inhabitants may elect any number of justices of the peace not exceeding five; towns having one thousand, and less than two thousand inhabitants, may elect seven; towns having two thousand and less than three thousand inhabitants, may elect ten; towns having three thousand and less than five thousand inhabitants, may elect twelve; and towns having five thousand, or more, inhabitants, may elect fifteen justices of the peace.

ART. 19. All the officers named in the preceding articles of amendment (articles 14 to 18) shall be annually elected by ballot and shall hold their offices for one year, said year commencing on the first day of December next after their election.

ART. 20. The election of the several officers mentioned in the preceding articles, (articles 14 to 18) excepting town representatives, shall be made at the times and in the manner now directed in the constitution for the choice of senators. And the presiding officer of each freemen's meeting, after the votes shall have been taken, sorted and counted, shall, in open meeting, make a certificate of the names of each person voted for, with the number of votes given for each, annexed to his name and designating the office for which the votes were given, a record of which shall be made in the town clerk's office, and he shall seal up said certificate, and shall write thereon the name of the town and the words, Certificate of votes for and add thereto, in writing, the title of the office voted for, as the case may be, and shall deliver such certificate to some representative chosen as a member of the general assembly, whose duty it shall be to cause such certificate of votes to be delivered to the committee of the general assembly appointed to canvass the same. And at the sitting of the general assembly, next after such balloting for the officers aforesaid, there shall be a committee appointed of and by the general assembly, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duty, and whose duty it shall be to examine such certificates and ascertain the number of votes given for each candidate, and the persons receiving the largest number of votes for the respective offices, shall be declared duly elected, and by such committee be reported to the general assembly and the officers so elected shall be commissioned by the governor. And if two or more persons designated for any one of said offices, shall have received an equal number of votes, the general assembly shall elect one of such persons to such office.

ART. 21. The term of office of the governor, lieutenant governor, and treasurer of the state, respectively, shall commence when they shall be chosen and qualified, and shall continue for the term of one year, or until their successors shall be chosen and qualified, or to the adjournment of the session of the legislature, at which, by the constitution and laws, their successors are required to be chosen, and not after such adjournment. And the legislature shall provide, by general law, declaring what officer shall act as governor whenever there shall be a vacancy in both the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, occasioned by a failure to elect, or by the removal

from office, or by the death, resignation, or inability of both governor and lieutenant governor, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office of governor; and such officer, so designated, shall exercise the powers and discharge the duties appertaining to the office of governor accordingly, until the disability shall be removed, or a governor shall be elected. And in case there shall be a vacancy in the office of treasurer, by reason of any of the causes enumerated, the governor shall appoint a treasurer for the time being, who shall act as treasurer until the disability shall be removed, or a new election shall be made.

ART. 22. The treasurer of the state shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, give sufficient security to the secretary of state, in behalf of the state of Vermont, before the governor of the state, or one of the judges of the supreme court. And sheriffs and high bailiffs, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall give sufficient security to the treasurer of their respective counties, before one of the judges of the supreme court, or the two assistant judges of the county court of their respective counties, in such manner and in such sums as shall be directed by the legislature.

ART. 23. The senate shall be composed of thirty senators, to be of the freemen of the county for which they are elected, respectively, who shall have attained the age of thirty years, and they shall be elected annually by the freemen of each county respectively.

The senators shall be apportioned to the several counties, according to the population, as ascertained by the census taken under the authority of Congress in the year 1840, regard being always had, in such apportionment, to the counties having the largest fraction, and giving to each county at least one senator.

The legislature shall make a new apportionment of the senators to the several counties, after the taking of each census of the United States or after a census taken for the purpose of such apportionment, under the authority of this state, always regarding the above provisions of this article.

[NOTE. The first constitution of Vermont was adopted by a convention of delegates which met at Windsor, on the second day of July, A. D., 1777, and was revised by the same convention at a subsequent meeting at Windsor, on the twenty-fourth day of December of the same year.

*

To this constitution amendments were made by a convention, holden at Manchester, on the last Thursday of June, A. D., 1786. Further amendments were made by a convention which met at Windsor, on the third day of July, A. D., 1793, and the constitution as thus amended, consisted of those of the foregoing articles and sections which precede those designated as "articles of amendment."

The first of the above designated articles of amendment was adopted by a convention, holden at Montpelier, on the twenty-sixth day of June, A. D., 1828; those numbered from two to thirteen inclusive were adopted by a convention, held at Montpelier, on the sixth day of January, A. D., 1836 ; and those numbered from fourteen to twenty-three inclusive, were adopted by a convention held at Montpelier, on the second day of January, A. D., 1850.

