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XXIV. Laws made to punifh 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 treafon or felony by the legislature.

XXVI. No magiftrate or court of law fhall demand exceffive bail or fureties, impofe exceffive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments.

XXVII. In time of peace, no foldier ought to be quartered in any house without the confent 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 legiflature.

XXVIII. No perfon can in any case be subjected to lawmartial, or to any penalties or pains, by virtue of that law, except thofe employed in the army or navy, and except the militia in actual fervice, 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 adminiftration of juftice. 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 themfelves well; and that they fhould have honourable falaries, afcertained and eftablished by ftanding laws.

XXX. In the government of this commonwealth, the legiflative department fhall never exercife the executive and judicial powers, or either of them: The executive shall never exercise the legiflative and judicial powers, or either of them: The judicial fhall never exercise the legislative 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.

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

CHAPTER

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Art. I. THE department of legiflation fhall be formed by two branches, a Senate, and House of Reprefentatives; each of which fhall have a negative on the other.

The legislative body shall assemble every year on the last Wednefday in May, and at fuch other times as they fhall judge neceffary; and fhall diffolve and be diffolved on the day next preceding the faid laft Wednesday in May; and shall be stiled, The General Court of Massachusetts.

II. No bill or refolve of the fenate or houfe of reprefentatives fhall become a law, and have force as fuch, until it fhall have been laid before the governor for his revifal; and if he, upon fuch revifion, approve thereof, he fhall fignify his approbation by figning the fame. But if he have any objection to the paffing of fuch bill or refolve, he fhall return the fame, together with his objections thereto, in writing, to the fenate or house of reprefentatives, in which fever the fame fhall have originated; who fhall enter the objections fent 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 fenate or house of reprefentatives fhall, notwithstanding the faid objections, agree

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pafs the fame, it fhall, together with the objections, be fent to the other branch of the legislature, where it fhall also be reconfidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the members prefent, it fhall 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 said bill or refolve, fhall be entered upon the public records of the commonwealth.

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

III. The general court fhall for ever 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, proceffes, plaints, actions, måtters, caufes, and things whatfoever, arifing or happening within the commonwealth,

wealth, or between or concerning perfons inhabiting, or refiding, or brought within the fame; whether the fame be criminal or civil, or whether the faid crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the faid pleas be real, perfonal, 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 adminifter oaths or affirmations, for the better difcovery of truth in any matter in controverfy or depending before them.

IV. And further, full power and authority are hereby given and granted to the faid general court, from time to time, to make, ordain, and establish, all manner of wholesome and reafonable orders, laws, ftatutes and ordinances, directions and inftructions, either with penalties or without; fo as the fame be not repugnant or contrary to this conftitution, as they fhall judge to be for the good and welfare of this commonwealth, and for the government and ordering thereof and of the fubjects of the fame, and for the neceffary fupport and defence of the government thereof; and to name and fettle annually, or provide by fixed laws, for the naming and fettling all civil officers within the said commonwealth, the election and conftitution of whom are not hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided før ; and to fet forth the feveral duties, powers, and limits, of the feveral civil and military officers of this commonwealth, and the forms of fuch oaths or affirmations as fhall be refpectively adminiftered unto them for the execution of their feveral offices and places, fo as the fame be not repugnant or contrary to this conftitution; and to impofe and levy proportional and reasonable affeffments, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and perfons refident, and eftates lying, within the faid commonwealth; and alfo to impofe and levy reafonable duties and excifes 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 fervice, in the neceffary defence and fupport of the government of the faid commonwealth, and the protection and prefervation of the fubjects thereof, according to fuch acts as are or fhall be in force within the fanre.

And while the public charges of government, or any part thereof, fhall be affeffed on polls and eftates, in the manner that has hitherto been practifed; in order that fuch affeffinents may be made with equality, there fhall be a valuation of eftates within the commonwealth taken anew once in every ten years at the leaft, and as much oftener as the general court fhall order.

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СНА Р. І. SECT. II.

SENA TE..

Art. I. THERE fhall be annually elected by the freeholders and other inhabitants of this commonwealth, qualified as in this conftitution is provided, forty perfons 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 time be divided by the general court for that purpose. And the general court, in affigning the numbers to be elected by the refpective districts, fhall govern themselves by the proportion of the public taxes paid by the faid diftricts; and timely make known to the inhabitants of the commonwealth, the limits of each district, and the number of councillors and fenators to be chofen therein; provided that the number of fuch diftricts fhall be never lefs than thirteen; and that no diftrict be fo large as to entitle the fame to chufe more than fix fenators.

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

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II. The fenate fhall be the first branch of the legislature; and the fenators shall be chofen in the following manner, viz. There fhall be a meeting on the firft Monday in April annually, forever, of the inhabitants of each town in the feveral counties of this commonwealth; to be called by the felect men, and warned in due courfe of law, at leaft feven days before the firft Monday. in April, for the purpose of electing perfons to be fenators and councillors And at fuch meetings every male inhabitant of twenty-one years of age and upwards, having a freehold. eftate 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 diftrict of which he is an inhabitant. And to remove all doubts concerning the meaning of the word "inhabitant," in this conftitution, every perfon fhall be confidered as an inhabitant, for the purpose of electing and being elected into any office or place within this ftate, in that town, diftrict, or plantation, where he dwelleth, or

hath his home.

The selectmen of the several towns fhall prefide at such meetings impartially; and fhall receive the votes of all the inhabitants of fuch towns prefent and qualified to vote for senators, and fhall fort and count them in open town-meeting, and in prefence of the town-clerk, who fhall make a fair record, in prefence of the felectmen, and in open town-meeting, of the name of every perfon voted for, and of the number of votes against his name; and a fair copy of this record fhall be attefted by the felectmen and the town-clerk, and shall be fealed up, directed to the fecretary of the commonwealth for the time being, with a fuperfcription expreffing the purports of the contents thereof, and delivered by the town-clerk of fuch towns to the theriff of the county in which fuch town lies, thirty days at leaft before the laft Wednesday in May annually; or it fhall be delivered into the fecretary's office feventeen days at leaft before the faid laft Wednesday in May; and the fheriff of each county fhall deliver all fuch certificates by him received into the fecretary's office feventeen days before the faid last Wednesday in May.

And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, qualified as this conftitution provides, who are or fhall be impowered or required to affefs taxes upon themselves toward the fupport of government, fhall have the fame privilege of voting for councillors and fenators in the plantations where they refide, as town inhabitants have in their refpective towns; and the plantation meetings for that purpose fhall be held annually on the fame first Monday in April, at fuch place in the plantations refpectively as the affeffors thereof fhall direct; which affeffors fhall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the felectmen and town-clerks have in their feveral towns, by this conftitution. And all other perfons living in places unincorporated (qualified as aforefaid) who fhall 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 fhall be affeffed, and be notified of the place of meeting by the felectmen of the town where they fhall be affeffed, for that purpose accordingly.

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

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