vernment thereof; and to name and settle annually, or provide by fixed laws for the naming and settling all civil officers within this state; such officers excepted, the election and appointment of whom are hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided for; and to set forth the se-veral duties, powers, and limits, of the several civil and military officers of this state, 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 also to impose fines, mulots, imprisonments, and other punishments; and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, rates, and taxes upon all the inhabitants of, and residents within the said state; and upon all estates within the same; to be issued and disposed of by warrant, under the hand of the governor of this state 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 this state, and the protection and preservation of the citizens 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 been heretofore practised, in order that such assessments may be made with equality, there shall be a valuation of the estates within the state, taken anew once in every five years at least, and as much oftener as the general court shall order.

No member of the general courts shall take fees, be of counsel or act as advocate, in any cause before either branch of the legislature; and upon due proof thereof, such member shall forfeit his seat in the legislature.

The doors of the galleries of each house of the legislature shall be kept open to all persons who behave decently, except when the welfare of the state, in the opinion of either branch shall require secrecy.

SENATE.

The senate shall consist of thirteen members, who shall hold their offices for one year, from the last Wednesday of October next ensuing their election.

And that the state may be equally represented in the seate, the legislature shall, from time to time, divide the state to thirteen districts, as nearly equal as may be without dis

viding towns and unincorporated places; and in making this division, they shall govern themselves by the proportion of public taxes paid by the said districts, and timely make known to the inhabitants of the state the limits of each district.

The freeholders and other inhabitants of each district, qualified as in this constitution is provided, shall annually give in their votes for a senator, at some meeting holden in the month of March.

The senate shall be the first branch of the legislature; and the senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz. Every male inhabitant of each town, and parish with town privileges, and places unincorporated, in this state, of twen ty-one years of age and upwards, excepting paupers and persons excused from paying taxes at their own request, shall have a right, at the annual or other meetings of the inhabitants of said towns and parishes, to be duly warned and holden annually for ever in the month of March, to vote in the town or parish wherein he dwells for the senators in the county or district whereof he is a member.

Provided, nevertheless, that no person shall be capable of being elected a senator, who is not seized of a freehold estate, in his own right, of the value of two hundred pounds. lying within this state, who is not of the age of thirty years, and who shall not have been an inhabitant of this state for seven years immediately preceding his election, and at the time thereof he shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he shall be chosen.

And every person qualified as the constitution provides, shall be considered an inhabitant for the purpose of electing or being elected into any office or place within this state; in the town, parish, and plantation, where he dwelleth, and hath his home.

And the inhabitants of plantations and places unincorpora ted, qualified as this constitution provides, who are or shall be required to assess taxes upon themselves, towards the support of government, or shall be taxed therefor, shall have the same privilege of voting for senators, in the plantations and places wherein they reside, as the inhabitants of the respective towns and parishes aforesaid have. And the meetings of such plantations and places for that purpose shall be holden annually in the month of March, at such places respectively therein as the assessors thereof shall di*ect: which assessors shall have like authority for notifying

the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the selectmen and town clerks have in there several towns by this constitution.

The meetings for the choice of governor, council, and senators, shall be warned, by warrant, from the selectmen, and governed by a moderator, who shall, in the presence of the selectmen, (whose duty it shall be to attend,) in open meeting, receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns and parishes present, and qualified to vote for senators; and shall, in said meetings, in presence of the said selectmen and of the town clerk, in said meeting, sort and count the said votes and make a public declaration thereof, with the name of every person voted for, and the number of votes for each person and the town clerk shall make a fair record of the same at large, in the town book, and shall make out a fair attested copy thereof, to be by him sealed up, and directed to the secretary of the state, with a superscription, expressing the purport thereof; and the said town clerk shall cause such attested copy to be delivered to the sheriff of the county in which such town or parish shall lie, forty days at least before the last Wednesday of October; or to the secretary of the state at least thirty days before the said last Wednesday of October; and the sheriff of each county, or his deputy, shall deliver all such certificates by him received, into the secretary's office, at least thirty days before the last Wednesday of October.

