of delegates for the state shall be so proportion ed to the whole number of qualified electors in it, that they shall never exceed 300, nor be fewer than 100. Whenever such excess or defi ciency shall take place, the House of Delegates so deficient or excessive shall, notwithstand ing this, continue in being during its legalterm but they shall, during that term, re-adjust the proportion, so as to bring their number within the limits before mentioned at the ensuing election. If any county be reduced in its quar lified electors below the number authorised to send one delegate, let it be annexed to some adjoining county.

For the election of Senators, let the several counties he alotted by the scaate, from time to time, into such and so many districts as they shall find best; and let each county at the time. of electing its delegates, choose senatorial electors, qualified as themselves are, and four in number for each delegate their county is enti tled to send, who shall convene, and conduct themselves in such manner as the legislature shall direct, with the senatorial electors from the other counties of their district, and then choose, by ballot, one senator for every six de legates which their district is entitled to choose. Let the classes, and let the members elected for one of them be disolved at the first ensuing general: election of delegates, the other at the next and

sena districts be divided into two

so on alternately forever.

All free male citizens, of full age and sane mind, who for one year before shall have been resident in the county, or shall through the

whole of that time have possessed therein real Dom property of the value of

or shall for the same time have been enrolled in the militia, and no others, shall have a right to vote for delegates for the said county, and for senatorial electors for the district. They shall give their votes personally, and viva voce.

The general assembly shall meet at the place to which the last adjournment was, on the 42d day after the day of election of delegates, and thenceforward at any other time or place on their own adjournment, till their office expires, which shall be on the day preceding that ap pointed for the meeting of the next general assembly. But if they shall at any time adjourn for more than one year, it shall be as if they had adjourned for one year precisely. Neither house, without the concurrence of the other, shall adjourn for more than one week, nor to any other place than the one at which they are sitting. The governor shall also have power, with the advice of the council of state, to call them at any other time to the same place, or to a different one, if that shall have become since the last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy, or from infection.

A majority of either house shall be a quorum, and shall be requisite for duing business; but any smaller proportion which from time to time. shall be thought ́expedient by the respective houses, shall be sufficient to call for, and to punish, non-attending members, and to adjouru themselves for any time not exceeding one their week, and hum

The members, during their attendance on the general assembly, and for so long a time before and after as shall be neccessary for travelling to and from the same, shall be privileged from allpersonal restraint and assault, and shall have no other privilege whatsoever. They shall recive during the same time, daily wages in gold or silver, equal to the value of two bushels of wheat. This value shall be deemed one dollar by the bushel till the year 1790, in which, and in every tenth year thereafter, the general court, at their first sessions in the year, shall cause a special jury, of the most respectable merchants and farmers, to be summoned, to declare what shall have been the averaged value of wheat during the last ten years, which averaged value shall be the measure of wages for the ten subsequent years.

Of this general assembly, the treasurer, attorney-general, register, ministers of the gospel, officers of the regular armies of this state, or of the United States, persons receiving salaries or emoluments from any power foreign to our confederacy, those who are not resident in the county for which they are chosen delegates, or districts for which they are chosen senators, those who are not qualified as electors, persons who shall have committed treason, felony, or such other crime as would subject them to infamous punishment, or who shall have been convicted by due course of law of bribery or corruption, in endeavouring to procure an efection to the said assembly, shall be incapable of being members. All others, not herein elsewhere excluded who may elect, shall be capable of being elected thereto.

Any member of the said assembly accepting any office of profit under this state, or the United States, or any of them, shall thereby vacate his seat,but shall be capable of being re-elected. on Vacancies occasioned by such disqualifications, by death, or otherwise, shall be supplied by the electors, on a writ from the speaker of the respective houseport to aglay sa forpo.

I

The general assembly shall not have power to infringe this constitution; to abridge the civil rights of any person on account of his religious belief; to restrain him from professing and supporting that belief, or to compel him to contributions, other than those he shall have personally stipulated for the support of that or any other; to ordain death for any crime but treason or murder, or military offences; to pardon, or give a power of pardoning persons duly convicted of treason or felony, but instead thereof they may substitute one or two new trials, and no more; to pass laws for punishing actions done before the existence of such laws; to pass any bill of attainder of treasonor felony to prescribe torture in any case whateverinor to permit the introduction of any @more slaves to reside in this state, or the continuande alofesslavery beyond the generanotion which shall be living on the thirty first -day of December, one thousand eight hundred : all persons born after that day being hereby Sodeclared free to

-534The general assembly shall have power to seover from this state all or any parts of its terristory westward of the Ohio, or of the meridian of the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, and to

cede to Congress one hundred square miles of territory in any other part of the state, exemp. ted from the jurisdiction and government of this state so long as Congress shall hold their sessions therein, or in any territory adjacent thereto, which may be ceded to them by any other

state.

They shall have power to appoint the speakers of their respective houses, treasurer, auditors, attorney general, register, all general officers of the military, their own clerks and serjeants, and no other officers, except where, in other parts of this constitution, such appointment is expressly given them.

The executive powers shall be exercised by à Governor, who shall be chosen by joint ballot of both houses of assembly, and when chosen shall remain in office five years, and be ineligi ble a second time. During his term he shall hold no other office or emolument under this state, or any other state or power whatsoever. By executive powers, we mean no reference to those powers exercised under our former government by the crown as of its prerogative, nor that these shall be the standard of what may or may not be deemed the rightful powers of the governor. We give him those powers only, which are neccessary to execute the laws (and administer the government) and which are not in their nature either legislative or judiciary. The application of this idea must be left to reason. We do however expressly deny him the prerogative powers of erecting courts, offices, boroughs, corporations, fairs, markets, ports, beacons, light-houses, and sea-marks; of laying embargoes, of establishing precedence, of re