PREAMBLE
The end of the institution, maintenance, and
administration of government is to secure the existence of the
body-politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose
it with the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural
rights and the blessings of life; and whenever these great objects are
not obtained the people have a right to alter the government, and to
take measures necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness.
The body politic is formed by a voluntary
association of individuals; it is a social compact by which the whole
people covenants with each citizen and each citizen with the whole
people that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good.
It is the duty of the people, therefore, in framing a constitution of
government, to provide for an equitable mode of making laws, as well as
for an impartial interpretation and a faithful execution of them; that
every man may, at all times, find his security in them.
We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts,
acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the great
Legislator of the universe, in affording us, in the course of His
providence, an opportunity, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud,
violence, or surprise, of entering into an original, explicit, and
solemn compact with each other, and of forming a new constitution of
civil government for ourselves and posterity; and devoutly imploring His
direction in so interesting a design, do agree upon, ordain, and
establish the following declaration of rights and frame of government as
the constitution of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
PART THE FIRST
A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Article I. All men are born free and equal, and
have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may
be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and
liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in
fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.
Art. II. It is the right as well as the duty of
all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons, to worship the
Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no
subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty,
or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable
to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession
or sentiments, provided he doth not disturb the public peace or obstruct
others in their religious worship.
Art. III. As the happiness of a people and the
good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend upon
piety, religion, and morality, and as these cannot be generally
diffcused through a community but by the institution of the public
worship of God and of the public instructions in piety, religion, and
morality: Therefore, To promote their happiness and to secure the good
order and preservation of their government, the people of this
commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to
authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time,
authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other
bodies-politic or religious societies to make suitable provision, at
their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God and
for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety,
religion, and morality in all cases where such provision shall not be
made voluntarily.
And the people of this commonwealth have also a
right to, and do, invest their legislature with authority to enjoin upon
all the subject an attendance upon the instructions of the public
teachers aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any on
whose instructions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend.
Provided, notwithstanding, That the several
towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies-politic, or religious
societies, shall at all times have the exclusive right and electing
their public teachers and of contracting with them for their support and
maintenance.
And all moneys paid by the subject to the
support of public worship and of public teachers aforesaid shall, if he
require it, be uniformly applied to the support of the public teacher or
teachers of his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be
any on whose instructions he attends; othewise it may be paid toward the
support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which
the said moneys are raised.
And every denomination of Christians, demeaning
themselves peaceably and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be
equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any
sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.
Art. IV. The people of this commonwealth have
the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free,
sovereign, and independent State, and do, and forever hereafter shall,
exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not, or
may not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States
of America in Congress assembled.
Art. V. All power residing originally in the
people, and being derived from them, the several magistrates and
officers of government vested with authority, whether legislative,
executive, or judicial, are the substitutes and agents, and are at all
times accountable to them.
Art. VI. No man nor corporation or association
of men have any other title to obtain advantages, or particular and
exclusive privileges distinct from those of the community, than what
rises from the consideration of servicces rendered to the public, and
this title being in nature neither hereditary nor transmissible to
children or descendants or relations by blood; the idea of a man born a
magistrate, lawgiver, or judge is absurd and unnatural.
Art. VII. Government is instituted for the
common good, for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of
the people, and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any
one man, family, or class of men; therefore the people alone have an
incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute
government, and to reform, alter, or totally change the same when their
protection, safety, prospertiy, and happiness require it.
Art. VIII. In order to prevent those who are
vested with authority from becoming oppressors, the people have a right
at such periods and in such manner as they shall establish by their
frame of government, to cause their public officers to return to private
life; and to fill up vacant places by certain and regular elections and
appointments.
Art. IX. All elections ought to be free; and all
the inhabitants of this commonwealth, having such qualifications as they
shall establish by their frame of government, have an equal right to
elect officers, and to be elected, for public employments.
Art. X. Every individual of the society has a
right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and
property, according to standing laws. He is obliged, consequently, to
contribute his share to expense of this protection; to give his personal
service, or an equivalent, when necessary; but no part of the property
of any individual can, with justice, be taken from him, or applied to
public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body
of the people. In fine, the people of this commonwealth are not
controllable by any other laws than those to which their constitutional
representative body have given their consent. And whenever the public
exigencies require that the property of any individual should be
appropriated to public uses, he shall receive a reasonable compensation
therefor.
Art. XI. Every subject of the commonwealth ought
to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all
injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or
character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without
being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial;
promptly, and without delay, conformably to the laws.
Art. XII. No subject shall be held to answer for
any crimes or no offence until the same if fully and plainly,
substantially and formally, described to him; or be compelled to accuse,
or furnish evidence against himself; and every subject shall have a
right to produce all proofs that may be favorable to him; to meet the
witnesses against him face to face, and to be fully heard in his defense
by himself, or his counsel at his election. And no subject shall be
arrested, imprisoned, despoiled, or deprived of his property,
immunities, or privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled
or deprived of his life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment of his
peers, or the law of the land.
And the legislature shall not make any law that
shall subject any person to a capital or infamous punishment, excepting
for the government of the army and navy, without trial by jury.
Art. XIII. In criminal prosecutions, the
verification of facts, in the vicinity where they happen, is one of the
greatest securities of the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.
Art. XIV. Every subject has a right to be secure
from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses,
his papers, and all his possessions. All warrants, therefore, are
contrary to this right, if the cause or foundation of them be not
previously supported by oath or affirmation, and if the order in the
warrant to a civil officer, to make search in suspected places, or to
arrest one or more suspected persons, or to seize their property, be not
accompanied with a special designation of the persons or objects of
search, arrest, or seizure; and no warrant ought to be issued but in
cases, and with the formalities, prescribed by the laws.
Art. XV. In all controversies concerning
property, and in all suits between two or more persons, except in cases
in which it has heretofore been other ways used and practiced, the
parties have a right to a trial by jury; and this method of procedure
shall be held sacred, unless, in causes arising on the high seas, and
such as relate to mariners' wages, the legislature shall hereafter find
it necessary to alter it.
Art. XVI. The liberty of the press is essential
to the security of freedom in a State; it ought not, therefore, to be
restrained in this commonwealth.
