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having a freehold of fifty acres of land, in the county in which. they offer to ballot, and refiding therein, and all freemen above the age of twenty-one years, and having property in the ftate a bove the value of thirty pounds current money, and having refided in the county in which they offer to ballot, one whole year next preceding the election, fhall have a right of fuffrage; no perfon to be eligible to the office of theriff for a county, but an inhabitant of the faid county, above the age of twenty-one years, and having real and perfonal property in the ftate above the value of one thousand pounds current money: the juftices aforefaid fhall examine the ballots, and the two candidates properly qualified, having in each county the majority of legal ballots, shall be declared duly elected for the office of theriff for fuch county, and returned to the governor and council, with a certificate of the number of ballots for each of them.

43. That every person who fhall offer to vote for delegates, or for the election of the fenate, or for the fheriff, fhall (if required by any three perfons qualified to vote), before he be admitted to poll, take fuch oath or affirmation of fupport and fidelity to this. ftate, as this convention or the legislature thall direct.

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44. That a juftice of the peace may be eligible as a fenator, delegate, or member of the council, and may continue to act as a justice of the peace.

45. That no field officer of the militia be eligible as a fenator, delegate, or member of the council.

46. That all civil officers hereafter to be appointed for the feveral counties of this ftate, fhall have been refidents, of the county respectively for which they fhall be appointed, fix months next before their appointment, and fhall continue refidents of their county respectively, during their continuance in office.

47. That the judges of the general court, and juftices of the county courts, may appoint the clerks of their refpective courts, and in cafe of refufal, death, refignation, difqualification, or removal out of the county of any the faid county clerks in the vacation of the county court of which he is clerk, the governor with the advice of the council may appoint and commission a fit and proper person to fuch vacant office refpectively, to hold the fame until the meeting of the next general court, or county court, as the cafe may be.

48. That the governor for the time being, with the advice and confent of the council, may appoint the chancellor, and all judges and juftices, the attorney-general, naval officers, officers in the regular land and fea fervice, officers of the militia, registers of the land office, furveyors, and all other civil officers of government (affeffors, conftables and overfeers of the roads only exccpted), and may alfo fufpend or remove any civil officer who has not a commiffion during good behaviour, and may fufpend any militia

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militia officer for one month, and may also fufpend or remove any regular officer in the land or fea fervice; and the governor may remove or fufpend any militia officer in pursuance of the judgment of a court-martial.

49. That all civil officers of the appointment of the governor and council, who do not hold commiffions during good behaviour, fhall be appointed annually in the third week of November; but if any of them fhall be re-appointed, they may continue to act without any new commiffion or qualification; and every officer, though not re-appointed, fhall continue to act until the perfon who fhall be appointed and commiffioned in his ftead fhall be qualified.

50. That the governor, every member of the council, and every judge and justice, before they act as fuch, fhall refpectively take an oath, "That he will not, through favour, affection, or partiality, vote for any perfon to office, and that he will vote for fuch perfon as in his judgement and confcience he believes moft fit and beft qualified for the office, and that he has not made, nor will make, any promife or engagement to give his vote or intereft in favour of any perfon."

51. That there be two regifters of the land office, one upon the western, and one upon the eastern fhore; that fhort extracts of the grants and certificates of the land on the western and eastern shores refpectively be made in separate books, at the public expence, and depofited in the offices of the faid registers in fuch manner as fhall hereafter be provided by the general affembly.

52. That every chancellor, judge, regifter of wills, commiffioner of the loan office, attorney general, fheriff, treasurer, naval officer, regifter of the land office, regifter of the chancery court, and every clerk of the common law courts, furveyor, and auditor of the public accounts, before he acts as fuch, fhall take an oath "that he will not directly or indirectly receive any fee or reward for doing his office of

but what is or fhall be allowed by law, nor will directly or indirectly receive the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other perfon, and that he does not hold the fame office in truft or for the benefit of any other perfon."

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53. That if any governor, chancellor, judge, regifter of wills, attorney general, regifter of the land office, register of the chancery court, or any clerk of the common law courts, treasurer, naval officer, fheriff, furveyor, or auditor of public accounts, fhall receive directly or indirectly, at any time, the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other perfon during his acting in the office to which he is appointed, his election, appointment, and commiffion, on conviction in a court of law, by oath of two credible witneffes, fhall be void, and he shall fuffer the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, or be banished this

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ftate for ever, or difqualified for ever from holding any office cr place of truft or profit, as the court may adjudge.

