for six years, one for four years, and one for two years ; 
 and in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of any of said 
 judges before the expiration of the period for which he was appoint- 
 ed, his successor shall be appointed only for the remainder of his 
 term ; so that the term of service of no two of said judges shall ex- 
 pire at the same time. 
 
 66. The Supreme Court shall hold its sessions in New Orleans 
 from the first Monday of the month of November to the end of the 
 month of June, inclusive. The Legislature shall have power to fix 
 the sessions elsewhere during the rest of the year ; until otherwise 
 provided, the sessions shall be held as heretofore. 
 
 67. The Supreme Court, and each of the judges thereof, shall 
 have power to issue writs of habeas corpus^ at the instance of all 
 persons in actual custody under process, in all cases in which they 
 may have appellate jurisdiction. 
 
 68. In all cases in which the judges shall be equally divided in 
 opinion, the judgment appealed from shall stand affirmed ; in which 
 case each of the judges shall give his separate opinions in writ- 
 ing. 
 
 69. All judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of 
 the peace throughout the State. The style of all processes shall be, 
 *' The State of Louisiana." All prosecutions shall be carried on in 
 the name and by the authority of the State of Louisiana, and con- 
 clude, against the peace and dignity of the same. 
 
 70. The judges of all the courts within this State shall, as often 
 as it may be possible so to do, in every definite judgment, refer to 
 the particular law in virtue of which such judgment may be ren- 
 dered, and in all cases adduce the reasons on which their judgment 
 is founded. 
 
 71. No court or judge shall make any allowance by way of fee or 
 
350 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 compensation in any suit or proceedings, except for the payment of 
 such fees to ministerial officers as may be established by law. 
 
 72. No duties or functions shall ever be attached by law to the 
 supreme or district courts, or to the several judges thereof, but such 
 as are judicial ; and the said judges are prohibited from receiving 
 any fees of office or other compensation than their salaries for any 
 civil duties performed by them. 
 
 73. The judges of all courts shall be liable to impeachment ; but 
 for any reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for 
 impeachment, the Governor shall remove any of them on the address 
 of three-fourths of the members present of each house of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly. In every such case the cause or causes for which such 
 removal may be required, shall be stated at length in the address, 
 and inserted in the journal of each house. 
 
 74. There shall ^be an Attorney-General for the State, and as 
 many district-attorneys as may be hereafter found necessary. They 
 shall hold their offices for two years ; their duties shall be deter- 
 mined by law. 
 
 75. The first Legislature assembled under this Constitution shall 
 divide the State into judicial districts, which shall remain unchanged 
 for six years, and be subject to re-organization every sixth year 
 thereafter. 
 
 The number of districts shall not be less than twelve, nor more 
 than twenty. 
 
 For each district one judge, learned in the law, shall be appointed, 
 except in the districts in which the cities of New Orleans and La- 
 fayette are situated, in which the Legislature may establish as many 
 district courts as the public interest may require. 
 
 76. Each of the said judges shall receive a salary to be fixed by 
 law, which shall not be increased or diminished during his term of 
 office, and shall never be less than two thousand five hundred dol- 
 lars annually. He must be a citizen of the United States, over the 
 age of thirty years, and have resided in the State for six years next 
 preceding his appointment, and have practised law therein for the 
 space of five years. 
 
 77. The judges of the district courts shall hold their offices for 
 the term of six years. The judges first appointed shall be divided 
 by lot into three classes, as nearly equal as can be, and the term of 
 office of the judges of the first class shall expire at the end of two 
 years, of the second class at the end of four years, and of the third 
 class at the end of six years. 
 
 78. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in all civil 
 cases, when the amount in dispute exceeds fifty dollars, exclusive of 
 interest. In all criminal cases, and in all matters connected with 
 successions, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. 
 
 79. The Legislature shall have power to vest in clerks of courts 
 authority to grant such orders, and to do such acts as may be deem- 
 ed necessary for the furtherance of the administration of justice, 
 
LOUISIANA. 351 
 
 and in all cases the powers tlius granted shall be specified and de- 
 termined. 
 
 80. The clerks of the several courts shall be removable for breach 
 of good behavior by the judges thereof; subject in all cases to an 
 appeal to the Supreme Court. 
 
 81. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall never exceed, 
 in civil cases, the sum of one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, 
 subject to appeal to the District Court in such cases as shall be pro- 
 vided for by law. They shall be elected by the qualified voters of 
 each parish for the term of two years, and shall have such criminal 
 jurisdiction as shall be provided for by law. 
 
 82. Clerks of the district courts in this State shall be elected by 
 the qualified electors in each parish, for the term of four years, and 
 should a vacancy occur subsequent to an election, it shall be filled 
 by the jud^e of the court in which such vacancy exists, and the 
 person so appointed shall hold his office until the next general 
 election. 
 
 83. A sheriff and a coroner shall be elected in each parish, by 
 the qualified voters thereof, who shall hold their offices for the term 
 of two years, unless sooner removed. 
 
 Should a vacancy occur in either of these offices subsequent to an 
 election, it shall be filled by the Governor ; and the person so ap- 
 pointed shall continue in office until his successor shall be elected 
 and qualified. 
 
 TITLE Y.—ImpeackmenL 
 
 Art. 84. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 85. Impeachments of the Grovernor, Lieutenant-Governor, Attor- 
 ney-General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and of the judges 
 of the district courts, shall be tried by the Senate : the Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Court, or the senior judge thereof, shall preside 
 during the trial of such impeachment. Impeachments of the judges 
 of the Supreme Court shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting 
 as a court of impeachment, the senators shall be upon oath or affir- 
 mation, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence 
 of two-thirds of the senators present. 
 
 86. Judgments in cases of impeachments shall extend only to re- 
 moval from office and disqualification from holding any office of 
 honor trust or profit under this State ; but the parties convicted 
 shall, nevertheless, be subject to indictment, trial, and punishment 
 according to law. 
 
 87'. All officers against whom articles of impeachment may be 
 preferred, shall be suspended from the exercise of their functions 
 during the pendency of such impeachment; the appointing power 
 may make a provisional appointment to replace any suspended 
 officer until the decision on the impeachment. 
 
 88. The Legislature shall provide by law for the trial, punish- 
 
sm 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ment, and removal from office of all other officers of the State, by 
 indictment or otherwise. 
 
 TITLE YL— General Provisimis. 
 Art. 89. Members of the General Assembly, and all officers, be- 
 fore they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the follow- 
 ing oath or affirmation : " I (A. B.) do solemnly swear {or affirm) that I 
 will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties 
 
 incumbent on me as , according to the best of my abilities and 
 
 understanding, agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United 
 States and of this State ; and I do further solemltly swear (or affirm) 
 that, since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citi- 
 zen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within 
 this State, nor out of it, with a citizen of this State, nor have I sent 
 or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons with a 
 citizen of this State, nor have I acted as second in carrying a chal- 
 lenge, or aided, advised, or assisted any person thus offending: so 
 help me God." 
 
 90. Treason against this State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to fhe same overt act, or his own confession 
 in open court. 
 
 9 1 . Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office of 
 trust or profit in this State, who shall have been convicted of having 
 given or offered a bribe to procure his election or appointment. 
 
 92. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, and from the right 
 of suffrage, those who shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, per- 
 jury, forgery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors. The privilege 
 of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and 
 prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon, 
 from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice. 
 
 93. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance 
 of specific appropriations made by law, nor shall any appropriation 
 of money be made for a longer term than two years. A regular 
 statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public 
 moneys shall be published annually, in such manner as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 94. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass such 
 laws as may be proper and necessary to decide differences by arbi- 
 tration. 
 
 95. All civil officers for the State at large shall reside within the 
 State, and all district or parish officers within their districts or 
 parishes, and shall keep their offices at such places therein as may 
 be required by law : and no person shall be elected or appointed to 
 any parish office who shall not have resided , in such parish long 
 enough before such election or appointment to have acquired the 
 right of voting in such parish ; and no person shall be elected or 
 
LOUISIANA. 353 
 
 appointed to any district office, who shall npt have resided in such 
 district, or an adjoining district, long enough before such appoint- 
 ment or election, to have acquired the right of voting for the same. 
 
 96. The duration of all offices not fixed by this Constitution shall 
 never exceed four years. 
 
 97. All civil officers, except the Governor and judges of the Su- 
 preme and district courts, shall be removable by an address of a 
 majority of the members of both houses, except those the removal 
 of whom has been otherwise provided for by this Constitution. 
 
 98. Absence on the business of this State or of the United States, 
 shall not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive any one 
 of the right of suffi-age, or of being elected or appointed to any 
 office under the exceptions contained in this Constitution. 
 
 99. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide by law for 
 deductions from the salaries of public officers who may be guilty of 
 a neglect of duty, 
 
 100. The Legislature shall point out the manner in which a per- 
 son coming into the State shall declare his residence. 
 
 101. In all elections by the people the vote shall be by ballot, 
 and in all elections by the Senate and House of Representatives, 
 jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce. 
 
 102. No member of Congress, nor person holding or exercising 
 any office of trust or profit under the United States, or either of 
 them, or under any foreign power, shall be eligible as a member of 
 the General Assembly, or hold or exercise any office of trust or 
 profit under the- State. 
 
 103. The laws, public records, and the judicial and legislative 
 written proceedings of the State shall be promulgated, preserved 
 and conducted in the language in which the Constitution of the 
 United States is written. 
 
 104. The Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House of 
 Representatives, shall be conversant with the French and English 
 languages, and members may address either house in the French or 
 English language. 
 
 105. The General Assembly shall direct bylaw how persons who 
 are now, or may hereafter become sureties for public officers, may be 
 discharged from such suretyship. 
 
 106. No power of suspending the laws of this State shall be ex- 
 ercised, unless by the Legislature or by its authority. 
 
 107. Prosecutions shall be by indictment, or information. The 
 accused shall have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of 
 the vicinage : he shall not be compelled to give evidence against 
 himself: he shall have the right of being heard by himself or coun- 
 sel : he shall have the right, unless he shall have fled from justice, 
 of meeting the witnesses face to face, and shall have compulsory 
 process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. 
 
 108. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless 
 for capital offences, where the proof is evident, or presumption great ; 
 
354 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 and the privilege of the .writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspend- 
 ed, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
 may require it. 
 
 109. '^o ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation 
 of contracts, shall be passed, nor vested rights be divested, unless 
 for purposes of public utility, and for adequate compensation pre- 
 viously made. 
 
 110. The press shall be free. Every citizen may freely speak, 
 write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible 
 for an abuse of this liberty. 
 
 111. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 
 
 112. The Greneral Assembly, which shall meet after the first 
 election of representatives under this Constitution, shall, within the 
 first month after the commencement of the session, designate and 
 fix the seat of government at some place not less than sixty miles 
 from the city of New Orleans, by the nearest traveling route, and 
 if on the Mississippi river, by the meanders of the same ; and when 
 so fixed, it shall not be removed without the consent of four-fifths 
 of the members of both houses of the General Assembly. The ses- 
 sions shall be held in New Orleans until the end of the year 1848. 
 
 113. The Legislature shall not pledge the faith of the State for 
 the payment of any bonds, bills, or other contracts or obligations 
 for the benefit or use of any person or persons, corporation, or body 
 politic whatever. But the State shall have the right to issue new 
 bonds in payment of its outstanding obligations or liabilities, whether 
 due or not : the said new bonds, however, are not to be issued for a 
 larger amount, or at a higher rate of interest, than the original obliga- 
 tions they are intended to replace. 
 
 114. The aggregate amount of debts hereafter contracted by the 
 Legislature, shall never exceed the sum of one hundred thousand 
 dollars, except in the case of war, to repel invasions, or suppress in- 
 surrections, unless the same be authorized by some law, for some 
 single object or work, to be distinctly specified therein ; which law 
 shall provide ways and means, by taxation, for the payment of run- 
 ning interest during the whole time for which said debt shall be con- 
 tracted, and for the full and punctual discharge at maturity of the 
 capital borrowed ; and said law shall be irrepealable until principal 
 and interest are fully paid and discharged, and shall not be put into 
 execution until after its enactment by the first Legislature returned 
 by a general election after its passage. 
 
 115. The Legislature shall provide by law for a change of venue 
 in civil and criminal cases. 
 
 116. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, and the buying 
 or selling of lottery tickets within the State is prohibited. 
 
 117. No divorce shall be granted by the Legislature. 
 
 118. Every law enacted by the Legislature shall embrace but one 
 object, and that shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 119. No law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title; 
 
i 
 
 LOUISIANA. 355 
 
 but in such case, the act revised, or section amended, shall be re- 
 enacted and published at length. 
 
 120. The Legislature shall never adopt any system or code of 
 laws by general reference to such system or code of laws, but in all 
 cases shall specify the several provisions of the laws it may enact. 
 
 121. The State shall not become subscriber to the stock of any 
 corporation or joint stock company. 
 
 122. No corporate body shall be hereafter created, renewed, or ex- 
 tended, with banking or discounting privileges. 
 
 123. Corporations shall not be created in this State by special 
 laws, except for political or municipal purposes, but the Legislature 
 shall provide, by general laws, for the organization of all other cor- 
 porations, except corporations with banking or discounting privileges, 
 the creation of which is prohibited. 
 
 124. From and after the month of January, 1890, the Legislature 
 shall have the power to revoke the charters of all corporations whose 
 charters shall not have expired previous to that time, and no cor- 
 porations hereafter to be created shall ever endure for a longer term 
 than twenty-five years, except those which are political or municipal. 
 
 125. The Greneral Assembly shall never grant any exclusive privi- 
 lege or monopoly for a longer period than twenty years. 
 
 126. No person shall hold or exercise, at the same time, more 
 than one civil office of emolument, except that of justice of the 
 peace. 
 
 127. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. 
 After the year 1848, all property on which taxes may be levied in 
 this State, shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained 
 as directed by law. No one species of property shall be taxed higer 
 than another species of property of equal value, on which taxes shall 
 be levied ; the Legislature shall have power to levy an income tax, 
 and to tax all persons pursuing any occupation, trade or profes- 
 sion. 
 
 128. The citizens of the city of New Orleans shall have the right 
 of appointing the several public officers necessary for the adminis- 
 tration of the police of the said city, pursuant to the mode of elec- 
 tions which shall be prescribed by the Legislature ; provided, that 
 the mayor and recorders shall be ineligible to a seat in the Greneral 
 Assembly ; and the mayor, recorders, and aldermen shall be com- 
 missioned by the Governor as justices of the peace, and the Legis- 
 lature may vest in them such criminal jurisdiction as may be neces- 
 sary for the punishment of minor crimes and offences, and as the 
 police and good order of said city may require. 
 
 129. The Legislature may provide by law in what cases officers 
 shall continue to perform the duties of their offices until their suc- 
 cessors shall have been inducted into office. 
 
 130. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, with a citizen of this 
 State, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel with deadly 
 
356 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 weapons, either within this State or out of it, with a citizen of this 
 State, or who shall act as second, or knowingly aid or assist in any 
 manner, those thus offending, shall be deprived of holding any of- 
 fice of profit, and of enjoying the right of suffrage under this Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 131. The Legislature shall have power to extend this Constitu- 
 tion, and the jurisdiction of this State over any territory acquired 
 by compact with any state, or with the United States, the same 
 being done by the consent of the United States. 
 
 132. The Constitution and laws of this State shall be promulgat- 
 ed in the English and French languages. 
 
 TITLE \ll.—PvMic Education. 
 
 Art. 133. There shall be appointed a superintendent of public 
 education, who shall hold his office for two years. His duties shall 
 be prescribed by law. He shall receive such compensation as the 
 Legislature may direct. 
 
 134. The Legislature shall establish free public schools through- 
 out the State, and shall provide means for their support by taxation 
 on property, or otherwise. 
 
 135. The proceeds of all lands heretofore granted by the Uniteo 
 States to this State for the use or support of schools, and of all lands 
 which may hereafter be granted or bequeathed to the State, and not 
 expressly granted or bequeathed for any other purpose, which here- 
 after may be disposed of by the State, and the proceeds of the es- 
 tates of deceased persons to which the State may become entitled 
 by law, shall be held by the State as a loan, and shall be and remain 
 a perpetual fund, on which the State shall pay an annual interest 
 of six per cent. ; which interest, together with all the rents of the 
 unsold lands, shall be appropriated to the support of such schools, 
 and this appropriation shall remain inviolable. 
 
 136. All moneys arising from the sales which have been or may 
 hereafter be made of any lands heretofore granted by the United 
 States to this State, for the use of a seminary of learning, and from 
 any kind of donation that may hereafter be made for that purpose, 
 shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, at six 
 per cent, per annum, shall be appropriated to the support of a semi- 
 nary of learning for the promotion of literature and the arts and 
 sciences, and no law shall ever be made diverting said fund to any 
 other use than to the establishment and improvement of said semi- 
 nary of learning. 
 
 137. An university shall be established in the city of New Or- 
 leans. It shall be composed of four faculties, to wit: one of law, 
 one of medicine, one of the natural sciences, and one of letters. 
 
 138. It shall be called the " University of Louisiana," and the 
 Medical College of Louisiana, as at present organized, shall consti- 
 tute the faculty of medicine. 
 
LOUISIANA. 357 
 
 139. The Legislature shall provide by law for its further organi- 
 zation and government, but shall be under no obligation to contribute 
 to the establishment or support of said University by appropriations. 
 
 TITLE VIIL 
 
 Mode of Revising the Constitution. 
 
 Art. 140. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution 
 may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if 
 the same shall be agreed to by three-fifths of the members elected 
 to each house, and approved by the Governor, such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with the 
 yeas and nays taken thereon, and the Secretary of State shall cause 
 the same to be published, three months before the next general elec- 
 tion, in at least one newspaper in French and English, in every par- 
 ish in the State in which a newspaper shall be published ; and if 
 in the Legislature next afterwards chosen, such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of the mem- 
 bers elected to each house, the Secretary of State shall cause the 
 same again to be published in the manner aforesaid, at least three 
 months previous to the next general election for representatives to 
 the State Legislature, and such proposed amendment or amendments 
 shall be submitted to the people at said election ; and if a majority 
 of the qualified electors shall approve and ratify such amendment or 
 amendments, the same shall become a part of the Constitution ; -if 
 more than one amendment be submitted at a time, they shall . be 
 submitted in such manner and form that the people may vote for or 
 against each amendment separately. 
 
TENNESSEE. 
 
 This State was originally included in the charter of North Carolina. The 
 Territory was ceded to the United States in 1790, and a territoriargovern- 
 ment was formed, called the Territory south-west of the Ohio river. In 1796, 
 it was admitted into the union as a State. Its Constitution, which was then 
 adopted, was revised and amended in 1835. 
 
 Area, 45,600 sq. m. Pop. in 18-50, 1,002,62.') of whom 2^0, 161 were slaves, and 
 6,271 free blacks. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 AKTICLE I.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free gov- 
 ernments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their 
 peace, safety, and happiness ; for the advancement of those ends, 
 they have, at all times, an inalienable and indefeasible right to al- 
 ter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as they may 
 think proper. 
 
 2. That government being instituted for the common benefit, 
 the doctrine of non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppres- 
 sion, is absurd, slavish, and destructive to the good and happiness 
 of mankind. 
 
 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience ; 
 
TENNESSEE. 359 
 
 that no man can, of right, be compelled to attend, erect, or support 
 any place of worship, or to maintain any minister against his con- 
 sent ; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or 
 interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no preference shall 
 ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of 
 worship. 
 
 4. That no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification 
 to any office or public trust under this State. 
 
 5. That elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 6. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and that 
 general warrants, whereby an officer may be commanded to search 
 suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize 
 any person or persons not named, whose offences are not particular- 
 ly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty, 
 and ought not to be granted. 
 
 8. That no free man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of 
 his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any 
 manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but 
 by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 
 
 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to 
 be heard by himself and his counsel ; to demand the nature and 
 cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof ; to 
 meet the witnesses face to face ; to have compulsory process for ob- 
 taining witnesses in his favor ; and in prosecutions by indictment 
 or presentment, a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the 
 county or district in which the crime shall have been committed : 
 and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself 
 
 10. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in 
 jeopardy of life or limb. 
 
 1 1 . That laws made for the punishment of facts committed pre- 
 vious to the existence of such laws, and by them only declared crim- 
 inal, are contrary to the principles of a free government ; wherefore 
 no ex post facto law shall be made. 
 
 12. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeit- 
 ure of estate. The estate of such persons as shall destroy their own 
 lives shall descend or vest as in case of natural death. If any per- 
 son be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture in consequence 
 thereof 
 
 13. That no person arrested or confined in jail, shall be treated 
 with unnecessary rigor. 
 
 1 4. That no freeman shall be put to answer any criminal charge 
 but by presentment, indictment, or impeachment. 
 
 15. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, un- 
 less for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption 
 great. And the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
 
 26 
 
360 . CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
 16. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 17. That all courts shall be open ; and every man, for an injury 
 done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have rem- 
 edy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without 
 sale, denial, or delay. Suits may be brought against the State in 
 such manner, and in such courts, as the Legislature may, by law, 
 direct. 
 
 18. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong pre- 
 sumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering 
 up his estate for the benefit of his creditor or creditors, in such man- 
 ner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 19. That the printing presses shall be free to every person who 
 undertakes to -examine the proceedings of the Legislature, or of any 
 branch or officer of government ; and no law shall ever be made to 
 restrain the right thereof The free communication of thoughts and 
 opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen 
 may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible 
 for the abuse of that liberty. But in prosecutions for the publica- 
 tion of papers investigating the official conduct of officers or men in 
 public capacity, the truth thereof may be given in evidence ; and in 
 all indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine 
 the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other 
 criminal cases. 
 
 20. That no retrospective law, or law impairing the obligation of 
 contracts, shall be made. 
 
 21. That no man's particular services shall be demanded, or prop- 
 erty taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his rep- 
 resentatives, or without just compensation being made therefor. 
 
 22. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius 
 of a free State, and shall not be allowed. 
 
 23. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to as- 
 semble together, for their common good, to instruct their represent- 
 atives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government 
 for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by address or 
 remonstrance. 
 
 24. That the sure and certain defense of a free people is a well 
 regulated militia : and, as standing armies in time of peace are danger- 
 ous to freedom, they ought to be avoided, as far as the circumstances 
 and safety of the community will admit ; and that in all cases the 
 military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil authority. 
 
 25. That no citizen of this State, except such as are employed in 
 the army of the United States, or militia in actual service, shall be 
 subjected to corporeal punishment under the martial law. 
 
 26. That the free white men of this State have a right to keep 
 and to bear ra-nis for their common defense. 
 
TENNESSEE. . 361 
 
 27. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
 house without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in 
 a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 28. That no citizen of this State shall be compelled to bear arms, 
 provided he will pay an equivalent, to be ascertained by law. 
 
 29. That an equal participation of the free navigation of the Mis- 
 sissippi, is one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State : 
 it cannot, therefore, be conceded to any prince, potentate, power, 
 person or persons whatever. 
 
 30. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors, shall 
 ever be granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 31. That the limits and boundaries of this State be ascertained, 
 it is declared they are as hereafter mentioned, that is to say : Be- 
 ginning on the extreme height of the Stone mountain, at the place 
 where the line of Virginia intersects it, in latitude thirty-six degrees 
 and thirty minutes north ; running thence along the extreme height 
 of the said mountain to the place where Watauga river breaks 
 through it ; thence a direct course to the top of the Yellow moun- 
 tain, where Bright's road crosses the same ; thence along the ridge 
 of said mountain between the waters of Doe river and the waters of 
 Rock creek, to the place where the road crosses the Iron mountain : 
 from thence along the extreme height of said mountain, to the place 
 where Nolichucky river runs through the same : thence to the top of 
 the Bald mountain ; thence along the extreme height of said moun- 
 tain, to the Painted Rock, on French Broad river ; thence along the 
 highest ridge of said mountain, to the place where it is called the 
 Great Iron or Smoky mountain ; thence along the extreme height 
 of said mountain, to the place where it is called Unicoi or Unaka 
 mountain, between the Indian towns of Cowee and Old Chota; thence 
 along the main ridge of the said mountain, to the southern boundary 
 of this State, as described in the act of cession of North Carolina to 
 the United States of America : and that all the territory, lands, and 
 waters lying west of the said line, as before mentioned, and contained 
 within the chartered limits of the State of North Carolina, are within 
 the boundaries and limits of this State, over which the people have 
 the right of exercising sovereignty and the right of soil, so far as is 
 consistent with the Constitution of the United States, recognizing 
 the articles of confederation, the bill of rights, and Constitution of 
 North Carolina, the cession act of the said State, and the ordinance 
 of Congress for the government of the territory north-west of the 
 Ohio : provided^ nothing herein contained shall extend to affect the 
 claim or claims of individuals, to any part of the soil which is recog- 
 nized to them by the aforesaid cession act : and provided also, that 
 the limits and jurisdiction of this State shall extend to any other 
 land and territory now acquired, or that may hereafter be acquired 
 by compact or agreement with other States or otherwise, although 
 such land and territory are not included within the boundaries here 
 inbefore mentioned. 
 
362 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 32. The people residing south of French Broad and Holston, be- 
 tween the rivers Tennessee and Big Pigeon, are entitled to the 
 right of preemption and occupancy in that tract. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government shall be divided into three 
 distinct departments ; the legislative, executive and judicial. 
 
 2. No person or persons belonging to one of these departments 
 shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the 
 others, except in the cases herein directed or permitted. 
 
 3. The legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a 
 General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
 Representatives, both dependent on the people. 
 
 4. An enumeration of the qualified voters and an apportionment 
 of the representatives in the Greneral Assembly, shall be made in 
 the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, and within 
 every subsequent term of ten years. 
 
 5. The number of representatives shall, at the several periods of 
 making the enumeration, be apportioned among the several counties 
 or districts according to the number of qualified voters in each ; and 
 shall not exceed seventy-five, until the population of the State shall 
 be one million and a-half ; and shall never thereafter exceed ninety- 
 nine ; provided^ that any county having two-thirds of the ratio, shall 
 be entitled to one member. 
 
 6. The number of senators shall, at the several periods of making 
 the enumeration, be apportioned among the several counties or dis- 
 tricts, according to the number of qualified electors in each, and 
 shall not exceed one-third the number of representatives. In appor- 
 tioning the senators among the different counties, the fraction that 
 may be lost by any county or counties, in the apportionment of 
 members to the House of Representatives, shall be made up to such 
 county or counties in the Senate as near as may be practicable. 
 When a district is composed of two or more counties, they shall be 
 adjoining ; and no county shall be divided in forming a district. 
 
 7. The first election for senators and representatives shall be held 
 on the first Thursday in August, one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-five ; and forever thereafter, elections for members of the 
 General Assembly shall be held once in two years, on the first 
 Thursday in August ; said elections shall terminate the same day. 
 
 8. The first session of the General Assembly shall commence on 
 the first Monday in October, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 five ; and forever thereafter, the General Assembly shall meet on 
 the first Monday in October next ensuing the election. 
 
 9. No person shall be a representative, unless he shall be a citizen 
 of the United States of the age of twenty-one years, and shall have 
 been a citizen of this State for three years, and a resident in the 
 county he represents one year immediately preceding the election. 
 
TENNESSEE 363 
 
 10. No person shall be a senator unless he shall be a citizen of 
 the United States, of the age of thirty years, and shall have resided 
 three years in this State, and one year in the county or district, 
 immediately preceding the election. No senator or representative 
 shall, during the time for which he was elected, be eligible to any 
 office or place of trust, the appointment to which is vested in the 
 executive or the Greneral Assembly, except to the office of trustee 
 of a literary institution. 
 
 11. The Senate and House of Representatives, when assembled, 
 shall each choose a speaker and its other officers, be judges of the 
 qualifications and election of its members, and sit upon its own 
 adjournments from day to day. Two-thirds of each house shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn 
 from day to day, and may be authorized by law to compel the at- 
 tendance of absent members. 
 
 12. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
 ish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
 offence ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of 
 the Legislature of a free State. 
 
 13. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the 
 session of the Greneral Assembly, and in going to and returning 
 from the same ; and, for any speech or debate in either house, they 
 shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 14. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during its session, 
 any person not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the 
 house, by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence. 
 
 15. When vacancies happen in either house, the Governor for the 
 time being shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 16. Neither house shall, during its session, adjourn without con- 
 sent of the other for more than three days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 17. Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended, 
 altered, or rejected by the other. 
 
 18. Every bill shall be read once on three different days, and be 
 passed each time in the house where it originated, before transmis- 
 sion to the other. No bill shall become a law, until it shall be read 
 and passed on three different days in each house, and be signed by 
 the respective speakers. 
 
 19. After a bill has been rejected, no bill containing the same 
 substance shall be passed into a law during the same session. 
 
 20. The style of the laws of this State shall be, " Be it enacted 
 hy the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee V 
 
 21. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub- 
 lish it, except such parts as the welfare of the State may require to 
 be kept secret ; the ayes and noes shall be taken in each house 
 upon the final passage of every bill of a general character, and bills 
 
364 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 making appropriations of public moneys : and the ayes and noes of 
 the members on any question shall, at the request of any two of them, 
 be entered on the journal. 
 
 22. The doors of each house and of committees of the whole shall 
 be kept open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be 
 kept secret. 
 
 23. The sum of four dollars per day, and four dollars for every 
 twenty-five miles traveling to and from the seat of government, 
 shall be allowed to the members of the first General Assembly, as a 
 compensation for their services. The compensation of the members 
 of the succeeding legislature shall be ascertained by law ; but no law 
 increasing the compensation of the members shall take effect until 
 the commencement of the next regular session after such law shall 
 ha"ve been enacted. 
 
 24. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse- 
 quence of appropriations made by law : and an accurate statement 
 of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be attached 
 to and published with the laws at the rise of each stated session of 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 25. No person, who heretofore hath been, or may hereafter be, a 
 collector or holder of public moneys, shall have a seat in either house 
 of the General Assembly, until such person shall have accounted for 
 and paid into the treasury, all sums for which he may be accounta- 
 ble or liable. 
 
 26. No judge of any court of law or equity. Secretary of State, At- 
 torney-General, register, clerk of any court of record, or person 
 holding any ofiice under the authority of the United States, shall 
 have a seat in the General Assembly ; nor shall any person in this 
 State hold more than one lucrative office at the same time : Provided^ 
 that no appointment in the militia, or to the office of justice of the 
 peace, shall be considered a lucrative office, or operate as a disqual- 
 ification to a seat in either house of the General Assembly. 
 
 27. Any member of either house of the General Assembly shall 
 have liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve 
 which he may think injurious to the public or to any individual, 
 and to have the reasons for his dissent entered on the journals. 
 
 28. All lands liable to taxation, held by deed, grant, or entry, 
 town lots, bank stock, slaves between the ages of twelve and fifty 
 years, and such other property as the Legislature may from time to 
 time deem expedient, shall be taxable. All property shall be taxed 
 according to its value ; that value to be ascertained in such manner 
 as the Legislature shall direct, so that the same shall be equal and 
 uniform throughout the State. ' No one species of property from 
 which a tax may be collected shall be taxed higher than any other 
 species of property of equal value. But the Legislature shall have 
 power to tax merchants, pedlars, and privileges, in such manner as 
 they may. from time to time, direct. A tax on white polls shall be 
 
TENNESSEE. 365 
 
 laid, in such manner and of such an amount, as may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 29. The General Assembly shall have power to authorize the sev- 
 eral counties and incorporated towns in this State, to impose taxes 
 for county and corporation purposes respectively, in such manner as 
 shall be prescribed by law ; and all property shall be taxed accord- 
 ing to its value, upon the principles established in regard to State 
 taxation. 
 
 30. No article manufactured of the produce of this State shall be 
 taxed otherwise than to pay inspection fees. 
 
 3 1 . The Greneral Assembly shall have no power to pass laws for 
 the emancipation of slaves, without the consent of their owner or 
 owners. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested 
 in a Governor. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be chosen by the electors of the members 
 of the General Assembly, at the times and places where they shall 
 respectively vote for the members thereof The returns of every 
 election for Governor shall be sealed up, and transmitted to the seat 
 of government, by the returning officers, directed to the Speaker of 
 the Senate, who shall open and publish them in the presence of a 
 majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly. 
 The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor ; 
 but if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, one of them 
 shall be chosen Governor by joint vote of both houses of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly. Contested elections for Governor shall be determin- 
 ed by both houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. He shall be at least thirty years of age, shall be a citizen of the 
 United States, and shall have been a citizen of this State seven years 
 next before his election. 
 
 4. The Governor shall hold his office for two years, and until his 
 successor shall be elected and qualified. He shall not be eligible 
 more than six years in any term of eight. 
 
 5. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the 
 service of the United States. 
 
 6. He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, after con- 
 viction, except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 7. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his servi- 
 ces, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for 
 which he shall have been elected. 
 
 8. He may require information in writing, from the officers in the 
 executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- 
 
366 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sembly by proclamation ; and shall state to them, when assembled, 
 the purposes for which they shall have been convened ; but they shall 
 enter on no legislative business, except that for which they were 
 specially called together. 
 
 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the (General Assembly 
 information of the State of the government, and recommend to their 
 consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient. 
 
 1 2. In case of the removal of the Grovernor from ofl&ce, or of his 
 death, or resignation, the powers and duties of the office shall de- 
 volve on the Speaker of the Senate ; and in case of the death, re- 
 moval from office, or resignation of the Speaker of the Senate, the 
 powers and duties of the office shall devolve on the Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 13. No member of Congress, or person holding any office under 
 the United States, or this State, shall execute the office of Governor. 
 
 14. When any officer, the right of whose appointment is by this 
 Constitution vested in the General Assembly, shall, during the re- 
 ^8ess, die, or the office, by the expiration of the term, or by other 
 means, become vacant, the Governor shall have the power to fill such 
 vacancy, by granting a temporary commission, whicli shall expire at 
 the end of the next session of the Legislature. 
 
 15. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the 
 Governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called the Great 
 Seal of the State of Tennessee. 
 
 46. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the 
 authority of the State of Tennessee, be sealed with the State Seal, 
 and signed by the Governor. 
 
 17. A Secretary of State shall be appointed by joint vote of the 
 General Assembly, and commissioned during the term of four years ; 
 he shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and proceedings 
 of the Governor ; and shall, when required, lay the same, and all 
 papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the General 
 Assembly ; and shall perform such other duties as shall be enjoined 
 
 by law. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every free white man of the age of twenty-one years, be- 
 ing a citizen of the United States, and a citizen of the county wherein 
 he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election, 
 shall be entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly, and 
 other civil officers, for the county or district in which he resides : 
 provided^ that no person shall be disqualified from voting in any 
 ' election on account of color, who is now, by the laws of this State, a 
 competent witness in a court of justice against a white man. AH 
 free men (f color shall be exempt from military duty in time of 
 peace, and j'Jso from paying a free poll tax. 
 
TENNESSEE. SGI 
 
 2. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage, per- 
 sons who may be convicted of infamous crimes. 
 
 3. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony or breach of 
 the peace, be privileged from arrest or summons during their at- 
 tendance at elections, and in going to and returning from them. 
 
 4. In all elections to be made by the General Assembly, the mem- 
 bers thereof shall vote viva voce ; and their votes shall be entered 
 on the journal. All other elections shall be by ballot. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeachment. 
 
 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; when sitting 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. No 
 person shaH be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 the senators sworn to try the officer impeached. 
 
 3. The House of Representatives shall elect, from their own body, 
 three members, whose duty it shall be to prosecule impeachments. 
 No impeachment shall be tried until the Legislature shall have ad- 
 journed siTie die, when the Senate shall proceed to try such im- 
 peachment. 
 
 4. The Governor, judges of the Supreme Court, judges of inferior 
 courts, chancellors, attorneys for the State, and Secretary of State, 
 shall be liable to impeachment, whenever they may, in the opinion 
 of the House of Representatives, commit any crime in their official 
 capacity, which may require disqualification ; but judgment shall 
 only extend to removal from office, and disqualification to fill any 
 office thereafter. The party shall, nevertheless, be liable to indict- 
 ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 5. Justices of the peace, and other civil officers, not hereinbefore 
 mentioned, for crimes or misdemeanors in office, shall be liable to 
 indictment in such courts as the Legislature may direct ; and upon 
 conviction, shall be removted from office, by said court, as if found 
 guilty on impeachment ; and shall be subject to such other punish- 
 ment as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE YI. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one 
 Supreme Court, in such inferior courts as the Legislature shall from 
 time to time ordain and establish, and the judges thereof, and in jus- 
 tices of the peace. The Legislature may also vest such jurisdiction 
 ag may be deemed necessary in corporation courts. 
 
 2. The Supreme Court shall be composed of three judges, one of 
 whom shall reside in each of the grand divisions of the State : the 
 concurrence of two of said judges shall in every case be necessary to 
 a decision. The jurisdiction of this Court shall be appellate only, un- 
 der such restrictions and regulations as may from time to time be 
 prescribed by law ; but it may possess such other jurisdiction as is 
 
 4 
 
368 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 now conferred by law on the present Supreme Court. Said courts 
 shall be held at one place, and at one place only, in each of the three 
 grand divisions in the State. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall, by joint vote of both houses, ap- 
 point judges of the several courts of law and equity : but courts may 
 be established to be holden by justices of the peace. Judges of the 
 Supreme Court shall be thirty-five years of age, and shall be elected 
 for the term of twelve years. 
 
 4. The judges of such inferior courts as the Legislature may es- 
 tablish, shall be thirty years of age, and shall be elected for the term 
 of eight years. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall elect attorneys for the State, by joint 
 vote of both houses of the Greneral Assembly, who shall hold their 
 offices for the term of six years. In all cases where an attorney for 
 any district fails or refuses to attend, and prosecute according to 
 law, the court shall have power to appoint an attorney pro tempore. 
 
 6. Judges and attorneys for the State, may be removed from office 
 by a concurrent vote of both houses of the Greneral Assembly, each 
 house voting separately ; but two-thirds of all the members elected 
 to each house must concur in such vote : the vote shall be deter- 
 mined by ayes and noes, and the names of the members voting for 
 or against the judge or attorney for the State, together with the 
 cause or causes of removal, shall be entered on the journals of each 
 house respectively. The judge or attorney for the State, against 
 whom the Legislature may be about to proceed, shall receive notice 
 thereof, accompanied with a copy of the causes alleged for his remo- 
 val, at least ten * days before the day on which either house of the 
 Greneral Assembly shall act thereupon. 
 
 7. The judges of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall, at stated 
 times, receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by 
 law, which shall not be increased or diminished, during the time for 
 which they are elected. They shall not be allowed any fees or per- 
 quisites of office, nor hold any other office of trust or profit under 
 this State or the United States. 
 
 8. The jurisdiction of such inferior courts, as the Legislature may 
 from time to time establish, shall be regulated by law. 
 
 9. Judges shall not charge juries with respect to matters of fact, 
 but may state the testimony and declare the law. 
 
 10. The judges or justices of such inferior courts of law as the 
 Legislature may establish, shall have power, in all civil cases, to is- 
 sue writs of certiorari to remove any cause or transcript thereof, from 
 any inferior jurisdiction, into said court, on sufficient cause supported 
 by oath or affirmation. 
 
 11. No judge of the Supreme or inferior courts, shall preside on 
 the trial of any cause, in the event of which he may be interested, 
 or where either of the parties shall be connected with him by affini- 
 ty or consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by 
 law, or in which he may have been of counsel, or in which he may 
 
TENNESSEE. 369 
 
 have presided in any inferior court, except by consent of all the par- 
 ties. In case all or any of the judges of the Supremo Court shall 
 be thus disqualified from presiding on the trial of any cause or causes, 
 the court, or the judges thereof, shall certify the same to the Gov- 
 ernor of the State, and he shall forthwith specially commission the 
 requisite number of men of law-knowledge, for the trial and deter- 
 mination thereof In case of sickness of any of the judges of the 
 Supreme or inferior courts, so that they or any of them are unable 
 to attend, the Legislature shall be authorized to make provision by 
 the general laws, that special judges may be appointed to attend 
 said courts. 
 
 12. All writs and other process shall run in the name of the State 
 of Tennessee ; and bear test, and be signed by the respective clerks. 
 Indictments shall conclude, " agai?isi the peace arid dignity of the 
 State:' 
 
 13. Judges of the Supreme Court shall appoint their clerks, who 
 shall hold their offices for the period of six years. Chancellors (if 
 courts of chancery shall be established,) shall appoint their clerks 
 and masters, who shall hold their offices for the period of six years. 
 Clerks of such inferior courts as may be hereafter established, which 
 shall be required to be holden in the respective counties of this State, 
 shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, for the term of four 
 years ; they shall be removed from office for malfeasance, incompeten- 
 cy or neglect of duty, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 14. No fine shall be laid on any citizen of this State, that shall 
 exceed fifty dollars ; unless it shall be assessed by a jury of his peers, 
 who shall assess the fine at the time they find the fact, if they think 
 the fine should be more than fifty dollars. 
 
 15. The different counties in this State shall be laid ofi" as the 
 G-eneral Assembly may direct, into districts of convenient size, so 
 that the whole number in each county shall not be more than twenty- 
 five, or four for every hundred square miles. There shall be two 
 justices of the peace, and one constable elected in each district, by 
 the qualified voters therein, except districts including county towns, 
 which shall elect three justices and two constables. The jurisdiction 
 of said officers shall be co-extensive with the county. Justices of 
 the peace shall be elected for the term of six, and constables for the 
 term of two years. Upon the removal of either of said officers from 
 the district in which he was elected, his office shall become vacant 
 from the time of such removal. Justices of the peace shall be com- 
 missioned by the Governor. The Legislature shall have power to 
 provide for the appointment of an additional number of justices of 
 the peace in incorporated towns. 
 
 AETICLE VIL 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be elected in each county, by the qualified 
 voters therein, one sheriff, one trustee, and one register: ; the sheriff 
 and trustee for two years, and the register for four years : provided^ 
 
370 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 that no person shall he eligible to the office of sheriff more than six 
 years in any term of eight years. There shall be elected for each 
 county, by the justices of the peace, one coroner and one ranger, 
 who shall hold their offices for two years. Said officers shall be re- 
 moved for malfeasance, or neglect of duty, in such manner as may 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 2. Should a vacancy occur subsequent to an election in the office 
 of sheriff, trustee, or register, it shall be filled by the justices ; if in 
 that of the clerks to be elected by the people, it shall be filled by 
 the courts ; and the person so appointed shall continue in office un- 
 til his successor shall be elected and qualified ; and such office shall 
 be filled by the qualified voters at the first election for any of the 
 county officers. 
 
 3. There shall be a treasurer or treasurers appointed for the State, 
 by the joint vote of both houses of the Greneral Assembly, who 
 shall hold his or their offices for two years. 
 
 4. The election of all officers, and the filling of all vacancies that 
 may happen, by death, resignation, or removal, not otherwise direct- 
 ed or provided for by this Constitution, shall be made in such man- 
 ner as the Legislature shall direct. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall provide, that the election of the county 
 and other officers by the people, shall not take place at the same 
 time that the general elections are held for members of Congress, 
 members of the Legislature, and Grovernor. The elections shall 
 commence and terminate on the same day. ^^ 
 
 AKTICLE VIIL 
 
 Sec. 1. All militia officers shall be elected by persons subject to 
 military duty, within the bounds of their several companies, battal- 
 ions, regiments, brigades and divisions, under such rules and regu- 
 lations as the Legislature may, from time to time, direct and es- 
 tablish. 
 
 2. The GrOvernor shall appoint the adjutant-general and his other 
 staff-officers ; the majors-general, brigadiers-general and command- 
 ing officers of regiments, shall respectively appoint their staff-officers. 
 
 3. The Legislature shall pass laws, exempting citizens" belonging 
 to any sect or denomination of religion, the tenets of which are 
 known to be opposed to the bearing of arms, from attending private 
 and general musters. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Sec. 1. Whereas, ministers of the gospel are, by their profession, 
 dedicated to Grod and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted 
 from the great duties of their functions ; therefore no minister of 
 the gospel or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible 
 to a seat in either house of the Legislature. 
 
 2. No person who denies the being of a G od, or a future state of 
 
TENNESSEE. 371 
 
 rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil depart- 
 ment of this State. 
 
 3. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, 
 fight a duel, or knowingly be the hearer of a cliallenge to fight a 
 duel, or send or accept a challenge for that purpose, or be an aider 
 or abettor in fighting a duel, shall be deprived of the right to hold 
 any office of honor or profit in this State, and shall be punished 
 otherwise, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every person who shall be chosen or appointed to any 
 office of trust or profit, under this Constitution, or any law made in 
 pursuance thereof, shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take 
 an oath to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United 
 States, and an oath of office. 
 
 2. Each member of the Senate and House of Representatives 
 shall, before they proceed to business, take an oath or affirmation, 
 to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United States, 
 
 and also the following oath : '• I, , do solemnly swear, (or 
 
 affirm,) that, as a member of this Greneral Assembly, I will, in all 
 appointments, vote without favor, affection, partiality, or prejudice ; 
 and that I will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, 
 which shall appear to me injurious to the people, or consent to any 
 act or thing whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge 
 their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this 
 State." 
 
 3. Any elector who shall receive any gift or reward for his vote, 
 in meat, drink, money, or otherwise, shall suffer such punishment 
 as the laws shall direct. And any person who shall directly or in- 
 directly give, promise, or bestow any such reward to be elected, shall 
 thereby be rendered incapable, for six years, to serve in the office 
 for which he was elected, and be subject to such further punishment 
 as the Legislature shall direct. 
 
 4. New counties may be established by the Legislature, to consist 
 of not less than three hundred and fifty square miles, and which 
 shall contain a population of four hundred and fifty qualified voters. 
 No line of such county shall approach the court-house of any old 
 county from which it may be taken, nearer than twelve miles. No 
 part of a county shall be taken to form a new county or a part 
 thereof, without the consent of a majority of the qualified voters in 
 such part taken off". And in all cases where an old county may be 
 reduced for the purpose of forming a new one, the seat of justice in 
 said old county shall not be removed without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature, nor shall said old 
 county be reduced to less than six hundred and twenty-five square 
 miles : 'provided^ however, that the county of Bedford may be re- 
 duced to four hundred and seventy-five square miles ; and there 
 
372 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall not be laid off more than one new county on the west, and one 
 on the east, adjoining the county of the dividing line ; a majority 
 of the qualified voters of said county voting in favor of said division: 
 the counties of Carter, Rhea, and Humphreys shall not be divided 
 into more than two counties each ; nor shall more than one new 
 county be taken out of the territory now composing the counties of 
 Tipton and Dyer ; nor shall the seats of justice in the counties of 
 Rhea, Carter, Tipton, aud Dyer be removed, without the concur- 
 rence of two- thirds of both branches of the Legislature. The county 
 of Sullivan may be reduced below the contents of six hundred and 
 twenty-five square miles, but the line of any new county which may 
 hereafter be laid off shall not approach the county seat of said 
 county nearer than ten miles. The counties of Marion and Bledsoe 
 shall not be reduced below one thousand qualified voters each, in 
 forming a new county or counties. 
 
 5. 'X^e citizens who may be included in any new county, shall 
 vote with the county or counties from which they may have been strick- 
 en off, for members of Congress, for Governor and for members of the 
 General Assembly, until the next apportionment of members to the 
 General Assembly after the establishment of such new county. 
 
 ARTICLE XI 
 
 Sec. 1. All laws and ordinances now in force and use in this 
 State, not inconsistent with this Constitution, shall continue in force 
 and use until they shall expire, be altered or repealed by the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 2. Nothing contained in this Constitution shall impair the valid- 
 ity of any debts or contracts, or affect any rights of property, or any 
 suits, actions, rights of action, or other proceedings in courts of 
 justice. 
 
 3. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be 
 proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives ; and if the 
 same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to 
 each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments 
 shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays thereon, 
 and referred to the General Assembly then next to be chosen : and 
 shall be published for six months previous to the time of making 
 such choice. And if in the General Assembly next chosen as aforesaid, 
 such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two- 
 thirds of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the 
 duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment 
 or amendments to the people, in such manner, and at such time, as 
 the General Assembly shall prescribe. And if the people shall ap- 
 prove and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of 
 all the citizens of the State voting for representatives, voting in 
 their favor, such amendment or amendments shall become part of 
 this Constitution. When any amendment or amendments to the 
 
■Tennessee. 373 
 
 Constitution shall be proposed in pursuance of the foregoing pro- 
 visions, the same shall at each of the said sessions he read three 
 times on three several days in each house. The Legislature shall 
 not propose amendments to the Constitution oftener than once in 
 six years. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall have no power to grant divorces, but 
 may authorize the courts of justice to grant them for such causes as 
 may be specified by law : provided, that such laws be general and 
 uniform in their operation throughout the State. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize lotteries for 
 any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the sale of lottery tick- 
 ets in this State. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall fix the rate of interest ; and the rate so 
 established shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. 
 
 7. The Legislature shall have no power to suspend any general 
 law for the benefit of any particular individual, nor to pass any law 
 for the benefit of individuals inconsistent with the general laws of 
 the land ; nor to pass any law granting to any individual or individ- 
 uals, rights, privileges, immunities, or exemptions, other than such 
 as may be, by the same law, extended to any member of the com- 
 munity, who may be able to bring himself within the provisions of 
 such law : provided always, the Legislature shall have power to 
 grant such charters of corporation as they may deem expedient for 
 the public good. 
 
 8. The Legislature shall have the right to vest such powers in 
 the courts of justice, with regard to private and local affairs, as may 
 be deemed expedient. 
 
 9. A well regulated system of internal improvement is calculated 
 to develop the resources of the State, and promote the happiness 
 and prosperity of her citizens ; therefore it ought to be encouraged 
 by the General Assembly. 
 
 10. Knowledge, learning, and virtue, being essential to the pres- 
 ervation of republican institutions, and the diffusion of the opportu- 
 nities and advantages of education throughout the different portions 
 of the State, being highly conducive to the promotion of this end ; 
 it shall be the duty of the Greneral Assembly, in all future periods 
 of this government, to cherish literature and science. And the fund 
 called the common school fund, and all the lands and proceeds there- 
 of, dividends, stocks, and other property of every description what- 
 ever, heretofore by law appropriated by the General Assembly of 
 this State for the use of common schools, and all such as shall here- 
 after be appropriated, shall remain a perpetual fund, the principal of 
 which shall never be diminished by legislative appropriation, and the 
 interest thereof shall be inviolably appropriated to the support and 
 encouragement of common schools throughout the State, .and for 
 the equal benefit of all the people thereof ; and no law shall be 
 made authorizing said fund, or any part thereof, to be diverted to 
 any other use than the support and encouragement of common 
 
374 CONSTITUTION OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 schools : and it shall be the duty of the Greneral Assembly, to ap- 
 point a board of commissioners, for such term of time as they may 
 think proper, who shall have the general superintendence of said 
 fund, and who shall make a report of the condition of the same, from 
 time to time, under such rules, regulations, and restrictions as 
 may be required by law ; provided^ that if at any time hereafter a 
 division of the public lands of the United States, or of the money 
 arising from the sales of such lands shall be made among the indi- 
 vidual states, the part of such lands, or money coming to this State, 
 shall be devoted to the purposes of education and internal improve- 
 ment ; and shall never be applied to any other purpose. 
 
 11. The above provisions shall not be construed to prevent the 
 Legislature from carrying into effect any laws that have been pass- 
 ed in favor of the colleges, universities, or academies, or from au- 
 thorizing heirs or distributees to receive and enjoy escheated prop- 
 erty, under such rules and regulations as from time to time may 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 12. The declaration of rights hereto prefixed, is declared to be 
 a part of the Constitution of this State, and shall never be violat- 
 ed on any pretence whatever. And to guard against transgression 
 of the high powers we have delegated, we declare that everything 
 in the bill of rights contained, is excepted out of the general powers 
 of government, and shall forever remain inviolate. 
 
KENTUCKY. 
 
 This State was first explored in 1770, by Daniel Boon, a celebrated hun- 
 ter. The first settlement was near Lexington, in the year 1775. This State 
 originally belonged to Virginia. In 1782 it became a territory by the name 
 of Kentucky. In 1792 it was admitted into the union. The first Constitution 
 was adopted in 1790 — the present one in 1799. 
 
 Area, 40,500 sq. m. Pop. 1850, 982,405, of which 221,768 were slaves. Free • 
 blacks, 9,667. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the representatives of the people of the State of Kentucky, 
 in Convention assembled, to secure to all the citizens thereof the 
 enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and property, and of pur- 
 suing happiness, do ordain and establish this Constitution for its 
 govwnment. 
 
 ARTICLE I. — Concerning the Distribution of the Poivers of 
 Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the Government of the State of Kentucky 
 shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them 
 be confided to a separate body of magistracy, to-wit : those which 
 are Legislative to one ; those which are Executive to another, and 
 those which are Judiciary to another. 
 27 
 
376 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Sec. 2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those 
 departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either 
 of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed 
 or permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE II. — Concerning the Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislative power shall be vested in a House of 
 Representatives and Senate, which together shall be styled the 
 General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 
 
 Sec. 2. The members of the House of Representatives shall con- 
 tinue in service for the term of two years from the day of the general 
 election, and no longer. 
 
 Sec. 3. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Monday in 
 August, in every second year ; and the mode of holding the elections 
 shall be regulated by law. 
 
 Sec. 4. No person shall be a Representative, who, at the time of 
 his election, is not a citizen of the United States, has not attained 
 the age of twenty-four years, and who has not resided in this State 
 two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof in 
 the county, town, or city, for which he may be chosen. 
 
 Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall divide each county of this 
 Commonwealth into convenient election precincts, or may delegate 
 power to do so to such county authorities as may be designated by 
 law ; and elections for Representatives for the several counties shall 
 be held at the places of holding their respective courts, and in the 
 several election precincts into, which the counties may be divided : 
 Provided^ that when it shall appear to the General Assembly that 
 any city or town hath a number of qualified voters equal to the 
 ratio then fixed, such city or town shall be invested with the privi- 
 lege of a separate representation, in either or both houses of the 
 General Assembly, which shall be retained so long as such city or 
 town shall contain a number of qualified voters equal to the ratio 
 which may, from time to time, be fixed by law ; and, thereafter, 
 elections for the county in which such city or town is situated, shall 
 not be held therein ; but such city or town shall not be entitled to a 
 separate representation, unless such county, after the separation, 
 shall also be entitled to one or more Representatives. That when- 
 ever a city or town shall be entitled to a separate representation in 
 either house of the General Assembly, and by its numbers shall be 
 entitled to more than one Representative, such city or town shall 
 be divided, by squares which are continguous, so as to make the 
 most compact form, into Representative Districts, as nearly equal 
 as may be, equal to the number of Representatives to which such 
 city or town may be entitled; and one Representative shall be 
 elected from each district. In like manner shall said city or town 
 be divided into Senatorial Districts, when, by the apportionment, 
 more than one Senator shall be allotted to such city or town ; and a 
 Senator shall be elected from each Senatorial District ; but no ward 
 
KENTUCKY. BTf 
 
 or municipal division shall be divided by such division of Senatorial 
 or Representative Districts, unless it be necessary to equalize the 
 Elective, Senatorial, or Representative Districts. 
 
 Sec. 6. Representation shall be equal and uniform in this Com- 
 monwealth, and shall be forever regulated and ascertained by the 
 number of qualified voters therein. In the year 1850. again in the 
 year 1857, and every eighth year thereafter, an enumeration of all 
 the qualified voters of the State shall be made ; and to secure uni- 
 fomiity and equality of representation, the State is hereby laid off 
 into ten districts. The first district shall be composed of the coun- 
 ties of Fulton, Hickman, Ballard, McCracken, Graves, Calloway, 
 Marshall, Livingston, Crittenden, Union, Hopkins, Caldwell, and 
 Trigg. The second district shall be composed of the counties of 
 Christian, Muhlenburg, Henderson, Daviess, Hancock, Ohio, Breck- 
 inridge, Meade, Grayson, Butleiij and Edmonson. The third district 
 shall be composed of the counties of Todd, Logan, Simpson, Warren, 
 Allen, Monroe, Barren, and Hart. The fourth district shall be com- 
 posed of the counties of Cumberland, Adair, Green, Taylor, Clinton, 
 Russell, Wayne, Pulaski, Casey, Boyle, and Lincoln. The fifth 
 district shall be composed of the counties of Hardin, Larue, Bullitt, 
 Spencer, Nelson, Washington, Marion, Mercer, and Anderson. 
 The sixth district shall be composed of the counties of Garrard, 
 Madison, Estill, Owsley, Rockcastle, Laurel, Clay, Whitley, Knox, 
 Harlan, Perry, Letcher, Pike, Floyd, and Johnson. The seventh 
 district shall be composed of the counties of Jefferson, Oldham, 
 Trimble, Carroll, Henry, and Shelby, and the city of Louisville. 
 The eighth districrt shall be composed of the counties of Bourbon, 
 Fayette, Scott, Owen, Franklin, Woodford, and Jessamine. The 
 ninth district shall be composed of the cou-nties of Clarke, Bath, 
 Montgomery, Fleming, Le\yis, Greenup, Carter, Lawrence, Morgan, 
 and Breathitt. The tenth district shall be composed of the counties 
 of Mason, Bracken, Nicholas, Harrison, Pendleton, Campbell, 
 Grant, Kenton, Boone, and Gallatin. The number of representa- 
 tives shall, at the several sessions of the General Assembly, next 
 after the making of the enumerations, be apportioned among the 
 ten several districts, according to the number of qualified voters in 
 each ; and the Representatives shall be apportioned, as near as may 
 me, among the counties, towns and cities in each district; and in 
 making such apportionment the following rules shall govern, to-wit : 
 Every county, town or city having the ratio shall have one Repre- 
 sentative ; if double the ratio, two Representatives, and so on. 
 Next, the counties, towns or cities having one or more Representa- 
 tives, and the largest number of qualified voters above the ratio, 
 and counties having the largest number under the ratio shall have a 
 Representative, regard being always had to the greatest number of 
 qualified voters : Provided, that when a county may not have a suffi- 
 cient number of qualified voters to entitle it to one Representative, 
 then such county may be joined to some adjacent county or counties, 
 
B*tB CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 which counties shall send one Representative. When a new county 
 shall be formed of territory belonging to more than one district, it 
 shall form a part of that district having the least number of qualified 
 voters. 
 
 Sec. 7. The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker 
 and other officers. 
 
 Sec. 8. Every free white male citizen, of the age of twenty-one 
 years, who has resided in the State two years, or in the county, 
 town, or city, iji which he offers to vote, one year next preceding 
 the election shall be a voter ; but such voter shall have been, for 
 sixty days next preceding the election, a resident of the precinct in 
 which he offers to vote, and he shall vote in said precinct, and not 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Sec. 9. Voters, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or 
 surety of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during their 
 attendance at, going to, and returning from elections. 
 
 Sec. 10. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, and 
 the Senate shall have power to choose its officers biennially. 
 
 Sec. 11. Senators and Representatives shall be elected, under the 
 first .apportionment after the adoption of this Constitution, in the 
 year 1851. 
 
 Sec. 12. At the session of the General Assembly next after the 
 first apportionment under this Constitution, the Senators shall be 
 divided by*lot, as equally as may be, into two classes'; the seats of 
 the first class shall be vacated at the end of two years from the day 
 of the election, and those of the second class at the end of four years, 
 so that one half shall be chosen every two years. 
 
 Sec. 13. The number of Representatives shall be one hundred, 
 and the number of Senators thirty eight. 
 
 Sec. 14. At every apportionment of representation, the State shall 
 be laid off into thirty eight Senatorial Districts, which shall be so 
 formed as to contain, as near as may be, an equal number of quali- 
 fied voters, and so that no county shall be divided in the formation 
 of a Senatorial District, except such county shall be entitled, under 
 the enumeration,- to two or more Senators ; and where two or more 
 counties compose a district 'they shall be adjoining. 
 
 Sec. 15. One Senator for each district shall be elected by the 
 qualified voters therein, who shall vote in the precincts where 
 they reside, at the places where elections are by law directed to be 
 held. 
 
 Sec. 16. No person shall be a Senator who, at the time of his 
 election, is not a citizen of the United States ; has not attained the 
 age of thirty years, and who has not resided in this State six years 
 next preceding his election, and the last year thereof in the district 
 for which he may be chosen. 
 
 Sec. 17. The election for Senators, next after the first apportion- 
 ment under this Constitution, shall be general throughout the State, 
 and at the same time that the election for Representatives is held, 
 
KENTUCKY. 379 
 
 and thereafter there shall be a biennial election for Senators to fill 
 the places of those whose term of service may have expired. 
 
 Sec. 18. The General Assembly shall convene on the first Monday 
 in November, after the adoption of this Constitution, and again on 
 the first Monday in November, 1851, and on the same day of every 
 second year thereafter, unless a different day be appointed by law, 
 and their sessions shall be held at the seat of Government. 
 
 Sec. 19. Not less than a majority of the members of each house 
 of the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum to do business, 
 but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be 
 authorized by law to compel the attendance of absent members 
 in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed 
 thereby. 
 
 Sec. 20. Each house of the General Assembly shall judge of the 
 qualifications, elections, and returns of its members ; but a contested 
 election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by 
 law. 
 
 Sec, 21. Each house of the General Assembly may determine the 
 rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly behavior, 
 and with the concurrence of two thirds expel a member ; but not a 
 second time for the same cause. 
 
 Sec. 22. Each house of the General Assembly shall keep and 
 publish, weekly, a journal of its proceedings, and the yeas and nays 
 of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of 
 them, be entered on their journal. 
 
 Sec. 23. Neither house, during the session of the General Assem- 
 bly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
 three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be 
 sitting. 
 
 Sec. 24. The members of the General Assembly shall severally 
 receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, 
 which shall be three dollars a day during their attendance on, and 
 twelve and a half cents per mile for the necessary travel in going to, 
 and returning from, the sessions of their respective houses : Provided^ 
 that the same may be increased or diminished by law ; but no alter- 
 ation shall take effect during the session at which such alteration 
 shall be made ; nor shall a session of the General Assembly conti- 
 nue beyond sixty days, except by a vote of two thirds of all the 
 members elected to each house, but this shall not apply to the first 
 session held under this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 25. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases 
 except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged 
 from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respec- 
 tive houses, and in going to, and returning from, the same ; and for- 
 any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned 
 in any other place. 
 
 Sec. 26. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for 
 which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed or 
 
380 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 elected to any civil office of profit under this Commonwealth, which 
 shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been 
 increased, during the said term, except to such offices or appoint- 
 ments as may be filled by the election of the people. 
 
 Sec. 27. No person, while he continues to exercise the functions 
 of a clergyman, priest, or teacher of any religious persuasion, society, 
 or sect, nor while he holds or exercises any office of profit under this 
 Commonwealth, or under the government of the United States, shall 
 be eligible to the General Assembly, except attorneys at law, justices 
 of the peace, and militia officers : Provided^ that attorneys for the 
 Commonwealth, who receive a fixed annual salary, shall be ineligible. 
 
 Sec. 28. No person who, at any time, may have been a collector 
 of taxes or public moneys for the State, or the assistant or deputy 
 of such collector, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, unless 
 he shall have obtained a quietus, six months before the election, for 
 the amount of such collection, and for all public moneys for which 
 he may have been responsible. 
 
 Sec. 29. No bill shall have the force of a law, until, on three 
 several days, it be read over in each house of the General Assembly, 
 and free discussion allowed thereon, unless, in cases of urgency, four 
 fifths of the house, where the bill shall be depending, may deem it 
 expedient to dispense with this rule. 
 
 Sec. 30. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House 
 of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments, as in 
 other bills : Provided^ that they shall not introduce any new mat- 
 ter, under color of amendment, which does not relate to raising 
 revenue. 
 
 Sec 31. The General Assembly shall regulate, bylaw, by whom 
 and in what manner writs of election shall be issued to fill the vacan- 
 cies which may happen in either branch thereof. 
 
 Sec 32. The General Assembly shall have no power to grant 
 divorces, to change the names of individuals, or direct the sales of 
 estates belonging to infants, or other persons laboring under legal 
 disabilities, by special legislation ; but by general laws shall confer 
 such powers on the courts of justice. 
 
 Sec 33. The credit of this Commonwealth shall never be given 
 or loaned in aid of any person, association, municipality, or corpora- 
 tion. 
 
 Sec 34. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass 
 laws to diminish the resources of the Sinking Fund, as now estab- 
 lished by law, until the debt of the State be paid, but may pass laws 
 to increase them ; and the whole resources of said fund, from year 
 to year, shall be sacredly set apart and applied to the payment of 
 the interest and principal of the State debt, and to no other use or 
 purpose, until the whole debt of the State is fully paid and satisfied. 
 
 Sec 35. The General Assembly may contract debts to meet 
 casual deficits or failures in the revenue, but such debts, direct or 
 contingent, singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed 
 
KENTUCKY. 881 
 
 five hundred thousand dollars ; and the moneys arising from loans 
 creating such debts, shall be applied to the purposes for which they 
 were obtained, or to repay such debts : Provided^ that the State may 
 contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or, if hostili- 
 ties are threatened, provide for the public defence. 
 
 Sec. 36. No act of the General Assembly shall authorize any debt 
 to be contracted on behalf of the Commonwealth, except for the pur- 
 poses mentioned in the thirty -fifth section of this article, unless pro- 
 vision be made therein to lay and collect an annual tax sufficient to 
 pay the interest stipulated, and to discharge the debt within thirty 
 years ; nor shall such act take effect until it shall have been submitted 
 to the people at a general election, and shall have received a 
 majority of all the votes cast for and against it: Provided^ that the 
 General Assembly may contract debts, by borrowing money to pay 
 any part of the debt of the State, without submission to the people, 
 and without making provision in the act authorizing the same for a 
 tax to discharge the debt so contracted, or the interest thereon. 
 
 Sec. 37. No law, enacted by the General Assembly, shall relate 
 to more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 Sec. 38. The General Assembly shall not change the venue in 
 any criminal or penal prosecution, but shall provide for the same by 
 general laws. 
 
 Sec. 39. The General Assembly may pass laws authorizing writs 
 of error in criminal or penal cases, and regulating the right of chal- 
 lenge of jurors therein. 
 
 Sec. 40. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass any 
 act, or resolution, for the appropriation of any money, or the creation 
 of any debt, exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars, at any one 
 time, unless the same, on its final passage, shall be voted for by a 
 majority of all the members then elected to each branch of the 
 General Assembly ; and the yeas and nays thereon entered on the 
 journal. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Concerning the Executive Department, 
 
 Sec. 1. The Supreme Executive power of the Commonwealth 
 shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the Go- 
 vernor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected for the term of four years, 
 by the qualified voters of the State, at the time when, and places 
 where, they shall respectively vote for Representatives. The person 
 having the highest number of votes shall be Governor ; but if two 
 or more shall be equal and highest in votes, the election shall be 
 determined by lot, in such manner as the General Assembly may 
 direct. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four 
 years after the expiration of the term for which he shall have been 
 elected. 
 
 Sec. 4. He shall be at least thirty five years of age, and a citizen 
 
882 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of the United States, and have been an Inhabitant of this State at 
 least six years next preceding his election. 
 
 Sec. 5. He shall commence the execution of the duties of his 
 office on the fifth Tuesday succeeding the day of the general election 
 on which he shall have been chosen, and shall continue in the execu- 
 tion thereof until his successor shall have taken the oaths, or affirma- 
 tions, prescribed by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 6. No member of Congress, or person holding any office 
 under the United States, or minister of any religious society, shall 
 be eligible to the office of Governor. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his ser- 
 vices a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor dimin- 
 ished during the term for which he was elected. 
 
 Sec. 8. He shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy 
 of this Commonwealth, and of the militia thereof, except w^hen they 
 shall be called into the service of the United States ; but he shall not 
 command personally in the field, unless advised so to do by a reso- 
 lution of the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 9. He shall have power to fill vacancies that may occur, by 
 granting commissions, which shall expire when such vacancies shall 
 have been filled according to the provisions of this Constitution. 
 
 Sec 10. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, grant 
 reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. In cases of 
 treason, he shall have power to grant reprieves until the end of the 
 next session of the General Assembly, in which the power of par- 
 doning shall be vested ; but he shall have no power to remit the 
 fees of the Clerk, Sheriff, or Commonwealth's Attorney, in penal or 
 criminal cases. 
 
 Sec. 11. He may require information, in writing, from the officers 
 in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties 
 of their respective offices. 
 
 Sec. 12. He shall, from time to time, give to the General As- 
 sembly information of the state of the Commonwealth, and recom- 
 mend to their consideration such measures as he may deem ex- 
 pedient. 
 
 Sec 13. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Gene- 
 ral Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place if 
 that should have become, since their last adjournment, dangerous 
 from an enemy, or from contagious disorders ; and in case of dis- 
 agreement between the two houses, with respect to the time of ad- 
 journment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
 proper, not exceeding four months. 
 
 Sec 14. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 Sec 15. a Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen at every regular 
 election for Governor, in the same manner, to continue in office for 
 the same time, and possess the same qualifications as the Governor. 
 In voting for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the electors shall 
 
KENTUCKY. 883 
 
 state for whom they vote as Governor, and for whom as Lieutenant 
 Governor. 
 
 Sec. 16. He shall, by virtue of his office, be Speaker of the Sen- 
 ate, have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and 
 vote on all subjects, and when the Senate are equally divided, to 
 give the casting vote. 
 
 Sec. 17. Should the Governor be impeached, removed from office, 
 die, refuse to qualify, resign, or be absent from the State, the Lieut- 
 enant Governor shall exercise all the power and authority apper- 
 taining to the office of Governor, until another be duly elected and 
 qualified, or the Governor absent or impeached, shall return or be 
 acquitted. 
 
 Sec. 18. Whenever the government shall be administered by the 
 Lieutenant Governor, or he shall fail to attend as Speaker of the 
 Senate, the Senators shall elect one of their own members as 
 Speaker for that occasion. And if, during the vacancy of the office 
 of Governor, the Lieutenant Governor shall be impeached, removed 
 from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, 
 the Speaker of the Senate shall, in like manner, administer the 
 government : Provided^ that whenever a vacancy shall occur in the 
 office of Governor, before the first two years of the term shall have 
 expired, a new election for Governor shall take place, to fill such 
 vacancy. * 
 
 Sec. 19. The Lieutenant Governor, or Speaker ^ro tempore of the 
 Senate, while he acts as Speaker of the Senate, shall receive for his 
 services the same compensation which shall, for the same period, be 
 allowed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and no 
 more ; and during the time he administers the government, as Go- 
 vernor, shall receive the same compensation which the Governor 
 would have received, had he been employed in the duties of his 
 office. 
 
 Sec. 20. If the Lieutenant Governor shall be called upon to ad- 
 minister the government, and shall, while in such administration, 
 resign, die, or be absent from the State during the recess of the 
 General Assembly, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, 
 for the time being, to convene the Senate for the purpose of choosing 
 a Speaker. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the ad- 
 vice and consent of the Senate, appoint a Secretary of State, who 
 shall be commissioned during the term for which the Governor was 
 elected, if he shall so long behave himself well. He shall keep a 
 fair register, and attest all the official acts of the Governor, and 
 shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and 
 vouchers, relative thereto, before either house of the General As- 
 sembly ; and shall perform such other duties as may be required of 
 him by law. 
 
 Sec. 22. Every bill which shall have passed both houses, shall be 
 presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it ; but if 
 
884: CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 not, he shall return it with his objections, to the house in which it 
 originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journal, 
 and proceed to reconsider it. If^ after such reconsideration, a ma- 
 jority of all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass 
 the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by 
 which it shall likewise be considered, and if approved by a majority 
 of all the members elected to that house, it shall be a law ; but in such 
 cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and 
 nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill, 
 shall be entered upon the journals of each house, respectively. If 
 any bill shall not be returned by the Governor, within ten days, 
 (Sundays excepted,) after it shall have been presented to him, it 
 shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
 General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return ; in 
 which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after 
 their next meeting. 
 
 Sec. 23. Every order, resolution, or vote, in which the concur- 
 rence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of ad- 
 journment, shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall 
 take effect, be approved by him ; or being disapproved, shall be re- 
 passed by a majority of all the members elected to both houses, 
 according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. 
 
 Sec. 24. Contested elections for Governor and Lieutenant Gover- 
 nor shall be determined by both houses of the General Assembly, 
 according to such regulations as may be established by law. 
 
 Sec. 25. A Treasurer shall be elected by the qualified voters of 
 the State, for the term of two years ; and an Auditor of Public Ac- 
 counts, Register of the Land Office, and Attorney General, for the 
 term of four years. The duties and responsibilities of these officers 
 shall be prescribed by law : Provided, that inferior State officers, not 
 specially provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed, or 
 elected, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, for a term 
 not exceeding four years. 
 
 Sec. 26. The first election, under this Constitution, for Governor, 
 Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Re- 
 gister of the land office, and Attorney General, shall be held on the 
 first Monday in August in the year 185L 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Concerning the Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. \. The judicial power of this Commonwealth, both as to 
 matters of law and equity, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, 
 (to be styled the Court of Appeals,) the Courts established by this 
 Constitution, and such Courts, inferior to the Supreme Court, as the 
 General Assembly may, from time to time, erect and establish. 
 
 concerning the court of appeals. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction 
 only, which shall be co-extensive with the State, under such restric- 
 
KENTUCKY. 385 
 
 tions and regulations, not repugnant to this Constitution, as may, 
 from time to time, be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Judges of the Court of Appeals shall, after their first 
 term, hold their offices for eight years, from and after their election, 
 and until their successors shall be duly qualified, subject to the con- 
 ditions hereinafter prescribed ; but for any reasonable cause, the Go- 
 vernor shall remove any of them on the address of two thirds of 
 each house of the General Assembly : Provided^ however, that the 
 cause or causes for which such removal may be required, shall be 
 stated at length in such address, and on the journal of each house. 
 They shall, at stated' times, receive for their services an adequate 
 compensation, to be fixed by law, which shall not be diminished 
 during the time for which they shall have been elected. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Court of Appeals shall consist of four Judges, any 
 three of whom may constitute a Court for the transaction of busi- 
 ness. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adoption 
 of this Constitution, shall divide the State, by counties, into four dis- 
 tricts, as nearly equal in voting population, and with as convenient 
 limits as may be, in each of which the qualified voters shall elect one 
 Judge of the Court of Appeals : Provided^ that whenever a vacancy 
 shall occur in said Court, from any cause, the General Assembly 
 shall have the power to reduce the number of Judges and districts ; 
 but in no event shall there be less than three Judges and districts. 
 Should a change in the number of the Judges of the Court of Ap- 
 peals be made, the term of office and number of districts shall be so 
 changed as to preserve the principle of electing one Judge every two 
 years. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Judges shall, by virtue of their offices, be conserva- 
 tors of the peace throughout the State. The style of all process 
 shall be, " The Commonwealth of Kentucky." All prosecutions 
 shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the Common- 
 wealth of Kentucky, and conclude " against the peace and dignity of 
 the same." 
 
