SEC. 14. Each law enacted in the legislature shall embrace but one subject, and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be briefly expressed in the title; and no law shall be amended or revised by reference to its title only, but in such case the act as revised, or section as amended, shall be reënacted and published at length.

SEC. 15. Every bill shall be read by sections in three several days in each house, unless, in case of emergency, two-thirds of the house where such bill may be pending shall deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; but the reading of a bill by sections on its final passage shall in no case be dispensed with; and the vote on the final passage of every bill, or joint resolution, shall be taken by yeas and nays, to be entered in the journal of each house, and a majority of the members present in each house shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution, and all bills or joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the presiding officers of the respective houses, and by the secretary of the senate and clerk of the assembly.

SEC. 16. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except by appropriation made by law, and accurate statements of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be attached to and published with the laws passed at every regular session of the legislature.

SEC. 17. The legislature shall not pass special or local laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: regulating the jurisdiction and duties of any class of officers, or for the punishment of crime or misdemeanor; regulating the practices of courts of justice; providing for changing venue of civil and criminal cases; granting divorces; changing the names of persons; vacating roads, town-plats, streets, alleys, and public squares; summoning and impanelling grand and petit juries, and providing for their compensation; regulating county, township, and municipal business; regulating the election of county, township, and municipal officers; or the assessment and collection of taxes for State, county, and municipal purposes; providing for opening and conducting elections for State, county, and municipal officers, and designating the places of voting; providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors or other persons laboring under legal disabilities; regulating the fees of officers.

SEC. 18. In all cases enumerated in the preceding section, and in all other cases where general law can be made applicable, all laws shall be general and of uniform operation throughout the State.

SEC. 19. Provision may be made by general law for bringing suit against the State as to all liabilities now existing or hereafter originating.

SEC. 20. Lotteries are hereby prohibited in this State.

SEC. 21. The legislature shall establish a uniform system of county, township, and municipal government.

SEC. 22. The legislature shall provide by general law for incorporating such municipal, educational, agricultural, mechanical, mining, and other useful companies or associations as may be deemed necessary.

SEC. 23. Laws shall be passed regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice.

SEC. 24. Regular sessions of the legislature may extend to sixty days, but any special session convened by the governor shall not exceed twenty days.

SEC. 25. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned by her before marriage, or acquired afterward by gift, devise, descent, or purchase, shall be her separate property, and not liable for the debts of her husband.

SEC. 26. The legislature shall provide for the election by the people, or appointment by the governor, of all State, county, or municipal officers not otherwise provided for by this constitution, and fix by law their duties and compensation.

SEC. 27. Every bill which may have passed the legislature shall, before becoming a law, be presented to the governor; if he approves it he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it originated, which house shall cause such objections to be entered upon its journals, and proceed to reconsider it; if after such reconsideration it shall pass both houses by a two-thirds vote of the

members present, which vote shall be entered on the journal of each house, it shall become a law. If any bill shall not be returned within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to the governor, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it. If the legislature by its final adjournment prevent such action, such bill shall be a law, unless the governor, within ten days next after the adjournment, shall file such bill with his objections thereto in the office of the secretary of state, who shall lay the same before the legislature at its next session, and if the same shall receive two-thirds of the votes present it shall become a law.

SEC. 28. The assembly shall have the sole power of impeachment, but a vote of two-thirds of all the members present shall be required to impeach any officer; and all impeachments shall be tried by the senate when sitting for that purpose. The senators shall be upon oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the senators present.

The chief-justice shall preside at all trials by impeachment, except in the trial of the chief-justice, when the lieutenant-governor shall preside.

The governor, lieutenant-governor, members of the cabinet, justices of the supreme court, and judges of the circuit court, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the State; but the party convicted or acquitted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment according to law. All other officers who shall have been appointed to office by the governor, and by and with the consent of the senate, may be removed from office upon the recommendation of the governor and consent of the senate, but they shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment according to law for any misdemeanor in office; all other civil officers shall be tried for misdemeanors in office in such manner as the legislature may provide.

SEC. 29. The legislature shall elect United States Senators in the manner prescribed by the Congress of the United States and by this constitution.

SEC. 30. Laws making appropriation for the salaries of public officers, and other current expenses of the State, shall contain provisions on no other subject.

ARTICLE V

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The supreme executive power of the State shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of Florida.

SEC. 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors at the same time and places of voting for the members of the legislature, and shall hold his office for four years from the time of his installation: Provided, That the term of the first governor elected under this constitution shall expire at the opening of the regular session of the legislature of A. D. 1873, and until his successor shall be qualified. He shall take the oath of office prescribed for all State officers.

