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militia officer for one month, and may also fufpend or remove any regular officer in the land or sea service; 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 commifsions during good behaviour, shall be appointed annually in the third week of November; but if any of them shall be re-appointed, they may continue to act without any new commission or qualification; and every officer, though not re-appointed, shall continue to act until the perfon who shall be appointed and commiffioned in his stead shall be qualified.

50. That the governor, every member of the council, and every judge and justice, before they act as fuch, shall 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 such perfon as in his judgement and confcience he believes most fi: and best 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 shore; that short extracts of the grants and certificates cates of the land on the western and eastern shores respectively be made in separate books, at the public expence, and depofited in the offices of the faid registers in fuch manner as shall hereafter be provided by the general afssembly.

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

but what is or shall 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 person, and that he does not hold the fame office in truft or for the benefit of any other person."

53. That if any governor, chancellor, judge, register of wills, attorney general, register of the land office, register of the chancery court, or any clerk of the common law courts, treasurer, naval officer, sheriff, surveyor, or auditor of public accounts, shall receive directly or indirectly, at any time, the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other person 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 witnesses, shall be void, and he shall suffer the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, or be banished this state

state for ever, or disqualified for ever from holding any office r place of truft or profir, as the court may adjudge.

54. That if any person shall give any bribe, present, or reward, or any promife, or any fecurity for the payment or delivery of any money, or any other thing, to obtain or procure a vote to be governor, fenator, delegate to congress or affembly, member of the council, or judge, or to be appointed to any or the faid offices, or to any office of proat or truft, now created or hereafter to be? created in this state, the perfon giving, and the perfon receiving the fame, on conviction in a court of law, shall be for ever dif qualified to hold any office of truft or profit in this state.

55. That every perfon appointed to any office of profit or truft shall, before he enters on the execution thereof, take the following oath, to wit, " I, A. B. do swear, That I do not hold myself bound in allegiance to the king of Great-Britain, and that I willi be faithful, and bear true allegiance to the state of Maryland," and shall also subscribe a declaration of his belief in the christian re ligion.

56. That there be a court of appeals, composed of perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law, whose judgment shall be final and conclusive in all cases 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 persons 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 shall fit on the western and eastern shores for transacting and determining the business of the respective shores, at such times and places as the future legislature of this state shall direct and appoint.

57. That the stile of all laws run thus, Be it enacted, by the general affembly of Maryland: That all public commiflions and grants run thus, The state of Maryland, &c. and shall be figned by the governor, and attested by the chancellor with the feal of the state annexed, except military commiffions, which shall not be attested by the chancellor, or have the seal of the state annexed: That all writs shall run in the same stile, and be tested, fealed, and signed as usual: That all indictments shall conclude, Against the peace, government, and dignity of the stat.

58. That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the king or proprietary, shall go to the state, fave only such as the general assembly may abolish or otherwise provide for.

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

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after a new election of delegates, in the first session after such new election; provided that nothing in this form of government which relates to the eastern shore particularly, shall at any time hereafter be altered unless for the alteration and confirmation thereof at leaft two thirds of all the members of each branch of the general af sembly shall concur.

60. That every bill passed by the general affembly, when engrossed, shall be presented by the speaker of the house of delegates, in the fenate, to the governor for the time being, who shall fign the fame, and thereto affix the great feal, in the presence of the members of both houses: every law shall be recorded in the general court office of the western shore, and in due time printed, published, and certified under the great seal, to the several county courts, in the same manner as hath been heretofore ufed in this state.

This form of government was assented to, and passed in convention of the delegates of the freemen of Maryland, begun and held at the city of Annapolis, the 14th of August, A. D. 1776.

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By order of the Convention,

M. TILGHMAN, President.

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VIR

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The CONSTITUTION, or FORM of GOVERNMENT, agreed to and resolved upon by the Delegates and Representatives of the feveral 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.

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TE, the delegates and representatives of the good people of Virginia, do declare the future form of government of Virginia to be as followeth :

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

The legislative shall be formed of two distinct branches, who, together, shall be a complete legiflature. They shall meet once, or oftener, every year, and shall be called, The General Assembly of Virginia. One of these shall be called, The House of Delegates, and confift of two representatives to be chosen for each county, and for the district of West-Augusta, annually, of such men as actually reside in and are freeholders of the fame, or duly qualified according to law, and also of one delegate or representative to be chosen annually for the city of Williamsburgh, and one for the borough of Norfolk, and a representative for each of such other cities and boroughs as may hereafter be allowed particular representation by the legislature; but when any city or borough shall so decrease, as that the number of persons having right of fuffrage therein shall have been for the space of seven years successively less than half the number of voters in someone county in Virginia, fuch city or borough thenceforward shall cease to fend a delegate or representative to the assembly.

The other shall be called The Senate, and consist of twentyfour members, of whom thirteen shall constitute a house to proceed on business, for whose election the different counties shall be divided into twenty-four districts, and each county of therespective

district,

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district, at the time of the election of its delegates, shall vote for one senator, who is actually a refident and freeholder within the district, or duly qualified according to law, and is upwards of twenty-five years of age; and the sheriffs of each county, within five days at fartheft after the last county election in the district, shall meetat some 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 assembly by rotation, the districts shall be equally divided into four classes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the general election, the fix members elected by the first division shall be displaced, and the vacancies thereby occafioned supplied from fuch class or division, by new election in the manner aforefaid. This rotation shall be applied to each division according to its number, and continued in due order annually.

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

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

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

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