 Sec. 6. The Judges first elected shall serve as follows, to wit : one 
 shall serve until the first Monday in August, 1852; one until the 
 first Monday in August, 1854 ; one until the first Monday in August, 
 1856, and one until the first Monday in August, 1858. The Judges, 
 at the first term of the Court succeeding their election, shall deter- 
 mine, by lot, the length of time which each one shall serve ; and at 
 the expiration of the service of each, an election in the proper dis- 
 trict shall take place to fill the vacancy. The Judge having the 
 shortest time to serve shall be styled the Chief Justice of Kentucky. 
 
 Sec. 7. If a vacancy shall occur in said Court from any cause, the 
 Governor shall issue a writ of election to the proper district to fill 
 such vacancy for the residue of the term : Provided, that if the un- 
 expired term be less than one year, the Governor shall appoint a 
 Judge to fill such vacancy. 
 
 Sec. 8. No person shall be eligible to the office of Judge of the 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Court of Appeals, who is not a citizen of the United States, a resi- 
 dent of the district for which he may be a candidate two years next 
 preceding his election, at least thirty years of age, and who has not 
 been a practicing lawyer eight years, or whose sei-vice upon the 
 bench of any Court of record, when added to the time he may have 
 practiced law, shall not be equal to eight years. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Court of Appeals shall hold its sessions at the seat of 
 government, unless otherwise directed by law ; but the General As- 
 sembly may, from time to' time, direct that said Court shall hold 
 sessions in any one or more of said districts. 
 
 Sec. 10. The first election of the Judges and Clerk or Clerks of 
 the Court of Appeals shall take place on the second Monday in May, 
 1851, and thereafter, in each district as a vacanc}^ may occur, by the 
 expiration of the term of office ; and the Judges of the said Court 
 shall be commissioned by the Governor. 
 
 Sec. 11. There shall be elected, by the qualified voters of thi» 
 State, a Clerk of the Court of Appeals, who shall hold his office, 
 from the first election, until the first Monday in August, 1858, and 
 thereafter for the term of eight years from and after his election ; 
 and should the General Assembly provide for holding the Court of 
 Appeals in any one or more of said districts, they shall also provide 
 for the election of a Clerk by the qualified voters of such district, 
 who shall hold his office for eight years, possess the same qualifica- 
 tions, and be subject to removal in the same manner as the Clerk of 
 the Court of Appeals ; but if the General Assembly shall, at its first 
 or any other session, direct the Court of Appeals to hold its sessions 
 in more than one district, a Clerk shall be elected by the qualified 
 voters of such district. And the Clerk, first provided for in this sec- 
 tion, shall be elected by the qualified voters of the other district or 
 districts. The same principle shall be observed whenever the Court 
 shall be directed to hold its sessions in either of the other districts. 
 Should the number of Judges be reduced, the term of the office of 
 Clerk shall be six years. 
 
 Sec. 12. No person shall be eligible to the office of Clerk of the 
 Court of Appeals, unless he be a citizen of the United States, a resi- 
 dent of the State two years next preceding his election, of the age of 
 twenty one years, and have a certificate from a Judge of the Court 
 of Appeals, or a Judge of the Circuit Court, that he has been ex- 
 amined by the Clerk of his Court, under his supervision, and that he 
 is qualified for the office for which he is a candidate. 
 
 Sec. 13. Should a vacancy occur in the office of Clerk of the Court 
 of Appeals, the Governor shall issue a writ of election, and the qual- 
 ified voters of the State, or of the district in which the vacancy may 
 occur, shall elect a Clerk of the Court of Appeals, to serve until the 
 end of the term for which such Clerk was elected : Provided^ that 
 when a vacancy shall occur from any cause, or the Clerk be under 
 charges upon information, the Judges of the €ourt of Appeals shall 
 have power to appoint a Clerk pro tern., to perform the duties of 
 
KENTUCKY. 387 
 
 Clerk until such vacancy shall be filled, or the Clerk acquitted : And, 
 provided further, that no writ of election shall issue to fill a vacancy 
 unless the unexpired term exceed one year. 
 
 . Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall direct, by law, the mode 
 and manner of conducting and making due returns to the Secretary 
 of State, of all elections of the Judges and Clerk or Clerks of the 
 Court of Appeals, and of determining contested elections of any of 
 these officers. 
 
 Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall provide for an additional 
 Judge or Judges, to constitute, with the remaining Judge or Judges, 
 a special Court for the trial of such cause or causes as may, at any 
 time, be pending in the Court of Appeals, on the trial of which a ma- 
 jority of the Judges cannot sit, on account of. interest in the event 
 of the cause ; or on account of their relationship to either party ; or 
 when a Judge may have been employed in or decided the cause in 
 the inferior Court. 
 
 CONCERNING THE CIRCUIT COURTS. 
 
 Sec. 16. a Circuit Court shall be established in each county now 
 existing, or which may hereafter be erected in this Commonwealth. 
 
 Sec. 17. The jurisdiction of said Court shall be, and remain as now 
 established, hereby giving to the General Assembly the power to 
 change or alter it. 
 
 Sec. 18. The right to appeal or sue out a writ of error to the 
 Court of Appeals shall remain as it now exists, until altered by law, 
 hereby giving to the General Assembly the power to change, alter, 
 or modify said right. 
 
 Sec. 19. At the first session after the adoption of this Constitution, 
 the General Assembly shall divide the State into twelve judicial dis- 
 tricts, having due regard to business, territory, and population : Pro- 
 vided, that no county shall be divided. 
 
 Sec. 20. They shall, at the same time that the judicial districts 
 are laid off, direct elections to be held in each district, to elect a 
 Judge for said district, and shall prescribe in what manner the elec- 
 tions shall be conducted. The first election of Judges of the Circuit 
 Court shall take place on the second Monday in May, 1851 ; and 
 afterwards on the first Monday in August, 1856, and on the first 
 Monday in August in every sixth year thereafter. 
 
 Sec. 21. All persons qualified to vote for members of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, in each district, shall have the right to vote for 
 Judges. 
 
 Sec. 22. No person shall be eligible as Judge of the Circuit 
 Court who is not a citizen of the United States, a resident of the 
 district for which he may be a candidate two years next preceding 
 his election, at least thirty years of age, and who has not been a 
 practicing lawyer eight years, or whose service upon the bench of 
 any Court of record, when added to the time he may have practiced 
 law, shall not be equal to eight years. 
 
388 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Sec. 23. The Judges of the Circuit Court shall, after their first 
 term, hold their office for the term of six years from the day of their 
 election. They shall be commissioned by the Governor, and con- 
 tinue in office until their successors be qualified, but shall be re- 
 movable from office in the same manner as the Judges of the Court 
 of Appeals ; and the removal of a Judge from his district shall 
 vacate his office. 
 
 Sec. 24. The General Assembly, if they deem it necessary, may 
 establish one additional district every four years, but the judicial 
 districts shall not exceed sixteen, until the population of this State 
 shall exceed one million five hundred thousand. 
 
 Sec 25. The Judges of the Circuit Courts shall, at stated times, 
 receive for their services an adequate compensation, to be fixed by 
 law, which shall be equal and uniform throughout the State, and 
 which shall not be diminished during the time for which they were 
 elected. 
 
 Sec 26. If a vacancy shall occur in the office of Judge of the 
 Circuit Court, the Governor shall issue a writ of election to fill such 
 vacancy, for the residue of the term : Provided, that if the unexpired 
 term be less than one year, the Governor shall appoint a Judge to 
 fill such vacancy. 
 
 Sec 27. The Judicial Districts of this State shall not be changed, 
 except at the first session after an enumeration, unless when a new 
 District may be established. 
 
 Sec 28. The General Assembly shall provide by law for holding 
 Circuit Courts, when, from any cause, the Judge shall fail to attend, 
 or, if in attendance, cannot properly preside. 
 
 CONCERNING COUNTY COURTS. 
 
 Sec 29. A County Court shall be established in each county now 
 existing, or which may hereafter be erected within this Common- 
 wealth, to consist of a Presiding Judge, and two Associate Judges, 
 any two of whom shall constitute a court for the transaction of busi- 
 ness : Provided, the General Assembly may at any time abolish the 
 office of the Associate Judges, whenever it shall be deemed expedi- 
 ent ; in which event they may associate with said court any or all 
 of the Justices of the Peace for the transaction of business. 
 
 Sec 30. The Judges of the County Courtjshall be elected by the 
 qualified voters in each county, for the term of four years, and shall 
 continue in office until their successors be duly qualified, and shall 
 receive such compensation for their services as may be provided by 
 law. 
 
 Sec 31. The first election of County Court Judges shall take 
 place at the same time of the election of Judges of the Circuit Court. 
 The Presiding Judge, first elected, shall hold his office until the first 
 Monday in August, 1854. The Associate Judges shall hold their 
 offices until the first Monday in August, 1852, and until their suc- 
 cessors be qualified ; and afterwards elections shall be held on the 
 
KENTUCKY. 389 
 
 first Mondays in August, in the years in which vacancies regularly 
 occur. 
 
 Sec. 32. No person shall be eligible to the office of Presiding or 
 Associate J.udge of the County Court, unless he be a citizen of the 
 United States, over twenty one years of age, and shall have been a 
 resident of the county in which he shall be chosen, one year next 
 preceding the election. 
 
 Sec. 33. The jurisdiction of the County Court shall be regulated 
 by law ; and, until changed, shall be the same now vested in the 
 County Courts of this State. 
 
 Sec. 34. Each county in this State shall be laid off into districts 
 of convenient size, as the General Assembly may, from time to time, 
 direct. Two Justices of the Peace shall be elected in each district, 
 by the qualified voters therein, at such time and place as may be 
 prescribed by law, for the term of four years, whose jurisdiction 
 shall be co-extensive with the county ; no person shall be eligible as 
 a Justice of the Peace, unless he be a citizen of the United States, 
 twenty one years of age, and a resident of the district in which he 
 may be candidate. 
 
 Sec. 35. Judges of the County Court, and Justices of the Peace, 
 shall be conservators of the peace. They shall be commissioned by 
 the Governor. County and district officers shall vacate their offices 
 by removal from the district or county in which they shall be ap- 
 pointed. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, the manner 
 of conducting and making due return of all elections of Judges of 
 the County Court and Justices of the Peace, and for determining 
 contested elections, and provide the mode of filling vacancies in these 
 offices. 
 
 Sec. 36. Judges of the County Court and Justices of the Peace, 
 Sheriffs, Coroners, Surveyors, Jailers, County Assessor, Attorney for 
 the County, and Constables, shall be subject to indictment or pre- 
 sentment for malfeasance or misfeasance in office, or wilful neglect 
 in the discharge of their official duties, in such mode as may be pre- 
 scribed by law, subject to appeal to the Court of Appeals ; and, 
 upon conviction, their offices shall become vacant. 
 
 Sec. 37. The General Assembly may provide, by law, that the 
 Justices of the Peace in each county shall sit at the Court of 
 Claims and assist in laying the county levy and making appropria- 
 tions only. 
 
 Sec. 38. When any city or town shall have a separate representa- 
 tion, such city or town, and the county in which it is located, may 
 have such separate Municipal Courts, and executive and ministerial 
 officers as the General Assembly may, from time to time, provide. 
 
 Sec. 39. The Clerks of the Court of Appeals, Circuit, and County 
 Courts, shall be removable from office by the Court of Appeals, 
 upon information and good cause shown. The Court shall be Judges 
 of the fact as well as the law. Two-thirds of the members present 
 must concur in the sentence. 
 
890 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Sec. 40. The Louisville Chancery Court shall exist under this Con- 
 stitution, subject to repeal, and its jurisdiction to enlargement and 
 modification by the General Assembly. The Chancellor, shall have 
 the same qualifications as a Circuit Court Judge, and tbe Clerk of 
 said Court as a Clerk of a Circuit Court, and the Marshal of said 
 Court as a Sheriff; and the General Assembly shall provide for the 
 election, by the qualified voters within its jurisdiction, of the Chan- 
 cellor, Clerk, and Marshal of said Court, at the same time that the 
 Judge and Clerk of the Circuit Court are elected for the county 
 of Jefferson, and they shall hold their offices for the same time, and 
 shall be removable in the same manner : Provided^ that the Marshal 
 of said Court shall be ineligible for the succeeding term. 
 
 Sec. 41. The City Court of Louisville, the Lexington City Court, 
 and all other Police Courts established in any city or town, shall re- 
 main until otherwise directed by law, with their present powers and 
 jurisdictions ; and the Judges, Clerks, and Marshals of such Courts 
 shall have the same qualifications, and shall be elected by the quali- 
 fied voters of such cities or towns, at the same time, and in the same 
 maner, and hold their offices for the same term as County Judges, 
 Clerks, and Sheriffs, respectively, and shall be liable to removal in 
 the same manner. The General Assembly may vest judicial 
 powers, for police purposes, in Mayors of cities, Police Judges, and 
 Trustees of towns. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Concerning Impeachments. 
 
 Sec. L The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeachment. 
 
 Sec. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When 
 sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be upon oath or affirma- 
 tion. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Governor and all civil officers, shall be liable to im- 
 peachment for any misdemeanor in oflnce ; but judgment in such 
 cases shall not extend further than to removal from oflSce, and disqual- 
 ification to hold any' oflSce of honor, trust, or profit, under this Com- 
 monwealth ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be subject 
 and liable to indictment, trial, and punishment by law. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. — Concerning Executive and Ministerial Officers for 
 ■ Counties and Districts. 
 
 Sec. 1. A Commonwealth's Attorney for each judicial district, and 
 a Circuit Court Clerk for each county, shall be elected, whose term 
 of office shall be the same as that of the Circuit Judges ; also, a 
 County Court Clerk, an Attorney, Surveyor, Coroner, and Jailer, for 
 each county, whose term of office shall be the same as that of the 
 Presiding Judge of the County Court. 
 
 Sec. 2. No person shall be eligible to the offices mentioned in this 
 article, who is not at the time twenty four years old, (except Clerks 
 
KENTUCKY. tt 390 
 
 of County and Circuit Courts, Sheriffs, Constables, and County At- 
 torneys, who shall be eligible at the age of twenty-one years,) a 
 citizen of the United States, and who has not resided two years next 
 preceding the election, in the State, and one year in the county or 
 district for which he is a candidate. No person shall be eligible to 
 the office of Commonwealth's or County Attorney, unless he shall 
 have been a licensed practicing attorney for two years. No person 
 shall be eligible to the office of Clerk unless he shall have procured 
 from a Judge of the Court of Appeals, or a Judge of the Circuit 
 Court, a certificate that he has been examined by the Clerk of his 
 Court, under his supervision, and that he is qualified for the office 
 for which he is a candidate. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Commonwealth's Attorney and Circuit Court Clerk 
 shall be elected at the same time as the Circuit Judge — the Com- 
 monwealth's Attorney by the qualified voters of the district, the 
 Circuit Court Clerk by the qualified voters of the county. The 
 County Attorney, Clerk, Surveyor, Coroner, and Jailer, shall be 
 elected at the same time, and in the same manner, as the Presiding 
 Judge of the County Court. 
 
 Sec. 4. A Sheriff shall be elected in each county, by the qualified 
 voters thereof, whose term of office shall, after the first term, be two 
 years, and until his successor he qualified ; and he shall be re-eligi- 
 ble for a second term ; but no Sheriff shall, afler the expiration of 
 the second term, be re-eligible, or act as deputy, for the succeeding 
 term. The first election of Sheriff shall be on the second Monday 
 in May, 1851 ; and the Sheriffs, then elected, shall hold their offices 
 until the first Monday in January, 1853, and until their successors 
 be qualified ; and on the first Monday in August, 1852, and on the 
 first Monday of August in every second year thereafter, elections for 
 Sheriffs shall be held : Provided, that the Sheriffs first elected, shall 
 enter upon the duties of their respective offices on the first Monday 
 in June, 1851, and after the first election on the first Monday in Jan- 
 uary next succeeding their election. 
 
 Sec. 5. A Constable shall be elected in every Justice's District, 
 who shall be chosen for two years, at such time and place as may be 
 provided by law, whose jurisdiction shall be co-extensive with the 
 county in which he may reside. 
 
 Sec. 6. Officers for towns and cities shall be elected for such 
 terms, and in such manner, and with such qualifications, as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 7. Vacancies in offices under this article shall be filled, until 
 the next regular election, in such manner as the General Assembly 
 may provide. 
 
 , Sec. 8. When a new county shall be erected, officers for the same, 
 to serve until the next stated election, shall be elected, or appointed 
 in such way and at. such times as the General Assembly may pre- 
 scribe. 
 
 Sec. 9. Clerks, Sheriffs, Surveyors, Coroners, Constables, and Jail- 
 28 
 
3906 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ers, and such other officers as the General Assembly may, from time to 
 time require, shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respec- 
 tive offices, and as often thereafter as may be deemed proper, give 
 such bond and security as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 10. The General Assembly may provide for the election or 
 appointment, for a term not exceeding four years, of such other 
 county or district ministerial and executive offices as shall, from 
 time to time, be necessary and proper. 
 
 Sec. 11. A County Assessor shall be elected in each county at the 
 same time and for the same term that the Presiding Judge of the 
 County Court is elected, until otherwise provided for by law. He 
 shall have power to appoint such assistants as may be necessary 
 and proper. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. — Concerning the Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Militia of this Commonwealth shall consist of all free, 
 able-bodied male persons (negroes, mulattoes, and Indians excepted,) 
 resident in the same, between the ages of eighteen and forty -five 
 years ; except such persons as now are, or hereafter may be, exempt- 
 ed by the laws of the United States or of this State ; but those who 
 belong to religious societies, whose tenets forbid them to carry arms, 
 shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for per- 
 sonal services. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Governor shall appoint the Adjutant General, and 
 his other staff officers ; the Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, and 
 Commandants of Regiments, shall, respectively, appoint their staff 
 officers; and CommandaSts of Companies shall appoint their non- 
 commissioned officers. 
 
 Sec. 3. All militia officers, whose appointment is not herein other- 
 wise provided for, shall be elected by persons subject to military 
 duty, within their respective companies, battalions, regiments, bri- 
 gades, and divisions, under such rules and regulations, and for such 
 terms, not exceeding six years, as the General Assembly may, from 
 time to time, direct and establish. 
 
 ARTICLE YWL— General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the General Assembly, and all officers, before 
 they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, 
 and all members of the bar, before they enter upon the practice of 
 their profession, shall take the following oath or affirmation : I do 
 solemnly swear, (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will support 
 the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this 
 State, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 
 so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully ex- 
 ecute, to the best of my abilities the office of according to 
 law ; and I do further solemnly swear, (or affirm,) that since the 
 adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, 
 have not fought a duel, with deadly weapons, within this State nor 
 
KENTUCKY. c390 
 
 out of it, with a citizen of this State, nor have I sent or accepted a 
 challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, with a citizen of this 
 State ; nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, or aided, 
 or assisted any person thus offending — so held me God. 
 
 Sec. 2. Treason against the Commonwealth shall consist only in 
 levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them 
 aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless 
 on the testimony of two \fitnesses to the same over act or his own 
 confession in open court. 
 
 Sec. 3. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office 
 of trust or profit for the term for which he shall have been elected, 
 who shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe or treat 
 to procure his election. 
 
 Sec. 4. Laws shall be made to exclude from office and from suf- 
 frage, those who shall thereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, 
 forgery, or other crimes or high misdemeanors. The privilege of 
 free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and 
 prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon 
 from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practices. 
 
 Sec. 5. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in pur- 
 suance of appropriations made by law, nor shall any appropriations 
 of money for the support of an army be made for a longer time 
 than two years, and a regular statement and account of the receipts 
 and expenditures of all public money shall be published annually. 
 
 Sec 6. The General Assembly may direct, by law, in what man- 
 ner, and in what Courts, suits may be brought against the Com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 Sec. 7. The manner of administering an oath or affirmation shall 
 be such as is most consistent with the conscience of the deponent, 
 and shall be esteemed by the General Assembly the most solemn 
 appeal to God. 
 
 Sec 8. All laws which, on the first day of June, one thousand 
 seven hundred and ninety two, were in force in the State of Virginia, 
 and which are of a general nature, and not local to that State, and 
 not repugnant to this Constitution, nor to the laws which have been 
 enacted by the General Assembly of this Commonwealth, shall be 
 in force within this State, until they shall be altered or repealed by 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec 9. The compact with the State of Virginia, subject to such 
 alterations as may be made therein agreeably to the mode prescribed 
 by the said compact, shall be considered as part of this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass 
 such laws as shall be necessary and proper to decide differences by 
 arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties who may choose that 
 summary mode of adjustment. 
 
 Sec 11. All civil officers for the Commonwealth, at large, shall 
 reside within the State, and all district, county, or town officers, 
 within their respective districts, counties, or towns, (trustees of 
 
S90d 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 towns excepted,) and shall keep their offices at such places therem 
 as may be required by law ; and all militia officers shall reside in 
 the bounds of the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or company, 
 to which they may severally belong. 
 
 Sec. 12. Absence on the business of this State, or the United 
 States, shall not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive 
 any one of the right of suffrage, or of being elected or appointed *to 
 any office under this Commonwealth, under the exceptions contained 
 in this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate, 
 by law, in what cases, and what deductions from the salaries of 
 public officers shall be made, for neglect of duty in their official 
 capacity. 
 
 Sec. 14. Returns of all elections by the people, shall be made to 
 the Secretary of State, for the time being, except in those cases 
 otherwise provided for in this Constitution, or which shall be other- 
 wise directed by law. 
 
 Sec. 15. In all elections by the people, and also by the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, jointly or separately, the votes shall be 
 personally and publicly given, viva voce : Provided, that dumb per- 
 sons, entitled to suffi-age, may vote by ballot. 
 
 Sec. 16. All elections by the people shall be held between the 
 hours of six o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening. 
 
 Sec. 17. The General Assembly shall, by law, prescribe the time 
 when the several officers authorized or directed by this Constitution 
 to be elected or appointed, shall enter upon the duties of their re- 
 spective offices, except where the time is fixed by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 18. No member of Congress, nor person holding or exercis- 
 ing any office of trust or profit under the United States, or either 
 of them, or under any foreign power, shall be eligible as a member 
 of the General Assembly of this Commonwealth, or hold or exercise 
 any office of trust or profit under the same. 
 
 Sec. 19. The General Assembly shall direct, by law, how persons 
 who now are, or who may hereafter become securities for public 
 officers, may be relieved or discharged on account of such securityship. 
 
 Sec. 20. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this Consti- 
 tution, either directly or indirectly, give, accept, or knowingly carry 
 a challenge to any person or persons, to fight in single combat, with 
 a citizen of this State, with any deadly weapon, either in or out of 
 the State, shall be deprived of the right to hold any office of honor 
 or profit in this Commonwealth, and shall be punished otherwise in 
 such manner as the General Assembly may prescribe by law. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Governor shall have power, after five years from the 
 time of the offence, to pardon all persons who shall have in anywise 
 participated in a duel, either as principals, seconds, or otherwise, and 
 to restore him or them to all the rights, privileges and immunities 
 to which he or they were entitled before such participation. , And 
 
KENTUCKY. C 390 
 
 upon the presentation of such pardon, the oath prescribed in the first 
 section of this article shall be varied to suit the case. 
 
 Sec. 22. At its first session after the adoption of this Constitution 
 the General Assembly shall appoint not more than three persons, 
 learned in the law, whose duty it shall be to revise and arrange the 
 statute laws of this Commonwealth, both civil and criminal, so as to 
 have but one law on any one subject ; and also, three other persons, 
 learned in the law, whose duty it shall be to prepare a code of prac- 
 tice for the Courts, both civil and criminal, in this Commonwealth, 
 by abridging and simplifying the rules of practice and laws in relation 
 thereto ; all of whom shall, at as early a day as practicable, re- 
 port the result of their labors to the General Assembly, for their 
 adoption or modification. 
 
 Sec. 23. So long as the Board of Internal Improvement shall be 
 continued, the President thereof shall be elected by the qualified 
 voters of this Commonwealth, and hold the office for the term of 
 four years, and until another be duly elected and qualified. The 
 election shall be held at the same time, and be conducted in the 
 same manner, as the election of Governor of this Commonwealth 
 under this Constitution ; but nothing herein contained shall prevent 
 the General Assembly from abolishing said Board of Internal Im- 
 provement, or the office of President thereof. 
 
 Sec. 24. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for the 
 trial of any contested election of Auditor, Register, Treasurer, At- 
 torney General, Judges of Circuit Courts, and all other officers not 
 otherwise herein specified. 
 
 Sec. 25. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the 
 making of the returns by the proper officers, of the election of all 
 officers to be elected under this Constitution ; and the Governor shall 
 issue commissions to the Auditor, Register, Treasurer, President of 
 the Board of Internal Improvement, Superintendent of Public In- 
 struction, and such other officers as he may be directed, by law, to 
 commission, as soon as he has ascertained the result of the election 
 of those officers respectively. 
 
 Sec. 26. When a vacancy shall happen in the office of Attorney 
 General, Auditor of Public Accounts, Treasurer, Register of the Land 
 Office, President of the Board of Internal Improvement, or Superin- 
 tendent of Public Instruction, the Governor, in the recess of the 
 Senate, shall have power to fill the vacancy by granting commissions 
 which shall expire at the end of the next session, and shall fill the 
 vacancy for the balance of the time by and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. — Concerning the seat of Government. 
 
 The seat of government shall continue in the city of Frankfort, 
 until it shall be removed by law : Provided^ hoioever^ that two-thirds 
 of all the members elected to each house of the General Assembly 
 shall concur in the passage of such law. 
 
390/ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE X. — Concerning Slaves. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass 
 laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their 
 owners, or without paying their owners, previous to such emancipa- 
 tion, a full equivalent in money for the slaves so emancipated, and 
 providing for their removal from the State. They shall have no 
 power to prevent immigrants to this State from bringing with them 
 such persons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any of the United 
 States, so long as any person of the same age or description shall 
 be continued in slavery by the laws of this State. They shall pass 
 laws to permit owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the 
 rights of creditors, and to prevent them from remaining in this 
 State after they are emancipated. They shall have full power to 
 prevent slaves being brought into this State as merchandise. They 
 shall have full power to prevent slaves being brought into this State, 
 who have been, since the first day of January, one thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty nine, or may hereafter be imported into any of 
 the United States from a foreign country. And they shall have 
 full power to pass such laws as may be necessary to oblige the own- 
 ers of slaves to treat them with humanity ; to provide for them ne- 
 cessary clothing and provision ; to abstain from all injuries to them, 
 extending to life or limb ; and in case of their neglect or refusal to 
 comply with the directions of such laws, to have such slave or slaves 
 sold for the benefit of their owner or owners. 
 
 Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall pass laws providing that any 
 free negro or mulatto hereafter immigrating to, and any slave here- 
 after emancipated in, and refusing to leave this State, or having left, 
 shall return and settle within this State, shall be deemed guilty of 
 felony, and punished by confinement in the Penitentiary thereof. 
 
 Sec. 3. In the prosecution of slaves for felony, no inquest by a 
 grand jury shall be necessary ; but the proceedings in such prosecu- 
 tions shall be regulated by law, except that the General Assembly 
 shall have no power to deprive them of the privilege of an impartial 
 trial by a petit jury. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. — Co7icerning Education. 
 
 Sec. L The capital of the fund called and known as the " Common 
 School Fund," consisting of one million two hundred and twenty 
 five thousand seven hundred and sixty eight dollars and forty two 
 cents, for which bonds have been executed by the State to the Board 
 of Education, and seventy three thousand five hundred dollars of 
 stock in the Bank of Kentucky ; also, the sum of fifty one thousand 
 two hundred and twenty three dollars and twenty nine cents, bal- 
 ance of interest on the School Fund for the year 1848, unexpended, 
 together with any sum which may be hereafter raised in the State by 
 taxation, or otherwise, for purposes of education, shall be held invi- 
 olate, for the purpose of sustaining a system of Common Schools. 
 
KENTUCKY. g 890 
 
 The interest and dividends of said funds, together with any sum 
 which may be produced for that purpose by taxation or otherwise, 
 may be appropriated in aid of Common Schools, but for no other 
 purpose.' The General Assembly shall invest said fifty one thousand 
 two hundred and twenty three dollars and twenty nine cents in some 
 safe and profitable manner ; and any portion of the interest and divi- 
 dends of said School Fund, or other money or property raised for 
 school purposes, which may not be needed in sustaining Common 
 Schools, shall be invested in like manner. The General Assembly shall 
 make provision, by law, for the payment of the interest of said School 
 Fund : Provided^ that each county shall be entitled to its proportion 
 of the income of said fund, and if not called for, for common school 
 purposes, it shall be re-invested from time to time for the benefit 
 of such county. 
 
 Sec. 2. A Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be elected by 
 the qualified voters of this Commonwealth, at the same .fime the 
 Governor is elected, who shall hold his office for four years, and his 
 duties and salary shall be prescribed and fixed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. — Mode of revising the Constitutio7i. 
 
 Sec. 1. When experience shall point out the necessity of amend- 
 ing this Constitution, and when a majority of all the members elected 
 to each house of the General Assembly shall, within the first twenty 
 days of any regular session, concur in passing a law for taking the 
 sense of the good people of this Commonwealth as to the necessity 
 and expediency of calling a Convention, it shall be the duty of the 
 several Sheriffs, and other officers of elections, at the next general 
 election which shall be held for representatives to the General As- 
 sembly, after the passage of such law, to open a poll for, and make 
 return to the Secretary of State, for the time being, of the names of 
 all those entitled to vote for representatives, who have voted for 
 calling a Convention ; and if, thereupon, it shall appear that a ma- 
 jority of all the citizens of this State entitled to vote for represen- 
 tatives, have voted for calling a Convention, the General Assembly 
 shall, at their next regular session, direct that a similar poll shall be 
 opened, and return made for the next election for representatives ; 
 and if, thereupon, it shall appear that a majority of all the citizens 
 of this State, entitled to vote for representatives, have voted for call- 
 ing a Convention, the General Assembly shall, at their next session, 
 pass a law calling a Convention, to consist of as many members as 
 there shall be in the House of Representatives, and no more ; to be 
 chosen on the first Monday in August thereafter, in the same man- 
 ner and proportion, and at the same places, and possessed of the 
 same qualifications of a qualified elector, by citizens entitled to vote 
 for representatives; and to meet within three months after their 
 election, for the purpose of re-adopting, amending, or changing this 
 Constitution ; but if it shall appear by the vote of either year, as 
 aforesaid, that a majority of all the citizens entitled to vote for repre- 
 
B90h CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sentatives did not vote for calling a Convention, a Convention shall 
 not then be called. And for the purpose of ascertaining whether a 
 majority of the citizens, entitled to vote for representatives, did or 
 did not vote for calling a Convention, as above, the General Assem- 
 bly passing the law authorizing such vote shall provide for ascertain- 
 ing the number of citizens entitled to vote for representatives within 
 the State. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Convention, when asseinjDled, shall judge of the elec- 
 tion of its members and decide contested elections, but the General 
 Assembly shall, in calling a Convention, provide for taking testi- 
 mony in such cases and for issuing a writ of election in case of a tie. 
 
 ARTICLE Xm.— Bill of Rights. 
 
 That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and 
 free government may be recognized and established; we declare. 
 
 Sec. i. That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are 
 equal, and that no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive, 
 separate public emoluments or privileges from the community, but 
 in consideration of public services. 
 
 Sec. 2. That absolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty, and 
 property of freemen, exists nowhere in a republic — not even in the 
 largest majority. 
 
 Sec. 3. The right of property is before and higher than any con- 
 stitutional sanction ; and the right of the owner of a slave to such 
 slave, and its increase, is the same, and as inviolable as the right of 
 the owner of any property whatever. 
 
 Sec. 4. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free 
 governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their 
 peace, safety, happiness, security, and the protection of property. 
 For the advancement of these ends, they have at all times an ina- 
 lienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their 
 government, in such manner as they may think proper. 
 
 Sec. 5. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to wor- 
 ship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences ; 
 that no man shall be compelled to attend, erect,, or support any 
 place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent ; 
 that no human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or 
 interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no preference shall 
 ever be given, by law, to any religious societies or modes of wor- 
 ship. 
 
 Sec. 6. That the civil rights, privileges, or capacities, of any 
 citizen shall in no wise be diminished or enlarged on account of his 
 religion. 
 
 Sec. 7. That all elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 Sec. 8. That the ancient mode of trial by jury shall be held 
 sacred, and the right thereof remain inviolate, subject to such modi- 
 fications as may be authorized by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 9. That printing presses shall be free to every person who 
 
KENTUCKY. l 390 
 
 undertakes to examine the proceedings of the General Assembly, or 
 any branch of government, and no law shall ever be made to re- 
 strain the right thereof The free communication of thoughts and 
 opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen 
 may freely speak, write, and print, on any subject, being responsible 
 for the abuse of that liberty. 
 
 Sec. 10. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigat- 
 ing the official conduct of officers or men in a public capacity, or 
 where the matter published is proper for public information, the 
 truth thereof may be given in evidence ; and in all indictments for 
 libels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, 
 under the direction of the Court, as in other cases. " 
 
 Sec. 11. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, 
 papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches, 
 and that no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person, or 
 thing, shall issue, without describing them as nearly as may be, nor 
 without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 Sec. 12. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath aright 
 to be heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and 
 cause of the accusation against him ; to meet the witnesses face to 
 face ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his 
 favor ; and in prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy 
 public trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage ; that he cannot be 
 compelled to give evidence against himself; nor can he be deprived 
 of his life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, 
 or the law of the land. 
 
 Sec. 13. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be pro- 
 ceeded against criminally, by information, except in cases arising in 
 the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in 
 time of war or public danger, or by leave of the Court, for oppres- 
 sion or misdemeanor in office. 
 
 Sec. 14. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in 
 jeopardy of his life or limb ; nor shall any man's property be taken 
 or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, 
 and without just compensation being previously made to him. 
 
 Sec. 15. That all Courts shall be open, and every person, for an 
 injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have 
 remedy by the due course of law, and right and justice administered, 
 without sale, denial, or delay. 
 
 Sec. 16. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, 
 unless by the General Assembly, or its authority. 
 
 Sec. 17. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 
 
 Sec. 18. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securi- 
 ties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or pre- 
 sumption great ; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
 not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the 
 public safety may require it. 
 
B90j CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Sec. 19. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong 
 presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after deliver- 
 ing up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 20. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing con- 
 tracts, shall be made. 
 
 Sec 21. That no person shall be attainted of treason or felony by 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec 22. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, 
 except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the Com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 Sec 23. That 'the estates of such persons as shall destroy their 
 own lives, shall descend or vest as in case of natural death ; and if 
 any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture 
 by reason thereof 
 
 Sec 24. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to 
 assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those 
 invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, 
 or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
 
 Sec 25. That the rights of the citizens to bear arms in defence 
 of themselves and the State shall not be questioned ; but the General 
 Assembly may pass laws to prevent persons from carrying con- 
 cealed arms. 
 
 Sec 26. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept 
 up, without the consent of the General Assembly ; and the military 
 shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the 
 civil power. 
 
 Sec 27. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any house without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but 
 in a manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec 28. That the General Assembly shall not grant any title of 
 nobility, or hereditary distinction, nor create any office, the appoint- 
 ment to which shall be for a longer time than for a term of years. 
 
 Sec 29. That emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 
 
 Sec 30. To guard against transgressions of the high powers 
 which we have delegated, we declare, that everything in this article 
 is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall for- 
 ever remain inviolate ; and that all laws contrary thereto, or con- 
 trary to this Constitution, shall be void. 
 
KENTUCKY. ^ 390 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amendments made in 
 the Constitution of tlii.s Commonwealth, and in order to carry the same into com- 
 plete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained : 
 
 Sec. 1, That all the laws of this Commonwealth, in force at the time of the 
 adoption of this Constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, actions, 
 prosecutions, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies corporate, 
 shall continue as if this Constitution had not been adopted. 
 
 Sec. 2. The oaths of office herein directed to be taken may be administered by 
 any Judge or Justice of the Peace, until the General Assembly shall otherwise 
 direct. 
 
 Sec. 3. No office shall be superseded by the adoption of this Constitution, but 
 the laws of the State relative to the duties of the several officers. Legislative, 
 Executive, Judicial, and Military, shall remain in full force, though the same be 
 contrary to this Constitution, and the several difties shall be performed by the 
 respective officers of the State, according to the existing laws, until the organiza- 
 tion of the Government, as provided for under this Constitution, and the entering 
 into office of the officers to be elected or appointed under said Government and no 
 longer. 
 
 Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly which shall convene in the 
 year 1850, to make an apportionment of the representation of this State, upon the 
 principle set forth in this Constitution ; and until the first apportionment shall be 
 made as herein directed, the apportionment of Senators and Representatives among 
 the several districts and counties in this State, shall remain as at present fixed by 
 law: Provided, that on the first Monday in August, 1850, aU Senators shall go 
 out of office, and on that day an election for Senators and Representatives shall be 
 held throughout the State, and those then elected shall hold their offices for one 
 year, and no longer: Provided furtker, that at the elections to be held in the year 
 1850, that provision in this Constitution which requires voters to vote in the pre- 
 cinct within which they reside, shall not apply. 
 
 Sec. 5. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the 
 organization of the judicial department under this Constitution, shall remain as 
 valid as though this Constitution had not been adopted, and may^be prosecuted in 
 the name of the Commonwealth. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions 
 which have arisen, or may arise before the re-organization of the judicial depart- 
 ment under this Constitution, may be prosecuted to judgment and execution, in the 
 name of the Commonwealth. 
 
 " "We, the Representatives of the freemen of Kentucky, in Convention assembled, 
 in their name, and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and in vir- 
 tue of the powers vested in us, as Delegates from the counties respectively affixed 
 to our names, do ordain and proclaim the foregoing to be the Constitution of the 
 Commonwealth of Kentucky from and after this day. 
 
 " Done at Frankfort this eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty, and in the fifty ninth year of the Common- 
 wealth." 
 
 JAMES GUTHRIE, 
 President of the Convention, and member from the city of Louisville. 
 
OHIO. 
 
 Ohio is the most populous, wealthy and improved State west of the Alle- 
 ghany mountains. The first white settlement was made in 1788, yet now i. 
 is the third State in the union in population. In 1799 Ohio formed a ter- 
 ritorial government, and in 1802 adopted its Constitution, and was admitted 
 into the Union. A new constitution was adopted in 1851. 
 
 Area, 40,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 1,977,031. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God 
 for our freedom, to secure its .blessings and promote our common 
 welfare, do establish this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE \.— Bill of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have 
 certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and 
 defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting pro- 
 perty, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety. 
 
 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is 
 instituted for their equal protection and benefit, and they have the 
 
392 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 right to alter, reform, or abolish the same, whenever they may deem 
 it necessary ; and no special privileges or immunities shall ever be 
 granted that may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly. 
 
 3. The people have the right to assemble together in a peaceable 
 manner, to consult for their common good, to instruct their repre- 
 sentatives, and to petition the General Assembly for the redress of 
 grievances. 
 
 4. The people have the right to bear arms for their defence and 
 security ; but standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to 
 liberty, and shall not be kept up ; and the military shall be in strict 
 subordination to the civil power. 
 
 5. The right of trial by jury shall be inviolate. 
 
 6. There shall be no slavery in this State, nor involuntary servi 
 tude, unless for the punishment of crime. 
 
 7. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience. 
 No person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place 
 of worship, or maintain any form of worship, against his consent; 
 and no preference shall be given by law to any religious society ; 
 nor shall any interference with th^ rights of conscience be permitted. 
 No religious test shall be required as a qualification for office, nor 
 shall any person be incompetent to be a witness on account of his 
 religious belief; but nothing herein shall be construed to dispense 
 with oaths and affirmations. Religion, morality and knowledge, 
 however* being essential to good government, it shall be the duty 
 of the General Assembly to pass suitable laws to protect every 
 religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of 
 public worship, and to encourage schools and the means of instruction. 
 
 8. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended, unless, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
 require it. 
 
 9. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for 
 capital offences where the proof is evident, or the presumption great. 
 Excessive bail shall not be required ; nor excessive fines imposed ; 
 nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 10. Except in cases of impeachmerit, and cases arising in the army 
 and navy, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or 
 public danger, and in cases of petit larceny and other inferior offences, 
 no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
 famous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury. 
 In any trial, in any court, the party accused shall be allowed to ap- 
 pear and defend in person and with counsel ; to demand the nature 
 and cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof; 
 to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process 
 to procure the attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and a speedy 
 public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district, in which 
 the offence is alleged to have been committed ; nor shall any person 
 
OHIO. 893 
 
 be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, 
 or be twice put in jeopardy for the same oifence. 
 
 11. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sen- 
 timents on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of the 
 right ; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty 
 of speech, or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions for libel, the 
 truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it shall appear to 
 the jury, that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was pub- 
 lished with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be 
 acquitted. 
 
 12. No person shall be transported out of the State, for any 
 offence committed within the same ; and no conviction shall work 
 corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate. 
 
 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor, in time of war, except in the 
 manner prescribed by law. 
 
 14. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
 papers, and possessions, i-gainst unreasonable searches and seizures 
 shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable 
 cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the 
 place to be searched, and the person and things to be seized. 
 
 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on 
 mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud. 
 
 16. All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done 
 him in his land, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by 
 due course of law; and justice administered without denial or delay. 
 
 17. No hereditary emoluments, honors, or privileges, shall ever 
 be granted or conferred by this State. 
 
 18. No power of suspending laws shall ever be exercised, except 
 by the General Assembly. 
 
 19. Private property shall ever be held inviolate, but subservient 
 to the public welfare. When taken in time of war or other public 
 exigency, imperatively requiring its immediate seizure or for the 
 purpose of making- or repairing roads, which shall be open to the 
 public, without charge, a compensation shall be made to the owner, 
 in money ; and in all other cases, where private property shall be 
 taken for public use, a compensation therefor shall be first made in 
 money, or first secured by a deposit of money ; and such compensa- 
 tion shall be assessed by a jury, without deduction for benefits to any 
 property of the owner. 
 
 20. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair 
 or deny others retained by the people ; and all powers, not herein 
 delegated, remain with the people. 
 
 ARTICLE \l.— Legislative. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a 
 General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate, and House of 
 Representatives. 
 
394 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. Senators and Representatives shall be elected biennally, by the 
 electors in the respective counties or districts, on the second Tuesday 
 of October ; their term of office shall commence on the first day of 
 January next thereafter, and continue two years. 
 
 3. Senators and Representatives shall have resided in their re- 
 spective counties, or districts, one year next preceding their election, 
 unless they shall have been absent on the public business of the 
 United States, or of this State. 
 
 4. No person holding office under the authority of the United 
 States, or any lucrative office under the authority of this State, shall 
 be eligible to, or have a seat in, the General Assembly ; but this 
 provision shall not extend to township officers, justices of the peace, 
 notaries public, or officers of the militia. 
 
 5. No person hereafter convicted of an embezzlement of the pub- 
 lic funds, shall hold any office in this State ; nor shall any person, 
 holding public money for disbursement, or otherwise, have a seat in 
 the General Assembly, until he shall have accounted for, and paid 
 such money into the treasury. 
 
 6. Each house shall be judge of the election, returns, and qualifi- 
 cations, of its own members ; a majority of all the members elected 
 to each house, shall be a quorum to do business; but, a less number 
 may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent 
 members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 7. The mode of organizing the House of Representatives, at the 
 commencement of each regular session, shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 8. Each house, except as otherwise provided in this constitution, 
 shall choose its own officers, may determine its own rules of proceed- 
 ing, punish its members for disorderly conduct ; and, with the con- 
 currence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not the second time for 
 the same cause ; and, shall have all other powers, necessary to pro- 
 vide for its safety, and the undisturbed transaction of its business. 
 
 9. Each house shall keep a correct journal of its proceedings, 
 which shall be published. At the desire of any two members, the 
 yeas and nays shall be entered upon the journal ; and, on the passage 
 of every bill, in either house, the vote shall be taken by yeas and 
 nays, and entered upon the journal ; and no law shall be passed, in 
 either house, without the concurrence of a majority of all the mem- 
 bers elected thereto. 
 
 10. Any member of either house shall have the right to protest 
 against any act, or resolution thereof'; and such protest, and the 
 reasons therefor, shall, without alteration, commitment, or delay, be 
 entered upon the journal. 
 
 11. All vacancies which may happen in either house shall, for the 
 unexpired term, be filled by election, as shall be directed by law. 
 
 12. Senators and Representatives, during the session of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, and in going to, and returning from the same, shall 
 be privileged from arrest, in all cases, except treason, felony, or 
 
OHIO. 395 
 
 breach of the peace ; and for any speech, or debate, in either house, 
 they shall not be questioned elsewhere. 
 
 13. The proceedings of both houses shall be public, except in cases 
 which, in the opinion of two-thirds of those present, require secrecy. 
 
 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than two days, Sundays excluded ; nor to any other place 
 than that, in which the two houses shall be in session. 
 
 15. Bills may originate in either house ; but may be altered, 
 amended, or rejected in the other. 
 
 16. Every bill shall be fully and distinctly read, on three differ- 
 ent days, unless, in case of urgency, three-fourths of the house, in 
 which it shall be pending, shall dispense with this rule. No l3ill 
 shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed 
 in its title ; and no law shall be revived, or amended, unless the new 
 act contain the entire act revived, or the section or sections amend- 
 ed ; and the section, or sections, so amended, shall be repealed. 
 
 17. The presiding officer of each house shall sign, publicly in the 
 presence of the house over which he presides, while the same is in 
 session, and capable of transacting business, all bills and joint reso- 
 lutions passed by the General Assembly. 
 
 18. The style of the laws of this State shall be, " jBe it enacted by 
 the General Assembly of the State of Ohio.'''' 
 
 19. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected, or for one year thereafter, be appointed 
 to any civil office under this State, which shall be created or the 
 emoluments of which, shall have been increased during the term 
 for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 20. The General Assembly, in cases not provided for in this con- 
 stitution, shall fix the term of office and the compensation of all offi- 
 cers ; but no change therein shall affect the salary of any officer dur- 
 ing his existing term, unless the office be abolished. 
 
 21. The General Assembly shall determine, by law, before what 
 authority, and in what manner, the trial of contested elections shall 
 be conducted. 
 
 22. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, except in pursu- 
 ance of a specific appropriation, made by law ; and no appropriation 
 shall be made for a longer period than two years. 
 
 23. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
 impeachment, but a majority of the members elected must concur 
 therein. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and the Sen- 
 ators, when sitting for that purpose, shall be upon oath or affir- 
 mation to do justice according to law and evidence. No person 
 shall be convicted, without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
 Senators. 
 
 24. The Governor, Judges, and all State officers, may be im- 
 peached for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment shall not ex- 
 tend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold 
 any office, under the authority of this State. The party impeached, 
 
 29 
 
396 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 whether convicted or not, shall be liable to indictment, trial, and 
 judgment, according to law. 
 
 25. All regular sessions of the General Assembly shall commence 
 on the first Monday of January, biennially. The first session, under 
 this constitution, shall commence on the first Monday of January, 
 one thousand eight hundred and fifty two. 
 
 26. All laws, of a general nature, shall have a uniform operation 
 throughout the State ; nor, shall any act* except such as relates to 
 public schools, be passed, to take effect upon the approval of any 
 other authority than the General Assembly, except, as otherwise 
 provided in this constitution. 
 
 27. The election and appointment of all officers, and the filling of 
 all vacancies, not otherwise provided for by this constitution, or the 
 constitution of the United States, shall be made in such manner as 
 may be directed by law ; but no appointing power shall be exercised 
 by tlie General Assembly, except as prescribed in this constitution, 
 and in the^ election of United States Senators ; and in these cases, the 
 vote shall be taken " viva voce.'''' 
 
 28. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass but may, 
 by general laws, authorize courts to carry into effect, upon such 
 terms as shall be just and equitable, the manifest intention of par- 
 ties, and officers, by curing omissions, defects, and errors, in instru- 
 ments and proceedings, arising out of their want of conformity with 
 the laws of this State. 
 
 29. No extra compensation shall be made to any officer, public 
 agent, or contractor, after the service shall have been rendered, or 
 the contract entered into ; nor, shall any money be paid, on any 
 claim, the subject matter of which shall not have been provided for 
 by pre-existing law, unless such compensation, or claim, be allowed 
 by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 30. No new county shall contain less than four hundred square 
 miles of territory, nor, shall any county be reduced below that 
 amount ; and all laws creating new counties, changing county lines, 
 or removing county seats, shall, before taking effect, be submitted to 
 the electors of the several counties to be affected thereby, at the 
 next general election after the passage thereof, and be adopted by a 
 majority of all the electors voting at such election, in each of said 
 counties ; but any county now or hereafter containing one hundred 
 thousand inhabitants, may be divided, whenever a majority of the 
 votei-s, residing in each of the proposed divisions, shall approve of 
 the law passed for that purpose ; but, no town or city within the 
 same, shall be divided, nor, shall either of the divisions contain less 
 than twenty thousand inhabitants. 
 
 31. The members and officers of the General Assembly shall re- 
 ceive a fixed compensation, to be prescribed by law, and no other 
 allowance or perquisites, either in the payment of postage or other- 
 
OHIO. 397 
 
 wise ; and no change in their compensation shall take effect during 
 their term of office. 
 
 32. The General Assembly shall grant no divorce, nor, exercise 
 any judicial power, not herein expressly conferred. 
 
 ARTICLE m.—jEJxecutive. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Executive Department shall consist of a governor, 
 lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and an at- 
 torney general, who shall be chosen by the electors of the State, on 
 the second Tuesday of October, and at the places of voting for mem- 
 bers of the General Assembly. ^ 
 
 2. The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, 
 and attorney general shall hold their offices for two years ; and the 
 auditor for four years. Their terms of office shall commence on the 
 second Moi;day of January next afteir their election, and continue 
 until their successors are elected and qualified. 
 
 3. The returns of every election for the officers, named in the fore- 
 going section, shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of go- 
 vernment, by the returning officers, directed to the President of the 
 Senate, who, during the first week of the session, shall open and 
 publish them, and declare the result, in the presence of a majority 
 of the members of each house of the General Assembly. The person 
 having the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected ; 
 but if any two or more shall be highest, and equal in votes, for the 
 same office, one of them shall be chosen by the joint vote of both 
 houses. 
 
 4. Should there be no session of the General Assembly in January 
 next after an election for any of the officers aforesaid, the returns of 
 such election shall be made to the secretary of state, and opened, 
 and the result declared by the Governor, in such manner as may be 
 provided by law. 
 
 5. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in 
 the Governor. 
 
 6. He may require •information, in writing, from the officers in the 
 executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices ; and shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
 
 7. He shall communicate at every session, by message, to the 
 General Assembly, the condition of the State, and recommend such 
 measures as he shall deem expedient. 
 
 8. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- 
 sembly by proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assem- 
 bled, the purpose for which they have been convened. 
 
 9. In case of disagreement between the two houses, in respect to 
 the time of adjournment, he shall have power to adjourn the Gene- 
 ral Assembly to such time as he may think proper, but not beyond 
 the regular meetings thereof 
 
 10. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval 
 
398 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 forces of the State, except when they shall be called into the service 
 of the United States. 
 
 11. He shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, com- 
 mutations, and pardons, for all crimes and offences, except treason 
 and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions as he may think 
 proper ; subject, however, to such regulations, as to the manner of 
 applying for pardons, as may be prescribed by law. Upon conviction 
 for treason, he may suspend the execution of the sentence, and re- 
 port the case to the General Assembly, at its next meeting, when 
 the General Assembly shall either pardon, commute the sentence, 
 direct its execution, or grant a further reprieve. He shall communi- 
 cate to the General Assembly, at every regular session, each case of 
 reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, stating the name and 
 crime of the convict, the sentence, its date, and the date of the com- 
 mutation, pardon, or reprieve, with his reasons therefor. 
 
 12. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be^kept by the 
 Governor, and used by him officially ; and shall be called " The 
 Great Seal of the State of Ohio." 
 
 13. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name, and 
 by the authority, of the State of Ohio ; sealed with the Great Seal ; 
 signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State. 
 
 14. No member of Congress, or other pferson holding office under 
 the authority of this State, or of the United States, shall execute the 
 office of Governor, except as herein provided. 
 
 15. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, removal, or 
 other disability of the Governor, the powers and duties of the office, 
 for the residue of the term, or until he shall be acquitted, or the dis- 
 ability removed, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 16. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the Senate, but 
 shall vote only when the Senate is equally divided ; and in case of 
 his absence, or impeachment, or when he shall exercise the office of 
 Governor, the Senate shall choose a President pro tempore. 
 
 17. If the Lieutenant Governor, while executing the office of Go- 
 vernor, shall be impeached, displaced, resign or die, or otherwise be- 
 come incapable of performing the duties of the office, the President 
 of the Senate shall act as Governor, until the vacancy is filled, or 
 the disability removed ; and if the President of the Senate, for any 
 of the above causes, shall be rendered incapable of performing the 
 duties pertaining to the office of Governor, the same shall devolve 
 upon the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 18. Should the office of auditor, treasurer, secretary, or attorney 
 general, become vacant, for any of the causes specified in the fifteenth 
 section of this article, the Governor shall fill the vacancy until the 
 disability is removed, or a successor elected and qualified. Every 
 such vacancy shall be filled by election, at the first general election 
 that occurs more than thirty days after it shall have happened ; and 
 the person chosen shall hold the office for the full term fixed in the 
 second section of this article. 
 
OHIO. 399 
 
 19. The officers mentioned in this article, shall, at stated times, 
 receive, for tlieir services, a compensation to be established by law, 
 which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
 for which they shall have been elected. 
 
 20. The officers of the executive department, and of the public 
 State Institutions, shall, at least five days preceding each regular 
 session of the General Assembly, severally report to the Governor, 
 who shall transmit such reports, with his message, to the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 ARTICLE lY.— Judicial 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a 
 supreme court, in district courts, courts of common pleas, courts of 
 probate, justices of the peace, and in such other courts, inferior to 
 the supreme court, in one or more counties, as the General Assembly, 
 may from time to time establish. 
 
 2. The supreme court shall consist of five judges, a majority of 
 whom shall be necessary to form a quorum, or to pronounce a deci- 
 sion. It shall have original jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, 
 habeas corpus, and procedendo, and such appellate jurisdiction as 
 may be provided by law. It shall hold at least one term in each 
 year, at the seat of government, and such other terms, at the seat of 
 government, or elsewhere, as may be provided by law. The Judges 
 of the supreme court shall be elected, by the electors of the State at 
 large. 
 
 3. The State shall be divided into nine common pleas districts, of 
 which the county of Hamilton shall constitute one, of compact terri- 
 tory, and bounded by county lines ; and each of said districts, con- 
 sisting of three or more counties, shall be sub-divided into three 
 parts, of compact territory, bounded by county lines, and as nearly 
 equal in population as practicable ; in each of which, one Judge of 
 the court of common pleas for said district, and residing therein, 
 shall be elected by the electors of said sub-division. Courts of com- 
 mon pleas shall be held, by one or more of these Judges, in every 
 county in the district, as often as may be provided by law ; and 
 more than one court, or sitting thereof, may be held at the same 
 time in each district. 
 
 4. The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the 
 Judges thereof, shall be fixed by law. 
 
 5. District courts shall be composed of the Judges of the court of 
 common pleas of the respective districts, and one of the Judges of 
 the supreme court, any three of whom shall be a quorum, and shall 
 be held in each county therein, at least once in each year ; but, if it 
 shall be found inexpedient to hold such court annually, in each county, 
 of any district, the General Assembly may, for such district, provide 
 that said court shall hold at least three annual sessions therein, in 
 not less than three places : Provided, that the General Assembly 
 
400 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 may, by law, authorize the Judges of each district to fix the times of 
 holding the courts therein. 
 
 6. The district court shall have like original jurisdiction with the 
 supreme court, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided 
 by law. 
 
 7. There shall be established in each county, a Probate court, 
 which shall be a court of record, open at all times, and holden by one 
 Judge, elected by the voters of the county, who shall hold his office 
 for the term of three years, and shall receive such compensation, 
 payable out of the county treasury, or by fees, or both, as shall be 
 provided by law. 
 
 8. The Probate court shall have jurisdiction in probate and testa- 
 mentary matters, the appointment of administrators and guardians, 
 the settlement of the accounts of executors, admistrators and guard- 
 ians, and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage 
 licences, and for the sale of land by executors, administrators and 
 guardians, and such other jurisdiction, in any county, or counties, as 
 may be provided by law. 
 
 9. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be elected, 
 by the electors, in each township in the several counties. Their 
 term of office shall be three years, and their powers and duties shall 
 be regulated by law. 
 
 10. All Judge§, other than those provided for in this constitution, 
 shall be elected by the electors of the judicial district for which they 
 may be created, but not for a longer term of office than five years. 
 
 11. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall, immediately after the 
 first election under this constitution, be classified by lot, so that one 
 shall hold for the term of one year, one for two years, one for three 
 years, one for four years, and one for five years ; and, at all subse- 
 quent elections, the term of each of said Judges shall be for five years. 
 
 12. The Judges of the courts of common pleas shall, while in 
 office, reside in the district for which they are elected : and their 
 term of office shall be for five years. 
 
 13. In case the office of any Judge shall become vacant, before 
 the expiration of the regular term for which he was elected, the 
 vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, until a 
 successor, is elected and qualified; and such successor shall be 
 elected for the unexpired term, at the first annual election that 
 occurs more than thirty days after the vacancy shall have happened. 
 
 14. The Judges of the supreme court, and of the court of common 
 pleas, shall, at stated times, receive, for their services, such compen- 
 sation as may be provided by law, which shall not Be diminished, or 
 increased, during their term of office ; but they shall receive no fees 
 or perquisites, nor hold any other office of profit or trust, under the 
 authority of this State, or the United States. All votes for either 
 of them, for any elective office, except a judicial office, unde^ the 
 authority of this State, given by 'the General Assembly, or the 
 people, shall be void. 
 
OHIO. 401 
 
 15. The General Assembly may increase or diminish the number 
 of the Judges of the supreme court, the number of the districts of 
 the court of common pleas, the number of Judges in any district, 
 change the districts, or the subdivisions thereof, or establish other 
 courts, whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each house 
 shall concur therein ; but, no such change, addition, or diminution, 
 shall vacate the office of any Judge. 
 
 16. There shall be elected in each county, by the electors thereof, 
 one clerk of the court of common pleas, who shall hold his office for 
 the term of three years, and until his successor shall be elected and 
 qualified. He shall, by virtue of his office, be clerk of all other 
 courts of record held therein ; but, the General Assembly may pro- 
 vide, by law, for the election of a clerk, with a like term of office, for 
 each or any other of the courts of record, and may authorize the 
 Judge of the Probate court to perform the duties of clerk for his 
 court, under such regulations as may be directed by law. Clerks of 
 Courts shall be removable for such cause, and in such manner, as 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 17. Judges may be removed from office, by concurrent resolution 
 of both houses of the General Assembly, if two-thirds of the mem- 
 bers, elected to each house, concur therein; but, no such removal 
 shall be made, except upon complaint, the substance of which shall 
 be entered on the journal, nor, until the party charged shall have 
 had notice thereof, and an opportunity to be heard. 
 
 18. The several Judges of the supreme court, of the common 
 pleas, and of such other courts as may be created, shall, respectively, 
 have and exercise such power and jurisdiction, at chambers, or other- 
 wise, as may be directed by law. 
 
 19. The General Assembly may establish courts of Conciliation, 
 and prescribe their powers and duties; but such courts shall not 
 render final judgment, in any case, except upon submission, by the 
 parties, of the matter in dispute, and their agreement to abide such 
 judgment. 
 
 20. The style of all process shall be, " The State of Ohio ;" all 
 prosecutions shall be carried on, in the name, and by the authority, 
 of the State of Ohio; and all indictments shall conclude, "against 
 the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio." 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Elective Franchise. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age 
 of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State one 
 year next preceding the election, and of the county, township, or 
 ward, in which he resides, such time as may be provided by law, 
 shall have the qualifications of an elector, and be entitled to vote at 
 all elections. 
 
 2. All elections shall be by ballot. 
 
 3. Electors, during their attendance at elections, and in going to. 
 
402 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 and returning therefrom, shall be privileged fi-om arrest, in all cases, 
 except treason, felony, and breach of the peace. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall have power to exclude from the 
 privilege of voting, or of being eligible to office, any person con- 
 victed of bribery, perjury, or otherwise infamous crime. 
 
 5. No person in the Military, Naval, or Marine service of the 
 United States, shall, by being stationed in any garrison, or military, 
 or naval station, within the State, be considered a resident of this 
 State. 
 
 6. No idiot, or insane person, shall be entitled to the privileges of 
 an elector. 
 
 ARTICLE Ml— Education. 
 
 Sec. 1 . The principal of all funds, arising from the sale, or other 
 disposition of lands, or other property, granted or entrusted to this 
 State for educational and religious purposes, shall forever be pre- 
 served inviolate, and undiminished ; and, the income arising there- 
 from, shall be faithfully applied to the specific objects of the original 
 grants, or appropriations. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, 
 or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, 
 will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools 
 throughout the State ; but, no religious or other sect, or sects, shall 
 ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school 
 funds of this State. 
 
 ARTICLE Y\\.— Public Institutions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Institutions for the benefit of the insane, blind, and deaf and 
 dumb, shall always be fostered and supported by the State ; and be 
 subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the General As- 
 sembly. 
 
 2. The directors of the Penitentiary shall be appointed or elected 
 in such manner as the General Assembly may direct ; and the trus- 
 tees of the benevolent, and other State institutions, now elected by 
 the General Assembly, and of such other State institutions as may 
 be hereafter created, shall be appointed by the Governor, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and, upon all nomina- 
 tions made by the Governor, the question shall be taken by yeas and 
 nays, and entered upon the journals of the Senate. 
 
 3. The Governor shall have power to fill all vacancies that may 
 occur in the offices aforesaid, until the next session of the General 
 Assembly, and, until a successor to his appointee shall be confirmed 
 and qualified. 
 
 ARTICLE WW.— Public Debt and Public Works, 
 
 Sbc/1. The State may contract debts, to supply casual deficits or 
 failures in revenues, or to meet expenses not otherwise provided for ; 
 but the aggregate amount of such debts, direct and contingent, 
 
OHIO. 403 
 
 whether contracted by virtue of one or more acts of the General As- 
 sembly, or at different periods of time, shall never exceed seven 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; and the money, arising from the 
 creation of such debts, shall be applied to the purpose for which it 
 was obtained, or to repay the debts so contracted, and to no other 
 purpose whatever. 
 
 2. In addition to the above limited power, the State may contract 
 debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, defend the State in 
 war, or to redeem the present outstanding indelDtedness of the State : 
 but the money, arising from the contracting of such debts, shall be 
 applied to the purpose for which it was raised, or to repay such 
 debts, and to no oth^er purpose whatever ; and all debts, incurred to 
 redeem the present outstanding indebtedness of the State, shall be 
 so contracted as to be payable by the sinking fund, hereinafter pro- 
 vided for, as the same shall accumulate. 
 
 3. Except the debts above specified in sections one and two of 
 this article, no debt whatever shall hereafter be created by, or on 
 behalf of the State. 
 
 4. The credit of the State shall not, in any manner, be given or 
 loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation 
 whatever ; nor shall the State ever hereafter become a joint owner, 
 or stockholder, in any company or association, in this State, or else- 
 where, formed for any purpose whatever. 
 
 5. The State shall never assume the debts of any county, city, 
 town, or township, or of any corporation whatever, unless such debt 
 shall have been created to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or 
 defend the State in war. 
 
 6. The General Assembly shall never authorize any county, city, 
 town, or township, by vote of its citizens, or otherwise, to become a 
 stockholder in any joint stock company, corporation, or association 
 whatever ; or to raise money for, or loan its credit to, or in aid of, 
 any such company, corporation, or association. 
 
 7. The faith of the State being pledged for the payment of its 
 public debt, in order to provide therefor, there shall be created a 
 sinking fund, which shall be sufficient to pay the accruirig interest on 
 such debt, and, annually, to reduce the principal thereof, by a sum 
 not less than one hundred thousand dollars, increased yearly, and 
 each and every year, by compounding, at the rate of six per cent, 
 per annum. The said sinking fund shall consist of the net annual 
 income of the public works and stocks owned by the State, of any 
 other funds or resources that are, or may be, provided by law, and 
 of such further sum, to be raised by taxation, as may be required 
 for the purposes aforesaid. 
 
 8. The Auditor of State, Secretary of State, and Attorney Gene- 
 ral, are hereby created a board of commissioners, to be styled, 
 " The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund." 
 
 9. The commissioners of the sinking fund shall, immediately pre- 
 ceding each regular session of the General Assembly, make an esti- 
 
403 a CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 mate of the probable amount of the fund, provided for in the seventh 
 section of this article, from all sources except from taxation, and re- 
 port the same, together with all their proceedings relative to said 
 fund and the public debt, to the Governor, who shall transmit the 
 same with his regular message, to the General Assembly ; and the 
 General Assembly shall make all necessary provision for raising and 
 disbursing said sinking fund, in pursuance of the provisions of this 
 article. 
 
 10. It shall be duty of the said Commissioners faithfully to apply 
 said fund, together with all moneys that may be, by the General 
 Assembly, appropriated to that object, to the payment of the inter- 
 est, as it iDecomes due, and the redemption of the principal of the 
 public debt of the State, excepting only, the school and trust funds 
 held by the State. 
 
 11. The said Commissioners shall, semi-annually, make a full and 
 detailed report of their proceedings to the Governor, who shall im- 
 mediately cause the same to be published, and shall also communi- 
 cate the same to the General Assembly, forthwith, if it be in session, 
 and if not, then at its first session after such report shall be made. 
 
 12. So long as this State shall have public works, which require 
 superintendence, there shall be a Board of Public Works, to consist 
 of three members, who shall be elected by the people, at the first 
 general election after the adoption of this Constitution, one for the 
 term of one year, one for the term of two years, and one for the 
 term of three years ; and one member of said Board shall be elected 
 annually thereafter, who shall hold his office for three years. 
 
 13. The powers and duties of said Board of Public Works, and 
 its several members, and their compensation, shall be such as now 
 are, or may be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. All white male citizens, residents of this State, being 
 eighteen years of age, and under the age of forty five years, shall be 
 enrolled in the militia, and perform military duty, in such manner, 
 not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States, 
 as may be prescribed by law. ^ 
 
 2. Majors General, Brigadiers General, Colonels, Lieutenant Col- 
 onels, Majors, Captains, aud Subalterns, shall be elected by the per- 
 sons subject to military duty, in their respective districts. 
 
 3. The Governor shall appoint the Adjutant General, Quarter 
 Master General, and such other staflf officers, as may be provided for 
 by law. Majors General, Brigadiers General, Colonels or Command- 
 ants of Regiments, Battalions, or Squadrons, shall, severally, appoint 
 their staff, and Captains shall appoint their non-commissioned officers 
 and musicians. 
 
 4. The Governor shall commission all officers of the line and 
 stafl[^' ranking as such ; and shall have power to call forth the Militia, 
 
OHIO. h 403 
 
 to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrection and repel 
 invasion. 
 
 5. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for the protection 
 and safe keeping of the public arms. 
 
 * ARTICLE X. — County and Township Organizations. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for the 
 election of such county and township officers as may be necessary. 
 
 2. County officers shall be elected on the second Tuesday of Octo- 
 ber, until otherwise directed by law, by the qualified electors of each 
 county, in such manner, and for such term, not exceeding three years, 
 as may be provided by law. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Sheriff, or County 
 Treasurer, for more than four years, in any period of six years. 
 
 4. Township officers shall be elected on the first Monday of April, 
 annually, by the qualified electors of their respective townships, and 
 shall hold their offices for one year, from the Monday next succeed- 
 ing their election, and until their successors are qualified. 
 
 5. No money shall be drawn from any county or township trea- 
 sury, except by authority of law. 
 
 6. Justices of the peace, and county and township officers, may be 
 removed, in such manner and for such cause, as shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 7. The Commissioners of Counties, the trustees of Townships, and 
 similar boards, shall have such power of local taxation, for police 
 purposes, as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. — Apportionment. 
 
 Sec. 1. The apportionment of this State for members of the 
 General Assembly, shall be made every ten years, after the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and fifty one, in the following manner : 
 The whole population of the State, as ascertained by the federal 
 census, or in such other mode as the General Assembly may direct, 
 shall be divided by the number " One hundred," and the quotient 
 shall be the ratio of representation in the House of Representatives, 
 for ten years next succeeding such apportionment. 
 
 2. Every county, having a population equal to one half of said 
 ratio, shall be entitled to one representative ; every county, contain- 
 ing said ratio, and three-fourths over, shall be entitled to two Repre- 
 sentatives ; every county, containing three times said ratio, shall be 
 entitled to three Representatives : and so on, requii'ing after the first 
 two, an entire ratio for each additional Representative. 
 
 3. When any county shall have a fraction above the ratio, so 
 large, that being multiplied by five, the result will be equal to one 
 or more ratios, additional Representatives shall be apportioned for 
 such ratios, among the several sessions of the decennial period, in 
 the following manner : If there be only one ratio, a Representative 
 shall be allotted to the fifth session of the decennial period ; if there 
 
403 c CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 are two ratios, a Representative shall be allotted to the fourth and 
 third sessions, respectively ; if three, to the third, second, and first 
 sessions, respectively ; if four, to the fourth, third, second, and first 
 sessions, respectively. 
 
 4. Any county, forming with another county or counties, a Bepre- 
 sentative district, during one decennial period, if it have acquired 
 sufficient population at the next decennial period, shall be entitled to 
 a separate representation, if there shall be left, in the district from 
 which it shall have been separated, a population sufficient for a Re- 
 presentative ; but no such change shall be made, except at the regu- 
 lar decennial period for the apportionment of Representatives. 
 
 5. If, in fixing any subsequent ratio, a county, previously entitled 
 to a separate representation, shall have less than the number re- 
 quired by the new ratio for a Representative, such county shall be 
 attached to the county adjoining it, having the least number of in- 
 habitants ; and the representation of the district, so formed, shall 
 be determined as herein provided. 
 
 6. The ratio for a Senator shall, forever hereafter, be ascertained, 
 by dividing the whole population of the State, by the number thirty- 
 five. 
 
 7. The State is hereby divided into thirty-three Senatorial dis- 
 tricts, as follows : the county of Hamilton shall constitute the first 
 Senatorial district ; the counties of Butler and Warren, the second ; 
 Montgomery and Preble, the third ; Clermont and Brown, the 
 fourth ; Greene, Clinton and Fayette, the fifth ; Ross and Highland, 
 the sixth; Adams, Pike, Scioto and Jackson, the seventh; Law- 
 rence, Gallia, Meigs and Vinton, the eighth : Athens, Hocking and 
 Pairfield, the ninth; Franklin and Pickaway, the tenth; Clark, 
 Champaign and Madison, the eleventh ; Miama, Darke and Shelby, 
 the twelfth ; Logan, Union, Marion and Hardin, the thirteenth ; 
 Washington and Morgan, the fourteenth ; Muskingum and Perry, 
 the fifteenth ; Delaware and Licking, the sixteenth ; Knox and Mor- 
 row, the seventeenth ; Coshocton and Tuscarawas, the eighteenth ; 
 Guernsey and Monroe, the ninetenth ; Belmont and Harrison, the 
 twentieth ; Carroll and Stark, the twenty-first ; Jefferson and Colum- 
 biana, the twenty-second ; Trumbull and Mahoning, the twenty- 
 third ; Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga, the twenty-fourth ; Cuyahoga, 
 the twenty -fifth ; Portage and Summit, the twenty-sixth ; Medina 
 and Lorain, the twenty -seventh ; Wayne and Holmes, the twenty- 
 eighth ; Ashland and Richland, the twenty -ninth ; Huron, Erie, 
 Sandusky and Ottawa, the thirtieth ; Seneca, Crawford and Wyan- 
 dot, the thirty-first ; Mercer, Auglaize, Allen, Vanwert, Paulding, 
 Defiance and Williams, the thirty-second; and Hancock, Wood, 
 Lucas, Fulton, Henry and Putnam, the thirty-third. For the first 
 decennial period, after the adoption of this constitution, each of said 
 districts shall be entitled to one Senator, except the first district, 
 which shall be entitled to three Senators.- 
 
 8. The same rules shall be applied, in apportioning the fractions 
 
OHIO. c?408 
 
 of Senatorial districts, and in annexing districts, which may hereafter 
 have less than three-fourths of a Senatorial ratio, as are applied to 
 Representative districts. 
 
 9. Any county forming part of a Senatorial district, having ac- 
 quired a population equal to a full senatorial ratio, shall be made a 
 separate Senatorial district, at any regular decennial apportionment, 
 if a full Senatorial ratio shall be left in the district from which it 
 shall be taken. 
 
 10. For the first ten years, after the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-one, the apportionment of Representatives shall 
 be as provided in the schedule, and no change shall ever be made 
 in the principles of representation, as herein established, or in the 
 Senatorial districts, except as above provided. All territory, be- 
 longing to a county at the time of any apportionment, shall, as to 
 the right of representation and suflVage, i*emain an integral part 
 thereof, during the decennial period. 
 
 11. The Governor, Auditoi", and Secretary of State, or any two 
 of them, shall, at least six months prior to the October election, in 
 the year one thousand eight hmidred and sixty- one, and, at each 
 decennial period thereafter, ascertain and. determine the latio of re- 
 presentation, according to the decennial census*, the number of Re- 
 presentatives and Senators each county or district shall be entitled 
 to elect, and for what years, within the next ensuing ten years, and 
 the Governor shall cause the same to be published; in such manner 
 as shall be directed by law. 
 
 JUDICIAL APPORTIONMENT. 
 
 Sec. 12. For Judicial purposes, the State shall be apportioned as 
 follows : 
 
 The county of Hamilton, shall constitute the first district, which 
 shall not be subdivided ; and the Judges therein, may hold separate 
 courts, or separate sittings of the same court, at the same time. 
 
 The counties of Butler, Preble and Darke, shall constitute the first 
 subdivision, Montgomery, Miami and Champaign, the second, and 
 Warren, Clinton, Greene, and Clark, the third subdivision, of the 
 second district ; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Hardin, Logan, Union 
 and Marion shall constitute the first subdivision, Mercer, Van Wert, 
 Putnam, Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Henry and Fulton, the 
 second, and Wood, Seneca, Hancock, Wyandot and Crawford, the 
 third subdivision, of the third district ; and, together, shall form such 
 district. 
 