SEC. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor who is not a qualified elector, and who has not been nine years a citizen of the United States, and three years of the State of Florida, next preceding the time of his election.

SEC. 4. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.

SEC. 5. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of the government, civil and military, and may require information in writing from the officers of the administrative department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 6. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.

SEC. 7. When any office, from any cause, shall become vacant, and no mode is provided by this constitution or by the laws of the State for filling such vacancy, the governor shall have the power to fill such vacancy by granting a commission which shall expire at the next election.

SEC. 8. The governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the legislature by

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proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when organized, the purpose for which they have been convened, and the legislature then shall transact no legislative business except that for which they are specially convened, or such other legislative business as the governor may call to the attention of the legislature while in session, 'except by the unanimous consent of both houses.

SEC. 9. He shall communicate by message to the legislature at each regular session the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he may deem expedient. SEC. 10. In case of a disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adjourn the legislature to such time as he may think proper, provided it is not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the next legislature.

SEC. 11. The governor shall have power to suspend the collection of fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves for a period not exceeding sixty days, dating from the time of conviction, for all offences, except in cases of impeachment. Upon conviction for treason he shall have power to suspend the execution of sentence until the case shall be reported to the legislature at its next session, when the legislature shall either pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve; and if the legislature shall fail or refuse to make final disposition of such case, the sentence shall be enforced at such time and place as the governor may by his order direct. The governor shall communicate to the legislature at the beginning of every session every case of fine or forfeiture remitted or reprieved, pardon or commutation granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime for which he was convicted, the sentence, its date, and the date of its remission, commutation, pardon, or reprieve. SEC. 12. The governor, justices of the supreme court, and attorney general, or a major part of them, of whom the governor shall be one, may, upon such conditions and with such limitations and restrictions as they may deem proper, remit fines and forfeitures, commute punishments, and grant pardons after conviction, in all cases except treason and impeachments, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons.

SEC. 13. The grants and commissions shall be in the name and under the authority of the State of Florida, sealed by the great seal of the State, signed by the governor, and countersigned by the secretary of state.

SEC. 14. A lieutenant-governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner, as the governor, whose term of office and eligibility shall also be the same. He shall be the president of the senate, but shall have only a casting vote therein. If during a vacancy of the office of governor the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from the State, the president pro tempore of the senate shall act as governor until the office be filled or the disability cease.

SEC. 15. In the case of the impeachment of the governor, or his removal from office, death, inability to discharge his official duties, or resignation, the power and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease; but the governor shall not, without the consent of the legislature, be out of the State in time of war.

SEC. 16. The governor may at any time require the opinion of the justices of the supreme court as to the interpretation of any portion of this constitution, or upon any point of law, and the supreme court shall render such opinion in writing.

SEC. 17. The governor shall be assisted by a cabinet of administrative officers, consisting of a secretary of state, attorney-general, comptroller, treasurer, surveyor-general, superintendent of public instruction, adjutant-general, and commissioner of immigration. Such officers shall be appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the senate, and shall hold their offices the same time as the governor, or until their successors shall be qualified.

SEC. 18. The governor shall, by and with the consent of the senate, appoint all commissioned officers of the State militia.

SEC. 19. The governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the senate, in each county, an assessor of taxes and collector of revenue, whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and who shall hold their offices for two years, and be subject to removal upon

the recommendation of the governor and consent of the senate. The governor shall appoint in each county a county treasurer, county surveyor, superintendent of common schools, and five county commissioners, each of whom shall hold his office for two years, the duties of which shall be prescribed by law. Such officers shall be subject to removal by the governor when in his judgment the public welfare will be advanced thereby: Provided, No officer shall be removed except for wilful neglect of duty, or a violation of the criminal laws of the State, or for incompetency.

SEC. 20. The governor and cabinet shall constitute a board of commissioners of State institutions, which board shall have supervision of all matters connected therewith, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 21. The governor shall have power, in cases of insurrection or rebellion, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus within the State.

ARTICLE VII.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, county courts, and justices of the peace.

SEC. 2. The style of all process shall be, "The State of Florida ;" and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and by the authority of the same.

SEC. 3. The supreme court shall consist of a chief-justice and two associate justices, who shall hold their offices for life or during good behavior. They shall be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate.

SEC. 4. The majority of the justices of the supreme court shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. The supreme court shall hold three terms each year, in the supreme court room at the seat of government. Such terms shall commence on the second Tuesday of October, January, and April, respectively.

SEC. 5. The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction in all cases in equity, also in all cases of law in which is involved the title to or right of possession of real estate, or the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, or in which the demand or the value of the property in controversy exceeds three hundred dollars; also in all other civil cases not included in the general subdivisions of law and equity; also in all questions of law alone, in all criminal cases in which the offences charged amount to felony. The court shall have power to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and also all writs necessary or proper to the complete exercise of its appellate jurisdiction.

