XXIV. 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, oppreffive, and inconfiftent with the fundamental principles of a free government.

XXV. No fubject ought, in any cafe, or in any time, to be declared guilty of treason or felony by the legislature.

XXVI. No magistrate or court of law shall demand excessive bail or fureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments.

XXVII. In time of peace, no soldier ought to be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; and in time of war, fuch quarters ought not to be made but by the civil magiftrate, in a manner ordained by the legislature.

XXVIII. No person can in any case be subjected to lawmartial, 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 authority of the legislature.

XXIX. It is effential to the prefervation of the rights of every individual, 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 free, impartial, and independent, as the lot of humanity will admit. It is, therefore, not only the best policy, but for the fecurity of the rights of the people, and of every citizen, that the judges of the fupreme judicial court should hold their offices as long as they behave themselves well; and that they should have honourable falaries, afcertained and established by standing laws.

XXX. In the governinent of this commonwealth, the legiflative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of them: The executive shall never exercise the legifslative and judicial powers, or either of them: The judicial shall never exercise the legiflative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end, it may be a government of laws, and not of

men.

PART II.

The F-RAME of GOVERNMENT.

T

HE people inhabiting the territory formerly called the Province of Massachusetts-Bay, do hereby folemnly and mutually agree with each other, to form themfelves into a free, fovereign, and independent body-politic or state, by the name of, The COMMONWEALTH of MASSACHUSETTS.

CHAPTER CHAPTER I.

THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.

SECTION I.

The GENERAL COURT.

Art. I. THE department of legiflation 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 Wednefday in May, and at such other times as they shall judge neceffary; and shall dissolve and be diffolved on the day next preceding the faid last Wednesday in May; and shall be stiled, The General Court of Massachusetts.

II. No bill or refolve 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 revifion, approve thereof, he shall signify his approbation by signing the fame. But if he have any objection to the paffing of fuch bill or refolve, he shall return the fame, together with his objections thereto, in writing, to the fenate or house of reprefentatives, in which foever the same shall have originated; who shall enter the objections sent down by the governor at large on their records, and proceed to reconfider the faid bill or refolve: But if after fuch reconfideration, two-thirds of the faid senate or house of representatives shall, notwithstanding the said objections, agree

pass the fame, it shall, together with the objections, be sent to the other branch of the legislature, where it shall also be reconfidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the members present, it shall have the force of a law: But in all fuch cafes, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the perfons voting for or against the faid bill or refolve, shall be entered upon the public records of the commonwealth.

And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, if any bill or refolve shall not be returned by the governor within five days after it shall have been presented, the same shall have the force of a law.

III. The general court shall forever have full power and authority to erect and conftitute judicatories and courts of record, or other courts, to be held in the name of the commonwealth, for the hearing, trying, and determining of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, plaints, actions, måtters, causes, and things whatsoever, arifing or happening within the commonwealth,

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wealth, or between or concerning persons inhabiting, or refiding, or brought within the fame; whether the same be criminal or civil, or whether the said crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the faid pleas be real, personal, or mixed; and for the awarding and making out of execution thereupon: To which courts and judicatories are hereby given and granted 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.

IV. And further, 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 reafonable orders, laws, statutes and ordinances, directions and instructions, either with penalties or without; so as the same - be not repugnant or contrary to this constitution, as they shall judge to be for the good and welfare of this commonwealth, and for the government and ordering thereof and of the subjects of the same, and for the necessary support and defence of the government thereof, and to name and settle annually, or provide by fixed laws, for the naming and fettling all civil officers within the faid commonwealth, the election and conftitution of whom are not hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided for; and to fet forth the several duties, powers, and limits, of the several civil and military officers of this commonwealth, and the forms of fuch oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively adminiftered unto them for the execution of their several offices and places, so as the fame be not repugnant or contrary to this constitution; and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and persons refident, and estates lying, within the said commonwealth; and also to impose and levy reasonable duties and excises upon any produce, goods, wares, merchandizes, and commodities whatfoever, brought into, produced, manufactured, or being within the fame, 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 confent of the council, for the public service, in the neceffary defence and support of the government of the faid commonwealth, and the protection and preservation of the subjects thereof, according to fuch acts as are or shall be in force within the fare.

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 fuch afieffinents may be made with equality, there shall be a valuation of eftates within the commonwealth taken anew once in every ten years at the least, and as much oftener as the general court shall order.

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CHAP. I. SECT. II.

SENATE.

Art. I. THERE shall be annually elected by the freeholders and other inhabitants of this commonwealth, qualified as in this conftitution is provided, forty persons to be councillors and fenators for the year enfuing their election; to be chosen by the inhabitants of the districts into which the commonwealth may from time to timebe divided by the general court for that purpose. And the general court, in affigning the numbers to be elected by the refpective districts, shall govern themselves by the proportion of the public taxes paid by the faid districts; and timely make known to the inhabitants of the commonwealth, the limits of each district, and the number of councillors and fenators to be chosen therein; provided that the number of such districts shall be never less than thirteen; and that no district be so large as to entitle the fame to chufe more than fix senators.

And the several counties in this commonwealth shall, until the general court shall determine it necessary to alter the said districts, be districts for choice of councillors and fenators (except that the counties of Dukes-county and Nantucket shall form one district for that purpose), and shall elect the following number for councillors and fenators, viz.

Two.

}One

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Five

Plymouth

Barnstable

Bristol

Three

Berkshire

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Two

II. The fenate shall be the first branch of the legislature; and the fenators shall be chofen 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 commonwealth; to be called by the select men, 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 fenators and councillors: And at such meetings every male inhabitant of twenty-one years of age and upwards, having a freehold, estate within the commonwealth of the annual income of three pounds, or any eftate of the value of fixty pounds, shall have a

right

right to give in his vote for the fenators for the district of which he is an inhabitant. And to remove all doubts concerning the meaning of the word " inhabitant," in this constitution, every person shall be confidered as an inhabitant, for the purpose of electing and being elected into any office 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 impartially; and shall receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns present and qualified to vote for fenators, and shall fort 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 fealed up, directed to the fecretary of the commonwealth for the time being, with a superscription expreffing the purports of the contents thereof, and delivered by the town-clerk of such towns 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 faid last Wednesday in May; and the sheriff of each county shall deliver all such certificates by him received into the secretary's office seventeen days before the faid last Wednesday in May.

And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, qualified as this constitution provides, who are or shall be impowered or required to afsess taxes upon themselves toward the support of government, shall have the fame privilege of voting for councillors and fenators in the plantations where they refide, as town inhabitants have in their respective towns; and the plantation meetings for that purpose shall be held annually on the fame first Monday in April, at such place in the plantations respectively as the affeffors thereof shall direct; which affeffors 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. And all other persons living in places unincorporated (qualified as aforesaid) who shall be affeffed to the fupport of government by the affeffors of an adjacent town, shall have the privilege of giving in their votes for councillors and fenators, in the town where they shall be affefsed, and be notified of the place of meeting by the selectmen of the town where they shall be assessed, for that purpose accordingly.

III. And that there may be a due convention of fenators on the last Wednesday in May annually, the governor and five of the council for the time being shall, as foon as may be, examine the returned copies of such records; and fourteen days before the

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