 The counties of Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie and Huron, shall 
 constitute the first subdivision, Lorain, Medina and Summit, the 
 second, and the county of Cuyahoga, the third subdivision, of the 
 fourth district ; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Clermont, Brown and Adams, shall constitute the 
 first subdivision, Highland, Ross and Fayette, the second ; and Pick- 
 
403 e CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 away, Franklin and Madison, the third subdivision, of the fifth dis- 
 trict ; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Licking, Knox and Delaware, shall constitute the 
 first subdivision. Morrow, Richland and Ashland, the second, and 
 Wayne, Holmes and Coshocton, the third subdivision, of the sixth 
 district ; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Fairfield, Perry and Hocking, shall constitute the 
 first subdivision, Jackson, Vinton, Pike, Scioto and Lawrence, the 
 second, and Gallia, Meigs, Athens and Washington, the third subdi- 
 vision, of the seventh district; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Muskingum and Morgan, shall constitute the first 
 subdivision, Guernsey, Belmont and Monroe, the second, and Jeffer- 
 son, Harrison and Tuscarawas, the third - subdivision, of the eighth 
 district; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 The counties of Stark, Carroll and Columbiana, shall constitute 
 the first subdivision, Trumbull, Portage and Mahoning, the second, 
 and Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula, the third subdivision, of iAie ninth 
 district ; and, together, shall form such district. 
 
 13. The General Assembly shall attach any new counties, that 
 may hereafter be erected^ to such districts, or subdivisions thereof, 
 as shall be most convenient. 
 
 ARTICLE XIL — Finance and Taxation. 
 
 Sec. 1. The levying of taxes, by the poll, is grievous and oppres- 
 sive; therefore, the General Assembly shall never levy a poll tax, 
 for county or State purposes. 
 
 2. Laws shall be passed, taxing, by a uniform rule, all moneys, 
 credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or other- 
 wise ; and also all real and personal property, according to its true 
 value in money ; but burying grounds, public school houses, houses 
 used exclusively for public worship, institutions of purely public 
 charity, public property used exclusively for any public purpose ; 
 and personal property, to an amount not exceeding in value two 
 hundred dollars, for each individual, may, by general laws, be ex- 
 empted from taxation : but, all such laws shall be subject to altera- 
 tion or repeal ; and the value of all property, so exempted, shall, 
 from time to time, be ascertained and published, as may be directed 
 by law. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for taxing the 
 notes and bills discounted or purchased, moneys loaned, and all other 
 property, effects, or dues of every description, (without deduction,) 
 of all Banks, now existing, or hereafter created, and of all bankers, 
 so that all property employed in banking, shall always bear a burden 
 of taxation, equal to that imposed on the property of individuals. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall provide for raising revenue, suffi- 
 cient to defray the expenses of the State, for each year, and alsO a 
 sufficient sum to pay the interest on the State debt. 
 
 5. No tax shall be levied, except in pursuance of law ; and every 
 
OHIO. /403 
 
 law imposing a tax, shall state, distinctly, the object of the same, to 
 which only, it shall be applied. 
 
 6. The State shall never contract any debt for purposes of inter- 
 nal improvement. 
 
 ARTICLE Xlll— Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall pass no special act confer- 
 ring corporate powers. 
 
 2. Corporations may be formed under general laws ; but all such 
 laws may, from time to time, be altered, or repealed. 
 
 3. Dues from corporations shall be secured, by such individual 
 liability of the stockholders, and other means, as may be prescribed 
 by law ; but, in all cases, each stockholder shall be liable, over and 
 above the stock by him or her owned, and any amount unpaid 
 thereon, to a further sum, at least equal in amount to such stock. 
 
 4. The property of corporations, now existing or hereafter created, 
 shall forever be subject to taxation, the same as the property of in- 
 dividuals. ^ 
 
 5. No right of way shall be appropriated to the use of any corpo- 
 ration, until full compensation therefor be first made in money, or 
 first secured by a deposit of money, to the owner, irrespective of any 
 benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation : which 
 compensation shall be ascertained by a jury of twelve men, in a 
 court of record, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 6. The General Assembly shall provide for the organization of 
 cities, incorporated villages, by general laws; and restrict their 
 power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts 
 and loaning their credit, so as to prevent the abuse of such power. 
 
 7. No act of the Gereral Assembly, authorizing associations with 
 banking powers, shall take effect ; until it shall be submitted to the 
 people, at the general election next succeeding the passage thereof, 
 and be approved by a majority of all the electors, voting at such 
 election. 
 
 ARTICLE XIY.~ Jurisprudence. - 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adop- 
 tion of this Constitution, shall provide for the appointment of three 
 Commissioners, and prescribe their tenure of office, compensation, 
 and the mode of filling vacancies in said commission. 
 
 2. The said commissioners shall revise, reform, simplify and 
 abridge, the practice, pleadings, forms, and proceedings of the Courts 
 of record of this State ; and, as far as practicable and expedient, 
 shall provide for the abolition of the distinct forms of action at law, 
 now in use, and for the administration of justice by a uniform mode 
 of proceeding, without reference to any distinction between law and 
 equity. 
 
 3. The proceedings of the Commissioners shall, from time to time, 
 
403^ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 be reported to the General Assembly, and be subject to the action 
 of that body. 
 
 ARTICLE XY.— Miscellaneous. 
 
 Sec. 1. Columbus shall be the seat of government, until otherwise 
 directed by law. 
 
 2. The printing of the laws, journals, bills, legislative documents 
 and papers for each branch of the General Assembly, with the print- 
 ing required for the Excutive and other departments of State, shall 
 be let, on contract, to the lowest responsible bidder, by such Execu- 
 tive officers, and in such manner, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. An accurate and detailed statement of the receipts and expen- 
 ditures of the public money, the several amounts paid, to whom, and 
 on what account, shall, from time to time, be published, as shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 4. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office in this 
 State, unless he possess the qualifications of an elector. 
 
 5. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, assist in the same 
 as second, or send, accept, or knowingly carry, a challenge therefor, 
 shall hold any office in this State. 
 
 6. Lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, for any purpose what- 
 ever, shall forever be prohibited in this State. 
 
 7. Every person chosen or appointed to any office under this 
 State, before entering upon the discharge of its duties, shall take 
 an oath or affirmation, to support the Constitution of the United 
 States, and of this State, and also an oath of office. 
 
 8. There may be established, in the Secretary of State's Office, a 
 bureau of statistics, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 ARTICLE XY\.— Amendments. 
 
 Sec. 1. Either branch of the General Assembly may propose 
 amendments to this constitution ; and, if the same shall be agreed 
 to, by three-fifths of the members elected to each house, such pro- 
 posed amendments shall be entered on the journals, with the yeas 
 and nays,, and shall be published in at least one newspaper in each 
 county of the State, where a newspaper is published, for six months 
 preceding the next election for Senators and Representatives, at 
 which time the same shall be submitted to the electors, for their ap- 
 proval or rejection ; and if a majority of the electors, voting at such 
 election, shall adopt such amendments, the same shall become a part 
 of the Constitution. When more than one amendment shall be sub- 
 mitted at the same time, they shall be so submitted, as to enable 
 the electors to vote on each amendment, separately. 
 
 2. Whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each branch 
 of the General Assembly, shall think it necessary to call a Conven- 
 tion, to revise, amend, or change this Constitution, they shall recom- 
 mend to the electors to vote, at the next election for members of the 
 
OHIO. ^403 
 
 General Assembly, for or against a Convention ; and if a majority of 
 all the electors, voting at said election, shall have voted for a Con- 
 vention, the General Assembly shall, at their next session, provide, 
 by law, for calling the same. The Convention shall consist of as 
 many members as the House of Representatives, who shall be 
 chosen in the same manner, and shall meet within three months after 
 their election, for the purpose aforesaid. 
 
 3. At the general election, to be held in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and seventy-one, and in each twentieth year thereaf- 
 ter, the question : " Shall there be a Convention to revise, alter, or 
 amend the Constitution," shall be submitted to the electors of the 
 State; and, in case a majority of all the electors, voting at such 
 election, shall decide in favor of a Convention, the General Assembly, 
 at its next session, shall provide, by law, for the election of delegates, 
 and the assembling of such Convention, as is provided in the preced- 
 ing section ; but no amendment of this Constitution, agreed upon by 
 any Convention, assembled in pursuance of this article, shall take 
 effect, until the same shall have been submitted to the electors of 
 the State, and adopted by a majority of those voting thereon. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 Sec. 1. All laws of this State, in force on the first day of September, one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and fifty-one, not inconsistent with this constitution, shall con- 
 tinue in force, until amended or repealed. 
 
 2. The first election for members of the General Assembly, under this constitu- 
 tion, shall be held on the second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty-one. 
 
 3. The first election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, and 
 Secretary of State, and Attorney General, shall be held on the second Tuesday of 
 October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. The persons, holding said 
 offices on the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, 
 shall continue therein, until the second Monday of January, one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-two. 
 
 4. The first election for Judges of the supreme court, courts of common pleas, 
 and probate courts, and Clerks of the courts of common pleas, shall be held on the 
 second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and the oflB- 
 cial term of said Judges and clerks, so elected, shall commence on the second 
 Monday of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. Judges and 
 clerks of the courts of common pleas and supreme court, in office on the first day 
 of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office 
 with their present powers and duties, until the second Monday of February, one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. No suit or proceeding, pending in any of 
 the courts of this State, shall be affected by the adoption of this constitution. 
 
 30 
 
403 i CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 5. The Register and Receiver of the land office, Directors of the Penitentiary, 
 Directors of the Benevolent Institutions of the State, the State Librarian, and all 
 other officers, not otherwise provided for in this Constitution, in office on the first 
 day of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office, 
 until their terms expire, respectively, unless the General Assembly shall otherwise 
 provide. 
 
 6. The Superior and Commercial Courts of Cincinnati, and the Superior Court 
 of Cleveland, shall remain, until otherwise provided by law, with their present 
 powers and jurisdiction ; and the Judges and clerks of said courts, in office on the 
 first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in 
 office, until the expiration of their terms of office, respectively, or, until otherwise 
 provided by law ; but neither of said courts shall continue after the second Monday 
 of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three ; and no suit shall be com- 
 menced in said two first mentioned courts, after the second Monday of February, 
 one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, nor in said last mentioned court, after 
 the second Monday in August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two ; and all 
 business in either of said courts, not disposed of within the time hmited for their 
 continuance as aforesaid, shall be transferred to the court of common pleas. 
 
 *?. All County and Township officers and Justices of the peace, in office on the 
 first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in 
 office until their terms expire, respectively. 
 
 8. Vacancies in office, occurring after the first day of September, one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-one, shall be filled, as is now prescribed by law, and until 
 officers are elected or appointed, and qualified under this constitution. 
 
 9. This Constitution shall take effect, on the first day of September, one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-one. 
 
 10. All officers shall continue in office, until their successors shall be chosen and 
 qualified. 
 
 11. Suits pending in the Supreme Court in Bank, shall be transferred to the 
 Supreme Court, provided for in this Constitution, and be proceeded in according 
 to law. 
 
 12. The district courts shaU, in their respective counties, be the successors of 
 the present Supreme Court ; and all suits, prosecutions, judgments, records and 
 proceedings, pending and remaining in said Supreme Court, in the several counties 
 of any district, shall be transferred to the respective district courts of such counties, 
 and be proceeded in, as though no change had been made in said Supreme Court. 
 
 13. The said courts of common pleas, shall be the successors of the present courts 
 of common pleas in the several counties, except as to probate jurisdiction ; and all 
 suits, prosecutions, proceedings, records and judgments, pending or being in said 
 last mentioned courts, except as aforesaid, shall be transferred to the courts of 
 common pleas created by this Constitution, and proceeded in, as though the same 
 had been therein instituted. 
 
 14. The Probate courts provided for in this Constitution, as to all matters within 
 the jurisdiction conferred upon said courts, shall be the successors, in the several 
 counties, of the present courts of common pleas ; and the records, files and papers, 
 business and proceedings, appertaining to said jurisdiction, shall be transferred to 
 said courts of probate, and be there proceeded in, according to law. 
 
 1 5. Until otherwise provided by law, elections for Judges and Clerks shall be 
 held, and the poll books returned, as is provided for Governor, and the abstract 
 thereform, certified to the Secretary of State, shall be by him opened, in the pre- 
 sence of the Governor, who shall declare the result, and issue commissions to the 
 persons elected. 
 
 16. Where two or more counties are joined in a Senatorial, Representative, or 
 Judicial district, the returns of elections shall be sent to the county, having the 
 largest population. 
 
 17. The foregoing constitution shall be submitted to the electors of the State, at 
 an election to be held on the third Tuesday of June, one thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty-one, in the several election districts of this State. The ballots at such 
 election shall be written or printed as follows : Those in favor of the constitution. 
 
OHIO. y403 
 
 "New Constitution, Yes;" those against the constitution, "New Constitution, No." 
 The polls at said election shall be opened between the hours of eight and ten 
 o'clock A. M., and closed at six o'clock P. M. ; and the said election shall be con- 
 ducted, and the returns thereof made and certified, to the Secretary of State, a8 
 provided by law for annual elections of State and County officers. Within twenty 
 days after such election, the Secretary of State shall open the returns thereof, in 
 the presence of the Governor ; and, if it shall appear that a majority of all the 
 votes, cast at such election, are in favor of the constitution, the Governor shall 
 issue his proclamation, stating that fact, and said constitution shall be the constitu- 
 tion of the State of Ohio, and not otherwise. 
 
 18. At the time when the votes of the electors shall be taken for the adoption 
 or rejection of this constitution, the additional section, in the words following, to 
 wit: " No license to traffic in intoxicating liquors shall hereafter be granted in this 
 State ; but the General Assembly may, by law, provide against evils resulting 
 thereform," shall be separately submitted to the electors for adoption or rejection, 
 in form following, to wit : A separate ballot may be given by every elector and 
 deposited in a separate box. Upon the ballots given for said separate amendment 
 shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, the words : " Li- 
 cense to sell intoxicating liquors, Yes ;" and upon the ballots given against said 
 amendment, in like manner, the words : " License to sell intoxicating liquors, No." 
 If, at the said election, a majority of all the votes given for and againgt said amend- 
 ment, shall contain tlie words : " License to sell intoxicating Hquors, No," then the 
 said amendment shall be a separate section of article fifteen of the constitution. 
 
 19. The apportionment for the House of Representatives, during the first decen- 
 nial period under this constitution, shall be as follows : 
 
 The counties of Adams, Allen, Athens, Auglaize, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, 
 CUnton, Crawford, Darke, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Galha, Geauga, Greene, Han- 
 cock, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Lake, Lawrence, Logan Madison, Marion, Meigs, 
 Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Sandusky, Scioto, Shelby and Union, shall, 
 severally, be entitled to one Representative, in each session of the decennial period. 
 
 The counties of Franklin, Licking, Montgomery and Stark, shall each be entitled 
 to two Representatives, in each session of the decennial period. 
 
 The counties of Ashland, Coshockton, Highland, Huron, Lorain, Mahoning, Me- 
 dina, Miami, Portage, Seneca, Summit and Warren, shall, severally, be entitled to 
 one Representative, in each session ; and one additional Representative, in the fifth 
 session of the decennial period. 
 
 The counties of Ashtabula, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Fairfield, Guernsey, Jeffer- 
 son, Knox, Monroe, Morgan, Richland, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Washington, 
 shall, severally, be entitled to one Representative, in each session ; and two addi- 
 tional Representatives, one in the third, and one in the fourth session, of the decen- 
 nial period. 
 
 The counties of Belmont, Columbiana, Ross and Wayne, shall, severally, be en- 
 titled to one Representative, in each session ; and three additional Representatives, 
 one in the first, one in the second, and one in the third session, of the decennial 
 period. 
 
 The county of Muskingum shall be entitled to two Representatives, in each ses- 
 sion ; and one additional Representative, in the fifth sessi(in of the decennial period. 
 
 The county of Cuyahoga shall be entitled to two Representatives, in each ses- 
 sion ; and two additional Representatives, one in the third, and one in the fourth 
 session, of the decennial period. 
 
 The county of Hamilton shall be entitled to seven Representatives, in each ses- 
 sion ; and four additional Representatives, one in the first, one in the second, one 
 in the third, and one in the fourth session, of the decennial period. 
 
 The following comities, until they shall have acqmred a sufficient population to 
 entitle them to elect, separately, under the fourth section of the eleventh article, shall 
 form districts in manner following, to wit : The counties of Jackson and Vinton, 
 one district ; the counties of Lucas and Fulton, one district ; the counties of Wyan- 
 dot and Hardin, one district : the counties of Mercer and Van Wert, one district ; 
 the counties of Paulding, Defiance and Williams, one district ; the counties of Put- 
 
4:0Bh CONSTITUTION OP OHIO. 
 
 # 
 
 nam and Henry, one district ; and the counties of "Wood and Ottawa, one district : 
 each of whidi districts shall be entitled to one Representative, in erery session of 
 the decennial period. 
 
 Done in Convention, at Cincinnati, the tenth day of March, in the year of our 
 Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and of the Independence of the 
 United States, the seventy-fifth. 
 
 WILLIAM MEDILL, Prmdent. 
 
 Attest : "Wm. H. Gill, Secretary. 
 
INDIANA. 
 
 This State was first settled by the French, as early as 1730 ; but at the peace 
 between France and England, in 1763, it came into the hands of England. In 
 1787, the United States took possession of Vincennes, and erected a fort on the 
 opposite bank of the river, as a defense against the savages. This countrj'' 
 sufiered much from the Indians during the last war with Great Britain ; but 
 they were defeated by the Americans, under Gen. William H. Harrison, in a 
 bloody battle at Tippacanoe. This State was a part of the North-West Ter- 
 ritory until 1800, when it formed a territorial government. It became a State in 
 1816, and adopted its constitution. The present constitution was adopted in 1851 
 Area, 86,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 988,134. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 To the end that justice be established, public order maintained, and 
 liberty perpetuated, We, the People of the State of Indiana, 
 gratefiil to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to 
 choose our own form of government, do ordain this constitution. 
 
INDIANA. 405 
 
 ARTICLE \.—Bm of Bights. 
 
 Sec. 1. We declare that all men are created equal ; that they are 
 endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among 
 these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that all power 
 is inherent in the people ; and that all free governments are, and of 
 right ought to be, founded on their authority, and instituted for their 
 peace, safety, and well being. For the advancement of these ends, 
 the people have, at all times, an indefeasible right to alter and reform 
 their government. 
 
 2. All men shall be secured in the natural right to worship 
 Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. 
 
 3. No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exercise 
 and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of 
 conscience. 
 
 4. ,No preference shall be given by law to any creed, religious 
 society, or mode of worship ; and no man shall be compelled to 
 attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to riiaintain any 
 ministry against his consent. 
 
 5. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any 
 office of trust or profit. 
 
 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of 
 any religious or theological institution. 
 
 7. No person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness in conse- 
 quence of his opinions on matters of religion. 
 
 8. The mode of administering an oath or affirmation shall be such 
 as may be most consistent with, and binding upon, the conscience of 
 the person to whom such oath or affirmation may be administered. 
 
 9. No law shall be passed restraining the fi-ee interchange of 
 thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print 
 freely on any subject whatever ; but for the abuse of that right every 
 person shall be responsible. 
 
 10. In all prosecutions for libel, the truth of the matters alleged 
 to be libellous may be given in justification. 
 
 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
 papers and effects, against unreasonable search or seizure, shall not 
 be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, 
 supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 
 place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized. 
 
 12. All courts shall be open ; and every man, for injury done to 
 him in his person, property, or reputation, shall have remedy by 
 due course of law. Justice shall be administered freely and with- 
 out purchase ; completely, and without denial ; speedily, and without 
 delay. 
 
 13. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right 
 to a public trial by an impartial jury, in the county in which the 
 offence shall have been committed ; to be heard by himself and 
 counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against 
 
406 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 him, and to have a copy thereof; to meet the witnesses face to 
 face, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his 
 favor. 
 
 14. No person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same offence. 
 No person in any criminal prosecution shall be compelled to testify 
 against himself. 
 
 15. No person arrested or confined in jail shall be treated with 
 unnecessary rigor. 
 
 16. Excessive bail shall not be required. Excessive fines shall 
 not be imposed. Cruel and unusual punishments shall not be 
 inflicted. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the 
 offence. 
 
 17. Offences, other than murder and treason, shall be bailable by 
 sufficient sureties. Murder or treason shall not be bailable when the 
 proof is evident, or the presumption strong. 
 
 18. The penal code shall be founded on the principles of reforma- 
 tion, and not of vindictive justice. 
 
 19. In all criminal cases whatever the jury shall have the right to 
 determine the law and the facts. 
 
 20. In all civil cases, the right of trial by jury shall remain invio- 
 late. 
 
 21. No man's particular services shall be demanded without just 
 compensation. No man's property shall be taken by law without 
 just compensation ; nor, except in case of the State, without such 
 compensation first assessed and tendered. 
 
 22. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts 
 of life, shall be recognised by wholesome laws, exempting a reason- 
 able amount of property from seizure or sale for the payment of any 
 debt or liability hereafter contracted ; and there shall be no imprison- 
 ment for debt, except in case of fraud. 
 
 23. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class 
 of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, 
 shall not equally belong to all citizens. 
 
 24. No ex-post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- 
 tracts, shall ever be passed. 
 
 25. No law shall be passed, the taking effect of which shall be 
 made to depend upon any authority, except as provided in this con- 
 stitution. 
 
 26. The operation of the laws shall never be suspended, except 
 by the authority of the General Assembly. 
 
 27. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended, except in case of rebellion or invasion, and then only if the 
 public safety demand it. 
 
 28. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, and in giving aid and comfort to its enemies. 
 
 29. No person shall be convicted of treason except on the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or upon his confession 
 in open court. 
 
INDIANA. 407 
 
 30. No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of 
 estate. 
 
 31. No law shall restrain any of the inhabitants of the State from 
 assembling together in a peaceable manner to consult for their com- 
 mon good, nor from instructing their representatives, nor from apply- 
 ing to the General Assembly for redress of grievances. 
 
 32. The people shall have a right to bear arms for the defence of 
 themselves and the State. 
 
 83. The military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil 
 power. 
 
 34. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war but in a man- 
 ner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 35. The General Assembly shall not grant any title of nobility, 
 nor confer hereditary distinctions. 
 
 36. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 
 
 37. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude within 
 the State, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes, whereof the 
 party shall have been duly convicted. No indenture of any negro 
 or mulatto, made and executed out of the bounds of the State, shall 
 be valid within the State. 
 
 ARTICLE ll.—Suffrage and Election. 
 
 Sec. 1. All elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 2. In all elections, not otherwise provided for by this constitution, 
 every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty- 
 one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the State during 
 the six months immediately preceding such election ; and every white 
 male of foreign birth of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, 
 who shall have resided in the United States one year, and shall have 
 resided in this State during the six months immediately preceding 
 such election, and shall have declared his intention to become a citi- 
 zen of the United States, conformably to the laws of the United 
 States on the subject of naturalization, shall be entitled to vote in 
 the township or precinct where he may reside. 
 
 3. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of the 
 United States, or of their allies, shall be deemed to have acquired 
 a residence in the State, in consequence of having been stationed 
 within the same ; nor shall any such soldier, seamen or marine have 
 the right to vote. 
 
 4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in the 
 State by reason of his absence, either on business of this State or of 
 the United States. 
 
 5. No negro or mulatto shall have the right of suifrage. 
 
 6. Every person shall be disqualified from holding office during 
 the term for which he may have been elected, who shall have given 
 or offered a bribe, threat or reward to procure his election. 
 
 7. Every person who shall give or accept a challenge to fight a duel, 
 
408 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 or who shall "knowingly carry to another person such challenge, or 
 who shall agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall be ineli- 
 gible to any office of trust or profit. 
 
 8. The General Assembly shall have power to deprive of the right 
 of suffi-age, and to render ineligible, any person convicted of an infa- 
 mous crime. 
 
 9. No person holding a lucrative office or appointment under the 
 United States, or under this State, shall be eligible to a seat in the 
 General Assembly ; nor shall any person hold more than one lucra- 
 tive office at the same time, except as in this constitution expressly 
 permitted : Provided, that offices in the militia, to which there is 
 attached no annual salary, and the office of deputy postmaster, where 
 the compensation does not exceed ninety dollars per annum, shall 
 not be deemed lucrative : And provided, also, that counties contain- 
 ing less than one thousand polls, may confer the office of clerk, 
 recorder and auditor, or any two of said offices, upon the same 
 person. 
 
 10. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of 
 public moneys, shall be eligible to any office of trust or profit until 
 he shall have accounted for, and paid over according to law, all sums 
 for which he may be liable. 
 
 11. In all cases in which it is provided that an office shall not be 
 filled by the same person more than a certain number of years con- 
 tinuously, an appointment pro tempore shall not be reckoned a part 
 of that term. 
 
 12. In all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, 
 electors shall be free from arrest in going to elections, during their 
 attendance there, and in returing from the same. 
 
 13. All elections by the people shall be by ballot ; and all elec- 
 tions by the General Assembly, or by either branch thereof, shall be 
 viva voce. 
 
 14. All general elections shall be held on the second Tuesday in 
 October. 
 
 ARTICLE III.— Distribution of Powers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government are divided into three 
 separate departments, the legislative, the executive, including the 
 administrative and the judicial ; and no person charged with official 
 duties under one of these departments shall exercise any of the 
 functions of another, except as in this constitution expressly provided. 
 
 ARTICLE lY.— Legislative. 
 
 Sec. 1 . The legislative authority of the State shall be vested in a 
 General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of 
 Representatives. The style of every law shall be : " Be it enacted 
 by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana ;" and no law 
 shall be enacted except by bill. 
 
 2. The Senate shall not exceed fifty, nor, the House of Represent- 
 
INDIANA. 409 
 
 atives one hundred members; and they shall be chosen by the elec- 
 tors of the respective counties or districts into which the State may 
 from time to time be divided. 
 
 3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and repre- 
 sentatives for the term of two years, from the day next after their 
 general election: Provided, however, that the senators elect, at the 
 second meeting of the General Assembly under this constitution, 
 shall be divided by lot into two equal classes, as nearly as may, be ; 
 and the seats of senators of the first class shall be vacated at the 
 expiration of two years, and of those of the second class at the expi- 
 ration of four years ; so that one half, as nearly as possible, shall 
 be chosen biennially forever thereafter. And in case of increase 
 in the number of senators, they shall be so annexed by lot to one 
 or the other of the two classes, as to keep them as nearly equal as 
 practicable. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall, at its second session after the 
 adoption of this constitution, and every sixth year thereafter, cause 
 an enumeration to be made of all the white male inhabitants over 
 the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 5. The number of senators and representatives shall, at the vsession 
 next following each period of making such enumeration, be fixed by 
 law, and apportioned among the several counties, according to the 
 number of white male inhabitants above twenty -one years of age in 
 each : Provided, that the first and second elections of members of 
 the General Assembly under this constitution shall be according to 
 the apportionment last made by the General Assembly, before the 
 adoption of this constitution. 
 
 6. A senatorial or representative district, where more than one 
 county shall constitute a district, shall be composed of contiguous 
 counties ; and no county for senatorial apportionment shall ever be 
 divided. 
 
 7. No person shall be a senator or a representative who at the 
 time of his election is not a citizen of the United States ; nor any one 
 who has not been for two years next preceding his election an inha- 
 bitant of this State, and for one year next preceding his election an 
 inhabitant of the county or district whence he may be chosen. Sen- 
 ators shall be at least, twenty -five, and representatives at least twenty- 
 one years of age. 
 
 8. Senators and representatives, in all cases except treason, felony, 
 and breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during the 
 session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning 
 fi-om the same; and shall not be subject to any civil process 
 during the session of the General Assembly, nor during the fifteen 
 days next before the commencement thereof. For any speech or 
 debate in either house a member shall not be questioned in any other 
 place. 
 
 9. The sessions of the General Assembly shall be held biennially 
 at the capital of the State, commencing on the Thursday next after 
 
410 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 the first Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty-three, and on the same day of every second year there- 
 after, unless a different day or place shall have been appointed by 
 law. But if in the opinion of the governor the public welfare 
 shall require it, he may at any time, by proclamation, call a special 
 session. 
 
 10. Each house when assembled shall choose its own officers (the 
 president of the Senate excepted), judge the elections, qualifications, 
 and returns of its own members, determine its rules of proceeding, 
 and sit upon its own adjournment. But neither house shall, without 
 the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
 any place other than that in which it may be sitting. 
 
 11. Two-thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
 ness ; but a smaller number may meet, adjourn from tiay to day, and 
 compel the attendance of absent members. A quorum being in 
 attendance, if either house fail to effect an organization within the 
 first five days thereafter, the members of the house so failing shall 
 be entitled to no compensation from the end of the said five days 
 until an organization shall have been effected. 
 
 12. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish 
 the same. The yeas and nays on any question shall, at the request 
 of any two members, be entered, together with the names of the 
 members demanding the same, on the journal : Provided, that on a 
 motion to adjourn, it shall require one-tenth of the members present 
 to order the yeas and nays. 
 
 13. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, 
 shall be kept open, except in such cases as in the opinion of either 
 house may require secrecy. 
 
 14. Either house may punish its members for disorderly behavior, 
 and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member ; but 
 not a second time for the same cause. 
 
 15. Either house, during its session, may punish by imprisonment 
 any person not a member who shall have been guilty of disrespect 
 to the house, by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its pres- 
 ence ; but such imprisonment shall not at any time exceed twenty- 
 four hours. 
 
 16. Each house shall have all powers necessary for a branch of 
 the legislative department of a free and independent State. 
 
 17. Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or 
 rejected in the other, except that bills for raising revenue shall origi- 
 nate in the House of Representatives. 
 
 18. Every bill shall be read by sections on three several days in 
 each house, unless, in case of emergency, two-thirds of the house 
 where such bill may be depending shall, by a vote of yeas and nays, 
 deem it expedient to dispense with this rule ; but the reading of a 
 bill by sections, on its final passage, shall in no case be dispensed 
 with ; and the vote on the passage of every bill or joint resolution 
 shall be taken by yeas and nays. 
 
INDIANA. 411 
 
 19. Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters properly 
 connected therewith ; which subject shall be expressed in the title. 
 But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not -be 
 expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much 
 thereof as shall not be expressed in the title. ' 
 
 20. Every act and joint resolution shall be plainly worded, avoid- 
 ing as far as practicable the use of technical terms. 
 
 21. No act shall ever be revised or amended by mere reference to 
 'its title; but the act revised, or section amended, shall be set forth 
 
 and published at full length. 
 
 22. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws in 
 any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say : 
 
 Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace and 
 of constables ; 
 
 For the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors ; • 
 
 Regulating the practice in courts of justice ; 
 
 Providing for changing the venue in civil and criminal cases ; 
 
 Granting divorces ; 
 
 Changing the names of persons ; 
 
 For laying out, opening, and working on highways, and for the 
 election or appointment of supervisors ; 
 
 Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, and public squares ; 
 
 Summoning and empanelling grand and petit juries, and providiijg 
 for their compensation ; 
 
 Regulating county and township business ; 
 
 Regulating the election of county and township officers, and their 
 compensation ; 
 
 For the assessment and collection of taxes for State, county, town- 
 ship, or road purposes ; 
 
 Providing for supporting common schools, and for the preservation 
 of school funds ; 
 
 In relation to fees or salaries ; 
 
 In relation to interest on money ; 
 
 Providing for opening and conducting elections (5f State, county, 
 or township officers, and designating the places of voting ; 
 
 Providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors or other 
 persons laboring under legal disabilities, by executors, administra- 
 tors, guardians^ or trustees. 
 
 23. In all the eases enumerated in the preceding sections, and in all 
 other cases where a general law can be made applicable, all laws 
 shall be general, and of uniform operation throughout the State. 
 
 24. Provision may be made by general law for bringing suit 
 against the State as to all liabilities originating after the adoption of 
 this constitution; but no special act authorizing such suit to be 
 brought, or making compensation to any person claiming damages 
 against the State, shall ever be passed. 
 
 25. A majority of all the members elected to each house shall be 
 necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution ; and all bills and 
 
412 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the presiding officers 
 of the respective houses. 
 
 26. Any member of either house shall have the right to protest, 
 and to have his protest, witii his reasons for dissent, entered on the 
 journal. * 
 
 27. Every statute shall be a public law unless otherwise declared 
 in the statute itself. 
 
 28. No act shall take effect until the same shall have been pub- 
 lished and circulated in the several counties of the State by authority, ' 
 except in case of emergency ; which emergency shall be declared in 
 the preamble, or in the body of the law. 
 
 29. The members of the General Assembly shall receive for their 
 services a compensation to be fixed by law ; but no increase of 
 compensation shall take effect during the session at which such 
 increase may be made. No session of the General Assembly, except 
 the first under this constitution, shall extend beyond the term of 
 sixty-one days, nor any special session beyond the term of forty 
 days. 
 
 30. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which 
 he may have been elected, be eligible to any office, the election to 
 which is vested in the General Assembly ; nor shall he be appointed 
 to any civil office of profit which shall have been created, or the 
 emoluments of which shall have been increased, during such term ; 
 but this latter provision shall not be construed to apply to any office 
 elective by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE Y .—Executive. 
 
 Sec. 1. The executive power of the State shall be vested in a 
 governor. He shall hold his office during four years, and shall not 
 be eligible more than four years in any period of eight years. 
 
 2. There shall be a lieutenant governor, who shall hold his office 
 during four years. 
 
 3. The governor and lieutenant governor shall be elected at the 
 times and places of choosing members of the General Assembly. 
 
 4. In voting for governor and lieutenant governor, the electors 
 shall designate for whom they vote as governor, and for whom as 
 lieutenant governor. T4ie returns of every election for governor and 
 lieutenant governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat 
 of government, directed to the speaker of the House of Representa- 
 tives, who shall open and publish them in the presence of both houses 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 5. The person respectively having the highest number of votes for 
 governor and lieutenant governor, shall be elected ; but in case two 
 or more persons shall have an equal and the highest number of votes 
 for either office, the General Assembly shall by joint vote forthwith 
 proceed to elect one of the said persons governor or lieutenant gov- 
 ernor, as the case may be. 
 
INDIANA. 413 
 
 6. Contested elections for governor or lieutenant governor shall 
 be determined by the General Assembly, in such manner as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 7. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieuten- 
 ant governor who shall not have been five years a citizen ^f the 
 United States, and also a resident of the State of Indiana during the 
 five years next preceding his election ; nor shall any person be 
 eligible to either of the said offices who shall not have attained the 
 'age of thirty years. 
 
 8. No member of Congress, or person holding any office under the 
 United States, or under this State, shall fill the office of governor or 
 lieutenant governor. 
 
 9. The official term of the governor and lieutenant governor shall 
 commence on the second Monday of January, in the year one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and fifty-three, and on the same day every fourth 
 year thereafter. 
 
 10. In case of the removal of the governor from office, or of his 
 death, resignation, or inability to discharge the duties of the office, 
 the same shall devolve on the lieutenant governor ; and the General 
 Assembly shall by law provide for the case of removal from office, 
 death, resignation, or inability, both of the governor and lieutenant 
 governor, declaring what officer shall then act as governor ; and such 
 officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or % 
 governor be elected. 
 
 11. Whenever the lieutenant governor shall act as governor, or 
 shall be unable to attend as president of the Senate, the Senate shall 
 elect one of its own members as president for the occasion. 
 
 12. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military and 
 naval forces, and may call out such forces to execute the laws, or to 
 suppress insurrection, or to repel invasion. 
 
 13. He shall from time to tim^ give to the General Assembly 
 information touching the condition of the State, and recommend such 
 measures as he shall judge to be expedient. 
 
 14. Every bill which shall havfe passed the General Assembly 
 shall be presented to the governor ; if he approve he shall sign it, 
 but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in 
 which it shall have originated, which house shall enter the objections 
 at large upon its journals, and proceed to reconsider the bill. If 
 after such consideration a majority of all the members elected to 
 that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the gov- 
 ernor's objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be 
 reconsidered ; and if approved by a majority of all the members 
 elected to that house, it shall be a law. If any bill shall not be 
 returned by the governor within three days, Sundays excepted, after 
 it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law without his 
 signature, unless the general adjournment shall prevent its return, in 
 whicji case it shall be a law, unless the governor within five days 
 next after such adjournment shall file such bill, with his objections 
 
414 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 thereto, in the office of secretary of state, who shall lay the same 
 before the General Assembly at its next session, in like manner as 
 if it had been returned by the governor. But no bill shall be pre- 
 sented to the governor within two days next previous to the final 
 adjourhment of the General Assembly. 
 
 15. The governor shall transact all necessary business with the. 
 officers of government, and may require information in writing from 
 the officers of the administrative department, upon any subject rela- 
 ting to the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 16. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 17. He shall have the power to grant reprieves, commutations 
 and pardons, after conviction, for all offences except treason and 
 cases of impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be provided 
 by law. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have power to sus- 
 pend the execution of the* sentence until the case shall be reported 
 to the General Assembly at its next meeting, when the General 
 
 . Assembly shall either grant a pardon, commute the sentence, direct 
 the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall 
 have power to remit fines and forfeitures, under such regulations as 
 may be prescribed by law ; and shall report to the General Assem- 
 bly at its next meeting each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon 
 granted, and also the names of all persons in whose favor remission 
 of fines and forfeitures shall have been made, and the several amounts 
 remitted : Provided, however, that the General Assembly may by 
 law constitute a council, to be composed of officers of State, without 
 whose advice and consent the governor shall not have power to grant 
 pardons in any case, except such as may by law be left to his sole 
 power. 
 
 18. When, during a recess of the General Assembly, a vacancy 
 shall happen in any office, the appointment to which is vested in 
 the General Assembly ; or when at any time a vacancy shall have 
 occurred in any other State office, or in the office of judge of any 
 court, the governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, which 
 shall expire when a successor sh&ll have been elected and qualified. 
 
 19. He shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as may 
 have occurred in the General Assembly. 
 
 20. Should the seat of government become dangerous from disease 
 or a common enemy, he may convene the General Assembly at any 
 other place. 
 
 21. The lieutenant governor shall, by virtue of his office, be presi- 
 dent of the Senate, have a right when in committee of the whole to 
 join in debate, and to vote on all subjects ; and whenever the Senate 
 shall be equally divided, he shall give the casting vote. 
 
 22. The governor shall at stated times receive for his services a 
 compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
 the term for which he shall have been elected. 
 
 23. The lieutenant governor, while he shall act as president of the 
 Senate, shall receive for his services the same compensation as the 
 
INDIANA. 415 
 
 speaker of the House of Representatives ; and any person acting 
 as governor shall receive the compensation attached to the office of 
 governor. 
 
 24. Neither the governor nor lieutenant governor shall be eligible 
 to any other office during the term for which he shall have been 
 elected. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Administrative. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be elected by the voters of the State, a secre- 
 tary, an auditor and a treasurer of state, who shall severally hold 
 their offices for two years. They shall perform such duties as may 
 be enjoined by law ; and no person shall be eligible to either of said 
 offices more than four years in any period of six years. 
 
 2. There shall be elected in each county by the voters thereof, at 
 the time of holding general elections, a clerk of the circuit court, 
 auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff, coroner and surveyor. The 
 clerk, auditor and recorder, shall continue in office four years ; and 
 no person shall be eligible to the office of clerk, recorder or auditor, 
 more than eight years in any period of twelve years. The treasurer, 
 sheriff, coroner and surveyor, shall continue in office two years ; and 
 no person shall be eligible to the office of treasurer or sheriff more 
 than four years in any period of six years. 
 
 3. Such other county and township officers as may be necessary, 
 shall be elected or appointed in such manner as may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 4. No person shall be elected or appointed as a county officer 
 who shall not be an elector of the county ; nor any one who shall not 
 have been an inhabitant thereof during one year next preceding his 
 appointment, if the county shall have been so long organized ; but 
 if the county shall not have been so long organized, then within the 
 limits of the county or counties out of which the same shall have 
 been taken. 
 
 5. The governor and the secretary, auditor and treasurer of state, 
 shall severally reside, and keep the public records, books and papers 
 in any manner relating to their respective offices, at the seat of 
 government. 
 
 6. All county, township and town officers shall reside within their 
 respective counties, townships and towns, and shall keep their respec- 
 tive offices at such places therein, and perform such duties as may be 
 directed by law. 
 
 7. All State officers shall, for crime, incapacity, or negligence, be 
 liable to be removed from office, either by impeachment by the 
 House of Representatives, to be tried by the Senate, or by a joint 
 resolution of the General Assembly, two-thirds of the members 
 elected to each branch voting in either case therefor. 
 
 8. All State, county, township and town officers may be impeached 
 or removed from office in such manner as may be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 31 
 
416 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 9. Vacancies in county, township and town offices,* shall be filled 
 in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 10. The General Assembly may confer upon the boards doing 
 county business in the several counties, powers of a local, adminis- 
 trative character. 
 
 ARTICLE Yll— Judicial. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a supreme 
 court, in circuit courts, and in such inferior courts as the General 
 Assembly may establish. 
 
 2. The supreme court shall consist of not less than three, nor more 
 than five judges, a majority of whom shall form a quorum. They 
 shall hold their offices for six years, if they so long behave well. 
 
 3. The State shall be divided into as many districts as there are 
 judges of the supreme court ; and such districts shall be formed of 
 contiguous territory, as nearly equal in population as, without divid- 
 ing a county, the same can be made. One of said judges shall be 
 elected from each district, and reside therein ; but said judges shall 
 be elected by the electors of the State at large. 
 
 4. The supreme court shall have jurisdiction co-extensive with 
 the limits of the State, in appeals and writs of error, under such 
 regulations and restrictions as may be prescribed by law. It shall 
 also have such original jurisdiction as the General Assembly may 
 confer. 
 
 5. The supreme court shall, upon the decision of every case, give 
 a statement in writing of each question arising in the record of^ such 
 case, and the decision of the court thereon. 
 
 6. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the speedy 
 publication of the decisions of the supreme court made under this 
 constitution ; but no judge shall be allowed to report such decisions. 
 
 7. There shall be elected by the voters of the State, a clerk of the 
 supreme court, who shall hold his office four years, and whose duties 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 8. The circuit courts shall each consist of one judge, and shall 
 have such civil and criminal jurisdiction as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 0. The State shall from time to time be divided into judicial 
 circuits; and a judge for each circuit shall be elected by the voters 
 thereof. He shall reside within the circuit, and shall hold his office 
 for the term of six years, if he so long behave well. 
 
 10. The General Assembly may provide by law that the judge of 
 one circuit may hold the courts of another circuit, in cases of neces- 
 sity or convenience ; and in case of temporary inability of any judge, 
 from sickness or other cause, to hold the courts in his circuit, pro- 
 vision shall be made by law for holding such courts. 
 
 11. There shall be elected in each judicial circuit, by the voters 
 thereof, a prosecuting attorney, who shall hold his office for two 
 years. 
 
 12. Any judge or prosecuting attorney who shall have been con- 
 
INDIANA. 417 
 
 victed of corruption or other high crime, may, on information in the 
 name of the State, be removed from office by the supreme court, or 
 in such other manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 13. The judges of the supreme court and circuit courts shall at 
 stated times receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished 
 during their continuance in office. 
 
 14. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be elected 
 by the voters in each township in the several counties. They shall 
 continue in office four years, and their powers and duties shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 15. All judicial officers shall be conservators of the peace in their 
 respective jurisdictions. 
 
 16. No person elected to any judicial office shall, during the term 
 for which he shall have been elected, be eligible to any office of trust 
 or profit under the State, other than a judicial office. 
 
 17. The General Assembly may modify or abolish the grand jury 
 system. 
 
 18. All criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and 
 by the authority of the State ; and the style of all process shall be : 
 " The State of Indiana." 
 
 19. Tribunals of conciliation may be established, with such powers 
 and duties as shall be prescribed by law ; or the powers and duties 
 of the same may be conferred upon other courts of justice ; but such 
 tribunals or other courts, when sitting as such, shall have no power 
 to render judgment to be obligatory on the parties, unless they volun- 
 tarily submit their matters of difference, and agree to abide the judg- 
 ment of such tribunal or court. 
 
 20. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adoption 
 of this constitution, shall provide for the appointment of three com- 
 missioners, whose duty it shall be to revise, simplify, and abridge 
 the rules, practice, •pleadings, and forms of the courts of justice. 
 And they shall provide for abolishing the distinct forms of action at 
 law now in use, and that justice shall be administered in a uniform 
 mode of pleading, without distinction between law and equity. And 
 the General Assembly may also make it the duty of said commis- 
 sioners to reduce into a systematic code the general statute law of 
 the State ; and said commissioners shall report the result of their 
 labors to the General Assembly, with such recommendations and 
 suggestions as to abridgment and amendment as to said commis- 
 sioners may seem necessary or proper. Provision shall be made by 
 law for filling vacancies, regulating the tenure of office and the com- 
 pensation of said commissioners. 
 
 21. Every person of good moral character, being a voter, shall be 
 entitled to admission to practice law in all courts of justice. 
 
 ARTICLE Mill.— Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. Knowledge and learning generally diffused thi'oughout a 
 community being essential to the preservation of a free government, 
 
418 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all 
 suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improve- 
 ment, and to provide by law for a general and uniform system of 
 common schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally 
 open to all, 
 
 2. The common school fund shall consist of the congressional 
 township fund, and the lands belonging thereto ; 
 
 The surplus revenue fund ; 
 
 The saline fund, and the lands belonging thereto ; 
 
 The bank tax fund, and the fund arising from the one hundred and 
 fourteenth section of the charter of the State Bank of Indiana ; 
 
 The fund to be derived from the sale of county seminaries, and 
 the moneys and property heretofore held for such seminaries ; from 
 the fines assessed for breaches of the penal laws of the State ; and 
 from all forfeitures which may accrue ; 
 
 All lands and other estate which shall escheat to the State for 
 want of heirs or kindred entitled to the inheritance ; 
 
 All lands that have been, or may hereafter be, granted to the 
 State, where no special purpose is expressed in the grant, and the 
 proceeds of the sales thereof, including the proceeds of the sales of 
 the swamp lands granted to the State of Indiana by the act of Con- 
 gress of 28th September, 1850, after deducting the expense of select- 
 ing and draining the same ; 
 
 Taxes on the property of corporations that may be assessed for 
 common school purposes. 
 
 3. The principal of the common school fund shall remain a per- 
 petual fund, which may be increased, but shall never be diminished ; 
 and the income thereof shall be inviolably appropriated to the sup- 
 port of common schools, and to no other purpose whatever. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall invest, in some safe and profitable 
 manner, all such portions of the common schooj fund as have not 
 heretofore been entrusted to the several counties ; and shall make 
 provision by law for the distribution among the several counties of 
 the interest thereof. 
 
 5. If any county shall fail to demand its proportion of such inter- 
 est for common school purposes, the same shall be reinvested for the 
 benefit of such county. 
 
 6. The several counties shall be held liable for the preservation 
 of so much of the said fund as n^y be entrusted to them, and for the 
 payment of the annual interest thereon. 
 
 7. All trust funds held by the State shall remain inviolate, and be 
 faithfully and exclusively applied to the purposes for which the trust 
 was created. 
 
 8. The General Assembly shall provide for the election, by the 
 voters of the State, of a state superintendent of public instruction, 
 who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties and com- 
 pensation shall be prescribed by law. • 
 
INDIANA. 419 
 
 ARTICLE IX.—State Institutions. 
 
 S.EC. 1. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pro- 
 vide by law for the support of institutions for the education of the 
 deaf and dumb, and of the blind, and also for the treatment of the 
 insane. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall provide houses of refuge for the 
 correction and reformation of juvenile offenders. 
 
 3. The county boards shall have power to provide farms, as an 
 asylum for those persons who, by reason of age, infirmity, of other 
 misfortune, may have claims upon the sympathies and aid of society. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— Finance. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall provide by law for a uniform 
 and equal rate of assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such 
 regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all pro- 
 perty, both real and personal, excepting such only for municipal, 
 educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable purposes, as 
 may be specially exempted by law. 
 
 2. All the revenues derived from the sale of any of the public 
 works belonging to the State, and from the net annual income thereof, * 
 and any surplus that may at any time remain in the treasury derived 
 from taxation for general State purposes, after the payment of the 
 ordinary expenses of the government, and of the interest on bonds 
 of the State, other than bank bonds, shall be annually applied, under 
 the direction of the General Assembly, to the payment of the prin- 
 cipal of the public debt. 
 
 3. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance 
 of appropriations made by law. 
 
 4. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the 
 public money shall be published with the laws of each regular session 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 5. No law shall authorize any debt to be contracted on behalf of 
 the State, except in the following cases : To meet casual deficits in 
 the revenue, to pay the interest on the State debt, to repel invasion, 
 suppress insurrection, or if hostilities be threatened, provide for the 
 public defence. 
 
 6. No county shall subscribe for stock in any incorporated com- 
 pany, unless the same be paid for at the time of such subscription ; 
 nor shall any county loan its credit to any incorporated company, nor 
 borrow money for the purpose of taking stock in any such company ; 
 nor shall the General Assembly ever on behalf of the State assume 
 the debts of any county, city, town or township, nor of any corpora- 
 tion whatever. 
 
 ARTICLE Xl— Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall not have power to estab- 
 lish o^ incorporate any bank or banking company, ormo.^eyed insti 
 
42d CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tution, for the purpose of issuing bills of credit, or bills payable to 
 order or bearer, except under the conditions prescribed in this con- 
 stitution. 
 
 2. No banks shall be established otherwise than under a general 
 banking law, except as provided in the fourth section of this article. 
 
 3. If the General Assembly shall enact a general banking law, 
 such law shall provide for the registry and countersigning by an 
 officer of State of all paper credit designed to be circulated as 
 money, and ample collateral security, readily convertible into specie, 
 for the redemption of the same in gold or silver, shall be required, 
 which collateral security shall be under the control of the proper 
 officer or officers of State. 
 
 4. The General Assembly may also charter a bank with branches 
 without collateral security, as required in the preceding section. 
 
 5. If the General Assembly shall establish a bank with branches, 
 the branches shall be mutually responsible for each other's liabilities 
 upon all paper credit issued as money. 
 
 6. The stockholders in every bank or banking company shall be 
 individually responsible to an amount over and above their stock, 
 equal to their respective shares of stock, for all debts or liabilities 
 of said bank or banking company. 
 
 7. All bills or notes issued as money shall be at all times redeem- 
 able in gold or silver; and no law shall be passed sanctioning, 
 directly or indirectly, the suspension by any bank or banking com- 
 pany of specie payments. 
 
 8. Holders of bank notes shall be entitled, in case of insolvency, 
 to preference of payment over all other creditors. 
 
 9. No bank shall receive, directly or indirectly, a greater rate 
 of interest than shall be allowed by law to individuals loaning 
 money. 
 
 10. Every bank or banking company shall be required to cease 
 all banking operations within twenty years from the time of its 
 organization, and promptly thereafter to close its business. 
 
 11. The General Assembly is not prohibited from investing the 
 trust funds in a bank with branches ; but in case of such invest- 
 ment, the safety of the same shall be guarantied 'by unquestionable 
 security. 
 
 12. The State shall not be a stockholder in any bank after the 
 expiration of the present bank charter ; nor shall the credit of the 
 State ever be given or loaned in aid of any person, association, or 
 corporation ; nor shall the State hereafter become a stockholder in 
 any corporation or association. 
 
 13. Corporations, other than banking, shall not be created by 
 special act, but may be formed under general laws. 
 
 14. Dues from corporations, other than banking, shall be secured 
 by such individual liability of the corporators, or other means, as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
INDIATfA. 
 
 421 
 
 ARTICLE Xn.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The militia shall consist of all able bodied white male 
 persons, between the ages of eighteen and forty -five years, except 
 such as may be exempted by the laws of the United States, or of 
 this State ; and shall be organized, officered, armed, equipped, and 
 trained, in such manner as may be provided by law. 
 
 2. The governor shall appoint the adjutant, quartermaster, and 
 commissary generals. 
 
 3. All militia officers shall be commissioned by the governor, and 
 shall hold their offices not longer than six years. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall determine the method of dividing 
 the militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and com- 
 panies, and fix the rank of all stafi" officers. 
 
 5. The militia may be divided into classes of sedentary and active 
 militia, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 6. No person conscientiously opposed to bearing arms shall be 
 compelled to do militia duty ; but such person shall pay an equiva- 
 lent for exemption, the amount to be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE Xlll— Negroes and Mulattoes. 
 
 Sec. 1. No negro or mulatto shall come into, or settle in the State, 
 after the adoption of this constitution. 
 
 2. All contracts made with any negro or mulatto coming into the 
 State, contrary to the provision of the foregoing section, shall be 
 void ; and any person who shall employ such negro or mulatto, 
 or otherwise encourage him to remain in the State, shall be fined in 
 any sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than five hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 3. All fines which may be collected for a violation of the provisions 
 of this article, or of any law which may hereafter be passed for the 
 purpose of carrying the same into execution, shall be set apart and 
 appropriated for the colonization of such negroes and mulattoes, and 
 their descendants, as may be in the State at the adoption of this 
 constitution, and may be willing to emigrate. 
 
 4. The General Assembly shall pass laws to carry out the pro- 
 visions of this article. 
 
 ARTICLE XYV.— Boundaries. 
 
 Sec. 1. In order that the boundaries of the State may be known 
 and established, it is hereby ordained and declared, that the State of 
 Indiana is bounded on the east by the meridian line which forms the 
 western boundary of the State of Ohio ; on the south by the Ohio 
 river, from the mouth of the Great Miama river to the mouth of the 
 Wabash river ; on the west by a line drawn along the middle of the 
 Wabash river from its mouth, to a point where a due north line 
 drawn from the town of Vincennes would last touch the north-west- 
 ern shore of said Wabash river ; and thence by a due north line 
 
421a CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 until the same shall mtersect an east and west line drawn through a 
 point ten miles north of the southern extreme of Lake Michigan ; 
 on the north by said east and west line until the same shall intersect 
 the first-mentioned meridian line, which forms the western boundary 
 of the State of Ohio. 
 
 2. The State of Indiana shall possess jurisdiction and sovereignty 
 co-extensive with the boundaries declared in the preceding section ; 
 and shall have concurrent jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases with 
 the State of Kentucky on the Ohio river, and with the State of 
 Illinois on the Wabash river, so far as said rivers form the common 
 boundary between this State and said states respectively. 
 
 ARTICLE XN .—Miscellaneom. 
 
 Sec. 1. All officers whose appointment is not otherwise provided' 
 for in this constitution, shall be chosen in such manner as now is, or 
 may hereafter be, prescribed by law. 
 
 2. When the duration of any office is not provided for by this 
 constitution, it may be declared by law ; and if not so declared, such 
 office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the 
 appointment. But the General Assembly shall not create any office, 
 the tenure of which shall be longer than four years. 
 
 3. Whenever it is provided in this constitution, or in any law 
 which may be hereafter passed, that any officer, other than a mem- 
 ber of tjie General Assembly, shall hold his office for any given 
 term, the same shall be construed to mean that such officer shall hold 
 his office for such term, and until his successor shall have been 
 elected and qualified. 
 
 4. Every person elected or appointed to any office under this con- 
 stitution shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take an oath or 
 affirmation to support the constitution of this State and of the United 
 States, and also an oath of office. 
 
 5. There shall be a seal of State kept by the governor for official 
 purposes, which shall be called the seal of the State of Indiana. 
 
 6. All commissions shall issue in the name of the State, shall be 
 signed by the governor, sealed with the State seal, and attested by 
 the secretary of State. 
 
 7. No county shall be reduced to an area less than four hundred 
 square miles; nor shall any county under that area be further 
 reduced. 
 
 8. No lottery shall be authorized, nor shall the sale of lottery 
 tickets be allowed. 
 
 9. The following grounds, owned by the State in Indianapolis, 
 namely : The State House Square, the Governor's Circle, and so 
 much of out-lot numbered one hundred and forty-seven as lies north 
 of the arm of the Central Canal, shall not be sold or leased. 
 
 10. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide for 
 the permanent enclosure and preservation of the Tippecanoe Battle 
 Ground. 
 
INDIANA. M21 
 
 ARTICLE XVh— Amendments. 
 
 Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may 
 be proposed in either branch of the General Assembly, and if the 
 same shall be^ agreed to ^ by a majority of the members elected to 
 each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments 
 shall, with the yeas and nays thereon, be entered on their journals, 
 and referred to the General Assembly to be chosen at the next gen- 
 eral election ; and if in the General Assembly so next chosen such 
 proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majo- 
 rity of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the 
 duty of the General Assembly to submit such amendment or amend- 
 ments to the electors of the State ; and if a majority of said electors 
 shall ratify the same, such amendment or amendments shall become 
 a part of this constitution. 
 
 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the same 
 time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors shall 
 vote for or against each of such amendments separately ; and while 
 an amendment or amendments which shall have been agreed upon 
 by one General Assembly shall be awaiting the action of a succeed- 
 ing General Assembly, or of the electors, no additional amendment 
 or amendments shall be proposed. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 This constitution, if adopted, shall take effect on the first day of November, in 
 the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and shall supersede the consti- 
 tution adopted in the year one tliousand eight hundred and sixteen. That no 
 inconvenience may arise from the change in the government, it is hereby ordained 
 as foDows : 
 
 1. All laws now in force, and not inconsistent with this constitution, shall remain 
 in force until they shall expire or be repealed. 
 
 2. All indictments, prosecutions, suits, pleas, plaints, and other proceedings pend- 
 ing in any of the courts, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution ; and 
 all appeals, writs of error, certiorara, and injunctions, shall be carried on in the 
 several courts in the same manner as is now provided by law, 
 
 3. All fines, penalties and forfeitures due or accruing to the State, or to any 
 county therein, shall inure to the State, or to such county, in the manner prescribed 
 by law. All bonds executed to the State, or to any officer in his official capacity, 
 shall remain in force, and inure to the use of those concerned. 
 
 4. All acts of incorporation for municipal purposes shall continue in force under 
 this constitution, until such time as the General Assembly shall, in its discretion, 
 modify or repeal the same. 
 
 5. The governoi-, at the expiration of the present official term, shall continue to 
 act until his successor shall have been sworn into office. 
 
 6. There shall be a session of the General Assembly, commencing on the first 
 Monday of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. 
 
 7. Senators noAV in office and holding over under the existing constitution, and 
 
421c CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA. 
 
 such as may be elected at tlie next general election, and the representatives 
 then elected, shall continue in oflSce until the first general election under this con- 
 stitution. 
 
 8. The first general election under this constitution shall be held in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. 
 
 9. The first election for governor, lieutenant governor, judges of the supreme 
 court and circuit courts, clerk of the supreme court, prosecuting attorney, secretary, 
 auditor, and treasurer of state, and state superintendent of pubhc instruction, under 
 this constitution, shall be held at the general election in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-two ; and such of said officers as may be in office when 
 this constitution shall go into effect, shall continue in their respective offices, until 
 their successors shall have been elected and qualified. 
 
 10. Every person elected by popular vote, and now in any office which is con- 
 tinued by this constitution, and every person who shall be so elected to any such 
 office before the taking effect of this constitution (except as in this constitution 
 otherwise provided), shall continue in office until the term for which such person 
 has been, or may be elected, shall expire : Provided that no such person shall con- 
 tinue in office after the taking effect of this constitution for a longer period than 
 the term of such office in this constitution prescribed. 
 
 11. On the taking effiect of this constitution, all officers thereby continued in 
 office shall, before proceeding in the further discharge of their duties, take an oath 
 or affirmation to support this constitution. 
 
 12. All vacancies that may occur in existing offices prior to the first general 
 election under this constitution, shall be filled in the manner now prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 13. At the time of submitting this constitution to the electors for their approval 
 or disapproval, the article numbered thirteen, in relation to negroes and mulat- 
 toes, shall be submitted as a distinct proposition, in the following form : " Exclu- 
 sion and colonization of negroes and mulattoes," " Aye" or " No." And if a 
 majority of the votes cast shall be in favor of said article, then the same shall 
 form a part of this constitution, otherwise it shall be void, and form no part 
 thereof. 
 
 14. No article or section of this constitution shall be submitted as a distinct pro- 
 position to a vote of the electors, otherwise than is herein provided. 
 
 15. "Whenever a portion of the citizens of the counties of Perry and Spencer 
 shall deem it expedient to form of the contiguous territory of said counties a new 
 county, it shall be the duty of those interested in the organization of such new 
 county to lay off the same by proper metes and bounds, of equal portions as 
 nearly as practicable, not to exceed one-third of the territory of each of said coun- 
 ties. The proposal to create such new county shall be submitted to the voters of 
 said counties at a general election, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 And if a majority of all the votes given at said election shall be in favor of the 
 organization of said new county, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly 
 to organize the same out of the territory thus designated. 
 
 16. The General Assembly may alter or amend the charter of Clarksville, 
 and make sucli regulations as may be necessary for carrying into effect the 
 objects contemplated in granting the same ; and the funds belonging to said town 
 shall be applied according to the intention of the grantor. 
 
 Done in Convention at Indianapolis, the tenth day of February, hi the year of 
 our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and of the Independence of 
 the United States the seventy-fifth. 
 
 GEORGE WHITFIELD CARR, President 
 
ILLINOIS. 
 
 The first settlement made in this State was by the French, at Kaskaskia, about 
 1720. By the treaty of peace between England and France in 1763, it came 
 into the possession of the British. In 1789 it constituted a part of the North- 
 West Territory. In 1800, what is now Indiana and Illinois, became a sepa- 
 rate territory. In 1809 Illinois became a territory under its present name, and 
 in 1818 it was admitted into the union as an independent State. In 1800 Illi- 
 nois contained not more than 3,000 inhabitants ; its increase has been very 
 rapid, having more than trebled its inhabitants every ten years. 
 
 Area, 50,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 858,298. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of the state of Illinois — grateful to Almighty God for the civil, 
 political, and religious libertjf, which he hath so long permitted us to enjoy, 
 and looking to him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit 
 the same unimpaired to succeeding generations — in order to form a more per- 
 fect government, estabUsh justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the 
 common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
 liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and estabUsh this constitution 
 for the state of Illinois. 
 
ILLINOIS. 423 
 
 ARTICLE 1.— Boundaries. 
 
 Sec. 1. The boundaries and jurisdiction of the state shall be as follows, to wit: 
 beginning at the mouth of the Wabash river ; thence up the same, and with the 
 line of Indiana, to the north-west comer of said state ; thence east, with the line 
 of the same state, to the middle of Lake Michigan ; thence north, along the middle 
 of said lake, to north latitude forty-two degrees and thirty minutes ; thence west 
 to the middle of the Mississippi river, and thence down, along the middle of 
 that river, to its confluence with the Ohio river ; and thence up the latter river, 
 along its north-western shore, to the place of beginning : Provided, that this state 
 shall exercise such jurisdiction upon the Ohio river as she is now entitled to, or 
 such acs may hereafter be agreed upon by tliis state and the state of Kentucky. 
 
 ARTICLE II. — Concerning the Distribution of the Foioers of Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the state of Illinois shall be divided 
 into three distinct departments, and each of them be confided to a separate body 
 of magistracy, to wit : those wliich are legislative, to one ; those which are exec- 
 utive, to another ; and those which are judicial, to another. 
 
 2. Wo person, or collection of persons, being one of these departments, shall 
 exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except as herein- 
 after expressly directed or permitted, and all acts in contravention of this section 
 shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE 111.— Of the Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative authority of this state shall be vested in a general 
 assembly, which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives, both to be 
 elected by the people. 
 
 2. The first election for senators and representatives shall be held on the Tues- 
 day after the first Monday in November, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 eight ; and thereafter, elections for members of the general assembly shall be 
 held once in two years, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in Novem- 
 ber, in each and every coimty, at such places therein as may be provided by 
 law. 
 
 8. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of 
 twenty -five years ; who shall not be a citizen of the United States, and three 
 years an inhabitant of this state ; who shaU not have resided within the limits of 
 the county or district in which he shall be chosen twelve months next preceding 
 his election, if such county or district shall have been so long erected, but, if not, 
 then within the limits of the county or counties, district or districts, out of which 
 the same shall have been taken, tmless he shall have been absent on the public 
 business of the United States or of this state ; and who, moreover, shall not have 
 paid a state or county tax. 
 
 4. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of thirty 
 years ; who shall not be a citizen of the United States, five years an inhabitant of 
 this state and one year in the covmty or district in which he shall be chosen imme- 
 diately preceding his election, if such county or district shall have been so long 
 erected, but, if not, then within the limits of the county or counties, district or 
 districts, out of wliich the same shall have been taken, unless he shall have been 
 absent on the public business of the United States or of this state, and shaU not, 
 moreover, have paid a state or county tax. 
 
 5. llie senators at their first session herein provided for shall be divided by 
 lot, as near as can be, into two classes. The seats of the first class shall be va- 
 cated at the expiration of the second year, and those of the second class at the 
 expiration of the fourth year ; so that one half thereof, as near as possible, may 
 be biennially chosen for ever thereafter. 
 
 6. The senate shall consist of twenty-five members, and the house of represen- 
 tatives shall consist of seventy-five members, until the population of the state 
 
424 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall amount to one million of souls, when five members may be added to the 
 house, and five additional members for every five himdred thousand inhabitants 
 thereafter, until the whole number of representatives shall amount to one hun- 
 dred ; after which the number shall be neither increased nor diminished ; to be 
 apportioned among the several counties according to the number of white inhab- 
 itants. In all future apportionments, where more than one county shall be 
 thrown into a representative district, all the representatives to which said coimties 
 may be entitled shall be elected by the entire district. 
 
 7. No person elected to the general assembly shall receive any civil' appoint- 
 ment within this state, or to the senate of the United States, from the governor, 
 the governor and senate, or from the general assembly, during the term for which 
 he shall have been elected ; and all such appointments, and all votes given for 
 any such member for any such ojSice or appointment, shall be void ; nor shall any 
 member of the general assembly be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any 
 contract with the state, or any county thereof, authorised by any law passed 
 during the time for winch he shall have been elected, or during one year after 
 the expiration thereof 
 
 8. In the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and every tenth year 
 thereafter, an enumeration of all the inhabitants of this state shall be made in 
 such manner as shall be directed by law ; and in the year eighteen hundi-ed and 
 fifty, and every tenth year thereafter, the census taken by authority of the gov- 
 ernment of the United States shall be adopted by the general assembly as the 
 enumeration of this state ; and the number of senators and representatives shall, 
 at the first regular session holden after the returns herein provided for are made, 
 be apportioned among the several counties or districts to be established by law, 
 according to the number of white inliabitants. 
 
 9. Senatorial and representative districts shaU be composed of contiguous ter- 
 ritory bounded by coimty Unes ; and only one senator allowed to each senatorial, 
 and not more than three representatives to any representative district : Provided, 
 that cities and towns, containing the requisite population, may be erected into 
 separate districts. 
 
 r 10. Li forming senatorial and representative districts, counties, containing a 
 population of not more than one fom-th over the existing ratio, shaU form separate 
 districts, and the excess shall be given to the nearest county or counties not 
 having a senator or representative, as the case may be, which lias the largest 
 white population, 
 
 11. The first session of the general assembly shall commence on the first 
 Monday of January, one thousand eight hundi-ed and forty -nine ; and for ever 
 after the general assembly shall meet on the first Monday of January next en- 
 
 • suing the election of the members thereof, and at no other period, unless as pro- 
 vided by this constitution. 
 
 12. The senate and house of representatives, when assembled, shall each 
 choose a speaker and other officers (the speaker of the senate excepted)- Each 
 house shall judge of the qualifications and election of its members, and sit upon 
 its own adjournments. Two-thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum ; but 
 a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of 
 absent members. 
 
 13. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish them. The 
 yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of 
 them, be entered on the journals. 
 
 14. Any two members of either house shall have liberty to dissent and 
 protest against any act or resolution, which they maj^ think injurious to the 
 public, or to any individual, and have the reasons of then- dissent entered on the 
 journals. 
 
 15. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pimish its members 
 for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the mem- 
 bers elected, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause ; and the 
 
ILLINOIS. 425 
 
 reason for such expulsion shall be entered upon the journal, with the names of 
 the members voting on the question. 
 
 16. When vacancies happen in either house, the governor, or the person exer- 
 cising the poAvers of governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 17. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or 
 breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general 
 assembly, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or 
 debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 18. Each house may pxmish, by imprisonment during its session, any person, 
 not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly 
 or contemptuous behavior in their presence : Provided, such imprisonment shall 
 not, at any one time, exceed twenty- four hours. 
 
 19. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, shall be kept 
 open, except in such cases as in the opinion of the house require secrecy. l!s"either 
 house shail, without the consent of the other, adjom-n for more than two days, 
 nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 20. The style of the laws of this state shall be : " Be it enacted by the people 
 of the state of Illinois, represented iri the general assembly." 
 
 21. Bills may originate in either house, but may be altered, amended, or re- 
 jected, by the other ; and on the final passage of all bills, the vote shall be by 
 ayes and noes, and shall be entered on the journal ; and no bill shall become a 
 law without the concurrence of a majority of all the members elect in each 
 house. 
 
 22. Bills making appropriations for the pay of the members and officers of the 
 general assembly, and for the salaries of the officers of the government, shall 
 not contain any provision on any other subject. 
 
 23. Every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, unless, in 
 case of urgency, three-fourths of the house, where such bill is so depending, shall 
 deem it expedient to dispense with this rule ; and every bill, having passed both 
 houses, shall be signed by the speakers of their respective houses ; and no pri- 
 vate or local law which may be passed by the general assembly, shall embrace 
 more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title. And no public 
 act of the general assembly shall take effect or be in force, until the expiration 
 of sixty days from the end of the session at which the same may be passed, vm- 
 less, in case of emergency, the general assembly shall otherwise direct. 
 
 24. The sum of two dollars per day, for the first forty-two days' attendance, 
 and one dollar per day for each day's attendance thereafter, and ten cents for 
 each necessary mile's travel, going to and returning from the seat of government, 
 shall be allowed to the members of the general assembly, as a compensation for 
 their services, and no more. The speaker of the house of representatives shaU 
 be allowed the smn of one dollar per day, in addition to his per-diem as a 
 member. 
 
 25. The per-diem and mileage allowed to each member of the general assem- 
 bly, shall be certified by the speakers of their respective houses, and entered on 
 the journals, and published at the close of each session. 
 
 26. JSTo money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appro- 
 priations made by law ; and an accurate statement of the receipts and expendi- 
 tures of the public money shall be attached to, and published with, the laws at 
 the rising of each session of the general assembly. And no person, who has 
 been or may be a collector or holder of public moneys, shall be eligible to a 
 seat in either house of the general assembly, nor be eligible to any office of profit 
 or trust in this state, until such person shall have accounted for, and paid into 
 the treasury, all sums for which he may be accountable. 
 
 27. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching ; but 
 a majority of all the members elected, must concur in an impeachment. All im- 
 peachments shall be tried by the senate ; and when sitting for that purpose, the 
 senators sliall be upon oatli, or affirmation, to do justice according to law and 
 
426 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds 
 of the senators elected. 
 
 28. The governor, and other civil officers under this state, shall be liable to 
 impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment in such cases shall 
 not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any 
 office of honor, profit, or trust, imder this state. The party, whether convicted 
 or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and pun- 
 ishment, according to law. 
 
 29. No judge of any court of law or equity, secretary of state, attorney -gen- 
 eral, attorney for the state, recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff or col- 
 lector, member of either house of Congress, or person holding any lucrative of- 
 fice under the United States or of this state — provided that appointments in the 
 militia, or justices of the peace, shall not be considered lucrative offices — shall 
 have a seat in the general assembly ; nor shall any person, holding any office of 
 honor or profit under the government of the United States, hold any office of 
 honor or profit under the authority of this state. 
 
 30. Every person who shall be chosen or appointed to any office of trust or 
 profit shall, before entering upon the duties thereof, take an oath to support the 
 constitution of the United States, and of this state, and also an oath of 
 office. 
 
 31. The general assembly shall have full power to exclude from the privilege 
 of electing, or being elected, any person convicted of bribery, perjury, or other 
 infamous crime. 
 
 32. The general assembly shall have no power to grant divorces, but may au- 
 thorize the courts of justice to grant them for such causes as may be specified 
 by law : Provided, that such laws be general and imiform in their operation. 
 
 33. The general assembly shall never grant or authorize extra compensation to 
 any public officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after the service shall have been 
 rendered, or the contract entered into. 
 
 34. The general assembly shall direct by law in what manner suits may be 
 brought against the state. 
 
 35. The general assembly shall have no power to authorize lotteries for any 
 purpose, nor to revive or extend the charter of the State bank, or the charter of 
 any other bank heretofore existing in this state, and shall pass laws to prohibit 
 the sale of lottery-tickets in this state. 
 
 36. The general assembly shall have no power to authorize, by private or spe- 
 cial law, the sale of any lands or other real estate belonging in whole or in part 
 to any individual or individuals. 
 
 37. Each general assembly shall provide for aU the appropriations necessary 
 for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the government until the adjoiim- 
 ment of the next regular session, the aggregate amount of which shall not be 
 increased without a vote of two-thirds of each house, nor exceed the amoimt of 
 revenue authorized by law to be raised in such time : Provided, the state may, 
 to meet casual deficits or failiu-es in revenues, contract debts never to exceed m 
 the aggregate, fifty-thousand dollars ; and the moneys thus borrowed shall be 
 applied to the purpose for which they were obtained, or to repay the debt thus 
 made, and to no other purpose ; and no other debt, except for the purpose of 
 repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, or defending the state in war, (for 
 payment of which the faith of the state shall be pledged,) shall be contracted, 
 imless the law authorizing the same shall, at a general election, have been sub- 
 mitted to the people, and have received a majority of , all the votes cast for 
 members of the general assembly at such election. The general assembly shall 
 provide for the publication of said law for three months, at least, before the vote 
 of the people shall be taken upon the same ; and provision shall be made, at 
 the time, for the payment of the interest annually, as it shall accrue, by a tax 
 levied for the purpose, or from other sources of revenue ; which law, providing 
 for the payment of such interest by such tax, shall be irrepealable untH such 
 
iLLixois. 427 
 
 debt be paid : And provided, further, that the law levying the tax shall be sub- 
 mitted to the people with the law authorizing the debt to be contracted. 
 
 38. The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given to, or in aid of, 
 any individual, association, or corporation. 
 
 39. The general assembly shall provide, by law, that the fuel and stationery 
 furnished for the use of the state, the copying, printing, binding, and distribu- 
 ting the laws and journals, and all other printing ordered by the general assem- 
 bly, shall be let, by contract, to the lowest responsible bidder ; and that no mem- 
 ber of the general assembly, or other officer of the state, shall be interested, 
 either directly or indirectly, in any such contract : Provided, that the general 
 assembly may fix a maximum price. 
 
