Fines and

Section 15. All fines, quarter sales, or other like requarter sales straints upon alienation reserved in any grant of land, hereafter to be made, shall be void.

abolished.

Sale of lands.

ture.

Common law.

Section 16. No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this State, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred 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.

Old colony Section 17. Such parts of the common law, and of the laws and acts acts of the Legislature of the colony of New-York, as of the legislatogether 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 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on the twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, which have not since expired, or been repealed or altered, and such acts of the Legislature of this State as are now in force, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such alterations as the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 Commission- this Constitution, shall appoint three commissioners, ers to be ap- whose duty it shall be to reduce into a written and pointed. systematic code the whole body of the law of this State, or so much and such parts thereof as to the said commissioners 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.

Their duties.

1775.

Section 18. All grants of land within this State, made Grants of by the King of Great Britain, or persons acting under land since his authority, after the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, shall be null and void; but nothing contained in this Constitution shall affect any grants of land within this State, made Prior grants. by the authority of the said King or his predecessors, or shall annul any charters 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 II.

Section 1. Every male citizen of the age of twenty- Qualification one years, who shall have been a citizen for ten days, of voters. and an inhabitant of this State one year next preceding any election, and for the last four months a resident 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 Freehold rehe shall have been for three years a citizen of this State, quired for and for one year next preceding any election shall have man of color. been seized and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged thereon, and shall have been actually rated and paid a tax thereon, shall be entitled to vote at such election. And no person of color shall be subject to direct taxation unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as aforesaid. Section 2. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage all persons who have been or may be cluded from

Persons ex

right of suffrage.

Certain employments not to affect

voters.

convicted of bribery, of larceny or of any infamous crime; and for depriving every person who shall make, or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, from the right to vote at such election.

Section 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence, by rearesidence of son 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 learning; nor while kept at any alms house, or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison.

Laws to be passed.

Election to

Section 4. Laws shall be made for ascertaining by proper proofs the citizens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established.

Section 5. All elections by the citizens shall be by be by ballot. ballot, except for such town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen.

Legislative

power.

Senate, number of Assembly, number of.

State divided

ARTICLE III.

Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly.

Section 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-two members, and the Senators shall be chosen for two years. The Assembly shall consist of one hundred and twenty-eight members, who shall be annually elected.

Section 3. The State shall be divided into thirtyinto 32 sena- two districts, to be called Senate Districts, each of which shall choose one Senator. The districts shall be numbered from one to thirty-two inclusive.

torial dis

tricts.

No. 1.

No. 2.

No. 3, 4, 5, and 6.

District number one (1) shall consist of the counties of Suffolk, Richmond and Queens.

District number two (2) shall consist of the county of Kings.

District number three (3) number four (4) number five (5) and number six (6) shall consist of the city and Board of su- county of New York; and the board of supervisors of pervisors of said city and county shall, on or before the first day of

New York

county into

tricts

May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, the city of divide the said city and county into the number of sen- to divide the ate districts to which it is entitled, as near as may be of an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens 4 senate disand 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 Certificate, the population thereof, to be filed in the office of the &c., to be Secretary of State, and of the clerk of the said city and county.

filed.

District number seven (7) shall consist of the counties No. 7. of Westchester, Putnam and Rockland.

District number eight (8) shall consist of the counties No. 8. of Dutchess and Columbia.

District number nine (9) shall consist of the counties No. 9. of Orange and Sullivan.

District number ten (10) shall consist of the counties No. 10. of Ulster and Greene.

District number eleven (11) shall consist of the coun- No. 11. ties of Albany and Schenectady.

District number twelve (12) shall consist of the No. 12. county of Rensselaer.

District number thirteen (13) shall consist of the No. 13. counties of Washington and Saratoga.

District number fourteen (14) shall consist of the No. 14. counties of Warren, Essex and Clinton.

District number fifteen (15) shall consist of the coun- No. 15. ties of St. Lawrence and Franklin.

District number sixteen (16) shall consist of the No. 16. counties of Herkimer, Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery.

District number seventeen (17) shall consist of the No. 17. counties of Schoharie and Delaware.

District number eighteen (18) shall consist of the No. 18. counties of Otsego and Chenango.

District number nineteen (19) shall consist of the No. 19. county of Oneida.

No. 20.

No. 21.

No. 22.

No. 23.

No. 24.

No. 25.

No. 26.

No. 27.

No. 28.

No. 29.

No. 30.

No. 31.

No. 32.

Census to be

years.

Senate districts how altered.

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 Monroe.

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.

District number thirty (30) shall consist of the counties of Allegany 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.

Section 4. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the taken in 1855 State shall be taken, under the direction of the Legisand every ten lature, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fiftyfive, and at the end of every ten years thereafter; 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.