Art. XVII. The people have a right to keep and
to bear arms for the common defense. And as, in time of peace, armies
are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the
consent of the legislature; and the military power shall always be held
in an exact subordination to the civil authority and be governed by it.
Art. XVIII. A frequent recurrence to the
fundamental principles of the constitution, and a constant adherence to
those of piety, justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and
frugality, are absolutely necessary to preserve the advantages of
liberty and to maintain a free government. The people ought,
consequently, to have a particular attention to all those principles, in
the choice of their officers and representatives; and they have a right
to require of their lawgivers and magistrates an exact and constant
observation of them, in the formation and execution of the laws
necessary for the good administration of the commonwealth.
Art. XIX. The people have a right, in an orderly
and peaceable manner, to assemble to consult upon the common good; give
instructions to their representatives, and to request of the legislative
body, by the way of addresses, petitions, or remonstrance's, redress of
the wrongs done them, and of the grievances they suffer.
Art. XX. The power of suspending the laws, or
the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercised but by the
legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such
particular cases only as the legislature shall expressly provide for.
Art. XXI. The freedom of deliberation, speech,
and debate, in either house of the legislature, is so essential to the
rights of the people, that it cannot be the foundation of any accusation
or prosecution, action or complaint, in any other court of place
whatsoever.
Art. XXII. The legislature ought frequently to
assemble for address of grievances, for correcting, strengthening, and
confirming the laws, and for making new laws, as the common good may
require.
Art. XXIII. No subsidy, charge, tax, impost, or
duties, ought to be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any
pretext whatsoever, without the consent of the people, or their
representatives in the legislature.
Art. XXIV. Laws made to punish for actions done
before the existence of such laws, and which have not been declared
crimes by preceding laws, are unjust, oppressive, and inconsistent with
the fundamental principles of a free government.
Art. XXV. No subject ought, in any case, or in
any time, to be declared guilty of treason or felony by the legislature.
Art. XXVI. No magistrate or court of law shall
demand excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict
cruel or unusual punishments.
Art. XXVII. In time of peace, no soldier ought
to be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; and in
time of war, such quarters ought not be made but by the civil
magistrate, in a manner ordained by the legislature.
Art. XXVIII. No person can in any case be
subjected to law-martial, or to any penalties or pains, by virtue of
that law, except those employed in the army or navy, and except the
militia in actual service, but by authority of the legislature.
Art. XXIX. It is essential to the preservation
of the rights of every individual, his life, liberty, property, and
character, that there be an impartial interpretation of the laws, and
administration of justice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried
by judges as free, impartial, and independent as the lot of humanity
will admit. It is, therefore, not only the best policy, but for the
security of the rights of the people, and of every citizen, that the
judges of the supreme judicial court should hold their offices as long
as they behave themselves well, and that they should have honorable
salaries ascertained and established by standing laws.
Art. XXX. In the government of this
commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the
executive and judicial powers, or either of them; the executive shall
never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them;
the judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers,
or either of them; to the end it may be a government of laws, and not of
men.
PART THE SECOND
The Frame of Government
The people inhabiting the territory formerly
called the province of Massachusetts Bay do hereby solemnly and mutually
agree with each other to form themselves into a free, sovereign, and
independent body-politic or State, by the name of the commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
CHAPTER I.--THE LEGISLATIVE POWER
Section I.--The General Court
Article I. The department of legislation shall
be formed by two branches, a senate and house of representatives; each
of which shall have a negative on the other.
The legislative body shall assemble every year
on the last Wednesday in May, and at such other times as they shall
judge necessary; and shall dissolve and be dissolved on the day next
preceding the said last Wednesday in May; and shall be styled the
General Court of Massachusetts.
Art. II. No bill or resolve of the senate or
house of representatives shall become a law, and have force as such,
until it shall have been laid before the governor for his revisal; and
if he, upon such revision, approve thereof, he shall signify his
approbation by signing the same. But if he have any objection to the
passing such bill or resolve, he shall return the same, together with
his objections thereto, in writing, to the senate or house of
representatives, in which so ever the same shall have originated, who
shall enter the objections sent down by the governor, at large, on their
records, and proceed to reconsider the said bill or resolve; but if,
after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the said senate or house of
representatives shall, notwithstanding the said objections, agree to
pass the same, it shall, together with the objections, be sent to the
other branch of the legislature, where it shall also be reconsidered,
and if approved by two-thirds of the members present, shall have the
force of law; but in all such cases, the vote of both houses shall be
determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for or
against the said bill or resolve shall be entered upon the public
records of the commonwealth.
And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, if
any bill or resolve shall not be returned by the governor within five
days after it shall have been presented, the same shall have the force
of law.
Art. III. The general court shall forever have
full power and authority to erect and constitute judicatories and courts
of record or other courts, to be held in the name of the commonwealth,
for the hearing, trying, and determining of all manner of crimes,
offences, pleas, processes, plaints, actions, matters, causes, and
things whatsoever, arising or happening within the commonwealth, or
between or concerning persons inhabiting or residing, or brought within
the same; whether the same be criminal or civil, or whether the said
crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the said pleas be real,
personal, or mixed; and for the awarding and making out of execution
thereupon; to which courts and judicatories are hereby given and granted
full power and authority, from time to time, to administer oaths or
affirmations, for the better discovery of truth in any matter in
controversy, or depending before them.
Art. IV. And further, full power and authority
are hereby given and granted to the said general court from time to
time, to make, ordain, and establish all manner of wholesome and
reasonable orders, laws, statutes, and ordinances, directions and
instructions, either with penalties or without, so as the same be not
repugnant or contrary to this constitution, as they shall judge to be
for the good and welfare of this commonwealth, and for the government
and ordering thereof, and of the subjects of the same, and for the
necessary support and defence of the government thereof; and to name and
settle annually, or provide by fixed laws, for the naming and settling
all civil officers within the said commonwealth, the election, and
constitution of whom are not hereafter in this form of government
otherwise provided for; and to set forth the several duties, powers, and
limits of the several civil and military officers of this commonwealth,
and the forms of such oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively
administered unto them for the execution of their several offices and
places, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this
constitution; and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable
assessments, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and persons
resident, and estates lying, within the said commonwealth; and also to
impose and levy reasonable duties and excises upon any produce, goods,
wares, merchandise, and commodities whatsoever, brought into, produced,
manufactured, or being within the same; to be issued and disposed of by
warrant, under the hand of the governor of this commonwealth, for the
time being, with the advice and consent of the council, for the public
service, in the necessary defence and support of the government of the
said commonwealth, and the protection and preservation of the subjects
thereof, according to such acts as are or shall be in force within the
same.