The convention of 1793, instead of promulgating only the amendments which they had adopted, as has been the practice since, engrossed and set forth the whole constitution without making any distinction between the articles previously in force and those then adopted; this engrossment which was signed by the officers of that convention, and deposited in the secretary of state's office, is styled in a title page prefixed to it, "The Constitution of Vermont, as ADOPTED by the convention holden at Windsor, July fourth,* one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three," and in consequence of

* The convention of 1793 met on the third instead of the fourth day of July, as stated in the title page to the constitution which they set forth. They were called by the council of censors to convene on" the first Wednesday," which was the third day of July, and in the extracts from their journals which were furnished by their secretary, and published in the Vermont Journal of July 22d, 1733, there are accounts of the proceedings of the convention on both the third and fourth as well as subsequent days of July.

this error, those articles which had been previously established by the conventions of 1786 and 1777 have, in connection with the amendments adopted in 1793, been uniformly alluded to and designated as the constitution "established" or "adopted" by the convention of 1793.

It is obvious from a comparison that a majority of the articles and sections in this constitution had their origin and adoption in the conventions of 1786 and 1777, and that it is as incorrect to speak of the whole constitution as being adopted or established in 1793, as it would be to say of the whole of our present constitution that it was adopted by the convention of 1850.

The convention of 1793 was called by the council of censors "for the purpose of considering and adopting the amendments of the constitution, as proposed by this council;" in the newspapers of those days it was spoken of as "the convention for ratifying or rejecting the amendments to the constitution of this state as proposed by the council of censors." That it was the understanding of the convention that they were merely amending an already established and existing constitution is apparent from the only account of their proceedings which the compiler has been able to find; and that such was the understanding of its members and the construction given both by them and by the legislature of the state at its session in October, 1793, is evident from the questions which then arose and the decisions which were made respecting the right of several towns to have two representatives at that session, under the provisions of the seventh section of the second chapter of the constitution as then promulgated.]

votes for state officers, until five o'clock, 24. For returning the votes for electors and members of congress.

11. How votes are to be given, &c.; votes for 25. County clerks, &c., to canvass votes for state officers and senators to be on one ballot.

13. How far presiding officer to examine bal- 27. Certificate of votes for county officers to be lots.

ing committee in the office of the secretary ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIof state.

29. Election of representative not to be contested, unless, &c.

DENT.

59. Electors of president and vice president to be chosen.

30. Testimony relating to contested elections, 60. 61. First constables, &c. to notify meeting
how taken.
for the choice of electors, &c.
31. How testimony to be taken by person whose 62. First constables to preside and receive votes
election is contested.

32. Time within which testimony shall be taken. 63.
33. Depositions, touching the legality of votes
for state officers, how taken.

34. Testimony, touching the validity of votes or
of the election of representatives, how cer-
tified.

35. Witnesses to attend when summoned and their fees tendered.

ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES

GRESS.

until sunset.

How ballots to be given. Lists of voters to be made.

64. How far ballots to be examined.

65. Ballots to be canvassed at the close of the polls. Form of certificate thereof. Certificates to be delivered to county clerks; clerks to canvass votes, &c.

66.

67. In absence, &c. of clerk, votes to be deliv

ered to sheriff.

ΤΟ CON- 68. Clerks to make lists of votes, and lodge copies with secretary of state.

36. State divided into four congressional dis- 69. Clerks, &c. to notify electors chosen. Time tricts; description of districts.

37. Each district to elect one representative.

38. Meetings for, how warned, &c.

and place of their meeting. Vacancies to

be filled.

70. Clerks, &c. to be sworn.

39. First constable, &c. to preside and receive 71. In absence, &c. of town clerk at freemen's

votes until five o'clock.

40. How votes to be given.

41. Roll of voters to be made; how far ballots

to be examined.

42. Votes, how counted and certified.

43. Form of certificate.

44. Certificate to be transmitted to general assembly, by representative.

45. Votes to be canvassed by committee for each district.

meeting, justice, &c. to perform his duty.

PENALTIES.

72. Penalty for voting when not qualified. 73. Penalty for giving more than one vote.

74. Penalty for giving false information touching the right to vote.

75.

Penalty for aiding a person to vote who is not a legal voter.

76. Penalty for voting in more than one town.

46. If no election, notice to be given to gover- 77. Penalty for being disorderly.

52. In absence, &c. of clerk, sheriff to perform 83. Governor, members of legislature, &c. priv

his duties.

53. Clerks and committees of legislature to make

lists of votes, and lodge copies, &c.

54. Clerks, &c. being divided on any question,

may call in judge of county court.

55. Clerks, &c. to be sworn.

ileged from arrest while attending legislature, except, &c.

ELECTION OF SENATORS.

84. Mode of electing congressional senators. Each house to ballot separately.

56. Governor to execute credentials to person 85. Both houses thereupon to meet in joint aselected.

SECTION 1. Every male citizen, of twenty-one years of age and upwards, who shall have resided within this state, one whole year next preceding any election of governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer of the state, senators, representatives to congress, elect