 40. Until there shall be a new apportionment of senators and representatives, 
 the state shall be divided into senatorial and representative districts ; and the 
 senators and representatives shall be apportioned among the several districts as 
 follows, viz.: — 
 
 Senatorial Districts. 
 
 1. The counties of Alexander, Union, Pulaski, Johnson, Massac, Pope, and 
 Hardin, shall constitute the first senatorial district, and shall be entitlecf to one 
 senator. 
 
 2. The counties of Gallatin, Sahne, Williamson, Franklin, and White, shall 
 constitute the second senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 3. The counties of Jefferson, Wayne, Marion, and Hamilton, shall constitute 
 the third senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 4. The counties of Washington, Perry, Randolph, and Jackson, shall constitute 
 the fourth senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 5. The counties of St. Clair and Monroe, shall constitute the fifth senatorial 
 district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 6. The counties of Madison and Clinton, shall constitute the sixth senatorial 
 district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 1. The counties of Christian, Shelby, Montgomery, Bond, and Fayette, shall 
 constitute the seventh senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 8. The c(>unties of Effingham, Jasper, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Edwards, and 
 Wabash, shall constitute the eighth senatorial district, and be entitled to one 
 
 9. The counties of Edgar, Clark, and Crawford, shall constitute the ninth sena- 
 torial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 10. The counties of Vermilion, Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie, Coles, and Cimi- 
 berland, shall constitute the tenth senatorial district, and be entitled to one 
 senator. 
 
 11. The counties of Tazewell, M'Lean, Logan, De Witt, and Macon, shall 
 constitute the eleventh senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 12. The counties of Sangamon, Menard, and Mason, shall constitute the twelfth 
 senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 13. The counties of Macoupin, Jersey, Greene, and Calhoun, shall constitute 
 the thirteenth senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 14. The counties of Morgan, Scott, and Cass, shall constitute the fourteenth 
 senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 15. The counties of Adams and Pike shall constitute the fifteenth senatorial 
 district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 , 16. The counties of M'Donough, Schuyler, Brown, and Highland, shall consti- 
 tute the sixteenth senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 17. The counties of Hancock and Henderson, shall constitute the sevente^th 
 senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator, 
 
 18. The counties of Fulton and Peoria shall constitute the eighteenth senatorial 
 district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 19. The counties of Rock Island, Henry, Mercer. Warren, Knox, and Stark, 
 
 32 
 
428 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall constitute the nineteenth senatorial district, and be entitled to one 
 senator. 
 
 20. The counties of La Salle, Bureau, Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, Livingston, 
 and Grundy, shall constitute the twentieth senatorial district, and be entitled to 
 one senator. 
 
 21. The counties of Du Page, Kendall, Will, and Iroquois, shall cojistitute the 
 twenty-first senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 22. The coimties of Ogle, Lee, De Kalb, and Kane, shall constitute the twen- 
 ty-second senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 23. The counties of Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, and Whiteside, shall 
 constitute the twenty-third senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 24. The counties of M'Henry, Boone, and Winnebago, shall constitute the 
 twenty-fourth senatorial district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 25. The counties of Cook and Lake, shall constitute the twenty-fifth senatorial 
 district, and be entitled to one senator. 
 
 Representative Districts. 
 
 1. The counties of Union, Alexander, and Pulaski, shall constitute the first 
 representative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 2. The counties of Massac, Pope, and Hardin, sliall constitute the second re- 
 presentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 3. The counties of Gallatin and Saline, shall constitute thfe third representative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative, 
 
 4. The counties of Johnson and Williamson, shall constitute the fourth repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 5. The counties of Jackson and Franklin, shall constitute the fifth representa- 
 tive district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 6. The counties of Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, and Hamilton, shall constitute 
 the sixth representative district, and be entitled to three representatives : Pro- 
 vided, that no county in said district shall have more than one of said representa- 
 tives, and the county from which a senator shall be selected, shall not be entitled 
 to a representative residing in said coimty. 
 
 T. "riie county of White, shall constitute the seventh representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 8. The counties of Wabash and Edwards, shall constitute the eighth repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 9. The counties of Lawrence and Richland, shall constitute the ninth repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 10. The counties of Crawford and Jasper shall constitute the tenth representa- 
 tive district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 11. The county of Coles, shall constitute the eleventh representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative, 
 
 12. The county of Clark, shall constitute the twelfth representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 13. The counties of Cumberland, Efiingham, and Clay, shall constitute the 
 thirteenth representative district, and be entitled to one representative, 
 
 14. Tlie county of Fayette, shall constitute the fourteenth representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to one representative, 
 
 15. The counties of Montgomery, Bond, and Clinton, shall constitute the fif- 
 teenth representative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 16. The counties of Waslungton and Perry, shall constitute the sixteenth re- 
 presentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 ^7. The county of Randolph shall coHstitute the seventeenth repre^ntative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 18. The county of Monroe, shall constitute the eighteenth representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
ILLINOIS. 429 
 
 19. The county of St. Clair shall constitute the nineteenth representatiye dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 20. The county of Madison, shall constitute the twentieth representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 21. The county of Macoupin, shall constitute the twenty-first representative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 22. The counties of Jersey and Green, shall constitute the twenty-second re- 
 presentative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 23. The county of Scott, shall constitute the twenty-third representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 24. The county of Morgan, shall constitute the twenty-fourth representative 
 district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 25. The counties of Oass and Menard, shall constitute the twenty-fifth repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 26. The county of Sangamon, shall constitute the twenty-sixth representative 
 district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 27. Tlie counties of Mason and Logan, shall constitute the twenty-seventh 
 representative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 28. The county of Tazewell, shall constitute the twenty-eighth representative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 29. The counties of M'Lean and De Witt, shall constitute the twenty-ninth 
 representative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 30. The county of Vermilion, shall constitute the tliirtieth representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 31. The county of Edgar, shall constitute the thirty-first representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 32. The counties of Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie, and Macon, shall con- 
 stitute the tliirty-second representative district, and be entitled to one represen- 
 tativa 
 
 33. The counties of Shelby and Christian, shall constitute the thirty-third re- 
 presentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 34. The counties of Pike and CaUioun, shall constitute the thirty-fourth re- 
 presentative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 35. The counties of Adams, Highland, and Brown, shall constitute the thirty- 
 fifth representative district, and be entitled to three representatives. 
 
 36. The county of Schuyler, sliall constitute the thirty-sixth representative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 37. The county of Hancock, shall constitute the thirty-seventh representative 
 district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 38. The county of M'Donough, shall constitute the thirty-eighth representative 
 district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 39. The county of Fulton, shall constitute the thirty-ninth representative dis- 
 trict, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 40. The coimty of Peoria, shall constitute the fortieth representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 41. The county of Knox, shall constitute the forty-first representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 42. The counties of Mercer, Warren, and Henderson, shall constitute the forty 
 second representative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 43. The counties of Kock Island, Hemy, and Stark, shall constitute the for- 
 ty-third representative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 44. The counties of Whiteside and Lee, shall constitute the forty -fourth repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 45. The counties of Carroll and Ogle, shall constitute the forty-fifth representa- 
 tive district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 46. The counties of Jo Daviess and Stephenson, shall constitute the forty- 
 sixth representative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
430 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 47. The county of "Winnebago, shall constitute the forty-seventh representa- 
 tive district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 48. The counties of Putnam, Marshall, and Woodford, shall constitute the for- 
 ty-eighth representative district, and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 49. The counties of La Salle, Grundy, Livingston, and Bureau, shall constitute 
 the forty-ninth representative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 50. The counties of Du Page, Kendall, Will, and Iroquois, shall constitute the 
 fiftieth representative district, and be entitled to three representatives. 
 
 51. The counties of Kane and De Kalb, shall constitute the fifty-first repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 52. The counties of Boone and M'Henry, shall constitute the fifty-second repre- 
 sentative district, and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 53. The county of Lake, shall constitute the fifty-third representative district, 
 and be entitled to one representative. 
 
 54. The county of Cook, shall constitute the fifty-fourth representative district, 
 and be entitled to two representatives. 
 
 Sec. 41. Until the general assembly shall otherwise provide, the clerks of the 
 county commissioners' courts in each of the aforesaid senatorial districts, and in 
 such of the representative districts as may be composed of more than one coun- 
 ty, shall meet at the county-seat of the oldest coimty in said district, witliin 
 thirty days next after any election for senator or representative therein, for the 
 purpose of comparing and canvassing the votes given at such election ; and the 
 said clerks shall in all other respects conform to the laws on the subject in force 
 at the time of the adoption of this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE IV.— 0/ the Exemtive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The executive power of the state shall be vested in a governor. 
 
 2. The first election of governor shall be held on Tuesday next after the first 
 Monday in November, a. d. 1848 ; and the next election shall be held on Tues- 
 day next after the first Monday of November, a. d. 1852; and thereafter an 
 election for governor shall be held once in four years, on Tuesday next after the 
 first Monday of November. The governor shall be chosen by the electors of 
 the members of the general assembly, at the same places and in the same manner 
 that they shall, respectively, vote for members thereof. The retm-ns for every 
 election of governor shall be sealed up, and transmitted to the seat of govern- 
 ment, by the retm-ning officers, directed to the speaker of the house of repre- 
 sentatives, who shall open and pubhsh them in the presence of a majority of the 
 members of each house of the general assembly. The person having the highest 
 number of votes shall be governor ; but if two or more be equal and highest in 
 votes, then one of them shall be chosen governor by joint ballot of both houses 
 of the general assembly. Contested elections shall be determined by both houses 
 of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. The first governor shall enter upon the duties of his office on the second 
 Monday of January, a. d. 1849, and shall hold his office until the second Mon- 
 day of January, a. d. 1853, and until his successor shall have been elected and 
 qualified ; and thereafter the governor shall hold his office for the term of four 
 years, and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified ; but he shall 
 not be eligible to such office more than four years in any term of eight years, noi- 
 to any other office until after the expu-ation of the term for which lie was elected. 
 
 4. No person, except a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the 
 office of governor ; nor shall any person be ehgible to that office, who shall not 
 have attained the age of tliirty-five years, and been ten years a resident of 
 this state, and fourteen years a citizen of the United States. 
 
 5. The governor shall reside at the seat of government, and receive a salary 
 of fifteen hundred dollars per annum, which shall not be increased or diminish- 
 ed ; and he shall not, during the time for which he shall have been elected, re- 
 ceive any emolument from the United States, or either of them. 
 
ILLINOIS. 431 
 
 6. Before he enters upon the duties of his office, he shall take the following 
 oath or affirmation, to wit : " I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faith- 
 fully execute the duties appertaining to the office of governor of the state of Illi- 
 nois ; and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the con- 
 stitution of this state ; and will, also, support the constitution of the United 
 States." 
 
 7. He shall, from time to time, give the general assembly information of the 
 state of the government, and recommend to their consideration, such measures 
 as he shall deem expedient 
 
 8. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations, and par- 
 dons, after conviction, for all offences, except treason and cases of impeachment, 
 upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may think 
 proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law, relative to the 
 manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have 
 power to suspend the execution of the sentence, until the case shall be reported 
 to the general assembly at its next meeting, when the general assembly shall 
 pardon the convict, commute the sentence, direct the execution thereof, or grant 
 a further reprieve. He shall, biennially, commimicate to the general assembly 
 each case of reprieve, commutation, or pai'don granted, stating the name of the 
 convict, the crime for which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the 
 date of commutation, pardon, or reprieve. 
 
 9. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive 
 department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 
 and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 10. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly by 
 proclamation, and shall state, in said proclamation, the purpose for which they 
 are to convene ; and the general assembly shall enter on no legislative business, 
 except that for which they were specially called together. 
 
 11. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this state, and 
 of the mihtia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United 
 States. 
 
 12. The governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of 
 the senate, (a majority of all the senators concurring,) appoint all officers whose 
 offices are estabhshed by this constitution, or which may be created by law, and 
 whose appointments are not otherwise provided for ; and no such officer shall 
 be appointed or elected by the general assembly. 
 
 13. In case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time 
 of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adjourn the general assembly 
 to such time as he thinks proper, provided it be not to a period beyond the next 
 constitutional meeting of the same. 
 
 14. A lieutenant-governor shall be chosen at every election of governor, in 
 the same manner, continue in office for the same time, and possess the same 
 qualifications. In voting for governor and Heutenant governor, the electors sliall 
 distinguish whom they vote for as governor, and whom as lieutenant-governor. 
 
 15. The lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his office, be speaker of the 
 senate, have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and vote on all 
 subjects, and, whenever the senate are equally divided, to give the casting vote. 
 
 16. Whenever the govermnent shall be administered by the lieutenant-gov- 
 ernor, or he shall be unable to attend as speaker of the senate, the senators shall 
 elect one of their own number as speaker for that occasion ; and if, during the 
 vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, 
 removed from office, refuse to qualify, or resign, or die, or be absent from the 
 state, the speaker of the senate shall, in like manner, administer tlie government. 
 
 17. The heutenant-governor, while he acts as speaker of the senate, shall re- 
 ceive for his services the same compensation which shall, for the same period, 
 be allowed to the speaker of the house of representatives, and no more. 
 
 18. If the lieutenant-governor shall be called upon to administer the govern- 
 
432 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ment, and shall, while in such administration, resign, die, or be absent from the 
 state, during the recess of the general assembly, it shall be the duty of the sec- 
 retary of state, for the time being, to convene the senate for the piirpose of choos- 
 ing a speaker. 
 
 19. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his absence from the state, 
 or inability to discharge the duties of his office, the powers, duties, and emolu- 
 ments of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor ; and in case of 
 his death, resignation, or removal, then upon the speaker of the senate for the 
 time being, until the governor, absent or impeached, shall return or be acquitted; 
 or until the disqualification or inability shall cease ; or until a new governor shall 
 be elected and quahfied. 
 
 20. In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, for any other cause than 
 those herein enumerated, or in case of the death of the governor elect before he 
 is qualified, the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon 
 the lieutenant-governor, or speaker of the senate, as above provided, until a new 
 governor be elected and qualified. 
 
 21. Every bill which shall have passed the senate and house of representa- 
 tives, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor ; if he ap- 
 prove, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, Avith his objections, to the 
 house in which it shall have originated ; and the said house shall enter the ob- 
 jections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such 
 reconsideration, a majority of the members elected shall agree to pass the bill, it 
 shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other liouse, by which it shaU 
 likewise be reconsidered ; and if approved by a majority of tlie members elect- 
 ed, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the objections of the governor ; but 
 in all sucli cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
 to be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be 
 returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, tlie same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had 
 signed it, unless the general assembly shall, by their adjournment, prevent its 
 return, in wliich case the said bill shall be returned on the first day of the meet- 
 ing of the general assembly, after tlie exphation of said ten days, or be a 
 law. 
 
 22. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of this state, at the same 
 time of the election for governor, a secretary of state, whose term'^of office shall 
 be the same as that of the governor, who shall keep a fair register of the official 
 acts of the governor, and, when required, shall lay the same, and all papers, 
 minutes, and vouchers, relative thereto, before either branch of the general 
 assembly, and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned him by law, 
 and shall receive a salary of eight himdred dollars per annum, and no more, 
 except fees : Provided, that if the office of secretary of state should be vacated 
 by deatli, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the governor to 
 appoint another, who shall hold his office until another secretary shall be elected 
 and qualified. 
 
 23. There sliaU be chosen, by the qualified electors throughout the state, an 
 auditor of public accounts, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, 
 and until his successor is qualified, and whose duties shall be regulated by law, 
 and who shall receive a salary, exclusive of clerk-hire, of one thousand dollars 
 per annum for his services, and no m-ore. 
 
 24. There shall be elected, by the qualified electors throughout the state, a 
 state treasiuer, who shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor is 
 qualified ; whose duties may be regulated by law, and who shall receive a salary 
 of eight hundred dollars per annum, and no more. 
 
 25. All grants and commissions shall be sealed with the great seal of state, 
 -signed by the governor or person administering the government, and counter- 
 signed by the secretary of state. 
 
 26. The governor and all other civil officers shall be liable to impeachment foi 
 
ILLINOIS. 433 
 
 misdemeanor in office, during their continuance in office, and for two years there 
 after. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Of the Judiciary Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this state shall be, and is hereby, vested in one 
 supreme court, in circuit courts, in county courts, and in justices of the peace : 
 Provided, that inferior local courts, of civil and criminal jurisdiction, may be 
 estabhshed by the general assembly in the cities of this state, but such courts 
 shall have a uniform organization and jurisdiction in such cities. 
 
 2. The supreme com-t shaU consist of tliree judges, two of whom shall form a 
 quorum ; and the concurrence of two of said judges shall in all cases be neces- 
 sary to a decision. 
 
 3. The state shall be divided into three grand divisions, as nearly equal as 
 may be, and the qualified electors of each division shall elect one of the said 
 judges for the term of nine years : Provided, that after the first election of such 
 judges, the general assembly may have the power to provide by law for their 
 election by the whole state, or by divisions, as they may deem most expedient. 
 
 4. The office of one of said judges shall be vacated, after the first election held 
 imder this article, in three years ; of one, in six years ; and of one, in nine years ; 
 to be decided by lot, so that one of said judges shall be elected once in every 
 three years. The judge having the longest term to serve shall be the first cliief- 
 justice ; after which, the judge having the oldest commission shall be chief- 
 justice. 
 
 5. The supreme court may have original jurisdiction in cases relative to the 
 revenue, in cases of mandamus, habeas corpus, and in such cases of impeachment 
 as may be by law directed to be tried before it, and shall have appellate jurisdic- 
 tion in all otiier cases. 
 
 6. The supreme court shall hold one term annually in each of the aforesaid 
 grand divisions, at such time and place, in each of said divisions, as may be pro- 
 vided for by law. 
 
 7. The state shall be divided into nine judicial districts ; in each of which one 
 circuit judge shall be elected by the qualified electors thereof, who shall hold his 
 office for the term of six years, and until his successor shall be conmiissioned and 
 qualified : Provided, that the general assembly may iacrease the number of cir- 
 cuits to meet the futm-e exigencies of the state. 
 
 8. There shall be two or more terms of the circuit court held, annually, in each 
 county of tliis state, at such times as shall be provided by law ; and said courts 
 shall have jm-isdiction in aU cases at law and equity, and in all cases of appeals 
 from all inferior com-ts. 
 
 9. All vacancies in the supreme and circuit courts shall be filled by election as 
 aforesaid : Provided, however, that if the unexpired term does not exceed one 
 year, such vacancy may be filled by executive .appointment. 
 
 10. The judges of the supreme court shall receive a salary of twelve htmdred 
 dollars per annum, payable quarterly, and no more. The judges of the circuit 
 courts shall receive a salary of one thousand dollars per anmmi, payable quar- 
 
 •terly, and no more. The judges of the supreme and circuit courts shall not be 
 eligible to any other office or public trust, of profit, in this state or the United 
 States, during the term for whach they are elected, nor for one year thereafter. 
 All votes for either of them for any elective office (except that of judge of the 
 supreme or circuit coiu-t), given by the general assembly, or the people, shall be 
 void. 
 
 11. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of any court of this state 
 who is not a citizen of the United States, and who shall not have resided in this 
 state five years next preceding his election, and who shall not for two years next 
 preceding his election have resided in the division, circuit, or comity, in which he 
 shall be elected ; nor shall any person be elected judge of the supreme court 
 who shall be, at the time of his election, under the age of thirty-five years ; and 
 
434 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 no person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the circuit court until he shall 
 have attained the age of thirty years. 
 
 12. For any reasonable cause, to be entered on the journals of each house, 
 which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, both justices of the supreme 
 court, and judges of the circuit court, shall be removed from office, on the vote of 
 two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the general assembly : Pro- 
 vided, always, that no member of either house of the general assembly shall be 
 eligible to fill the vacancy occasioned by such removal ; Provided, also, that no 
 removal shall be made unles the justice or judge complained of shall have been 
 served with a copy of the complaint against liim, and sliall have an opportunity 
 of being heard in his defence. 
 
 13. The first election for justices of the supreme court and judges of the cir- 
 cuit courts shall be held on the first Monday of September, 1848. 
 
 14. The second election for one justice of the supreme court shall be held on 
 the first Monday of June, 1852; and every three years thereafter an election 
 shall be held for one justice of the supreme court. 
 
 15. On the first Monday of June, 1855, and every sixth year thereafter, an 
 election shall be held for judges of the circuit courts : Provided, whenever an 
 additional circuit is created, such provision may be made as to hold the second 
 election of such additional judge at the regular elections herein provided. 
 
 16. There shall be, in each county, a court, to be called a county com-t. 
 
 17. One county judge shall be elected by the quahfied voters of each county, 
 who shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor is elected and 
 quahfied. 
 
 18. The jurisdiction of said court shall extend to all probate and such other 
 jurisdiction as the general assembly may confer in civil cases, and such criminal 
 cases as may be prescribed by law, where the pimishment is by fine only, not 
 exceeding one hundred dollars. 
 
 19. The county judge, with such justices of the peace in each coimty as may be 
 designated by law, shall hold terms for the transaction of county business, 
 and shall perform such other duties as the general assembly shall prescribe : 
 Provided, the general assembly may require that two justices, to be chosen by 
 the qualified electors of each coimty, shall sit with the coimty judge in all cases ; 
 and there shall be elected, quadrennially, in each county, a clerk of the county 
 court, who shall be ex officio recorder, whose compensation shall be fees : Pro- 
 vided, the general assembly may, by law, make the clerk of the circuit com-t 
 ex officio recorder, in heu of the county clerk. 
 
 20. The general assembly shall provide for the compensation of the county 
 judge. 
 
 21. The clerks of the supreme and circuit courts, and state's attorneys, shall be 
 elected at the first special election for judges. The second election for clerks of 
 the supreme court shall be held on the first Monday of June, 1855, and every 
 sbcth year thereafter. The second election for clerks of the cii'cuit courts, and 
 state's attorneys, shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of 
 November, 1852, and every fourth year thereafter. 
 
 22. All judges and state's attorneys shall.be conunissioned by the governor. 
 
 23. The election of all officers, and the filling of all vacancies that may hap 
 pen by death, resignation, or removal, not otherwise directed or provided for by 
 this constitution, shall be made in such manner as the general assembly shall 
 direct : Provided, that no such officer shall be elected by the general assembly. 
 
 24. The general assembly may authorize the judgments, decrees, and decisions, 
 of any local, inferior court of record, of original, civil, or cruninal jurisdiction, 
 established in a city, to be removed, for revision, directly into the supreme court. 
 
 25. County judges, clerks, sheriffs, and other county officers, for wilful neglect 
 of duty, or misdemeanor in office, shall be Hable to presentment or indictment by 
 a grand jury, and trial by a petit jury; and, upon conviction, shall be removed 
 from office. 
 
ILLINOIS. 435 
 
 26. All process, writs, and other proceedings, shaU run in the name of " The 
 people of the State of Illinois" All prosecutions shall be carried on " In the 
 name and by the authority of the people of the State of Illinois" and conclude, 
 " Against the peace and dignity of the same^ 
 
 27. There shall be elected in each county in this state, in such districts as the 
 general assembly may direct, by the qualified electors thereof, a competent num- 
 ber of justices of the peace, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years, 
 and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified, and who shall 
 perform such duties, receive such compensation, and exercise such jurisdiction, as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 28. There shall be elected in each of the judicial circuits of this state, by the 
 quaUfied electors thereof, one state's attorney, who shall hold his office for the 
 term of four years, and until liis successors shall be commissioned and qualified ; 
 who shall perform such duties and receive such compensation as may be pre- 
 scribed by law : Provided, that the general assembly may hereafter provide by 
 law for the election, by the qualified voters of each county in tliis state- of one 
 county attorney for each county, in lieu of the state's attorneys provided for in 
 this section ; the term of office, duties, and compensation, of which county attor- 
 neys, shall be regulated by law. 
 
 29. The quahfied electors of each coimty in this state shall elect a clerk of the 
 circuit court, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until his 
 successor shall have been elected and qualified, who shall perform such duties 
 and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law. Tlie clerks of the 
 supreme court shall be elected, in each division, by the qualified electors thereof, 
 for the term of six years, and until tlieir successors shall have been elected and 
 qualified ; whose duties and compensation shall be provided by law. 
 
 30. The first grand division, for the election of judges of the supj^eme com-t, 
 shall consist of the counties of Alexander, Pulaski, Massac, Pope, Hardin, Galla- 
 tin, SaUne, Williamson, Johnson, Union, Jackson, Randolph, Perry, Franklin, 
 Hamilton, White, Wabash, Edwards, Wayne, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, St 
 Clair, CUnton, Marion, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Crawford, Jasper, Effingham, 
 Fayette, Bond, Madison, Jersey, and Calhoun. 
 
 The second grand division shall consist of the counties of Edgar, Coles, Moul- 
 trie, Shelby, Montgomery, Macoupin, Greene, Pike, Adams, Highland, Hancock, 
 M'Donough, Schuyler, Brown, Fidton, Mason, Cass, Morgan, Scott, Sangamon, 
 Christian, Macon, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, De Witt, Log9,n, Menard, Cum- 
 berland, and Clark. 
 
 The third grand division shall consist of the counties of Henderson, Warren, 
 Knox, Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, M'Lean, Livingston, Iroquois, WiU, Grundy, 
 Kendall, La Salle, Putnam, Marshall, Stark, Bureau, Henry, Mercer, Rock 
 Island, Whiteside, Lee, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Ogle, De 
 Kalb, Boone, Kane, M'Henry, Lake, Cook, and Du Page. 
 
 31. The terms of the supreme court for the first division shall be held at 
 Moimt Vernon, in Jefferson comity ; for the second division, at Springfield, in 
 Sangamon coimty ; for the third division, at Ottawa, in La Salle county ; until 
 some other place in either division is fixed by law. 
 
 32. Appeals and writs of error may be taken from the circuit court of any 
 county to the supreme court held in the division which includes such county, or, 
 with the consent of all the parties in the cause, to the supreme court in the next 
 adjoining division. 
 
 33. The foregoing districts may, after the taking of each cpnsus by the state, 
 be altered, if necessary, to equalize the said districts in population ; but such 
 alteration shall be made by adding to such district such adjacent county or coun- 
 ties as will make said district nearest equal in population : Provided, no such 
 alteration shall affect the office of any ju(^e then in office. 
 
436 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE Yl—On Elections and the Right of Suffrage. 
 
 Sec. 1. In all elections, every white male citizen above the age of twenty-one 
 years, liaving resided in the state one year next preceding any election, shall be 
 entitled to vote at such election ; and every white male inhabitant of the age 
 aforesaid, who may be a resident of the state at the time of the adoption of this 
 constitution, shall have the right of voting as aforesaid ; but no such citizen or 
 inhabitant shall be entitled to vote, except in the district or county in which he 
 shall actually reside at the time of such election, 
 
 2. All votes shall be given by ballot. 
 
 3. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace,' 
 be privileged from arrest dming their attendance at elections, and in going to 
 and returning from the same. 
 
 4. No elector shall be obhged to do militia duty on the days of election, except 
 in time of war or public danger. 
 
 5. ]S"o elector shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this state by rea- 
 son of his absence on the business of the United States or of this state. 
 
 6. No soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, 
 shall be deemed a resident of this state, in consequence of being stationed at any 
 military or naval place witliin the state. 
 
 7. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office in this state, civil or 
 military, who is not a citizen of the United States, and who shall not have resi- 
 ded in this state one year next before the election or appointment. 
 
 8. The general assembly shall have full power to pass laws excluding from 
 the right of suffrage persons convicted of infamous crimes. 
 
 9. The general elections shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Mon- 
 day of November, biennially, until otherwise provided hj law. 
 
 ARTICLE VII.— 0/ Counties. 
 
 Seo. 1. No new county shall be formed or established by the general assem- 
 bly, which will reduce the county or coimties, or either of them, from which it 
 shall be taken, to less contents than fom- hundred square miles ; nor shall any 
 county be formed of less contents ; nor shall any line thereof pass within less 
 than ten miles of any county-seat of the covmty or counties proposed to be 
 divided. 
 
 2. No county shall be divided, or have any part stricken therefrom, without 
 submitting the question to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless a ma- 
 jority of aU the legal voters of the county voting on the question shall vote for 
 the same. 
 
 3. All territory which has been or may be stricken off, by legislative enact- 
 ment, from any organized county or counties, for the purpose of forming a new 
 county, and which slaall remain unorganized after the period provided for such 
 organization, shall be and remain a part of the county or counties from which it 
 was originally taken, for all pm*poses of county and state government, until other- 
 wise provided by law. 
 
 4. There shall be no territory stricken from any county imless a majority of 
 the voters living in such territory shall petition for such division ; and no terri- 
 tory shaU be added to any county without the consent of a majority of the voters 
 of the county to which it is proposed to be added. 
 
 5. No county-seat shall be removed until the point to which it is proposed to 
 be removed shall be fixed by law, and a majority of the voters of the comity 
 shall have voted in favor of its removal to such point. 
 
 6. Tlie general assembly shall provide, by a general law, for a township organ- 
 ization, under which any county may organize whenever a majority of the voters 
 of such county, at any general election, shall so determine ; and whenever any 
 county shall adopt a township organization, so much of tliis constitution as pro- 
 vides for the management of the, fiscal concerns of the said county by the county 
 
ILLINOIS. 437 
 
 court may be dispensed \dth, and the affairs of said county may be transacted in 
 such manner as the general assembly may provide. 
 
 '7, There shall be elected in each county in this state, by the qualified electors 
 thereof, a sheriff, who shaU hold his office for the term of two years, and until his 
 successor shall have been elected and qualified : Provided, no person shall be eli- 
 gible to the said ofiice more than once in four years. 
 
 ARTICLE Ylll.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The militia of the state of Illinois shall consist of all free male able- 
 bodied persons (negroes, mulattoes, and Indians excepted), resident of the state, 
 between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such persons as now 
 ai'e or hereafter may be exempted by the laws of the United States or of this 
 state, and shall be armed, equipped, and trained, as the general assembly may 
 provide by law. 
 
 2. No person or persons, conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be 
 compelled to do militia duty in time of peace, provided such person or persons 
 shall pay an equivalent for such exemption. 
 
 3. Company, battalion, and regimental officers, staff-officers excepted, shall be 
 elected by the persons composing their several companies, battalions, and regi- 
 ments. 
 
 4. Brigadier and major generals shall be elected by the officers of their 
 brigades and divisions, respectively. «> 
 
 5. All militia ofiicers shall be commissioned by the governor, and may hold 
 their commissions for such time as! the legislature may provide. 
 
 6. The miUtia shaU in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, 
 be pri\dleged from arrest during theii- attendance at musters and elections of 
 officers, and in going to and returning from the same. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— 0/ the Revenue. 
 
 Sec. 1. The general assembly may, whenever they shall deem it necessary, 
 cause to be collected fi-om all able-bodied, free white male inhabitants of this 
 state, over the age of twenty -one years and under the age of sixty years, who are 
 entitled to the right of suffrage, a capitation tax of not less than fifty cents, nor 
 more tlian one dollar each. 
 
 2. The general assembly shall provide for levying a tax by valuation, so that 
 every person and corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of his or 
 her property ; such value to be ascertained by some person or persons to be 
 elected or appointed in such manner as the general assembly shall direct, and 
 not otherwise ; but the general assembly shall ha.ve power to tax pedlars, auc- 
 tioneers, brokers, hawkers, merchants, commission mercliants, showmen, jugglers, 
 inn-keepers, grocery-keepers, toll-bridges and ferries, and persons using and 
 exercising franchises and privileges, in such manner as they shall from time to 
 time direct. 
 
 8, The property of the state and counties, both real and personal, and such 
 other property as the general assembly may deem necessary for school, reli- 
 gious, and charitable purposes, may be exempted from taxation. 
 
 4. Hereafter, no purchaser of any land or town-lot, at any sale of lands or 
 town-lots for taxes due either to this state, or any county, or incorporated town 
 or city within the same ; or at any sale for taxes or levies authorized by the 
 laws of this state, shall be entitled to a deed for the lands or town-lot so pm*- 
 chased imtil he or she shall have complied with the following conditions, to wit : 
 Such purchaser shall serve, or cause to be served, a written notice of such pui-- 
 chase on every person in possession of such land or town-lot, tln-ee months be- 
 fore the expiration of the time of redemption on such sale ; in which notice he 
 shall state when he purchased the land or town-lot, the description of tlie land 
 or lot he has purchased, and when the time of redemption will expire. In like 
 maimer he sliall serve on the person or persons in whose name or names such 
 
438 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 land or lot is taxed, a similar written notice, if such person or persons shall 
 reside in the county where such land or lot shall be situated ; and in the event 
 that the person or persons in whose name or names the land or lot is taxed do 
 not reside in the county, such pm*chaser shall publish such notice in some news- 
 paper printed in such county ; and if no newspaper is printed in the comity, 
 then in the nearest newspaper tliat is published in this state to the county m 
 which such lot or land is situated ; which notice shall be inserted three times, the 
 last time not less than three months before the time of redemption shall expire. 
 Every such purchaser, by himself or agent, shall, before he shall be entitled to a 
 deed, make an affidavit of his having compUed with the conditions of this sec- 
 tion, stating particularly the facts relied on as such comphance ; which affidavit 
 shall be delivered to the person authorized by law to execute such tax deed, and 
 which shall by him be filed with the officer having custody of the records of 
 lands and lots sold for taxes and entries of redemption in the county where such 
 land or lot shaU lie, to be by such officer entered on the records of his office and 
 carefully preserved among the files of his office ; and which record or affidavit 
 shall be prima-facie evidence that such notice has been given. Any person 
 swearing falsely in such affidavit shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and pmiished 
 accordingly. In case any person shall be compelled under tliis section to pub- 
 Hsh a notice in a newspaper, then, before any person who may have a right to 
 redeem such land or lot from tax sale, shall be permitted to redeem, he or she 
 shall pay the officer or person who by law is authorized to receive such redemp- 
 tion-money, the printer's fee for publisliing such notice and the expenses of 
 swearing or affirming to the affidavit, and filing the same. 
 
 5. The corporate authorities of counties, townships, school districts, cities, 
 towns, and villages, may be vested with power to assess and collect taxes for 
 corporate purposes ; such taxes to be uniform in respect to persons and property 
 within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same. And tlie general assembly 
 shall requii:e that aU the property within the limits of municipal corporations 
 belonging to individuals shall be taxed for the payment of debts contracted un- 
 der authority of law. 
 
 6. The specification of the objects and subjects of taxation shall not deprive 
 the general assembly of the power to require other objects or subjects to be 
 taxed in such manner as may be consistent with the principles of taxation fixed 
 in this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. Corporations, not possessing banking powers or privileges, may be 
 formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special acts, except for 
 municipal purposes, and in cases where, in the judgment of the general assembly, 
 the objects of the corporation cannot be attained under general laws. 
 
 2. Dues from corporations, not possessing banking powers or privileges, shaU 
 be secured by such individual habihties of the corporators, or other means, as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. No state bank shall hereafter be created, nor shall the state own or be ha- 
 ble for any stock in any corporation or joint-stock association for banking pur- 
 poses, to be hereafter created. 
 
 4. The stockholders in every corporation, or joint-stock association for banking 
 purposes, issuing bank-notes, or any kind of paper credits to circulate as money, 
 shall be individually responsible, to the amount of then- respective share or 
 shares of stock in any such corporation or association, for all its debts and liabili- 
 ties of every kind. 
 
 6. No act of the general assembly, authorizing corporatioas or associations with 
 banking powers, shall go into effect, or in any manner be in force, unless the 
 saine sliall be submitted to the people at the general election next succeeding the 
 passage of the same, and be approved by a majority of all the votes cast at such 
 election for and against such law. 
 
ILLINOIS. 439 
 
 6. The general assembly shall encourage internal improvements, by passing 
 liberal general laws of incorporation for that purpose. 
 
 ARTICLE XL—Oanimons. 
 
 All lands which have been granted, as a " common," to the inhabitants of any 
 town, hamlet, village, or corporation, by any person, body pohtic or corporate, 
 or by any government having power to make such grant, shall for ever remain 
 common to the inhabitants of such town, hamlet, village, or corporation ; but the 
 said commons, or any of them, or any part thereof, may be divided, leased, or 
 granted, in such manner as may hereafter be provided by law, on petition of a 
 majority of the quahfied voters interested in such commons or any of them. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. — Amendments to the Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 1. Whenever two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch of the 
 general assembly shall think it necessary to alter or amend this constitution, 
 they shall recommend to the electors at the next election of members of the 
 general assembly, to vote for or against a convention ; and if it shall appear that 
 a majority of all the electors of the state voting for representatives have voted 
 for a convention, the general assembly shall, at their next session, caU a conven- 
 tion, to consist of as many members as the house of representatives at the time 
 of making said call, to be chosen in the same manner, at the same place, and by 
 the same electors, in the same districts that chose the members of the house of 
 representatives ; and Avhich convention shall meet within three months after the 
 said election, for the purjwse of revising, altering, or amending this constitution. 
 
 2. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in 
 either branch of the general assembly ; and if the same shall be agreed to by 
 two-thirds of all the members elect in each of tlie two houses, such proposed 
 amendment or amendments shall be refeired tothe next regular session of the 
 general assembly, and shall be published at least three months previous to the 
 time of holding the next election for members of the house of representatives ; 
 and if, at the next regular session of tlie general assembly after said election, a 
 majority of aU the members elect in each branch of the general assembly shall 
 agree to said amendment or amendments, then it shall be. their duty to submit 
 the same to the people at the next general election for their adoption or rejec- 
 tion, in such manner as may be prescribed by law ; and if a majority of all the 
 electors voting at such election for members of the house of representatives shall 
 vote for such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of the 
 constitution. But the general assembly shall not have power to propose an 
 amendment or amendments to more than one article of the constitution at the 
 same session. 
 
 ARTICLE Xill.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the general, great, and essential principles of Hberty and free government 
 may be recognised and unalterably established, we declare : — 
 Sec. 1. That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain 
 inherent, and indefeasible rights ; among which are those of enjoying and defend- 
 ing life and liberty, and of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property and 
 reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness. 
 
 2. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are 
 founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. 
 
 3. That all men have . a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty 
 God according to the dictates of their own consciences ; that no man can of right 
 be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain 
 any ministry, against his consent ; that no human authority can, in any case 
 wliatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no prefer- 
 ence shall ever be given by law to any religious establishments or modes of wor- 
 ship. 
 
440 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 4. That no religious test shall ever he required as a qualification to any office 
 of public trust under this state. 
 
 5. That all elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 6. Tliat the right of trial by jiu-y shall remain inviolate ; and shall extend to 
 all cases at law, without regard to the amount in controversy. 
 
 v. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and pos- 
 sessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and that general warrants, 
 whereby an officer may be coimnanded to search suspected places without evi- 
 dence of tlie fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose 
 offences are not particularly described and supported by evidence, are danger- 
 ous to liberty, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 8. That no freeman shall be imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, 
 or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty, 
 or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 
 
 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard by 
 himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against 
 him ; to meet the witnesses face to face ; to have compulsory process to com- 
 pel the attendai^ce of witnesses in his favor ; and in prosecutions by indictment 
 or information, a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or dis- 
 trict wherein the offence shall have been committed, which county or district 
 shall have been previously ascertained by law ; and that he shall not be com- 
 pelled to give evidence against himself 
 
 10. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence unless on the pre- 
 sentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or in 
 cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or m 
 the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger : Provided, 
 that justices of the peace shall try no person, except as a court of inquiry, for 
 any offence punishable with imprisonment or death, or fine above one hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 11. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of his -life 
 or hmb ; nor shall any man's property be taken or applied to public use without 
 the consent of his representatives in the general assembly, nor without just com- 
 pensation being made to him. 
 
 12. Every person within this state ought to find a certain remedy in the laws 
 for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or char- 
 acter ; he ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to 
 purchase it, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, con- 
 formably to the laws. 
 
 13. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital 
 offences where the proof is evident or the presumption great ; and the privilege 
 of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, when in cases of re- 
 bellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 
 
 14. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the offence ; the true 
 design of all punishment being to reform, not to exterminate mankind. 
 
 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless upon refusal to deliver up 
 his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed 
 by law, or in cases where there is strong presumption of fraud. 
 
 16. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this state, ex- 
 cept as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
 victed. 
 
 17. No ex-post-facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, 
 shall ever be made ; and no conviction shall work corruption of blood or for- 
 feitm-e of estate. 
 
 18. That no person shall be liable to be transported out of this state for any 
 offence committed within the same. 
 
 19. That a frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of civil govern- 
 ment is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 
 
ILLINOIS. 441 
 
 20. Tlie military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 21. That the people have a right to assemble together in a peaceable maimer 
 to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply 
 to the general assembly for redress of grievances. 
 
 22. S'o soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
 the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, except in manner prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 23. The printing-presses shall be free to every person who undertakes to 
 examine the proceedings of the general assembly, or of any branch of govern- 
 ment ; and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free 
 communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man ; 
 and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print, on any subject, being 
 responsible for the abuse of that liberty. 
 
 24. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official con- 
 duct of officers, or of men acting in a public capacity, or when the matter pub- 
 lished is proper for pubhc information, the truth thereof may be given in evi- 
 dence ; and in aU indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right of deter- 
 mining both the law and the fact, under the direction of the court, as in other 
 cases. 
 
 25. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this constitution, fight a duel, 
 or send or accept a challenge for that purpose, or be aider or abettor in fighting 
 a duel, shall be deprived of the right of holding any office of honor or profit ia 
 this state, and shall be punished otherwise, in such manner as is or may be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 26. That from and after the adoption of this constitution, every person who 
 shall be elected or appointed to any office of profit, trust, or emolument, civil or 
 military, legislative, executive, or judicial, under the government of this state, 
 shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, in addition to the oath pre- 
 scribed in this constitution, take the following oath : " I do solemnly swear [or 
 affirm, as the case may be] that I have not fought a duel, nor sent or accepted a 
 challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which might have been the death 
 of either party, nor been a second to either party, nor in any manner aided or 
 assisted in such duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of such challenge or accept- 
 ance, since the adoption of the constitution ; and that I will not be so engaged 
 or concerned, directly or indirectly, in or about any such duel, (iliring my contin- 
 uance in office. So help me, Grod." 
 
 ARTICLE XIY.— Public Debt. 
 
 There shall be annually assessed and collected, in the same manner as other 
 state revenue may be assessed and collected, a tax of two mills upon each dol- 
 lar's worth of taxable property, in addition to all other taxes, to be applied as 
 follows, to wit : The fund so created shall be kept separate, and shall annually, 
 on the first day of January, be apportioned and paid over, pro rata, upon all such 
 state indebtedness, other than the canal and school indebtedness, as may, for that 
 purpose, be presented by the holders of the same, to be entered as credits upon, 
 and, to that extent, in extinguishment of the principal of said indebtedness. 
 
442 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amendments made in 
 
 the constitution of this state, and to carry the same into complete effect, it is 
 
 hereby ordained and declared : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all laws in force at the adoption of this constitution, not inconsis- 
 tent therewith, and all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, and contracts of this 
 state, individuals or bodies corporate, shall continue and be as valid as if this con- 
 stitution had not been adopted. 
 
 2. That all fines, penalties, and forfeitiu-es due and owing to the state of Illi- 
 nois under the present constitution and laws, shall enure to the use of the peo- 
 ple of the state of Illinois under this constitution. 
 
 8. Recognizances, bonds, obligations, and all other instruments entered into or 
 executed, before the adoption of this constitution, to the people of the state of 
 BHnois, to any state or county officer or pubhc body, shall remain binding,.and 
 vahd, and rights and liabilities upon the same shall continue, and all crimes and 
 misdemeanors shall be tried and punished as though no change had been made 
 in the constitution of the state. 
 
 4. That " article XI," entitled " Conmions," is hereby adopted as a part of tlie ' 
 constitution of this state, without being submitted to be voted upon by the people. 
 
 5. That at the first election fixed by this constitution for the election of judges, 
 there shall be elected one circuit judge in each of the nine judicial circuits now 
 established in this state. 
 
 6. The county commissioners' courts and the probate justices of the several 
 counties, shall continue in existence and exercise their present jurisdiction, until 
 the county court, provided in this constitution, is organized in pursuance of an 
 act of the general assembly to be passed at its first session. 
 
 7. That the clerk of the circuit court, in each coimty fixed by this constitution 
 as the place for holding the supreme court, except in the county of Sangamon, 
 shall be ex- officio clerk of the supreme court, until the clerks of said court shaU 
 be elected and qualified, as provided in this constitution, and all laws now in 
 force, in relation to the clerk of the supreme court, shall be applicable to said 
 clerks and their duties. 
 
 8. That the ^eriffs, state attorneys, and all other officers elected under this 
 constitution shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 9. That the oaths of office herein required to be taken, may be administered 
 by a justice of the peace luitil otherwise provided for by law. 
 
 10. That this constitution shall be submitted to the people for theu- adoption 
 or rejection at an election to be held on the first Monday in March, a. d. 1848, 
 and there shall also be submitted for adoption or rejection at the same time, the 
 separate articles in relation to the emigration of colored persons and the public 
 debt.* 
 
 11. That every person entitled to vote for members of the general assembly, 
 by the constitution and laws now in force, shall on the first Monday in March, 
 A. t). 1848, be entitled to vote for the adoption or rejection of this constitution, and 
 for and against the aforesaid articles separately submitted, and the said qualified 
 electors, shall vote in the counties in which they respectively reside, at the usual 
 places of voting, and not elsewhere ; and the said election shall be conducted 
 according to the laws now in force in relation to the election of governor, so far 
 as apphcable, except as herein otherwise provided, 
 
 * The article relating to the Public Debt was adopted., and has, therefore, been appended to 
 the Constitution as Article XIV. ; that on the Emigration of colored Persons was rejected ; it 
 was as follows : — 
 
 "The genenil assembly shall, at its first session under the amended constitution, pass such 
 laws as will effectually prohibit free persons of color from immigrating to and settling in this 
 state ; and to effectually prevent the owners of slaves from bringing them into this state, for 
 the purpose of setting them free." 
 
ILLINOIS. 443 
 
 12. [As this section merely gave the form of pool-book to be used when the 
 constitution was submitted to the people, it is omitted, the event having passed.] 
 
 13. That the returns of the votes for the adoption or rejection of this consti- 
 tution, and for and against the separate articles submitted, shall be made to the 
 secretary of state within fifty days after the election, and the returns of the votes 
 shall, within five days thereafter, be examined and canvassed by the auditor, 
 treasurer and secretary of state, or any two of them, in the presence of the go- 
 vernor, and proclamation shall be made by the governor forthwith of the result 
 of the polls. If it shall appear, that a majority of all the votes polled are for 
 the adoption of this constitution, it shall be the supreme law of the land, from 
 and after the first day of April, a. d. 1848, but if it shall appear that a majority 
 of the votes polled, were given against the constitution, the same shall be null 
 and void. If it shall further appear that a majority of the votes polled, shall 
 have been given for the separate article in relation to colored persons, or the 
 article for the two mill tax, then said article, or articles, shall be and form a 
 part of this constitution, otherwise said article, or articles, shall be null and void. 
 
 14. That if this constitution shall be ratified by the people, the governor shall 
 forthwith, after having ascertained the fact, issue writs of election to the sheriffs 
 of the several counties in this state ; or, in case of vacancy, to the coroners, for 
 the election of aU the officers, the time of whose election is fixed by this consti- 
 tution, or schedule ; and it shall be the duty of said sheriffs or coroners, to give 
 at least twenty days' notice of the time and place of said election, in the man- 
 ner now prescribed by law. 
 
 15. The general assembly shall, at its first session after the adoption of this 
 constitution, provide by law for the mode of voting by ballot, and also for the 
 manner of returning, canvassing, and certifying the number of votes cast at any 
 election ; and until said law shall be passed, all elections shall be viva voce, and 
 the laws now in force regulating elections shaU continue in force until the gene- 
 ral assembly shall provide otherwise, as herein directed. 
 
 16. That the first general election of governor, secretary of state, auditor, trea- 
 surer, and members of the general assembly, and of such other officers as are to 
 be elected at the same time, shall be held on the first Monday of August, eigh- 
 teen himdred and forty-eight, anything in this constitution to the contrary not- 
 withstanding. Coimty officers then elected shall hold their respective offices, 
 until their successors are elected or appointed, in conformity with laws hereafter 
 enacted. 
 
 17. That returns of the election of justices of the supreme and judges of the 
 circuit courts, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer, shall be made and can- 
 vassed, as is now provided by law for representatives in congress ; and returns 
 for members of the general assembly and county officers shall be made and can- 
 vassed as is now provided by law. 
 
 18. That aU laws of the state of Illinois, and all official writings, and the exe- 
 cutive, legislative, and judicial proceedings, shall be conducted, preserved, and 
 pubhshed in no other than the English language. 
 
 19. On the first Monday in December, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 eight, the term of office of judges of the supreme court, state's attorneys, and of 
 the clerks of the supreme and circuit courts, shall expire ; and on the said day. 
 the term of office of the judges, state's attorneys, and clerks elected under the 
 provisions of this constitution, shall commence. The judges of the supreme 
 court, elected as aforesaid, shall have and exercise the powers and jurisdiction 
 conferred upon the present judges of that court ; and the said judges of the cir- 
 cuit courts shall have and exercise the powers and jurisdictions conferred upon 
 the judges of those courts, subject to the provisions of this constitution. 
 
 20. On the first Monday of December, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
 eight, jurisdiction of all suits and proceedings, then pending in the present su- 
 preme court shall become vested in the supreme court established by this consti- 
 tution, and shall be finally adjudicated bv the court where the same may be 
 
 33 ^ . 
 
444 CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 pending. The jurisdiction of all suits and proceedings then pending in circuit 
 courts of the several counties shall be vested in the cu-cuit courts of said coun- 
 ties. 
 
 21. The Cook and Jo Daviess county courts shall continue to exist, and the 
 judge and other officers of the same remain in office, until othei-wise provided 
 by law. 
 
 22. Until otherwise provided by law, the terms of the supreme court shall be 
 held as follows : In the first division, on the first Monday of December, a. d. 
 1848, and annually thereafter. In the second division, on the third Monday of 
 December, a. d. 1848, and annually thereafter. In the third division, on the first 
 Monday of February a. d. 1849, and annually thereafter. The sheriffs of Jeffer- 
 son and La Salle counties shall perform the same duties, and receive the same 
 compensation as is required and provided for the sheriff of Sangamon county, 
 until otherwise provided by law, 
 
 23. JS'othing in this constitution shall prevent the general assembly fi-om pas- 
 sing such laws in relation to the apprenticeship of minors, during their minority, 
 as may be necessary and proper. 
 
 24. That the general assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry into ef- 
 fect the provisions of this constitution. 
 
 25. Elections of judges of the supreme and circuit courts shall be subject to 
 be contested. 
 
 26. Contested elections of judges of the supreme court shall be tried by the 
 senate, and of judges of the circuit court by the supreme court, and the gene- 
 ral assembly shall prescribe the manner of proceeding therein. 
 
 Done in Convention, at the Capitol, in the city of Springfield, on the thirty-first 
 day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and for- 
 ty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the se- 
 venty-second. 
 
 NEWTON CLOUD, President. 
 Heney "W". Moore, Secretary. 
 Harman G. Reynolds, Assistant Secretary. 
 
MICHIGAN. 
 
 Michigan was settled by the French as early as 1G50. In 1763 it was ced- 
 ed to England, and at the close of the Revolutionary War, it was ceded by Great 
 Britain to the United States, though they held possession of Detroit till 
 1796, when it was surrendered to the United States. In 1805 a territorial gov- 
 ernment was formed. The British gained a temporary possession of this ter- 
 ritory in 1813-13, but it was soon recovered by the Americans, under Gen 
 William H. Harrison. In 1836 Michigan became a State, and was admitted 
 mto tlie Union. The present Constitution was adopted in 1850. 
 
 Area, 28,000 sq.m. Pop. in 1850, 397,654. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE I— Boundaries. 
 
 The State of Michigan consists of and has jurisdiction over the 
 territory embraced within the following boundaries, to wit : Com- 
 mencing at a point on the eastern boundary line of the State of Indi- 
 ana, where a direct line drawn from the southern extremity of Lake 
 Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Maumee Bay shall inter- 
 sect the same — said point being the north-west corner of the State of- 
 Ohio, as established by act of Congress, entitled " an act to establish 
 the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio, and to provide for 
 the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union upon the con- 
 ditions therein expressed," approved June fifteenth, one thousand 
 
446 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 eight hundred and thirty-six ; thence with the said boundary line of 
 the State of Ohio till it intersects the boundary line between the 
 United States and Canada in Lake Erie ; thence with said boundary 
 line between the United States and Canada through the Detroit river, 
 Lake Huron and Lake Superior, to a point where the said line last 
 touches Lake Superior ; thence in a direct line through Lake Supe- 
 rior to the mouth of the Montreal river ; thence through the middle 
 of the main channel of the said river Montreal to the head waters 
 thereof; thence in a direct line to the centre of the channel between 
 Middle and South Islands in the Lake of the Desert ; thence in a 
 direct line to the southern shore of Lake Brule ; thence along said 
 southern shore and down the river Brule to the main channel of the 
 Menominie river ; thence down the centre of the main channel of the 
 same to the centre of the most usual ship channel of the Green Bay 
 of Lake Michigan ; thence through the centre of the most usual ship 
 channel of the said l^ay to the middle of Lake Michigan ; thence through 
 the middle of Lake Michigan to the northern boundary of the State 
 of Indiana, as that line was established by the act of Congress of the 
 nineteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixteen ; thence due east 
 with the north boundary line of the said State of Indiana to the north- 
 east corner thereof; and thence south with the eastern boundary 
 line of Indiana to the place of beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE ll.—Seat of Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Seat of Government shall be at Lansing, where it is 
 now established. 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Division of the Powers of Government. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of government are divided into three depart- 
 ments, the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. 
 
 2. No person belonging to one department shall exercise the powers 
 properly belonging to another, except in the cases expressly provided 
 in this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power is vested in a Senate and House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-two members. Senators 
 shall be elected for two years, and by single districts. Such districts 
 shall be numbered from one to thirty -two inclusive ; each of which 
 shall choose one senator. No county shall be divided in the forma- 
 tion of senate districts, except such county shall be equitably entitled 
 to two or more senators. 
 
 3. The House of Representatives shall consist of not less than 
 sixty-four, nor more than one hundred members. Representatives 
 shall be chosen for two years, and by single districts. Each repre- 
 sentative district shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal num- 
 
MICHIGAN. 447 
 
 ber of white inhabitants, and civilized persons of Indian descent, not 
 members of any tribe, and shall consist of convenient and contigu- 
 ous territory. But no township or city shall be divided in the for- 
 mation of a representative district. When any township or city 
 shall contain a population which entitles it to more than one repre- 
 sentative, then such township or city shall elect by general ticket 
 the number of representatives to which it is entitled. Each county 
 hereafter organized, with such territory as may be attached thereto, 
 shall be entitled to a separate representative when it has attained a 
 population equal to a moiety of the ratio of representation. In every 
 county entitled to more than one representative, the board of super- 
 visors shall assemble at such time and place as the Legislature shall 
 prescribe, and divide the same into representative districts, equal to 
 the number of representatives to which such county is entitled by 
 law, and shall cause to be filed in the offices of the secretary of state 
 and clerk of such county a description of such representative districts, 
 specifying the number of each district, and the population thereof, 
 according to the last preceding enumeration. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall provide by law for an enumeration of the 
 inhabitants in the year eighteen hundred and fifty -four, and every ten 
 years thereafter ; and at the first session after each enumeration so 
 m,ade, and also at the first session after each enumeration by the 
 authority of the United States, the Legislature shall re-arrange the 
 senate districts, and apportion anew the representatives among the 
 counties and districts, according to the number of white inhabitants 
 and civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. 
 Each apportionment and the division into representative districts, by 
 any board of supervisors, shall I'emain unaltered until the return of 
 another enumeration. 
 
 5. Senators and representatives shall be citizens of the United 
 States, and qualified electors in the respective counties and districts 
 which they represent. A removal from their respective counties or 
 districts shall be deemed a vacation of their office. 
 
 6. No person holding any office under the United States [or this 
 state,] or any county office, except notaries public, officers of the 
 militia and officers elected by townships, shall be eligible to or have a 
 seat in either house of the Legislature, and all votes given for any 
 such person shall be void. 
 
 7. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, 
 felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest. They shall 
 not be subject to any civil process during the session of the Legisla- 
 ture, or for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the 
 termination of each session. They shall not be questioned in any 
 other place for any speech in either house. 
 
 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
 ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel 
 the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such 
 penalties as each house may prescribe. 
 
448 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 9. Each house shall choose its own officers, determine the rules of 
 its proceedings, and judge of the qualifications, election and return 
 of its members; and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all 
 the members elected, expel a member. No member shall be expelled 
 a second time for the same cause, nor for any cause known to his 
 constituents antecedent to his election. The reason for such expul- 
 sion shall be entered upon the journal, with the names of the mem- 
 bers voting on the question. 
 
 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pub 
 lish the same, except such parts as may require secrecy. The yeas 
 and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall be 
 entered on the journal at the request of one-fifth of the members 
 elected. Any member of either house may dissent from and protest 
 against any act, proceeding or resolution which he may deem inju- 
 rious to any person or the public, and have the reason of his dissent 
 entered on the journal. 
 
 11. In all elections by either house or in joint convention the votes 
 shall be given viva voce. All votes on nominations to the Senate 
 shall be taken by yeas and nays, and published with the journal of 
 its proceedings. 
 
 12. The doors of each house shall be open, unless the public wel- 
 fare require secrecy. Neither house shall, without the consent of the 
 other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other, place than 
 where the Legislature may then be in session. 
 
 13. Bills may originate in either house of the Legislature. 
 
 14. Every bill and concurrent resolution, except of adjournment, 
 passed by the Legislature, shall be presented to the governor before 
 it becomes a law. If he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he 
 shall return it with his objections to the house in which it originated, 
 which shall enter the objections at large upon their journal, and 
 reconsider it. On such reconsideration, if two-thirds of the members 
 elected agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to 
 the other house, by which it shall be reconsidered. If approved by 
 two-thirds of the members elected to that house, it shall become a 
 law. In such case, the vote of both houses shall be determined by 
 yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and 
 against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respec- 
 tively. If any bill be not returned by the governor within ten days, 
 Sundays excepted, after it has been presented to him, the same 
 shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
 the Legislature, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which 
 case it shall not become a law. The governor may approve, 
 sign, and file in the office of the secretary of state, within five 
 days after the adjournment of the Legislature, any act passed during 
 the last five days of the session ; and the same shall become a law. 
 
 15. The compensation of the members of the Legislature shall be 
 three dollars a day for actual attendance and when absent on account 
 of sickness, for the first sixty days of the session of the year one 
 
MICHIGAN. 449 
 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and for the first forty days of 
 every subsequent session, and nothing thereafter. When convened 
 in extra session their compensation shall be three dollars a day for 
 the first twenty days, and nothing thereafter ; and they shall legis- 
 late on- no other subjects than those expressly stated in the gover- 
 nor's proclamation, or submitted to them by special message. They 
 shall be entitled to ten cents and no more for every mile actually 
 travelled, going to and returning from the place of meeting, on the 
 usually travelled route; and for stationery and newspapers not 
 exceeding five dollars for each member during any session. Each 
 member shall be entitled to one copy of the laws, journals and 
 documents of the Legislature of which he was a member; but 
 shall not receive at the expense of the State, books, newspapers, or 
 other perquisites of office, not expressly authorized by this consti- 
 tution, 
 
 16. The Legislature may provide by law for the payment of 
 postage on all mailable matter received by its members and officers 
 during the sessions of the Legislature, but not on any sent or mailed 
 by them. 
 
 17. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives shall be entitled to the same per diem compensation 
 and mileage as members of the Legislature, and no more. 
 
 18. Ko person elected a member of the Legislature shall receive 
 any civil appointment within this State, or to the Senate of the 
 United States, from the Governor, the Governor and Senate, from 
 the Legislature, or any other State authority, during the term for 
 which he is elected. All such appointments and all votes given for 
 any person so elected for any such office or appointment, shall be void. 
 No member of the Legislature shall be interested, directly or indi- 
 rectly, in any contract with the State, or any county thereof, autho- 
 rized by any law passed, during the time for which he is elected, nor 
 for one year thereafter. 
 
 19. Every bill and joint resolution shall be read three times in 
 each house, before the final passage thereof. No bill or joint reso- 
 lution shall become a law without the concurrence of a majority of 
 all the members elected to each house. On the final passage of 
 all bills, the vote shall be by ayes and nays, and entered on the 
 journal. 
 
 20. No law shall embrace more than one object, which shall be 
 expressed in its title. No public act shall take eflfect or be in force 
 until the expiration of ninety days from the end of the session at 
 which the same is passed, unless the Legislature shall otherwise direct, 
 by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house. 
 
 21. The Legislature shall not grant nor authorize extra conpensa- 
 tion to any public officer, agent or contractor, after the service has 
 been rendered or the contract entered into. 
 
 22. The Legislature shall provide by law that the furnishing of 
 fuel and stationery for the use of the State, the printing and binding 
 
450 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the laws and journals, all blanks, paper and printing for the execu- 
 tive departments, and all other printing ordered by the Legislature, 
 shall be let by contract to the lowest bidder or bidders, who shall 
 give adequate and satisfactory security for the performance thereof. 
 The Legislature shall prescribe by law the manner in which the 
 State printing shall be executed, and the accounts rendered therefor ; 
 and shall prohibit all charges for constructive labor. They shall not 
 rescind nor alter such contract, nor release the person nor persons 
 taking the same, or his or their sureties, from the performance of any 
 of the conditions of the contract. No member of the Legislature, 
 nor officer of the State, shall be interested directly or indirectly in 
 any such contract. 
 
 23. The Legislature shall not authorize, by private or special law, 
 the sale or conveyance of any real estate belonging to any person ; 
 nor vacate, nor alter any road laid out by commissioners of high- 
 ways, or any street in any city or village, or in any recorded town 
 plat. 
 
 24. The Legislature may authorize the employment of a chaplain 
 for the State prison ; but no money shall be appropriated for the 
 payment of any religious services in either house of the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 25. No law shall be revised, altered or amended by reference to 
 its title only ; but the act revised, and the section or sections "of the 
 
 •act altered or amended, shall be re-enacted and published at length. 
 
 26. Divorces shall not be granted by the Legislature. 
 
 27. The Legislature shall not authorize any lottery, nor permit 
 the sale of lottery tickets. 
 
 '28. No new bill shall be introduced into either house during the 
 last three days of the session, without the unanimous consent of the 
 house in which it originates. 
 
 29. In case of a contested election, the person only shall receive 
 from the State per diem compensation and mileage, who is declared 
 to be entitled to a seat by the house in which the contest takes 
 place. 
 
 30. No collector, holder, nor disburser of public moneys, shall 
 have a seat in the Legislature, or be eligible to any office of trust or 
 profit under this State, until he shall have accounted for and paid 
 over, as provided by law, all sums for which he may be liable. 
 
 3L The Legislature shall not audit nor allow any private claim 
 or account. 
 
 32. The Legislature, on the day of final adjournment, shall adjourn 
 at twelve o'clock at noon. 
 
 33. The Legislature shall meet at the seat of government on the 
 first Wednesday in February next, and on the first Wednesday in 
 January of every second year thereafter, and at no other place or 
 time, unless as provided in this constitution. 
 
 34. The election of senators and representatives, j)ursuant to the 
 provisions of this constitution, shall be held on the Tuesday succeed- 
 
MICHIGAN. 451 
 
 ing the first Monday of November, in* the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-two, and on the Tuesday succeeding t^e first Mon- 
 day of November of every second year thereafter. 
 
 35. The Legislature shall not establish a State paper. Every 
 newspaper in the State which shall publish all the general laws of 
 any session within forty days of their . passage, shall be entitled to 
 receive a sum not exceeding fifteen dollars therefor. 
 
 36. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of all 
 statute laws of a public nature, and of such judicial decisions as it 
 may deem expedient. All laws and judicial decisions shall be free 
 for publication by any person. 
 
 .37. The Legislature may declare the cases in which any oflSce 
 shall be deemed vacant, and also the manner of filling the vacancy, 
 where no provision is made for that purpose in this constitution. 
 
 38. The Legislature may confer upon organized townships, incor- 
 porated cities and villages, and upon the board of supervisors of the 
 several counties, such powers of a local, legislative and administra- 
 tive character as they may deem proper. 
 
 39. The Legislature shall pass no law to prevent any person from 
 worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of his own con- 
 science, or to compel any person to attend, erect, or support any 
 place of religious worship, or to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for 
 the support of any minister of the gospel or teacher of religion. 
 
 40. No money shall be appropriated or drawn from the treasury 
 for the benefit of any religious sect or society, theological or religious 
 seminary, nor shall property belonging to the State be appropriated 
 for any such purposes. 
 
 4L The Legislature shall not diminish or enlarge the civil or poli- 
 tical rights, privileges and capacities of any person on account of his 
 opinion or belief concerning matters of religion. 
 
 42. No law shall ever be pasi>ed to restrain or abridge the liberty 
 of speech or of the press ; but every person may freely speak, write 
 and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the 
 abuse of such right. 
 
 43. The Legislature shall pass no bill of attainder, ex-post facto 
 law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts. 
 
 44. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus remains, and shall 
 not be suspended by the Legislature, except in case of rebellion or 
 invasion the public safety require it. 
 
 45. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house 
 of the Legislature shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the 
 public money Or property for local or private purposes. 
 
 46. The Legislature may authorize a trial by a jury of a less num- 
 ber than twelve men. 
 
 47. The Legislature shall not pass any act authorizing the grant 
 of license for the sale of ardent spirits or other intoxicating liquors. 
 
 48. The style of the laws shall be, " The People of the State of 
 Michigan enact." 
 
452 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Executive power is vested in a governor, who shall 
 hold his office for two years. A lieutenant governor shall be chosen 
 for the same term. 
 
 2. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant 
 governor who has not been five years a citizen of the United States, 
 and a resident of this State two years next preceding his election ; 
 nor shall any person be eligible to either office who has not attained 
 the age of thirty years. 
 
 3. The governor and lieutenant governor shall be elected at the 
 times and places of choosing the members of the Legislature. The 
 person having the highest number of votes for governor or lieutenant 
 governor shall be elected. In case two or more persons shall have 
 an equal and the highest number of votes for governor or lieutenant 
 governor, the Legislature shall, by joint vote, choose one of such 
 persons. 
 
 4. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military and 
 naval forces, and may call out such forces to execute the laws, to 
 suppress insurrections and to repel invasions. 
 
 5. He shall transact all necessary business with officers of govern- 
 ment, and may require information, in writing, from the officers of 
 the Executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties 
 of their respective offices. 
 
 6. He shall take care that the laws be 'faithfully executed. 
 
 7. He may convene the Legislature on extraordinary occasions. 
 
 8. He shall give to the Legislature, and at the close of his official 
 term to the next Legislature, information by message of the condi- 
 tion of the State, and recommend such measures to them as he shall 
 deem expedient. 
 
 9. He may convene the Legislature at some other place when the 
 seat of government becomes dangerous from disease or a common 
 enemy. 
 
 10. He shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as occur 
 in the Senate or House of Representatives. 
 
 11. He may grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after con- 
 victions, for all offences except treason and cases of impeachment, 
 upon such conditions, and with such restrictions and limitations, as 
 he may think proper, subject to regulations provided by law, relative 
 to the manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, 
 he may suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be 
 reported to the Legislature at its next session, when the Legislature 
 shall either pardon, or commute the sentence, direct the execution of 
 the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall communicate to 
 the Legislature at each session information of each case of reprieve, 
 commutation or pardon granted, and the reasons therefor. 
 
 12. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from 
 office, death, inability, resignation, or absence from the State, the 
 
MICHIGAN. 453 
 
 powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant 
 governor for the residue of the term, or until the disability ceases. 
 When the governor shall be out of the State in time of war, at the 
 head of a military force thereof, he ^hall continue commander-in- 
 chief of all the military force of the State. 
 
 13. During a vacancy in the office of governor, if the lieutenant 
 governor die, resign, be impeached, displaced, be incapable of per- 
 forming the duties of his office, or absent from the State, the presi- 
 dent 'pro tempore of the Senate shall act as governor until the vacancy 
 be filled, or the disability cease. 
 
 14. The lieutenant governor shall, by virtue of his office, be presi- 
 dent of the Senate. In committee of the whole he may debate all 
 questions ; and when there is an equal division, he shall give the 
 casting vote. 
 
 15. No member of Congress, nor any .person holding office 
 under the United States, or this State, shall execute the office of 
 governor. 
 
 16. No person elected governor or lieutenant governor shall be 
 eligible to any office or appointment from the Legislature, or either 
 house thereof, during the time for which he was elected. All votes 
 for either of them, for any such office, shall be void. 
 
 17. The lieutenant [governor] and president of the Senate pro tern- 
 pore, when performing the duties of governor, shall receive the same 
 compensation as the governor. 
 
 18. All official acts of the governor, his approval of the laws 
 excepted, shall be authenticated by the Great Seal of' the State, which 
 shall be kept by the secretary of state. 
 
 19. All commissions issued to persons holding office under the 
 provisions of this constitution, shall be in the name and by the 
 authority of the people of the State of Michigan, sealed with the 
 Great Seal of the State, signed by the governor, and countersigned 
 by the secretary of state. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. — Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power is vested in one supreme court, in circuit 
 courts, in probate courts, and in justices of the peace. Municipal 
 courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction may be established by the 
 Legislature in cities. 
 
 2. For the term of six years, and thereafter, until the Legislature 
 otherwise provide, the judges of the several circuit courts shall be 
 judges of the supreme court, four of whom shall constitute a quorum. 
 A concurrence of three shall be necessary to a final decision. After 
 six years the Legislature may provide by law for the organization of 
 a supreme court, with the jurisdiction and powers prescribed in this 
 constitution, to consist of one chief justice and three associate justices, 
 to be chosen by the electors of the State. Such supreme court, when 
 so organized, shall not be changed or discontinued by the Legislature 
 for eight years thereafter. The judges thereof shall be so classified 
 
454 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 that but one of them shall go out of office at the same time. Their 
 term of office shall be eight years. 
 
 3. The supreme court shall have a general superintending control 
 over all inferior courts, and shall have power to issue writs of error, 
 habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, procedendo, and other 
 original and remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same. In 
 all other cases it shall have appellate jurisdiction only. 
 
 4. Four terms of the supreme court shall be held annually, at such 
 times and places as may be designated by law. 
 
 5. The supreme court shall, by general- rules, establish, modify and 
 amend the practice in such court and in the circuit courts, and sim- 
 plify the same. The Legislature shall, as far as practicable, abolish 
 distinctions between law and equity proceedings. The office .of mas- 
 ter in chancery is prohibited. 
 
 6. The State shall be divided into eight judicial circuits ; in each 
 of which the electors thereof shall elect one circuit judge, who shall 
 hold his office for the term of six years, and until his successor is 
 elected and qualified. 
 
 7. The Legislature may alter the limits of circuits, or increase the 
 number of the same. No alteration or increase shall have the effect 
 to remove a judge from office. In every additional circuit established 
 the judge shall be elected by the electors of such circuit, and his term 
 of office shall continue as provided in this constitution for judges of 
 the circuit court. 
 
 8. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction in all matters 
 civil and criminal, not excepted in this constitution, and not pro- 
 hibited by law ; and appellate jurisdiction from all inferior courts 
 and tribunals, and a supervisory control of the same. They shall 
 also have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunc- 
 tion, quo warranto, certiorari, and other writs necessary to carry into 
 effect their orders, judgments and decrees, and give them a general 
 control over inferior courts and tribunals within their respective juris- 
 dictions. 
 
 9. Each of the judges of the circuit courts shall receive a salary 
 payable quarterly. They shall be ineligible to any other than a 
 judicial office during the term for which they are elected, and for one 
 year thereafter. All votes for any person elected such judge for any 
 office other than judicial, given either by the Legislature or the 
 people, shall be void. 
 
 10. The supreme court may appoint a reporter of its decisions. 
 The decisions of the supreme court shall be in writing, and signed 
 by the judges concurring therein. Any judge dissenting therefrom, 
 shall give the reasons of such dissent in writing, under his signa- 
 ture. All such opinions shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the 
 supreme court. The judges of the circuit court, within their respec- 
 tive jurisdictions, may fill vacancies in the office of county clerk 
 and of prosecuting attorney ; but no judge of the supreme court, or 
 
MICHIGAN. 455 
 
 circuit court, shall exercise any other power of appointment to public 
 office. 
 
 11. A circuit court shall be held at least twice in each year in 
 every county organized for judicial purposes, and four times in each 
 year in counties containing ten thousand inhabitants. Judges of the 
 circuit court may hold courts for each other, and shall do so when 
 required by law. 
 
 12. The clerk of each county organized for judicial purposes shall 
 be the clerk of the circuit court of such county, and of the supreme 
 court when held within the same. 
 
 13. In each of the counties organized for judicial purposes, there 
 shall be a court of probate. The judge of such court shall be elected 
 by the electors of the county in which he resides, and shall hold his 
 office for four years, and until' his successor is elected and qualified. 
 The jurisdiction, powers and duties of such court, shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 14. When a vacancy occurs in the office of judge of the supreme, 
 circuit or probate court, it shall be filled by appointment of the 
 governor, which shall continue until a successor is elected and quali- 
 fied. When elected, such successor shall hold his office the residue 
 of the unexpired term. 
 
 15. The supreme court, the circuit and probate courts of each 
 county, shall be courts of record, and shall each have a common seal. 
 
 16. The Legislature may provide by law for the election of one 
 or more persons in each organized county, who may be vested with 
 judicial powers, not exceeding those of a judge of the circuit court 
 at chambers. 
 
 17. There shall be not exceeding four justices of the peace in 
 each organized township. They shall be elected by the electors of 
 the townships, and shall hold their offices for four years, and until 
 their successors are elected and qualified. At the first election in any 
 township, they shall be classified as shall be prescribed by law. A 
 justice elected to fill a vacancy shall hold his office for the residue of 
 the unexpired term. The Legislature may increase the number of 
 justices in cities, 
 
 18. In civil cases justices of^the peace shall have exclusive juris- 
 diction to the amount of one hundred dollars, and concurrent juris- 
 diction to the amount of three hundred dollars, which may be 
 increased to five hundred dollars, with such exceptions and restric- 
 tions as may be provided by law. They shall also have such crim- 
 inal jurisdiction and perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the 
 Legislature. 
 
 19. Judges Qf the supreme court, circuit judges, and justices of 
 the peace, shall be conservators of the peace within their respective 
 jurisdictions. 
 
