5. That the legislative, executive, and judicial powers should be separate and distinct; and that the members thereof may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again eligible, or ineligible as the laws shall direct.

6. That all elections ought to be free; and that all men having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public good.

7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.

8. That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favour, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty; nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of his liberty except by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers.

9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted.

11. That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury of twelve men is preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred.

12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. 13. That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided, as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by the civil power.

14. That the people have a right to uniform government; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof.

15. That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, modera

tion, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.

16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.

CONSTITUTION.

WHEREAS, the delegates and representatives of the good people of Virginia, in convention assembled, on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventysix: reciting and declaring, that whereas George the Third, king of Great Britain and Ireland and elector of Hanover, before that time intrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in the government of Virginia, had endeavoured to pervert the same into a detestable and insupportable tyranny, by putting his negative on laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good; by denying his governors permission to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation for his assent, and when so suspended neglecting to attend to them for many years; by refusing to pass certain other laws, unless the persons to be benefited by them would relinquish the inestimable right of representation in the legislature; by dissolving legislative assemblies repeatedly and continually, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions of the rights of the people; when dissolved, by refusing to call others for a long space of time, thereby leaving the political system without any legislative head; by endeavouring to prevent the population of our country, and for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; by keeping among us, in time of peace, standing armies and ships of war; by affecting to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power; by combining with others to subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pretended acts of legislation, for quartering large bodies of armed troops among us, for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world, for imposing taxes on us without our consent, for depriving us of the benefits of the trial by jury, for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences, for suspending our own legislatures and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever; by plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts, burning our towns, and destroying the lives of our people; by inciting insurrections of our fellow subjects with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation; by prompting our negroes to rise in arms among us, those very negroes, whom by an inhuman use of his negative he had refused us permission to exclude by law; by endeavouring to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless

Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions of existence; by transporting hither a large army of foreign mercenaries, to complete the work of death, desolation, and tyranny, then already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy, unworthy the head of a civilized nation; by answering our repeated petitions for redress with a repetition of injuries; and finally, by abandoning the helm of government, and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection; by which several acts of misrule, the government of this country as before exercised under the crown of Great Britain, was totally dissolved: did, therefore, having maturely considered the premises, and viewing with great concern the deplorable condition to which this once happy country would be reduced, unless some regular adequate mode of civil polity should be speedily adopted, and in compliance with the recommendation of the general congress, ordain and declare a form of government of Virginia:

And whereas, a convention held on the first Monday in October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, did propose to the people of the commonwealth an amended constitution or form of government, which was ratified by them:

And whereas, the general assembly of Virginia, by an act passed on the fourth of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, did provide for the election, by the people, of delegates to meet in general convention, to consider, discuss, and propose a new constitution, or alterations and amendments to the existing constitution of this commonwealth; and by an act, passed on the thirteenth of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, did further provide for submitting the same to the people for ratification or rejection:

We, therefore, the delegates of the good people of Virginia, elected and in convention assembled, in pursuance of said acts, do propose to the people the following constitution and form of government for this commonwealth :

ARTICLE I.-Bill of Rights.

The declaration of rights, as amended and prefixed to this constitution, shall have the same relation thereto as it had to the former constitution.

ARTICLE II.-Division of Powers.

The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of the peace shall be eligible to either house of assembly.

ARTICLE III.-Qualification of Voters.

1. Every white male citizen of the commonwealth, of the age of twenty-one years, who has been a resident of the state for two years, and of the county, city, or town where he offers to vote for twelve months next preceding an election, and no other person, shall be

qualified to vote for members of the general assembly and all officers elective by the people: but no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States shall be deemed a resident of this state, by reason of being stationed therein. And no person shall have the right to vote, who is of unsound mind, or a pauper, or a non-commissioned officer, soldier, seaman, or marine in the service of the United States, or who has been convicted of bribery in an election, or of any infamous offence.

2. The general assembly at its first session after the adoption of this constitution, and afterwards as occasion may require, shall cause every city or town, the white population of which exceeds five thousand, to be laid off into convenient wards, and a separate place of voting to be established in each, and thereafter no inhabitant of such city or town shall be allowed to vote except in the ward in which he resides.

