ART. XXII. A census of the legal voters of each city and town, on the first day of May, shall be taken, and returned into the office of the secretary of the commonwealth on or before the last day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fiftyseven; and a census of the inhabitants of each city and town, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in every tenth year thereafter. In the census aforesaid, a special enumeration shall be made of the legal voters, and in each city said enumeration shall specify the number of such legal voters aforesaid residing in each ward of such city. The enumeration aforesaid shall determine the apportionment of senators for the periods between the taking of the census. The senate shall consist of forty members. The general court shall, at its first session after each next preceding special enumeration, divide the commonwealth into forty districts of adjacent territory, each district to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of legal voters, according to the enumeration aforesaid: Provided, however, That no town, or ward of a city, shall be divided therefor; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties, or parts of two or more counties, into one district. Each district shall elect one senator, who shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth five years at least immediately preceding his election, and at the time of his election shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen; and he shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth. Not less than sixteen senators shall constitute a quorum for doing business; but a less number may organize temporarily, adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members. RATIFIED 1859. ART. XXIII. No person of foreign birth shall be entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to office, unless he shall have resided within the jurisdiction of the United States for two years subsequent to his naturalization, and shall be otherwise qualified, according to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth: Frovided, That this amendment shall not affect the rights which any person of foreign birth possessed at the time of the adoption thereof: And provided further, That it shall not affect the rights of any child of a citizen of the United States, born during the temporary absence of the parent therefrom.* RATIFIED 1860. ART. XXIV. Any vacancy in the senate shall be filled by election by the people of the unrepresented district, upon the order of a majority of senators elected. ART. XXV. In case of a vacancy in the council, from a failure of election or other cause, the senate and house of representatives shall, by concurrent vote, choose some eligible person, from the people of the district wherein such vacancy occurs, to fill that office. If such vacancy shall happen when the legislature is not in session, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, may fill the same by appointment of some eligible person. RATIFIED 1863. ART. XXVI. The twenty-third article of the articles of amendment of the constitution of this commonwealth, which is as follows, to wit: "No person of foreign birth shall be entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to office, unless he shall have resided within the jurisdiction of the United States for two years subsequent to his naturalization, and shall be otherwise qualified, according to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth: Provided, That this amendment shall not affect the rights which any person of foreign birth possessed at the time of the adoption thereof; And provided further, That it shall not affect the rights of any child of a citizen of the United States, born during the temporary absence of the parent therefrom," is hereby wholly annulled. * See Article XXVI of the amendments. MICHIGAN.* VIRGINIA ACT OF CESSION-1783. DEED OF CESSION FROM VIRGINIA-1784. [See "Illinois," page 428.] THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT-1787. [See "Illinois," pages 429-432.] VIRGINIA ACT OF RATIFICATION-1788. [See "Illinois," page 433.] THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT—1789. [See "Illinois," page 433.] THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA-1800.† [See "Illinois," pages 434, 435.] *The French discovered Detroit in 1670, and established a colony there in 1702. This was ceded to Great Britain, with all of the other French possessions east of the Mississippi River, by the treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, and was annexed by royal proclamation to the British colony of Quebec. It was relinquished to the United States by Great Britain by the treaties of 1782-'83, although a British garrison was maintained until 1796. The northern boundary of Indiana, as established by this act, was changed by the act of Congress approved April 30, 1802. THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN—1805.* [EIGHTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION.] An Act to divide the Indiana Territory into two separate governments. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the thirtieth day of June next, all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend, or extreme, of Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate Territory, and be called Michigan. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be established within the said Territory a government in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of Congress, passed on the thirteenth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio; and by an act passed on the seventh day of August, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An act to provide for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio;" and the inhabitants thereof shall be entitled to and enjoy all and singular the rights, privileges, and advantages granted and secured to the people of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio by the said ordinance. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the said Territory, who, by virtue of this act shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall respectively exercise the same powers, perform the same duties, and receive for their services the same compensations as by the ordinance aforesaid, and the laws of the United States, have been provided and established for similar officers in the Indiana Territory; and the duties and emoluments of superintendent of Indian affairs shall be united with those of governor. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed so as in any manner to affect the government now in force in the Indiana Territory, further than to prohibit the exercise thereof within the said Territory of Michigan, from and after the aforesaid thirtieth day of June next. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all suits, process, and proceeding which, on the thirtieth day of June next, shall be pending in the court of any county which shall be included within the said Territory of Michigan, and also all suits, process, and proceedings which, on the said thirtieth day of June next, shall be pending in the general court of the Indiana Territory in consequence of any writ of removal, or order for trial at bar, and which had been removed from any of the counties included within the limits of the Territory of Michigan aforesaid, shall, in all things concerning the same, be proceeded on, and judgments and decrees rendered thereon, in the same manner as if the said Indiana Territory had remained undivided. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That Detroit shall be the seat of government of the said Territory until Congress shall otherwise direct. APPROVED, January 11, 1805. The boundaries of Michigan, as established by this act, were necessarily changed by the acts of Congress approved April 9, 1816; June 18, 1818; June 28, 1834, and April 20, 1836. The act of 1818 extended the Territory westward to the Mississippi River, and the act of 1834 added the territory between the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri and White Earth Rivers on the west. Michigan Territory then extended from Lakes Erie and Huron westward to the Missouri River, and from the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri northward to the British domin CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN-1835.* In convention, begun at the city of Detroit, on the second Monday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five: We, the people of the Territory of Michigan, as established by the act of Congress of the eleventh of January, eighteen hundred and five, in conformity to the fifth article of the ordinance providing for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio, believing that the time has arrived when our present political condition ought to cease, and the right of self-government be asserted; and availing ourselves of that provision of the aforesaid ordinance of the Congress of the United States of the thirteenth day of July, seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, and the acts of Congress passed in accordance therewith, which entitled us to admission into the Union, upon a condition which has been fulfilled, do, by onr delegates in convention assembled, mutually agree to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the style and title of "The State of Michigan," and do ordain and establish the following constitution for the government of the same: ARTICLE I. SECTION 1. All political power is inherent in the people SEC. 2. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and they have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, and to abolish one form of government and establish another, whenever the public good requires it. SEC. 3. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate privileges. SEC. 4. Every person has a right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience; and no person can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support, against his will, any place of religious worship, or pay any tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel or teacher of religion. SEC. 5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or theological or religious seminaries. SEC. 6. The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no individual shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his opinions or belief concerning matters of religion. SEC. 7. Every person may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no laws shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. SEC. 8. The person, houses, papers, and possessions of every individual shall be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things,. shall issue without describing them, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. SEC. 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. SEC. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; to have the assistance of counsel for his defence; and in all civil cases, in which personal liberty may be involved, the trial by jury shall not be refused. SEC. 11. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the *This constitution was framed by a convention called by the territorial legislative council, which met at Detroit May 11, 1835, and completed its labors June 29, 1835. It was submitted to the people and ratified November 2, 1835. President Jackson laid it before Congress in a special message, December 9, 1835. ART. XXII. A census of the legal voters of each city and town, on the first day of May, shall be taken, and returned into the office of the secretary of the commonwealth on or before the last day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fiftyseven; and a census of the inhabitants of each city and town, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in every tenth year thereafter. In the census aforesaid, a special enumeration shall be made of the legal voters, and in each city said enumeration shall specify the number of such legal voters aforesaid residing in each ward of such city. The enumeration aforesaid shall determine the apportionment of senators for the periods between the taking of the census. The senate shall consist of forty members. The general court shall, at its first session after each next preceding special enumeration, divide the commonwealth into forty districts of adjacent territory, each district to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of legal voters, according to the enumeration aforesaid: Provided, however, That no town, or ward of a city, shall be divided therefor; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties, or parts of two or more counties, into one district. Each district shall elect one senator, who shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth five years at least immediately preceding his election, and at the time of his election shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen; and he shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth. Not less than sixteen senators shall constitute a quorum for doing business; but a less number may organize temporarily, adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members. RATIFIED 1859. ART. XXIII. No person of foreign birth shall be entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to office, unless he shall have resided within the jurisdiction of the United States for two years subsequent to his naturalization, and shall be otherwise qualified, according to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth: Frovided, That this amendment shall not affect the rights which any person of foreign birth possessed at the time of the adoption thereof: And provided further, That it shall not affect the rights of any child of a citizen of the United States, born during the temporary absence of the parent therefrom.* RATIFIED 1860. ART. XXIV. Any vacancy in the senate shall be filled by election by the people of the unrepresented district, upon the order of a majority of senators elected. ART. XXV. In case of a vacancy in the council, from a failure of election or other cause, the senate and house of representatives shall, by concurrent vote, choose some eligible person, from the people of the district wherein such vacancy occurs, to fill that office. If such vacancy shall happen when the legislature is not in session, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, may fill the same by appointment of some eligible person. RATIFIED 1863. ART. XXVI. The twenty-third article of the articles of amendment of the constitution of this commonwealth, which is as follows, to wit: "No person of foreign birth shall be entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to office, unless he shall have resided within the jurisdiction of the United States for two years subsequent to his naturalization, and shall be otherwise qualified, according to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth: Provided, That this amendment shall not affect the rights which any person of foreign birth possessed at the time of the adoption thereof; And provided further, That it shall not affect the rights of any child of a citizen of the United States, born during the temporary absence of the parent therefrom," is hereby wholly annulled. * See Article XXVI of the amendments. |