And while the public charges of government, or
any part thereof, shall be assessed on polls and estates, in the manner
that has hitherto been practiced, in order that such assessments may be
made with equality, there shall be a valuation of estates within the
commonwealth, taken anew once in every ten years at least, and as much
oftener as the general court shall order.
CHAPTER I
Section 2.--Senate
Article I. There shall be annually elected, by
the freeholders and other inhabitants of this commonwealth, qualified as
in this constitution is provided, forty persons to be councilors and
senators, for the year ensuing their election; to be chosen by the
inhabitants of the districts into which the commonwealth may from time
to time be divided by the general court for that purpose; and the
general court, in assigning the numbers to be elected by the respective
districts, shall govern themselves by the proportion of the public taxes
paid by the said districts; and timely make known to the inhabitants of
the commonwealth the limits of each district, and the number of
councilors and senators to be chosen therein: Provided, That the number
of such districts shall never be less than thirteen; and that no
district be so large as to entitle the same to choose more than six
senators.
And the several counties in this commonwealth
shall, until the general court shall determine it necessary to alter the
said districts, be districts for the choice of councilors and senators,
(except that the counties of Dukes County and Nantucket shall form one
district for that purpose,) and shall elect the following number for
councilors and senators, viz: . . . .[39 senators]
Art. II. The senate shall be the first branch of
the legislature; and the senators shall be chosen in the following
manner, viz: There shall be a meeting on the first Monday in April,
annually, forever, of the inhabitants of each town in the several
counties of this commonwealth, to be called by the selectmen, and warned
in due course of law, at least seven days before the first Monday n
April, for the purpose of electing persons to be senators and
councilors; and at such meetings every male inhabitant of twenty-one
year of age and upwards, having a freehold estate of the value of sixty
pounds, shall have a right to give in his vote for the senators for the
district of which he is an inhabitant. And to remove all doubts
concerning the meaning of the word "inhabitant," in this constitution,
every person shall be considered as an inhabitant, for the purpose of
electing and being elected into any office or place within this State,
in that town, district, or plantation where he dwell either hath his
home.
The selectmen of the several towns shall preside
at such meetings impartially, and shall receive the votes of all the
inhabitants of such towns, present and qualified to vote for senators,
and shall sort and count them in open town meeting, and in presence of
the town clerk, who shall make a fair record, in presence of the
selectmen, and in open town meeting, of the name of every person voted
for, and of the number of votes against his name; and a fair copy of
this record shall be attested by the selectmen and the town clerk, and
shall be sealed up, directed to the secretary of the commonwealth, for
the time being, with a superscription expressing the purport of the
contents thereof, and delivered by the town clerk of such towns to the
sheriff of the county in which such town lies, thirty days at least
before the last Wednesday in May, annually; or it shall be delivered
into the secretary's office seventeen days at least before the said last
Wednesday in May; and the sheriff of each county shall deliver all such
certificates, by him received, into the secretary's office seventeen
days before the said last Wednesday in May.
And the inhabitants of the plantations
unincorporated, qualified as this constitution provides, who are or
shall be empowered and required to assess taxes upon themselves toward
the support of government, shall have the same privilege of voting for
councilors and senators, in the plantations where they reside, as town
inhabitants have in their respective towns; and the plantation meetings
for that purpose shall be held annually, on the same first Monday in
April, at such place in the plantations, respectively, as the assessors
thereof shall direct; which assessors shall have like authority for
notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the
selectmen and town clerks have in their several towns by this
constitution. And all other persons living in places unincorporated,
(qualified as aforesaid,) who shall be assessed to the support of
government by assessors of an adjacent town, shall have the privilege of
giving in their votes for councilors and senators in the town where they
shall be assessed, and be notified of the place of meeting by the
selectmen of the town where they shall be assessed, for that purpose,
accordingly.
Art. III. And that there may be a due convention
of senators, on the last Wednesday in May, annually, the governor, with
five of the council, for the time being, shall, as soon as may be,
examine the returned copies of such records; and fourteen days before
the said day he shall issue his summons to such persons as shall appear
to be chosen by a majority of voters to attend on that day, and take
their seats accordingly: Provided, nevertheless, That for the first year
the said returned copies shall be examined by the president and five of
the council of the former constitution of government; and the said
president shall, in like manner, issue his summons to the persons so
elected, that they may take their seats as aforesaid.
Art. IV. The senate shall be the final judge of
the elections, returns, and qualifications of their own members, as
pointed out in the constitution; and shall, on the said last Wednesday
in May, annually, determine and declare who are elected by each district
to be senators by a majority of votes; and in case there shall not be
the full number of senators returned, elected by a majority of votes for
any district, the deficiency shall be supplied in the following manner,
viz: The members of the house of representatives, and such senators as
shall be declared elected, shall take the names of such persons as shall
be found to have the highest number of votes in such district, and not
elected, amounting to twice the number of senators wanting, if there be
so many voted for, and out of these shall elect by ballot a number of
senators sufficient to fill up the vacancies in such district; and in
this manner all such vacancies shall be filled up in every district of
the commonwealth; and in like manner all vacancies in the senate,
arising by death, removal out of the State or otherwise, shall be
supplied as soon as may after such vacancies shall happen.
Art. V. Provided, nevertheless, That no person
shall be capable of being elected as a senator [who is not seized in his
own right of a freehold within this commonwealth, of the value of three
hundred pounds at least, or possessed of personal estate to the value of
six hundred pounds at least, or of both to the amount of the same sum,
and] who has not been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for the space
of five years immediately preceding his election, and, at the time of
his election, he shall be an inhabitant in the district for which he
shall be chosen.
Art. VI. The senate shall have power to adjourn
themselves; provided such adjournments do not exceed two days at a time.
Art. VII. The senate shall choose its own
president, appoint its own officers, and determine its own rules of
proceedings.
