late; and that all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void.

ARTICLE II.-Distribution of the Powers of Government.

SEC. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Florida shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: those which are legislative, to one, those which are executive, to another, and those which are judicial, to another.

2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances expressly provided in this Constitution.

ARTICLE III.-Executive Department.

SEC. 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Florida.

2. The Governor shall be elected for four years, by the qualified electors at the time and place where they shall vote for representatives; and shall remain in office until a successor be chosen and qualified; and shall not be eligible to a re-election until the expiration of four years thereafter.

3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall have been a citizen of the United States ten years, or an inhabitant of Florida at the time of the adoption of this Constitution (being a citizen of the United States), and shall have been a resident of Florida at least five years next preceding the day of election.

4. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall, during the first week of the session open and publish them in the presence of both houses of the General Assembly; and the person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor. But if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of the two houses; and contested elections for Governor shall be determined by both houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected.

6. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof.

7. He may require information in writing from the officers of the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

8. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene

the General Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place if that shall have become dangerous from an enemy or from disease; and, in case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper-not beyond the day of the next meeting designated by this Constitution.

9. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly, information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.

10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

11. In all criminal and penal cases (except of treason and impeachment), after conviction, he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law; and in cases of treason, he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to grant reprieves and pardons; and he may, in the recess of the Senate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the General Assembly.

12. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, with such device as the Governor first elected may direct; and the present seal of the territory shall be the seal of the State, until otherwise directed by the General Assembly.

13. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Florida, be sealed with the State seal, and signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State.

14. There shall be a Secretary of State appointed by a joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office during the term of four years; and he shall keep a fair register of the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the General Assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.

15. Vacancies that happen in offices the appointment of which is vested in the General Assembly, or given to the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be filled by the Governor during the recess of the General Assembly, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next session.

16. Every bill, which shall have passed both houses of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it; and if, after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; and if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to that house, it shall become a law. But in such cases, the votes of

both houses shall be by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house, respectively; and if any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which case, it shall not be a law.

17. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor; and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disapproved, be repassed by both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.

18. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the President of the Senate shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor, during the term for which the Governor was elected; unless the General Assembly shall provide by law for the election of a Governor to fill such vacancy, or until the Governor so absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted.

19. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President of the Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, in like manner, administer the government.

20. The President of the Senate, or Speaker of the House of Rep resentatives, during the time he administers the government, shall receive the same compensation which the Governor would have received.

21. The Governor shall always reside, during the sessions of the General Assembly, at the place where their sessions are held, and at all other times, wherever, in their opinion, the public good may require.

22. No person shall hold the office of Governor, and any other office or commission, civil or military, either in this State, or under any State, or the United States, or any other power, at one and the same time, except the President of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, when he shall hold the office, as aforesaid.

23. A State treasurer and comptroller of public accounts shall be elected by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, at each regular session thereof.

ARTICLE IV.-Legislative Department.

SEC. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two distinct branches-the one to be styled the Senate, the other the House of Representatives, and both together "the General Assembly of the State of Florida;" and the style of the laws shall be, "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Florida in General Assembly convened."

2. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the qualified voters, and shall serve for the term of one year, from the day of the commencement of the general election, and no longer; and the sessions of the General Assembly shall be annual, and commence on the fourth Monday in November, in each year, or at such other times as may be prescribed by law.

3. The representatives shall be chosen every year, on the first Monday in the month of October, until otherwise directed by law.

4. No person shall be a representative unless he be a white man, a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of the State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the county for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years.

5. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of two years, at the same time, in the same manner, and in the same places, where they vote for members of the House of Representatives; and no man shall be a senator unless he be a white man, a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the district or county for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-five years.

6. The senators, after their first election, shall be divided by lot into two classes; and the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, and of the second class at the expiration of the second year; so that one-half thereof, as near as possible, may be chosen forever thereafter, annually, for the term of two years.

7. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a Speaker and its other officers; and the Senate a President and its other officers; and each house shall be judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its members; but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law.

8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe.

9. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same

cause.

10. Each house during the session, may punish by imprisonment any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings, provided such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the end of the session.

11. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment; and the yeas and nays of the members of each house shall be taken and entered upon the journals, upon the final passage of every bill, and

may by any two members, be required upon any other question; and any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from, or protest against, any act or resolution which he may think injurious to the public or an individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journal.

12. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to or returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the General Assembly is convened; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

13. The General Assembly shall make provision by law for filling vacancies that may occur in either house, by the death, resignation, or otherwise, of any of its members.

14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, the public safety may imperiously require secrecy.

15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

16. Bills may originate in either house of the General Assembly, and all bills passed by one house may be discussed, amended, or rejected by the other; but no bill shall have the force of law until, on three several days, it be read in each house, and free discussion be allowed thereon, unless, in cases of urgency, four-fifths of the house in which the same shall be depending, may deem it expedient to dispense with the rule; and every bill having passed both houses, shall be signed by the Speaker and President of their respective houses.

17. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive, from the public treasury, such compensation for his services as may be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the term for which the representatives were elected when such law passed.

18. The number of members of the House of Representatives shall never exceed sixiy.

ARTICLE V.-Judicial Department.

SEC. 1. The judicial power of this State, both as to matters of law and equity, shall be vested in a Supreme Court, courts of chancery, circuit courts, and justices of the peace: provided the General Assembly may also vest such criminal jurisdiction as may be deemed necessary in corporation courts; but such jurisdiction shall not extend to capital offences.

2. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed in this Constitution, shall have aj pellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with the State under such restrictions and regulations,