SEC. 2. The governor shall be elected for the term of four years by the citizens entitled to suffrage at the time and places where they shall respectively vote for representatives. The person having the highest number of votes shall be governor; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, the election shall be determined by lot, in such manner as the legislature may direct.

SEC. 3. The governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding seven years after the expiration of the time for which he shall have been elected.

SEC. 4. He shall be at least thirty-five years of age, and a citizen of the United States, and have been an inhabitant of this State at least six years next preceding his election.

SEC. 5. He shall commence the execution of his office on the fourth Tuesday succeeding the day of the commencement of the general election on which he shall be chosen, and shall continue in the execution thereof until the end of four weeks next succeeding the election of his successor, and until his successor shall have taken the oaths or affirmations prescribed by this constitution.

SEC. 6. No member of Congress, or person holding any office under the United States, nor minister of any religious society, shall be eligible to the office of gov

ernor.

SEC. 7. The governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected.

SEC. 8. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this commonwealth, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; but he shall not command personally in the field, unless he shall be advised so to do by a resolution of the general assembly.

SEC. 9. He shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established by this constitution or shall be established by law, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for: Provided, That no person shall be so appointed to an office within any county who shall not have been a citizen and inhabitant therein one year next before his appointment, if the county shall have been so long erected; but if it shall not have been so long erected, then within the limits of the county or counties from which it shall have been taken: Provided also, That the county courts be authorized by law to appoint inspectors, collectors, and their deputies, surveyors of the highways, constables, jailers, and such other inferior officers, whose jurisdiction may be confined within the limits of a county.

SEC. 10. The governor shall have power to fill up vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next session.

SEC. 11. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. In cases of treason, he shall have power to grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the general assembly; in which the power of pardoning shall be vested.

SEC. 12. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 13. He shall from time to time give to the general assembly information of the state of the commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 14. He may on extraordinary occasions convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that should have become, since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy or from contagious disorders; and in case of disagreement between the two houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not exceeding four months. SEC. 15. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

SEC. 16. A lieutenant-governor shall be chosen at every election for a governor, in the same manner, continue in office for the same time, and possess the same qualifications. In voting for governor and lieutenant-governor, the electors shall distinguish whom they vote for as governor, and whom as lieutenant-governor.

SEC. 17. He shall, by virtue of his office, be speaker of the senate; have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and vote on all subjects; and, when the senate are equally divided, to give the casting vote.

SEC. 18. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the lieutenantgovernor shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of governor, until another be duly qualified, or the governor absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted.

SEC. 19. Whenever the government shall be administered by the lieutenant-governor, or he shall be unable to attend as speaker of the senate, the senators shall elect one of their own members as speaker, for that occasion. And if, during the vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the speaker of the senate shall, in like manner, administer the government.

SEC. 20. The lieutenant-governor, while he acts as speaker to the senate, shall receive for his services the same compensation which shall for the same period be allowed to the speaker of the house of representatives, and no more; and during the time he administers the government as governor, shall receive the same compensation which the governor would have received and been entitled to had he been employed in the duties of his office.

SEC. 21. The speaker pro tempore of the senate, during the time he administers the government, shall receive in like manner the same compensation which the governor would have received had he been employed in the duties of his office.

SEC. 22. If the lieutenant-governor shall be called upon to administer the government, and shall, while in such administration, resign, die, or be absent from the State during the recess of the general assembly, it shall be the duty of the secretary for the time being to convene the senate for the purpose of choosing a speaker.

SEC. 23. An attorney-general, and such other attorneys for the commonwealth as may be necessary, shall be appointed, whose duty shall be regulated by law. Attorneys for the commonwealth, for the several counties, shall be appointed by the respective courts having jurisdiction therein.

SEC. 24. A secretary shall be appointed and commissioned during the term for which the governor shall have been elected, if he shall so long behave himself well. He shall keep a fair register, and attest all the official acts and proceedings of the governor, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers, relative thereto, before either house of the general assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may be enjoined him by law.