Art. VIII. The senate shall be a court, with
full authority to hear and determine all impeachments made by the house
of representatives, against any officer or officers of the commonwealth,
for misconduct and maladministration in their offices; but, previous to
the trial of every impeachment, the members of the senate shall,
respectively, be sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the
charge in question, according to the evidence. Their judgment, however,
shall not extend further than to removal from office, and
disqualification to hold or enjoy any place of honor, trust, or profit
under this commonwealth; but the part so convicted shall be,
nevertheless, liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment,
according to the laws of the land.
Art. IX. Not less than sixteen members of the
senate shall constitute a quorum for doing business.
CHAPTER I.
Section 3.--House of Representatives
Article I. There shall be, in the legislature of
this commonwealth, a representation of the people, annually elected, and
founded upon the principle of equality.
Art. II. And in order to provide for a
representation of the citizens of this commonwealth, founded upon the
principle of equality, every corporate town containing one hundred and
fifty ratable polls, may elect one representative; every corporate town
containing three hundred and seventy-five ratable polls, may elect two
representatives; every corporate town containing six hundred ratable
polls, may elect three representatives; and proceeding in that manner,
making two hundred and twenty-five ratable polls the mean increasing
number for every additional representative.
Provided, nevertheless, That each town now
incorporated, not having one hundred and fifty ratable polls, may elect
one representative; but no place shall hereafter be incorporated with
the privilege of electing a representative, unless there are within the
same one hundred and fifty ratable polls.
And the house of representatives shall have
power, from time to time, to impose fines upon such towns as shall
neglect to choose and return members of the same, agreeably to this
constitution.
The expenses of travelling to the general
assembly and returning home, once in every session, and no more, shall
be paid by the government out of the public treasury, to every member
who shall attend as seasonably as he can, in the judgment of the house,
and does not depart without leave.
Art. III. Every member of the house of
representatives shall be chosen by written votes; and, for one year at
least next preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of, and
have been seized in his own right of a freehold of the value of one
hundred pounds, within the town he shall be chosen to represent, or any
ratable estate to the value of two hundred pounds; and he shall cease to
represent the said town immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as
aforesaid.
Art. IV. Every male person being twenty-one
years of age, and resident in any particular town in this commonwealth,
for the space of one year next preceding, having a freehold estate
within the same town, of the annual income of three pounds, or any
estate of the value of sixty pounds, shall have a right to vote in the
choice of a representative or representatives for the said town.
Art. V. The members of the house of
representatives shall be chosen annually in the month of May, ten days
at least before the last Wednesday of that month.
Art. VI. The house of representatives shall be
the grand inquest of this commonwealth; and all impeachments made by
them shall be heard and tried by the senate.
Art. VII. All money bills shall originate in the
house of representatives; but the senate may propose or concur with
amendments, as on other bills.
Art. VIII. The house of representatives shall
have power to adjourn themselves; provided such adjournments shall not
exceed two days at a time.
Art. IX. Not less than sixty members of the
house of representatives shall constitute a quorum for doing business.
Art. X. The house of representatives shall be
the judge of the returns, elections, and qualifications of its own
members, as point out in the constitution; shall choose their own
speaker, appoint their own officers, and settle the rules and order of
proceeding in their own house. They shall have authority to punish by
imprisonment every person, not a member, who shall be guilty of
disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in
its presence; or who, in the twon where the general court is sitting,
and during the time of its sitting, shall threaten harm to the body or
estate of any of its members, for anything said or done in the house; or
who shall assault any of them therefor; or who shall assault or arrest
any witness, or other person, ordered to attend the house, in his way in
going or returning; or who shall rescue any person arrested by the order
of the house.
And no member of the house of representatives
shall be arrested, or held to bail on mesne process, during his going
unto, returning from, or his attending the general assembly.
Art. XI. The senate shall have the same powers
in the like cases; and the governor and council shall have the same
authority to punish in like cases; Provided, That no imprisonment, on
the warrant or order of the governor, council, senate, or house of
representatives, for either of the above-described offences, be for a
term exceeding thirty days.
And the senate and house of representatives may
try and determine all cases where their rights and privileges are
concerned, and which, by the constitution, they have authority to try
and determine, by committees of their own members, or in such other way
as they may, respectively, think best.
CHAPTER II.--EXECUTIVE POWER
Section I,--Governor
Article I. There shall be a supreme executive
magistrate, who shall be styled "The governor of the commonwealth of
Massachusetts;" and whose title shall be "His Excellency."
Art. II. The governor shall be chosen annually;
and no person shall be eligible to this office, unless, at the time of
his election, he shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for
seven years next preceding; and unless he shall, at the same time, be
seized, in his own right, of a freehold, within the commonwealth, of the
value of one thousand pounds; and unless he shall declare himself to be
of the Christian religion.
Art. III. Those persons who shall be qualified
to vote for senators and representatives, within the several towns of
this commonwealth, shall, at a meeting to be called for that purpose, on
the first Monday of April, annually, give in their votes for a governor
to the selectmen, who shall preside at such meetings; and the town
clerk, in the presence and with the assistance of the selectmen, shall,
in open town meeting, sort and count the votes, and form a list of the
persons voted for, with the number of votes for each person against his
name; and shall make a fair record of the same in the town books, and a
public declaration thereof in the said meeting; and shall, in the
presence of the inhabitants, seal up copies of the said list, attested
by him and the selectmen, and transmit the same to the sheriff of the
county, thirty days at least before the last Wednesday in May; and the
sheriff shall transmit the same to the secretary's office, seventeen
days at least before the said last Wednesday in May; or the selectmen
may cause returns of the same to be made, to the office of the secretary
of the commonwealth, seventeen days at least before the said day; and
the secretary shall lay the same before the senate and the house of
representatives, on the last Wednesday in May, to be by them examined;
and in case of an election by a majority of all the votes returned, the
choice shall be by them declared and published; but if no person shall
have a majority of votes, the house of representatives shall, by ballot,
elect two out of four persons, who had the highest number of votes, if
so many shall have been voted for; but, if otherwise, out of the number
voted for; and make return to the senate of the two persons so elected;
on which the senate shall proceed, by ballot, to elect one, who shall be
declared governor.
