offer to ballot, and refiding therein-and all freemen above the age of twenty-one years, and having property in the ftate above 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-shall have a right of fuffrage. No perfon to be eligible to the office of Sheriff 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 state, 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, fhall be declared duly elected for the office of Sheriff for fuch county, and returned to the Governor and Council, with a certificate of the number of ballots for each of them,

XLIII. That every perfon, who fhall offer to vote for Delegates, or for the election of the Senate, or for the Sheriff, 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 Legiflature, fhall direct.

XLIV. That a Juftice of the Peace may be eligible as a Senator, Delegate, or member of the Council, and may continue to act, as a Juftice of the Peace.

XLV. That no field officer of the militia be eligible as a Senator, Delegate, or member of the Council.

XLVI. That all civil officers, hereafter to be appointed for the feveral counties of this ftate, fhall have been refidents of the county, refpectively, 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.

XLVII. 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 ftate, or from their refpective fhores, of the clerks of the General Court or either of them, in the vacation of the faid court-and in cafe of the refufal, death, refignation, difqualification, or removal out of the county, of any of 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 commiffion a fit and proper perfon 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.

XLVIII. 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, Regifters of the land-office, Surveyors, and all other civil officers of government, (Assessors, Conftables, and Overseers of the Roads, only excepted) and may alfo fufpend or remove any civil officer, who has not a commiffion, during good behaviour; and may fufpend any militia officer, for one month: and may alfo fufpend or remove any regular officer in the land or fea fervice and the Governor may remove or fufpend any militia officer, in purfuance of the judgment of a Court Martial.

XLIX. 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.

L. That the Governor, every member of the Council, and every Judge and Juftice, before they act as such, shall 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 judgment 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."

LI. That there be two Registers of the land office, one upon the western, and one upon the eastern shore; that short extracts of the grants and certificates of the land, on the western and eattern fhores, refpectively, be made in feparate books, at the public expenfe, and depofited in the offices of the faid Regifters, in fuch manner, as fhall hereafter be provided by the General Affembly.

LII. That every Chancellor, Judge, Regifter of Wills, Commiffioner of the Loan Office, Attorney-General, Sheriff, Treasurer, Naval Officer, Regifter of the Land Office, Regifter of the Chancery Court, and every Clerk of the Common Law Courts, Surveyor, 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 offie of but what is, or shall be allowed by law; nor will, directly or indirectly, receive the profits or a..y 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."

LIII. That if any Governor, Chancellor, Judge, Regifter of Wills, Attorney-General, Register of the Land Office, Register of the Chancery Court, or any Clerk of the Common Law Courts, Treasurer, Naval Officer, Sheriff, Surveyor, or Auditor of Public Accounts, fhall receive directly or indi rectly, 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 fhall fuffer the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, or be banished this ftate forever, or difqualified forever, from holding any office or place of truft or profit, as the court may adjudge.

LIV. That if any perfon fhall give any bribe, prefent, or reward, or any promife, or any fecurity for the pay ment or delivery of any money, or any other thing, to ob tain or procure a vote, to be Governor, Senator, 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 forever dif qualified to hold any office of truft or profit in this fate.

LV. 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 myfelf bound in allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and that I will be faithful, and bear true P

allegiance to the state of Maryland ;" and shall also subscribe a declaration of his belief in the Chriftian religion.

LVI. That there be a Court of Appeals, composed of perfons of integrity and found judgment in the law, whose judgment fhall 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 shall fit on the western and eaftern fhores, for transacting and determining the business of the refpective fhores, at fuch times and places, as the future Legislature of this state shall direct and appoint.

LVII. That the ftyle of all laws run thus; "Be it enacted by the General Affembly of Maryland:" That all public com. miffions and grants run thus; "The ftate of Maryland,” &c. and fhall be figned by the Governor, and attefted by the Chancellor, with the feal of the ftate annexed-except military commiffions, which fhall not be attefted by the Chancellor, or have the feal of the ftate annexed: that all writs fhall run in the fame ftyle, and be attefted, fealed, and figned as ufual. That all indictments fhall conclude," Against the peace, government, and dignity of the state."

LVIII. That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the king or proprietary, fhall go to the ftate-save only fuch, as the General Affembly may abolish or otherwise provide for.

LIX. 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 pafs the General Affembly, and be publifhed at leaft three months before a new election, and shall be confirmed by the General Affembly, after a new election of Delegates, in the first feffion after fuch new election; provided that nothing in this form of government, which relates to the eastern fhore particularly, fhall at any time hereafter be altered, unlefs for the alteration and confirmation thereof, at leaft two-thirds of all the members of each branch of the General Affembly fhall concur.

LX. That every bill, paffed by the General Affembly, when engroffed, fhall be prefented by the Speaker of the Houfe of Delegates, in the Senate, to the Governor for the time being, who fhall fign the fame, and thereto affix the great feal, in the prefence 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, published, 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 fourteenth of August, A. D. one thousand seven hundred and feventy-fix.

By order of the Convention,

M. TILGHMAN, Prefident.

AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREGOING CONSTITUTION.

ALL thofe parts of the conftitution and form of govern. ment that prevent a citizen, confcientiously fcrupulous of taking an oath in any cafe, and who are permitted by the conftitution to affirm in certain cafes, from taking a feat in the Legislature, or from being an elector of the Senate, without taking an oath of fupport to this government, shall be repealed; and hereafter a folemn affirmation, or declaration of fupport to this government may be taken, and fhall be received instead of an oath, by any citizen chofen a delegate or elector of the Senate, confcientiously fcrupulous of taking an oath in any cafe, and who is permitted by the conftitution to affirm in certain cafes. Nov. 1788, C. 42, § 2. confirmed by 1789, C. 1.

Every perfon being a member of either of the fects or focieties called Quakers, Menonifts, Dunkers, or Nicolites, or new Quakers, and who fhall be confcientiously ferupn lous of taking an oath on any occafion, being otherwife qualified and duly elected a Senator, Delegate, or Elector of the Senate, or being otherwife qualified and duly appoint