 20. The first election of judges of the circuit courts shall be held 
 on the first Monday in April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
 one, and every sixth year thereafter. Whenever an additional circuit 
 
45§ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 is created, provision shall be made to hold the subsequent election 
 of such additional judges at the regular elections herein provided. 
 
 21. The first election of judges of the probate courts shall be 
 held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty -two, and every fourth year there- 
 after. 
 
 22. Whenever a judge shall remove beyond the limits of the juris- 
 diction for which he was elected, or a justice of the peace from the 
 township in which he was elected, or by a change in the boundaries 
 of' such township shall be placed without the same, they shall be 
 deemed to have vacated their respective offices. 
 
 23. The Legislature may establish courts of conciliation, with such 
 powers and duties as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 24. Any suitor in any court of this State shall have the right to 
 prosecute or defend his suit, either in his own proper person, or by 
 an attorney or agent of his choice. 
 
 25. In all prosecutions for libels, the truth may be given in evi- 
 dence to the jury ; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter 
 charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives 
 and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted. The jury shall 
 Have the right to determine the law and the fact. 
 
 26. The person, houses, papers, and possessions of every person 
 shall be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. No war- 
 rant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall issue 
 without describing them, nor without probable cause, supported by 
 oath or affirmation. 
 
 27. The right of trial by jury shall remain, but shall be deemed 
 to be waived in all civil cases unless demanded by one of the parties, 
 in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 28. In every criminal prosecution, the accused shall have the 
 right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, which may 
 consist of less than twelve men in all courts not of record ; to be 
 informed of the nature of the accusation; to be confronted with 
 the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
 ing witnesses in his favor, and have the assistance of counsel for his 
 defence. 
 
 29. No person, after acquittal upon the merits, shall be tried for 
 the same offence ; all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by 
 sufficient sureties, except for murder and treason, when the proof is 
 evident or the presumption great. 
 
 30. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless upon the testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
 open court. 
 
 31. Excessive bail shall not be required ; excessive fines shall not 
 be imposed ; cruel or unusual punishment shall not be inflicted, nor 
 shall witnesses be unreasonably detained. 
 
MICHIGAN. a456 
 
 32. No person shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a 
 witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, 
 without due process of law. 
 
 33. No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of, or 
 founded on a contract, express or implied, except in cases of fraud or 
 breach of trust, or of moneys collected by public officers or in any 
 professional employment. No person shall be imprisoned for a 
 militia fine in time of peace. 
 
 34. No person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on 
 account of his opinions on matters of religious belief 
 
 35. The style of all process shall be, " In the name of the people 
 of the State of Michigan." 
 
 ARTICLE NIL— Elections. 
 
 Sec. 1. In all elections, every white male citizen, every white 
 male inhabitant residing in the State on the twenty-fourth day of 
 June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five ; every white male 
 inhabitant residing in this State on the first day of January, one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty, who has declared his intention to 
 become a citizen of the United States, pursuant to the laws thereof, 
 six months preceding an election, or who has resided in this State 
 two years and six months, and declared his intention as aforesaid ; 
 and every civilized male inhabitant of Indian descent, a native of the 
 United States and not a member of any tribe, shall be an elector 
 and entitled to vote ; but no citizen or inhabitant shall be an elector, 
 or entitled to vote at any election, unless he shall be above the age 
 of twenty-one years; and has resided in this State three months, and 
 in the township or ward in which he offers to vote, ten days next 
 preceding such election. 
 
 2. All votes shall be giv^en by ballot, except for such township 
 officers as may be authorized by law to be otherwise chosen. 
 
 3. Every elector, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of 
 the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during his attendance at 
 election, and in going to and returning from the same. 
 
 4. No elector shall be obliged to do militia duty on the day of 
 election, except in time of war or public danger, or attend court as 
 a suitor or witness. 
 
 5. No elector shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence 
 by reason of his being employed in the service of the United States, 
 or of this State ; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters 
 of this State or of the United States, or of the high seas ; nor while 
 a student of any seminary of learning ; nor while kept at any alms- 
 house or other asylum at public expense ; nor while confined in any 
 public prison. 
 
 6. Laws may be passed to preserve the purity of elections, and 
 guard against abuses of the elective franchise. 
 
 7. No soldier, seaman, nor marine, in the army or navy of the 
 United States, shall be deemed a resident of this State in conse- 
 
54:6b 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 quence of being stationed in 'any military or naval place within the 
 same. 
 
 8. Any inhabitant who may hereafter be engaged in a duel, either 
 as principal or accessory before the fact, shall be disqualified from 
 holding any office under the constitution and laws of this State, and 
 shall not be permitted to vote at any election. 
 
 ARTICLE YlllState Officers. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be elected at each general biennial election a 
 secretary of state, a superintendent of public instruction, a state trea- 
 surer, a commissioner of the land office, an auditor-general, and an 
 attorney-general, for the term of two years. They shall keep their 
 offices at the. seat of government, and shall perform such duties as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 2. Their term of office shall commence on the first day of January, 
 one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and of every second year 
 therea^fter. 
 
 3. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in any of the State offices, the 
 governor shall fill the same by appointment, by and with the advice 
 and consent of the Senate, if in session. 
 
 4. The secretary of state, starte treasurer, and commissioner of the 
 state land office shall constitute a board of state auditors to examine 
 and adjust all claims against the State, not otherwise provided for 
 by general law. They shall constitute a board of state canvassers 
 to determine the result of all elections for governor, lieutenant gov- 
 ernor, and state officers, and of such other officers as shall by law be 
 referred to them. 
 
 5. In case two or more persons have an equal and the highest 
 number of votes for any office, as canvassed by the board of state 
 canvassers, the Legislature, in joint convention, shall choose one of 
 said persons to fill such office. When the determination of the board 
 of state canvassers is contested, the Legislature, in joint convention, 
 shall decide which person is elected. 
 
 ARTICLE lX.—Salaries. 
 
 Sec. I. The governor shall receive an annual salary of one thou- 
 sand dollars ; the judges of the circuit court shall each receive an 
 annual salary of one thousand five hundred dollars ; the state trea- 
 surer shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars ; the 
 auditor-general shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars ; 
 the superintendent of public instruction shall receive an annual salary 
 of one thousand dollars ; the secretary of state shall receive an 
 annual salary of eight hundred dollars ; the commissioner of the land 
 office shall receive an annual salary of eight hundred dollars ; the 
 attorney-general shall receive an annual salary of eight hundred 
 dollars. They shall receive no fees or perquisites whatever, for 
 the performance of any duties connected with their offices. It shall 
 
MICHIGAN. C4:56 
 
 not be competent for the Legislature to increase the salaries herein 
 provided. 
 
 ARTICLE ^.—Counties. 
 
 Sec. 1. Each organized county shall be a body corporate, with 
 such powers and immunities as shall be established by law. All 
 suits and proceedings, by or against a county, shall be in the name 
 thereof. 
 
 2. No organized county shall ever be reduced by the organization 
 of new counties to less than sixteen townships, as surveyed by the 
 United States, unless in pursuance of law, a majority of electors 
 residing in each county to be effected thereby shall so decide. The 
 Legislature may organize any city into a separate county, when it 
 has attained a population of twenty thousand inhabitants, without 
 reference to geographical extent, when a majority of the electors of a 
 county in which such city may l3e situated, voting thereon, shall b^ 
 in favor of a separate organization. 
 
 3. In each organized county there shall be a sheriff, a county 
 clerk, a county treasurer, a register of deeds, and a prosecuting attor- 
 ney, chosen by the electors thereof, once in two years, and as oflen 
 as vacancies shall happen, whose duties and powers shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. The board of supervisors in any county may unite 
 the offices of county clerk and register of deeds in one office, or dis- 
 connect the same. 
 
 4. The sheriff, county clerk, county treasurer, judge of probate, 
 and register of deeds, shall hold their offices at the county seat. 
 
 5. The sheriff shall hold no other office, and shall be incapable 
 of holding the office of sheriff longer than four in any period of six 
 years. He may be required by law to renew his security from time 
 to time, and in default of giving such security, his office shall be 
 deemed vacant. The county shall never be responsible for his acts. 
 
 6. A board of supervisors, consisting of one from each organized 
 township, shall be established in each county, with such powers as 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 7. Cities shall have such representation in the board of super- 
 visors of the counties in which they are situated, as the Legislature 
 may direct. 
 
 8. No county seat, once established, shall be removed, until the 
 place to which it is proposed to be removed shall be designated by 
 two-thirds of the board of supervisors of the county, and a majority 
 of the electors voting thereon shall have voted in favor of the pro 
 posed location, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 9. The board of supervisors of any county may borrow or raise by 
 tax one thousand dollars, for constructing or repairing public buildings, 
 highways or bridges ; but no greater sum shall be borrowed or raised 
 by tax for such purpose in any one year, unless authorized by a 
 majority of the electors of such county voting thereon. 
 
 10. The board of supervisors, or in the county of Wayne, the 
 
 34 
 
4:66d CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 board of county auditors, shall have t}he exclusive power to prescribe 
 and fix the compensation for all services rendered for, and to adjust 
 all claims against their respective counties, and the sum so fixed or 
 defined shall be subject to no appeal. 
 
 11. The board of supervisors of each organized county may pro- 
 vide for laying out highways, constructing bridges, and organizing 
 townships, under such restrictions and limitations as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XL— Townships. 
 
 Sec. 1. There shall be elected annually, on the first Monday of 
 April, in each organized township, one supervisor, one township 
 clerk, who shall be ex-officio school inspector, one commissioner of 
 highways, one township treasurer, one school inspector, not exceed- 
 ing four constables, and one overseer of highways for each highway 
 (^strict, whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 2. Each organized township shall be a body corporate, with such 
 powers and immunities as shall be prescribed by law. All suits and 
 proceedings by or against a township, shall be in the name thereof.. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. — Impeachments and Memovak from Office. 
 
 . Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
 of impeaching civil officers for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes 
 or misdemeanors ; but a majority of the members elected shall be 
 necessary to direct an impeachment. 
 
 2. Every impeachment shall be tried by the Senate. When the 
 governor or lieutenant governor is tried, the chief justice of the 
 supreme court shall preside. When an impeachment is directed, 
 the Senate shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to 
 try and determine the same according to the evidence. No person 
 shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- 
 bers elected. Judgment, in case of impeachment, shall not extend 
 further than removal from office ; but the party convicted shall be 
 liable to punishment according to law. 
 
 3. When an impeachment is directed, the House of Represienta- 
 tives shall elect from their own body three members, whose duty it 
 shall be to prosecute such impeachment. No impeachment shall be 
 tried until the final adjournment of the Legislature, when the Senate 
 shall proceed to try the same.' 
 
 4. No judicial officer shall exercise his office after an impeachment 
 is directed, until he is acquitted. 
 
 5. The governor may make a provisional appointment to fill a 
 vacancy occasioned by the suspension of an officer until he shall 
 be acquitted, or until after the election and qualification of a suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 6. Eor reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for 
 the impeachment of a judge, the governor shall remove him on a 
 concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members elected to each 
 
MICHIGAN. ei66 
 
 house of the Legislature ; but the cause for which such removal is 
 required shall be stated at length in such resolution. 
 
 7. The Legislature shall provide by law for the removal of any 
 officer elected by a county, township or school district, in such man- 
 ner and for such cause as to them shall seem just and proper. 
 
 ARTICLE Xlll— Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. The superintendent of public instruction shall have the 
 general supervision of public instruction, and his duties shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 2. The proceeds from the sales of all lands that have been or here- 
 after may be granted by the United States to the State for educational 
 purposes, and the proceeds of all lands or other property given by 
 individuals or appropriated by the State for like purposes, shall be 
 and remain a perpetual fund, the interest and income of which, toge- 
 gether with the rents of all such lands as may remain unsold, shall 
 be inviolably appropriated and annually applied to the specific objects 
 of the original gift, grant or appropriation. 
 
 3. All lands, the titles to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, 
 shall escheat to the State ; and the interest on the clear proceeds from 
 the sales thereof, shall be appropriated exclusively to the support of 
 primary schools. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall, within five years from the adoption of 
 this constitution, provide for and establish a system of primary 
 schools, whereby a school shall be kept, without charge for tuition, 
 at least three months in each year, in every school district in the 
 State, and all instruction in said schools shall be conducted in the 
 English language. 
 
 5. A school shall be maintained in each school district at least 
 three months in each year. Any school district neglecting to main- 
 tain such school, shall be deprived for the ensuing year of its propor- 
 tion of the income of the primary school fund, and of all funds arising 
 from taxes for the support of schools. 
 
 6. There shall be elected in each judicial circuit, at the time of the 
 election of the judge of such circuit, a regent of the university, whose 
 term of office shall be the same as that of such judge. The regents 
 thus elected shall constitute the board of regents of the University of 
 Michigan. , 
 
 7. The regents of the university, and their successors in office, 
 shall continue to constitute the- body corporate, known by the name 
 and title of "the Eegents of the University of Michigan." 
 
 8. The regents of the university shall, at their first annual meet- 
 ing, or as soon thereafter as may be, elect a president of the univer- 
 sity, who shall be ex-officio a member of their board, with the privi- 
 lege of speaking, but not of voting. He shall preside at the meetings 
 of the regents, and be the principal executive officer of the university. 
 The board of regents shall have the general supervision of the uni- 
 
456/ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 versity, and the direction and control of all expenditures from the 
 university interest fund. 
 
 9. There shall be elected at the general election in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, three members of a state 
 board of education, one for two years, one for four years, and one 
 for six years ; and at each succeeding biennial election there shall be 
 elected one member of such board, who shall hold his office for six 
 years. The superintendent of public instruction shall be ex-officio a 
 member and secretary of such board. The board shall have the 
 general supervision of the State Normal School, and their duties 
 shall be pi-escribed by law. 
 
 10. Institutions for the benefit of those inhabitants who are deaf, 
 dumb, blind or insane, shall always be fostered and supported. 
 
 11. The Legislature shall encourage the promotion of intellectual, 
 scientific and agricultural improvement ; and shall, as soon as prac- 
 ticable, provide for the establishment of an agricultural school. The 
 Legislature may appropriate the twenty-two sections of salt spring 
 lands now. unappropriated, or the money arising from the sale of the 
 same, where such lands have been already sold, and any land which- 
 may hereafter be granted or appropriated for such purpose, for the 
 support and maintenance of such school, and may make the same a 
 branch of the university for instruction in agriculture and the natural 
 sciences connected therewith, and place the same under the super- 
 vision of the regents of the university. 
 
 12. The Legislature shall also provide for the establishment of 
 at least one librarian in each township ; and all fines assessed and 
 collected in the several counties and townships for any breach of 
 the penal laws, shall be exclusively applied to the support of such 
 libraries. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. — Finance and Taxation. 
 
 Sec. 1. All specific State taxes, except those received from the 
 mining companies of the Upper Peninsula, shall be applied in paying 
 the interest upon the primary school, university, and other educa- 
 tional funds, and the interest and principal of the State debt, in the 
 order herein recited, until the extinguishment of the State debt, other 
 than the amounts due to educational funds, when such specific taxes 
 shall be added to, and constitute a part of the primary school inter- 
 est fund. The Legislature shall provide for an annual tax, sufficient, 
 with other resources, to pay the estimated expenses of the State gov- 
 ernment, the interest of the State debt, and such deficiency as may 
 occur in the resources. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall provide by law a sinking fund of at least 
 twenty thousand dollars a year, to commence in eighteen hundred 
 and fifty-two, with compound interest at the rate of six per cent, per 
 annum, and an annual increase of at least five per cent., to be applied 
 solely to the payment and extinguishment of the principal of the State 
 debt, other than the amounts due to educational funds, and shall be 
 
MICHIGAN. ^7456 
 
 continued until the extinguishment thereof. The unfunded debt shall 
 not be funded or redeemed at a value exceeding that established by 
 law in one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight. 
 
 3. The State may contract debts to meet deficits in revenue. 
 Such debts shall not in the aggregate at any one time exceed fifty 
 thousand dollars. The moneys so raised shall be applied to the pur- 
 poses for which they were obtained, or to the payment of the debts 
 so contracted. 
 
 4. The State may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insur- 
 rection, or defend the State in time of war. The money arising 
 from the contracting of such debts shall be applied to the purposes 
 for which it was raised, or to repay such debts. 
 
 5. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursu- 
 ance of appropriations made by law. 
 
 6. The credit of the State shall not be granted to, or in aid of 
 any person, association or corporation. 
 
 7. No scrip, certificate or other evidence of State indebtedness 
 shall be issued, except for the redemption of stock previously issued, 
 or for such debts as are expressly authorized in this constitution. 
 
 8. The State shall not subscribe to, or be interested in, the stock 
 of any company, association or corporation. 
 
 9. The State shall not be a party to, or interested in, any work 
 of internal improvement, nor engaged in carrying on any such work, 
 except in the expenditure of grants to the State of land or other 
 property. 
 
 10. The State may continue to collect all specific taxes accruing 
 to the treasury under existing laws. The Legislature may provide 
 for the collection of specific taxes, from banking, railroad, plank road, 
 and other corporations hereafler created. 
 
 11. The Legislature shall provide an uniform rule of taxation, 
 except on property paying specific taxes, and taxes shall be levied on 
 such property as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 12. All assessments hereafter authorized shall be on property at 
 its cash value. 
 
 13. The Legislature shall provide for an equalization by a State 
 board, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and 
 every fifth year thereafter, of assessments on all taxable property, 
 except that paying specific taxes. 
 
 14. Every law which imposes, continues or revives a tax, shall 
 distinctly state the tax, and the object to which it is tc be applied ; 
 and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax 
 or object. 
 
 ARTICLE XN .— Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall 
 not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes. All 
 laws passed pursuant to this section may be altered, amended, or 
 
456/i CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. "No banking law, or law for banking purposes, or amendments 
 thereof, shall have effect until the same shall, after its passage, be 
 submitted to a vote of the electors of the State, at a general elec- 
 tion, and be approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon at such 
 election. 
 
 3. The officers and stockholders of every corporation or association 
 for banking purposes, issuing bank notes or paper credits to circulate 
 as money, shall be individually liable for all debts contracted during 
 the time of their being officers or stockholders of such corporation 
 or association. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall provide by law for the registry of all 
 bills or notes issued or put in circulation as money, and shall require 
 security to the full amount of notes and bills so registered in State 
 or United States stocks, bearing interest, which shall be deposited 
 with the state treasurer, for the redemption of such bills or notes in 
 specie. 
 
 5. In case of the insolvency of any bank or banking association, 
 the billholders thereof shall be entitled to preference in payment 
 over all other creditors of such bank or association. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall pass no law authorizing or sanctioning 
 the suspension of specie payments by any person, association or 
 corporation. 
 
 7. The stockholders of all corporations and joint stock associations 
 shall be individually liable for all labor performed for such corpora- 
 tion or association. 
 
 8. The Legislature shall pass no law altering or amending any 
 act of incorporation heretofore granted, without the assent of two- 
 thirds of the members elected to each house ; nor shall any such act 
 be renewed^ or extended. This restriction shall not apply to muni- 
 cipal corporations. 
 
 9. The property of no person shall be taken by any corporation 
 for public use without compensation being first made or secured, in 
 such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 • 10. No corporation, except for municipal purposes, or for the con- 
 struction of railroads, plank roads and canals, shall be created for a 
 longer time than thirty years. 
 
 IL The term "corporations," as used in the preceding sections 
 of this article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint 
 stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of corpora- 
 tions not possessed by individuals or partnerships. All corporations 
 shall have the right to sue, and be subject to be sued, in all courts, in 
 like cases as natural persons. 
 
 12. No corporation shall hold any real estate hereafter acquired 
 for a longer period than ten years, except such real estate as shall 
 be actually occupied by such corporation in the exercise of its 
 franchises. 
 
 13. The Legislature shall provide for the incorporation and organ- 
 
MICHIGAN. z456 
 
 iiation of cities and villages, and shall restrict their powers of taxa- 
 tion, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit. 
 
 14. Judicial officers of cities and villages shall be elected, and all 
 other officers shall be elected or appointed at such time and in such 
 manner as the Legislature may direct. 
 
 15. Private property shall not be taken for public improvements 
 in cities and villages without the consent of the owner, unless the 
 compensation therefor shall first be determined by a. jury of free- 
 holders, and actually paid or secured in the manner provided by 
 law. 
 
 16. Previous notice of any application for an alteration of the 
 charter of any corporation shall be given in such manner as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI— Exemptions. 
 
 Sec. 1. The personal property of every resident of this State, to 
 consist of such property only as shall be designated by law, shall be 
 exempted to the amount of not less than five hundred dollars from 
 sale on execution, or other final process of any court, issued for the 
 collection of any debt contracted after the adoption of this consti- 
 tution. 
 
 2. Every homestead of not exceeding forty acres of land, and the 
 dwelling-house thereon, and the appurtenances to be selected by the 
 owner thereof, and not included in any town plat, city or village ; or 
 instead thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in any city, vil- 
 lage, or recorded town plat, or such parts of lots as shall be equal 
 thereto, and the dwelling-house thereon and its appurtenances, owned 
 and occupied by any resident of the State, not exceeding in value 
 fifteen hundred dollars, shall be exempt from forced sale on execu- 
 tion, or any other final process from a court, for any debt con- 
 tracted after the adoption of this constitution. Such exemption shall 
 not extend to any mortgage thereon lawfully obtained ; but such 
 mortgage, or other alienation of such land, by the owner thereof, if 
 a married man, shall not be valid without the signature of the wife 
 to the same. 
 
 3. The homestead of a family, after the death of the owner thereof, 
 shall be exempt from the payment of his debts, contracted after the 
 adoption of this constitution, in all cases, during the minority of his 
 children. 
 
 4. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow, but no chil- 
 dren, the same shall be exempt, and the rents and profits thereof 
 shall accrue to her benefit during the time of her widowhood, unless 
 she be the owner of a homestead in her own right. 
 
 5. The real and personal estate of every female, acquired before 
 marriage, and all property to which she may afterwards become 
 entitled, by gift, grant, inheritance or devise, shall be and remain the 
 estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for the 
 
456; CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 debts, obligations or engagements of her husband ; and may be devised 
 or bequeathed by her as if she were unmarried. 
 
 ARTICLE XVlh— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The militia shall be composed of all able bodied white 
 male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, 
 except such as are exempted by the laws of the United States or of 
 this State : but all such citizens of any religious denomination what- 
 ever, who, from scruples of conscience, may be averse to bearing 
 arms, shall be excused therefrom, upon such conditions as shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing, equipping 
 and disciplining the militia, in such manner as they shall deem expe- 
 dient, not incompatible with the laws of the United States. 
 
 3. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed, and be 
 commissioned in such manner as may be provided by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XVIII. — Miscellaneous Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive 
 and judicial, except such officers as may by law be exempted, shall, 
 before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and 
 subscribe the following oath or affirmation : " I do solemnly swear 
 (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States 
 and the constitution of this State, and that I will faithfully discharge 
 
 the duties of the office of according to the best of my ability." 
 
 And no other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a qualifi- 
 cation for any office or public trust. 
 
 2. When private property is taken for the use or benefit of the 
 public, the necessity for using such property, and the just compen- 
 sation to be made therefor, except when to be made by the State, 
 shall be ascertained by a jury of twelve freeholders, residing in the 
 vicinity of such property, or by not less than three commissioners, 
 appointed by a court of record, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. No mechanical trade shall hereafter be taught to convicts in 
 the state prison of this State, except the manufacture of those arti- 
 cles, of which the chief supply for home 'consumption is imported 
 from other states or countries. 
 
 4. No navigable stream in this State shall be either bridged or 
 dammed without authority from the board of supervisors of the pro- 
 per county, under the provisions of law. No such law shall preju- 
 dice the right of individuals to the free navigation of such streams, or 
 preclude the State from the further improvement of the navigation 
 of such stream. 
 
 5. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the 
 public moneys shall be attached to, and published with the laws, at 
 every regular session of the Legislature. 
 
 6. The laws, public records, and the written judicial and legisla- 
 
MICHIGAN. M56 
 
 tive proceedings of the State, shall be conducted, promulgated and 
 preserved in the English language. 
 
 7. Every person has a right to bear arms for the defence of him- 
 self and the State. 
 
 8. The military shall, in all cases and at all times, be in strict 
 subordination to the civil power. 
 
 9. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner or occupant, nor in time of war, 
 except in a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 10. The people have the right peaceably to assemble together, to 
 consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to 
 petition the Legislature for redress of grievances. 
 
 11. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the pun- 
 ishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this State. 
 
 12. No lease or grant hereafter of agricultural land for a longer 
 period than twelve years, reserving any rent or service of any kind, 
 shall be valid. 
 
 13. Aliens who are, or who may hereafter become, bona fide 
 residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the 
 possession, enjoyment and inheritance of property, as native born 
 citizens. 
 
 14. The property of no person shall be taken for public use with- 
 out just compensation therefor. Private roads may be opened in the 
 manner to be prescribed by law ; but in every case the necessity of 
 the road and the amount of all damages to be sustained by the open 
 ing thereof, shall be first determined by a jury of freeholders ; and 
 such amount, together with the expenses of proceedings, shall be paid 
 by the person or persons to be benefited. 
 
 15. No general revision of the laws shall hereafter be made. 
 When a reprint thereof becomes necessary, the Legislature, in joint 
 convention, shall appoint a suitable person to collect together such 
 acts and parts of acts as are in force, and, without alteration, arrange 
 them under appropriate heads and titles. The laws so arranged 
 shall be submitted to two commissioners appointed by the governor 
 for examination, and if certified by them to be a correct compilation 
 of all general laws in force, shall be printed in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XIX.— Upper Peninsula. 
 
 Sec. 1. The counties of Mackinac, Chippewa, Delta, Marquette, 
 Schoolcraft, Houghton and Ontonagon, and the islands and territory 
 thereunto attached, the islands of Lake Superior, Huron and Michi- 
 gan, and in Green Bay, and the Straits of Mackinac and the River 
 Ste Marie, shall constitute a separate judicial district, and be entitled 
 to a district judge and district attorney. 
 
 2. The district judge shall be elected by the electors of such dis- 
 trict, and shall perform the same duties and possess the same powers 
 
456/ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 as a circuit judge in his circuit, and shall hold his office for the same 
 period. 
 
 3. The district attorney shall be elected every two years by the 
 electors of the district, shall perform the duties of prosecuting attor- 
 ney throughout the entire district, and may issue warrants for the 
 arrest of offenders in cases of felony, to be proceeded with as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. Such judicial district shall be entitled at all times to at least 
 one senator, and until entitled to more by its population, it shall have 
 three members of the House of Representatives, to be apportioned 
 among the several counties by the Legislature. 
 
 5. The Legislature may provide for the payment of the district 
 judge a salary not exceeding one thousand dollars a year, and of 
 the district attorney not exceeding seven hundred dollars a year, 
 and may allow extra compensation to the members of the Legisla- 
 ture from such territory, not exceeding two dollars a day during any 
 session. 
 
 6. The elections for all district or county officers. State senator or 
 representatives, within the boundaries defined in this article, shall 
 take place on the last Tuesday of September in the respective years 
 in which they may be required. The county canvass shall be held 
 on the first Tuesday in October thereafter, and the district canvass 
 on the last Tuesday of said October. 
 
 7. One-half of the taxes received into the treasury from mining 
 corporations in the Upper Peninsula paying an annual State tax of 
 one per cent., shall be paid to the treasurers of the counties from 
 which it is received, to be applied for township and county purposes, 
 as provided by law. The Legislature shall have power, after the 
 year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, to reduce the amount 
 to be refunded. 
 
 8. The Legislature may change the location of the state prison 
 from Jackson to the Upper Peninsula. 
 
 9. The charters of the several mining corporations may be modi- 
 fied by the Legislature, in regard to the term limited for subscribing 
 to stock, and in relation to the quantity of land which a corporation 
 shall hold ; but the capital shall not be increased, nor the time for 
 the existence of charters extended. No such corporation shall be 
 permitted to purchase or hold any real estate, except such as shall 
 be necessary for the exercise of its corporate franchises. 
 
 ARTICLE XX. — Amendment and Revision of the Constitution. 
 
 Sec. L Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may 
 be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives. If the same 
 shall be agreed to by two-thirds of the members elected to each 
 house, such amendment or amendments shall be entered on their 
 journals respectively, with the yeas and nays taken thereon ; and the 
 same shall be submitted to the electors at the next general election 
 thereafter, and if a majority of the electors qualified to vote for 
 
MICHIGAN. . m456 
 
 members of the Legislature voting thereon shall ratify and approve 
 such amendment or amendments, the same shall become part of the 
 constitution. 
 
 2. At the general election to be held in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty-six, and in each sixteenth year thereafter, 
 and also at such other times as the Legislature may by law pro- 
 vide, the question of a general revision of the constitution shall be 
 submitted to the electors qualified to vote for members of the Legis- 
 lature ; and in case a majority of the electors so qualified, voting 
 at such election, shall decide in favor of a convention for such pur- 
 pose, the Legislature, at the next session, shall provide by law for 
 the election of delegates to such convention. All the amendments 
 shall take eflfect at the commencement of the political year after 
 their adoption. 
 
 SCHEDULE 
 
 That no inconvenience may arise from the changes in the constitution of this 
 State, and in order to carry the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared, 
 that ' 
 
 Sec. 1. The common law and the statute laws now in force, not repugnant to 
 this constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitations, or 
 are altered or repealed by the Legislature. 
 
 2. All writs, actions, causes of action, prosecutions, and rights of individuals and 
 of bodies corporate, and of the State, and all charters of incorporation, shall con- 
 tinue ; and all indictments which shall have been found, or which may hereafter be 
 found, for any crime or offence committed before the adoption of this constitution, 
 may be proceeded upon as if no change had taken place. The several courts, 
 except as herein otherwise provided, shall continue with the Uke powers and juris- 
 diction, both at law and in equity, as if this constitution had not been adopted, and 
 luitU. the organization of the judicial department under this constitution. 
 
 3. That all fines, penalties, forfeitures and escheats accruing to the State of 
 Michigan under the present constitution and laws, shall accrue to the use of the 
 State under this constitution. 
 
 4. That all recognizances, bonds, obligations, and all other instruments entered 
 into or executed before the adoption of this constitution, to the people of the State 
 of Michigan, to any state, county or township, or any public officer or public body, 
 or which may be entered into or executed, under existing laws, " to the people of 
 the State of Michigan," to any such officer or public body, before the complete 
 organization of the departments of government under this constitution, shall remain 
 binding and valid ; and rights and liabilities upon the same shall continue, and may 
 be prosecuted as provided by law. And all crimes and misdemeanors, and penal 
 actions, shall be tried, punished and prosecuted, as though no change had taken 
 place, until otherwise provided by law. 
 
 5. A governor and lieutenant governor shall be chosen under the existing con- 
 stitution and laws, to serve after the expiration of the term of the present incumbent. 
 
 6. All officers, civil and military, now holding any office or appointment, shall 
 continue to hold their respective offices, unless removed by competent authority, 
 until superseded under the laws now in force, or under this constitution. 
 
 7. The members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Legisla- 
 
456/1 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ture of one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office under the 
 provisions of law until superseded by their successors elected and qualified under 
 this constitution. 
 
 8. All county officers, unless removed by competent authority, shall continue to 
 hold their respective offices until the first day of January, in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-three. The laws now in force as to the election, qualifica- 
 tion, and duties of township officers, shall continue in force until the Legislature 
 shall, in conformity to the provisions of this constitution, provide for the holding 
 of elections to fill such offices, and prescribe the duties of such officers respec- 
 tively. 
 
 9. On the first day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
 two, the terms of office of the judges of the supreme court, under existing laws, 
 and of the judges of the county courts, and of the clerks of the supreme court, 
 shall expire on the said day, 
 
 10. On the first day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 fifty-two, the jurisdiction of all suits and proceedings then pending in the present 
 supreme courts, shall become vested in the supreme court established by this con- 
 stitution, and shall be finally adjudicated by the court where the same may be 
 pending. The jurisdiction of all suits and proceedings at law and equity, then pend- 
 ing in the circuit courts and county courts for the several counties, shall become 
 vested in the circuit courts of the said counties, and district couit for the Upper 
 Peninsula, 
 
 11. The probate courts, the courts of justices of the peace, and the police court 
 authorized by an act entitled " An act to establish a police court in the city of 
 Detroit," approved April second, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, shall con- 
 tinue to exercise the jurisdiction and powers now conferred upon them respectively, 
 until otlierwise provided by law, 
 
 12. The office of State printer shall be vested in the present incumbent until 
 the expiration of the term for wliicli he was elected under the law then in force ; 
 and all the provisions of the said law relating to his duties, rights, privileges and 
 compensation, shall remain unimpaired and inviolate until the expiration of his said 
 term of office. 
 
 13. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, at their first session, to adapt the 
 present laws to the provisions of this constitution, as far as may be. 
 
 14. The attorney-general of the State is required to prepare and report to the 
 Legislature, at the commencement of the next session, such changes and modifica- 
 tions in existing laws as may be deemed necessary to adapt the same to this con- 
 stitution, and as may be best calculated to carry into effect its provisions ; and he 
 shall receive no additional compensation therefor. 
 
 15. Any territory attached to any county for judicial purposes, if not otherwise 
 represented, shall be considered as forming part of such county, so far as regards 
 elections for the purpose of representation. 
 
 16. This constitution shall be submitted to the people for their adoption or 
 rejection, at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday of November, one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty ; and tliere shall also be submitted for adoption 
 or rejection, at the same time, the separate resolution in relation to the elective 
 franchise ; and it shall be the duty of the secretary of state, and all other officers 
 required to give or publish any notice in regard to the said general election, to 
 give notice, as provided by law in case of an election of governor, that this consti- 
 tution has been duly submitted to the electors at said election. Every newspaper 
 within this State publishing, in the month of September next, this constitution as 
 submitted, shall receive, as compensation therefor, the sum of twenty-five dollars, 
 to be paid as the Legislature shall direct. 
 
 17. Any person entitled to vote for members of the Legislature, by the consti- 
 tution and laws now in force, shall, at the said election, be entitled to vote for the 
 adoption or rejection of this constitution, and for or against the resolution separately 
 submitted, at the places and in the manner provided by law for the election of 
 members of the Legislature. 
 
MICHIGAN. o456 
 
 18. At the said general election, a ballot box shall be kept by the several boards 
 of inspectors thereof, for receiving the votes cast for or against the adoption of this 
 constitution ; and on the ballots shall be written or printed, or partly written and 
 partly printed, the words " Adoption of the constitution — yes," or " Adoption of 
 the constitution — no." 
 
 19. The canvass of the votes cast for the adoption or rejection of this constitu- 
 tion, and the provision in relation to the elective franchise separately submitted, 
 and the returns thereof shall be made by the proper canvassing officers, in the 
 same manner as now provided by law for the canvass and return of the votes cast 
 at an election for governor, as near as may be, and the return thereof shall be 
 directed to the secretary of state. On the sixteenth day of December uext, or 
 within five days thereafter, the auditor general, state treasurer, and secretary of 
 state, shall meet at the capitol, and proceed, in presence of the governor, to exam- 
 ine and canvass the returns of the said votes, and proclamation shall forthwith be 
 made by the governor of the result thereof If it shall appear that a majority of 
 the votes cast upon the question have thereon " Adoption of the constitution — 
 yes," this constitution shall be the supreme laAv of the State from and after the 
 first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, except as is herein 
 otherwise provided ; but if a majority of the votes cast upon the question have 
 thereon " Adoption of the constitution — no," the same shall be null and void. And 
 in case of the adoption of this constitution, said officers shall immediately, or as 
 soon thereafter as practicable, proceed to open the statements of votes returned 
 from the several counties for judges of the supreme court and State officers under 
 the act entitled " An act to amend the revised statutes and to provide for the elec- 
 tion of certain officers by the peoj^le in pursuance to an amendment to the consti- 
 tution, approved February sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty," and 
 shall ascertain, determine and certify the results of the election for said officers 
 under said acts, in the same manner, as near as may be, as is now provided by law 
 in regard to the election of representatives in Congress. And the several judges 
 and officers so ascertained to have been elected may be qualified and enter upon 
 the duties of their respective offices, on the first Monday of January next, or as 
 soon thereafter as practicable. • 
 
 20. The salaries or compensation of all persons holding office under the present 
 constitution, shall continue to be the same as now provided by law, until super- 
 seded by their successors elected or appointed under this constitution ; and it 
 shall not be lawful hereafter for the Legislature to increase or diminish the com- 
 pensation of any officer during the term for which he is elected or appointed. 
 
 21. The Legislature, at their first session, shall provide for the payment of all 
 expenditures of the convention to revise the constitution, and of the publication of 
 the same as is provided in this article, 
 
 22. Ever}"^ county, except Mackinaw and Chippewa, entitled to a representative 
 in the Legislature, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall continue 
 to be 80 entitled under .this constitution ; and the county of Saginaw, with the 
 territory that may be attached, -shall be entitled to one representative ; the county 
 of Tuscola, aiid the territory that may be attached, one representative ; the county 
 of Sanilac, and the territory that may be attached, one representative ; the coun- 
 ties of Midland and Aronac, with the territory that may be attached, one repre- 
 sentative ; the county of Montcalm, with the territory that may be attached 
 thereto, one representative ; and the counties of Newaygo and Oceana, with the 
 territory that may be attached thereto, one representative. Each county having a 
 ratio of representation and a fraction over, equal to a moiety of said ratio, shall be 
 entitled to two representatives, and so on above that number, giving one additional 
 member for each additional ratio. 
 
 23. The cases pending and undisposed of in the late court of chancery at the 
 time of the adoption of this constitution, shall continue to be heard and deter- 
 mined by the judges of the supreme court. But the Legislature shall, at its 
 session in one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, provide by law for the transfer 
 
 .of said causes that may remain undisposed of on the first day of January, one 
 
456^9 CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 thousand eight hundred and fiftv-two, to the supreme or circuit court established 
 by this constitution, or require that the same may be heard and determiiied by the 
 circuit judges. 
 
 24. The term of office of governor and lieutenant governor shall commence on 
 the first day of January next after their election. 
 
 25. The territory described in the article entitled " Upper Peninsula," shall be 
 attached to and constitute a part of the third circuit for the election of a Regent 
 of the University. 
 
 26. The Legislature shall have authority, after the expiration of the term of 
 office of the district judge first elected for the "Upper Peninsula," to abolish said 
 office of district judge and district attorney, or either of them. 
 
 27. The Legislature shall, at its session of one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
 one, apportion the representatives among the several comities and districts, and 
 divide the State into Senate districts, pursuant to the provisions of this consti- 
 tution. 
 
 28. The terms of office of all State and county officers, of the circuit judges, 
 members of the board of education, and members of the Legislature, shall begin 
 on the first day of January next succeeding their election. 
 
 29. The State, exclusive of the Upper Peninsula, shall be divided into eight 
 judicial circuits, and the counties of Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale shall consti- 
 tute the first circuit ; the counties of Branch, St. Joseph, Cass and Berrien shall 
 constitute the second circuit ; the county of Wayne shall constitute the third cir- 
 cuit ; the counties of Washtenaw, Jackson and Ingham shall constitute the fourth 
 circuit; the counties of Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Eaton and Van Buren shall 
 constitute the fifth circuit; [the] counties of St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland and 
 Sanilac shall constitute the sixth circuit ; the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Saginaw, 
 Shiawassee, Livingston, Tuscola and Midland shall constitute the seventh circuit ; 
 and the counties of Barry, Kent, Ottawa, Ionia, Clinton and Montcalm shall con- 
 
 ^ stitute the eighth circuit. 
 
 RESOLUTION. 
 
 80. At the next general election, and at the same time when the votes of the 
 electors shall be taken for the adoption or rejection of this constitution, an addi- 
 tional amendment to section one of article seven, in the words following : 
 
 " Every colored male inhabitant possessing the qualifications required by the 
 first section of the second article of the constitution, shall have the rights and 
 privileges of an elector," 
 
 Shall be separately submitted to the electors of this State for their adoption or 
 rejection, in form following, to wit : A separate ballot may be given by every per- 
 son having the right to vote for the revised constitution, to be deposited in a 
 separate box. Upon the ballots given for the adoption of the said separate 
 amendment shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, the 
 words " Equal suffrage to colored persons ? Yes ;" and upon all ballots given 
 against the adoption of the said separate amendment, in like manner, the words 
 " Equal suffrage to colored persons ? No." And on such ballots shall be written 
 or printed, or partly written and partly printed, the words " Constitution : Suf- 
 frage," in such manner ihat such words shall appear on the outer side of such 
 ballot when folded. If, at said election, a majority of all the votes given for and 
 against the said separate amendment shall contain the words, " Equal suffrage to 
 colored persons ? Yes," then there shall be inserted in the first section of the arti- 
 cle, between the words " tribe and shall," tliese words, " and every colored male 
 inhabitant," anything in the constitution to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Done in Convention, at the Capitol of the State, this fifteenth day of August, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and of the Independ- 
 ence of the United States the seventy-fifth. 
 
MISSOURI. 
 
 Missouri was originally included in the territory of Louisiana. It was pur- 
 chased of the French in 1803, by the United States. In 1804 it was constituted 
 the territory of Louisiana, and in 1812 its name was changed to Missouri, In 
 1821 it became a State, and was admitted into the union. St. Louis was set- 
 tled by the French in 1764, and is one of the most flourishing cities in the 
 West. 
 
 Area, 64,000 sq. m. 
 2544 free colored. 
 
 Pop. in 1850, 682,043, of whom 87,422 were slaves, and 
 
 CONSTITUTION, 
 
 We, the people of the State of Missouri, by our delegates in Conven- 
 tion assembled, do ordain and establish the following Constitution : 
 
 ARTICLE I.— Of Boundaries. 
 
 Sec. 1. We do declare, establish, ratify and confirm the following 
 as the permanent boundaries of the State of Missouri : " Beginning 
 in the middle of the Mississippi river, on the parallel of thirty-six de- 
 grees of north latitude ; thence west along the said parallel of latitude 
 to the St. Francois river, thence up and following the course of that 
 river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of lat- 
 itude of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes ; thence west along the 
 same, to a point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian 
 
458 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 line passing through the middle of the mouth of the Kansas river, 
 where the same empties into the Missouri river ; thence from the 
 point aforesaid, north along the said meridian line to the middle of 
 the main channel of the Missouri river : thence up and following 
 the course of said stream, in the middle of the main channel thereof, 
 to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through 
 the rapids of the river Des Moines ; thence east irofk the point of 
 intersection last aforesaid, along the said parallel of latitude, to the 
 middle of the main channel of the main fork of the said river Des 
 Moines ; thence down along the middle of the main channel of the 
 said river Des Moines, to the mouth of the same where it empties 
 into the Mississippi river ; thence due east to the middle of the main 
 channel of the Mississippi river ; thence down and following the 
 course of the Mississippi river, in the middle of the main channel 
 thereof, to the place of beginning." 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall have power to appoint commis- 
 sioners, to act in conjunction with commissioners from any other 
 State, to adjust the eastern boundary of the State, and to determine 
 what islands in the Mississippi river are within the limits of the 
 State of Missouri. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall have power, with the consent of the 
 United States, to acquire additional territory, and to extend the 
 boundary of this State so as to include such additional territory as 
 may hereafter be acquired by the State. 
 
 4. All that territory of the State of Missouri which is bounded on 
 the east by the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, 
 on the north by the line that separates townships forty-four and 
 forty-five, on the west by a meridian line running through the mid- 
 dle of range six east, and on the south by the line that separates 
 townships forty-three and forty-four north, is hereby ceded to the 
 government of the United States, for the purpose of locating and 
 keeping thereon the seat of government of the United States, in 
 conformity to the sixteenth clause of the eighth section of the first 
 article of the Constitution of the United States. This section shall 
 not take effect until the Congress of the United States shall have 
 assented to the same, and provided for the removal of the seat of 
 government of the United States to the district hereby ceded to the 
 United States. 
 
 ARTICLE 11. 
 
 Of the Distribution of Powers. 
 
 The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct 
 departments, each of which shall be confined to a separate magis- 
 tracy : and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly 
 belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any powers 
 properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances 
 hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 
 
MISSOURI. 459 
 
 ARTICLE III.— Of the Legislative Power. 
 
 Sec, \ . The legislative power shall be vested in a " General As- 
 **emblj, ' which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives. 
 
 2. The House of Representatives shall consist of members to be 
 chosen every second year, by the qualified electors of the several 
 counties, apportioned in the following manner, to wit : The ratio of 
 representation shall be ascertained at each apportioning session of 
 the Legislature, by dividing the whole number of permanent free 
 white inhabitants of the State by the number one hundred. Each 
 county having three-fifths of said ratio shall be entitled to one rep- 
 resentative ; each county having said ratio and a fraction over, 
 equal to two-thirds, shall be entitled to two representatives ; each 
 county having twice said ratio, and a fraction over, equal to two- 
 thirds, shall be entitled to three representatives ; each county hav- 
 ing four times said ratio shall be entitled to four representatives : 
 and so on above that number, giving one additional member for each 
 additional ratio. And when any county, entitled to more than two 
 representatives, shall have a town or city therein, with the full 
 amount of said ratio, such town or city shall be entitled to a sepa- 
 rate representation from the county : provided the residue of the 
 county shall amount to the ratio : and in such case, a town or city 
 shall be divided into as many separate districts aS the number of 
 members apportioned to such town or city, containing as near as may 
 be an equal number of permanent free white inhabitants, which divi- 
 sion shall be made by the tribunal transacting county business in the 
 county, as soon after each apportionment as is practicable, and shall 
 not be changed until after the succeeding apportionment ; each of 
 which districts shall elect one representative : provided.^ however, that 
 when any county having less than three-fifths of said ratio,, shall not 
 be contiguous to any other county with less than three-fifths thereof, 
 such county shall nevertheless be entitled to one representative ; 
 and in all other cases of small counties having less than three-fifths, 
 they shall be formed into districts, containing two- thirds of said ratio, 
 and shall be entitled to one member for the same. 
 
 3. No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives 
 who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four years, who shdll 
 not be a free white male citizen of the United States, who shall not 
 have been an inhabitant of this State two years, and of the county or 
 district which he represents one year next before his election, if such 
 county or district shall have been so long established ; but if not. 
 then of the county or counties, district or districts, from which the 
 same shall have been taken, and who shall not moreover have paid a 
 State or county tax, within one year next preceding his election. 
 
 4. The General Assembly, at their first session after the adoption 
 of this Constitution, shall cause an enumeration of the permanent 
 
 35 
 
460 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 free white inhabitants of this State to be made, and at the first ses- 
 sion after the enumeration shall apportion the number of represen- 
 tatives among the several counties as directed by the second section 
 of this article. And every fourth year thereafter they shall cause a 
 like enumeration to be made, and shall apportion the representatives 
 among the several counties according to the same section, except that 
 two-thirds of the ratio shall be required, instead of three-fifths, to 
 entitle a county to one member. 
 
 5. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the 
 term of four years. No person shall be a senator who shall not have 
 attained to the age of thirty years, who shall not be a free white 
 male citizen of the United States, who shall not have been an inhab- 
 itant of this State four years next preceding his election, and of 
 the district which he may be chosen to represent one year next be- 
 fore his election, if such district shall have been so long established, 
 but if not, then of the district or districts from which the same 
 shall have been taken, and who shall not moreover have paid a State 
 or county tax within one year next preceding his election. 
 
 6. The Senate shall consist of not less than twenty-five nor more 
 than thirty-three members, for the election of whom the State shall 
 be divided into convenient districts, wliich may be altered from 
 time to time, and new districts established, as public convenience 
 may require ; and the senators shall be apportioned among the seve- 
 ral districts according to the number of permanent free white inhab- 
 itants in each : provided^ that when a senatorial district shall be 
 composed of two or more counties, the counties of which such district 
 consists, shall not be entirely separated by any county belonging to 
 another district, nor shall said district, so composed of two or more 
 counties, be entitled to more than one senator ; and no county shall 
 be divided in forming such a district, except a county whose popula- 
 lation shall entitle it to two or more senators, in which case said county 
 shall be divided by the tribunal transacting county business as soon 
 after each apportionment as is practicable, into as many districts as 
 it may be entitled to senators, which districts shall not be changed 
 until after the succeeding apportionment, each of which districts 
 shall contain as near as may be an equal number of permanent free 
 white inhabitants, and elect one senator ; and any person otherwise 
 qualified, who has lived in such senatorial district one month, 
 slfall be entitled to vote in the same, and until he shall acquire the 
 right to vote in such district, he shall be entitled to vote in the dis- 
 trict from which he removed. 
 
 7. At the first session of the General Assembly, the senators 
 shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes. The 
 seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of the second year, 
 and the seats of the second class at the end of the fourth year, so 
 that one half of the senators shall be chosen every second year. 
 
 8. After the first day of January one thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-eight, all general elections shall commence on the first 
 
MISSOURI. 461 
 
 Monday in August, and shall be held biennially, and the electors in 
 all cases except of treason, felony, or breach of peace, shall be privi- 
 leged from arrest during their continuance at elections, and in going 
 to and returning from the same. 
 
 9. The Governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies 
 as may occur in either house of the General Assembly. 
 
 1 0. Every free white male citizen of the United States, who may 
 have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have re- 
 sided in this State one year before an election, the last three months 
 whereof shall have been in the county or district in which he offers 
 to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector of all elective officers ; 
 where a county shall be districted, any person who is otherwise qual- 
 ified and shall have resided in a representative district for one month, 
 shall have a right to vote in such district ; and until he acquires a 
 right to vote in the district to which he has removed, he shall have 
 the right to vote in the district from which he removed : provided^ 
 that no soldier, seaman, or mariner, in the regular army or navy of 
 the United States, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this 
 State. No person who has been convicted of any felonious or infamous 
 crime in any foreign country, or any State of this Union, or who has 
 become a fugitive froni justice from such country or State, on account 
 of the commission of such crime, shall be permitted to vote in this 
 State. This disqualification shall not extend to any offence of a po- 
 Utical nature, nor to any offence which would not be considered fe- 
 lonious or infamous in this State. 
 
 11. No judge of any court of law or equity. Secretary of State, 
 Attorney-General, State auditor. State or county treasurer, register, 
 or recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, coroner, member 
 of Congress, or other person holding any lucrative office under the 
 United States or of this State, militia officers, justices of the peace, 
 and postmasters excepted, shall be eligible to either house of the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 12. No person who now is, or hereafter may be, a collector or 
 holder of public money, nor any assistant or deputy of such collector 
 or holder of public money, shall be eligible to either house of the 
 General Assembly, nor to any office of profit or trust, unless he shall, 
 prior to his election or appointment, have accounted for and paid all 
 sums for which he may be accountable. 
 
 13. No person, while he continues to exercise the functions of a 
 bishop, priest, or clergyman or teacher of any religious persuasion, 
 denomination, society, or sect whatever, shall be eligible to the office 
 of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or to either house of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, nor to the office of judge in any court of record. 
 
 1 4. The General Assembly shall have power to exclude from every 
 olfece of honor, trust or profit, within this State, and from the right 
 of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery or other infamous crime. 
 
 15. Every person who shall directly or indirectly give, or offer 
 any bribe to procure his election or appointment to any office, or 
 
462 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the election or appointment of any other person, shall, on conviction, 
 be disqualified for an elector, and for any office of honor, profit or 
 trust under this State. 
 
 16. No senator or representative shall, during the term for -vyhich 
 he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under 
 this State, during said term, except such offices as shall be filled by 
 elections by the people. 
 
 1 7. The General Assembly shall have power to pass laws regulat- 
 ing proceedings in cases of contested elections of senators and rep- 
 resentatives. Each house shall appoint its own officers, and shall 
 judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members. 
 A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, 
 but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may com- 
 pel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under 
 such penalties, as each house may provide. 
 
 18. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
 ish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel any member, but no 
 member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause. They 
 shall each, from time to time, publish a journal of their proceedings, 
 except such parts as may in their opinion require secrecy ; and the 
 yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the journal at the 
 desire of any five members. 
 
 19. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, shall 
 be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy, and each 
 house may punish by fine or imprisonment, any person not a mem- 
 ber, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly 
 or contemptuous behavior in their presence, during their session : 
 Provided^ that such fine shall not exceed three hundred dollars, and 
 such imprisonment shall not exceed forty-eight hours for one offence. 
 
 20. Neither house shall without the consent of the other, adjourn 
 for more than two days at any one time, nor to any other place than 
 to that in which the two houses may be sitting. 
 
 21. Bills may originate in either house, and may be altered, 
 amended or rejected by the other, except bills for raising revenue, 
 which shall originate only in the House of Representatives : and 
 every bill shall be read on three diff'erent days in each house, unless 
 two- thirds of the house where the same is depending, shall dispense 
 with this rule. And every bill having passed both houses, shall be 
 signed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, and by the 
 president of the Senate. 
 
 22. When any officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by a 
 joint or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate vote of 
 either house of the Greneral Assembly, the votes shall be publicly 
 given viva voce and entered on the journals : the whole list of mem- 
 bers shall be called, and the names of absentees shall be noted and 
 published with the journals. 
 
 23. The senators and representatives, in all cases, except of treas- 
 
MISSOURI. 403 
 
 on, felony or breacli of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest, 
 during the session of the General Assembly, and for fifteen days 
 next before the commencement and after the termination of each 
 session, and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not 
 be questioned in any other place. 
 
 24. The members of the General Assembly shall severally receive 
 from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which 
 may from time to time be increased or diminished by law : but no 
 alteration, increasing or tending to increase the compensation of 
 members, shall take effect during the session at which such altera- 
 tion shall be made ; and no session shall continue longer than sixty 
 days. 
 
 25. The General Assembly shall direct by law, First, In what 
 manner and in what courts suits may be brought against the State ; 
 Second, The cases in which deductions shall be made from the 
 salaries of public officers for neglect of duty in their official capacity, 
 and the amount of such deductions. 
 
 26. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws, First, 
 For the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, 
 and without paying them, before such emancipation, a full equiva- 
 lent for such slaves so emancipated, and removing such slaves so 
 emancipated out of this State ; Second, To prevent bona fide immi- 
 grants to this State, or actual settlers therein, from bringing from 
 any of the United States or from their territories, such persons as 
 may there be deemed to be slaves, so long as any persons of the same 
 description are allowed to be held as slaves by the laws of this State. 
 
 27. The General Assembly shall have power to pass laws, First, 
 To prohibit the introduction into this State of any slaves who may 
 have committed any high crime in any other State or Territory. 
 Second, To prohibit the introduction of any slave for the purpose 
 of speculation, or as an article of trade or merchandize. Third, To 
 prohibit the introduction into this State of any slave, or the ofispring 
 of any slave, who, heretofore, may have been, or who, hereafter, may 
 be imported from any foreign country into the United States or any 
 territory thereof, in contravention of any existing statute of the 
 United States ; and Fourth, To permit the owners of slaves to eman- 
 cipate them (saving the rights of creditors), where the persons so 
 emancipating will give security that the slaves so emancipated shall 
 be forthwith removed out of the State. 
 
 28. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as may 
 be, to pass such laws as may be necessary. First, To prevent free 
 negroes and mulattoes from coming to and settling in this State, 
 under any pretext whatever : provided^ that nothing in this Consti- 
 tution. shall be construed to conflict with the provisions of the first 
 clause of the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution 
 of the United States. Second, To oblige the owners of slaves to 
 treat them with humanity, and to abstain from all injuries to them, 
 extending to life or limb. 
 
464 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 29. In prosecutions for felony and capital crimes, slaves shall not 
 be deprived of an impartial trial by jury, and courts of justice be- 
 fore whom slaves shall be tried, shall assign them counsel for their 
 defense. 
 
 30. Any person who shall maliciously deprive of life or dismem- 
 ber a slave, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted for 
 the like offence if it were committed on a free white person. 
 
 31. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass any law 
 whereby any debt shall be created, that shall cause the entire in- 
 debtedness of the State, contracted under this Constitution, to ex- 
 ceed at any one time, twenty-five thousand dollars, except in cases 
 of war, insurrection or invasion. But the General Assembly may 
 propose by a vote of a majority of all the members elected to both 
 branches thereof the creation of a debt for any specified purpose, 
 which shall be submitted to the direct vote of the people at the next 
 general election thereafter, and if approved by a majority of the 
 qualified voters voting on such question, shall be of full force and 
 effect ; provided^ that each proposition shall be for one object alone, 
 and shall propose the ways and means, by taxation, for the payment 
 of the debt and interest as they become due ; and provided further, 
 that no more than one proposition shall be submitted by any one 
 session of the General Assembly, and that the debt proposed shall 
 not have a longer time to run than twenty years. 
 
 32. The General Assembly shall not have power to grant a di- 
 vorce in any case. 
 
 33. The power to provide for the organization and government 
 of the militia shall be vested in the General Assembly. 
 
 34. No private or local bill, which may be passed by the General 
 Assembly, shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be 
 expressed in the title. 
 
 35. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Au- 
 ditor, Treasurer, Attorney-General, and all judges of the courts of 
 law and equity, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor 
 in office, but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than 
 removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, 
 trust or profit, under the State government. 
 
 36. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
 impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate, and 
 when sitting for that purpose the senators shall be on oath or affir- 
 mation to do justice according to law and evidence. When the Gov- 
 ernor shall be tried, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court shall 
 preside, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of all the senators elected. 
 
 37. A State Treasurer shall be biennially appointed by a joint 
 vote of the two houses of the General Assembly, who shall keep his 
 office at the seat of government. No money shall be drawn from 
 the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law, or 
 
MISSOURI. 465 
 
 joint resolution, and an accurate account of the receipts and expen- 
 ditures of the public money shall be annually published. 
 
 38. The appointment of all officers not otherwise directed by this 
 Constitution, shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed 
 by law ; and all officers, both civil and military, under the authority 
 of this State, shall, before entering on the duties of their respective 
 offices, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the 
 United States and of this State, and to demean themselves faithfully 
 in office. Any person who, after the ratification of this Constitution, 
 shall be engaged in a duel either as principal, second, surgeon, ac- 
 cessory, or abettor, or in giving, accepting, or knowingly carrying a 
 challenge to fight a duel, shall be disqualified from holding any civil 
 or military office or appointment in this State, and if any person 
 thus disqualified shall receive an appointment, election, or commis- 
 sion, the same shall be void. 
 
 39. It shall be the duty of the Greneral Assembly to provide by 
 law, for the mode and manner in which the survivor of a duel, and 
 his estate, shall be rendered responsible to, and be charged with a 
 compensation for the wife and children of the deceased, whom he 
 has slain. 
 
 40. The General Assembly shall meet on the first Monday of 
 November, 1848, and thereafter the Greneral Assembly shall meet 
 once in every two years, and such meeting shall be on the first Mon- 
 day of November, unless a different day be fixed by law. 
 
 41. No county now established by law, shall ever be reduced by 
 the establishment of new counties, or otherwise, to less than twenty 
 miles square : nor shall any county hereafter be established which 
 shall contain less than five hundred square miles, nor shall any new 
 county be hereafter organized, so as to entitle such county to separ- 
 ate representation, unless the number of permanent free white in- 
 habitants therein, shall at the time be equal to two-thirds of the ratio 
 of representation then being, but may be organized with a smaller 
 number for all other purposes, civil and military. But residuums 
 of territory upon the northern boundary of the State, containing four 
 hundred square miles, may have county organization. 
 
 42. No person holding an office of profit under the United States, 
 shall, during his continuance in office, be elected or appointed to, or 
 hold any office of profit under this State. 
 
 43. Within ten years after the adoption of this Constitution, all 
 the statute laws of a general nature, both civil and criminal, shall 
 be revised, digested and promulgated, in such manner as the General 
 Assembly shall by law direct ; and a like revision, digest and pro- 
 mulgation, shall be made at the expiration of every subsequent pe- 
 riod of sixteen years. 
 
 44. The style of the laws of this State shall be, " Be it enacted 
 by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri." 
 
466 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ARTICLE IV.— 0/ the Executive Power. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a Chief 
 Magistrate, who shall be styled "the Governor of the State of 
 Missouri." 
 
 2. The Grovernor shall be at least thirty years of age, a free white 
 citizen of the United States, and shall have been a citizen of the 
 United States ten years, and of the State of Missouri at least five 
 years next preceding his election. 
 
 3. The Governor shall hold his office for four years, and until a 
 successor be duly elected and qualified. He shall be elected in the 
 manner following : At the time and place of voting for members of 
 the House of Kepresentatives, the qualified electors shall vote for a 
 Governor, and when two or more persons have an equal number of 
 votes, and a higher number than any other person, the election shall 
 be decided between them by a joint vote of both houses of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, at their next session. 
 
 4. The Governor shall be ineligible for the next four years after 
 the expiration of his term of service. 
 
 5. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
 'navy of this State, except when they shall be called into the service 
 
 of the United States — but need not command in person, unless ad- 
 vised so to do by a resolution of the General Assembly. 
 
 6. The Governor shall have power, after conviction, to remit fines 
 and forfeitures, and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant re- 
 prieves and pardons. 
 
 7. The Governor shall, from time to time, give to the General 
 Assembly information relative to the State of the Government, and 
 shall recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall 
 deem necessary and expedient. On extraordinary occasions, he 
 may convene the General Assembly by proclamation, and shall state 
 to them the purpose for which they are convened. 
 
 8. The Governor shall take care that the laws be distributed and 
 faithfully executed ; and he shall be a conservator of the peace 
 throughout the State. 
 
 9. When any office, except that of sheriff or coroner, shall become 
 vacant, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy, who 
 shall continue in office until a successor be appointed and qualified 
 according to law. 
 
 10. Every bill which shall have been passed by both houses of 
 the General Assembly, shall, before it become a law, be presented 
 to the Governor for his approbation. If he approve, he shall sign 
 it ; if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in 
 which it shall have originated ; and the house shall cause the ob- 
 jections to be entered at large upon its journal, and shall proceed 
 to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of 
 the members of that house shall agree to pass the same, it shall be 
 sent, together with the objections, to the other house ; by which it 
 
MISSOURI. 467 
 
 shall be in like manner reconsidered ; and, if approved by a majority 
 of all the members elected to that house, it shall become a law. In 
 all such cases, the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas and 
 nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill 
 shall be entered on the journals of each house, respectively. If any 
 bill shall not be returned by the Grovernor within four days (Sundays 
 excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall 
 become a law, in like manner as if the Governor had signed it : un- 
 less the General Assembly, by its adjournment, shall prevent its re- 
 turn, in which case it shall not become a law. 
 
 1 1. Every resolution, to which the concurrence of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives may be necessary, except in cases of ad- 
 journment, shall be presented to the Governor, and, before the same 
 shall take effect, shall be proceeded upon in the same manner as in 
 the case of a bill. 
 
 12. There shall be an auditor of public accounts, whom the Gov- 
 ernor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall ap- 
 point. He shall continue in office four years, and until his successor 
 is duly appointed and qualified ; and shall perform such duties as 
 may be prescribed by law. His office shall be kept at the seat of 
 government. 
 
 13. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services 
 an adequate salary, to be fixed by law ; which shall neither be in- 
 creased nor diminished after his election and during his continuance 
 in office. 
 
 1 4. There shall be a Lieutenant-Governor, who shall be elected 
 at the same time, in the same manner, for the same term, and shall 
 possess the same qualifications as the Governor. The electors shall 
 distinguish for whom they vote as Governor and fo^: whom as Lieu- 
 tenant Governor. 
 
 15. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be 
 President of the Senate. In committee of the whole, he may debate 
 on all questions ; and, when there is an equal division, he shall give 
 the casting vote in the Senate, and also in joint vote of both houses. 
 
 16. When the office of Governor shall become vacant, by death, 
 resignation, absence from the State, removal from office, refusal to 
 qualify, impeachment, or otherwise, the Lieutenant-Governor, or, in 
 case of like disability on his part, the President of the Senate pro 
 tempore, or if there be no President of the Senate pro tempore, the 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall possess all the powers 
 and discharge all the duties of Governor, and shall receive for his 
 services the like compensation, until such vacancy be filled, or the 
 Governor, so absent or impeached, shall return or be acquitted ; and 
 if, at any time, the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives shall be the acting Governor, another presiding 
 officer shall be chosen in his place by the body over which he presided. 
 
 17. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant, by 
 death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the Lieutenant- 
 
468 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Governor, or other person exercising the power of Governor for the 
 time being, shall, as soon as may be, cause an election to be held to 
 fill such vacancy, giving three months previous notice thereof; and 
 the person elected shall not thereby be rendered ineligible to the 
 office of Governor for the next succeeding term. Nevertheless, if 
 such vacancy shall happen within eighteen months of the end of the 
 term for which the late Governor shall have been elected, the same 
 shall not be filled. 
 
 18. The Lieutenant-Governor or President of the Senate fro 
 tempore, while presiding in the Senate, shall receive the same com- 
 pensation as shall be allowed to the Speaker of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 19. The returns of all elections of Governor and Lieutenant- 
 Governor, shall be made to the Secretary of State, in such manner 
 as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 20. Contested elections of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, 
 shall be decided by a joint vote of both houses of the General 
 Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 21. There shall be a Secretary of State, whom the Governor, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint. He 
 shall hold his office during the continuance in office of the Governor 
 appointing him, and until 'his successor shall be duly qualified ; un- 
 less sooner removed on impeachment. He shall keep a register of 
 all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and when ne- 
 cessary shall attest the same ; and he shall lay the same, together 
 with all papers relative thereto, before either house of the General 
 Assembly, whenever required so to do; and shall perform such 
 other duties as may be enjoined on him by law. 
 
 *22. The Secretary of State shall keep the seal of State, with such 
 emblems and devices as are directed by law, which shall not be sub- 
 ject to change. It shall be called the ''great seal of the State of 
 Missouri;" and all official acts of the Governor, his approbation of 
 the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated. 
 
 23. There shall be elected, in each county, by the qualified elec- 
 tors, at the time and place of electing representatives, a sheriff and 
 a coroner. They shall serve for two years, and until a successor be 
 duly qualified, unless sooner removed for misdemeanor in office : and 
 shall be ineligible four years in any period of eight years. The 
 sheriff and coroner shall each give security for the faithful discharge 
 of the duties of his office, in such manner as shall be prescribed by 
 law. Whenever a county shall be hereafter established, the Govern- 
 or shall appoint a sheriff and coroner therein, who shall each con- 
 tinue in office until the next succeeding general election, and until 
 a successor shall be duly qualified. 
 
 24. Whenever vacancies shall happen in the office of sheriff or 
 coroner, the judges of the tribunal transacting county business, or 
 a majority of them, shall, as soon as may be, cause an election to be 
 held to fill such vacancy, giving fifteen days previous notice thereof; 
 
MISSOURI. 469 
 
 said judges having the power, in the meantime, of making tempora- 
 ry appointments ; and the person elected shall continue in office 
 until his successor is dufy qualified. Nevertheless, if such vacancy 
 shall happen within six months of the end of the term for which the 
 late sheriff or coroner shall have been elected or appointed, the said 
 judges or a majority of them, may, in their discretion, order such 
 election or fill such vacancy by appointment, and the sheriff or cor- 
 oner so elected or appointed, shall not thereby be rendered ineligi- 
 ble for the next succeeding term. 
 
 25. In all elections of sheriff and coroner, when two or more per- 
 sons have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than any 
 other person, the circuit courts of the counties shall give the casting 
 vote. And all contested elections shall be decided by the circuit 
 courts respectively, in such manner as the General Assembly may 
 by law prescribe. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Of Judicial Powers. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power, as to matters of law and equity, shall 
 be vested in a Supreme Court, circuit courts, county courts, justices 
 of the peace, and such other tribunals inferior to the circuit courts, 
 as the General Assembly may from time to time ordain and estab- 
 lish. 
 
 2. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed by this 
 Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be 
 co-extensive with the State, under the restrictions and limitations 
 in this Constitution provided. 
 
 3. The Supreme Court shall have a general superintending con- 
 trol over all inferior courts ; it shall have power to issue writs of 
 habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, information in 
 the nature of writs of quo warranto, certiorari, and other original 
 
 ' remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same. 
 
 4. The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, any two of 
 whom shall be a quorum ; it shall hold two sessions annually, at the 
 seat of government, until otherwise directed by law. 
 
 5. The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and 
 consent of the Senate, shall appoint the judges of the Supreme Court : 
 each judge shall be appointed for the term of twelve years ; and 
 every appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the residue of the 
 term only ; but in all cases the judge shall hold over until a succes- 
 sor shall be appointed and qualified. 
 
 6. The judges of the Supreme Court shall be conservators of the 
 peace throughout the State ; they shall receive at stated times an 
 adequate compensation for their services, to be fixed by law ; which 
 shall not be diminished during the term for which they shall have 
 been appointed. 
 
 7. The judges of the Supreme Court, or any two of them, shall 
 appoint the clerk of said court, who shall hold his office for the term 
 of six years, and until his successor is appointed and qualified. 
 
470 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 8. No judge of the Circuit Court shall be elected or appointed to 
 any office of honor, profit, or trust, under the government of this 
 State, during the term for which he shall have been elected or ap- 
 pointed, except that a judge of the Circuit Court may be appointed 
 to the Supreme Court : Provided, that if any judge shall resign his 
 office, he shall not be ineligible to any office for a longer period than 
 twelve months after such resignation. If any judge shall offer or 
 consent to be a candidate for any office under the government of the 
 United States, such offer or consent shall be taken and considered 
 a voluntary resignation of his office. 
 
 9. The State shall be divided into ten compact, convenient cir- 
 cuits, which number of circuits shall not be increased within ten 
 years after the adoption of this Constitution. 
 
 1 0. No circuit shall be altered or changed at any session of the 
 General Assembly next preceding the regular election for judge of 
 such circuit, nor shall such change occur oftener than once in six 
 years, but the General Assembly may add to any circuit any new 
 county hereafter organized. 
 
 11. For each circuit there shall be a judge chosen by the quali- 
 fied electors therein, who shall hold his office for the term of six 
 years, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. When 
 a vacancy shall happen in the office of circuit judge, within one year 
 of the expiration of the term for which he was elected, such vacancy 
 shall be filled by an appointment by the Governor ; in all other cases 
 of vacancy it shall be filled by an election. He shall receive, at 
 stated times, an adequate compensation for his services, to be fixed 
 by law, which shall not be diminished during the term for which he 
 shall have been elected. After his election he shall reside and be a 
 conservator of the peace in said circuit. 
 
 12. If there be a vacancy in the office of judge of any circuit, or 
 if he be sick, absent, or from any cause unable to hold any term of • 
 court of any county of his circuit, such term of court may be held 
 by a judge of any other circuit ; and at the request of the judge of 
 any circuit, any term of court in his circuit may be held by the 
 judge of any other circuit 
 
 13. The Circuit Court shall have jurisdiction over all criminal 
 cases not otherwise provided for by law, and exclusive original juris- 
 diction over all civil cases in law and equity, not cognizable before 
 county courts or justices of the peace, until otherwise directed by 
 law ; it shall hold its terms in such place in each county, and at 
 such times, as the General Assembly shall by law direct. 
 
 14. The Circuit Court shall exercise a superintending control over 
 all inferior courts, and entertain appeals therefrom in such cases 
 and in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 15. The Circuit Court, as a court of chancery, shall have power 
 to grant divorces in all cases prescribed by law, to make such pro- 
 visions for the aggrieved party, and the custody, support and educa- 
 tion of minor children, as shall be just and equitable. 
 
MISSOURI. 471 
 
 1 6. The Supreme Court and Circuit Court shall exercise chancery 
 jurisdiction, in such manner and under such restrictions as shall be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 17. No person shall be appointed judge of the Supreme Court, or 
 elected judge of the Circuit Court, unless he shall be a citizen of the 
 United States, shall be at least thirty years old, and shall have re- 
 sided five years in this State. 
 
 18. The clerks of the Circuit and county courts shall be chosen by 
 the qualified electors of the county, and shall hold their ofiice for 
 the term of six years, and until their successors shall be elected and 
 qualified ; and for any misdemeanor in office, they shall be liable to 
 be tried and removed in such manner as the General Assembly shall 
 provide by law ; and if any vacancy in the office of the clerk of the 
 Circuit or county court shall happen within one year next before the 
 expiration of the term of six years, the judge or judges of the court 
 shall fill the same — but in all other cases a vacancy shall be filled 
 by an election. 
 
 19. There shall be in each county a county court, with power to 
 transact county business, and to perform all such duties as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 20. There shall be in each township of every county, chosen by 
 the qualified electors thereof, as many justices of the peace as the 
 public good may require : their powers, duties, compensation, liabil- 
 ities and tenure of office shall be regulated by law. 
 
 21. There shall be a day appointed by law, for the election of ju- 
 dicial officers and clerks, distinct from the day of any other election 
 in this State. 
 
 22. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, shall appoint an Attorney-General, who shall hold his office 
 for the term of four years, and until his successor shall be appointed 
 and qualified ; he shall receive at stated times such compensation as 
 shall be allowed him, and shall perform such duties as shall be re- 
 quired by law. 
 
 23. The proceedings of all courts and tribunals shall be conduct- 
 ed and their records kept in the English language, except that the 
 proper and known names of processes, and technical words, may be 
 expressed in the language heretofore and now commonly used ; all 
 writs and processes shall run, and all the prosecutions shall be con- 
 ducted in the name of the State of Missouri ; all writs shall be test- 
 ed by the clerk of the court from which they issue, and all indict- 
 mients shall conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the State." 
 
 24. Any judge of the Supreme or Circuit Court may be removed 
 from office on the address of three-fifths of each house of the General 
 Assembly to the Governor for that purpose ; but each house shall 
 state on its journal the cause for which it may desire the removal of 
 such judge, and give him notice thereof, and he shall have the right 
 to be heard in his defense in such manner as the General Assembly 
 
472 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall direct ; but no judge shall be removed for any cause for which 
 he might have been impeached. 
 
 25. If any cause shall be pending in the Supreme Court, in which 
 all or either of the judges thereof shall be personally interested, the 
 Grovernor shall appoint competent persons to act as judges during 
 the trial of such cause, in the place of the judges thus interested. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Of Education. 
 Sec. 1. Schools, and the means of education, should forever be 
 encouraged in this State ; and the General Assembly shall take 
 measures to preserve from waste or damage, such lands as have been 
 or hereafter may be granted by the United States for the use of 
 schools within each township in this State, and shall apply the funds 
 which may arise by the sale or otherwise, from such lands, in a strict 
 conformity to the object of the grant. 
 
 2. There shall be a superintendent of public schools, who shall be 
 appointed in such mode and receive such compensation as the Leg- 
 islature shall direct. 
 
 3. The Legislature shall establish free public schools throughout 
 the State, and shall provide means for their support, by taxation on 
 property, and by capitation tax or otherwise. In such schools, there 
 shall be no distinction for or against any religious sect or denomin- 
 ation, and all the scholars shall be on terms of equality. And in all 
 such schools the English language shall be taught, and all instruc- 
 tions shall be given in that language. 
 
