by law, shall be exempted to the amount of not less than five hundred dollars, from sale on execution or other final process of any court, issued for the collection of any debt contracted after the adoption of this Constitution.

SEC. 2. Every homestead of not exceeding forty acres of land, and the dwelling-house thereon, and the appurtenances to be selected by the owner thereof, and not included in any town plat, city, or village, or instead thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in any city or village, or recorded town plat, or such parts of lots as shall be equal thereto, and the dwelling house thereon, and its appurtenances, owned and occupied by any resident of the State, not exceeding in value two thousand dollars, shall be exempt from forced sale on execution, or any other final process from a court, for any debt contracted after the adoption of this Constitution. Such exemption shall not extend to any mortgage thereon lawfully obtained, but any mortgage not given for purchase money, and any other alienation of such land by the owner thereof, if a married man, shall not be valid without the signature of the wife to the same.

SEC. 3. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow, child, or children, such homestead shall be exempt from the payment of his debts, so long as the widow shall be without other homestead of her own, and during the minority of said child or children.

SEC. 4. The real and personal estate of every woman, acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which she may afterwards become entitled, shall be and remain the estate and property of such woman, and shall not be liable for the debts, obligations or engagements of her husband, and may be held, controlled, and disposed of by her, in the same manner, and with like effect, as if she were unmarried. And the husband of any married woman shall not be liable for or on account of any debt or obligation of his wife contracted before her marriage, or contracted by her in relation to her sole property after marriage.

ARTICLE XVI.

MILITIA.

SECTION 1. The militia shall be composed of all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such as are exempted by the laws of the United States or of this State; but all such citizens, of any religious denomination whatever, who from scruples of conscience may be averse to bearing arms, shall be excused therefrom, upon such conditions as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 2. The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing, equipping, and disciplining the militia, in such manner as it shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the laws of the United States.

SEC. 3. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed, and be commissioned in such manner as may be provided by law.

ARTICLE XVII.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECTION 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of according to the best of my ability."

SEC. 2. Judicial and legislative proceedings shall be conducted, and the laws and public records promulgated and preserved, in the English language.

SEC. 3. Public officers, receiving or having charge of public moneys, are prohibited from using or employing the same in any manner for their private use or benefit, and whenever such moneys are deposited with any person or corporation, the

interest thereon shall be paid to the fund to which such moneys belong.

SEC. 4. The Legislature may authorize the taking of private property for the opening of private roads, for use in the improvement of navigable streams, and for flowage when the public interests demand it.

SEC. 5. Before any private property shall be taken without the consent of the owner, for public use, (except for public highways not within any city or village), or for any purpose named in the last above section, the necessity for taking such property, and the compensation to be paid therefor, shall be determined by a jury of freeholders of the vicinity, or by not less than three commissioners, freeholders as aforesaid, appointed by a court of record, as may be provided by law, and such compensation shall be paid or tendered in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 6. The right of the public or of any individual to the free use of any navigable stream, for any purpose for which such stream is capable of use, without improvement, shall not be abridged or obstructed by or under color of any authority which may be given by law to any individual or corporation to improve such stream and charge toll for the use thereof.

SEC. 7. No navigable steam in this State shall be either bridged or dammed without authority from the board of supervisors of the proper county, under the provisions of law. No such law shall prejudice the right of individuals to the free navigation of such streams, or preclude the State from the further improvement of the navigation of such streams.

SEC. 8. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached to and published with the laws, at every regular session of the Legislature.

SEC. 9. No mechanical trade shall hereafter be taught to convicts in the State Prison of this State, except the manufacture of those articles of which the chief supply for home consumption is imported from other States or countries.

SEC. 10. Any woman above the age of twenty-one years, who shall be a resident of this State, and of the proper township, city or ward, and who is a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the office of Register of Deeds, Notary Public, offices connected with schools and libraries, and to such other offices as may be designated by law.

SEC. 11. No lease or grant hereafter of agricultural land fɔr a longer period than twelve years, reserving any rent or service of any kind, shall be valid.

ARTICLE XVIII.

AMENDMENT AND REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

SECTION 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives. If the same be agreed to by two-thirds of the members elected to each House, such amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals respectively, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and the same shall be submitted to the electors at such time as the Legislature shall prescribe. And if a majority of the electors, qualified to vote for members of the Legislature, voting on the amendment or amendments proposed, shall ratify and approve such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of the Constitution, and take effect at the commencement of the year following its adoption.

SEC. 2. At any time after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, the Legislature may provide for a convention, to be chosen by the qualified electors of the State, or for a commission to be appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to revise or amend this Constitution. Such revised or amended Constitution shall be submitted to the electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature, at such time and in such manner as said convention or commission may provide. If a majority of the electors voting on such revised or amended Constitution,

shall decide in favor thereof, the same shall take effect at the commencement of the year following its adoption.

SCHEDULE.

That no inconvenience may arise from the changes in the Constitution of this State, and in order to carry the same into operation, it is hereby declared:

SECTION 1. The common law, and the statute laws now in force, not repugnant to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are altered or repealed by the Legislature.

SEC. 2. All writs, actions, causes of action, prosecutions, and rights of individuals and of bodies corporate, and of the State, and all charters of incorporation shall continue; and all indictments and informations which shall have been found or filed, or which may hereafter be found or filed, for any crime or offense committed before the adoption of this Constitution, may be proceeded upon as if no change had taken place. The several courts, except as herein otherwise provided shall continue with the like powers and jurisdiction, both at law and in equity, as if this Constitution had not been adopted, and until the organization of the judicial department under this Constitution.

SEC. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, accruing to the State under the present Constitution and laws, shall accrue to the use of the State under this Constitution.

SEC. 4. All recognizances, bonds, obligations, and all other instruments entered into or executed before the adoption of this Constitution, to the people of this State, or to any county, or township, or to any public officer, or public body, or which may be entered into or executed under existing laws, to the people of this State, or to any such officer or public body, before the complete organization of the departments of gov ernment under this Constitution, shall remain binding and valid, and rights and liabilities upon the same shall continue,