Each of the justices shall have the power to issue writs of habeas corpus to any part of the State, upon petition by or on behalf of any person held in actual custody, and may make such writs returnable before himself, or the supreme court, or before any circuit court in the State, or before any judge of said courts.

SEC. 6. The supreme court shall appoint a clerk of the supreme court, who shall have his office at the capitol, and shall be librarian of the supreme court library; he shall hold his office until his successor is appointed and qualified.

SEC. 7. There shall be seven circuit judges appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the senate, who shall hold their office for eight years. The State shall be divided into seven judicial districts, the limits of which are defined in this constitution, and one judge shall be assigned to each circuit. Such judge shall hold two terms of his court in each county within his circuit each year, at such times and places as shall be prescribed by law. The chief-justice may, in his discretion, order a temporary exchange of circuits by the respective judges, or any judge to hold one or more terms in any other circuit than that to which he is assigned. The judge shall reside in the circuit in which he is assigned.

SEC. 8. The circuit courts in their several judicial circuits shall have original jurisdiction in all cases of equity; also in all cases at law which involve the title or the right of possession to, or the possession of, or the boundaries of real property; of the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, and in all other cases in which the demand or the value of property in controversy exceeds three hundred dollars, and of the action of forcible entry and unlawful detainer, and also in all

criminal cases amounting to felony. They shall have final appellate jurisdiction in all civil cases arising in the county court in which the amount in controversy is one hundred dollars and upwards, and in all cases of misdemeanor. The circuit courts and the judges thereof shall have power to issue writs of mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and all other writs proper and necessary to the complete exercise of their jurisdiction, and also shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus on petition by or on behalf of any person held in actual custody in their respective circuits. SEC. 9. There shall be a county court organized in each county. The governor shall appoint a county judge for each county, who shall be confirmed by the senate, and such judge shall hold his office for four years from the date of his commission, or until his successor is appointed and qualified.

SEC. 10. The county court shall be a court of oyer and terminer.

SEC. 11. The county court shall have jurisdiction of all misdemeanors and all civil cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed three hundred dollars; and its jurisdiction shall be final in all civil cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed one hundred dollars; but in no case shall the county court have jurisdiction when the title or boundaries of real estate is in controversy, or where the jurisdiction will conflict with that of the several courts of record; but they may have coextensive jurisdiction with the circuit courts in cases of forcible entry and unlawful detention of real estate, subject to appeal to the circuit court. The county court shall have full surrogate or probate powers, but subject to appeal. Provision shall be made by law for all other powers, duties, and responsibilities of the county courts and judges. There shall be a regular trial-term of the county courts six times in each year, at such times and places as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 12. The grand and petit jurors shall be taken from the registered voters of the respective counties.

SEC. 13. In all trials, civil and criminal, in the circuit and county courts, the evidence shall be reduced to writing by the clerk of the court or his deputy, under the control of the court; and every witness after his examination shall have done, shall be at liberty to correct the evidence he has given, and afterwards shall sign the same; such evidence shall be filed in the office of the clerk, with the papers in the case. SEC. 14. All pleas shall be sworn to either by the parties or their attorneys. SEC. 15. The governor shall appoint as many justices of the peace as he may deem necessary. Justices of the peace shall have criminal jurisdiction and civil jurisdiction not to exceed fifty dollars, but this shall not extend to the trial of any person for misdemeanor or crime. The duties of justice of the peace shall be fixed by law. Justices of the peace shall hold their offices during good behavior, subject to removals by the governor at his own discretion.

SEC. 16. The legislature may establish courts for municipal purposes only in incorporated towns and cities. All laws for the organization or government of municipal courts shall be general in their provisions, and be equally applicable to the municipal courts of all incorporated towns and cities.

SEC. 17. Any civil cause may be tried before a practising attorney as referee, upon the application of the parties, and an order from the court in whose jurisdiction the case may be authorizing such trial and appointing such referee. Such referee shall keep a complete record of the case, including the evidence taken, and such record shall be filed with the papers in the case in the office of the clerk, subject to an appeal in the manner prescribed by law.

SEC. 18. No other courts than those herein specified shall be organized in this State. SEC. 19. The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a State attorney in each judicial circuit, whose duties shall be prescribed by law. He shall hold his office for four years from the date of his commission, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint in each county a sheriff and clerk of the circuit court, who shall also be clerk of the county court and board of county commissioners, recorder, and ex-officio auditor of the county, each of whom shall hold his office for four years. Their duties shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 20. A constable shall be elected by the registered voters in each county for