 4. There shall be appropriated for the purposes of education, by 
 means of such schools, — 
 
 First., The proceeds of all lands heretofore granted by the United 
 States to this State, for the use or support of schools, whether de- 
 rived from sales or otherwise, and of all lands which hav-e been or 
 which may hereafter be granted or devised to this State, and not 
 expressly granted or devised for any other purpose ; but nothing in 
 this subdivision shall be construed to conflict with the first of the 
 five propositions contained in the act of Congress of the United 
 States, approved March the sixth, one thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty, entitled " An act to authorize the people of Missouri Terri- 
 tory to form a Constitution and State government, and for the ad- 
 mission of such State into the Union, on an equal footing with the 
 original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain territories." 
 
 Second, The proceeds of the estates of all deceased persons, to 
 which the State has become entitled by law, and which have not 
 been otherwise appropriated ; and of the estates of all deceased per- 
 sons which the State may hereafter become entitled to by law : and 
 of all fines and forfeitures that may hereafter accrue according to 
 law in this State. 
 
 Third, All moneys, with the interest thereon, received by this 
 State from the United States, by virtue of an act of Congress, ap- 
 proved June twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 
MISSOURI. 473 
 
 six. entitled " An act to regulate the deposits of the public money : 
 Provided, That if said money be called for by the United States, it 
 shall be refunded accordingly. 
 
 Fourth^ The proceeds and income of the five hundred thousand 
 acres of land granted, by the United States to this State, by act of 
 Congress, approved September the fourth, eighteen hundred and 
 forty-one : Provided, That the Congress of the United States shall 
 assent to this disposition of said five hundred thousand acres ; aiid^ 
 provided further^ That the interest which may arise from the portion 
 of the school fund in this subdivision mentioned, shall be appropri- 
 ated among the several counties in this State, share and share alike. 
 And the appropriations in this section provided, shall be held by 
 the State as a loan, and shall be and remain a permanent fund, on 
 which the State shall pay an interest of at least six per centum 
 per annum, which interest shall be annually appropriated to the sup- 
 port of such schools, and, if not expended, shall be added to and be- 
 come a part of the principal ; and this appropriation shall remain 
 inviolable. 
 
 5. All moneys, including principal and interest, arising from the 
 sales which have been or hereafter may be made of any lands grant- 
 ed by the United States to this State, for the use of a seminary of 
 learning, and the proceeds of all such lands remaining unsold, and 
 the proceeds of all donations that may hereafter be made for that 
 purpose, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, upon which the State 
 shall pay an annual interest of at least six per cent., which shall be 
 appropriated to the seminary of learning established for the promo- 
 tion of literature, and the arts and sciences, by an act of the General 
 Assembly of this State, approved February the eleventh. Anno Do- 
 mini one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, by the name of 
 " the curators of the rniversity of the State of Missouri," and lo- 
 cated in the town of Columbia, in the county of Boone. 
 
 ARTICLE Nil.— Of the Seat of Government. 
 
 The seat of government is hereby permanently established at the 
 city of Jeff'erson, in the county of Cole. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII.— Of Banks and Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. No corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed or 
 extended, with the privilege of making, issuing, or putting in circu- 
 lation, any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note or other 
 paper, or the paper of any other bank, to circulate as money. 
 
 2. No corporation, except for political or municipal purposes, or 
 for the purpose of education or of charity, shall be created, unless 
 the bill creating the same shall contain a provision that the charter 
 of such corporation may be repealed and annulled by a majority of 
 both houses of the General Assembly. And the stockholders in all 
 private corporations, except corporations for the purpose of education 
 and of charity, shall be responsible, in their individual and private 
 
474 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 capacity, for all debts and liabilities of every kind, incurred by such 
 incorporation. Nor shall any corporation bo created for a longer 
 period than twenty years ; and no corporation shall exercise any 
 privileges prohibited in the preceding section. And the State shall 
 not be part owner of the stock or property belonging to any corpo- 
 ration. Nor shall the common school or seminary funds, nor any 
 other funds or monies, which the State may, at any time, hold in 
 trust for the citizens of this State, be placed in, or loaned to any 
 bank or other incorporated institution. 
 
 3. The Legislature shall prohibit, by law, individuals and corpo- 
 rations, except the bank of the State of Missouri, and its branches, 
 from issuing bills, checks, tickets, promissory notes, or other paper 
 to circulate as money. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, 
 and the buying or selling of lottery tickets within this State is 
 prohibited. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall have power, by law. to provide for the 
 sale and final disposition of all or any part of the stock owned by 
 the State in the bank of the State of Missouri, upon such terms and 
 conditions as shall be by law established ; and if a part only of said 
 stock shall be disposed of, then the number of directors, on the part 
 of the State, shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of 
 stock sold ; and whenever the whole stock of the State shall have been 
 disposed of, all right on the part of the State to a directory in said 
 bank shall cease, but the charter for the benefit of the private stock- 
 holders shall not be thereby affected or destroyed. And provision 
 shall be made to enable the private stockholders to have a voice in 
 the election of presidents of the bank and branches, in proportion 
 to the amount of stock owned by them ; and when all of the stock 
 of the State shall be sold, the president of the bank and branches 
 shall be elected by the private stockholders. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Of the disposal of the Soil, and the navigation of Rivers, 
 
 Sec. 1. The Greneral Assembly of this State shall never interfere 
 with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, nor with 
 any regulation Congress may find necessary for securing the title in 
 the soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on land, 
 the property of the United States, nor shall lands belonging to 
 persons residing out of the limits of this State, ever be taxed higher 
 than the lands belonging to persons residing within the State. 
 
 2. The State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mis- 
 sissippi, and on every other river bordering on the said State, so far 
 as the said river shall form a common boundary to the said State, 
 and any other State or States now or hereafter to be formed and 
 bounded by the same ; and the said river Mississippi, and the navi- 
 gable rivers and waters leading into the same, whether bordering on 
 or within the State, shall be common highways, and forever free to 
 
MISSOURI. 475 
 
 the citizens of this State and the United States, without any tax, 
 duty, impost or toll therefor imposed by this State. 
 
 AB,TICLE X. — Mode of arrtending the Constitution. 
 
 The General Assembly may, in the year eighteen hundred and 
 fifty, and every four years thereafter, propose such amendments to 
 this Constitution, as a majority of all the members elected to each 
 house shall deem expedient, and the vote upon each proposition shall 
 be taken by yeas and nays in each house ; and the Governor shall cause 
 such amendments to be published in at least one newspaper in each 
 county in this State, where a newspaper is published, at least six 
 months before the next succeeding general election. And it shall 
 be the duty of the several officers in this State, who shall make out 
 poll-books for the general election for that year, to put in each, two 
 columns for each amendment, headed one for, and the other against, 
 the amendment to the Constitution. And it shall be the duty of 
 the officers conducting said elections, to take the vote of each voter, 
 for or against such amendments separately, and to have the same 
 recorded in appropriate columns. When said poll-books are returned 
 to the officer authorized by law td receive them, said officer shall 
 make out and forward to the Secretary of State, within ten dayg 
 after he receives such poll-books, an abstract of the votes given, for 
 and against each of said amendments, together with an abstract of 
 the whole number of votes cast in their respective counties, cities or 
 districts, in the same manner as the votes for Governor and Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor : and if a majority of all the votes given at said 
 election are in favor of any one of said amendments, the Governor, 
 shall issue his proclamation, declaring the same to be a part of the 
 Constitution, from and after the date of such proclamation. 
 
 ARTICLE XI.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free 
 government may be recognized and established, we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all political power is vested in and derived from the 
 people. 
 
 2. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole, and ex- 
 clusive right of regulating the internal government and police 
 thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Constitution and form 
 of government, whenever it may be necessary to their safety and 
 happiness. 
 
 3. That the people have the right peaceably to assemble for their 
 common good, and to apply to those vested with the powers of gov- 
 ernment for redress of grievances, by petition or remonstrance : 
 and that their right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of 
 the State cannot be questioned. 
 
 4. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship 
 Almighty God, according to the dictates of their own consciences ; 
 that no man can be compelled to erect, support, or attend any place 
 
 36 
 
476 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of worship, or to maintain any minister of the gospel or teacher of 
 religion ; that no human authority can control or interfere with the 
 rights of conscience ; that no person can ever be hurt, molested or 
 restrained in his religious professions or sentiments, if he do not 
 disturb others in their religious worship. 
 
 5. That no person, on account of his religious opinions, can be 
 rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit under this State ; 
 that no preference can ever be given by law to any sect or mode of 
 worship ; and that no religious corporation can ever be established 
 in this State. No religious sect or society should be permitted to 
 accumulate or hold in mortmain large bodies of land or other prop- 
 erty, and all extensive ecclesiastical perpetuities are dangerpus to lib- 
 erty. Provided^ That any religious society may hold, in any assumed 
 name, so much land as may be necessary for a house and buildings 
 for public worship — for a parsonage, and for a burying-ground — and 
 for no other purpose whatever ; but no congregation, for such pur- 
 poseS;, shall own more than one acre of land in a town, nor more 
 than ten acres in the country. And provided, That nothing in this 
 section shall ever be construed to divest any right or title heretofore 
 vested. 
 
 6. That all elections shall be free and equal. 
 
 7. That courts of justice ought to be open to every person, and 
 certain remedy afforded for every injury to person, property or char- 
 acter ; and that right and justice ought to be administered without 
 sale, denial or delay ; and that no private property ought to be taken 
 or applied to public use without just compensation. 
 
 8. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolable. 
 
 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to 
 be heard by himself and his counsel ; to demand the nature and 
 cause of the accusation ; to have compulsory process for witnesses 
 in his favor : to meet the witnesses against him face to face ; and in 
 prosecutions or presentment or indictment, to a speedy trial by an 
 impartial jury of the county ; and that the accused cannot be com- 
 pelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, lib- 
 erty, or property, but by the judgment of his peers or the law of 
 the land. 
 
 10. That no person, after having been once acquitted by a jury, 
 of felony, or other crime or misdemeanor, can for the same offence 
 be again put in jeopardy of life, limb or liberty ; but if in any crim- 
 inal prosecution, the jury be divided in opinion, the court before 
 which the trial shall be had, may, in its discretion, discharge the 
 jury, and commit or bail the accused for trial at the next term of 
 such court. 
 
 \\. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, ex- 
 cept for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presump- 
 tion great ; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot be 
 suspended unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
MISSOURI. 477 
 
 12. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 13. That the people ought to be secure in their persons, papers, 
 houses and effects, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and 
 no warrant to search any place or seize any person or thing, can 
 issue without describing the place to be searched, and the person 
 or thing to be seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable 
 cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 14. That no person can, for an indictable offerfbe, be proceeded 
 against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land 
 or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in the time 
 of war or public danger, or by leave of the court, for oppression or 
 misdemeanor in office. 
 
 15. That treason against the State can consist only in levying 
 war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and 
 comfort ; that no person can be convicted of treason unless on the 
 testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his own con- 
 fession in open court ; that no person can be attainted of treason 
 or felony by the General Assembly ; that no conviction can work 
 corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate ; that the estates of such 
 
 .persons as may destroy their own lives, shall descend or vest as in 
 cases of natural death : and when any person shall be killed by 
 casualty, there ought to be no forfeiture by reason thereof. 
 
 16. That the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invalu- 
 able rights of man, and that every person may freely speak, write and print on any 
 subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty ; and in all prosecutions for 
 libels, the truth thereof may be given in evidence, and the jury may determine the 
 law and the facts under the direction of the Court. 
 
 17. That no ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, or 
 retrospective in its operation, can be passed ; nor can the person of a debtor be im- 
 prisoned for debt after he shall have surrendered his property for the benefit of his 
 creditors, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 18. That no person, who is religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, can be com- 
 pelled to do so, but may be compelled to pay an equivalent for military services, in 
 such manner as shall be prescribed by law ; and that no priest, preacher of the gos- 
 pel, or teacher of any religious persuasion or sect, regularly ordained as such, be 
 subject to military duty, or compelled to bear arms. 
 
 19. That all property subject to taxation in this State, shall be taxed in propor- 
 tion to its value. 
 
 20. That no title of nobility, hereditary emolument, privilege or distinction, shall 
 be granted; nor any ofiice created, the duration of which shall be longer than the 
 good behavior of the oflScer appointed to fill the same. 
 
 21. That migration from this State cannot be prohibited. 
 
 22. That the military is, and in all cases and at all times shall be, in strict subor- 
 dination to the civil power ; that no soldier can, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any house without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in such man- 
 ner as may be prescribed by law ; nor can any appropriation for the support of an 
 army be made for a longer period than two years. 
 
 23. That everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of gov- 
 ernment, and shall forever remain inviolate, and that all acts of the Legislature con- 
 trary to this or any other article of this Constitution shall be void. 
 
ARKANSAS. 
 
 Arkansas was a part of the Louisiana purch-!se. It became a separate ienitdry 
 in 1819, and in 1836 it adopted its Constitution and was admitted into the union as 
 a sovereign State. It derives its name from the ^reat river which runs through it. 
 
 Area, 54,500 sq. ra. Pop. in 1850, 209,639, of whom 46,982 were slaves, and 587 
 Free clored. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We, the people of the Territory of Arkansas, by our representatives, in Con- 
 vention assembled at Little Rock, on Monday, the 4th day of January, A. D. 
 1836, and of the independence of the United States the sixtieth year, having 
 the right of admission into the Union as one of the United States of America, 
 consistent with the federal Constitution, and by virtue of the treaty of cession 
 by France to the United States, of the province of Louisiana, in order to secure 
 to ourselves and our posterity the enjoyment of all the rights of life, liberty, and 
 property, and the free pursuit of happiness, do mutually agree with each other 
 to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the name and style of 
 *' The State of Arkansas," and do ordain and establish the following Constitu- 
 tion for the government thereof: 
 
ARKANSAS. 479 
 
 ARTICLE I.— Of Boundaries. 
 
 We do declare and establish, tatil'y and confirm, the following as the perma- 
 nent boundaries of said State of Arkansas, that is to say : Beginning in the main 
 channel of the Mississippi river, on the parallel of thirty-six degrees north lat- 
 itude ; running from thence west, with the said parallel of latitude, to the St. 
 Francis river ; thence up the middle of the main channel of said river to the 
 parallel of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north ; from thence west, to the 
 south-west corner of the State of Missouri ; and thence to be bounded on the 
 west, to the north bank of Red river, as by acts of Congress and treaties here- 
 tofore defining the western limits of the territory of Arkansas ; and to be bound- 
 ed on the south side of Red river by the Mexican boundary line, to the north- 
 west corner of the State of Louisiana ; thence east, with the Louisiana State 
 line, to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence up the 
 middle of the main channel of said river to the thirty-sixth degree of north lat- 
 itude, the point of beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE II.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 That the great and essential principles of liberty and free government may 
 be recognized and unalterably established, we declare : 
 
 Sec. 1. That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are equal, and 
 have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoy- 
 ing and defending life and liberty ; of acquiring, possessing, and protecting 
 property and reputation ; and of pursuing their own happiness. 
 
 2. That all power is inherent in the people ; and all free governments are 
 Ibunded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. 
 For the advancement of these ends, they have, at all times, an unqualified right to 
 alter, reform, or abolish their government, in such manner as they may think 
 proper. 
 
 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty 
 God according to the dictates of their own consciences ; and no man can of 
 right be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to main- 
 tain any ministry, against his consent. That no human authority can, in any 
 case whatever, interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no preference 
 shall ever be given to any religious establishment or mode of worship. 
 
 4. That the civil rights, privileges, or capacities of any citizen shall in no- 
 wise be diminished or enlarged, on account of his religion. 
 
 5. That all elections shall be free and equal, 
 
 6. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 7. That printing presses shall be free to every person ; and no law shall ever 
 be made to restrain the rights thereof The free communication of thoughts 
 and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may 
 freely speak, write, and print, on any subject, being responsible for the abuse 
 of that liberty. 
 
 8. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official con- 
 duct of officers or men in public capacity, or where the matter published is 
 proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence ; and 
 in all indictments for libels, the jury may have the right to determine the law 
 and the fa';ts. 
 
 9. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and pos- 
 sessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and that general warrants, 
 whereby any officer may be commanded to search suspected places, without evi- 
 dence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose 
 offences are not particularly described, and supported by evidence, are danger- 
 ous to liberty, and shall not be granted. 
 
 10. That no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his free- 
 hold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed 
 or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or 
 the law of the land. 
 
480 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 11. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard, 
 by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation 
 against him, and to have a copy thereof; to meet the witnesses face to face; 
 to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and, in pros- 
 ecutions by indictment or presentment, a speedy public trial, by an impartial 
 jury of the county or district in which the crime shall have been committed ; 
 and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself. 
 
 12. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of 
 life or limb. 
 
 13. That all penalties shall be reasonable, and proportioned to the nature of 
 the offence. 
 
 14. That no man shall be put to answer any criminal charge, but by present- 
 ment, indictment, or impeachment. 
 
 15. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate. 
 
 16. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless in 
 capital offences, where the proof is evident, or the presumption great ; and the 
 privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless where, 
 in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 
 
 17. That excessive bail shall in no case be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed. 
 
 18. That no ex fost facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of con- 
 tracts, shall ever be made. 
 
 19. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a repub- 
 lic, and shall not be allowed ; nor shall any hereditary emoluments, privileges, 
 or honors ever be granted or conferred in this State, 
 
 20. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble to- 
 gether for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and apply to 
 those invested with the power of government for redress of grievances, or other 
 proper purposes, by address or remonstrance. 
 
 21. That the free white men of this State shall have a right to keep and to 
 bear arms for their common defense. 
 
 22. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, with- 
 out the consent of the owner ; nor, in time of war, but in a manner prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 23. The military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 24. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
 others retained by the people ; and, to guard against any encroachments on the 
 rights herein retained, or any transgression of any of the higher powers herein 
 delegated. We declare, that everything in this article is excepted out of the gen- 
 eral powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate ; and that all 
 laws contrary thereto, or to the other provisions herein contained, shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Arkansas shall be di- 
 vided into three distinct departments, each of them to be confided to a separate 
 body of magistracy, to wit: those which are legislative, to one; those which 
 are executive, to another; and those which are judicial, to another. 
 
 2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of these departments, 
 shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others ; except in 
 the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE lY .—Legislative Deparimient. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a General As- 
 sembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 
 
 Qualifications of Electors. 
 
 2. Every free white male citizen of the United States, who shall have attain- 
 ed the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have been a citizan of this State 
 six months, shall be deemed a qualified elector, and be entitled to vote in the 
 county or district where he actually resides, for each and every office made 
 
ARKANSAS. 481 
 
 elective under this State or the United States : Provided, that no soldier, sea- 
 man, or marine in the army or navy of the United States, shall be entitled to 
 vote at any election within this State. 
 
 Time of choosing Representatives. 
 2. The House of Representatives shall consist of members to be chosen every 
 second year by the qualified electors of the several counties. 
 
 Qualijications of a Representative. 
 
 4. No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives, who shall 
 not have attained the age of twenty-five years; who shall not be a free white 
 male citizen of the United States ; who shall not, at the time of his election, 
 have an actual residence in the county he may be chosen to represent. 
 
 Qualifications of a Senator. 
 
 5. The Senate shall consist of members to be chosen every four years by the 
 qualified electors of the several districts, 
 
 6. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of thirty 
 years ; who shall not be a free white male citizen of the United States ; who 
 shall not have been an inhabitant of this State one year ; and who shall not, at 
 the time of his election, have an actual residence in the district he may be cho- 
 sen to represent. 
 
 Meeting of the General Assembly. 
 
 7. The General Assembly shall meet every two years, on the first Monday 
 of November, at the seat of government, until altered by law. 
 
 The Mode of Election^ and Time, and Privilege of Electors. 
 
 8. All general elections shall be viva voce, until otherwise directed by law, 
 and shall commence and be holden every two years, on the first Monday in 
 October, until altered by law ; and the electors in all cases, except in cases of 
 treason, felony, and breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during 
 their attendance on elections, and in going to and returning therefrom. 
 
 Duty of Governor. 
 
 9. The Governor shall issue writs of election, to fill such vacancies as shall 
 occur in either house of the General Assembly. 
 
 10. No judge of the Supreme, Circuit, or inferior courts of law or equity. 
 Secretary of State, Attorney for the United States, State auditor or treasurer, 
 register or recorder, clerk of anv court of record, sheriflf, coroner, member of 
 Congress, nor any other person fiolding- any lucrative ofiice under the United 
 States, or this State, (militia officers, justices of the peace, postmasters, and 
 judges of the county courts, excepted,) shall be eligible to a seat in either house 
 of the General Assembly, 
 
 11. No person who now is, or shall be hereafter, a collector, or holder ol 
 public money, nor any assistant or deputy of such holder or collector of public 
 money, shall be eligible to a seat in either house of the General Assembly, nor 
 to any office of profit or trust, until he shall have accounted for and paid over 
 all sums for which he may have been liable. 
 
 12. The General Assembly shall exclude from every office of trust and profit, 
 and from the right of suffrage within this State, all persons convicted of bribe- 
 ry, perjury, or other infamous crime. 
 
 13. Every person who shall have been convicted of directly or indirectly 
 giving or offering any bribe, to procure his election or appointment, shall be 
 disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit in this State ; and any 
 person who shall give or oflfer any bribe to procure the election or appointment 
 of any person, shall, on conviction thereof, be disqualified from being an elect- 
 or, or from holding any office of trust or profit under this State. 
 
 14. No senator nor representative shall, during the term for which he shall 
 have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this State, which shall 
 
482 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 h ve been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, dur- 
 ii : his continuance in office ; except such offices as shall be filled by the elec- 
 ti 1 of the people. 
 
 i 5. Each house shall appoint its own officers, and shall judge ot the qualifi- 
 cations, returns, and elections of its own members. Two-thirds of each house 
 shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn 
 from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such man- 
 ner and under such penalties as each house shall. provide. 
 
 16. Each house may determine rules for its own proceedings, punish its own 
 members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 the members elected, expel a member ; but no member shall be expelled a sec- 
 ond time for the same offence. They shall each, from time to time, publish a 
 journal of their proceedings, except such parts as may, in their opinion, require 
 secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the jour 
 nal at thte desire of any five members. i 
 
 17. The door of each house, when in session, or in committee of the whole, 
 shall be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy : and each 
 house may punish, by fine and imprisonment, any person, not a member, who 
 shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous 
 behavior in their presence during their session ; but such imprisonment shall 
 not extend beyond the final adjournment of that session. 
 
 18. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended or rejected in the 
 other ; and every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, un- 
 less two-thirds of the house where the same is pending shall dispense with the 
 rules ; and every bill having passed both houses shall be signed by the Presi-) 
 dent of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 19. Whenever an officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by the joint 
 or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate vote of either house of 
 the General Assembly, the vote shall be given viva voce, and entered on the 
 journal. 
 
 20. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases except treason, 
 felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of 
 the General Assembly, and for fifteen days before the commencement and after 
 the termination of each session ; and for any speech or debate in either house 
 they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 21. The members of the General Assembly shall severally receive from the 
 public treasury compensation for their services, which may be increased or 
 diminished ; but no alteration of such compensation of members shall take 
 effect during the session at which it is made. 
 
 The nianner of bringing Suits against the State. 
 
 22. The General Assembly shall direct, by law, in what courts and in what 
 manner suits may be commenced against the State, 
 
 23. They shall have power to pass all laws that are necessary to prohibit 
 the introduction in this State of any slave or slaves who may have committed 
 any high crime in any other State or Territory. 
 
 24. The General Assembly shall not have power to pass any bill of divorce ; 
 but may prescribe by law the manner in which such cases shall be investigat- 
 ed in the courts of justice, and divorces granted. 
 
 25. The General Assembly shall have power to prohibit the introduction of 
 any slave or slaves lor the purpose of speculation, or as an article of trade and 
 merchandise ; to oblige the owners of any slave or slaves to treat them with 
 humanity ; and in the prosecution of slaves for any crime, they shall not be 
 deprived of an impartial jury; and any slave who shall be convicted of a cap- 
 ital offence shall suffer the same degree of punishment as would be inflicted 
 on a free white person, and no other ; and courts of justice, before whom slaves 
 shall be tried, shall assign them counsel for their defense. 
 
 26. The Governor, Secretary of State, auditor, treasurer, and all the judges 
 of the Supreme, Circuit, and inferior courts of law and equity, and the prose- 
 cuting attorney for the SVate, shall be liable to impeachment for any malprac- 
 
ARKANSAS. 483 
 
 tice or misdemeanor in office ; but judgment in such cases shall not extend 
 farther than removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, 
 trust, or profit, under this State. The party impeached, whether convicted or 
 acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to be indicted, tried, and punished accord- 
 ing to law. 
 
 27. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeach- 
 ment ; and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and when sitting 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation to do justice ac- 
 cording to law and evidence. When the Governor shall be tried, the Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside ; and no person shall be convicted 
 without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators elected ; and for rea- 
 sonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment, the Gov- 
 ernor shall, on the joint address of two-thirds of each branch of the General 
 Assembly, remove from office the judges of the Supreme and inferior courts : 
 Provided, the cause or causes of removal be spread on the journals, and the 
 party charged be notified of the same, heard by himself and counsel, before 
 the vote is finally taken and decided. 
 
 28. The appointment of all officers not otherwise directed by this Constitu- 
 tion, shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by law ; and all offi- 
 cers, both civil and military, acting under the authority of this State, shall be- 
 fore entry on the duties of their respective offices, take an oath or affirmation 
 to support the Constitution of the United States, and of this State, and to de- 
 mean themselves faithfully in office. 
 
 29. No county now established by law shall ever be reduced, by the estab- 
 lishment of any new county or counties, to less than nine hundred square 
 miles, nor to a less population than iis ratio of representation in the House of 
 Representatives ; nor shall any county be hereafter established which shall con- 
 tain less than nine hundred square miles, (except Washington county, which 
 may be reduced to six hundred square miles,) or a less population than would 
 entitle such county to a member in the House of Representatives. 
 
 30. The style of the laws of the State shall be, ''Beit enacted by the Gene- 
 ral Assembly of iJie State of Arkansas.^'' 
 
 31. The State shall, from time to time, be divided into convenient districts 
 in such manner that the Senate shall be " based upon the free white male in- 
 habitants of the State, each senator representing an equal number, as nearly as 
 practicable. 
 
 And the Senate shall never consist of less than seventeen nor more than 
 thirty-three members ; and as soon as the Senate shall meet after the first elec- 
 tion to be held under the Constitution, they shall cause the senators to be divi- 
 ded by lot, into two classes, nine of the first class and eight of the second class ; 
 and the seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of two years from 
 the tinie of their election, and the seats of the second class at the end of four 
 years from the time of their election ; in order that one class of the senators 
 may be elected every two years. 
 
 32. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the State shall be taken under the 
 direction of the General Assembly, on the first day of January, one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-eight, and at the end of every four years thereafter ; 
 and the General Assembly shall, at the first session after the return of every 
 enumeration, so alter and arrange the senatorial districts, that each district shall 
 contain, as nearly as practicable, an equal number of free white male inhab- 
 itants : Provided, that Washington county, as long as the population shall jus- 
 tify the same, may, according to its numbers, elect more than one senator ; and 
 such districts shall then remain unaltered, until the return of another enume- 
 ration ; and shall, at all times, consist of contiguous territory, and no county 
 shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district. 
 
 33. The ratio of representation in the Senate shall be fifteen hundred free 
 white male inhabitants to each senator, until the senators amount to twenty- 
 five in number ; and then they shall be equally apportioned upon the same basis 
 throughout the State, in such ratio as the increased numbers of free white male 
 inhabitants may require, without increasing the senators to a greater number 
 
484 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 than twenty-five, until the population of the State amounts to five hundred 
 thousand souls ; and when an increase of senators takes place, they shall, from 
 time to time, be divided by lot, and classed as prescribed above, 
 
 34. The House of Representatives shall consist of not less than fifty-four nor 
 more than one hundred representatives, to be apportioned among the several 
 counties in this State, according to the number of free white male inhabit- 
 ants therein, taking five hundred as the ratio, until the number of representa- 
 tives amount to seventy-five; and when they amount to seventy-five, they shall 
 not be farther increased until the population of the State amounts to five hundred 
 thousand souls : Provided, that each county now organized shall, although its 
 population may not give the existing ratio, always be entitled to one represen- 
 tative. 
 
 Mode of amending the Constitution. 
 
 35. The General Assembly may at any time propose such amendments to 
 this Constitution as two-thirds of each house shall deem expedient, which shall 
 be published in all the newspapers published in this State, three several times, 
 at least twelve months before the next general election ; and if, at the first ses- 
 sion of the General Assembl}'', after such general election, two-thirds of each 
 house shall, by yeas and nays, ratify such proposed amendments, they shall be 
 valid to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitution : Provided, that 
 such proposed amendments shall be read on three several days in each house, 
 as well when the same are proposed as when they are finally ratified. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested m a chief 
 magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Arkansas. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and 
 places where they shall respectively vote ibr representatives. 
 
 3. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up and trans- 
 mitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall, during tlie 
 first week of the session, open and publish them, in the presence of both houses 
 of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number of votes 
 shall be Governor ; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, one 
 of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of both houses. Contested 
 elections for Governor shall be determined by both houses of the General As- 
 sembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. The Governor shall hold his office tor the term of four years from the 
 time of his installation, and until his successor shall be duly qualified ;* but 
 shall not be eligible for more than eight years in any term of twelve years. 
 He shall be at least thirty years of age, a native-born citizen of Arkansas, or 
 a native-born citizen of the United States, or a resident of Arkansas ten years 
 previous to the adoption of the Constitution, if not a native of the United 
 States ; and shall have been a resident of the same at least four years next 
 before his election. 
 
 5. He shall at stated times receive a compensation for his services, which 
 shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have 
 been elected : nor shall he receive within that period, any other emolument 
 from the United States, or any one of them, or from any foreign power. 
 
 6. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army of this State, and of the 
 militia thereof, except when they shall be called irito the service of the United 
 States. 
 
 7. He may require information in writing from the officers of the executive 
 department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 8. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Gen- 
 eral Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place if that shall 
 have become, since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy or from 
 contagious diseases. In case of disagreement between the two houses with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
 shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next meeting of the General As- 
 sembly. 
 
AllKANSiS. 485 
 
 9. He shall, from time to time, give the General Assembly information of 
 the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration, such meas- 
 ures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. In all criminal and penal cases, except in those of treason and impeach- 
 ment, he shall have power to grant pardons after convictions, and remit fines 
 and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law. 
 In cases of treason, he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
 of the Senate, to grant reprieves and pardons; and he may, in the recess of 
 the Senate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 13. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the Governor, 
 and used by him officially ; and the present seal of the territory shall be the 
 seal of the State, until otherwise directed by the General Assembly. 
 
 13. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State 
 of Arkansas ; be sealed with the seal of the State, signed by the Governor, and 
 attested by the Secretary of State. 
 
 14. There shall be a Secretary of State elected by a joint vote of both houses 
 of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office dm'ing the term of four 
 years, and until his successor in office be duly qualified. He shall keep a fair 
 register of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, 
 when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative 
 thereto, before the General Assembly ; and shall perform such other duties as 
 may be required by law. 
 
 15. Vacancies that may happen in offices, the -election to which is vested in 
 the General Assembly, shall be filled by the Governor during the recess of the 
 General Assembly, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of 
 the next session. 
 
 16. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be presented to the 
 Governor ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if he shall not approve it, he 
 shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have origin- 
 ated, who shall enter his objections at large upon their journals and proceed to 
 reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number 
 elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the ob- 
 jections to the other house, by which, likewise, it shall be reconsidered ; and, 
 if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to that house, it shall 
 be«a law ; but in such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
 yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill 
 shall be entered on the journal of each respectively. If any bill shall not be 
 returned by the Governor within three days, Sundays excepted, after it shall 
 have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he 
 had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its 
 return ; in such cases it shall not be a law. 
 
 17. Every order or resolution to which the concurrence of both houses may 
 be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the 
 Governor, and before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disap- 
 proved, shall be repassed by both houses, according to the rules and limitations 
 prescribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 18. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal from office, 
 death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the President 
 of the Senate shall exercise all the authority appertaining to the office of Gov- 
 ernor, until another Governor shall have been elected and qualified, or until 
 the Governor absent or impeached, return or be acquitted. 
 
 19. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President of the 
 Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, 
 or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 
 in like manner administer the Government. 
 
 20. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representa- 
 tives, during the time they respectively administer the government, shall re- 
 
486 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 ceive the same compensation which the Governor would have received, had 
 he been employed in the duties of his office, 
 
 21. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant, by death, resig- 
 nation, removal from office, or otherwise, provided, such vacancy shall not 
 happen within eighteen months of the end of the term for which the late Gov- 
 ernor shall have been elected, the President of the Senate or Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives, as the case may be, exercising the powers of Gover- 
 nor for the time being, shall immediately cause an election to be held to fill 
 such vacancy, giving, by proclamation, sixty days' previous notice thereof, 
 which election shall be governed by the same rules prescribed for general elec- 
 tions of Governor, as far as applicable. The return shall be made to the Sec- 
 retary of State, who, in presence of the acting Governor, and the judges of the 
 Supreme Court, or one of them at least, shall compare them, and, together with 
 said acting Governor, and judges, declare who is elected; and if there be a 
 contested election, it shall be decided by the judges of the the Supreme Court 
 in manner to be prescribed by law, 
 
 22. The Governor shall always reside at the seat of government. 
 
 23. No person shall hold the office of Governor, and any other office or com- 
 mission, civil or military, either in this State, or under any State, or the Unit- 
 ed States, or any other power, at one and the same time. 
 
 24. That there shall be elected, by the joint vote of both houses of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, an auditor and treasurer for this State, who shall hold their 
 offices for the term of two years, and until their respective successors are elect- 
 ed and qualified, unless sooner removed, and shall keep their respective offices 
 at the seat of government, and perform such duties as shall be prescribed by 
 law ; and, in case of vacancy by death, resignation, or otherwise, such va- 
 cancy shall be filled by the Governor, as in other cases. 
 
 Militia. 
 
 25. The militia of this State shall be divided into convenient divisions, brig- 
 ades, regiments, and companies, and officers of corresponding titles and rank 
 elected to command them, conforming, as nearly as practicable, to the general 
 regulations of the army of the United States. 
 
 26. Major-generals shall be elected by the brigadier-generals and field officers 
 of their respective divisions ; brigadier-generals shall be elected by the field of- 
 ficers and commissioned company officers of their respective brigades ; field 
 officers shall be elected by the officers and privates of their respective regimerfts ; 
 and captains and subaltern officers shall be elected by those subject to military 
 duty in their respective companies, 
 
 27. The Governor shall appoint the adjutant-general and other members of 
 his staff; and major-generals, brigadier-generals and commandants of regi- 
 ments, shall respectively appoint their own staff"; and all commissioned officers 
 may continue in office during good behavior ; and staff officers during the same 
 time, subject to be removed by the superior officers from whom they respect- 
 ively derive their appointment, 
 
 ARTICLE VI. — Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial pow;er of this State shall be vested in one Supreme 
 Court, in circuit courts, in county courts, and in justices of the peace. The 
 General Assembly may also vest such jurisdiction as may be deemed necessary 
 in corporation courts, and, when they deem it expedient, may establish courts 
 of chancery. 
 
 2. The Supreme Court shall be composed of three judges, one of whom shall 
 be styled Chief-Justice any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the 
 concurrence of two of said judges shall, in every case, be necessary to a deci- 
 sion. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed by this Consti- 
 tution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with 
 the State, under such restrictions and regulations as may, from time to time, 
 be prescribed by law. It shall have a general superintending control over all 
 
ARKil.NSAS. 487 
 
 inferior and other courts of law and equity. It shall have power to issue writs 
 of error and supersedeas, certiorari, and habeas corpus, mandamus, and que 
 warranto, and other remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same. Said 
 judges shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State, and shall sever- 
 ally have power to issue any of the aforesaid writs. 
 
 3. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction over all criminal cases, 
 which shall not be otherwise provided for by law ; and exclusive original ju- 
 risdiction of all crimes amounting to felony at common law ; and original ju- 
 risdiction of all civil cases which shall not be cognizable before justices of the 
 peace, until otherwise directed by the General Assembly; and original juri< 
 'liction in all matters of contracts, where the sum in controversy is over one 
 hundred dollars. It shall hold its terms in such place in each county as may 
 be by law directed. 
 
 4. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, each to consist of not 
 less than five, nor more than seven counties, contiguous to each other, for each 
 of which a judge shall be elected ; who, during his continuance in office, shall 
 reside and be a conservator of the peace within the circuit for which he shall 
 have been elected. 
 
 5. The circuit courts shall exercise a superintending control over the county 
 courts, and over justices of the peace, in each county in their respective cir- 
 cuits, and shall have power to issue all the necessary writs to carry into eifect 
 their general and specific powers, 
 
 6. Until the General Assembly shall deem it expedient to establish courts of 
 chancery, the circuit court shall have jurisdiction in matters of equity, subject 
 to appeal to the Supreme Court, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 7. The General Assembly .shall, by joint vote of both houses, elect the judges 
 of the Supreme and circuit courts, amajority of the whole number in joint vote 
 being necessary to a choice. The judges of the Supreme Court shall be at least 
 thirty years of age. They shall hold their offices during the term of eight years 
 from the date of their commissions. Immediately after such election, by the 
 first General Assembly, the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives shall proceed, by lot, to divide the judges into three classes. 
 The commission of the first class shall expire at the end of four years ; of the 
 second class at the end of six years ; and of the third class at the end of eight 
 years ; so that one-third of the whole number shall be chosen every four, six, 
 and eight years. The judges of the circuit court shall be at least twenty-five 
 years of age, and shall be elected for the term of four years from the date of 
 their commission. The Supreme Court shall appoint its own clerks for the 
 term of four years. The qualified voters of each county shall elect a clerk of 
 the circuit court for their respective counties, who shall hold his office for the 
 term of two years ; and courts of chancery, if any be established, shall appoint 
 their own clerks. 
 
 8. The judges of the Supreme and circuit courts shall, at stated times, re- 
 ceive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, which shall 
 not be diminished during the term for which they are elected. They shall not 
 be allowed any fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of trust or 
 profit under this State or the United States. The State attorneys and clerks of 
 the Supreme and circuit courts, and courts of chancery, if any such be estab- 
 lished, shall receive for their services such salaries, fees, and perquisites of 
 office, as shall be from time to time fixed by law, 
 
 9. There shall be established, in each county in the State, a court to be hold- 
 en by the justices of the peace, and called the county court, which shall have 
 jurisdiction in all matters relating to county taxes, disbursements of money for 
 county purposes, and in every other case that may be necessary to the internal 
 improvement and local concerns of the respective counties. 
 
 10. There shall be elected, by the justices of the peace of the respective coun- 
 ties, a presiding judge of the county court, to be commissioned by the Governor, 
 and hold his office for the term of two years, and until his successor is elected 
 ana qualified. He shall, in addition to the duties that may be required of him 
 by law, as a presiding judge of the county court, be a judge of probate, and 
 
488 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 have such jurisdiction in matters relative to the estates of deceased persons, 
 executors, administrators, and guardians, as may be prescribed by law, until 
 otherwise directed by the General Assembly, 
 
 11. The presiding judge of the county court, and justices of the peace, shall 
 receive for their services such compensation and fees as the General Assembly 
 may from time to time by law direct. 
 
 12. No judge shall preside on the trial of any case in the event of which he 
 may be interested, or where either of the parties shall be connected with him 
 by affinity or consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by 
 law, or in whicn he may have been of counsel, or have presided in any infe- 
 rior court, except by consent of all the parties. In case ?.ll or any of the judges of 
 the Supreme Court shall be thus disqualified from presiding on any cause or 
 causes, the court or judges thereof shall certify the same to the Governor of the 
 State, and he shall immediately commission specially the requisite number of 
 men of law-knowledge for the trial and determination thereof. The same 
 course shall be pursued in the circuit and other inferior courts, as prescribed 
 in this section for cases in the Supreme Court. Judges of the circuit courts 
 may temporarily exchange circuits, or hold courts for each other, under such 
 regulations as may be pointed out by law. Judges shall not charge jurors 
 with respect to matters of fact ; but may state the testimony and declare the 
 law, 
 
 13. The General Assembly shall, by a joint vote of both houses, elect an at- 
 torney for the State, for each circuit established by law, who shall continue in 
 office two years, and reside within the circuit for which he was elected, at the 
 time of and during his continuance in office. In all cases where an attorney 
 for the State of any circuit fails to attend and prosecute according to law, the 
 courts shall have power to appoint an attorney fro tempore. The attorney for 
 the court in which the Supreme Court may hold its term, shall attend the Su- 
 preme Court, and prosecute for the State. 
 
 14. All writs and other process shall run in the name of " The State of Ar- 
 kansas," and bear test and be signed by the clerks of the respective courts from 
 which they issue. Indictments shall conclude, " against the peace and dignity 
 of the State of Arkansas." 
 
 15. The qualified voters residing in each township shall elect the justices of 
 the peace for their respective townships. For every fifty voters there may be 
 elected one justice of the peace, provided, that each township, however small, 
 shall have two justices of the peace. Justices of the peace shall be elected for 
 the term of two years, and shall be commissioned by the Governor, and reside 
 in the townships for which they were elected during their continuance in office. 
 They shall have, individually, or two or more of them jointly, exclusive origi- 
 nal jurisdiction in all matters of contract, except in actions of covenant, where 
 the sum in controversy is of one hundred dollars and under. Justices shall, in 
 no case, have jurisdiction to try and determine any criminal case or penal of- 
 fence against the State, but may sit as examining courts, and commit, dis- 
 charge, or recognize, to the court having jurisdiction, for further trial, of of- 
 fenders against the peace. For the foregoing purposes they shall have power 
 to issue all necessary process. They shall also have power to bind to keep 
 the peace, or for good behavior. 
 
 16. The qualified voters of each township shall elect one constable for the 
 term of two years, who shall, during his continuance in office, reside in the 
 township for which he was elected. Incorporated townships may have a sepa- 
 rate constable, and a separate magistracy. 
 
 17. The qualified voters of each county shall elect one sheriff", one coroner, 
 one treasurer, and one county surveyor, for the term of two years. They shall 
 be commissioned by the Governor, reside in their respective counties during 
 their continuance in office, and be disqualified for the office a second term, if 
 it should appear that they, or either of them, are in default for any monies 
 collected by virtue of thf r respective offices. 
 
ARKANSAS. 4QQ 
 
 ARTICLE IX. — General Provisions. — Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through a community, 
 being essential to the preservation of a free government, and diffusing the op- 
 portunities and advantages of education through the various parts of the State 
 being highly conducive to this end, it shall be the duty of the General Assem- 
 bly to provide by law for the improvement of such lands as are or hereafter 
 may be granted by the United States to this State for the use of schools, and 
 to apply any funds which may be raised from such land, or from any other 
 source, to the accomplishment of the object for which they are or may be in- 
 tended. The General Assemoly shall Irom time to time pass such laws as 
 shall be calculated to encourage intellectual, scientific, and agricultural im- 
 provements, by allowing rewards and immunities for the promotion and im- 
 provement of arts, science, commerce, man afactures, and natural history; and 
 countenance and encourage the principles of humanity, industry, and morality. 
 
 Emancipation of Slaves. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws for the 
 emancipation of slaves, without the consent of the owners. They shall have 
 no power to prevent emigrants to this State Irom bringing with them such per- 
 sons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any one of the United States. They 
 shall have power to pass laws to permit the owners of slaves to emancipate 
 them, saving the rights of creditors, and preventing them from becoming a 
 public charge. They shall have power to prevent slaves from being brought 
 to this State as merchandize, and also to oblige the owners of slaves to treat 
 them with humanity. 
 
 2. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or 
 adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
 convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
 overt act, or his own confession in open court. 
 
 3. No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil 
 department of this State, nor be allowed his oath in any court. 
 
 4. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of an ap- 
 propriation by law, nor shall any appropriation of money for the support of 
 an army be made for a longer term than two years ; and a regular statement 
 and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be 
 publislied with the promulgation of the laws. 
 
 5. Absence on business of this State, or of the United States, or on a visit 
 of necessary private business, shall not cause a forfeiture of a residence once 
 obtained. 
 
 6. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, nor shall the sale of lottery 
 tickets be allowed. 
 
 7. Internal improvements shall be encouraged by the government of this 
 State, and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as may be, to 
 make provision by law for ascertaining the proper objects of improvements 
 in relation to roads, canals, and navigable waters ; and it shall also be their 
 duty to provide by law for an equal, systematic, and economical application 
 of the fund which may be appropriated to these objects. 
 
 8. Returns for all elections for officers who are to be commissioned by the 
 Governor, and for members of the General Assembly, shall be made to the 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 9. Within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, the laws, civil, 
 and criminal, shall be revised, digested., and arranged, and promulgated in 
 such manner as the General Assembly shall direct, and a like revision, digest, 
 and promulgation shall be made within every subsequent period of ten years. 
 
 10. In the event of the annexation of any territory to this State, by a cession 
 from the United States, laws may be passed extending to the inhabitants of 
 such territory all the rights and privileges which may be required by the terms 
 of such cession, anything in his Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
490 CONSTITUTION OF ARKANSAS. 
 
 11. The person of a debtor, except where there is strong presumption cf 
 fraud, shall neither be imprisoned nor continued in prison after delivering up 
 his estate tor the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 Sec. 1. All revenue shall be raised by taxation, to be fixed by law. 
 
 2. All property subject to taxation shall be taxed according to its value, 
 that value to be ascertained in such manner as the General Assembly shall di- 
 rect, making the same equal and uniform throughout the State. No one spe- 
 cies of property from which a tax may be collected, shall be taxed higher than 
 another species of property of equal, value : Provided, the General Assembly 
 shall have power to tax merchants, hawkers, pedlers, and privileges, in such 
 manner as may from time to time be prescribed by law : and provided further, 
 that no other or greater amounts of revenue shall at any time be levied, than 
 required for the necessary expenses of government, unless by a concurrence of 
 two- thirds of both houses of the General Assembly. 
 
 3. No poll tax shall be assessed for other than county purposes. 
 
 4. No other or greater tax shall be levied on the productions or labor of the 
 country than may be required for expenses of inspection. 
 
 Establishvient of Banks. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly may incorporate one State Bank, with such 
 amount of capital as may be deemed necessary, and with such number of 
 branches as may be required for public convenience, which shall become the 
 repository of the funds belonging to, or under the control of, the State ; and 
 shall be required to loan them out throughout the State, and in each county, 
 in proportion to representation ; and they shall further have power to incorpo- 
 rate one other banking institution, calculated to aid and promote the great 
 agricultural interests of the country ; and the faith and credit of the State may 
 be pledged to raise the funds necessary to carry into operation the two banks 
 herein specified : Provided, such security can be given by the individual stock- 
 holders as will guaranty the State against loss or injury. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF ARKANSAS. 
 
 Proposed hy the General AssemMy, begun and held at the City of Little Roch^ in the 
 /State of ArTcan^as, on the first Monday of November^ one thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-four, and ratified November 17. 1846. 
 
 Art. 1. No bank or banking institution shall be hereafter incorporated, or 
 established in this State. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall have power to compel the Judges of the Circuit 
 Oourts to interchange circuits either temporarily or permanently, under such regu- 
 lations as may be provided by law. 
 
 8. The General Assembly shall have power to confer such jurisdiction, as it 
 may from time to time deem propor, on .Justices of the Peace in all matters of con- 
 tracts, covenants, and in actions for the recovery of fines and forfeitures, when the 
 amount claimed does not exceed one hundred dollars, and in actions and prosecu- 
 tions for assault aiid battery, and other penal olfences, less than felony, which 
 may be punishable by fine only. 
 
 4. Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts, Clerks of the Supreme and Cir- 
 cuit Courts, Attorneys for the State, Sheriffs, Coroners, County Treasurers, Justices- 
 of the Peace, Constables, and all other officers, whose term is fixed by the Con- 
 stitution to a specific number of years, shall hold their respective offices for the 
 term now specified, and until their successors are elected and qualified. 
 
 Ratified Nov. 17, 1846. 
 
TEXAS. 
 
 The first settlement made in Texas was in 1792. It was a part of Mexico until 
 1835, when it declared itself independent. The Mexicans attempted to recover the 
 territory in 1836. The force consisted of 1600 men, under Santa Anna. A severe 
 battle ensued, in which more than 600 of the Mexicans were killed and 300 wound- 
 ed, and Santa Anna and his men were taken prisoners. The Texan force consisted 
 of only about 800 men, under Gen. S. Houston ; their loss was only 6 killed and 
 about 30 wounded. Texas remained a separate government until 1845, when, by 
 mutual agreement, it was annexed to the United States, and thus became the 
 twenty-eighth State in the union. 
 
 Area, 324,018 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 187,403- Slaves, 53,346 and 926. Free 
 blacks. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We, the people of the republic of Texas, acknowledging with gratitude the 
 grace and benificence of God in permitting us to make a choice of our form of 
 government, do, in accordance with the provisions of the joint resolution for 
 annexing Texas to the United States, approved March iirst, one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-five, ordain and establish this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE I.— BiU of Rights. 
 
 Thai the general^ great, and essential principles of liberty and free government 
 may be recognized and established, we declare that — 
 
 Sec. 1. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments 
 are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit ; and they have 
 at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of gov- 
 ernment, in such manner as they mav think expedient. 
 37 
 
492 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 2. All freemen, when they form a social compact, have equal rights ; and no 
 man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive, separate, public emoluments or 
 privileges, but in consideration of public services. 
 
 3. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
 public trust in this State. 
 
 4. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship God according 
 to4he dictates of their own consciences ; no man shall be compelled to attend, 
 erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his 
 consent ; no human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or inter- 
 fere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion, and no preference shall 
 ever be given by law to any religious societies or modes of worship. But it 
 shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as shall be necessary to 
 protect every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of their own 
 mode of public worship. 
 
 5. Every citizen shall be at liberty to speak, write, or publish his opinions 
 on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege ; and no law 
 shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press. 
 
 6. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official con- 
 duct of officers, or men in a public capacity, or where the matter published is 
 proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And 
 in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law 
 and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases, 
 
 7. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and posses- 
 sions, from all i» treasonable seizure^ or searches; and no warrant to search 
 any place, or to s.-ize any person or thing, shall issue, without describing them 
 as near as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirma- 
 tion. 
 
 8. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a speedy public trial, 
 by an impartial jury ; he shall not be compelled to give evidence against him- 
 self; he shall have the right of being heard by himself or counsel or both ; 
 shall be confronted with the witnesses against him, and shall have compulsory 
 process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and no person shall be holden to 
 answer for any criminal charge, but on indictment or information, except in 
 cases arising in the land or naval forces, or offences against the laws regulating 
 the militia. 
 
 9. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital of- 
 fences, wnen the proof is evident or the presumption great ; but this provision 
 shall not be so construed as to prohibit bail after indictment found, upon an 
 examination of the evidence by a judge of the Supreme or district court, upon 
 the return of the writ of habeas corpus, returnable in the county where the of- 
 fence is committed. 
 
 10. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, ex- 
 cept when, in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 
 
 11. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
 cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. All courts shall be open ; and every 
 
 Eerson, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall 
 ave remedy by due course of law. 
 
 12. No person, for the same offence, shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or 
 limb ; nor shall a person be again put upon trial for the same offence after a 
 verdict of not guilty ; and the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
 
 ] 3. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful 
 defense of himself and the State. 
 
 14. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, retro-active law, or any law im- 
 pairing the obligation of contracts, shall be made ; and no person's property 
 shall be taken or applied to public use, without adequate compensation being 
 made, unless by the consent of such person. 
 
 15. No person shall ever be imprisoned for debt. 
 
 16. No citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, or 
 privileges, outlawed, exiled, or in any manner disfranchised, except by due 
 course of the law of the land. 
 
TEXAS. 493 
 
 17. The military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil authority. 
 
 18. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free govern- 
 ment, and shall never be allowed; nor shall the law of primogeniture or en- 
 tailments ever be in force in this State. 
 
 19. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble to- 
 gether for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers 
 of government for redress of grievances, or other purposes, by petition, address, 
 or remonstrance. 
 
 20. No power of suspending laws in this State shall be exercised, except by 
 the Legislature or its authority. 
 
 21. To guard against transgressions of the high powers herein delegated, we 
 declare that everything in this " bill of rights " is excepted out of the general 
 powers of Government, and shall forever remain inviolate ; and all laws con- 
 trary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Sec. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Texas shall be divided 
 into three distinct departments, and each of them be confined to a separate body 
 of magistracy, to wit : those which are legislative, to one ; those which are ex- 
 ecutive, to another; and those which are judicial to another; and no person, 
 or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any 
 power properly attached to either of the otheis, except in the instances herein 
 expressly permitted, 
 
 ARTICLE III. — Legislative Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every free male person who shall have attained the age of twent}'- 
 one years, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, or who is, at the 
 time of the adoption of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, 
 a citizen of the republic of Texas, and shall have resided in this State one year 
 next preceding an election, and the last six months within the district, county, 
 city, or town, in which he offers to vote (Indians not taxed, Africans and de- 
 scendants of Africans, excepted), shall be deemed a qualified elector ; and should 
 such qualified elector happen to be in any other county situated in the district 
 in which he resides at the time of an election, he shall be permitted to vote for 
 any district officer : provided, that the qualified electors shall be permitted to 
 vote anywhere in the State for State officers : and provided, further, that no sol- 
 dier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, shall be en- 
 titled to vote at any election created by this Constitution. 
 
 2. All free male persons over the age of twenty-one years ^Indians not taxed, 
 Africans and descendants of Africans, excepted), who shall have resided six 
 months in Texas, immediately preceding the acceptance of this Constitution 
 by the Congress of the United States, shall be deemed qualified electors. 
 
 3. Electors in all cases shall be privileged from arrest during their attend- 
 ance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same, except in cases 
 of treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 
 
 4. The legislative powers of this State shall be vested in two distinct branch- 
 es ; the one to be styled the Senate, and the other the House of Representatives, 
 and both together the " Legislature of the State of Texas." The style of all 
 laws shall be, " Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas." 
 
 5. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the quali- 
 fied electors, and their term of office shall be two years from the day of the 
 general election ; and the sessions of the Legislature shall be biennial, at such 
 times as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 6. No person shall be a representative, unless he be a citizen of the United 
 States, or at the time of the adoption of this Constitution a citizen of the repub- 
 lic of Texas, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State two years next 
 preceding his election, and the last year thereof a citizen of the county, city, or 
 town for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty- 
 one years at the time of his election. 
 
 7. All elections by the people shall be held at such time and nlaces, in the 
 
494 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 several counties, cities, or towns, as are now, or may hereafter be, designated 
 by law. 
 
 8. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of four 
 years ; and shall be divided by lot into two classes, as nearly equal as can be. 
 The seats of senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
 first two years, and of the second class at the expiration of four years ; so that 
 one-half thereof shall be chosen biennially thereafter. 
 
 9. Such mode of classifying new additional senators shall be observed, as 
 will as nearly as possible preserve an equality of number in each class. 
 
 10. When a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, it 
 shall not be separated by any county belonging to another district. 
 
 11. No person shall be a senator unless he be a citizen of the United States, 
 or at the time of the acceptance of this Constitution by the Congress of the Uni- 
 ted States, a citizen of the republic of Texas ; and shall have been an inhabit- 
 ant of this State three years next preceding the election, and the last year 
 thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, and have attained 
 the age of thirty years. 
 
 12. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a Speaker 
 and its other officers ; and the Senate shall choose a President for the time be- 
 ing and its other officers. Each house shall judge of the qualifications and 
 elections of its own members ; but contested elections shall be determined in 
 such manner as shall be directed by law. Two-thirds of each house shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller nrmiber may adjourn from day 
 to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and 
 under such penalties, as each house may provide. 
 
 13. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish 
 members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a 
 member, but not a second time for the same ofience. 
 
 14. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and publish the 
 same ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, 
 shall at the desire of any three members present be entered on the journals, 
 
 15. When vacancies happen in either house, the Governor, or the person 
 exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such 
 vacancy. 
 
 16. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except in treason, felony, 
 or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Le- 
 gislature, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for 
 every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the Le- 
 gislature is convened. 
 
 17. Each house may punish by imprisonment during the session, any person 
 not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly conduct, in its presence ; or for 
 obstructing any of its proceedings : provided such imprisonment shall not at 
 any one time exceed 48 hours. 
 
 18. The doors of each house shall be kept open. 
 
 19. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more 
 than three days ; nor to any other place than that in which they may be sit- 
 ting, without the concurrence of both houses. 
 
 20. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered, or rejected 
 by the other ; but no bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several 
 days, it be read in each house, and free discussion be allowed thereon, unless, 
 in case of great emergency, four-fifths of the house in which the bill shall be 
 pending may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule ; and every bill hav- 
 ing passed both houses, shall be signed by the Speaker and President of their 
 respective houses. 
 
 21. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representa- 
 tives ; but the Senate may amend or reject them, as other bills. 
 
 22. After a bill or resolution has been rejected by either branch of the Legis- 
 lature, no bill or resolution containing the same substance shall be passed into 
 a law during the same session. 
 
 23. Each member of the Legislature shall receive from the public treasiu-y a 
 
TEXAS. 495 
 
 compensation for his services, which may be increased or diminished by law ; 
 but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at'which 
 such increase shall be made. 
 
 24. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he may be 
 elected, be eligible to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall 
 have been created, or the emoluments of which may have been increased, dur- 
 ing the term ; and no member of either house of the Legislature shall, during 
 the term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appoint- 
 ment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either branch of the Leg- 
 islature ; nor shall the members thereof be capable of voting for a member of 
 their own body, for any office whatever, except it be in such cases as are herein 
 provided. The President for the time being of the Senate, and Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives, shall be elected from their respective bodies. 
 
 25. No judge of any court of lawor equity, secretary of state, attorney-gen- 
 eral, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, or collector, or any person holding a 
 lucrative office under the United States, or this State, or any foreign government, 
 shall be eligible to the Legislature, nor shall at the same time hold or exercise 
 any two offices, agencies, or appointments of trust or profit under this State : 
 provided, that offices of the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, 
 or the office of justice of the peace, shall not be deemed lucrative. 
 
 26. No person, who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, or who 
 may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the 
 Legislature, or to any office of profit or trust under the State government, until 
 he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, and for 
 all public moneys with which he may have been entrusted. 
 
 27. Ministers of the gospel being by their profession dedicated to God and 
 the care of souls, ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their func- 
 tions ; therefore no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination what- 
 ever, shall be eligible to the Legislature. 
 
 28. Elections for senators and representatives shall be general throughout the 
 State, and shall be regulated by law. 
 
 29. The Legislature shall, at their first meeting, and in the year one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and forty-eight, and fifty, and every eight years thereafter, 
 cause an enumeration to be made of all the free inhabitants (Indians not taxed, 
 Africans and descendants of Africans, excepted) of the State, designating par- 
 ticularly the number of qualified electors ; and the whole number of represent^ 
 atives shall, at the several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the 
 Legislature, and apportioned among the several counties, cities or towns, ac- 
 cording to the number of free population in each ; and shall not be less than 
 forty-five, nor more than ninety. 
 
 30. Until after the first enumeration and apportionment under this Constitu- 
 tion, the following shall be the apportionment of representatives amongst the 
 several counties, viz. : 
 
 The county of Montgomery shall elect four representatives ; the counties of 
 Red River, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Harris, and Washington, shall elect three 
 representatives each ; the counties of Fannin, Lamar, Bowie, Shelby, San Au- 
 gustine, Rusk, Houston, Sabine, Liberty, Robertson, Galveston, Brazoria, Fay- 
 ette, Colorado, Austin, Gonzales, and Bexar, two representatives each ; the 
 counties of Jefferson, Jasper, Brazos, Milan, Bastrop, Travis, Matagorda, 
 Jackson, Fort Bend, Victoria, Refugio, Goliad, and San Patricio, one repre- 
 sentative each. 
 
 31. The whole number of senators shall, at the next session after the several 
 periods of making the enumeration, be fixed by the Legislature, and appor- 
 tioned among the several districts to be established by law, according to the 
 number of qualified electors, and shall never be less than nineteen, nor more 
 than thirty-three. • 
 
 32. Until the first enumeration, as provided for by this Constitution, the sen- 
 atorial districts shall be as follows, to wit : The counties of Fannin and Lamar 
 shall constitute the first district, and elect one senator ; the counties of Red 
 River and Bowie, the second district, and elect one senator : the counties of 
 
496 CONSTITUTIDN OF 
 
 Fannin, Lamar, Red River, and Bowie, conjointly, shall elect one senator; 
 the county of Harrison, the third district, shall elect one senator ; the counties 
 of Nacogdoches, Rusk, and Houston, the fourth district, shall elect two sena- 
 tors ; the counties of San Augustine and Shelby, the fifth district, shall elect 
 one senator ; the counties of Sabine and Jasper, the sixth district, shall elect 
 one senator ; the counties of Liberty and Jefferson, the seventh district, shall 
 elect one senator ; the counties of Robertson and Brazos, the eighth district, 
 shall elect one senator ; the county of Montgomery, the ninth district, shall elect 
 one senator ; the county of Harris, the tenth district, shall elect one senator ; 
 the county of Galveston, the eleventh district, shall elect one senator ; the coun- 
 ties of Brazoria and. Matagorda, the twelfth district, shall elect one senator; 
 the counties of Austin and Fort Bend, the thirteenth district, shall elect one 
 senator ; the counties of Colorado and Fayette, the fourteenth district, shall 
 elect one senator; the counties of Bastrop and Travis, the fifteenth district, 
 shall elect one senator ; the counties of Washington and Milan, the sixteenth 
 district, shall elect one senator ; the counties of Victoria, Gonzales, and Jack- 
 son, the seventeenth district, shall elect one senator ; the county of Bexar, the 
 eighteenth district, shall elect one senator ; and the counties of Goliad, Refugio, 
 and San Patricio, the nineteenth district, shall elect one senator, 
 
 33. The first session of the Legislature, after the adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion by the Congress of the United States, shall be held at the city of Austin, the 
 present seat of government, and thereafter, until the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty ; after which period, the seat of government shall be perma- 
 nently located by the people. 
 
 34. The members of the Legislature shall at their first session receive from 
 the treasury of the State, as their compensation, three dollars for each day they 
 shall be in attendance on, and tliree dollars for every twenty-five miles travel- 
 ing to and from the place of convening the Legislature. 
 
 35. In order to settle permanently the seat of government, an election shall 
 be holden throughout the State, at the usual places of holding elections, on the 
 first Monday in March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty — which shall be 
 conducted according to law — at which time the people shall vote for such place 
 as they may see proper for the seat of government. The returns of said elec- 
 tion to be transmitted to the Governor by the first Monday in June : if either 
 place voted for shall have a majority of the whole number of votes cast, then 
 the same shall be the permanent seat of government until the year one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and seventy, unless the State shall sooner be divided. But 
 in case neither place voted for .shall have the majority of the whole number of 
 votes given in, then the Governor shall issue his proclamation for an election 
 to be holden in the same manner, on the first Monday in October, one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty, between the two places having the highest number of 
 votes at the first election. The election shall be conducted in the same manner 
 as at the first, and the returns made to the Governor ; and the place having the 
 highest number of votes shall be the seat of government for the time herein 
 provided. ^ 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme 
 Court, in district courts, and in such inferior courts as the Legislature may 
 from time to time ordain and establish ; and such jurisdiction may be vested 
 in corporation courts as may be deemed necessary, and be directed by law, 
 
 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief-Justice and two associates, 
 any two of whom shall form a quorum. 
 
 3. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall 
 be co-extensive with the limits of the State ; but, in criminal cases, and in ap- 
 peals from interlocutory judgments, with such exceptions and under such regu- 
 latTons as the Legislature shall make ; and the Supreme Court and j udges 
 thereof shall have power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and, under such 
 regulations as may be prescribed by law, may issue writs of mandamus, and 
 such other writs as shal^ be necessary to enforce its own jurisdiction ; and also 
 
TEXAS. 497 
 
 compel a judge of the district court to proceed to trial and judgment in a cause ; 
 and the Supreme Court shall hold its sessions once every year, between the 
 months of October and June, inclusive, at not more than three places in the 
 State. 
 
 4. The Supreme Court shall appoint its own clerks, who shall hold their 
 offices for four years, and be subject to removal by the said Court for neglect 
 of duty, misdemeanor in office, and such other causes as may be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 5. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent 
 of two-thirds of the Senate, shall appoint the judges of the Supreme and dis- 
 trict courts, and they shall hold their offices for six years. 
 
 6. The State shall be divided into convenient judicial districts. For each 
 district there shall be appointed a judge, who shall reside in the same, and hold 
 the courts at one place in each county, and at least twice in each year, in such 
 manner as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 7. The judges of the Supreme Court shall receive a salary not less than two 
 thousand dollars annually, and the judges of the district court a salary not 
 less than seventeen hundred and fifty dollars annually ; and the salaries of the 
 judges shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office, 
 
 8. The judges of the Supreme and district courts shall be removed by the 
 Governor, on the address of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature, for 
 wilful neglect of duty, or other reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient 
 ground for impeachment; provided, however, that the cause or causes for 
 which such removal shall be required, shall be stated at length in such address, 
 and entered on the journals of each house : and provided, further, that the cause 
 or causes shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed; and he shall 
 be admitted to a hearing in his own defense, before a vote for any such address 
 shall pass ; and, in all such cases, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, 
 and entered on the journals of each house respectively. 
 
 9. All judges of the Supreme and district courts shall, by virtue of their 
 offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. The style of all 
 writs and processes shall be, " The State of Texas." All prosecutions shall be 
 carried on in the name and by the authority of the " State of Texas," and con- 
 clude, " against the peace and dignity of the State." 
 
 10. The district court shall have original jurisdiction of all criminal cases, 
 of all suits in behalf of the State to recover penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, 
 and of all cases of divorce, and of all suits, complaints, and pleas whatever, 
 without regard to any distinction between law and equity, when the matter in 
 controversy shall be valued at, or amount to, one hundred dollars, exclusive of 
 interest ; and the said courts, or the judges thereof, shall have power to issue 
 all writs necessary to enforce their own jurisdiction, and give them a general 
 superintendence and control over inferior jurisdictions. 
 
 And in the trial of all criminal cases, the jury trying the same shall fine and 
 assess the amount of punishment to be inflicted, or fine imposed, except in cap- 
 ital cases, and where the punishment or fine imposed shall be specifically im- 
 posed by law. 
 
 11. There shall be a clerk of the district court for each county, who shall be 
 elected by the qualified voters for members of the Legislature, and who shall 
 hold his office for four years, subject to removal by information, or by present- 
 ment of a grand jury, and conviction of a petit jury. In case of va jancy, the 
 judge of the district shall have the power to appoint a clerk until a regular 
 election can be held. 
 
 12. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent 
 of two-thirds of the Senate, appoint an Attorney-General, who shall hold his 
 office for two years ; and there shall be elected, by joint vote of both houses of 
 the Legislature, a district-attorney for each district, who shall hold his office 
 for two years ; and the duties, salaries, and perquisites of the Attorney-General 
 and district-attorneys, shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 13. There shall be appointed for each county a convenientnumber of justices 
 of the peace, one sheriff, one coroner, and a sufficient number of constables, 
 
498 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 who shall hold their offices for two years, to be elected by the qualified voters 
 of the district or county, as the Legislature may direct. Justices of the peace, 
 sheriff, and coroner, shall be commissioned by the Governor. The sheriff 
 shall not be eligible more than four years in every six, 
 
 14. No judge shall sit in any case wherein he may be interested, or where 
 either of the parties may be connected with him by affinity or consanguinity, 
 within such degrees as may be prescribed by law, or where he shall have been 
 of counsel in the cause. When the Supreme Court, or any two of its members, 
 shall be thus disqualified to hear and determine any cause or causes in said 
 court, or when no judgment can be rendered in any case or cases in said court, 
 by reason of the equal division of opinion of said judges, the same shall be 
 certified to the Governor of the State, who shall immed'iatety commission the 
 requisite number of persons learned in the law, for the trial and determination 
 of said case or cases. When the judges of the district court are thus disqual- 
 ified, the parties may, by consent, appoint a proper person to try the said case ; 
 and the judges of the said courts may exchange districts, or hold courts for 
 each other, when they n^ay deem it expedient, and shall ,do so when directed 
 by law. The disqualifications of judges of inferior tribunals shall be reme- 
 died as may hereafter be by law prescribed. 
 
 15. Inferior tribunals shall be established in each county for appointing 
 guardians ; granting letters testamentary and of administration ; for settling 
 the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, and for the transac- 
 tion of business appertaining to estates ; and the district courts shall have 
 original and appellate jurisdiction and general control over the said inferior 
 tribunals, and original jurisdiction and control over executors, administrators, 
 guardians, and minors, under such regulation as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 16. In the trial of all causes in equity in the district court, the plaintiff or 
 defendant shall, upon application made in open court, have the right of trial 
 by jury, to be governed by the rules and regulations prescribed in trials at law. 
 
 17. Justices of the peace shall have such civil and criminal jurisdiction as 
 shall be provided for by law. 
 
 18. In all causes arising out of a contract, before any inferior judicial tribu- 
 nal, when the amount in controversy shall exceed ten dollars, the plaintifl or 
 defendant shall, upon application to the presiding officer, have the right of trial 
 by jury. 
 
 19. In all cases where justices of the peace or other judicial officers of 
 inferior tribunals shall have jurisdiction in the trial of causes where the pen- 
 alty for the violation of a law is fine or imprisonment (except in case of con- 
 tempt), the accused shall have the right of trial by jury. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a chief 
 magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Texas. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State at the 
 time and places of elections for members of the Legislature. 
 
 3. The returns of every election for Governor, until otherwise provided by 
 law, shall be made out, sealed up, and transmitted to the seat of government, 
 and directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall, during 
 the first week of the session of the Legislature thereafter, open and publish 
 them in the presence of both houses of the Legislature ; the person having the 
 highest number of votes, and being constitutionally eligible, shall be declared 
 by the Speaker, under the direction of the Legislature, to be Governor; but if 
 two or more persons shall have the highest and an equal number of votes, one 
 of them shall be immediately chosen Governor by joint vote of both houses 
 of the Legislature. Contested elections for Governor shall be determined by 
 both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 4. The Governor shall hold his office for the term of two years from the regu- 
 lar time of installation, and until his successor shall be duly qualified, but shall 
 not be eligible for more than four years in any terra of six years ; he shall be 
 at least thirty years of age, shall be a citizen of the United States, or a citizen 
 
TKXAS. 499 
 
 of the State of Texas, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, and shall 
 have resided in the same three years immediately preceding his election. 
 
 5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which 
 shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have 
 been elected. The first Governor shall receive an annaal salary of two thou- 
 sand dollars, and no more. 
 
 6. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this 
 State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the service of 
 the United States. 
 
 7. He may require information, in writing, from the officers of the executive 
 department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 8. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Legis- 
 lature at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that should be in the 
 actual possession of a public enemy ; in case of disagreement between the two 
 houses with respect to the adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as 
 he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next regular meeting of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 9. He shall, from time to time, give to the Legislature information, in writing, 
 of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such mea- 
 sures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 11. In all criminal cases, except in those of treason and impeachment, he 
 shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves and pardons ; and, under 
 such rules as the Legislature may prescribe, he shall have power to remit fines 
 and forfeitures. In cases of treason, he shall have power, by and with the ad- 
 vice and consent of the Senate, to grant reprieves and pardons ; and he may, 
 in the recess of the Senate, respite the sentence imtil the end of the next ses- 
 sion of the Legislature. 
 
 12. There shall also be a Lieutenant-Governor, who shall be chosen at every 
 election for Governor by the same persons, and in the same manner, continue 
 in office for the same time, and possess the same qualifications. In voting for 
 Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, the electors shall distinguish for • whom 
 they vote for as Governor and for whom as Lieutenant-Governor. The 
 Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be President of the Senate, 
 and have, when in committee of the whole, a right to debate and vote on all 
 questions, and, when the Senate is equally divided, to give the casting vote. 
 In case of the death, resignation, removal from office, inability or refusal of the 
 Governor to serve, or of his impeachment or absence from the State, the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor shall exercise the powers and authority appertaining to the 
 office of Governor, until another be chosen at the periodical election for Gov- 
 ernor, and be duly qualified, or until the Governor impeached, absent, or disa- 
 bled, shall be acquitted, return, or his disability be removed. 
 
 13. Whenever the government shall be administered by the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Senate 
 shall elect one of their own members as President for the time being. And if, 
 during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall 
 die, resign, refuse to serve, or be removed from office, or be unable to serve, or 
 if he shall be impeached, or absent from the State, the President of the Senate 
 for the time being shall, in like manner, administer the government until he 
 shall be superseded by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor ; the Lieutenant- 
 Governor shall, whilst he acts as President of the Senate, receive for his ser- 
 vices the same compensation which shall be allowed to the Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives, and no more ; and during the time he administers 
 the government as Governor, shall receive the same compensation which the 
 Governor would have received had he been employed in the duties of his office, 
 and no more. The President for the time being of the Senate shall, during the 
 time he aaministers the government, receive in like manner the same compen- 
 sation which the Governor would have received had he been employed in the 
 duties of his office. If the Lieutenant-Governor shall be required to adminis- 
 ter the government, and shall, whilst in such administration, die, resign, or be 
 
500 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 absent from the State, during the recess of the Legislature, it shall be the duty 
 of the Secretary of State to convene the Senate for the purpose of choosing 
 a President for the time being. 
 
 14. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Gov- 
 ernor and used by him officially. The said seal shall be a star of five points 
 encircled by an olive and live-oak branches, and the words, "the State of 
 Texas." 
 
 15. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State 
 of Texas, be sealed with the State seal, signed by the Governor, and attested 
 by the Secretary of State. 
 
 16. There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall be appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall continue in 
 office during the term of service of the Governor elect. He shall keep a fair 
 register of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor ; and shall, when 
 required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes and vouchers, relative thereto, 
 before the Legislature, or either house thereof; and shall perform such other 
 duties as may be required of him by law. 
 
 17. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the Legislature shall 
 be presented to the Governor ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he 
 shall return it with his objections to the house in which it shall have originat- 
 ed, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journals, and proceed to 
 reconsider it ; if, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members present 
 shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other 
 house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered ; if approved by two-thirds of 
 the members present of that house, it shall become a law; but, in such cases, 
 the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
 of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals 
 of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor 
 within five days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have been presented to him, 
 the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it. Every bill 
 presented to the Governor one day previous to the adjournment of the Legisla- 
 ture, and not returned to the house in which it originated, before its adjourn- 
 ment, shall become a law, and have the same force and efiect as if signed by 
 the Governor. 
 