54. That if any perfon fhall give any bribe, prefent, or reward, or any promife, or any fecurity for the payment or delivery of any money, or any other thing, to obtain or procure a vote to be governor, fenator, delegate to congrefs or affembly, member of the council, or judge, or to be appointed to any of the faid offices, or to any office of profit or truft, now created or hereafter to be created in this ftate, the perfon giving, and the perfon receiving the fame, on conviction in a court of law, fhall be for ever dif qualified to hold any office of truft or profit in this ftate.

55. That every perfon appointed to any office of profit or truft fhall, before he enters on the execution thereof, take the following oath, to wit," I, A. B. do fwear, That I do not hold myself bound in allegiance to the king of Great-Britain, and that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to the ftate of Maryland," and fhall alfo fubfcribe à declaration of his belief in the chriftian religion.

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56. That there be a court of appeals, compofed of perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law, whofe judgment shall be final and conclufive in all cafes of appeal, from the general court, court of chancery, and court of admiralty: That one perfon of integrity and found judgment in the law, be appointed chancellor: That three perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law be appointed judges of the court now called the provincial court; and that the fame court be hereafter called and known by the name of The General Court; which court fhall fit on the western and eaftern fhores for tranfacting and determining the bufinefs of the refpective fhores, at fuch times and places as the future legiflature of this ftate fhall direct and appoint.

57. That the ftile of all laws run thus, Be it enacted, by the general affembly of Maryland: That all public committions and grants run thus, The fate of Maryland, &c. and fhall be figned by the governor, and attefted by the chancellor with the feal of the state annexed, except military commiffions, which shall not be attested by the chancellor, or have the feal of the ftate annexed: That all writs fhall run in the fame ftile, and be tefted, fealed. and figned as ufual: That all indictments fhall conclude, Against the peace, government, and dignity of the ftat.

58. That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the king or proprietary, fhall go to the ftate, fave only fuch as the general affembly may abolish or otherwife provide for.

59. That this form of government, and the declaration of rights, and no part thereof, fhall be altered, changed, or abolished, unless a bill fo to alter, change, or abolish the fame, fhall pass the general affembly, and be published at least three months before a new election, and fhall be confirmed by the general affembly

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after a new election of delegates, in the first sellion after such new election; provided that nothing in this form of government which relates to the eastern shore particularly, fhall at any time hereafter be altered unless for the alteration and confirmation thereof at least two thirds of all the members of each branch of the general affembly fhall concur.

60. That every bill paffed by the general affembly, when engroffed, fhall be prefented by the fpeaker of the houfe of delegates, in the fenate, to the governor for the time being, who fhall fign the fame, and thereto affix the great feal, in the presence of the members of both houses: every law fhall be recorded in the general court office of the western fhore, and in due time printed, publifhed, and certified under the great feal, to the feveral county courts, in the fame manner as hath been heretofore used in this ftate.

This form of government was affented to, and paffed in convention of the delegates of the freemen of Maryland, begun and held at the city of Annapolis, the 14th of August, A. D. 1776.

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The CONSTITUTION, or FORM of GOVERNMENT, agreed to and resolved upon by the Delegates, and Reprefentatives of the feveral Counties and Corporations of Virginia, in a GENERAL CONVENTION held at Williamfburgh, on the 6th of May, and continued by Adjournments to the 5th of July, 1776.

WE

E, the delegates and representatives of the good people of Virginia, do declare the future form of government of Virginia to be as followeth :

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The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments shall be separate and diftinct, fo that neither exercife the powers properly belonging to the other; nor fhall any perfon exercise the powers of more than one of them at the fame time, except that the juftices of the county courts fhall be eligible to either houfe of assembly.

The legislative fhall be formed of two diftinct branches, who, together, fhall be a complete legiflature. They fhall meet once, or oftener, every year, and fhall be called, The General Assembly of Virginia. One of these shall be called, The House of Delegates, and confift of two reprefentatives to be chofen for each county, and for the diftrict of Weft-Augufta, annually, of fuch men as actually refide in and are freeholders of the fame, or duly qualified according to law, and alfo of one delegate or reprefentative to be chofen annually for the city of Williamsburgh, and one for the borough of Norfolk, and a reprefentative for each of fuch other cities and boroughs as may hereafter be allowed particular reprefentation by the legislature; but when any city or borough fhall fo decreafe, as that the number of perfons having right of fuffrage therein fhall have been for the ifpace of feven years fucceffively lefs than half the number of voters in fome one county in Virginia, fuch city or borough thenceforward fhall ceafe to fend a delegate or reprefentative to the affembly.

The other fhall be called The Senate, and confift of twentyfour members, of whom thirteen shall conftitute a houfe to proceed on business, for whofe election the different counties fhall be divided into twenty-four districts, and each county of the refpective

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