Art. IV. The governor shall authority, from time
to time, at his discretion, to assemble and call together the councilors
of this commonwealth for the time being; and the governor, with the said
councilors, or five of them at least, shall and may, from time to time,
hold and keep a council, for the ordering and directing the affairs of
the commonwealth, agreeably to the constitution and the laws of the
land.
Art. V. The governor, with advice of council,
shall have full power and authority, during the session of the general
court, to adjourn or prorogue the same at any time the two houses shall
desire; and to dissolve the same on the day nex preceding the last
Wednesday in May; and, in the recess of the said court, to prorogue the
same from time to time, not exceeding ninety days in any one recess; and
to call it together sooner than the time to which it may be adjourned or
prorogued, if the welfare of the commonwealth shall require the same;
and in case of any infectious distemper prevailing in the place where
the said court is next at any time to convene, or any other cause
happening, whereby danger may arise to the health or lives of the
members from their attendance, he may direct the session to be held at
some other the most convenient place within the State.
And the governor shall dissolve the said general
court on the day next preceding the last Wednesday in May.
Art. VI. In cases of disagreement between the
two houses, with regard to the necessity, expediency, or time of
adjournment or prorogation, the governor, with advice of the council,
shall have a right to adjourn or prorogue the general court, not
exceeding ninety days, as he shall determine the public good shall
require.
Art. VII. The governor of this commonwealth, for
the time being, shall be the commander-in-chief of the army and navy,
and of all the military forces of the State, by sea and land; and shall
have full power, by himself or by any commander, or other officer or
officers, from time to time, to train, instruct, exercise, and govern
the militia and navy; and, for the special defense and safety of the
commonwealth, to assemble in martial array, and put in warlike posture,
the inhabitants thereof, and to lead and conduct them, and with them to
encounter, repel, resist, expel, and pursue, by force of arms, as by sea
as by land, within or within the limits of this commonwealth; and also
to kill, slay, and destroy, if necessary, and conquer, by all fitting
ways, enterprises, and means whatsoever, all and every such person and
persons as shall, at any time hereafter, in a hostile manner, attempt or
enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of this
commonwealth; and to use and exercise over the army and navy, and over
the militia in actual service, the law-martial, in time of war or
invasion, and also in time of rebellion, declared by the legislature to
exist, as occasion shall necessarily require; and to take and surprise,
by all ways and means whatsoever, all and every such person or persons,
with their ships, arms, and ammunition, and other goods, as shall, in a
hostile manner, invade, or attempt the invading, conquering, or annoying
this commonwealth; and that the governor be entrusted with all these and
other powers incident to the offices of captain-general and
commander-in-chief, and admiral, to be exercised agreeably to the rules
and regulations of the constitution and the laws of the land, and not
otherwise.
Provided, That the said governor shall not, at
any time hereafter, by virtue of any power by this constitution granted,
or hereafter to be granted to him by the legislature, transport any of
the inhabitants of this commonwealth, or oblige them to march out of the
limits of the same, without their free and voluntary consent, or the
consent of the general court; except so far as may be necessary to march
or transport them by land or water for the defense of such part of the
State to which they cannot otherwise conveniently have access.
Art. VIII. The power of pardoning offences,
except such as persons may be convicted of before the senate, by an
impeachment of the house, shall be in the governor, by and with the
advice of council; but no charter or pardon, granted by the governor,
with the advice of the council, before conviction, shall avail the party
pleading the same, notwithstanding any general or particular expressions
contained therein, descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be
pardoned.
Art. IX. All judicial officers, the
attorney-general, the solicitor-general, all sheriffs, coroners, and
registers of probate, shall be nominated and appointed by the governor,
by and with the advice and consent of the council; and every such
nomination shall be made by the governor, and made at least seven days
prior to such appointment.
Art. X. The captains and subalterns of the
militia shall be elected by the written votes of the train-band and
alarm-list of their respective companies, of twenty years of age and
upwards; the field-officers of regiments shall be elected by the written
votes of the captains and subalterns of their respective regiments; the
brigadiers shall be elected, in like manner, by the field-officers of
their respective brigades; and such officers, so elected, shall be
commissioned by the governor, who shall determine their rank.
The legislature shall, by standing laws, direct
the time and manner of convening the electors, and of collecting votes,
and of certifying to the governor the officers elected.
The major-generals shall be appointed by the
senate and house of representatives, each having a negative upon the
other; and be commissioned by the governor.
And if the electors of brigadiers,
field-officers, captains, or subalterns shall neglect or refuse to make
such elections, after being duly notified, according tot he laws for the
time being, then the governor, with the advice of council, shall appoint
suitable persons to fill such offices.
And no officer, duly commissioned to command in
the militia, shall be removed from his office, but by the address of
both houses to the governor, or by fair trial in court-martial, pursuant
to the laws of the commonwealth for the time being.
The commanding officers of regiments shall
appoint their adjutants and quartermasters; the brigadiers, their
brigade-majors; and the major-generals, their aids; and the governor
shall appoint the adjutant-general.
The governor, with the advice of council, shall
appoint all officers of the Continental Army, whom, by the Confederation
of the United States, it is provided that this commonwealth shall
appoint, as also all officers of forts and garrisons.
The divisions of the militia into brigades,
regiments, and companies, made in pursuance of the militia-laws now in
force, shall be considered as the proper divisions of the militia in
this commonwealth, until the same shall be altered in pursuance of some
future law.
Art. XI. No moneys shall be issued out of the
treasury of this commonwealth and disposed of, except such sums as may
be appropriated for the redemption of bills of credit or treasurer's
notes, or for the payment of interest arising thereon, but by warrant
under the hand of the governor for the time being, with the advice and
consent of the council for the necessary defense and support of the
commonwealth, and for the protection and preservation of the inhabitants
thereof, agreeably to the acts and resolves of the general court.
Art. XII. All public boards, the
commissary-general, all superintending officers of public magazines and
stores, belonging to this commonwealth, and all commanding officers of
forts and garrisons within the same, shall, once in every three months,
officially and without requisition, and at other times, when required by
the governor, deliver to him an account of all goods, stores,
provisions, ammunition, cannon, with their appendages, and small-arms
with their accoutrements, and of all other public property whatever
under their care, respectively; distinguishing the quantity, number,
quality, and kind of each, as particularly as may be; together with the
condition of such forts and garrisons; and the said commanding officer
shall exhibit to the governor, when required by him, true and exact
plans of such forts, and of the land and sea, or harbor or harbors,
adjacent.
And the said boards, and all public officers,
shall communicate to the governor, as soon as may be after receiving the
same, all letters, dispatches, and intelligences of a public nature,
which shall be directed to them respectively.
Art. XIII. As the public good requires that the
governor should not be under the undue influence of any of the members
of the general court, by a dependence on them for his support; that he
should, in all cases, act with freedom for the benefit of the public;
that he should not have his attention necessarily diverted from that
object to his private concerns; and that he should maintain the dignity
of the commonwealth in the character of its chief magistrate, it is
necessary that he should have an honorable stated salary, of a fixed and
permanent value, amply sufficient for those purposes, and established by
standing laws; and it shall be among the first acts of the general
court, after the commencement of this constitution, to establish such
salary by law accordingly.
Permanent and honorable salaries shall also be
established by law for the justices of the supreme judicial court.
And if it shall be found that any of the
salaries aforesaid, so established, are insufficient, they shall, from
time to time, be enlarged, as the general court shall judge proper.
CHAPTER II.
Section 2.--Lieutenant-Governor
Article I. There shall be annually elected a
lieutenant-governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose title
shall be "His Honor;" and who shall be qualified, in point of religion,
property, and residence in the commonwealth, in the same manner with the
governor; and the day and manner of his election, and the qualification
of the electors, shall be the same as are required in the election of a
governor. The return of the votes for this officer, and the declaration
of his election, shall be in the same manner; and if no one person shall
be found to have a majority of all the votes returned, the vacancy shall
be filled by the senate and house of representatives, in the same manner
as the governor is to be elected, in case no one person shall have a
majority of the votes of the people to be governor.
Art. II. The governor, and in his absence the
lieutenant-governor, shall be president of the council; but shall have
no voice in council; and the lieutenant-governor shall always be a
member of the council, except when the chair of the governor shall be
vacant.
Art. III. Whenever the chair of the governor
shall be vacant, by reason of his death, or absence from the
commonwealth, or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor, for the time being,
shall, during such vacancy perform all the duties incumbent upon the
governor, and shall have and exercise all the powers and authorities
which, by this constitution, the governor is vested with, when
personally present.
CHAPTER II.
Section 3.--Council, and the Manner of Settling
Elections by the Legislature
Article I. There shall be a council, for
advising the governor in the executive part of the government, to
consist of nine persons besides the lieutenant-governor, whom the
governor, for the time being, shall have full power and authority, from
time to time, at this discretion, to assemble and call together; and the
governor, with the said councilors, or five of them at least, shall and
may, from time to time, hold and keep a council, for the ordering and
directing the affairs of the commonwealth, according to the laws of the
land.
Art. II. Nine councilors shall be annually
chosen from among the persons returned for councilors and senators, on
the last Wednesday in May, by the joint ballot of the senators and
representatives assembled in one room; and in case there shall not be
found, upon the first choice, the whole number of nine persons who will
accept a seat in the council, the deficiency shall be made up by the
electors aforesaid from among the people at large; and the number of
senators left shall constitute the senate for the year. The seats of the
persons thus elected from the senate, and accepting the trust, shall be
vacated in the senate.
Art. III. The councilors, in the civil
arrangements of the commonwealth, shall have rank next after the
lieutenant-governor.
Art. IV. Not more than two councilors shall be
chosen out of any one district in this commonwealth.
Art. V. The resolutions and advice of the
council shall be recorded in a register and signed by the members
present; and this record may be called for, at any time, by either house
of the legislature; and any member of the council may insert his
opinion, contrary to the resolution of the majority.
Art. VI. Whenever the office of the governor and
lieutenant-governor shall be vacant by reason of death, absence, or
otherwise, then the council, or the major part of them, shall, during
such vacancy, have full power and authority to do and execute all and
every such acts, matters, and things, as the governor or the
lieutenant-governor might or could, by virtue of this constitution, do
or execute, if they, or either of them, were personally present.
Art. VII. And whereas the elections appointed to
be made by this constitution on the last Wednesday in May annually, by
the two houses of the legislature, may not be completed on that day, the
said elections may be adjourned from day to day, until the same shall be
completed. And the order of elections shall be as follows: The vacancies
in the senate, if any, shall first be filled up; the governor and
lieutenant-governor shall then be elected, provided there should be no
choice of them by the people; and afterwards the two houses shall
proceed to the election of the council.
CHAPTER II.
Section 4.--Secretary, Treasurer, Commissary,
etc.
Article I. The secretary, treasurer, and
receiver-general, and the commissary-general, notaries public, and naval
officers, shall be chosen annually, by joint ballot of the senators and
representatives, in one room. And, that the citizens of this
commonwealth may be assured, from time to time, that the moneys
remaining in the public treasury, upon the settlement and liquidation of
the public accounts, are their property, no man shall be eligible as
treasurer and receiver-general more than five years successively.
Art. II. The records of the commonwealth shall
be kept in the office of the secretary, who may appoint his deputies,
for whose conduct he shall be accountable; and he shall attend the
governor and council, the senate and house of representatives in person
or by his deputies, as they shall respectively require.
CHAPTER III.
Judiciary Power.
Article I. The tenure that all commission
officers shall by law have in their offices shall be expressed in their
respective commissions. All judicial officers, duly appointed,
commissioned, and sworn, shall hold their offices during good behavior,
excepting such concerning whom there is different provision made in this
constitution: Provided, nevertheless, The governor, with consent of the
council, may remove them upon the address of both houses of the
legislature.
Art. II. Each branch of the legislature, as well
as the governor and council, shall have authority to require the
opinions of the justices of the supreme judicial court upon important
questions of law, and upon solemn occasions.
Art. III. In order that the people may not
suffer from the long continuance in place of any justice of the peace,
who shall fail of discharging the important duties of his office with
ability or fidelity, all commissions of justices of the peace shall
expire and become void in the term of seven years from their respective
dates; and, upon the expiration of any commission, the same may, if
necessary, be renewed, or another person appointed, as shall most
conduce to the well-being of the commonwealth.
Art. IV. The judges of probate of wills, and for
granting letters of administration, shall hold their courts at such
place or places, on fixed days, as the convenience of the people shall
require; and the legislature shall, from time to time, hereafter,
appoint such times and places; until which appointments the said courts
shall be holden at the times and places which the respective judges
shall direct.
Art. V. All causes of marriage, divorce, and
alimony, and all appeals from the judges of probate, shall be heard and
determined by the governor and council until the legislature shall, by
law, make other provision.
CHAPTER IV.
Delegates to Congress
The delegates of this commonwealth to the
Congress of the United States shall, some time in the month of June,
annually, be elected by the joint ballot of the senate and house of
representatives assembled together in one room; to serve in Congress for
one year, to commence on the first Monday in November, then next
ensuing. They shall have commissions under the hand of the governor, and
the great seal of the commonwealth; but may be recalled at any time
within the year, and others chosen and commissioned, in the same manner,
in their stead.
CHAPTER V.--THE UNIVERSITY AT CAMBRIDGE, AND
ENCOURAGEMENT OF LITERATURE, ETC.
Section 1.--The University
Article I. Whereas our wise and pious ancestors,
so early as the year [1636], laid the foundation of Harvard College, in
which university many persons of great prominence have, by the blessing
of God, been initiated in those arts and sciences which qualified them
for the public employments, both in church and State; and whereas the
encouragement of arts and sciences, and all good literature, tends to
the honor of God, the advantage of the Christian religion, and the great
benefit of this and the other other United States of America, it is
declared, that the president and fellows of Harvard College, in their
corporate capacity, and their successors in that capacity, their
officers and servants, shall have, hold, use, exercise, and enjoy all
the powers, authorities, rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and
franchises which they now have, or are entitled to have, hold, use,
exercise, and enjoy; and the same are hereby ratified and confirmed unto
them, the said president and fellows of Harvard College, and to their
successors, and to their officers and servants, respectively, forever.
Art. II. and whereas there have been, at sundry
times, by divers persons, gifts, grants, devises of houses, lands,
tenements, goods, chattels, legacies, and conveyances heretofore made,
either to Harvard College in Cambridge, in New England, or to the
president and fellows of Harvard College, or to the said college, by
some other description, under several charters successively, it is
declared, that all the said gifts, grants, devises, legacies, and
conveyances are hereby forever confirmed unto the president and fellows
of Harvard College, and to their successors, in the capacity aforesaid,
according to the true intent and meaning of the donor or donors, grantor
or grantors, devisor or devisors.
Art. III. And whereas by an act of the general
court of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, passed in the year [1642], the
governor and deputy governor for the time being, and all the magistrates
of that jurisdiction, were, with the President, and a number of the
clergy, is the said act described, constituted the overseers of Harvard
College; and it being necessary, in this new constitution of government,
to ascertain who shall be deemed successors to the said governor, deputy
governor, and magistrates, it is declared that the governor,
lieutenant-governor, council, and senate of this commonwealth are, and
shall be deemed, their successors; who, with the president of Harvard
College, for the time being, together with the ministers of the
congregational churches in the towns of Cambridge, Watertown,
Charlestown, Boston, Roxbury and Dorchester, mentioned in the said act,
shall be, and hereby are, vested with all the powers and authority
belonging, or in any way appertaining, to the overseers of Harvard
College: Provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the
legislature of this commonwealth from making such alterations in the
government of the said university as shall be conducive to its
advantage, and the interest of the republic of letters, in as full a
manner as might have been done by the legislature of the late province
of the Massachusetts Bay.
CHAPTER V.
Section 2.--The Encouragement of Literature,
etc.
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the
preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on
spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various
parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it
shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods
of this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the
sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at
Cambridge, public schools, and grammar-schools in the towns; to
encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and
immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce,
trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country; to
countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general
benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty
and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, and good humor, and all
social affections and generous sentiments, among the people.
CHAPTER VI.
Oaths and Subscriptions; Incompatibility of and
Exclusion from Offices; Pecuniary Qualifications; Commissions; Writs;
Confirmation of Laws; Habeas Corpus; The Enacting Style; Continuance of
Officers; Provision for a Future Revisal of the Constitution, etc.
Article I. Any person chosen governor,
lieutenant-governor, councilor, senator, or representative, and
accepting the trust, shall, before he proceed to execute the duties of
his place or office, make and subscribe the following declaration, viz:
"I, A.B., do declare that I believe the
Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth; and that I
am seized and possessed, in my own right, of the property required by
the constitution, as one qualification for the office or place to which
I am elected."
And the governor, lieutenant-governor, and
councilors shall make and subscribe the said declaration, in the
presence of the two houses of assembly; and the senators and
representatives, first elected under this constitution, before the
president and five of the council of the former constitution; and
forever afterwards, before the governor and council for the time being.
And every person chosen to either of the places
or offices aforesaid, as also any persons appointed or commissioned to
any judicial, executive, military, or other office under the government,
shall, before he enters on the discharge of the business of his place or
office, take and subscribe the following declaration and oaths or
affirmations, viz:
"I, A.B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge,
profess, testify, and declare that the commonwealth of Massachusetts is,
and of right ought to be, a free, sovereign, and independent State, and
I do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the said
commonwealth, and that I will defend the same against traitorous
conspiracies and all hostile attempts whatsoever; and that I do renounce
and abjure all allegiance, subjection, and obedience tot he King, Queen,
or government of Great Britain, (as the case may be,) and every other
foreign power whatsoever; and that no foreign prince, person, prelate,
state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction,
superiority, preeminence, authority, dispensing or other power, in any
matter, civil, ecclesiastical, or spiritual, within this commonwealth;
except the authority and power which is or may be vested by their
constituents in the Congress of the United States; and I do further
testify and declare that no man, or body of men, hat, or can have, any
right to absolve or discharge me from the obligation of this oath,
declaration, or affirmation; and that I do make this acknowledgment,
profession, testimony, declaration, denial, renunciation, and abjuration
heartily and truly, according to the common meaning and acceptation of
the foregoing words, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret
reservation whatsoever: So help me, God."
"I, A.B., do solemnly swear and affirm that I
will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties
incumbent on me as ----------, according to the best of my abilities and
understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the
constitution and the laws of the commonwealth: So help me, God."
Provided always, That when any person, chosen
and appointed as aforesaid, shall be of the denomination of people
called Quakers, and shall decline taking the said oaths, he shall make
his affirmation in the foregoing form, and subscribe the same, omitting
the words, "I do swear," "and abjure," "oath or," "and abjuration," in
the first oath; and in the second oath, the words, "swear and," and in
each of them the words, "So help me, God;" subjoining instead thereof,
"This I do under the pains and penalties of perjury."
And the said oaths or affirmations shall be
taken and subscribed by the governor, lieutenant-governor, and
councilors, before the president of the senate, in the presence of the
two houses of assembly; and by the senators and representatives first
elected under this constitution, before the president and five of the
council of the former constitution; and forever afterwards before the
governor and council for the time being; and by the residue of the
officers aforesaid, before such persons and in such manner as from time
to time shall be prescribed by the legislature.
Art. II. No governor, lieutenant-governor, or
judge of the supreme judicial court shall hold any other office
workplace, under the authority of this commonwealth, except such as by
the constitution they are admitted to hold, saving that the judges of
the said court may hold the office of the justices of the peace through
the State; nor shall they hold any other place or office, or receive any
pension or salary from any other State, or government, or power,
whatever.
No person shall be capable of holding or
exercising at the same time, within this State, more than one of the
following offices, viz: judge of probate, sheriff, register of probate,
or register of deeds; and never more than any two offices, which are to
be held by appointment of the governor, or the governor and council, or
the senate, or the house of representatives, or by the election of the
people of the State at large, or of the people of any county, military
offices, and the offices of justices of the peace excepted, shall be
held by one person.
No person holding the office of judge of the
supreme judicial court, secretary, attorney-general, solicitor-general,
treasurer or receiver-general, judge of probate, commissary-general,
president, professor, or instructor of Harvard College, sheriff, clerk
of the house of representatives, register of probate, register of deeds,
clerk of the supreme judicial court, clerk of the inferior court of
common pleas, or officer of the customs, including in this description
naval officers, shall at the same time have a seat in the senate or
house of representatives; but their being chosen or appointed to, and
accepting the same, shall operate as a resignation of their seat in the
senate or house of representatives; and the place so vacated shall be
filled up.
And the same rule shall take place in case any
judge of the said supreme judicial court or judge of probate shall
accept a seat in council, or any councilor shall accept of either of
those offices or places.
And no person shall ever be admitted to hold a
seat in the legislature, or any office of trust or importance under the
government of this commonwealth, who shall in the due course of law have
been convicted of bribery or corruption in obtaining an election or
appointment.
Art. III. In all cases where sums or money are
mentioned in this constitution, the value thereof shall be computed in
silver, at six shillings and eight pence per ounce; and it shall in the
power of the legislature, from time to time, to increase such
qualifications, as to property, of the persons to be elected to offices
as the circumstances of the commonwealth shall require.
Art. IV. All commissions shall be in the name of
the commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed by the governor, and attested
by the secretary or his deputy, and have the great seal of the
commonwealth affixed thereto.
Art. V. All writs, issuing of the clerk's office
in any of the courts of law, shall be in the name of the commonwealth of
Massachusetts; they shall be under the seal of the court from when they
issue; they shall bear test of the first justice of the court to which
they shall be returned who is not a party, and be signed by the clerk of
such court.
Art. VI. All the laws which have heretofore been
adopted, used, and approved in the province, colony, or State of
Massachusetts Bay, and usually practiced on in the courts of law, shall
still remain and be in full force, until altered or repealed by the
legislature, such parts only excepted as are repugnant to the rights and
liberties contained in this constitution.
Art. VII. The privilege and benefit of the writ
of habeas corpus shall be enjoyed in this commonwealth, in the most
free, easy, cheap, expeditious, and ample manner, and shall not be
suspended by the legislature, except upon the most urgent and pressing
occasions, and for a limited time, not exceeding twelve months.
Art. VIII. The enacting style, in making and
passing all acts, statutes, and laws, shall be, "Be it enacted by the
senate and house of representatives in general court assembled, and by
authority of the same."
Art. IX. To the end there may be no failure of
justice or danger arise to the commonwealth from a change in the form of
government, all officers, civil and military, holding commissions under
the government and people of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, and all
other officers of the said government and people, at the time this
constitution shall take effect, shall have, hold, use, exercise, and
enjoy all the powers and authority to them granted or committed until
other persons shall be appointed in their stead; and all courts of law
shall proceed in the execution of the business of their respective
departments; and all the executive and legislative officers, bodies, and
powers shall continue in full force, in the enjoyment and exercise of
all their trusts, employments, and authority, until the general court,
and the supreme and executive officers under this constitution, are
designated and invested with their respective trusts, powers, and
authority.
Art. X. In order the more effectually to adhere
tot he principles of the constitution, and to correct those violations
which by any means may be made therein, as well as to form such
alterations as from experience shall be found necessary, the general
court which shall be in the year of our Lord [1795] shall issue precepts
to the selectmen of the several towns, and to the assessors of the
unincorporated plantations, directing them to convene the qualified
voters of their respective towns and plantations, for the purpose of
collecting their sentiments on the necessity or expediency of revising
the constitution in order to amendments.
And if it shall appear, by the returns made,
that two-thirds of the qualified voters through out the State, who shall
assemble and vote in consequence of the said precepts, are in favor of
such revision or amendment, the general court shall issue precepts, or
direct them to be issued from the secretary's office, to the several
towns to elect or direct them to be issued from the secretary's office,
to the several towns to elect delegates to meet in convention for the
purpose aforesaid.
And said delegates to be chosen in the same
manner and proportion as their representatives in the second branch of
the legislature are by this constitution to be chosen.
Art. XI. This form of government shall be
enrolled on parchment and deposited in the secretary's office, and be a
part of the laws of the land, and printed copies thereof shall be
prefixed to the book containing the laws of this commonwealth in all
future editions of the said laws.
JAMES BOWDOIN, President
Samuel Barrett, Secretary
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