SEC. 25. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be presented to the governor; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if rot, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it; if, after such reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall be likewise considered, and if approved by a majority of all the members elected to that house, it shall be a law; but in such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the general assembly by their adjournment prevent its return; in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting.

SEC. 26. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed, by a majority of all the members elected to both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.

SEC. 27. Contested elections for a governor and lieutenant-governor shall be deter

mined by a committee to be selected from both houses of the general assembly, and formed and regulated in such manner as shall be directed by law.

SEC. 28. The freemen of this commonwealth (negroes, mulattoes, and Indians excepted) shall be armed and disciplined for its defence. Those who conscientiously scruple to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service.

SEC. 29. The commanding officers of the respective regiments shall appoint the regimental staff; brigadier-generals, their brigade-majors; major-generals, their aids; and captains, the non-commissioned officers of companies.

SEC. 30. A majority of the field-officers and captains in each regiment shall nominate the commissioned officers in each company, who shall be commissioned by the governor: Provided, That no nomination shall be made, unless two at least of the field-officers are present; and, when two or more persons have an equal and the highest number of votes, the field-officer present, who may be highest in commission, shall decide the nomination.

SEC. 31. Sheriffs shall hereafter be appointed in the following manner: When time of a sheriff for any county may be about to expire, the county court for the same, a majority of all its justices being present, shall, in the months of September, October, or November, next preceding thereto, recommend to the governor two proper persons to fill the office, who are then justices of the county court, and who shall in such recommendation pay a just regard to seniority in office and a regular rotation. One of the persons so recommended shall be commissioned by the governor, and shall hold his office for two years, if he so long behave well, and until a successor be duly qualified. If the county courts shall omit, in the months aforesaid, to make such recommendation, the governor shall then nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint a fit person to fill such office.

ARTICLE IV.

CONCERNING THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The judiciary power of this commonwealth, both as to matters of law and equity, shall be vested in one supreme court, which shall be styled the court of appeals, and in such inferior courts as the general assembly may from time to time erect and establish.

SEC. 2. The court of appeals, except in cases otherwise directed by this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only; which shall be coextensive with the State, under such restrictions and regulations, not repugnant to this constitution, as may from time to time be prescribed by law.

SEC. 3. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior; but for any reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment, the governor shall remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly: Provided, however, That the cause or causes for which such removal may be required shall be stated at length in such address, and on the journal of each house. They shall at stated times receive for their services an adequate compensation to be fixed by law.

SEC. 4. The judges shall, by virtue of their office, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. The style of all process shall be "The commonwealth of Kentucky." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the commonwealth of Kentucky, and conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the

same."

SEC. 5. There shall be established in each county now, or which may hereafter be erected, within this commonwealth a county court.

SEC. 6. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be appointed in each county; they shall be commissioned during good behavior, but may be removed on conviction of misbehavior in office, or of any infamous crime, or on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly: Provided, however, That the cause

or causes for which such removal may be required shall be stated at length in such address, on the journal of each house.

SEC. 7. The number of the justices of the peace to which the several counties in this commonwealth now established, or which may hereafter be established, ought to be entitled, shall, from time to time, be regulated by law.

SEC. 8. When a surveyor, coroner, or justice of the peace shall be needed in any county, the county court for the same, a majority of all its justices concurring therein, shall recommend to the governor two proper persons to fill the office, one of whom he shall appoint thereto : Provided, however, That if the county court shall for twelve months omit to make such recommendation, after being requested by the governor to recommend proper persons, he shall then nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint a fit person to fill such office.

SEC. 9. When a new county shall be erected, a competent number of justices of the peace, a sheriff, and coroner therefor, shall be recommended to the governor by a majority of all the members of the house of representatives, from the senatorial district or districts in which the county is situated; and if either of the persons thus recommended shall be rejected by the governor or the senate, another person shall immediately be recommended as aforesaid.

