militia officer for one month, and may also fufpend or remove any regular officer in the land or fea fervice; and the governor may remove or fufpend any militia officer in pursuance of the judgment of a court-martial.

49. That all civil officers of the appointment of the governor and council, who do not hold commiffions during good behaviour, fhall be appointed annually in the third week of November; but if any of them fhall be re-appointed, they may continue to act without any new commiffion or qualification; and every officer, though not re-appointed, fhall continue to act until the perfon who fhall be appointed and commiffioned in his ftead shall be qualified.

50. That the governor, every member of the council, and every judge and justice, before they act as fuch, fhall respectively take an oath, "That he will not, through favour, affection, or partiality, vote for any perfon to office, and that he will vote for fuch perfon as in his judgement and confcience he believes moft fi and beft qualified for the office, and that he has not made, nor will make, any promife or engagement to give his vote or interest in favour of any perfon."..

51. That there be two registers of the land office, one upon the western, and one upon the eastern fhore; that short extracts of the grants and certificates of the land on the western and eastern shores refpectively be made in feparate books, at the public expence, and depofited in the offices of the faid registers in fuch manner as fhall hereafter be provided by the general affembly.

52. That every chancellor, judge, regifter of wills, commiffioner of the loan office, attorney general, fheriff, treasurer, naval officer, regifter of the land office, regifter of the chancery court, and every clerk of the common law courts, furveyor, and auditor of the public accounts, before he acts as fuch, fhall take an oath "that he will not directly or indirectly receive any fee or reward for doing his office of

but what is or fhall be allowed by law, nor will directly or indirectly receive the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other perfon, and that he does not hold the fame office in truft or for the benefit of any other perfon."

53. That if any governor, chancellor, judge, regifter of wills, attorney general, regifter of the land office, register of the " chancesy court, or any clerk of the common law courts, treasurer, naval officet, fheriff, furveyor, or auditor of public accounts, fhall receive directly or indirectly, at any time, the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other perfon during his acting in the office to which he is appointed, his election, appointment, and commiffion, on conviction in a court of law, by oath of two credible witneffes, fhall be void, and he fhall fuffer the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, or be banished this

ftate

Hate for ever, or difqualified for ever from holding any office r place of truft or profit, as the court may adjudge.

54. That if any perfon fhall give any bribe, prefent, or reward, or any promife, or any fecurity for the payment or delivery of any money, or any other thing, to obrain or procure a vote to be governor, fenator, delegate to congrefs or affembly, member of the council, or judge, or to be appointed to any of the faid offices, or to any office of profit or truft, now created or hereafter to be created in this ftate, the perfon giving, and the perfon receiving the fame, on conviction in a court of law, fhall be for ever difqualified to hold any office of truft or profit in this ftate.

55. That every perfon appointed to any office of profit or truft fhall, before he enters on the execution thereof, take the following bath, to wit, I, A. B. do fwear, That I do not hold myself bound in allegiance to the king of Great-Britain, and that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to the ftate of Maryland," and fhall also fubfcribe a declaration of his belief in the chriftian religion.

56. That there be a court of appeals, compofed of perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law, whofe judgment shall be final and conclufive in all cafes of appeal, from the general court, court of chancery, and court of admiralty: That one perfon of integrity and found judgment in the law, be appointed chancellor: That three perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law be appointed judges of the court now called the provincial court; and that the fame court be hereafter called and known by the name of The General Court; which court fhall fit on the western and eastern fhores for tranfacting and determining the bufinefs of the respective fhores, at fuch times and places as the future legislature of this ftate fhall direct and appoint.

57. That the ftile of all laws run thus, Be it enacted, by the general affembly of Maryland: That all public commisions and grants run thus, The state of Maryland, &c. and fhall be figned by the governor, and attefted by the chancellor with the feal of the state annexed, except military commiffions, which fhall not be attested by the chancellor, or have the feal of the ftate annexed: That all writs fhall run in the fame ftile, and be tefted, fealed, and figned as ufual: That all indictments fhall conclude, Against the peace, government, and dignity of the ftat.

58. That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the king or proprietary, fhall go to the ftate, fave only fuch as the general affembly may abolish or otherwife provide for.

59. That this form of government, and the declaration of rights, and no part thereof, fhall be altered, changed, or abolished, unless a bill fo to alter, change, or abolish the fame, fhall pafs the general affembly, and be published at least three months before a new election, and fhall be confirmed by the general affembly

after

after a new election of delegates, in the first feffion after fuch new election; provided that nothing in this form of government which relates to the eastern fhore particularly, fhall at any time hereafter be altered unless for the alteration and confirmation thereof at least two thirds of all the members of each branch of the general affembly fhall concur.