 18. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses 
 of the Legislature may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, shall 
 be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take efiect, be approved by 
 him ; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both houses according to the 
 rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 19. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the 
 Senate, shall appoint a convenient number of notaries-public, not exceeding 
 six for each county, who, in addition to such duties as are prescribed by law, 
 shall discharge such other duties as the Legislature may, from time to time, 
 prescribe. 
 
 20. Nominations to fill vacancies that may have occurred during the recess 
 shall be made to the Senate during the first ten days of its session. And should 
 any nomination so made be rejected, the same individual shall not again be 
 nominated during the session to fill the same office. And should the Governor 
 fail to make nominations to fill any vacancy during the session of the Senate, 
 such vacancy shall not be filled by the Governor until the next meeting of the 
 Senate. 
 
 21. The Governor shall reside, during the session of the Legislature, at the 
 place where their sessions may be held, and, at all other times, wherever, in 
 their opinion, the public good may require. 
 
 22. No person holding the office of Governor shall hold any other office or 
 commission, civil or military. 
 
 23. A State treasurer and comptroller of public accounts shall be biennially 
 elected by the joint ballot of both houses of the Legislature, and, in case of va- 
 cancy in either of said offices during the recess of the Legislature, such vacan- 
 
TEXAS. 501 
 
 cy shall be filled by the Governor, which appointment shall continue until the 
 close ol tl e next session of the Legislature thereafter. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. L The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining 
 the militia of this State, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, not in- 
 compatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States in relation 
 thereto. 
 
 2. Any person who conscientiously scruples to bear arms, shall not be com- 
 pelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service, 
 
 3. No licensed minister of the gospel shall be required to perform military 
 duty, work on roads, or serve on juries, in this State. 
 
 4. The Governor shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the 
 laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions. 
 
 ARTICLE YU.— General Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, before they enter upon 
 the duties of their office, shall take the following oath or affirmation : " I, A. B., 
 do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and impartially discharge 
 
 and perform all the duties incumbent on me as , according to the best of 
 
 my skill and ability, agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United 
 States, and of this State ; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that, 
 since the adoption of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, I, 
 being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within 
 this State, or out of it ; nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel 
 with deadly weapons ; nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, or 
 aided, advised, or assisted any person thus offending : so help me God." 
 
 2. Treason against this State shall consist only in levying war against it, or 
 in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort ; and no person shall 
 be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
 overt act, or his own confession in open court. 
 
 3. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit 
 in this State, who shall have been convicted of having given or ofiered a bribe 
 to procure his election or appointment. 
 
 4. Laws shall be made, to exclude from office, serving on juries, and from 
 the right of suffrage, those who shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, 
 forgery, or other high crimes. The privilege of free sufifrage shall be supported 
 by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all un- 
 due influence thereon, from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice. 
 
 5. Any citizen of this State, who shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, 
 fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel 
 with deadly weapons, either within the State or out of it, or who shall act as 
 second, or knowingly aid and assist, in any manner, those thus offending, shall 
 be deprived of holding any office of trusj or profit under this State. 
 
 6. In all elections by the people, the vote shall be by ballot, until the Legis- 
 lature shall otherwise direct ; and in all elections by the Senate and House of 
 Representatives, jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce, except 
 in the election of their officers. 
 
 7. The Legislature shall provide by law for the compensation of all officers, 
 servants, agents, and public contractors not provided for by this Constitution ; 
 and shall not grant extra compensation to any officer, agent, servant, or public 
 contractor, after such public service shall have been performed, or contract en- 
 tered into for the performance of the same ; nor grant, by appropriation or other- 
 wise, any amount of money out of the treasury of the State, to any individual, 
 on a claim, real or pretended, where the same shall not have been provided for 
 by pre-existing law : Provided, that nothing in this section shall be so con- 
 strued as to affect the claims of persons against the republic of Texas, hereto- 
 fore existing. 
 
 8. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance of specific 
 appropriations made by law; nor shall any appropriation of money be made 
 
§^ ' CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 for a longer term than two years, except for purposes of education ; and no ap- 
 propriation for private or individual purposes, or for purposes of internal im- 
 provement, shall be made without the concurrence of two-thirds of both houses 
 of Uie Legislature. A regular statement and account of the receipts and ex- 
 penditures of all public money shall be published annually, in such manner as 
 shall be prescribed by law. And in no case shall the Legislature have the 
 power to issue treasury warrants, treasury notes, or paper of any description, 
 intended to circulate as money. 
 
 9. All civil officers shall reside within the State ; and all district or county 
 officers, within their districts or counties ; and shall keep»their offices at such 
 places therein, as may be required by law. 
 
 10. The duration of all offices not fixed by this Constitution, shall never ex- 
 ceed four years. 
 
 11. Absence on the business of this State, or of the United States, shall not 
 forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive any one of the right oi suff"- 
 rage, or oi" being elected or appointed to any office, under the exceptions con- 
 tained in this Constitution. 
 
 12. The Legislature shall have power to provide for deductions from the 
 salaries of public officers, who may neglect the performance of any duty that 
 may be assigned them by law. 
 
 13. No member of Congress, nor person holding or exercising any office of 
 profit or trust under the United States, or either of them, or under any foreign 
 power, shall be eligible as a member of the Legislature, or hold or exercise 
 any office of profit or trust under this State. 
 
 14. The Legislature shall provide for a change of venue in civil and crimi- 
 nal cases ; and for the erection of a penitentiary at as early a day as practica- 
 ble. 
 
 15. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be neces- 
 sary and proper to decide differences by arbitration, when the parties shaB 
 elect that method of trial. 
 
 16. Within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, the laws, civil 
 and criminal, shall be revised digested, arranged, and published in such manner 
 as the Legislature shall direct ; and a like revision, digest, and publication, 
 shall be made every ten years thereafter. 
 
 17. No lottery shall be authorized by this State ; and the buying or selling 
 of lottery tickets within this State is prohibited. 
 
 18. No divorce shall be granted by the Legislature. 
 
 19. All property both real and personal, of the wife, owned or claimed by her 
 before marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise, or descent, shall 
 be her separate property ; and laws shall be passed more clearly defining the 
 rights of the wife, in relation as well to her separate property, as that held in 
 common with her husband. Laws shall also be passed providing for the 
 registration of the wife's separate property. 
 
 20. The rights of property and of action which have been acquired under 
 the Constitution and laws of the republic of Texas, shall not be divested ; nor 
 shall any rights or actions which have been divested, barred, or declared null 
 and void by the Constitution and laws of the republic of Texas, be re-invested, 
 revived, or reinstated by this Constitution ; but the same shall remain precisely 
 in the situation in which they were before the adoption of this Constitution. 
 
 21. All claims, locations, surveys, grants, and titles to land, which are de- 
 clared null and void by the Constitution of the republic of Texas, are, and the 
 same shall remain forever, null and void. 
 
 22. The Legislature shall have power to protect by law, from forced sale, a 
 certain portion of the property of all heads of families. The homestead of a 
 family, not to exceed two hundred acres of land (not included in a town or city), 
 or any town or city lot or lots, in value not to exceed two thousand dollars, shall 
 not be subject to forced sale for any debts^ hereafter contracted ; nor shall the 
 owner, if a married man, be at liberty to alienate the same, unless by the con- 
 sent of the wife, in such manner as the Legislature may hereafter point out. 
 
 23. The Legislature shall proTide in what cases officers shall continue to 
 
TEXAS. 503 
 
 perform the duties of their offices until their successors shall be duly qualified. 
 
 24. Every law enacted by the Legislature shall embrace but one object, and 
 that shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 25. No law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title ; but, in such 
 case, the act revised or section amended, shall be re-enacted and published at 
 length. 
 
 26. No person shall hold or exercise, at the same time, more than one civil 
 office of emolument, except that of justice of the peace. 
 
 27. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. All property 
 in this State shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as di- 
 rected by law ; except such property as two-thirds of both houses of the Legis- 
 lature may think proper to exempt from taxation. The Legislature shall have 
 power to lay an income tax, and to tax all persons pursuing any occupation, 
 trade, or profession : provided, that the term " occupation," shall not be con- 
 strued to apply to pursuits either agricultural or mechanical. 
 
 28. The Legislature shall have power to provide by law for exempting from 
 taxation two hundred and fifty dollars' worth of the household furniture, or 
 other property belonging to each family in this State. 
 
 29. The assessor and collector of taxes shall be appointed in such manner, 
 and under such regulations, as the Legislature may direct. 
 
 30. No corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed, or extended, with 
 banking or discounting privileges. 
 
 3L No private corporation shall be created, unless the bill creating it shall 
 be passed by two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature ; and two-thirds of 
 the Legislature shall have power to revoke and repeal all private corporations, 
 by making compensation for the franchise. And the State shall not be part 
 owner of the stock or property belonging to any corporation. 
 
 32. The Legislature shall prohibit, by law, individuals from issuing bills, 
 checks, promissory notes, or other paper, to circulate as money. 
 
 33. The aggregate amount of debts hereafter contracted by the Legislature 
 shall never exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, except in case of 
 war, to repel invasions, or suppress insurrections. And in no case shall any 
 amount be borrowed, except by a vote of two-thirSs of both houses of the Le- 
 gislature. 
 
 34. The Legislature shall, at the first session thereof, and may, at any sulv 
 sequent session, establish new counties for the convenience of the inhabitants 
 of such new county or counties : provided, that no new county shall be estab- 
 lished, which shall reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from which 
 it shall be taken, to a less area than nine hundred square miles (except the 
 county of Bowie), unless by consent of two-thirds of the Legislature ; nor shall 
 any county be laid off of less contents. Every new county, as to the right of 
 suffrage and representation, shall be considered as part of the county or coun- 
 ties from which it was taken, until entitled, by numbers, to the right of sepa- 
 rate representation. 
 
 35. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered ii^ the house, or within 
 the enclosure, of any individual, without the consent of the owner, nor in time 
 of war, but in a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 36. The salaries of the Governor and judges of the Supreme and district 
 courts are hereby fixed at the minimum established in the Constitution, and 
 shall not be increased for ten years. 
 
 37. Mode of amending the Constitution. — The Legislature, whenever two- 
 thirds of each house shall deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this 
 Constitution ; which proposed amendments shall be duly published in the pub- 
 lic prints of the State, at least three months before the next general election of 
 representatives, for the consideration of the people : and it shall be the duty of 
 the several returning officers, at the next election, which shall be thus holden, 
 to open a poll for, and make a return to, the Secretary of State, of the names 
 of all those voting for representatives, who have voted on such proposed amend- 
 ments ; and if thereupon it shall appear that a majority of all the citizens of 
 this State, voting for representatives, have voted in favor of such proposed 
 
504 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 amendments, and two-thirds of each house of the next Legislature shall, after 
 such election, and before another, ratify the same amendments by yeas and 
 nays, they shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitu- 
 tion : provided^ that the said proposed amendments shall, at each of the said 
 sessions, have been read on three several days in each house. 
 
 ARTICLE Yin.— Slaves. 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipa- 
 tion of slaves, without the consent of their owners, nor without paying their 
 owners, previous to such emancipation, a full equivalent in money for the 
 slaves so emancipated. They shall have no power to prevent emigrants to this 
 State from bringing with them such persons as are deemed slaves by the laws 
 of any of the United States, so long as any person of the same age or descrip- 
 tion shall be continued in slavery by the laws of this State : provided, that such 
 slave be the bona fide property of such emigrants : provided, also, that laws shall 
 be passed to inhibit the introduction into this State of slaves who have commit- 
 ted high crimes in other States or Territories. They shall have the right to 
 pass laws to permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the rights 
 of creditors, and preventing them from becoming a public charge. They shall 
 have full power to pass laws which will oblige the owners of slaves to treat 
 them with humanity ; to provide for them necessary food and clothing ; to ab- 
 stain from all injuries to them extending to life or limb ; and, in case of their 
 neglect or refusal to comply with the directions of such laws, to have such slave 
 or slaves taken from such owner, and sold for the benefit of such owner or 
 owners. They may pass laws to prevent slaves from being brought into this 
 State as merchandize only. 
 
 2. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes of a higher grade than petit lar- 
 ceny, the Legislature shall have no power to deprive them of an impartial trial 
 by a petit jury. 
 
 3. Any person who shall maliciously dismember, or deprive a slave of life, 
 shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted in case the like offence had 
 been committed upon a free white person, and on like proof, except in case of 
 insurrection of such slave. 
 
 ARTICLE IK.— Impeachment. 
 Sec. 1.. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 2. Impeachments of the Governor, Lieutenant-governor, attorney-general, 
 secretary of State, treasurer, comptroller, and of the judges of the district 
 courts, shall be tried by the Senate. 
 
 3. Impeachments of judges of the Supreme Court shall be tried by the Sen- 
 ate. When sitting as a court of impeachment, the senators shall be upon oath 
 or affirmation ; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
 two-thirds of the senators present. 
 
 4. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall extend only to removal from of- 
 fice, and disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust or profit, under 
 this State ; but the parties convicted shall, nevertheless, be subject to indict- 
 ment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 5. All officers against whom articles of impeachment may be preferred, shall 
 be suspended from the exercise of the duties of their office during the pendency 
 of such impeachment ; the appointing power may make a provisional appoint- 
 ment, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the suspension of an officer, until the 
 decision on the impeachment. 
 
 6. The Legislature shall provide for the trial, punishment, and removal from 
 office, of all other officers of the State, by indictment, or otherwise. 
 
 ARTICLE y;..-— Education. 
 Sec. 1. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation 
 of the rights and liberties of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature 
 of this State to make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of 
 public schools. 
 
TEXAS. 505 
 
 2. The Legislature shall, as early as practicable, establish free schools 
 throughout the State, and shall furnish means for their support, by taxation on 
 property ; and it shall be the duty of the Legislature to set apart not less than 
 one-tenth of the annual revenue of the State derivable from taxation, as a per- 
 petual fund, which fund shall be appropriated to the support of free public 
 schools ; and no law shall ever be made diverting said fund to any other use ; 
 and until such time as the Legislature shall provide for the establishment of 
 such schools in the several districts of the State, the fund thus created shall re- 
 main as a charge against the State, passed to the credit of the free common- 
 school fund. 
 
 3. All public lands which have been heretofore, or which may hereafter be, 
 granted for public schools, to the various counties, or other political divisions 
 in this State, shall not be alienated in fee, nor disposed of otherwise than by 
 lease, for a term not exceeding twenty years, in such manner as the Legislature 
 may direct. 
 
 4. The several counties in this State, which have not received their quan- 
 tum of lands, for the purposes of education, shall be entitled to the same quan- 
 tity heretofore appropriated by the Congress of the republic of Texas to other 
 counties. 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 1. All certificates for head-right claims to lands issued to fictitious persons, 
 or which were forged, and all locations and surveys thereon, are, and the same 
 were, null and void from the beginning. 
 
 2. The district courts shall be opened until the first day of July, one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and forty-seven, for the establishment of certificates for 
 head-rights not recommended by the commissioners Appointed under the act to 
 detect fraudulent land certificates, and to provide for issuing patents to legal 
 claimants; and the parties suing shall produce the like proof, and be subjected 
 to the requisitions which were necessary and were prescribed by law, to sus- 
 tain the original application for the said certificates ; and all certificates above 
 referred to, not established or sued upon before the period limited, shall be bar- 
 re'd ; and the said certificates, and all locations and surveys thereon, shall be 
 forever null and void ; and all re-locations made on such survey, shall not be 
 disturbed imtil the certificates are established as above directed. 
 
 ARTICLE XIL— Land Office. 
 
 There shall be one general land office in the State, which shall be at the seal 
 of government, where all titles which have heretofore emanated, or may here- 
 after emanate, from government, shall be registered. And the Legislature 
 may establish, from time to time, such subordinate offices as they may deem 
 requisite. 
 
IOWA. 
 
 The attention of emigrants has been turned, with peculiar interest, towards this 
 new State. It is now settling more rapidly than any other portion of the great 
 West. Iowa formed the territorial government in 1838. In 1844 it adopted a Consti- 
 tution, and asked to be admitted into the union as an independent State. A law 
 was passed by Congress for that purpose in 1845, which altered the bounds fi.xed in 
 the Constitution, It was rejected, because it diminished its territory. In 1846 
 terms were agreed upon, and Iowa became the 29th State in the union. 
 
 Area, 150,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1850, 192,214. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE I. — Preamble and Boundaries. 
 
 We, the people of the territory of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for 
 the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a con- 
 tinuation of these blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent 
 government, by the name of the State of Iowa, the boundari^ whereof shall be 
 as follows : 
 
 Beginning in the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, at a 
 point due east of the middle of the mouth of the main channel of the Des 
 Moines river, thence up the middle of the main channel of the said Des Moines 
 river, to a point on said river where the northern boundary line of the State of 
 Missouri, as established by the Constitution of that State, adopted June 12th, 
 
IOWA. 507 
 
 1820, crosses the said middle of the main channel of the said Des Moines river , 
 thence westwardly, along the said northern boimdary line of the State of Mis- 
 souri, as established at the time aforesaid, until an extension of said line in- 
 tersect the middle of the main channel of the Missouri river ; thence up the 
 middle of the main channel of the said Mis^ouri river, to a point opposite the 
 middle of the main channel of the Big Sioux river, according to Nicollet's 
 map ; thence up the main channel of the said Big Sioux river, according to said 
 map, until it is intersected by the parallel of forty-three degrees and thirty 
 minutes north latitude ; thence east, along said parallel of forty-three degrees 
 and thirty minutes, until said parallel intersect the middle of the main channel 
 of the Mississippi river ; thence down the middle of the main channel of said 
 Mississippi river, to the place of beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE II.— Bill of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men ai*e by nature free and independent, and have certain in- 
 alienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and 
 liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and ob- 
 taining safety and happiness. 
 
 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted 
 for the protection, security, and benefit of the people ; and they have the right, 
 at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may re- 
 quire it. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall make no law respecting an establishment 
 of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, nor shall any person be 
 compelled to attend, any place of worship, pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for 
 building or repairing places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minis- 
 ter or ministry. 
 
 4. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any oflice or pub- 
 lic trust, and no person shall be deprived of any of his rights, privileges or ca- 
 
 Sacities, or disqualified from the performance of any of his public or private 
 uties, or rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of law or equity, 
 in consequence of his opinions on the subject of religion. 
 
 5. Any citizen of this State who may hereafter be engaged, either directly or 
 indirectly, in a duel, either as principal or accessary before the fact, shall for- 
 ever be disqualified from holding any oflice under the Constitution and laws of 
 this State. 
 
 6. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. 
 
 7. Every person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all sub- 
 jects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to 
 restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all prosecutions or 
 indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it 
 appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous was true, and was pub- 
 lished with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted. 
 
 8. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and 
 efiects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated, and 
 no warrant shall issue, but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, 
 particularly describing the place to be searched, and the papers and things to 
 be seized. 
 
 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate ; but the General Assem- 
 bly may authorize trial by jury of a less number than twelve men in inferior 
 courts. 
 
 10. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have a right to a speedy 
 trial by an impartial jury, to be informed of the accusation against him, to be 
 conlronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for his 
 own witnesses, and to have the assistance of counsel. 
 
 11. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on present- 
 ment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases cognizable by justices of 
 the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in the militia when in actual 
 service in time of war or public d.anger. 
 
 12. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the .same offence. All per- 
 
 38 
 
dQ§ CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 sons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capi- 
 tal offences, where the proof is evident or the presumption great. 
 
 13. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless iu case of re- 
 bellion or invasion, the public safety require it. 
 
 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army 
 shall be kept up by the State in time of peace, and in time of war no appropri- 
 ation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years. 
 
 15. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without 
 the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in the manner prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 16. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, 
 adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
 convicted of treason unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt 
 act, or confession in open court. 
 
 17. Excessive bail shall not be required. Excessive fines shall not be im- 
 posed ; and cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted. 
 
 18. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compen- 
 sation. 
 
 19. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action on mesne or 
 final process, unless in cases of fraud ; and no person shall be imprisoned for 
 a militia fine in time of peace. 
 
 20. The people have the right freely to assemble together to consult for the 
 common good, to make known their opinions to their representatives, and to 
 petition for redress of grievances, 
 
 21. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
 contracts, shall ever be passed. 
 
 22. Foreigners who are, or who may hereafter become, residents of this 
 State, shall enjoy the same rights, in respect to the possession, enjoyment, and 
 descent of property, as native-born citizens. 
 
 23. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of 
 crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State. 
 
 24. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny 
 others, retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE III.— Right of Suffrage. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty- 
 one years, who shall have been a resident of the State six months next preced- 
 ing the election, and the county in which he claims his vote twenty days, shall 
 be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or hereafter may be author- 
 ized by law. 
 
 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony or breach of the peace, 
 be privileged from arrest on the days of election, during their attendance at 
 such election, going to and returning therefrom. ** 
 
 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the day of elec- 
 tion, except in time of war or public danger. 
 
 4. No person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States, 
 shall be considered a resident of this State by being stationed in any garrison, 
 barrack, or military or naval place, or station within this State, 
 
 . 5. No idiot or insane person, or persons convicted of any infamous crime, 
 shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector. 
 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot. 
 
 ARTICLE IV.— O/ the Distribution of Powers. 
 
 The powers of the government of Iowa shall be divided into threie sepa- 
 rate departments; the Legislative, the executive, and judicial; and no person 
 charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these depart- 
 ments, shall exercise any function appertaining to either of the others, except 
 in the cases hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 
 
IOWA. 509 
 
 Legislative Department 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a Senate 
 and House of Representatives, which shall be designated the General Assem- 
 bly of the State of Iowa, and the style of their laws shall commence in the fol- 
 lowing manner : "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
 Iowa." 
 
 2. The sessions of the General Assembly shall be biennial, and shall com- 
 mence on the first Monday of December next ensuing the election of its mem- 
 bers; unless the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, convene the Gen- 
 eral Assembly by proclamation. 
 
 3. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen every se- 
 cond year, by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on the first 
 Monday in August, whose term of office shall continue two years from the day 
 of the general election. 
 
 4. No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives who shall 
 not have attained the age of twenty-one years ; be a free white male citizen of 
 the United States, and have been an inhabitant of this State or territory one year 
 next preceding his election; and at the time of his election, have an actual 
 residence of thirty days in the county or district he may be chosen to represent. 
 
 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at the same time and 
 place as representatives ; they shall be twenty-five years of age, and possess the 
 qualifications of representatives as to residence and citizenship. 
 
 6. The number of senators shall not be less than one-third nor more than 
 one-half the representative body, and at the first session of the General Assem- 
 bly after this Constitution takes effect, the senators shall be divided by lot, as 
 equally as may be, into two classes ; the seats of the senators of the first class 
 shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, so that one-half shall be 
 chosen every two years. 
 
 7. When the number of senators is increased, they shall be annexed by lot 
 to one of the two classes, so as to keep them as nearly equal in number as 
 practicable. 
 
 8. Each house shall choose its own officers and judge of the qualification, 
 election, and return of its own members. A contested election shall be deter- 
 mined in such manner as shall be directed by law. 
 
 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a 
 smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance 
 of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may 
 provide. 
 
 10. Each house shall sit upon its own adjournments, keep a journal of its 
 proceedings, and publish the same ; determine its rules of proceedings, punish 
 members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of two-thirds, expel a 
 member, but not a second time for the same offence, and shall have all other 
 powers necessary for a branch of the General Assembly of a free and inde- 
 pendent State. 
 
 11. Every member of the General Assembly shall have the liberty to dissent 
 from or protest against any act or resolution which he may think injurious to 
 the public or an individual, and have the reasons for his dissent entered on the 
 journals; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any 
 question, shall, at the desire of any two members present, be entered on the 
 journals. 
 
 12. Senators and representatives in all cases except treason, felony, or breach 
 of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during the session of the General 
 Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same, 
 
 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the Governor or the person exercis- 
 ing the functions of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such va- 
 cancies. 
 
 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as, in 
 the opinion of the house, may require secrecy. 
 
510 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more 
 than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they maybe sitting. 
 
 16. Bills may originate in either house, except bills for revenue, which shall 
 always originate in the House of Representatives, and may be amended, al- 
 ^.ered, or rejected by the other ; and every bill having passed, both houses, shall 
 be signed by the iSpeaker and President of their respective houses. 
 
 17. Every bill which shall have passed the General Assembly shall, before 
 it become a law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it, 
 but if not, he shall return it with his objections, to the house in which it origi- 
 nated, which shall enter the same upon the journal and proceed to reconsider 
 it; if, after such reconsideration, it again pass both houses, by yeas and nays, 
 by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each house present, it shall be- 
 come a law notwithstanding the Governor's objections. If any bill shall not 
 be returned within three days after it shall have been presented to him, Sun- 
 day excepted, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, 
 imless the General Assembly by adjournment prevent such return. 
 
 18. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public 
 money shall be attached to and published with the laws, at every regular ses- 
 sion of the General Assembly. 
 
 19. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeach- 
 ment, and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for 
 that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation ; and no person 
 shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
 present. 
 
 20. The Governor, Secretary of State, auditor, treasurer, and judges of the 
 Supreme and district courts, shall be liable to impeachments for any misde- 
 meanor in office ; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal 
 from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit 
 under this State ; but the party convicted or acquitted shall nevertheless be 
 liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. All other civil 
 officers shall be tried for misdemeanors in office in such manner as the General 
 Assembly may provide. 
 
 21. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he shall 
 have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under this State, 
 which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been 
 increased, during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections 
 by the people. 
 
 22. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, or this 
 State, or any other power, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, Provi- 
 ded, That officers in the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, 
 or the office of justice of the peace, or postmasters whose compensation does 
 not exceed one hundred dollars per annum, shall not be deemed lucrative. 
 
 23. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of public monies, 
 shall have a seat in either house of the General Assembly, or be eligible to 
 any office of trust or profit under this State, until he shall have accounted for 
 and paid into the treasury, all sums for which he may be liable. 
 
 24. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appro- 
 priations made by law. 
 
 25. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive a compensation to 
 be fixed by law, for his services, to be paid out of the treasury of the State. 
 Such compensation shall not exceed two dollars per day for the period of fifty 
 d^s from the commencement of the session, and shall not exceed the sum of 
 one dollar per day for the remainder of the session : when convened in extra 
 session by the Governor, they shall receive such sum as shall be fixed for the 
 first fifty days of the ordinary session. They shall also receive two dollars for 
 every twenty miles they shall travel, in going to and returning from their 
 place of meeting, on the most usual route : provided, however, that the members 
 of the first General Assembly under this Constitution shall receive two dollars 
 per day for their services during the entire session. 
 
IOWA. 511 
 
 26. Every law shall embrace but one object, which shall be expressed in this 
 title. 
 
 27. No law of the General Assembly, of a public nature, shall take effect 
 until the same shall be published and circulated in the several counties of this 
 State, by authority. If the General Assembly shall deem any law of imme- 
 diate importance, they may provide that the same shall take effect by publica- 
 tion in newspapers in the State. 
 
 28. No divorce shall be granted by the General Assembly. 
 
 29. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, nor shall the sale of lottery 
 tickets be allowed. 
 
 30. Members of the General Assembly shall, before they enter upon the du- 
 ties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirma- 
 tion : I do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be), that I will support 
 the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of 
 Iowa, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of senator (or representa- 
 tive as the case may be), according to the best of my ability. And members 
 of the General Assembly are hereby empowered to administer to each other 
 the said oath or affirmation. 
 
 31. Within one year after the ratification of this Constitution, and within 
 every subsequent term of two years, for the term of eight years, an enumera- 
 tion of all the white inhabitants of this State shall be made, in such manner 
 as shall be directed by law. . The number of senators and representatives shall, 
 at their first regular session of the General Assembly after such enumeration, 
 be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties according to the 
 number of white inhabitants in each ; and shall also, at every subsequent regu- 
 lar session, apportion the House of Representatives, and every other regular 
 session the Senate, for eight years ; and the House of Reprepentatives shall 
 never be less than twenty-six, nor greater than thirty-nine, until the number of 
 white inhabitants shall be one hundred and seventy-five thousand ; and after 
 that event, at such ratio that the whole number of representatives shall never 
 be less than thirty-nine nor exceeding seventy-two. 
 
 32. When a congressional, senatorial, or representative district shall be com- 
 posed of two or more counties, it shall not be entirely separated by any county 
 belonging to another district ; and no county shall be divided in forming a con- 
 gressional, senatorial, or representative district. 
 
 33. In all elections by the General Assembly, the members thereof shall vote 
 viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal. 
 
 34. For the first ten years after the organization of the government, the an- 
 nual salary of the Governor shall not exceed one thousand dollars ; Secretar)^ 
 of State, five hundred dollars ; treasurer, four hundred dollars ; auditor, six 
 hundred dollars ; judges of the Supreme and district courts, each one thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a chief 
 magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Iowa. 
 
 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors at the time and place 
 of voting for members of the General Assembly, and shall hold his office four 
 years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be quali- 
 fied. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, who has not been a 
 citizen of the United States, and a resident of the State two years next preced- 
 ing the election, and attained the age of thirty years at the time of said elec- 
 tion. 
 
 4. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up and trans- 
 mitted to the seat of government, directed to the Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, who shall, during the first week of the session, open and pub- 
 lish them in presence of both houses of the General Assembly. The person 
 having the highest number of votes shall be Governor ; but in case any two 
 
512 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 or more have an equal and the highest number of votes, the General Assem- 
 bly shall, by joint ballot, choose one of said persons so having an equal and 
 the highest number of votes, for Governor. 
 
 5. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, the army, and 
 navy of this State. 
 
 6. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of government, 
 civil and military, and may require information in writing from the officers 
 of the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
 respective offices. 
 
 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
 
 8. When any office shall from any cause become vacant, and no mode is 
 provided by the Constitution and laws for filling such vacancy, the Governor 
 shall have power to fill such vacancy, by granting a commission, which shall 
 expire at the end of the next session of the General Assembly, or at the next 
 election by the people. 
 
 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly by 
 proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assembled, the purpose for 
 which they shall have been convened. 
 
 10. He shall communicate by message to the General Assembly, at every 
 session, the condition of the State, and recommend such matters as he shall 
 deem expedient. 
 
 11. In case of disagreement between the two houses, with respect to the 
 time of adjournment, the Governor shall have power to adjourn the General 
 Assembly to such time as he may think proper, provided it be not beyond the 
 time fixed for the meeting of the next General Assembly. 
 
 12. No person shall, while holding any other office under the United States, 
 or this State, execute the office of Governor, except as hereinafter expressly 
 provided. 
 
 13. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and 
 commute punishments after conviction, except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 14. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
 tion which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the time for which 
 he shall have been elected. 
 
 15. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the Governor, 
 and used by him officially, and shall be called the Great Seal of the State of 
 Iowa. 
 
 16. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
 of the people of the State of Iowa, sealed with the great seal of this State, 
 signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State. 
 
 17. A Secretary of State, auditor of public accounts, and treasurer, shall be 
 elected by the qualified electors, who shall continue in office two years. The 
 Secretary of State shall keep a fair register of all the official acts of the Gov- 
 ernor, and shall, when required, lay the same, together with all papers, min- 
 utes, and vouchers relative thereto, before either branch of the General Assem- 
 bly, and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned him b^ law. 
 
 18. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal from office, 
 death, resignation, or absence Irom the State, the powers and duties of the of- 
 fice shall devolve upon the Secretary of State, until such disability shall cease, 
 or the vacancy be filled. 
 
 19. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Secretary of State 
 shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the 
 powers and duties of the office of Governor shall devolve upon the President 
 of the Senate ; and should a vacancy occur by impeachment, death, resig- 
 nation, or absence from the State, of the President of the Senate, the Speaker 
 of the House of Representatives .shall act as Governor till the vacancy be filled. 
 
 ARTICLE Yl— Judicial Department. 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme Court, district 
 courts, and such inferior courts as the General Assembly may from time to 
 time establish. 
 
IOWA. 513 
 
 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief- Justice and two associates, 
 two of whom shall be a quorum to hold Court, 
 
 3. The judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by joint vote of both 
 branches of the General Assembly, and shall hold their courts at such time 
 and place as the General Assembly may direct, and hold their offices for six 
 years, and until their successors are elected and qualified ; and shall be in- 
 eligible to any other office during the term for which they may be elected. 
 The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only in all cases in chan- 
 cery, and shall constitute a Court for the correction of errors at law, under 
 such restrictions as the General Assembly may by law prescribe. The Su- 
 preme Court shall have power to issue all writs and processes necessary to do 
 justice to parties, and exercise a supervisory control over all inferior judicial 
 tribunals, and the judges of the Supreme Court shall be conservators of the 
 peace throughout the State. 
 
 4. The district court shall consist of a judge, who shall be elected by the qual- 
 ified voters of the district in which he resides, at the township election, and 
 hold his office for the term of five years, and until his successor is duly elected 
 and qualified, and shall be ineligibie to any other office during the term for 
 which he may be elected. The district court shall be a court of law and equi- 
 ty, and have jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters arising in their re- 
 spective districts, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. The judges 
 of the district courts shall be conservators of the peace in their respective dis- 
 tricts. The first session of the General Assembly shall divide the State into 
 four districts, which may be increased as the exigencies require. 
 
 5. The qualified voters of each county shall, at the general election, elect 
 one prosecuting attorney and one clerk of the district court, who shall be resi- 
 dents therein, and who shall hold their several offices for the term of two years, 
 and until their successors are elected and qualified. 
 
 6. The style of all processes shall be, " the State of Iowa," and all prosecur 
 tions shall be conducted in the name and by the authority of the same. 
 
 ARTICLE YIL— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The militia of this State shall be composed of all able-bodied white 
 male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such as 
 are or may hereafter be exempt by the laws of the United States or of this 
 State, and shall be armed, equipped, and trained, as the General Assembly 
 may provide by law. 
 
 2. No person or persons conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be 
 compelled to do militia duty in time of peace : Provided, that such person or 
 persons shall pay an equivalent for such exemption, in the same manner as 
 other citizens. 
 
 3, All commissioned officers of the militia (staff-officers excepted) shall be 
 elected by the persons liable to perform military duty, and shall be commis- 
 sioned by the Governor. 
 
 ARTICLE YIll— State Debts. 
 The General Assembly shall not in any manner create any debt or debts, lia- 
 bility or liabilities, which shall singly or in the aggregate, with any previous 
 debts or liabilities, exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, except in 
 case of war, to repel invasion, or suppress insurrection, unless the same shall 
 be authorized by some law for some single object, or work to be distinctly spe- 
 cified therein, which law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans, 
 for the payment of the interest of such debt or liability as it falls due, and also 
 to pay and discharge the principal of such de?it or liability within twenty years 
 from the time of the contracting thereof, and shall be irrepealable until the 
 principal and interest thereon shall be paid and discharged; but no such law 
 shall take effect until at a general election it shall have been submitted to the 
 people, and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at 
 such election, and all money raised by authority of such law, shall be applied 
 only to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt thereby 
 
514 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 created, and such law shall be published in at least one newspaper in each ju- 
 dicial district, if one is published therein, throughout the State, for three months 
 preceding the election at which it is submitted to the people. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.—Incorparati(yns. 
 
 Sec. 1. No corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed, or extended, 
 with the privilege of making, issuing, or putting in circulation, any bill, check, 
 ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the paper of any bank, to 
 circulate as money. The General Assembly of this State shall prohibit by 
 law, any person or persons, association, company or corporation, from exer- 
 cising the privileges of banking, or creating paper to circulate as money. 
 
 2. Corporations shall not be created in this State by special laws, except for 
 political or municipal purposes, but the General Assembly shall provide, by 
 general laws, for the organization of all other corporations, except corporations 
 with banking privileges, the creation of which is prohibited. The stockholders 
 shall be subject to such liabilities' and restrictions as shall be provided by law. 
 The State shall not, directly or indirectly, become a stockholder in any corpo- 
 ration. 
 
 ARTICLE X. — Ediication and School Lands. 
 
 Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall provide for the election, by the people, 
 of a superintendent of public instruetion, who shall hold his office for three 
 years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and who shall repeive such 
 compensation as the General Assembly may direct. 
 
 2. The General Assembly shall encourage, by all suitable means, the pro- 
 motion of intellectual, scientific, moral and agricultural improvement. The 
 proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United 
 States to this State, for the support of schools, which shall hereafter be sold or 
 disposed of, and the five hundred thousand acres of land granted to the new 
 States, under an act of Congress, distributing the proceeds of the public lands 
 among the several States of the Union, approved A. D. 1841, and all estates of 
 deceased persons, who may have died without leaving a will, or heir ; and also 
 such per cent, as may be granted by Congress on the sale of lands in this State, 
 shall be and remain a perpetual fiind, the interest of which, together with all 
 the rents oi" the unsold lands, and such other means as the General Assembly 
 may provide, shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of common schools 
 throughout the State. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall provide for a system of common schools, by 
 which a school shall be kept up and supported in each school district, at least 
 three months in every year ; and any school district neglecting to keep up and 
 support such a school may be deprived of its proportion of the interest of the 
 public fund during such neglect. 
 
 4. The money which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemp- 
 tion from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines collected in the sev- 
 eral counties for any breach of the penal laws, shall be exclusively applied, in 
 the several counties in which such money is paid or fine collected, among the 
 several school districts of said counties, in the proportion to the number of 
 inhabitants in such districts, to the support of common schools, or the estab- 
 lishment of libraries, as the General Assembly shall, from time to time, pro- 
 vide by law. 
 
 5. The General Assembly shall take measures for the protection, improve- 
 ment, or other disposition of such lands as have been or may hereafter be re- 
 served or granted by the United States, or any person or persons, to this State, 
 for the use of a university ; and the funds accruing from the rents or sale of 
 such lands, or from any other source, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and 
 remain a permanent fund, the interest of which shall be applied to the support 
 of said university, with such branches as the public convenience may hereafter 
 demand, for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, as may be au- 
 thorized by the terms of such grant. And it shall be the duty of the General 
 
IOWA. 515 
 
 Assembly, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement 
 and permanent security of the funds of said university. 
 
 ARTICLE XL — Amendments of the Constitution. 
 
 If, at any time, the General Assembly shall think it necessary to revise 
 or amend this Constitution, they shall provide by law for a vote of the people 
 for or against a convention, at the next ensuing election for members of the 
 General Assembly ; in case a majority of the people vote in favor of a conven- 
 tion, said General Assembly shall provide for an election of delegates to a 
 convention, to be held within six months after the vote of the people in favor 
 thereof. 
 
 ARTICLE Xll.— Miscellaneous. 
 
 Sec. 1. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall extend to all civil 
 cases (except cases in chancery and cases where the question of title to any real 
 estate may arise), where the amount in controversy does not exceed one hun- 
 dred dollars, and by the consent of parties may be extended to any amount not 
 exceeding five hundred dollars. 
 
 2. No new county shall be laid off hereafter, nor old county reduced, to less 
 contents than four hundred and thirty-lwo square miles. 
 
 3. The General Assembly shall not locate any of the public lands, which 
 have been or may be granted by Congress to this State, and the location of 
 which may be given to the General Assembly, upon lands actually settled, 
 without the consent of the occupant. The extent of the claim of such occu- 
 pant so exempted shall not exceed thiee hundred and twenty acres. 
 
 ■^E*^ 
 
WISCONSIN. 
 
 The first settlement, in this state, was made at Green Bay, by the French, in 
 the year 1670. In 1819, it was effectually explored by General Cass, then 
 governor of the territory of Michigan. In 1838, the population was less than 
 10,000, In 1850, it was 304,226. About two-thirds of the inhabitants are from 
 New England and New York, and the rest from different states of the Union, and 
 different countries of Europe. They are well educated, industrious, order-loving, 
 law-abiding, people, among whom idleness and want are unknown. 
 
 The territory was vmder the government of France till 1763 ; of Great Britain, 
 till 1794 ; of Ohio, till 1800 ; of Indiana, till 1809 ; of Illinois, till 1818 ; of Michi- 
 gan, till 1836; was under a territorial government tiU 1848, when, as a state, 
 Wisconsin took her place in the confederacy of the states. 
 
 The state owes not a dollar ; and by her constitution, she is inhibited from 
 ever owing at any time more than $100,000. At an expense of about $100,000 
 she is uniting Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, giving her an uninter- 
 rupted internal navigation of about three hundred miles through the heart of the 
 state. Then with a short canal, uniting the St. Louis River with Lake Superior, 
 and with a canal arotmd the FaUs of St. Mary, (which must soon be made,) she 
 will have navigable water on three sides, and through the middle of her terri- 
 tory. Then she can choose her market at New Orleans, Quebec or New York ; 
 and will very soon be ready to welcome, with one hand, the hardy immigrant, on 
 the majestic steamers, from the east, and with the other, the CMna trader on the 
 cars thundering from the Pacific to the Mississippi on the west. 
 
 In fertility of soil, exhaustless water-power, and salubrity of climate, this state 
 is not surpassed ; and for commercial, educational, religious, and social advan- 
 tages, present, and prospective but sure, no state in the Union, no place in the 
 •world, to the settler, offers greater inducements than the new state of Wisconsin 
 
 It comprises about 57,000 square miles, or about 36,000,000 of acres. One 
 thirty-sixth part of this, with an addition of 500,000 acres, is inviolably devoted 
 to the cause of common schools. Besides this, the amount of 46,080 acres, to be 
 selected by the state, is given for a permanent University fund. 
 
WISCONSIN. 517 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, 
 in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, ensure domestic 
 tranquillity, and promote the general welfare, do establish this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE I.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain 
 inherent rights : among these are life, hberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
 To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their 
 just powers from the consent of the governed. 
 
 2. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this state, other- 
 wise than for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
 convicted. 
 
 3. Every person may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all 
 subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right ; and no laws shall be 
 passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal 
 prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence ; and 
 if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous be true, and 
 was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be 
 acquitted ; and the jvu-y shall have the right to determine the law and the 
 fact. 
 
 4. The right of the people peaceably to assemble to consult for the common 
 good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never 
 be abridged. 
 
 5. The right of trial by jury shall remam inviolate ; and shaU extend to all 
 cases at law, without regard to the amount in controversy ; but a jury trial may 
 be waived by the parties in all cases, in the manner prescribed by law. 
 
 6. Excessive bail shall not be required ; nor shall excessive fines be imposed ; 
 nor sliall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted. 
 
 7. Li all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be heard 
 by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation 
 against him ; to meet the witnesses face to face ; to have compulsory process to 
 compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf: and in prosecutions by indict- 
 ment or information, to a speedy pubUc trial by an impartial jm-y of the county 
 or district wherein the offence shall have been committed, which county or dis- 
 trict shall have been previously ascertained by law. 
 
 8. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the 
 presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or 
 m cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in 
 the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; and no per- 
 son for the same offence shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall 
 be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. All persons 
 shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offen- 
 ces, when the proof is evident or the presumption great ; and the privilege of 
 the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion 
 or invasion, the public safety may require. 
 
 9. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws, for all injuries or 
 wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or character ; he ought to 
 obtain justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it ; completely and 
 without denial, promptly and mthout delay, conformably to the laws. 
 
 10. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against the 
 same, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person 
 
518 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the 
 same overt act, or on confession in open court. 
 
 11. The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
 efifects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and 
 no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, 
 and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
 to be seized. 
 
 12. J^o bill of attainder, ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obli- 
 gation of contracts, shall ever be passed ; and no conviction shall work corruption 
 of blood or forfeiture of estate. 
 
 13. The property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just 
 compensation therefor. 
 
 14. All lands within the state are declared to be allodial ; and feudal tenures 
 are prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural land, for a longer term than 
 fifteen years, in which rent or service of any kind shall be reserved, and all fines 
 and like restraints upon alienation, reserved in any grant of land, hereafter made, 
 are declared to be void. 
 
 15. No distinction shall ever be made by law between resident aliens and 
 citizens, in reference to the possession, enjoyment, or descent of property. 
 
 16. No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of or founded on a 
 contract, expressed or implied. 
 
 17. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts of life, shall be 
 recognised by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from 
 seizure or sale, for the payment of any debt or liability hereafter contracted. 
 
 18. The right of every man to worship Almighty God according to the dic- 
 tates of his own conscience, shall never be infringed ; nor shall any man be 
 compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any 
 ministry, against his consent. Nor shall any control of, or interference with the 
 rights of conscience, be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any 
 religious establishments or modes of worship. Nor shall any money be drawn 
 from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or religious or theological 
 seminaries. 
 
 19. No religious tests shall ever be required as a qualification for any office 
 of public trust under the state ; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to 
 give evidence in any court of law or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the 
 subject of reUgion. 
 
 20. The mihtary shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. 
 
 21. Writs of error shall never be prohibited by law. 
 
 22. The blessings of a fi*ee government can only be maintained by a firm 
 adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by fre- 
 quent recurrence to fundamental principles. 
 
 ARTICLE IL— Boundaries. 
 
 Sec. 1. It is hereby ordained and declared, that the State of Wisconsin doth 
 consent and accept of the boundaries prescrilDed in the act of congress entitled, 
 " An act to enable the people of Wisconsin territory to form a constitution and 
 state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union," approved 
 August sixth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, to wit : Beginning at 
 the north-east corner of the state of Illinois, that is to say, at a point in the centre 
 of lake Michigan where the line of forty-two degrees and tliirty minutes of north 
 latitude crosses the same ; thence, running with the boundary line of the state 
 of Michigan, through lake Michigan, Green Bay, to the mouth of Menomonee 
 river ; thence up the channel of the said river to the Brule river ; thence up 
 said last-mentioned river to lake Brule ; thence along the southern shore of lake 
 Brule, in a direct line, to the centre of the channel between Middle and South 
 island, in the lake of the Desert ; thence in a direct line to the head waters of 
 the Montreal river, as marked upon the survey made by Captain Cram ; thence 
 
WISCONSIN. 519 
 
 down the main channel of the Montreal river to the middle of lake Superior ; 
 thence through the centre of lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river ; 
 thence up the main channel of said river, to the first rapids in the same, above 
 the Indian village, according to Nicollet's map ; thence due south to the main 
 branch of the river St. Croix ; thence down the main channel of said river to the 
 Mississippi ; thence down the centre of the main channel of that river to the 
 north-west corner of the state of Illinois ; thence due east with the northern 
 boimdary of the state of Illinois, to the place of beginning, as established by 
 " an act to enable the people of the Illinois territory to form a constitution and 
 state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union on an equal 
 footing with the original states," approved April 18th, 1818. Provided, hoivever. 
 That the following alteration of the aforesaid boundary be, and hereby is, pro- 
 posed to the congress of the United States as the preference of the state of Wis- 
 consin ; and if the same shall be assented and agreed to by the congress of the 
 United States, then the same shall be and for ever remain obligatory on the 
 state of Wisconsin, viz : Leaving the aforesaid boundary line at the foot of tlie 
 rapids of the St. Louis river ; thence in a direct hne, bearing south-westerly to 
 the mouth of the Iskodewabo, or Rum river, where the same empties into the 
 Mississippi river ; thence down the main chaimel of the said Mississippi river, 
 as prescribed in the aforesaid boundary. 
 
 2. The propositions contained in the act of congress are hereby accepted, 
 ratified, and confirmed, and shall remain iiTevocable without the consent of the 
 United States ; and it is hereby ordained, that this state shall never interfere 
 with the primary disposal of the soil within the same, by the United States, nor 
 with any regulations congress may find necessary for securing the title in such 
 soU to bona fide purchasers thereof; and no tax shall be imposed on land, tlie 
 property of the United States ; anfl in no case shall non-resident proprietors be 
 taxed higher than residents. Provided, That nothing in this constitution, or in 
 the act of congress aforesaid, shall in any manner prejudice or affect the right 
 of the state of Wisconsin to five hundred thousand acres of land granted to said 
 state, and to be hereafter selected and located, by, and under the act of congress, 
 entitled, " an act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, 
 and grant pre-emption rights," approved September fourth, one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-one. 
 
 ARTICLE IIL— Suffrage. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, belong- 
 ing to either of the following classes, who shall have resided in the state for one 
 year next preceding any election, shall be deemed a qualified elector at such 
 election : 
 
 1st. White citizens of the United States. 
 
 2d, White persons of foreign birth, who shall have declared their intention to 
 become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of 
 naturalization. 
 
 3d. Persons of Indian blood, who have once been declared by law of congress 
 to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law of congress to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
 4th. Civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. Provided, 
 That the legislature may at any time extend by law the right of suifrage to per- 
 sons not herein enumerated ; but no such law shaU be in force vmtil the same 
 shall have been submitted to a vote of the people at a general election, and 
 approved by a majority of all the votes cast at such election. 
 
 2. No person under guardianship, non compos mentis, or insane, shall be quali- 
 fied to vote at any election ; nor shall any person convicted of treason or felony, 
 be qualified to vote at any election, unless restored to civil rights. 
 
 3. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such township ofiicers as may 
 by law be directed or allowed to be otherwise chosen. 
 
520 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this state by rea- 
 Bon of his absence on business of the United States or of this state. 
 
 5. No soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, 
 shall be deemed a resident of this state in consequence of being stationed within 
 the same. 
 
 6. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage all persons who 
 have been or may be convicted of bribery or larceny, or of any infamous crime, 
 and depriving every person who shall make, or become directly or indirectly in- 
 terested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, from the 
 right to vote at such election. 
 
 ARTICLE lY.— Legislative. 
 
 Sec. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and assembly. 
 
 2. The number of the members of the assembly shall never be less tlian 
 fifty -four, nor more than one hundi-ed. The senate shall consist of a number not 
 more than one-third, nor less than one-fourth of the number of tfie members of 
 the assembly. 
 
 3. The legislature shall provide by law for an enmneration of the inhabitants 
 of the state, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end 
 of every ten years thereafter ; and at their first session after such enumeration, 
 and also after each enumeration made by the authoritv of the United States, the 
 legislature shall apportion and district anew the members of the senate and as- 
 sembly, according to the number of inhabitants, excluding Indians not taxed, and 
 soldiers and oj95cers of the United States army and navy. 
 
 4. The members of the assembly shall be chosen annually by single districts 
 on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, by the qualified elec- 
 tors of the several districts, such districts to be bounded by county, precinct, 
 town, or ward lines, to consist of contiguous territory, and be in as compact form 
 as practicable. 
 
 6. The senators shall be chosen by single districts of convenient contiguous 
 territory, at the same time and in the same manner as members of the assembly 
 are required to be chosen, and no assembly district shall be divided in the for- 
 mation of a senate district. The senate districts shall be numbered in regular 
 series, and the senators chosen by the odd numbered districts shall go out of of- 
 fice at the expiration of the first year, and the senators chosen by the even num- 
 bered districts shall go out of office at the expiration of the second year, and 
 thereafter the senators shall be chosen for the term of two years. 
 
 6. No person shall be eligible to the legislature who shall not have resided 
 one year within the state, and be a qualified elector in the district which he may 
 be chosen to represent. 
 
 7. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of 
 its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
 ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the 
 attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each 
 house may provide. 
 
 8. Each house may determine the rules of its ovra proceedings, punish for 
 contempt and disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of aU 
 the members elected, expel a member ; but no member shall be expelled a sec- 
 ond time for the same cause. 
 
 9. Each house shall choose its own officers, and the senate shall choose a tem- 
 porary president, when the lieutenant-governor shall not attend as president, or 
 shall act as governor. 
 
 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, 
 except such parts as require secrecy. The doors of each house shall be kept open 
 except when the public welfare shall require secrecy. Neither house shall, 
 without consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days. 
 
 11. The legislatiure shall meet at the seat of government, at such time as 
 
WISCONSIN. 521 
 
 shall be provided by law, once in each year, and not oftener, unless convened by 
 the governor. 
 
 12. No member of the legislature shall, during the term for which he was 
 elected, be appointed or elected to any civil office in the state, which shall have 
 been created or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during the 
 term for which he was elected. 
 
 13. No person being a member of congress, or holding any military or civil 
 office under the United States, shall be ehgible to a seat in the legislature ; and 
 if any person shall, after his election as a member of the legislature, be elected 
 to congress, or be appointed to any office, civil or military, under the govern- 
 ment of the United States, his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat. 
 
 14. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as may 
 occur in either house of the legislature. 
 
 15. Members of the legislature shall in all cases except treason, felcHiy, and 
 breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, nor shall they be subject to any 
 civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before 
 the commencement and after the termination of each session. 
 
 16. No member of the legislature shall be liable in any civil action or crimi- 
 nal prosecution whatever, for words spoken in debate. 
 
 17. The style of the laws of the state shall be, " The people of the state of 
 Wisconsin represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows ;" and no law 
 shall be enacted except by biU. 
 
 18. No private or local bill, which may be passed by the legislatvire, shall 
 embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 19. Any bill may originate in either house of the legislatm-e, and a bill passed 
 by one house may be amended by the other. 
 
 20. The yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall 
 at the request of one-sixth of those present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 21. Each member of the legislature shall receive for his services, two dollars 
 and fifty cents for each day's attendance during the session, and ten cents for 
 every mile he shall travel in going to and returning from the place of the meet- 
 ing of the legislature, on the most usual route. 
 
 22. The legislature may confer upon the boards of supervisors of the several 
 counties of the state, such powers of a local, legislative, and administrative char- 
 acter, as they shall from time to time prescribe. 
 
 23. The legislature shall estabUsh but one system of town and county govern- 
 ment, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable. 
 
 24. The legislature shall never authorize any lottery, or grant any divorce. 
 
 25. The legislature shall provide by law, that all stationery required for the 
 use of the state, and all printing authorized find required by them to be done 
 for their use, or for the state, shall be let by contract to the lowest bidder ; but 
 the legislature may establish a maximum price. No member of the legislatm-e, 
 or other state officer, shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any such 
 contract. 
 
 26. The legislature shall never grant any extra compensation to any public 
 officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after the services shall have been rendered 
 or the contract entered into. Nor shall the compensation of any pubhc officer 
 be increased or diminished during his term of office. 
 
 27. The legislature shall direct by law, in what manner and in what courts 
 suits may be brought against the state. 
 
 28. Members of the legislature and all officers, executive and judicial, except 
 such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter upon 
 the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to 
 support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the state 
 of Wisconsin, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices to 
 the best of their abiUty. 
 
 29. The legislature shall determine what persons shall constitute the militia 
 
522 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of the state, and may provide for organizing and disciplining the same in such 
 manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 30. In all elections to be made by the legislature, the members thereof shall 
 vote viva voce, and their votes shall be entered on the journal. 
 
 ARTICLE Y.— Executive. 
 
 Seo. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a governor, who shall hold hia 
 office for two years. A lieutenant-governor shall be elected at the same time, 
 and for the same term. 
 
 2. N'o person, except a citizen of the United States, and a qualified elector 
 of the state, shall be eligible to the office of governor, or lieutenant-governor. 
 
 3. The governor and lieutenant-governor shall be elected by the qualified elec- 
 tors of the state, at the times and places of choosing members of the legislatm-e. 
 The persons respectively having the highest number of votes for governor and 
 lieutenant-governor, shall be elected. But in case two or more shall have an 
 equal and the highest number of votes for governor or lieutenant-governor, the 
 two houses of the legislature, at its next annual session, shall forthwith, by joint 
 ballot, choose one of the persons so having an equal and the highest number of 
 votes for governor or lieutenant-governor. The returns of election for governor 
 and Heutenant-govemor, shall be made in such manner as shall be provided by 
 law. 
 
 4. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces 
 of the state. He shall have power to convene the legislature on extraordinary 
 occasions ; and in case of invasion, or danger fi*om the prevalence of contagious 
 disease at the seat of government, he may convene them at any other suitable 
 place within the state. He shall communicate to the legislatm-e, at every session, 
 the condition of the state, and recommend such matters to them for their con- 
 sideration, as he may deem expedient. He shall transact all necessary business 
 with the officers of the government, civil and military. He shall expedite all 
 such measures as may be resolved upon by the legislature, and shall take care 
 that the laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 5. The governor shall receive dm*ing his continuance in office, an annual com- 
 pensation of one thousand two hxmdred and fifty dollars. 
 
 6. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations, and par- 
 dons, after conviction, for all offences except treason and cases of impeachment, 
 upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may think 
 proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
 manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shaU have the 
 power to suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported 
 to the legislature at its next meeting, when the legislature shall either pardon, 
 or commute the sentence, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a fur- 
 ther reprieve. He shall annually communicate to the legislature each case of 
 reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, stating the name of the convict, the 
 crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the 
 commutation, pardon, or reprieve, with his reasons for granting the same. 
 
 7. In case of .the impeachment of the governor, or his removal from office, 
 death, inability from mental or physical disease, resignation, or absence from the 
 state, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the heutenanl^ 
 governor, for the residue of the term, or until the governor, absent or impeached, 
 shall have returned, or the disability shall cease. But when the governor shall, 
 with the consent of the legislature, be out of the state in time of war, at the 
 head of the military force thereof, he shaU continue commander-in-chief of the 
 military force of the state. 
 
 8. The lieutenant-governor shall be president of the senate, but shall have 
 only a casting vote therein. If, during a vacancy in the office of governor, the 
 lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or from mental or 
 physical disease become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be 
 
WISCONSIN. 523 
 
 absent from the stat€, the secretary of state shall act as governor until the va- 
 cancy shall be filled, or the disabihty shall cease. 
 
 9, The lieutenant-governor shall receive double the per diem allowance of 
 members of the senate, for every day's attendance as president of the senate, 
 and the same mileage as shall be allowed to members of the legislature. 
 
 10. Every bill which shall have pa«sed the legislature, shall, before it becomes 
 a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, 
 he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have orig- 
 inated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed to. 
 re-consider it. If, after such re-consideration, two-thirds of the members pres- 
 ent shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to 
 the other house, by which it shall likewise be re-considered, and if approved by 
 two-thirds of the members present, it shall become a law. But in all such ca- 
 ses, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
 names of the members voting for or against the bill, shall be entered on the 
 journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the gov- 
 ernor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
 to him, the same shall be a law, unless the legislature shall, by their adjoum- 
 n^nt, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 ARTICLE YL— Administrative. 
 
 1. There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state, at the times 
 and places of choosing the members of the legislature, a secretary of state, trea- 
 surer, and an attorney-general, who shall severally hold their offices for the term 
 of two years. 
 
 2. The secretary of state shall keep a fair record of the official acts of the 
 legislature and executive department of the state, and shall, when required, lay 
 the same and aU matters relative thereto before either branch of the legislature. 
 He shall be ex- officio auditor, and shall perform such other duties as shall be 
 assigned him by law. He shall receive as a compensation for his services, year- 
 ly, such sum as shall be provided by law, and shall keep his office at the seat 
 of government. 
 
 3. The powers, duties, and compensation of the treasurer and attorney-gene- 
 ral shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. Sheriffs, coroners, registers of deeds, and district-attorneys shall be chosen 
 by the electors of the respective counties, once in every two years, and as often 
 as vacancies shall happen. ' Sheriffs shall hold no other office, and be ineligible 
 for two years next succeeding the termination of their offices. They may be 
 required by law to renew their security from time to time ; and in default of 
 giving such new security, their offices shall be deemed vacant. But the coimty 
 shall never be made responsible for acts of the sheriff. The governor may re- 
 move any officer in this section mention'ed, giving to such officer a copy of the 
 charges against him, and an opportunity of being heard in his defence. 
 
 ARTICLE Yll.— Judiciary. 
 
 Sec 1. The court for the trial of impeachments shall be composed of the sen- 
 ate. The house of representatives shall have the power of impeaching all civil 
 officers of thi» state, for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemean- 
 ors ; but a majority of all the members elected shall concur in an unpeachment. 
 On the trial of an impeachment against the governor, the lieutenant-governor 
 shall not act as a member of the court. No judicial officer shall exercise his 
 office after he shall have been impeached, until his acquittal. Before the trial 
 of an impeachment, the members of the court shall take an oath or affirmation 
 truly and impartially to try the impeachment, according to evidence ; and no 
 person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
 present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
 removal from office, or removal from office and disqualification to hold any office 
 39 
 
624 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 of honor, profit, or trust under the state ; but the party impeached shall be lia- 
 ble to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 2. The judicial power of this state, both as to matters of law and equity, shall 
 be vested in a supreme court, circuit com-ts, courts of probate, and in justices of 
 the peace. The legislature may also vest such jurisdiction as shall be deemed 
 necessary in municipal com-ts, and shall have power to establish inferior courts 
 in the several counties, with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. Provided, 
 That the jm-isdiction which may be vested in municipal courts shall not exceed, 
 in their respective mimicipahties, that of civil courts in their respective circuits, 
 as prescribed in this constitution : and that the legislature shall provide as well 
 for the election of judges of the municipal courts as of the judges of inferior 
 courts, by the qualified electors of the respective jurisdictions. The term of office 
 of the judges of the said' municipal and inferior courts shall not be longer than 
 that of the judges of the circuit court. 
 
 3. The supreme court, except in cases otherwise provided in this constitution, 
 shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with the state ; 
 but in no case removed to the supreme court, shaU a trial by jury be allowed. 
 The supreme court shall have a general superintending control over all inferior 
 courts ; it shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunc- 
 tion, quo warranto, certiorari, and other original and remedial wiits, and to hear 
 and determine the same. 
 
 4. For the term of five years, and thereafter, until the legislature shall other- 
 wise provide, the judges of the several circuit coiirts shall be judges of the su- 
 preme court, four of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a 
 majority of the judges present shall be necessary to a decision. The legislatm*e 
 shall have power, if they should think it expedient and necessary, to provide by 
 law for the organization of a separate supreme court, with the jurisdiction and 
 powers prescribed in this constitution, to consist of one chief justice and two asso- 
 ciate justices, to be elected by the qualified electors of the state, at such time 
 and in such manner as the legislature may provide. The separate supreme 
 com't, when so organized, shall not be changed or discontinued by the legisla- 
 ture ; the judges thereof shall be so classified that but one of them shall go out 
 of office at the same time, and their term of office shall be the same as is pro- 
 vided for the judges of the circuit court. And whenever the legislature may 
 consider it necessary to establish a separate supreme court, they shall have 
 power to reduce the number of circuit court judges to four, and subdivide tlie ju- 
 dicial circuits, but no such subdivision or reduction Shall take effect until after 
 the expiration of the term of some one of the said judges, or till a vacancy occur 
 by some other means. 
 
 5. The state shall be divided into five judicial circuits, to be composed as fol- 
 lows : The first circuit shall comprise the counties of Racine, Walworth, Rock, 
 and Green. The second circuit, the comities of Milwaukee, "Waukesha, Jeffer- 
 son, and Dane. The third circuit, the counties of Washington, Dodge, Colmiibia, 
 Marquette, Sauk, and Portage. The fourth circuit, the counties of }3rown, Mani- 
 towoc, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Winnebago, and Calumet. And the fiftli cir- 
 cuit shall comprise the counties of Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Crawford, and St. 
 Croix ; and the county of Richland shall be attached to Iowa, the county of 
 Cliippewa to the county of Crawford, and the county of La Pointe«to the county 
 of St. Croix, for judicial purposes, until otherwise provided by the legislature. 
 
 6. The legislature may alter the limits, or increase the number of circuits, 
 making them as compact and convenient as practicable, and bounding them by 
 county lines ; but no such alteration or increase shall have tlie effect to remove 
 a judge from office. In case of an increase of circuits, the judge or judges shall 
 be elected as provided in this constitution, and receive a salary not less than that 
 herein provided for judges of the chcuit court. 
 
 7. For each circuit there shall be a judge chosen by the qualified electors tliere- 
 in, who shall hold his office as is provided in this constitution, and tmtil liis sue- 
 
WISCONSIN. 525 
 
 cesser shall be chosen and qualified ; and after he shall hare been elected, he 
 shall reside in the circuit for which he was elected. One of said judges shall be 
 designated as chief justice, in such manner as the legislature shall provide. And 
 the legislature shall, at its first session, provide by law, as well for the election 
 of, as for classifying, the judges of the circuit court, to be elected under this Con- 
 stitution, in such manner that one of said judges shall go out of office in two 
 years, one in three years, one in four years, one in five years, and one in six ;fears, 
 and thereafter the judge elected to fill the office shall hold the same for six 
 years. 
 
 8. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction in all matters, civil and 
 criminal, within this state, not excepted in this constitution, and not hereafter 
 prohibited by law, an appellate jurisdiction from all inferior courts and tribunals, 
 and a supervisory control over the same. They shall also have the power to is- 
 sue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and 
 all other writs necessary to carry into effect their orders, judgments, and decrees, 
 and give them a general control over inferior courts and jurisdictions. 
 
 9. When a vacancy shall happen in the office of judge of the supreme or cir- 
 cuit courts, such vacancy shall be filled by an appointment of the governor, which 
 shall continue imtil a successor is elected and qualified ; and when elected, such 
 successor shall hold his office the residue of the unexpired term. There shall be 
 no election for a judge or judges at any general election for state or county offi- 
 cers, nor within thirty days either before or after such election. 
 
 10. Each of the judges of tlie supreme and circuit com-ts shall receive a sal- 
 ary, payable quarterly, of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars annu- 
 ally ; they shall receive no fees of office, or other compensation than their sala- 
 ries; they shall hold no office of public trust, except a judicial office, during the 
 term for which they are respectively elected, and aU votes for either of them, 
 for any office except a judicial office, given by the legislature or the people, shall 
 be void. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge, who shall not, at the 
 time of his election, be a citizen of the United States, and have attained the age 
 of twenty-five years, and be a qualified elector within the jurisdiction for which 
 he may be chosen. 
 
 11. The supreme court shall hold at least one term annually, at the seat of 
 government of the state, at such time as shall be provided by law, and the leg- 
 islatrure may provide for holding other terms, and at other places, when they 
 may deem it necessary. A circuit court shall be held at least twice in each 
 year, in each coimty of this state, organized for judicial purposes. The judges 
 of the chcuit court may hold courts for each othei*, and shall do so when requir- 
 ed by law. 
 
 12. There shall be a clerk of the circuit court chosen in each county organized 
 for judicial pm-poses, by the qualified electors thereof, who shall hold his office 
 for two years, subject to removal as shall be provided by law. In case of a va- 
 cancy, the judge of the circuit court shall have the power to appoint a clerk, 
 until the vacancy shall be filled by an election. The clerk thus elected or ap- 
 pointed, shall give such security as the legislature may require ; and when elect- 
 ed, shall hold his office for a full term. The supreme court shall appoint its own 
 clerk, and the clerk of a circuit court may be appointed clerk of the supreme 
 court, 
 
 13. Any judge of the supreme or circuit com-t may be removed from office 
 by address of both houses of the legislature, if two-thirds of all the members 
 elected to each house, concm- therein ; but no removal shall be made by virtue 
 of this section, unless the judge complained of shall have been served with a 
 copy of the charges against him, as the ground of address, and shall have had 
 an opportunity of being heard in his defence. On the question of removal, the 
 ayes and noes shall be entered on the journals. 
 
 14. There shall be chosen in each county by tlie qualified electors thereof, a 
 judge of probate, who shall hold his office for two years, and imtil his successor 
 
526 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 shall be elected and qualified, and whose jurisdiction, powers, and duties, shall 
 be prescribed by law : Provided, however, That the legislature shall have power 
 to abolish the office of judge of probate in any county, and to confer probate 
 powers upon such inferior courts as may be established in said county. 
 
 15. The electors of the several towns, at their annual town meetings, and the 
 electors of cities and villages, at their charter elections, shall in such manner as 
 the Legislature may direct, elect justices of the peace, whose term of office shall 
 be for two years, and until their successors in office shall be elected and quali- 
 fied. In case of an election to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of 
 a full term, the justice elected shall hold for the residue of the vmexpired term. 
 Their number and classification shall be regulated by law. And the tenure of 
 two years shall in nowise interfere with the classification in the first instance. 
 The justices thus elected, shall have such civil and criminal jurisdiction as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 16. The legislature shall pass laws for the regulation of tribunals of concilia- 
 tion, defining their powers and duties. Such tribunals may be established in 
 and for any township, and shall have power to render judgment, to be obligatory 
 on the parties, when they shall voluntarily submit their matter in difference to 
 arbitration, and agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto in writing. 
 
 17. The style of all writs and process shall be, " The state of Wisconsin." All 
 feriminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of 
 the same ; and aU indictments shall conclude, against the peace and dignity of 
 the state. 
 
 18. The legislature shall imppse a tax on all civil suits commenced or prose- 
 cuted in the mvmicipal, inferior, or circuit courts, which shall constitute a fund to 
 be applied toward the payment of the salary of judges. 
 
 19. The testimony in causes in equity, shall be taken in like manner as in ca- 
 ses at law ; and the office of master in chancery, is hereby prohibited. 
 
 20. Any suitor in any court of this state, sliall have the right to prosecute or 
 defend his suit either in his own proper person or by an attorney or agent of his 
 choice. 
 
 21. The legislature shall provide by law for the speedy publication of all stat- 
 ute laws, and of such judicial decisions made within the state, as may be deem- 
 ed expedient. And no general law shall be in force until published. 
 
 22. The legislature at its first session after the adoption of this constitution, 
 shall provide for the appointment of three commissioners, whose duty it shall 
 be to inquire into, revise and simplify the rules of practice, pleadings, forms, and 
 proceedings, and arrange a system adapted to the courts of record of this state, 
 and report the same to the legislature, subject to their modification and adop- 
 tion ;'and such commission shall terminate upon the rendering of the report, un- 
 less otherwise provided by law. 
 
 23. The legislature may provide for the appointment of one or more persons 
 in each organized county, and may vest in such persons such judicial powers as 
 shall be prescribed by law : Provided, That said power shall not exceed that of 
 a judge of the circuit court at chambers. 
 
 ARTICLE Ylll.— Finance. 
 
 Sec. 1, The rule of taxation shall be imiform, and taxes shall be levied upon 
 such property as the legislatm-e shall prescribe. 
 
 2. No money shall be paid out of the treasury, except in pursuance of an ap- 
 propriation by law. 
 
 3. The credit of the state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individ- 
 ual, association, or corporation. 
 
 4. The state shall never contract any public debt, except in the cases and 
 manner herein provided. 
 
 5. The legislature shall provide for an annual tax sufficient to defray the esti- 
 mated expenses of the state for each year ; and whenever the expenses of any 
 
WISCONSIN. 527 
 
 year shall exceed the income, the legislature shall provide for levying a tax for 
 the ensutag year, sufficient with other sources of income, to pay the deficiency, 
 as well as the estimated expenses of such ensuing year. 
 
 6. For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenditures, the state may 
 contract public debts ; but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed one 
 hundred thousand dollars. Every such debt shall be authorized by law, for some 
 purpose or pm-poses to be distinctly specified therein; and the vote of a major- 
 ity of all the members elected to each house, to be taken by yeas and nays, shall 
 be necessary to the passage of such law ; and every such law shall provide for 
 levying an annual t^ sufficient to pay the annual interest of such debt, and the 
 principal within five years from the passage of such law, and shall specially 
 appropriate the proceeds of such taxes to the payment of such principal and in- 
 terest ; and such appropriation shaU not be repealed, nor the taxes be postponed 
 or diminished until the principal and interest of such debt shall have been wholly 
 paid. 
 
 7. The legislature maj also borrow money to repel invasion, suppress insurrec- 
 tion, or defend the state in time of war ; but the money thus raised shall be ap- 
 plied exclusively to the object for which the loan was authorized, or to the re- 
 payment of the debt thereby created. 
 
 8. On the passage in either house of the legislature, of any law which imposes, 
 continues, or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues, or 
 renews an appropriation of public or trust money, or releases, discharges, or 
 commutes a claim or demand of the state, the question shall be taken by yeas 
 and nays, which shall be duly entered on the journal ; and three-fifths of all the 
 members elected to such house, shall in all such cases be required to constitute 
 a quorum therein. 
 
 9. No scrip, certificate, or other evidence of state debt whatsoever, shall be 
 issued, except for such debts as are authorized by the sixth and seventh sections 
 of this article. 
 
 10. The state shall never contract any debt for works of internal improvement, 
 or be a party in carrying on such works ; but whenever grants of land or other 
 property shall have been made to the state, especially dedicated by the grant 
 to particular works of internal improvement, the state may carry on such par- 
 ticular works, and shall devote thereto the avails of such grants, and may pledge 
 or appropriate the revenues derived from such works in aid of their completion. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. — Eminent Domain and Property of the State. 
 
 Sec. 1. The state shall have concurrent jurisdiction on all rivers and lakes 
 bordering on this state, so far as such rivers or lakes shall form a common boun' 
 dary to Qie state and any other state or territory now or hereafter to be formed 
 and bounded by the same. "And the river Mississippi and the navigable waters 
 leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between 
 the same, shall be common highways, and forever free as well to the inhabitants 
 of the state, as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost, or 
 duty therefor. 
 
 2. The title to all lands and other property which have accrued to the terri- 
 tory of Wisconsin, by grant, gift, purchase, forfeiture, escheat, or otherwise, shall 
 vest in the state of Wisconsin. 
 
 3. The people of the state in their right of sovereignty, are declared to pos- 
 sess the ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of the state ; 
 and all lands, the title to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert, or 
 escheat to the people. 
 
 AJITICLE 'Si.— Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a state super- 
 intendent, and such other officers as the legislatiu-e shall direct. The state super- 
 intendent shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state, in such manner 
 
528 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 as the legislature shall provide ; his powers, duties, and compensation shall be 
 prescribed by law. Provided, That his compensation shall not exceed the sum 
 of twelve hundred dollars annually. 
 
 2. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by 
 the United States to tlais state, for educational purposes, (except the lands here- 
 tofore granted for the purposes of a university,) and all moneys and the clear 
 proceeds of all property that may accrue to the state by forfeiture or escheat, 
 and all moneys which may be paid as an equivalent for exemption from military 
 duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines collected in the several counties for any 
 breach of the penal laws, and all moneys arising from any grant to the state, 
 where the purposes of such grant are not specified, and the five hmidi-ed thousand 
 acres of land to wliich the state is entitled by the provisions of an act of congress 
 entitled, " an act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and 
 to grant pre-emption rights," approved the fourth day of September, one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-one, and also the five per centxmi of the nett proceeds of 
 the public lands to which the state shall become entitled on her admission into 
 the Union, (if congress shall consent to such appropriation of the two grants last 
 mentioned,) shall be set apart as a separate fund, to be called the school fund, 
 the interest of which, and all other revenues derived from the school lands, shall 
 be exclusively applied to the following objects, to wit: 
 
 Ist. To the support and maintenance of common schools in. each school district, 
 and the pm'chase of suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. 
 
 2d. The residue shall be appropriated to the support and maintenance of 
 acadeinies and normal schools, and suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. 
 
 3. The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district 
 schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable ; and such schools shall 
 be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of fom* 
 and twenty years ; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein. 
 