SEC. 10. Each court shall appoint its own clerk, who shall hold his office during good behavior; but no person shall be appointed clerk, only pro tempore, who shall not produce to the court appointing him a certificate from a majority of the judges of the court of appeals that he had been examined by their clerk, in their presence and under their direction, and that they judge him to be well qualified to execute the office of clerk of any court of the same dignity with that for which he offers himself. They shall be removable for breach of good behavior, by the court of appeal only, who shall be judges of the fact as well as of the law. Two-thirds of the members present must concur in the sentence.

SEC. 1. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Kentucky, and sealed with the State seal, and signed by the governor.

SEC. 12. The state treasurer, and printer or printers for the commonwealth, shall be appointed annually by the joint vote of both houses of the general assembly: Provided, That during the recess of the same the governor shall have power to fill vacancies which may happen in either of the said offices.

ARTICLE V.

CONCERNING IMPEACHMENTS.

SECTION 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching. SEC. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

SEC. 3. The governor and all civil officers shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment, in such cases, shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under this commonwealth; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law.

ARTICLE VI.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SECTION 1. Members of the general assembly, and all officers, executive and judicial, before they enter upon the execution of their respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will be faithful and true to the commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my abilities, the office of -, according to law."

SEC. 2. Treason against the commonwealth shall consist only in levying war against it or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession in open court.

SEC. 3. Every person shall be disqualified from serving as a governor, lieutenantgovernor, senator, or representative, for the term for which he shall have been elected, who shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe or treat to procure his election.

SEC. 4. Laws shall be made to exclude from office and from suffrage those who shall thereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practices.

SEC. 5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance of appropriations made by law, nor shall any appropriations of money for the support of an army be made for a longer time than one year; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published annually.

SEC. 6. The general assembly shall direct by law in what manner and in what courts suits may be brought against the cominonwealth.

SEC. 7. The manner of administering an oath or affirmation shall be such as is most consistent with the conscience of the deponent, and shall be esteemed by the general assembly the most solemn appeal to God.

SEC. 8. All laws which, on the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, were in force in the State of Virginia, and which are of a general nature, and not local to that State, and not repugnant to this constitution, nor to the laws which have been enacted by the legislature of this commonwealth, shall be in force within this State, until they shall be altered or repealed by the general assembly.

SEC. 9. The compact with the State of Virginia, subject to such alterations as may be made therein, agreeably to the mode prescribed by the said compact, shall be considered as part of this constitution.

SEC. 10. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties who may choose that summary mode of adjustment.

SEC. 11. All civil officers for the commonwealth at large shall reside within the State, and all district, county, or town officers within their respective districts, counties, or towns, (trustees of towns excepted,) and shall keep their respective offices at such places therein as may be required by law; and all militia officers shall reside in the bounds of the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or company to which they may severally belong.

SEC. 12. The attorney-general, and other attorneys for this commonwealth who receive a fixed annual salary from the public treasury, judges, and clerks of courts, justices of the peace, surveyors of lands, and all commissioned militia officers shall hold their respective offices during good behavior and the continuance of their respective courts, under the exceptions contained in this constitution.

SEC. 13. Absence on the business of this State, or the United States, shall not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive any one of the right of suffrage or of being elected or appointed to any office under this commonwealth, under the exceptions contained in this constitution.

SEC. 14. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to regulate by law in what cases and what deduction from the salaries of public officers shall be made for neglect of duty in their official capacity.

SEC. 15. Returns of all elections for governor, lieutenant-governor, and members of the general assembly shall be made to the secretary for the time being.

SEC. 16. In all elections by the people, and also by the senate and house of representatives, jointly or separately, the votes shall be personally and publicly given viva voce.

SEC. 17. No member of Congress nor person holding or exercising any office of trust or profit under the United States, or either of them, or under any foreign power,