60. That every bill paffed by the general affembly, when engroffed, fhall be prefented by the speaker of the house of delegates, in the fenate, to the governor for the time being, who fhall fign the fame, and thereto affix the great feal, in the prefence of the members of both houses: every law fhall be recorded in the general court office of the western fhore, and, in due time printed, published, and certified under the great feal, to the feveral county courts, in the fame manner as hath been heretofore, ufed in this ftate.

This form of government was affented to, and paffed in convention of the delegates of the freemen of Maryland, begun and held at the city of Annapolis, the 14th of August, A. D. $776.

By order of the Convention,

M. TILGHMAN, President.

modw

VIR

VIRGINI A

The CONSTITUTION, or FORM of GOVERNMENT, agreed to and refolved upon by the Delegates and Representatives of the Jeveral Counties and Corporations of Virginia, in a GENERAL CONVENTION held at Williamsburgh, on the 6th of May, and continued by Adjournments to the 5th of July, 1776.

WVirginia, do declare the future form of government of

E, the delegates and reprefentatives of the good people of

Virginia to be as followeth :

The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments fhall be separate and diftinct, fo that neither exercife the powers properly belonging to the other; nor fhall any perfon exercise the powers of more than one of them at the fame time, except that the juftices of the county courts fhall be eligible to cither house of affembly.

The legislative fhall be formed of two diftinct branches, who, together, fhall be a complete legiflature. They fhall meet once, or oftener, every year, and fhall be called, The General Affembly of Virginia. One of thefe fhall be called, The Hufe of Delegates, and confift of two reprefentatives to be chofen for each county, and for the district of Weft-Augufta, annually, of fuch men as actually refide in and are freeholders of the fame, or duly qualified according to law, and alfo of one delegate or representative to be chofen annually for the city of Williamsburgh, and one for the borough of Norfolk, and a reprefentative for each of fuch other cities and boroughs as may hereafter be allowed particular reprefentation by the legislature; but when any city or borough fhail fo decrease, as that the number of perfons having right of fuffrage therein shall have been for the fpace of feven years fucceffively lefs than half the number of voters in fome one county in Virginia, fuch city or borough thenceforward fhall ceafe to fend a delegate or representative to the affembly.

The other fhall be called The Senate, and confift of twentyfour members, of whom thirteen fhall conftitute a house to proceed on business, for whofe election the different counties fhall be divided into twenty-four diftricis, and each county of the refpective

3

district,

diftrict, at the time of the election of its delegates, fhall vote for one fenator, who is actually a refident and freeholder within the diftrict, or duly qualified according to law, and is upwards of twenty-five years of age; and the fheriffs of each county, within five days at fartheft after the laft county election in the diftrict, fhall meet at fome convenient place, and from the poll so taken in their respective counties, return as a fenator the man who thall have the greatest number of votes in the whole district. To keep up this aflembly by rotation, the districts fhall be equally divided into four claffes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the general election, the fix members elected by the first divifion fhall be difplaced, and the vacancies thereby occafioned fupplied from fuch clafs or divifion, by new election in the manner aforefaid. This rotation fhall be applied to each divifion according to its number, and continued in due order annually.

The right of fuffrage in the election of members for both houses fhall remain as exercised at prefent, and each house shall choose its own fpeaker, appoint its own officers, fettle its own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election for the supplying intermediate vacancies.

All laws fhall originate in the house of delegates, to be approved of or rejected by the fenate, or to be amended with confent of the house of delegates; except money-bills, which in no inftance fhall be altered by the fenate, but wholly approved or rejected.

A governor, or chief magiftrate fhall be chofen annually, by joint ballot of both houfes, to be taken in each house respectively, depofited in the conference room, the boxes examined jointly by a committee of each houfe, and the numbers feverally reported to them, that the appointments may be entered (which shall be the mode of taking the joint ballot of both houses in all cases) who fhall not continue in that office longer than three years fucceffively, nor be eligible until the expiration of four years after he fhall have been out of that office. An adequate, but moderate falary hall be fettled on him during his continuance in office; and he fhall, with the advice of a council of state, exercise the executive powers of government, according to the laws of this commonwealth; and fhall not, under any pretence, exercife any power or prerogative by virtue of any law, ftatute, or custom of England: But he fhall, with the advice of the council of ftate, have the power of granting reprieves or pardons, except where the profe cution fhall have been carried on by the house of delegates, or the law fhall otherwife particularly direct; in which cafes no reprieve or pardon fhall be granted, but by refolve of the houfe of delegates. Either houfe of the general aflembly may adjourn themselves refpectively. The governor fhall not prorogue or adjourn the affembly during their fitting, nor diffolve them at any time; but