ARTICLE III.

auditor for four years. Their terms of office shall commence on the second Monday of January next after their election, and continue until their successors are elected and qualified.

SEC. 3. The returns of every election for the officers named in the foregoing section shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 5. The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in the governor.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 7. He shall communicate at every sesssion, by message, to the General Assembly, the condition of the state, and recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 8. The governor on extraordinary occasions may convene the general assembly by proclamation and shall state in the proclamation the purpose for which such special session is called, and no other business. shall be transacted at such special session except that named in the proclamation, or in a subsequent public proclamation or message to the general assembly issued by the governor during said special session, but the general assembly may provide for the expenses of the session and other matter incidental thereto. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.)

SEC. 9. In case of a disagreement between the two houses, in respect to the time of adjournment, he shall have power to adjourn the General Assembly to such time as he may think proper, but not beyond the regular meetings thereof.

SEC. 10. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the state, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.

SEC. II. He shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, for all crimes and offenses, 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

ARTICLE III.

may suspend the execution of sentence, and report 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 communicate 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 commutation, pardon, or reprieve, with his reason therefor.

SEC. 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."

SEC. 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. SEC. 14. No member of congress, or other person holding office under the authority of this state, or of the United States, shall execute the office of the governor, except as herein provided.

SEC. 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 disability removed, shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 17. If the lieutenant governor, while executing the office of governor, shall be impeached, displaced, resign or die, or otherwise become 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 19. The officers mentioned in this article shall, at stated times receive for their 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.

ARTICLE IV.

SEC. 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 IV.

JUDICIAL.

SEC. I. The judicial power of the state is vested in a supreme court, courts of appeals, courts of common pleas, courts of probate, and such other courts inferior to the courts of appeals as may from time to time be established by law. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.)

SEC. 2. The supreme court shall, until otherwise provided by law, consist of a chief justice and six judges, and the judges now in office in that court shall continue therein until the end of the terms for which they were respectively elected, unless they are removed, die or resign. A majority of the supreme court shall be necessary to constitute a quorum or to pronounce a decision, except as hereinafter provided. It shall have original jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, habeas corpus, prohibition and procedendo, and appellate jurisdiction in all cases involving questions arising under the constitution of the United States or of this state, in cases of felony on leave first obtained, and in cases which originated in the courts of appeals, and such revisory jurisdiction of the proceedings of administrative officers as may be conferred by law. It shall hold at least one term in each year at the seat of government, and such other terms, there 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 for such term, not less than six years, as may be prescribed by law, and they shall be elected, and their official term shall begin, at such time as may now or hereafter be fixed by law. Whenever the judges of the supreme court shall be equally divided in opinion as to the merits of any case before them and are unable for that reason to agree upon a judgment, that fact shall be entered upon the record and such entry shall be held to constitute an affirmance of the judgment of the court below. No law shall be held unconstitutional and void by the supreme court without the concurrence of at least all but one of the judges, except in the affirmance of a judgment of the court of appeals declaring a law unconstitutional and void. In cases of public or great general interest the supreme court may, within such limitation of time as may be prescribed by law, direct any court of appeals to certify its record to the supreme court, and may review, and affirm, modify or reverse the judgment of the court of appeals. All cases pending in the supreme court at the time of the adoption of this amendment by the people, shall proceed to judgment in the manner provided by existing law. No law shall be passed or

ARTICLE IV.

rule made whereby any person shall be prevented from invoking the original jurisdiction of the supreme court. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.)

SEC. 3. One resident judge of the court of common pleas, and such additional resident judge or judges as may be provided by law, shall be elected in each county of the state by the electors of such county; and as many courts or sessions of the court of common pleas as are necessary, may be held at the same time in any county. Any judge of the court of common pleas may temporarily preside and hold court in any county; and until the general assembly shall make adequate provision therefor, the chief justice of the supreme court of the state shall pass upon the disqualification or disability of any judge of the court of common pleas, and he may assign any judge to any county to hold court therein. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.)

SEC. 4. The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the judges thereof, shall be fixed by law.

SEC. 5. [Repealed October 9, 1883; 80 v. 382.]

SEC. 6. The state shall be divided into appellate districts of compact territory bounded by county lines, in each of which there shall be a court of appeals consisting of three judges, and until altered by law the circuits in which the circuit courts are now held shall constitute the appellate districts aforesaid. The judges of the circuit courts now residing in their respective districts shall be the judges of the respective courts of appeals in such districts and perform the duties thereof until the expiration of their respective terms of office. Vacancies caused by the expiration of the terms of office of the judges of the courts of appeals shall be filled by the electors of the respective appellate districts in which such vancancies shall arise. Until otherwise provided by law the term of office of such judges shall be six years. Laws may be passed to prescribe the time and mode of such election and to alter the number of districts or the boundaries thereof, but no such change shall abridge the term of any judge then in office. The court of appeals shall hold at least one term annually in each county in the district and such other terms at a county seat in the district as the judges may determine upon, and the county commissioners of any county in which the court of appeals shall hold sessions shall make proper and convenient provisions for the holding of such court by its judges and officers. Each judge shall be competent to exercise judicial powers in any appellate district of the state. The courts of appeals shall continue the work of the respective circuit courts and all pending cases and proceedings in the circuit courts shall proceed to judgment and be determined by the respective courts of appeals, and the supreme court, as now provided by law, and cases brought into said courts of appeals after the taking effect hereof shall be subject to the provisions hereof, and the circuit courts shall be merged into, and their work continued by, the courts of appeals. The courts of appeals shall have original jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, habeas corpus.

ARTICLE IV.

prohibition and procedendo, and appellate jurisdiction in the trial of chancery cases, and, to review, affirm, modify, or reverse the judgments of the courts of common pleas, superior courts and other courts of record within the district as may be provided by law, and judgments of the courts. of appeals shall be final in all cases, except cases involving questions arising under the constitution of the United States or of this state, cases of felony, cases of which it has original jurisdiction, and cases of public or great general interest in which the supreme court may direct any court of appeals to certify its record to that court. No judgment of a court of common pleas, a superior court or other court of record shall be reversed except by the concurrence of all the judges of the court of appeals on the weight of the evidence, and by a majority of such court of appeals upon other questions; and whenever the judges of a court of appeals find that a judgment upon which they have agreed is in conflict with a judgment pronounced upon the same question by any other court of appeals of the state, the judges shall certify the record of the case to the supreme court for review and final determination. The decisions in all cases in the supreme court shall be reported, together with the reasons therefor, and laws may be passed providing for the reporting of cases in the courts of appeals. The chief justice of the supreme court of the state shall determine the disability or disqualification of any judge. of the courts of appeals and he may assign any judge of the courts of appeals to any county to hold court. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.)

SEC. 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 electors of the county, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and shall receive such compensation, payable out of the county treasury, as shall be provided by law. Whenever ten per centum of the number of the electors voting for governor at the next preceding election in any county having less than sixty thousand population as determined by the next preceding federal census, shall petition the judge of the court of common pleas of any such county not less than ninety days before any general election for county officers, the judge of the court of common pleas shall submit to the electors of such county the question of combining the probate court with the court of common pleas, and such courts shall be combined and shall be known as the court of common pleas in case a majority of the electors voting upon such question vote in favor of such combination. Notice of such election shall be given in the same manner as for the election of county officers. Elections may be had in the same manner for the separation of such courts, when once combined. (Adopted Sept. 3. 1912.)

SEC. 8. The probate court shall have jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters, the appointment of admistrators and guardians, the settlement of the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage li