Constitution. All judicial and civil officers now in office, who have been appointed by the General Assembly, and commissioned according to law, and all such officers as shall be appointed by the said Assembly, and commissioned as aforesaid, before the first Wednesday of May next, shall continue to hold their offices until the first day of June next, unless they shall before that time resign, or be removed from office according to law. The Treasurer and Secretary shall continue in office until a Treasurer and Secretary shall be appointed under this Constitution. All military officers shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices until they shall resign or be removed according to law. All laws not contrary to, or inconsistent with, the provisions of this Constitution shall remain in force until they shall expire by their own limitation, or shall be altered or repealed by the General Assembly, in pursuance of this Consti tution. The validity of all bonds, debts, contracts, as well of indi viduals as of bodies corporate, or the State, of all suits, actions or rights of action, both in law and equity, shall continue as if no change had taken place. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and General Assembly, which is to be formed in October next, shall have and possess all the powers and authorities not repug nant to, or inconsistent with, this Constitution, which they now have and possess, until the first Wednesday of May next.

Sec. 4. No judge of the Superior Court, or of the Supreme Court of Errors; no member of Congress; no person holding any office under the authority of the United States; no person holding the office of Treasurer, Secretary or Comptroller; no sheriff, or sheriff's deputy, shall be a member of the General Assembly.

ARTICLE ELEVENTH.

Of Amendments to the Constitution.

Whenever a majority of the House of Representatives shall deem it necessary to alter or amend this Constitution, they may propose such alteration and amendments; which proposed amendments shall be continued to the next General Assembly, and be published with the laws which may have been passed at the same session; and if two-thirds of each house, at the next session of said Assembly, shall approve the amendments proposed, by yeas and nays, said amendment shall, by the Secre tary, be transmitted to the town clerk in each town in the State,

whose duty it shall be to present the same to the inhabitants thereof, for their consideration, at a town meeting, legally warned and held for that purpose; and if it shall appear, in a manner to be provided by law, that a majority of the electors present at such meetings shall have approved such amendments, the same shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of this Constitution.

Done in contention, on the fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States the forty-third. By order of the Convention,

JAMES LANMAN,

ROBERT FAIRCHILD,

OLIV: WOLCOTT, President.

Clerks.

ARTICLE I.

Adopted November, 1828.

From and after the first Wednesday of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty, the Senate of this State shall consist of not less than eighteen nor more than twenty-four members, and be chosen by districts.

ARTICLE II.

Adopted November, 1828.

The General Assembly, which shall be holden on the first Wednesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, shall divide the State into districts for the choice of Senators, and shall determine what number shall be elected in each; which districts shall not be less than eight nor more than twenty-four in number, and shall always be composed of contiguous territory, and in forming them no town shall be divided, nor shall the whole or part of one county be joined to the whole or part of another county to form a district, regard being had to the population in said apportionment, and in forming said districts, in such manner that no county shall have less than two Senators. The districts, when established, shall continue the same until the session of the General Assembly next after the completion of the next census of the United States;

which said Assembly shall have power to alter the same, if found necessary, to preserve a proper equality between said dis tricts, in respect to the number of inhabitants therein, according to the principles above recited; after which said district shall not be altered, nor the number of Senators altered, except at any session of the General Assembly next after the completion of a census of the United States, and then only according to the principles above described.

ARTICLE III.

Adopted November, 1828.

At the meeting of the electors on the first Monday of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty, and annually thereafter, immediately after the choice of Representatives, the electors qualified by law to vote in the choice of such Representatives shall be called upon by the presiding officer in such meeting, in the several towns within their districts, respectively, to bring in their ballots for such person or number of persons to be Senator or Senators for such districts in the next General Assembly, as shall by law be allowed to such districts respectively (altered by amendment of 1836); which person or persons at the time of holding such meetings shall belong to and reside in the respective districts in which they shall be so balloted for, as aforesaid: And each elector present at such meeting, qualified as aforesaid, may thereupon bring in his ballot or suffrage for such person or persons as he shall choose to be Senators for such district, not exceeding the number by law allowed to the same, with the name or names of such person or persons fairly written on one piece of paper (altered by amendment of 1836). And the votes so given shall be received, counted, canvassed, and declared in the same manner now provided by the Constitution for the choice of Senators. The person or persons, not execeeding the number by law allowed to the districts in which such votes shall be given in, having the highest number of votes, shall be declared to be duly elected for such districts. But in the event of an equality of votes between two or more of the persons so voted for, the House of Representatives shall, in the manner provided for by the Constitution, designate which of such person or persons shall be declared to be duly elected.

ARTICLE IV.

Adopted November, 1832.

There shall annually (altered by amendments of 1875) be chosen and appointed a Lieutenant-Governor, a Treasurer and Secretary, in the same manner as is provided in the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution of this State, for the choice and appointment of a Governor.

ARTICLE V.

Adopted November, 1836.

A Comptroller of Public Accounts shall be annually (altered by amendments of 1875) chosen by the electors, at their meeting in April, and in the same manner as the Treasurer and Secretary are chosen, and the votes for Comptroller shall be returned to, counted, canvassed, and declared by the Treasurer and Secretary.

ARTICLE VI.

Adopted November, 1836.

The electors in the respective towns, on the first Monday of April (altered by amendments of 1875) in each year, may vote for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Treasurer, Secretary, Senators and Representatives in the General Assembly successively, or for any number of said officers at the same time, and the General Assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and prescribing the order and manner of voting for said officers, and also providing for the election of Representatives at some time subsequent to the first Monday of April in all cases when it shall so happen that the electors in any town shall fail on that day to elect the Representative or Representatives to which such town shall be by law entitled: Provided, that in all elections of officers of the State, or members of the General Assembly, the votes of the electors shall be by ballot, either written or printed.

ARTICLE VII.

Adopted October, 1838.

A sheriff shall be appointed in each county by the electors therein, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, who shall hold his office for three years (altered by amendment of 1886), removable by the General Assembly, and shall become bound with sufficient sureties to the Treasurer of the State for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office.

ARTICLE VIII.

Adopted October, 1845.

Every white (altered by amendments of 1876) male citizen of the United States, who shall have attained the age of twentyone years, who shall have resided in this State for a term of one year next preceding, and in the town in which he may offer himself to be admitted to the privileges of an elector, at least six months next preceding the time he may so offer himself (altered by amendments of 1855), and shall sustain a good moral character, shall, on his taking such oath as may be prescribed by law, be an elector.

ARTICLE IX.

Adopted October, 1850.

The Judges of Probate shall be appointed by the electors residing in the several probate districts, and qualified to vote for Representatives therein, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE X.

Adopted October, 1850.

The Justices of the Peace for the several towns in this State shall be appointed by the electors in such towns; and the time and manner of their election, the number for each town, and the period for which they shall hold their offices, shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE XI.

Adopted October, 1855.

Every person shall be able to read any article of the Constitution, or any section of the statutes of this State, before being admitted an elector.

ARTICLE XII.

Adopted October, 1856.

The Judges of the Supreme Court of Errors, and of the Superior Court, appointed in the year 1855, and thereafter, shall hold their offices for the term of eight years, but may be removed by impeachment; and the Governor shall also remove them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly. No Judge of the Supreme Court of Errors, or of the Superior Court, shall be capable of holding office after he shall arrive at the age of seventy years.