And that there may be a due meeting of senators on the last Wsdnesday of October annually, the governor, and a majority 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 last Wednesday of October, he shall issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen senators by a majority of votes, to attend and take. their seats on that day.

Provided, nevertheless, That for the first year the said returned copies shall be examined by the president and a majority of the council then in office: And the said president shall, in like manner, notify the person's elected, to attend and take their seats accordingly.

And in case there shall not appear to be a senator elected by a majority of votes for any district, the deficiency shall he 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 the two persons

having the highest number of votes in the district, and out of them shall elect by joint ballot the senator wanted for such district; and in this manner all such vacancies shall be filled up in every district of the state; 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 be after such vacancies happen.

The senate shall be final judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications of their own members, as pointed out in this constitution.

The senate shall have full power to adjourn themselves, provided such adjournment do not exceed two days at a time.

Provided, nevertheless, that whenever they shall sit on the trial of any impeachment, they may adjourn to such time and place as they may think proper, although the legislature be not assembled on such day or at such place.

The senate shall appoint their president and other officers and determine their own rules of proceedings; and not less than seven members of the senate shall make a quorum for doing business; and when less than eight senators shall be present, the assent of five at least shall be necessary to render their acts and proceedings valid.

The senate shall be a court, with full power and authority to hear, try, and determine, all impeachments made by the house of representatives against any officer or officers of the state, for bribery, corruption, malepractice, or maleadministration, in office; with full power to issue summons, or compulsory process, for convening witnesses before them, with all necessary powers incident to a court of trials; but previous to the trial of any such impeachment; the members of the senate shall be respectively sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence. And every officer, impeached for bribery, corruption, malepractice, or maleadministration in office, shall be served with an attested copy of the impeachment and order of the senate thereon, with such citation as the senate may direct, setting forth the time and place of their sitting to try the impeachment; which service shall be made by the sheriff, or such other sworn officer as the senate may appoint, at least fourteen days previous to the time of trial: and such citation being duly served and returned, the senate may proceed in hearing of the impreachment, giving the

person impeached, if he shall appear, full liberty of producing witnesses and proofs, and of making his defence, by himself and counsel and may also, upon his refusing or neglecting so appear, hear the proofs in support of the impeachment, and render judgment thereon, his non-appear ance notwithstanding: and such judgment shall have the same force and effect as if the person impeached had appeared and pleaded in the trial. Their judgment, however, shall not extend further than removal from office, disqualification to hold or enjoy any place of honour, trust, or profit under the state; but the party so convicted shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the laws of the land.

Whenever the governor shall be impeached, the chief justice of the supreme judicial court shall, during the trial, preside in the senate, but have no vote therein.

HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES.

There shall be, in the legislature of this state, a representation of the people, annually elected, and founded upon principles of equality; and in order that such representation may be as equal as circumstances will admit, every town, parish, or place, entitled to town privileges, having one hundred and fifty rateable male polls, of twenty-one years of age, and upwards, may elect one representative; if four hundred and fifty rateable male polls, may elect two representatives; and so proceeding, in that proportion, make three hundred such rateable polls the mean of increasing number, for every additional representative.

Such towns, parishes, or places, as have less than one hundred and fifty rateable polls, shall be classed by the general assembly, for the purpose of choosing a representative, and seasonably notified thereof. And in every class formed for the above-mentioned purpose, the first annual meeting shall be held in the town, parish, or place, wherein most of the rateable polls reside; and afterwards in that which has the next highest number; and so on, annually, by rotation through the several towns, parishes, or places, forming the district.

Whenever any town, parish, or place, entitled to town privileges as aforesaid, shall not have one hundred and fifty rateable polls, and be so situated as to render the classing thereof with any other town, parish, or place very inconve nient, the general assembly may, upon application of a ma