3. No voter during the time for holding any election at which he is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform military service, except in time of war or public danger; to work upon the public roads, or to attend any court as suitor, juror, or witness; and no voter shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his attendance at elections, or in going to and returning from them.

4. In all elections votes shall be given openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. But dumb persons, entitled to suffrage, may vote by ballot.

ARTICLE IV.-Legislative Department.

1. The legislature shall be formed of two distinct branches, which together shall be a complete legislature and shall be called the general assembly of Virginia.

HOUSE OF DELEGATES.

2. One of these shall be called the house of delegates, and shall consist of one hundred and fifty-two members, to be chosen biennially for and by the several counties, cities, and towns of the commonwealth, and distributed and apportioned as follows:

The counties of Augusta and Rockingham and the city of Richmond shall each elect three delegates:

The counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Berkeley, Campbell, Fauquier, Franklin, Frederick, Halifax, Hampshire, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Loudoun, Marion, Monongalia, Monroe, Norfolk, Pittsylvania, Preston, Rockbridge, Shenandoah, and Washington shall each elect two delegates:

The counties of Botetourt and Craig shall together elect two delegates:

The counties of Accomac, Alexandria, Amherst, Appomattox, Barbour, Brunswick, Buckingham, Cabell, Caroline, Carroll, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Clarke, Culpepper, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Floyd, Fluvanna, Giles, Gloucester, Goochland, Grayson, Greenbrier, Hanover, Hardy, Henrico, Henry, Highland, Isle of Wight, Jackson, King William, Lee, Lewis, Louisa, Lunenberg, Madison, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Mecklenberg, Montgomery, Morgan, Nansemond, Nelson, Northampton, Page, Patrick, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Prin

T

cess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince William, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Scott, Smith, Southampton, Spottsylvania, Taylor, Upshur, Warren, Wayne, Wetzel, Wood, and Wythe, and the cities of Norfolk and Petersburg shall each elect one delegate:

The counties of Lee and Scott in addition to the delegate to be elected by each, shall together elect one delegate.

The following counties and cities shall compose election districts : Alleghany and Bath: Amelia and Nottoway: Logan, Boone, and Wyoming: Braxton and Nicholas: Charles City, James City, and New Kent: Cumberland and Powhatan: Doddridge and Tyler: Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, and the City of Williamsburg: Essex, and King and Queen: Fayette and Raleigh: Gilmer and Wirt, Greene and Orange: Greenesville and Sussex: King George and Stafford: Lancaster and Northumberland: Mathews and Middlesex: Pleasants and Ritchie: Prince George and Surry: and Richmond and Westmoreland; each of which districts shall elect one delegate. At the first general election under this constitution the county of Ohio shall elect three delegates, and the counties of Brooke and Hancock shall together elect one delegate; at the second general election the county of Ohio shall elect two delegates and the counties of Brooke and Hancock shall each elect one delegate; and so on, alternately, at succeeding general elections.

At the first general election the county of Russell shall elect two delegates, and the county of Tazewell shall elect one delegate; at the second general election the county of Tazewell shall elect two delegates and the county of Russell shall elect one delegate; and so on, alternately, at succeeding general elections.

The general assembly shall have power upon application of a majority of the voters of the county of Campbell to provide, that instead of the two delegates to be elected by said county, the town of Lynchburg shall elect one delegate and the residue of the county of Campbell shall elect one delegate.

3. The other house of the general assembly shall be called the senate, and shall consist of fifty members, to be elected for the term of four years; for the election of whom, the counties, cities, and towns shall be divided into fifty districts, each county, city, and town of the respective districts, at the time of the first election of its delegate or delegates under this constitution, shall vote for one senator, and the sheriffs or other officers holding the election for each county, city, and town, within five days at farthest after the last election in the district, shall meet at the court house of the county or city first named in the district, and from the polls so taken in their respective counties, cities, and towns, return as senator the person who has received the greatest number of votes in the whole district. Upon the assembling of the senators so elected, they shall be divided into two equal classes, to be numbered by lot. The term of service of the senators of the first class shall expire with that of the delegates first elected under this constitution; and of the senators of the second class at the expiration of two years thereafter; and this alternation shall be continued, so that one-half of the senators may be chosen every second year.