 4. Each town and city shall be required to raise by tax, annually, for the 
 support of common schools therein, a sum not less than one-half the amount 
 received by such town or city respectively for school purposes, from the income 
 of the school fund. 
 
 5. Provision shall be made by law for the distribution of the income of the 
 school fund among the several towns and cities of the state, for the support of 
 common schools therein, in some just proportion to the number of children and 
 youth resident therein, between the ages of four and twenty years ; and no 
 appropriation shall be made from the school fund to any city or town, for the 
 year in which said city or town shall fail to raise such tax, nor to any school 
 district for the year in which a school shall not be maintained at least three 
 months. 
 
 6. Provision shall be made by law for the establishment of a state university, 
 at or near the seat of the state government, and for connecting with the same 
 fi-om time to time such colleges in different parts of the state, as the interests of 
 education may require. The proceeds of all lands that have been or may here- 
 after be granted by the United States to the state for the support of a univer- 
 sity, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, to be called the " university fund," 
 the interest of which shall be appropriated to the support of the state miiversity ; 
 and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed in such university. 
 
 V. The secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney-general, shall constitute a 
 board of commissioners for the sale of the school and university lands, and for 
 the investment of the funds arising therefrom. Any two of said commissioners 
 shall be a quorum for the transaction of all business pertaining to the duties of 
 their office. 
 
 8. Provision shall be made by law for the sale of all school and university 
 lands, after they shall have been appraised ; and when any portion of such 
 lands shall be sold, and the purchase money shall not be paid at the time of the 
 sale, the commissioners shall take security by mortgage upon the land sold, for 
 
WISCONSIN. 529 
 
 the sum remaining impaid, with seven per cent, interest thereon, payable annu- 
 ally at the office of the treasmrer. The commissioners shall be authorized to 
 execute a good and sufficient conveyance to all purchasers of such lands, and to 
 discharge any mortgages taken as security, when the sum due thereon shall have 
 been paid. The commissioners shall have power to withhold from sale any 
 portion of such lands when they shall deem it expedient ; and shall invest all 
 moneys arising from the sale of such lands, as well as all other university and 
 school funds, in such manner as the legislature shall provide, and shall give such 
 security for the faithful performance of their duties as may be required by law. 
 
 ARTICLE XL— Corporations. 
 
 Sec. 1. Corporations without banking powers or privileges may be formed 
 under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal 
 purposes, and in cases where, in the judgment of the legislatiire, the objects of 
 the corporation cannot be attained under general laws. All general laws or 
 special acts enacted under the provisions of this section may be altered or repeal- 
 ed by the legislature at any time after their passage. 
 
 2. No municipal corporation shall take private property for public use against 
 the consent of the owner, without the necessity thereof being first established 
 by the verdict of a jury. 
 
 3. It shall be the duty of the legislature, and they are hereby empowered to 
 provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict 
 their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and 
 loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and taxation, and in 
 contracting debts by such municipal corporations. 
 
 4. The legislatm-e shall not have power to create, authorize, or incorporate, by 
 any general or special law, any bank or banking power or privilege, or any insti- 
 tution or corporation, having any banking power or privilege whatever, except as 
 provided in this article. 
 
 5. The legislature may submit to the voters at any general election, the ques- 
 tion of " bank or no bank ;" and if at any such election, a number of votes equal 
 to a majority of all the votes cast at such election on that subject shall be in fia- 
 vor of banks, then the legislature shall have power to grant bank charters, or to 
 pass a general banking law, with such restrictions and xmder such regulations as 
 they may deem expedient and proper for the security of the bUl-holders : I*ro- 
 vided, That no such grant or law shall have any force or effect until the same 
 shall have been submitted to a vote of the electors of the state at some general 
 election, and been approved by a majority of the votes cast on that subject at 
 such election. 
 
 ARTICLE XU.— Amendments. 
 
 Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed 
 in either house of the legislature, and if the same shall be agreed to by a ma- 
 jority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with the yeas and nays 
 taken thereon, and referred to the legislature to be chosen at the next general 
 election, and shall be published for three months previous to the time of holding 
 such election. And if in the legislature so next chosen, such proposed amend- 
 ment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members 
 elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the legislature to submit such 
 proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in such inanner and at such 
 time as the legislature shall prescribe, and if the people shall approve and ratify 
 such amendment or amendments by a majority of the electors voting thereon, 
 such amendment or amendments shall become part of the constitution : Pro- 
 vided, That if more than one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted 
 in such manner that the people may vote for or against such amendments sepa- 
 rately. 
 
530 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 2. If at any time a majority of the senate and assembly shall deem it neces- 
 sary to call a convention to revise or change this constitution, they shall recom- 
 mend to the electors to vote for or against a convention at the next election for 
 members of the legislature ; and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors 
 voting thereon have voted for a convention, the legislature shall at its next 
 session provide for calling such convention. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. — Miscellaneous Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. The pohtical year for the state of "Wisconsin shall commence on the 
 first Monday in January in each year, and the general election shall be holden on 
 the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November in each year, 
 
 2. Any inhabitant of this state who may hereafter be engaged, either directly 
 or indirectly, in a duel, either as principal or accessary, shall forever be disqualified 
 as an elector, and from holding any ofiice imder the constitution and laws of 
 this state, and may be punished in any other manner as shall be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 3. N^o member of congress, nor any person holding any oflfice of profit or trust 
 under the United States (postmasters excepted), or under any foreign power ; 
 no person convicted of any infamous crime in any comrt within the United States, 
 and no person being a defaulter to the United States, or to this state, or to any 
 county or town therein, or to any state or territory within the United States, 
 shall be eligible to any ofiice of trust, profit, or honor in this state. 
 
 4. It shall be the duty of the legislature to provide a great seal for the state, 
 which shall be kept by the secretary of state ; and all official acts of the governor, 
 his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated. 
 
 6. All persons residing upon Indian lands within any county of the state, and 
 qualified to exercise the right of suffrage under this constitution, shall be entitled 
 to vote at the polls which may be held nearest their residence, for state, United 
 States, or county officers ; Provided, that no person shall vote for comity officers 
 out of the county in which he resides. 
 
 6, The elective officers of the legislature, other than the presiding officers, 
 shall be a chief-clerk, and a sergeant-at-arms, to be elected by each house. 
 
 T. No county with an area of nine himdred square miles or less, shall be 
 divided, or have any part stricken therefrom, without submitting the question 
 to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless a majority of aU the legal voters 
 of the county voting on the question, shall vote for the same. 
 
 8. No county seat shall be removed until the point to which it is proposed to 
 be removed, shall be fixed by law, and a majority of the voters of the county, 
 voting on the question, shall have voted in favor of its removal to such point. 
 
 9. All coimty officers whose election or appointment is not provided for by 
 this constitution, shall be elected by the electors of the respective coimties, or 
 appointed by the boards of supervisors or other coimty authorities, as the legis- 
 lature shall direct. All city, town, and village officers, whose election or 
 appointment is not provided for by this constitution, shall be elected by the 
 electors of such cities, towns, and villages, or of some division thereof, or 
 appointed by such authorities thereof, as the legislature shall designate for that 
 purpose. All other officers whose election or appointment is not provided for 
 by this constitution, and all officers whose offices may hereafter be created by 
 law, shaU be elected by the people, or appointed as the legislature may direct. 
 
 10. The legislatiu-e may declare the cases in which any office shall be deemed 
 vacant, and also the manner of filling the vacancy where no provision is made 
 for that purpose, in this constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE XW.— Schedule, 
 
 Seo. 1. That no inconvenience may arise by reason of a change from a territo- 
 rial to a permanent state government, it is declared that aU rights, actions, prose- 
 cutions, judgments, claims, and cMitracts, as well of individuals as of bodies cor- 
 
WISCONSIN. 531 
 
 porate, shall continue as if no such change had taken place, and all process 
 which may be issued under the authority of the territory of Wisconsin, previous 
 to its admission into the Union of the United States, shall be as valid as if issued 
 in the name of the state. 
 
 2. All laws now in force in the territory of "Wisconsin, which are not repug- 
 nant to this constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own 
 limitation, or be altered or repealed by the legislature. 
 
 3. All fines, penalties, or forfeitures accruing to the territory of Wisconsin, 
 shall enure to the use of the state. 
 
 4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the 
 change from a territorial to a permanent state government, shall remain valid, 
 and shall pass to, and may be prosecuted in the name of the state ; and all bonds 
 executed to the governor of the territory, or to any other officer or court, in his or 
 their official capacity, shall pass to the governor of the state authority, and their 
 successors in office, for the uses therem respectively expressed, and may be sued 
 for and recovered accordingly ; and all the estate or property, real, personal, or 
 mixed, and all judgments, bonds, specialities, choses in action, and claims or 
 debts of whatsoever description, of the territory of Wisconsin, shall eniu-e to and 
 vest in the state of Wisconsin, and may be sued for and recovered in the same 
 manner, and to the same extent, by the state of Wisconsin, as the same could 
 have been by the territory of Wisconsin. All criminal prosecutions and penal 
 actions which may have arisen, or which may arise before the change from a 
 territorial to a state government, and which shall then be pending, shall be pro- 
 secuted to judgment and execution in the name of the state. All offences com- 
 mitted against the laws of the territory of Wisconsin, before the change from a 
 territorial to a state government, and which shall not be prosecuted before such 
 change, may be prosecuted in tlie name and by the authority of the state of 
 Wisconsin, with like effect as though such change had not taken place ; and all 
 penalties incurred shall remain the same as if this constitution had not been 
 adopted. All actions at law, and suits in equity, which may be pending in any 
 of the courts of the territory of Wisconsin, at the time of the change from a ter- 
 ritorial to a state government, may be continued and transferred to any court of 
 the state which shall have jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof. 
 
 5. All officers, civil and militaiy, now holding their offices under the authority 
 of the United States, or of the territory of Wisconsin, shall continue to hold and 
 exercise their respective offices until they shall be superseded by the authority 
 of the state. 
 
 6. The first session of the legislature of the state of Wisconsin shall commence 
 on the first Monday in Jime next, and shall be held at the village of Madison, 
 which shall be and remain the seat of government imtil otherwise provided bylaw. 
 
 7. All county, precinct, and township officers, shall continue to hold their re- 
 spective offices, unless removed by the competent authority, until the legislatm-e 
 shall in conformity with the provisions of this constitution provide for the hold- 
 ing of elections to fill such offices respectively. 
 
 8. Tlie president of tliis convention shall, immediately after its adjournment, 
 cause a ink copy of this constitution, together with a copy of the act of the legis- 
 lature of this territory, entitled " An act in relation to tlie formation of a state 
 government in Wisconsin, and to change the time of holding the annual session 
 of the legislature," approved October 27th, 1847, providing for the calling of 
 this convention, and also a copy of so much of the last census of this territory as 
 exhibits the number of its inhabitants, to be forwarded to the President of the 
 United States, to be laid before the congress of the United States at its present 
 
 9. This constitution shall be submitted at an election to be held on the second 
 Monday in March next, for ratification or rejection, to all white male persons of 
 the age of twenty-one years or upwards, who shall then be residents of this ter- 
 ritory and citizens of the United States, or shall have declared their intention 
 
532 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 to become such, in conformity "with the laws of congress on the subject of natu- 
 ralization ; and all persons having such qualifications shall be entitled to vote 
 for or against the adoption of this constitution, and for all officers first elected 
 under it. And if the constitution be ratified by the said electors, it shall become 
 the constitution of the state of Wisconsin. On such of the ballots as are for the 
 constitution, shall be written or printed the word " yes ;" and on such as are 
 against the constitution the word " no." The election shall be conducted in the 
 manner now prescribed by law, and the returns made by the clerks of the 
 boards of supervisors or county commissioners (as the case may be) to the go- 
 vernor of the territory, at any time before the tenth day of April next. And in 
 the event of the ratification of this constitution, by a majority of all the votes 
 given, it shall be the duty of the governor of this territory to make proclama- 
 tion of the same, and to transmit a digest of the retm-ns to the senate and as- 
 sembly of the state, on the first day of their session. An election shall be held 
 for governor and lieutenant-governor, treasurer, attorney-general, members of 
 the state legislature, and members of congress, on the second Monday of May 
 next, and no other or further notice of such election shall be required. 
 
 10. Two members of congress shall also be elected on the second Monday of 
 May next ; and until otherwise provided by law, the counties of Milwaukie, 
 Waukesha, Jefferson, Racine, Walworth, Rock, and Green, shall constitute the 
 first congressional district* and elect one member ; and the counties of Washing- 
 ton, Sheboygan, Manitouwoc, Calumet, Brown, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Mar- 
 quette, Sauk, Portage, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Rich- 
 land, Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, and La Pointe. shall constitute the second 
 congressional district, and shall elect one member. 
 
 11. The several elections provided for in this article shall be conducted according 
 to the existing laws of the territory : Provided, That no elector shall be entitled 
 to vote except in the town, ward, or precinct where he resides. The retm-ns of elec- 
 tion for senators and members of assembly shall be transmitted to the clerk of the 
 board of supervisors, or county commissioners, as the case may be, and the votes 
 shall be canvassed, and certificates of election issued, as now provided by law. 
 In the first senatorial district, the returns of the election for senator shall be 
 made to the proper officer in the county of Brown. In the second senatorial 
 district, to the proper officer in the county of Columbia. In the third senatorial 
 district, to the proper officer in the county of Crawford. In the fourth senato- 
 rial district, to the proper officer in the county of Fond du Lac. And in the 
 fifth senatorial district to the proper officer in the coimty of Iowa. The re- 
 turns of election for state officers and members of congress shall be certified and 
 transmitted to the speaker of the assembly at the seat of government, in the 
 same manner as the votes for delegate to congress are required to be certified 
 and returned by the laws of the territory of Wisconsin, to the secretary of 
 said territory, and in such time that they may be received on the fast Monday 
 in June next ; and as soon as the legislature shall be organized, the speaker 
 of the assembly -and the president of the senate shall, in the presence of 
 both houses, examine the returns, and declare who are duly elected to fill 
 the several offices hereinbefore mentioned, and give to each of the persons elected 
 a certificate of his election. 
 
 12. Until there shall be a new apportionment, the senators and members of 
 the assembly shall be apportioned among the. several districts, as hereinafter 
 mentioned, and each district shall be entitled to elect one senator or member of 
 the assembly, as the case may be. 
 
 The counties of Brown, Calumet, Manitouwoc, and Sheboygan, shall constitute 
 the first senate district. 
 
 The counties of Columbia, Marquette, Portage, and Sauk, shall constitute the 
 second senate district. 
 
 The counties of Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, and La Ponte, shall constitute 
 the third senate district. 
 
WISCONSIN. 533 
 
 The coimties of Fond du Lac, and Winnebago, shall constitute the fourth 
 senate district. • 
 
 The counties of Iowa and Richland, shall constitute the fifth senate district. 
 
 The county of Grant shall constitute the sixth senate district. 
 
 The county of La Fayette shall constitute the seventh senate district. 
 
 The county of Green shall constitute the eighth senate district. 
 
 The county of Dane shall constitute the ninth senate district. 
 
 The county of Dodge shall constitute the tenth senate district. 
 
 The county of Washington shall constitute the eleventh senate district. 
 
 The county of Jefferson shall constitute the twelfth senate district. 
 
 The county of Waukesha shall constitute the thu-teenth senate district. 
 
 The county of Walworth shall constitute the fourteenth senate district. 
 
 The county of Rock shall constitute the fifteenth senate district. 
 
 The towns of Southport, Pike, Pleasant Prairie, Paris, Bristol, Brighton, Sa- 
 lem, and Wheatland, in the county of Racine, shall constitute the sixteenth 
 senate district. 
 
 The towns of Racine, Caledonia, Mount Pleasant, Raymond, Norway, Roches- 
 ter, Yorkville, and Burlington, in the county of Racine, shall constitute the 
 seventeenth senate district. 
 
 The third, fourth, and fifth wards of the city of Milwaukee, and the towns of 
 Lake, Oak Creek,' Frauklm, and Greenfield, in the county of Milwaukee, shall 
 constitute the eighteenth senate district. 
 
 The first and second wards of the city of Milwaukee, and the towns of Mil- 
 waukee, Wauwatosa, and Granville, in the county of Milwaukee, shall constitute 
 the nineteenth senate district. 
 
 The county of Brown shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Calumet shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Manitouwoc shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Columbia shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The counties of Crawford and Chippewa, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The counties of St. Croix and La Pointe, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Windsor, Sun Prairie, and Cottage Grove, in the county of Dane, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Madison, Cross Plains, Clarkson, Springfield, Verona, Montrose, 
 Oregon, and Green^eld, in the county of Dane, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Rome, Dunkirk, Christiana, Albion, and Rutland, in the county 
 of Dane, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Burnett, Chester, Le Roy, and WUliamstown, in the coimty of 
 Dodge, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Fairfield, Hubbard, and Rubicon, in the county of Dodge, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Hustisford, Ashippun, Lebanon, and Emmet, in the county of 
 Dodge, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Elba, Lowell, Portland, and Clyman, in the county of Dodge, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Calamus, Beaver Dam, Fox Lake, and Trenton, in the county of 
 Dodge, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Calumet, Forest, Auburn, Byron, Taychedah, and Fond du Lac, 
 in the county of Fond du Lac, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Alto, Metoman, Ceresco, Rosendale, Waupun, Oakfield, and Seven 
 Mile Creek, in the county of Fond du Lac, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Hazel Green, Fairplay, Smeltzer's Grove, and Jamestown, in 
 the county of Grant, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Plattville, Head of Platte, Centerville, Muscoday, and Fen- 
 nimore, in the county of Grant, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Pleasant Valley, Potosi, Waterloo, Hurricane, and New Lis- 
 bon, in the county of Grant, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
534 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 The precincts of BeetoTvn, Patch Grove, Cassville, Millville, and Lancaster, in 
 the county of Grant, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Green shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Dallas, Peddler's Creek, Mineral Point, and Yellow Stone, in 
 the county of Iowa, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Franklin, Dodgeville, Porter's Grove, Arena, and Percussion, 
 in the county of Iowa, and the county of Richland, shall constitute an assembly 
 district. 
 
 The towns of Watertown, Aztalan, and Waterloo, in the county of Jefferson, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Ixonia, Concord, Sullivan, Hebron, Cold Spring, and Palmyra, 
 in the county of Jefferson, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Lake Mills, Oakland, Koskonong, Farmington, and Jefferson, in 
 the county of Jefferson, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Benton, Elk Grove, Belmont, Willow Springs, Prairie, and 
 that part of Shullsburgh precinct north of town one, in the coimty of La Fay- 
 ette, shaU constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The precincts of Wiota, Wayne, Gratiot, White Oak Springs, Fever River, and 
 that part of Shullsburgh precinct south of town two, in the county of La Fay- 
 ette, shaE constitute an assembly district. 
 
 liie coimty of Marquette shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The first ward of the city of Milwaukee, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The second ward of the city of Milwaukee, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The third ward of the city of Milwaukee, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The fourth and fifth wards of the city of Milwaukee, shall constitute an as- 
 sembly district. 
 
 The towns of Franklin, and Oak Creek, in the county of Milwaukee, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Greenfield, and Lake, in the county of Milwaukee, shall consti- 
 tute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Granville, Wauwatosa, and Milwaukee, in the county of Milwau- 
 kee, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Portage shall constitute an assembly district. . 
 
 The town of Racine, in the county of Racine, shaU constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Norway, Raymond, Caledonia, and Mount Pleasant, in the coun- 
 ty of Racine, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Rochester, Burlington, and Yorkville, in the county of Racine, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Southport, Pike, and Pleasant Prairie, in the county of Racine, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Paris, Bristol, Brighton, Salem, and Wheatland, in the county of 
 Racine, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Janesville, and Bradford, in the county of Rock, shall consti- 
 tute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Beloit, Turtle, and Clinton, in the county of Rock, shall consti- 
 tute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Magnolia, Union, Porter, and Fulton, in the county of Rock, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Milton, Lima, and Johnstown, in the county of Rock, shall con- 
 stitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Newark, Rock, Avon, Spring Valley, and Centre, in the county 
 of Rock, shall constitute an assembly district : Provided, That if the legislature 
 shall divide the town of Centre, they may attach such part of it to the district 
 lying next north, as they may deem expedient. 
 
 The county of Sauk shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 Precincts numbered one, three, arid seven, in the county of Sheboygan, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
WISCONSIN. 535 
 
 Precincts numbered two, four, five, and six, in the county of Sheboygan, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Troy, East Troy, and Spring Prairie, in the county of Walworth, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Whitewater, Richmond, and Lagrange, in the county of Wal- 
 worth, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Geneva, Hudson, and Bloorafield, in the county of Walworth, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Darien, Sharon, Walworth, and Lynn, in the county of Wal- 
 worth, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Delavan, Sugar Creek, La Fayette, and Elkhom, in the county 
 of Walworth, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Lisbon, Menomonee, and Brookfield, in the county of Wauke- 
 sha, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Warren, Oconomewoc, Summit, and Ottowa, in the county of 
 Waukesha, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Delafield, Genesee, and Pewaukee, in the county of Waukesha, 
 shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Waukesha and New Berlm, in the county of Waukeslia, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Eagle, Mukwanego, Vernon, and Muskego, in the county of 
 Waukesha, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Port Washington, Fredonia, and Clarence, in the county of 
 Washington, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Grafton and Jackson, in the county of Washington, shall consti 
 tute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Mequon and Germantown, in the coimty of Washington, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. • 
 
 The towns of Polk, Richfield, and Erin, in the county of Washington, shall 
 constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The towns of Hartford, Addison, West Bend, and North Bend, in the county 
 of Washington, shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The county of Winnebago shall constitute an assembly district. 
 
 The foregoing districts are subject, however, so far to be altered that when 
 any new town shall be organized, it may be added to either of the adjoining as- 
 sembly districts. 
 
 13. Such parts of the common law as are now in force in the territory of Wiscon- 
 sin, not inconsistent -with this constitution, shall be and continue part of the law 
 of this state, until altered or suspended by the legislature. 
 
 14. The senators first elected in the even numbered senate districts, the gover- 
 nor, lieutenant-governor, and other state officers first elected mider this consti- 
 tution, shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices on the first Monday 
 of June next, and sliall continue in office for one year fi-om the first Monday of 
 January next. The senators first elected in the odd numbered senate districts, 
 and the members of the assembly first elected, shall enter upon their duties 
 respectively on the first Monday of June next, and shall continue in office until 
 the first Monday in January next. 
 
 15. The oath of office may be administered by any judge or justice of the 
 peace, until the legislature shall otherwise direct. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 Resolved, That the congress of the United States be and is hereby requested, 
 upon the application of Wisconsin for admission into the Union, so to after ^e 
 provisions of an act of congress entitled " an act to grant a quantity of land to 
 the territory of Wisconsin for the purpose of aiding in opening a canal to connect 
 the waters of lake Michigan with those of Rock river," approved June eighteenth. 
 
536 CONSTITUTION OF WISCONSIN. 
 
 eighteen hundred and thirty-eight ; and so to alter the terms and conditions of 
 the grant made therein, that the odd numbered sections thereby granted and 
 remaining unsold, may be held and disposed of by the state of Wisconsin, as 
 part of tlie five hundred thousand acres of land to which said state is entitled 
 by the provisions of an act of congress, entitled " an act to appropriate the pro- 
 ceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved 
 the fourth day of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one; and further, 
 that the even numbered sections reserved by congress may be offered for sale 
 by tlie United States for the same minimum price, and subject to the same rights 
 of pre-emption as other public lands of the llnited States. 
 
 Resolved, That congress be fiu-ther requested to pass an act whereby the ex- 
 cess price over and above one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, which may 
 have been paid by the piurchasers of said even numbered sections which shall 
 have been sold by the United States, be refunded to the present owners thereof, 
 or they be allowed to enter any of the public lands of the United States, to an 
 amoimt equal in value to the excess so paid. 
 
 Resolved, That in case the odd numbered sections shall be ceded to the state 
 as aforesaid, the same shall be sold by the state in the same manner as other 
 school lauds : Provided, That the same rights of pre-emption as are now granted 
 by the laws of the United States, shall be secured to persons who may be actu- 
 ally settled upon such lands at the time of the adoption of this constitution : 
 And provided further. That the excess price over and above one dollar and 
 twenty-five cents per acre, absolutely or conditionally contracted to be paid by 
 the purchasers of any part of said sections which shall have been sold by the 
 territory of "Wisconsin, shall be remitted to such purchasers, their representatives, 
 or assigns. 
 
 Resolved, That congress be requested, upon the application of Wisconsin for 
 admission into the Union, to pass an act whereby the grant of five hundred 
 thousand acres of land, to which the state of Wisconsin is entitled by the pro- 
 visions of an act of congress entitled " an act to appropriate tSfe proceeds of the 
 sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved the fourth 
 day of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, and also the five per centum 
 of the nett proceeds of the public lands lying within the state, to which it shall 
 become entitled on its admission into the Union, by the provisions of an act of 
 congress, entitled " an act to enable the people of Wisconsin territory to form 
 a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into tlie 
 Union," approved the sixth day of August, eighteen hundred and forty-six, shall 
 be granted to the state of Wisconsin for the use of schools, instead of the pur- 
 poses mentioned in said acts of congress respectively. 
 
 Resolved, That the congress of the United States be, and hereby is, requested, 
 upon the admission of this state into the Union, so to alter the provisions of 
 the act of congress, entitled " an act to grant a certain quantity of land to aid iu 
 the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and to connect the same by 
 a canal in the territory of Wisconsin," that the price of the lands reserved to the 
 United States shall be reduced to the mininum price of the public lands. 
 
 Resolved, That the legislature of this state shall make provision by law for 
 the sale of the lands granted to the state in aid of said improvements, subject to 
 tlie same rights of pre-emption to the settlers thereon, as are now allowed by law 
 to settlers on the pubhc lands. 
 
 Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be appended to and signed with the 
 constitution of Wisconsin, and submitted therewith to the people of this territory, 
 and to the congress of the United States. 
 
 In testimony whereof we have hereimto set our hands, at Madison, the first day 
 of February, A. D. eighteen hundred and forty eight. 
 
 MORGAN L. MARTIN, President. 
 Thomas McHugh, Secretary. 
 
CALIFORNIA. 
 
 This country, during the Spanisli rule, constituted a part of tlie viceroyalty of 
 Mexico, or New Spain. When Mexico became a federal republic, not finding 
 California sufficiently populous to form a state, she established over it a territorial 
 government, of which Los Angeles and Monterey -were the seats. 
 
 A few years since the country between tlie llocky Mountains and the Pacific 
 was unknown ; except in some parts of Oregon, which had been laid open by the 
 discoveries of Capt. Grey, in 1192, and by the explorations of Lewis and Clarke, 
 in 1803. 
 
 The American government, in 1888, sent out a naval Exploring Expedition, 
 under Captain Charles Wilkes, who was directed to make surveys of the coasts 
 of Oregon and California, with special reference to the bay of San Francisco. He 
 pronounced the harbor of San Francisco to be " one of the finest, if not the very 
 best in the world." The town, then called Yerba Buena, " consisted of one large 
 frame building, occupied by the Hudson Bay Company ; the store of an American 
 merchant, a billiard-room, and a bar ; a cabin of a ship, occupied as a dwelling ; — 
 besides out-houses, few and far between." 
 
 The most prominent man in the region was Capt. Sutter, a Swiss by birth, but 
 immigrating from Missouri. Having obtained from Mexico a grant of land thirty 
 leagues square, he located his residence within it, and built a fort at the confluence 
 of the American river witli the Sacramento, near the place since called Sacra- 
 mento City. Capt. Wilkes reported well of the soil and productiveness of the 
 country. He related a recent military contest, in which the scale was turned by 
 the valor of twenty-five American hunters. 
 
 Mr. Polk came into the presidency with a war upon his hands. He doubtless 
 intended so to conduct it that it should redound to the honor and advantage of his 
 country ; bein^ early determined to obtain California and New Mexico. But a 
 project was on foot to place California beyond the reach of the American govern- 
 ment, and under the protection of the British. This was in part to be effected 
 through the agency of Macnamara, an Irish priest, who, before the beginning of 
 the war, visited the city of Mexico, and obtained grants of some of the best ports 
 and most fertile lands of California. Capt. Fremont was sent overland, early in 
 the spring of 1845, to California, ostensibly for scientific exploration, with 63 men, 
 
 537 
 
688 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 composed of the famous and noble hunter and guide, Kit Carson, and others like 
 him, ready, with sinews of steel, to do or to dare ; — furnished with artillery, and 
 armed with Colt's revolvers. If Mr. Polk's object was to counterwork the 
 British plot, his measures and agents were well chosen, and his plans completely 
 successful. 
 
 The Mexican treaty, signed at Gaudalupe Hi'dalgo, Feb. 2, 1848, added to the 
 American Republic vast tracts, of which the California portion had a framework 
 of society adverse to our own, many patriots looked with apprehension for the 
 result, knowing that ordinarily the full river keeps the course first taken by the 
 rivulet. Would enough of our citizens go thither to turn this course — to fuse this 
 portion into the common mass ? Providence presented a material to draw them 
 so quickly, and in such ample numbers, that they at once constituted the prin- 
 cipal stream of Californian society, into which all minor currents, not excepting 
 the original, were merged ; and Gold, the curse of other lands, was a blessing 
 to this. 
 
 In February, 1848, a private discovery of gold was made on the grounds of 
 Capt. Sutter, by a Mr. Marshall, then in his employ, twenty-five miles up the 
 American Fork of the Sacramento. It was soon found in other localities. Rumors 
 of California gold reached the Atlantic States, which were converted to certainty 
 by the President's message of December, 1849, accompanied by a letter from 
 Gov. Mason, who had been in person to visit the gold " diggings." As he passed 
 along, he found houses deserted, and fields of wheat going to ruin ; their owners 
 having left them to dig for gold. Such had been the quantities found, that every 
 convenience of life bore an enormous price. Capt. Sutter paid his blacksmith ten 
 dollars per day ; and he received five hundred dollars per month for the rent of a 
 two-story house within his fort. Gov. Mason followed up the American to the 
 sawmill, in whose raceway the golden scales were first discovered. He visited 
 other " placers," and saw multitudes engaged in the beds of streams, and in dry 
 ravines, where water-courses had once existed. In a little gutter two men had 
 found the value of seventeen thousand dollars. The ordinary yield for a day's 
 work was two ounces. 
 
 Such were the facts reported from unquestionable sources ; and California at 
 once became the one luminous point, to which all eyes were directed. There was 
 a rush for the land of gold, not only from the United States, but from Europe, 
 Asia, South America, and the isles of the sea. 
 
 From December, 1849, to January, 1850, 99 vessels from the United States. 52 
 from N"ew York; 29 from New England. From October, 1849, to October, 1850, 
 one year, arrived at San Francisco, 48,615 immigrants by sea, and 33,000 by land. 
 
 The 13th of October, 1849, will be memorable in the annals of California. On 
 that day the members of the Convention elected to draft a constitution set their 
 signatures to this noble instrument. The President of this body was Robert 
 Semple, a native of Kentucky ; the Secretary, Wm. G. Marcy, of New York. 
 
 The constitution was adopted by the people Nov. 13, 1849. Population, in 
 1860, 200,000. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE I.— Declaration of Rights. 
 
 Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have 
 certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and 
 defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting pro- 
 perty, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 
 
 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is 
 
CALIFORNIA. 539 
 
 instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people ; and 
 they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public 
 good may require it. 
 
 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain 
 inviolate forever ; but a trial by jury may be waived by the parties 
 in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and 
 worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forevei- be allowed 
 in this State : and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a 
 witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; 
 but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so con- 
 strued as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices incon- 
 sistent with the peace or safety of this State. 
 
 6. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
 pended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
 safety may require its suspension. 
 
 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
 nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall wit- 
 nesses be unreasonably detained. 
 
 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for 
 capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. 
 
 8. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
 infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of 
 militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in time 
 of war, or which this State may keep with the consent of Congress 
 in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny under the regulation 
 of the Legislature), unless on presentment or indictment of a grand 
 jury ; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party accused 
 shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, 
 as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in 
 jeopardy for the same offence ; nor shall he be compelled, in any 
 criminal case, to be a witness against himself^ nor be deprived of 
 life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall pri- 
 vate property be taken for public use without just compensation. 
 
 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right ; 
 and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of 
 speech or of the press. Tn all criminal prosecutions on indictments 
 for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it 
 shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, 
 and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the 
 party shall be acquitted ; and the jury shall have the right to deter- 
 mine the law and the fact. 
 
 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together to 
 consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to 
 petition the Legislature for redress of grievances. 
 
 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. 
 
 12. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No 
 
 40 
 
540 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 standing army shall be kept up by this State in time of peace ; and 
 in time of war no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a 
 longer time than two years. 
 
 13. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house 
 without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, except in the 
 manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 14. Representation shall be apportioned according to population. 
 
 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action on 
 mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud ; and no person shall 
 be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. 
 
 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
 obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed. 
 
 17. Foreigners who are, or who may hereafler become bona fide 
 residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the 
 possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property, as native born 
 citizens. 
 
 18. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the pun- 
 ishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State. 
 
 19. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
 papers and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall 
 not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, 
 supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to 
 be searched, and the persons and things to be seized. 
 
 20. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
 against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and com- 
 fort. No, person shall be convicted of treason unless on the evidence 
 of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court. 
 
 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair 
 or deny others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE II.— Right of Suffrage. 
 
 Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, and every 
 white male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a 
 citizen of the United States, under the treaty of peace exchanged and 
 ratified at Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State six 
 months next preceding the election, and the county or district in 
 which he claims his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all 
 elections which are now or hereafler may be authorized by law : 
 Provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent 
 the Legislature, by a two-thirds concurrent vote, from admitting to 
 the right of suffrage Indians or the descendants of Indians, in such 
 special cases as such a proportion of the legislative body may deem 
 just and proper. 
 
 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of 
 the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of the election, 
 during their attendance at such election, going to and returning 
 therefrom. 
 
CALIFORNIA. 541 
 
 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the 
 day of election, except in time of war or public danger. 
 
 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have 
 gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while 
 employed in the service of the United States ; nor while engaged in 
 the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the United States, 
 or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learn- 
 ing ; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at public 
 expense ; nor while confined in any public prison. 
 
 5. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any infa- 
 mous crime, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector. 
 
 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot. 
 
 ARTICLE m.—Distrihutio7i of Powers. 
 
 The powers of the government of the State of California shall be 
 divided 'into three separate departments — the Legislative, the Execu- 
 tive, and Judicial ; and no person charged with the exercise of 
 powers properly belonging to one of these departments, shall exer- 
 cise any functions appertaining to either of the others, except in the 
 cases hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. — Legislative Department, 
 
 Sec. 1 . The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a 
 Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated the Legislature of 
 the State of California, and the enacting clause of every law shall be 
 as follows : " The people of the State of California, represented in 
 Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows." 
 
 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be annual, and shall com- 
 mence on the first Monday of January next ensuing the election of 
 its members, unless the governor of the State shall in the interim 
 convene the Legislature by proclamation. 
 
 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen annually, by 
 the qualified voters of their respective districts, on the Tuesday next 
 after the first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered by the 
 Legislature, and their term of office shall be one year. 
 
 4. Senators and members of Assembly shall be duly qualified 
 electors in the respective counties and districts which they represent. 
 
 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of two years, at the 
 same time and places as members of Assembly ; and no person 
 shall be a member of the Senate or Assembly who has not been a 
 citizen and inhabitant of the State one year, and of the county or 
 district for which he shall be chosen six months next before his 
 election. 
 
 6. The number of senators shall not be less than one-third, nor 
 more than one-half of that of the members of Assembly ; and at 
 the first session of the Legislature after this constitution takes effect, 
 the senators shall be divided by lot as equally as may be, into two 
 
542 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 classes ; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated 
 at the expiration of the first year, so that one-half shall be chosen 
 annually. 
 
 7. When the number of senators is increased, they shall be appor- 
 tioned by lot, so as to keep the two classes as nearly equal in num- 
 ber as possible. 
 
 8. Each house shall choose its own officers and judge of the quali- 
 fications, elections, and returns of its own members. 
 
 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
 ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
 compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under 
 such penalties, as each house may provide. 
 
 10. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, 
 and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of "all the members 
 elected, expel a member. 
 
 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and 
 publish the same ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
 house on any question shall, at the desire of any three members 
 present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 12. Members of the Legislature shall, in all cases except treason, 
 felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, and they 
 shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the 
 Legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and 
 after the termination of each session. 
 
 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the governor, or the 
 person exercising the functions of the governor, shall issue writs of 
 election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occa- 
 sions as in the opinion of the house may require secrecy. 
 
 15. Neither house shall without the consent of the other adjourn 
 for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
 they may be sitting. 
 
 16. Any bill may originate in either house of the Legislature, 
 and all bills passed by one house may be amended in the other. 
 
 17. Every bill which may have passed the Legislature shall 
 before it becomes a law be presented to the governor. If he approve 
 it he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections, 
 to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the same upon 
 the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsidera- 
 tion it again pass both houses by yeas and nays, by a majority of 
 two-thirds of the members of each house present, it shall become a 
 law, notwithstanding the governor's objections. If any bill shall not 
 be returned within ten days after it shall have been presented to 
 him (Sunday excepted), the same shall be a law, in like manner as 
 if he had signed it, unless the Legislature by adjournment prevent 
 such return. 
 
 18. The Assembly shall have the sole power of impeachment; 
 and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting 
 
CALIFORNIA. 548 
 
 for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation ; and 
 no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
 of the members present. 
 
 19. The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comp- 
 troller, treasurer, attorney-general, surveyor-general, justices of the 
 supreme court, and judges of the district courts, shall be* liable to 
 impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment in such 
 cases shall extend only to removal from office, and disqualification 
 to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the State ; but the 
 party convicted or acquitted shall nevertheless be liable to indict- 
 ment, trial and punishment, according to law. All other civil officers 
 shall be tried for misdemeanors in office in such manner as the Legis- 
 lature may provide. 
 
 20. No senator or member of Assembly shall, during the term 
 for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil 
 office of profit under this State, which shall have been created, 
 or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during such 
 term, except such office as may be filled by elections by the people. 
 
 21. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, 
 or any other power, shall be eligible to any civil office of profit under 
 this State : provided, that officers in the militia, to which there is 
 attached no annual salary, or local officers and postmasters whose 
 compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per annum, shall 
 not be deemed lucrative. 
 
 22. No person Vho shall be convicted of the embezzlement or 
 defalcation of the public fiinds of this State, shall ever be eligible to 
 any office of honor, trust or profit, under this State ; and the Legis- 
 lature shall, as soon as practicable, pass a law providing for the 
 punishment of such embezzlement or defalcation as a felony. 
 
 23. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse- 
 quence of appropriations made by law. An accurate statement of 
 the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached 
 to, and published with the laws at every regular session of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 24. The members of the Legislature shall receive for their ser- 
 vices a compensation to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public 
 treasury ; but no increase of the compensation shall take effect 
 during the term for which the members of either house shall have 
 been elected. 
 
 25. Every law enacted by the Legislature shall embrace but one 
 object, 'and that shall be expressed in the title ; and no law shall be 
 revised or amended by reference to its title ; but in such case, the 
 act revised, or section amended, shall be re-enacted and published at 
 length. 
 
 26. No divorce shall be granted by the Legislature. 
 
 27. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, nor shall the 
 sale of lottery tickets be allowed. 
 
 28. The enumeration of the inhabitants of this State Si.-'ll be taken, 
 
544 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 under the direction of the Legislature, in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-two, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, 
 and at the end of every ten years thereafter ; and these enumera- 
 tions, together with the census that may be taken under the direction 
 of the Congress of the United States, in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty, and every subsequent ten years, shall serve as the 
 basis of representation in both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 29. The number of senators and members of Assembly shall, at 
 the first session of the Legislature holden after the enumerations 
 herein provided for are made, be fixed by the Legislature, and appor- 
 tioned among the several counties and districts to be established by 
 law, according to the number of white inhabitants. The number of 
 members of Assembly shall not be less than twenty-four, nor more 
 than thirty-six, until the number of inhabitants within this State 
 shall amount to one hundred thousand ; and after that period, at such 
 ratio that the whole number of members of Assembly shall never 
 be less than thirty, nor more than eighty. 
 
 30. When a congressional, senatorial, or assembly district, shall 
 be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be separated 
 by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall 
 be divided, in forming a congressional, senatorial, or assembly 
 district. 
 
 3L Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not 
 be created by special act, except for municipal purposes. All gene- 
 ral laws and special acts passed pursuant to this section may be 
 altered from time to time, or repealed. 
 
 32. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such individual 
 liability of the corporators, and other means, as may be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 33. The term corporations as used in this article shall be construed 
 to include all associations and joint stock companies having any of 
 the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals 
 or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right to sue, 
 and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts in like cases as natural 
 persons. 
 
 34. The Legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting 
 any charter for banking purposes ; but associations may be formed 
 under general laws for the deposit of gold and silver, but no such 
 association shall make, issue, or put in circulation, any bill, check, 
 ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the j^aper of 
 any bank, to circulate as money. 
 
 35. The Legislature of this State shall prohibit by law, any 
 person or persons, association, company, or corporation, from exer- 
 cising the privileges of banking, or creating paper to circulate as 
 money. 
 
 36. Each stockholder of a corporation, or joint stock association, 
 shall be individually and personally liable for his proportion of all 
 its debts and liabilities. 
 
CALIFORNIA. 545 
 
 37. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for the 
 organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their 
 power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, 
 and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and 
 in contracting debts by such municipal corporations. 
 
 38. In all elections by the Legislature, the members thereof shall 
 vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal. 
 
 ARTICLE V. — Executive Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested 
 in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the State 
 of California. 
 
 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the 
 time and places of voting for members of Assembly, and shall hold 
 his office two years from the time of his installation, and until his 
 successor shall be qualified. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor (except 
 at the first election), who has not been a citizen of the United 
 States, and a resident of this State two years next preceding the 
 election, and attained the age of twenty-five years at the time of said 
 election. 
 
 4. The returns of every election for governor shall be sealed up 
 and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker 
 of the Assembly, who shall, during the first week of the session, open 
 and publish them in presence of both houses of the Legislature. The 
 person having the highest number of votes shall be governor ; but 
 in case any two or more have an equal and the highest number of 
 votes, the Legislature shall, by joint vote of both houses, choose one 
 of said persons, so having an equal and the highest number of votes, 
 for governor. 
 
 5. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, the 
 army and navy of this State. 
 
 6. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of 
 government, civil and military, and may require information in 
 writing from the officers of the executive department, upon any 
 subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
 
 8. When any office shall from any cause become vacant, and no 
 mode is provided by the constitution and laws for filling such 
 vacancy, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy by 
 granting a commission, which shall expire at the end of the next 
 session of the Legislature, or at the next election by the people. 
 
 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Legislature 
 by proclamation, and shall state to both houses when assembled the 
 purpose for which they shall have been convened. 
 
 10. He shall communicate by message to the Legislature at every 
 session the condition of the State, and recommend such matters as 
 he shall deem expedient. 
 
546 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 11. In case of a disagreement between the two houses, with 
 respect to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to 
 adjourn the Legislature to such time as he may think proper : pro- 
 vided it be not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the next 
 Legislature. 
 
 12. No person shall, while holding any office under the United 
 States or this State, exercise the office of governor, except as herein- 
 after expressly provided. 
 
 13. The governor shall have the power to gi'ant reprieves and 
 pardons after conviction, for all offences except treason and cases of 
 impeachment, upon such conditions, and with such restrictions and 
 limitations as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as 
 may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for 
 pardons. Upon conviction for treason he shall have the power to 
 suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported 
 to the Legislature at its next meeting, when the Legislature shall 
 either pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further 
 reprieve. He shall communicate to the Legislature, at the begin- 
 ning of every session, every case of reprieve or pardon granted, 
 stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he was con- 
 victed, the sentence, at its date, and the date of the pardon or 
 reprieve. 
 
 14. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the 
 governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called " The great 
 seal of the State of California." 
 
 15. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the 
 authority of the people of the State of California, sealed with the 
 great seal of the State, signed by the governor, and countersigned 
 by the secretary of state. 
 
 16. A lieutenant governor shall be elected at the same time and 
 places, and in the same manner as the governor ; and his term of 
 office, and his qualifications of eligibility, shall also be the same. 
 He shall be president of the Senate, but shall only have a casting 
 vote therein. If during a vacancy of the office of governor the lieu- 
 tenant governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die-, or become 
 incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from 
 the State, the president of the Senate shall act as governor until the 
 vacancy be filled, or the disability shall cease. 
 
 17. In case of the impeachment of the governor, or his removal 
 from office, death, inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
 the said office, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers 
 and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor 
 for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease. But 
 when the governor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out 
 of the State in time of war, and at the head of any military force 
 thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief of the military force 
 of the State. 
 
 18. A secretary of state, a comptroller, a treasurer, an attorney- 
 
CALIFORNIA. 547 
 
 general, and surveyor-general, shall be chosen in the manner provided 
 in this constitution ; and the term of office and eligibility of each 
 shall be the same as are prescribed for the governor and lieutenant 
 governor. 
 
 19. The secretary of state shall be appointed by the governor, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He shall keep a 
 fair record of the official acts of the legislative and executive depart- 
 ments of the government, and shall, when required, lay the same, 
 and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legis- 
 lature ; and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned him 
 by law. 
 
 20. The comptroller, treasurer, attorney-general and surveyor-gen- 
 eral, shall be chosen by joint vote of the two houses of the Legisla- 
 ture, at their first session under this constitution, and thereafter shall 
 be elected at the same time ^and places, and in the same manner, as 
 the governor and lieutenant governor. 
 
 21. The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comp- 
 troller, treasurer, attorney-general, and surveyor-general, shall each, 
 at stated times during their continuance in office, receive for their 
 services a compensation, which shall not be increased or diminished 
 during the term for which they shall have been elected ; but neither 
 of these officers shall receive for his own use any fees for the per- 
 formance of his official duties. 
 
 ARTICLE Nl.— Judicial Department. 
 
 Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a 
 supreme court, in district courts, in county courts, and in justices of 
 the peace. The Legislature may also establish such municipal and 
 other inferior courts as may be deemed necessary. 
 
 2. The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and two 
 associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum. 
 
 3. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected at the gen- 
 eral election by the qualified electors of the State, and shall hold 
 their office for the term of six years from the first day of January 
 next after their election ; provided that the Legislature shall, at its 
 first meeting, elect a chief justice and two associate justices of the 
 supreme court, by joint vote of both houses, and so classify them 
 that one shall go out of office every two years. After the first elec- 
 tion the senior justice in commission shall be the chief justice. 
 
 4. The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction in all cases 
 when the matter in dispute exceeds two hundred dollars, when the 
 legality of any tax, toll, or impost or municipal fine is in question, 
 and in all criminal cases amounting to felony or questions of law 
 alone. And the said court, and each of the justices thereof, as well 
 as all district and county judges, shall have power to issue writs of 
 habeas corpus at the instance of any person held in actual custody. 
 They shall also have power to issue all other writs and process 
 
548 CONSTITUTION OP 
 
 necessary to the exercise of their appellate jurisdiction, and shall be 
 conservators of the peace throughout the State. 
 
 5. The State shall be divided by the first Legislature into a con- 
 venient numl^er of districts, subject to such alteration from time to 
 time as the public good may require, for each of which a district 
 judge shall'be appointed by the joint vote of the Legislature, at its 
 first meeting, who shall hold his oflice for two years from the first 
 day of January next after his election ; after which said judges shall 
 be elected by the qualified electors of their respective districts, at 
 the general election, and shall hold their office for the term of six 
 years. 
 
 6. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in law and 
 equity in all civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds two 
 hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. In all criminal cases not 
 otherwise provided for, and in all issues of fact joined in the probate 
 courts, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. 
 
 7. The Legislature shall provide for the election by the people of 
 a clerk of the supreme court, and county clerks, district attorneys, 
 sheriffs, coroners, and other necessary officers ; and shall fix by 
 law their duties and compensation. County clerks shall be, 
 ex-officio, clerks of the district courts in and for their respective 
 counties. 
 
 8. There shall be elected in each of the organized counties of this 
 State, one county judge, who shall hold his office for four years. 
 He shall hold the county court, and perform the duties of surrogate, 
 or probate judge. The county judge, with two justices of the 
 peace, to be designated according to law, shall hold courts of ses- 
 sions, with such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature shall pre- 
 scribe, and he shall perform such other duties as shall be required 
 by law. 
 
 9. The county courts shall have such jurisdiction, in cases arising 
 in justices' courts, and in special cases, as the Legislature may pre- 
 scribe, but shall have no original civil jurisdiction except in such 
 special cases. 
 
 10. The times and places of holding the terms of the supreme 
 court, and the general and special terms of the district courts within 
 the several districts, shall be provided for by law. 
 
 IL No judicial oflficer, except a justice of the peace, shall receive 
 to his own use any fees or perquisites of office. 
 
 12. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of 
 all statute laws, and of such judicial decisions as it may deem expe- 
 dient ; and all laws and judicial decisions shall be free for publica- 
 tion by any person. 
 
 13. Tribunals for conciliation may be established, with such 
 powers and duties-as may be prescribed by law ; but such tribunals 
 shall have no power to render judgment to be obligatory on the par- 
 ties, except they voluntarily submit their matters in difference, and 
 
CALIFORNIA. 549 
 
 agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto in the presence of 
 such tribunal, in such cases as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 14. The Legislature shall determine the number of justices of the 
 peace to be elected in each county, city, town, and incorporated 
 village of the State, and fix by law their powers, duties, and respon- 
 sibilities. It shall also determine in what cases appeals may be 
 made from justices' courts to the county court. 
 
 15. The justices of the supreme court, and judges of the district 
 court, shall severally, at stated times during their continuance in 
 office, receive for their services a compensation, to be paid out of the 
 treasury, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term 
 for which they shall have been elected. The county judges shall also 
 severally, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation 
 to be paid out of the county treasury of their respective counties, 
 which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which 
 they shall have been elected. 
 
 16. The justices of the supreme court and district judges shall be 
 ineligible to any other office during the term for which they shall 
 have been elected. 
 
 17. Judges shall not charge juries with respect to matters of fact, 
 but may state the testimony and declare the law. 
 
 18. The style of all process shall be, "The People of the State 
 of California ;" all the prosecutions shall be conducted in the name 
 and by the authority of the same. 
 
 ARTICLE Nil.— Militia. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing and 
 disciplining the militia, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, 
 not incompatible with the constitution and laws of the United 
 States. 
 
 2. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed, in such a 
 manner as the Legislature shall from time to time direct, and shall 
 be commissioned by the governor. 
 
 3. The governor shall have power to call forth the militia, to 
 execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and repel 
 invasions. 
 
 ARTICLE mil.—State Debts. 
 
 The Legislature shall not in any manner create any debt or debts, 
 liability or liabilities, which shall singly or in the aggregate, with 
 any previous debts or liabilities, exceed the sum of three hundred 
 thousand dollars, except in case of war, to repel invasion or suppress 
 insurrection, unless the same shall be authorized by some law for 
 some single object or work, to be distinctly specified therein, which 
 law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans, for the pay- 
 ment of the interest of such debt or liability as it falls due, and also 
 pay and discharge the principal of such debt or liability within 
 twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof, and shall be 
 
550 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 irrepealable until the principal and interest thereon shall be paid and 
 discharged ; but no such law shall take effect until, at a general elec- 
 tion, it shall have been submitted to the people, and have received a 
 majority of ail the votes cast for and against it at such election ; and 
 all money raised by authority of such law shall be applied only 
 to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt 
 thereby created ; and such law shall be published in at least one 
 newspaper in each judicial district, if one be published therein, 
 throughout the State, for three months next preceding the election at 
 which it is submitted to the people. 
 
 ARTICLE IX,— Education. 
 
 Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide for the election by the 
 people of a superintendent of public instruction, who shall hold his 
 office for three years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law, 
 and who shall receive such compensation as the Legislature may 
 direct. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the pro- 
 motion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improve- 
 ment. The proceeds of all land that may be granted by the United 
 States to this State for the support of schools, which may be sold or 
 disposed of, and the five hundred thousand acres of land granted to 
 the new States, under an act of Congress, distributing the proceeds of 
 the public lands among the several States of the Union, approved a. d. 
 1841 ; and all estates of deceased persons who may have died with- 
 out leaving a will, or heir, and also such per cent, as may be granted 
 by Congress on the sale of lands in this State, shall be and remain a 
 perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with all the rents of 
 the unsold lands, and such other means as the Legislature may pro- 
 vide, shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of common 
 schools throughout the State. 
 
 3. The Legislature shall provide for a system of common schools, 
 by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each district at 
 least three months in every year, and any school neglecting to keep 
 and support such a school, may be deprived of its proportion of the 
 interest of the public fund during such neglect. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall take measures for the protection, improve- 
 ment, or other disposition of such lands as have been, or may here- 
 after be reserved or granted by the United States, or any person or 
 persons, to the State for the use of a university ; and the funds 
 accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other 
 source for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent 
 fund, the interest of which §hall be applied to the support of said 
 university, with such branches as the public convenience may 
 demand, for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, as 
 may be authorized by the terms of such grant. And it shall be the 
 duty of the Legislature, as soon as may be, to provide effectual 
 
CALIFORNIA. 551 
 
 means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds of 
 said university. 
 
 ARTICLE 'K.-^Mode of Amending and Revising the Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may 
 be proposed in the Senate or Assembly ; and if the same shall be 
 agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two 
 houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered 
 on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred 
 to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published for 
 three months next preceding the time of making such choice. And 
 if, in the Legislature next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed 
 amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all 
 the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the 
 Legislature to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to 
 the people in such manner and at such time as the Legislature shall 
 prescribe ; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amend- 
 ment or amendments by a majority of the electors qualified to vote . 
 for members of the Legislature, voting thereon, such amendment or 
 amendments shall become part of the constitution. 
 
 2. And if at any time two-thirds of the Senate and Assembly shall 
 think it necessary to revise and change this entire constitution, they 
 shall recommend to the electors, at the next election for members 
 of the Legislature, to vote for or against the convention ; and if it 
 shall appear that a majority of the electors voting at such election 
 have voted in favor of calling a convention, the Legislature shall at 
 its next session provide by law for calling a convention, to be holden 
 within six months after the passage of such law ; and such conven- 
 tion shall consist of a number of members not less than that of both 
 branches of the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. — Miscellaneous Provisions. 
 
 Sec. 1. The first session of the Legislature shall be held at the 
 Pueblo de San Jose, which place shall be the permanent seat of gov- 
 ernment until removed by law : Provided, however, that two-thirds 
 of all the members elected to each house of the Legislature shall 
 concur in the passage of such law. 
 
 2. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption of this 
 constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or accept a 
 challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, either within this 
 State or out of it ; or who shall act as second, or knowingly aid or 
 assist in any manner those thus offending, shall not be allowed 
 to hold any office of profit, or to enjoy the right of suffrage under 
 this constitution. 
 
 3. Members of the Legislature, and. all officers, executive and 
 judicial, except such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, 
 shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take 
 and subscribe the following oath or affirmation : 
 
552 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 " I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will 
 support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution 
 of the State of California, and that I will faithfully discharge the 
 duties of the office of , according to the best of my ability." 
 
 And no other oath, declaration or test, shall be required as a qual- 
 ification for any office or public trust. 
 
 4. The Legislature shall establish a system of county and town 
 governments, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable through- 
 out the State. 
 
 5. The Legislature shall have power to provide for the election 
 of a board of supervisors in each county ; and these supervisors 
 shall jointly and individually perform such duties as may be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 6. All officers whose election or appointment is not provided for 
 by this constitution, and all officers whose offices may hereafter be 
 created by law, shall be elected by the people, or appointed as the 
 Legislature may direct. 
 
 7. .When the duration of any office is not provided for by this 
 constitution, it may be declared by law, and if not so declared, such 
 office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the 
 appointment ; nor shall the duration of any office not fixed by this 
 constitution ever exceed four years. 
 
 8. The fiscal year shall commence on the first day of July. 
 
 9. Each county, town, city, and incorporated village, shall make 
 provision for the support of its own officers, subject to such restric- 
 tions and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe. 
 
 10. The credit of the State shall not in any manner be given or 
 loaned to, or in aid of any individual, association, or corporation ; 
 nor shall the State directly or indirectly become a stockholder in 
 any association or corporation. 
 
 11. Suits may be brought against the State in such manner, and 
 in such courts, as shall be directed by law. 
 
 12. No contract of marriage, if otherwise duly made, shall be 
 invalidated for want of conformity to the requirements of any reli- 
 gious sect. 
 
 13. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. 
 All property in this State shall be taxed in proportion to its value, 
 to be ascertained as directed by law ; but assessors and collectors 
 of town, county and State taxes, shall be elected by the qualified 
 electors of the district, county or town, in which the property taxed 
 for State, county, or town purposes, is situated. 
 
 14. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned or 
 claimed by marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise, or 
 descent, shall be her separate property ; and laws shall bc passed more 
 clearly defining the rights of the wife, in relation as well to her sepa- 
 rate property, as to that held in common with her husband. Laws 
 shall also be passed providing for the registration of the wife's sepa- 
 rate property. 
 
CALIFORNIA. 563 
 
 15. The Legislature shall protect by law from forced sale a 
 certain portion of the homestead and other property of all heads of 
 families. 
 
 16. No perpetuities shall be allowed, except for elemosynary 
 purposes. 
 
 17. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office of 
 profit in this State who shall have been convicted of having given, 
 or offered a bribe, to procure his election or appointment. 
 
 18. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, serving on juries, 
 and from the right of suffrage, those who shall hereafter be con- 
 victed of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes. The 
 privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating 
 elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influ- 
 ence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper 
 practice. 
 
 19. Absence from this State on business of the State, or of the 
 United States, shall not affect the question of residence of any 
 person. 
 
 20. A plurality of the votes given at an election shall constitute 
 a choice, where not otherwise directed in this constitution. 
 
 21. All laws, decrees, regulations, and provisions, which from 
 their nature require publication, shall be published in English and 
 Spanish. 
 
 ARTICLE Xl\.— Boundary. 
 
 The boundary of the State of California shall be as follows : 
 Commencing at the point of intersection of forty-second degree 
 of north latitude with the one hundred and twentieth degree of longi- 
 tude west from Greenwich, and running south on the line of said one 
 hundred and twentieth degree of west longitude until it intersects 
 the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude ; thence running in a straight 
 line in a south-easterly direction to the river Colorado, at a point 
 where it intersects the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude ; thence 
 down the middle of the channel of said river, to the boundary line 
 between the United States and Mexico, as established by the treaty 
 of May 30th, 1848 ; thence running west and along said boundary 
 line to the Pacific Ocean, and extending therein three English 
 miles ; thence running in a north-westerly direction, and following 
 the direction of the Pacific coast to the forty-second degree of north 
 latitude ; thence on the line of said forty-second degree of north lati- 
 tude to the place of beginning. Also all the islands, harbors and 
 bays, along and adjacent to the Pacific coast. 
 
564 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 Sec, 1. All rights, prosecutions, claims and contracts, as well of individuals as 
 of bodies corporate, aiid all laws in force at the time of the adoption of this con- 
 stitution, and not inconsistent therewith, until altered or repealed by the Legisla- 
 ture, shall continue as if the same had not been adopted. 
 
 2. The Legislature shall provide for the removal of all causes which may be 
 pending when this constitution goes into effect, to courts created by the same. 
 
 3. In order that no inconvenience may result to the public service from the 
 taking effect of this constitution, no office shall be superseded thereby, nor the 
 laws relative to the duties of the several officers be changed, until the entering 
 into office of the new officers to be appointed under this constitution. 
 
 4. The provisions of this constitution concerning the term of residence necessary 
 to enable persons to hold certain offices therein mentioned, shall not be held to 
 apply to officers chosen by the people at the first election, or by the Legislature 
 at its first session. " 
 
 5. Every citizen of California declared a legal voter by this constitution, and 
 every citizen of the United States a resident of this State on the day of election, 
 shall be entitled to vote at the first general election under this constitution, and on 
 the question of the adoption thereof 
 
 6. This constitution shall be submitted to the people, for their ratification or 
 rejection, at the general election to be held on Tuesday, the thirteenth day of 
 November next The executive of the existing government of California is hereby 
 requested to issue a proclamation to the people, directing the pi efects of the seve- 
 ral districts, or in case of vacancy, tlie sub-prefects, or senior judge of first instance, 
 to cause such election to be held, the day aforesaid, in the respective districts. 
 The election shall be conducted in the manner which was prescribed for the elec- 
 tion of delegates to this convention, except that the prefect, sub-prefect, or senior 
 judge of first instance ordering such election in each district, shall have power to 
 designate any additional number of places for opening the polls, and that in every 
 place of holding the election a regular poll hst shall be kept by the judges and 
 inspectors of election. It shaU also be the duty of these judges and inspectors of 
 election, on the day aforesaid, to receive the votes of the electors qualified to vote 
 at such election. Each voter shall express his opinion, by depositing in the ballot 
 box a ticket, whereon shall be written, or printed, "For the Constitution," or 
 " Against the Constitution," or some such words as will distinctly convey the 
 intention of the voter. These judges and inspectors shall also receive the votes 
 for the several officers to be voted for at the said election as herein provided. At 
 the close of the election, the judges and inspectors shall carefully count each 
 ballot, and forthwith make duplicate returns thereof to the prefect, sub-prefect, 
 or senior judge of first instance, as the case may be, of their respective districts ; 
 and said prefect, sub-prefect, or senior judge of first instance, shall transmit one of 
 the same, by the most safe and rapid conveyance, to the secretary of state. Upon 
 the receipt of said returns, or on the tenth day of December next, if the returns 
 be not sooner received, it shall be the duty of a board of canvassers, to consist of 
 the secretary of state, one of the judges of the superior court, the prefect, judge 
 of first instance, and an alcalde of the district of Monterey, or any three of the 
 aforementioned officers, in the presence of all who shall choose to attend, to com- 
 pare the votes given at said election, and to immediately publish an abstract of 
 the same in one or more of the newspapers of California" And the executive will 
 also immediately after ascertaining that the constitution has been ratified by 
 the people, make proclamation of the fact ; and thenceforth this constitution shall 
 be ordained and established as the constitution of Cahfornia. 
 
 1. If this constitution shall be ratified by the people of California, the executive 
 of the existing government is hereby requested immediately after the same shall 
 be ascertained, in the manner herein directed, to cause a fair copy thereof to be 
 
CALIFORNIA. 555 
 
 forwarded to the President of the United States, in order that he may lay it before 
 the Congress of the United States. 
 
 8. At the general election aforesaid, viz. the thirteenth day of November next, 
 there shall be elected a governor, lieutenant governor, members of the Legislature, 
 and also two members of Congress. 
 
 9. If this constitution shall be ratij&ed by the people of Cahfornia, the Legis- 
 lature shall assemble at the seat of government on the fifteenth day of December 
 next ; and in order to complete the organization of that body, the Senate shall 
 elect a president 'pro tempore until the lieutenant governor shall be installed into 
 oflSce. 
 
 10. On the organization of the Legislature, it shall, be the duty of the secretary 
 of state to lay before each house a copy of the abstract made by the board of 
 canvassers, and if called for, the original returns of election, in order that each 
 house may judge of the correctness of the report of said board of canvassers. 
 
 11. The Legislature at its first session shall elect such officers as may be ordered 
 by this constitution to be elected by that body, and within four days after its 
 organization proceed to elect two senators to the Congress of the United Statea 
 But no law passed by this Legislature shall take effect until signed by the gover- 
 nor after his installation into office. 
 
 12. The senators and representatives to the Congress of the United States, 
 elected by the Legislature and people of California as herein directed, shall be 
 furnished with certified copies of this constitution when ratified, which they shall 
 lay before the Congress of the United States, requesting, in the name of the people 
 of Cahfornia, the admission of the State of California into the American Union. 
 
 13. All officers of this State, other than members of the Legislature, shall be 
 installed into office on the fifteenth day of December next, or as soon thereafter as 
 practicable. 
 
 14. Until the Legislature shall divide the State into counties, and senatorial and 
 assembly districts, as directed by this constitution, the following shall be the 
 apportionment of the two houses of the Legislature, viz : the districts of San Diego 
 and Los Augelos shall jointly elect two senators ; the districts of Santa Barbara 
 and San Luis Obispo shall jointly elect one senator ; the district of Monterey, one 
 senator ; the district of San Jose, one senator ; the district of San Francisco, two 
 senators ; the district of Sonoma, one senator ; the district of Sacramento, four 
 senators ; and the district of San Joaquin, four senators. And the district of San 
 Diego shall elect one member of assembly ; the district of Los Angelos, two mem- 
 bers of assembly ; the district of Santa Barbara, two members of assembly ; the 
 district of San Luis Obispo, one member of assembly ; the district of Monterey, 
 two members of assembly ; the district of San Jose, three members of assembly,; 
 the district of San Francisco, five members of assembly ; the district of Sonoma, 
 two members of assembly ; the district of Sacramento, nine members of assembly ; 
 and the district of San Joaquin, nine members of assembly. 
 
 15. Until the Legislature shall otherwise direct, in accordance with the provi- 
 sions of this constitution, the salary of the governor shall be ten thousand dollars 
 per annum ; and the salary of the lieutenant governor shall be double the pay of a 
 State senator ; and the pay of members of the Legislature shall be sixteen dollars 
 per diem while in attendance, and sixteen dollars for every twenty miles travel by 
 the usual route from their residences, to the place of holding the session of the 
 Legislature, and in returning therefrom. And the Legislature shall fix the salaries 
 of all officers, other than those elected by the people at the first election. 
 
 16. The hmitation of the powers of the Legislature, contained in article 8th of 
 this constitution, shall not extend to the first Legislature elected under the same, 
 which is hereby authorized to negotiate for such amo\mt as may be necessary to 
 pay the expenses of the State government. 
 
 41 
 
A. S. BARNES & COMPANY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Be Toeq ueville' s Great Work on America. 
 
 THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! 
 
 ITS POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS KEVIEWED AND EXAMINED. 
 
 BY ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE, 
 
 MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. 
 
 "This sterling work on the genius of the Political Institutions of the United States 
 has long been regarded as a classical production. The London Thnes, among nu- 
 merous other high critical authorities, pronoimces it the most profoundly philosophical 
 and able work ever written on the subject of which it treats. Similar distinguished 
 praise is awarded to it as an elucidation of the theory of the Democratic principle, and 
 the mode of its practical operation in America. This erudite work, by M. de Tocque- 
 ville, has attracted great attention throughout Europe, as well as this country,* where 
 it is appealed to as the standard authority on the subject." 
 
 " M. De TocqueviUe shows himself to be an original thinker, an acute observer, and 
 an eloquent writer. We regard his work as by far the most philosophical, ingenious, 
 and instructive which has been produced in Euiope on the subject of An\ierica. There 
 is no eulogy in it, no detraction ; but throughout a manly love of truth. The observa- 
 tions of the author uniformly discover a high degree of acuteness and discrimination. 
 This valuable work cannot be read either in Europe or America without working new 
 and profitable trains of thought." — J^orth American Review. 
 
 '' M. De Tocqueville's able volumes have conferred upon him the highest rank as a 
 pohtical writer ; his practical observations have been tested by the most competent 
 judges — the Americans and the English ; and his speculative inquiries have been 
 applauded and cited by the first statesmen of the age, whilst they have taken their 
 place amongst the most valuable results of modern political science. But the language 
 of panegyric is not required to draw attention to this book, or to enhance its value ; we 
 only trust that it may be as generally and profitably studied as it has been wisely and 
 conscientiously written." — British and Foreign (Quarterly Review. 
 
 "De Tocqueville's great work on the United States has received imiversal com- 
 mendation. . . . After the French Revolution of 1830, De TocqueviUe came to the 
 determination to visit the United States, study our institutions of government, and 
 report the results of his investigations. He had a distinct conception of the democratic 
 principle. It was his aim to discover the manner of its embodiment, and the practical 
 illustration given to it by our institutions. He examined the structure of government, 
 in all its parts, as it here exists ; in its legislative, executive, and judicial forms ; and in 
 all its grades of operation, from that of the federal government of the Union, down to 
 those little communities, the townships ; and including, of course, the State govern- 
 ments, and the organizations of counties, cities, and towns. He investigated the 
 character of each of these distinct organizations, and the nature and extent of the 
 powers confided to each of them. A profound admiration was awakened for the 
 author, at the extent of his reseai-ch, his philosophical depth and fidelity to truth, his 
 cool candor, and his patriotic devotion to the democratic theory of government. No 
 writer, before or since, has made so profound an analysis of our institutions as De 
 TocqueviUe. The whole machinery of government is reviewed by him, and a critical 
 examination is made of its structure, its operations, its excellences, and its defects. 
 No library should be without De TocqueviUe ; no class should leave a college or a 
 high school until they have taken their first great lesson in democracy, (using the 
 word in no party sense,) from the profound teachings of De TocquevUle." — Worcesttr 
 Palladium. 
 
A. B. BARNES Ac COMPANY S PUBLlGATlONb. 
 Davi*^ Sytttm of Mathematics. 
 
 MATHEMATICAL WORKS, 
 
 EN ▲ SS&IXS or TH&SK PARTS: 
 
 ARITHMETICAL, ACADEMICAL, AND COLLEGE TK. 
 
 BY CHARLES DAYIES, LLP 
 
 I THE ARITHMETICAL COURSE FOR SCHOOLS. 
 
 1. PRIMARY TABLE-BOOK. 
 
 2. FIRST LESSONS IN ARITHMETIC. 
 
 3. SCHOOL ARITHMETIC. (Key Separate.) 
 
 4. GRAMMAR OF ARITHMETIC. 
 
 II. THE ACADEMIC COURSE. 
 
 1. THE UNIVERSITY ARITHMETIC. (Key Separate.) 
 
 2. PRACTICAL GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION. 
 
 8. ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA. (Key Separate.) 
 
 4. ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY. 
 6. ELEMENTS OF SURVEYING. 
 
 IN. THE COLLEGIATE COURSE. 
 
 1. DAVIES* bourdon's ALGEBRA. 
 
 2. DAVIES' LEGENDRe's GEOMETRY AHD TRIOONOMKTRY. 
 
 3. DA vies' ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY.. 
 
 4. DAVIES' DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY. 
 
 6. DA vies' SHADES, SHADOWS, AND PERSPECTIVE. 
 €. DA vies' DIFFERENTIAL AND INTEGRAL CALCULUS. 
 
 • DAYIES' liOGIC AND UTILITY OF MATHEMATICS, 
 
 This series, combining aU that is most valuable in the yarious methods of European 
 Instniction, im^oved and matured by the suggestions of more than thirty years' expe- 
 rience, now forms the only complete consecutive course of Mathematics. Its method*, 
 harmfonizing as the works of one mind, carry the student onward by the same unalo^tw 
 ind the same laws of association, and are calculated to impart a comprehensive linow »- 
 edge of the science, combining clearness in the several branches, and unity aod propor 
 tion in the whole. Being the system so long in use at West Point, through which so 
 many men, eminent for their scientific attainments, have passed, and hsviug been 
 adopted, as Text Books, by most of the colleges in the United States, it may b« jasU} 
 ragarded as our 
 
 NATIONAL SYSTEM OF MATHEMATICS. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 RENEWALS ONLY— TEL. NO. 642-3405 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 'f\ 
 
 L, 
 
 or 
 
 RECefVgrji 
 
 0CT12'68-2f'>l 
 
 dEC'DLD MAR 7 
 
 r : . Bi) 
 
 APR 2 1 199& 
 
 73 -2 PM 3 7 
 
 S 
 
 w- 
 
 LD 21A-38m-5,'68 
 (J401slO)476B 
 
 "«'"'• LD 21A-50m-4,'60 
 timW (A9562sl0)476B 
 
 unu«aal degree of judgment in 
 
 General Library 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley _ 
 
 "^ General Library 
 
 University of California 
 Berkeley 
 
 heir preparutiou for tliu udc of ■ ' 
 
 Jo private families in this amniry. ''''—PMladelphia Bulletin. 
 
 :'' "The titles furnish a key to the contents, and it is only necessary for us to say 
 .;o that the material of each vohime is admirably worked up, presenting with sutficient 
 ■'■:> fulness and with much clearness of method the several subjects which are treated." 
 :' — Cincinnati Oazette. 
 
C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES' 
 
 A. S. BARNES & COMPANY'S PU'^LICATIOJ^S. 
 
 NATURAL \m EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY, 
 
 FOR SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES. 
 BY R. G. PARKER. ,J\. M. 
 
 M64183 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 .jrmrtnifrrr 
 
 .'* We predict for this valuable and beautifully-printed work the utmost success." 
 —J^l^ark J)ai/y Advertiser. f 
 
 "Thfe present volume strikes us as having very marked merit." — J<. Y. C&urier. 
 
 "It eeepis to me to have hit a happy medium between the too simple and the 
 too abslr;K;l." — B. Ji. Smith, PrinciptU of Leicester Ac(fdeviyi. J^fnss:. 
 
 " I have no hesitation in saying that Parker's Natural Philosophy is tiie most 
 valuable elementary work I have seen."— Oi^iert ^,angdon Hume, Prof.JVat. Phil. 
 JV. Y. City. ■ - " 
 
 "I am happy to say that Parker's Philosophy will b« introduced and adopted in 
 ' Victoria. College,' at the comniehcement of the next collegiate year in autumn; 
 Hnd 1 hope thiii..W.iH be but the coramencehaent of the use of so valuable an ele- 
 mentary work in our scl^yols in this courfOy. The small work of Parker's (.Parker's 
 I'ii-st Lessons) was introduced the last terra in a primary cliiss of the institution 
 referred to, and that with gr^t success, 1 intend to recommend its use shortly into 
 the model school in this city, and the larger work to the students of the provincial 
 Normal School." — E. Rye,r.-ion, Superintendent of Public Instructiun of Upper Canada. 
 
 ''l have examined Parker's First Lessons and Compendium of Natural and Ex- 
 perimental Philosophy, and am much pleased with them. I have long lelt dissati?- 
 laction witli the Text-Books on this subject most in use in this section, luid am 
 hap[)y now to find books that I can recommend. I shall introduce the m imme- 
 diately into my school."— //^irar/i Orcutt, Principal of Thet/vrd Academy, Vermont. 
 
 " I hnve no hesitntion in pronouncing it the best work on th-- subject now published. 
 We shall usf it here, and I have already secured its adoption in some of the high- 
 
 soliooisHiid ar,i.i(-inic's in our viciiiilv." — J\L J). Lcirtr,'ii. Sun. tVurrrii I'uhlir. Si-Mkd s. 
 
 «> 
 
ru