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against himself; nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty, or property unless by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land.

SEC. 13. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally, by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or public danger, or by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanor in office.

SEC. 14. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of his life or limb; nor shall any man's property be taken or applied to public use without the consent of his representatives, and without just compensation being previously made to him.

SEC. 15. That all courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by the due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay.

SEC. 16. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the general assembly, or its authority.

SEC. 17. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted.

SEC. 18. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.

SEC. 19. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 20. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing contracts, shall be made. SEC. 21. That no person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the general assembly.

SEC. 22. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the commonwealth.

SEC. 23. That the estates of such persons as shall destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in case of natural death; and if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof.

SEC. 24. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or

remonstrance.

SEC. 25. That the rights of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned; but the general assembly may pass laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed arms.

SEC. 26. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up, without the consent of the general assembly; and the military shall, in all cases and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power.

SEC. 27. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

SEC. 28. That the general assembly shall not grant any title of nobility, or hereditary distinction, nor create any office, the appointment to which shall be for a longer time than for a term of years.

SEC. 29. That emigration from the State shall not be prohibited.

SEC. 30. To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, and that all laws contrary thereto, or contrary to this constitution, shall be void.

SCHEDULE.

That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amendments made in the constitution of this commonwealth, and in order to carry the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained:

SECTION 1. That all the laws of this commonwealth, in force at the time of the adoption of this constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies-corporate, shall continue as if this constitution had not been adopted.

SEC. 2. The oaths of office herein directed to be taken may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace, until the general assembly shall otherwise direct.

SEC. 3. No office shall be superseded by the adoption of this constitution, but the laws of the State relative to the duties of the several officers, legislative, executive, judicial, and military, shall remain in full force, though the same be contrary to this constitution, and the several duties shall be performed by the respective officers of the State, according to the existing laws, until the organization of the government, as provided 'for under this constitution, and the entering into office of the officers to be elected or appointed under said government, and no longer.

SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of the general assembly which shall convene in the year 1850 to make an apportionment of the representation of this State, upon the principle set forth in this constitution; and until the first apportionment shall be made as herein directed, the apportionment of senators and representatives among the several districts and counties in this State shall remain as at present fixed by law: Provided, That on the first Monday in August, 1850, all senators shall go out of office, and on that day an election for senators and representatives shall be held throughout the State, and those then elected shall hold their offices for one year, and no longer: Provided further, That at the elections to be held in the year 1850, that provision in this constitution which requires voters to vote in the precinct within which they reside shall not apply.

SEC. 5. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the organization of the judicial department under this constitution, shall remain as valid as though this constitution had not been adopted, and may be prosecuted in the name of the commonwealth. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen or may arise before the reorganization of the judicial department under this constitution, may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the commonwealth.

We, the representatives of the freemen of Kentucky, in convention assembled, in their name, and by the authority of the commonwealth of Kentucky, and in virtue of the powers vested in us, as delegates from the counties respectively affixed to our names, do ordain and proclaim the foregoing to be the constitution of the commonwealth of Kentucky from and after this day.

Done at Frankfort this eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and in the fifty-ninth year of the commonwealth. JAMES GUTHRIE, President.

THO. S. HELM, Secretary.

THO. D. TILFORD, Assistant Secretary.

LOUISIANA.*

TREATY CEDING LOUISIANA-1803.†

The President of the United States of America, and the First Consul of the French Republic, desiring to remove all source of misunderstanding, relative to objects of discussion mentioned in the second and fifth articles of the Convention of (the 8th Vendemiaire, an 9,) September 30, 1800, relative to the rights claimed by the United States, in virtue of the Treaty concluded at Madrid, the 27th October, 1795, between His Catholic Majesty and the said United States, and willing to strengthen the union and friendship, which at the time of the said Convention was happily re-established between the two nations, have respectively named their Plenipotentiaries, to wit: The President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the said States, Robert R. Livingston, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, and James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the said States, near the Government of the French Republic; and the First Consul, in the name of the French people, the French citizen Barbe Marbois, Minister of the Public Treasury, who, after having respectively exchanged their full powers, have agreed to the following articles:

ART. 1. Whereas, by the article the third of the Treaty concluded at St. Ildefonso, (the 9th Vendemiaire, an 9,) October 1, 1800, between the First Consul of the French Republic and His Catholic Majesty, it was agreed as follows: His Catholic Majesty promises and engages on his part to cede to the French Republic, six months. after the full and entire execution of the conditions and stipulations herein, relative to his Royal Highness the Duke of Parma, the Colony or Province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it; and such as it should be after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other States; and whereas, in pursuance of the Treaty, particularly of the third article, the French Republic has an incontestable title to the domain and to the possession of the said territory, the First Consul of the French Republic, desiring to give to the United States a strong proof of friendship, doth hereby cede to the said United States, in the name of the French Republic, for ever

*The Lower Mississippi Valley, over which France exercised sovereignty by right of discovery in 1673, was called "The Province of Louisiana," of which New Orleans was the capital, and was governed by officials sent from Paris, without any charter. Louis XIV granted a monopoly of trade and commerce for the term of fifteen years to Anthony Crozart, September 14, 1712, but it was surrendered in less than two years. A similar grant was made to the "Company of the West," subsequently the "Company of the Indies," controlled by John Law, September 6, 1717, which was surrendered in 1730. France ceded that portion of the province of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi River, and the city of New Orleans, to Spain, November 3, 1762, although Spanish rule was not asserted until August 18, 1789. It was retroceded to France by the treaty of San Ildefonso October 1, 1800, which was confirmed by the treaty of Madrid, March 21, 1801.

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This treaty was laid before the Congress of the United States by President Jefferson, at a session which he had called for the 17th of October, 1803. After stating in a message the negotiations which had resulted in the purchase of the sovereignty of Louisiana, he said, Whilst the property and sovereignty of the Mississippi and its waters secure an independent outlet for the produce of the Western States, and an uncontrolled navigation through their whole course, free from collision with other powers and the dangers to our peace from that source, the fertility of the country, its climate and extent, promise in due season important aids to our Treasury, an ample provision for our posterity, and a wide spread for the blessings of freedom and equal laws."

and in full sovereignty, the said territory, with all its rights and appurtenances, as fully and in the same manner as they might have been acquired by the French Republic, in virtue of the above-mentioned treaty, concluded with His Catholic Majesty.

ART. 2. In the cession made by the preceding article, are included the adjacent islands belonging to Louisiana, all public lots and squares, vacant lands, and all public buildings, fortifications, barracks, and other edifices, which are not private property. The archives, papers, and documents, relative to the domain and sovereignty of Louisiana and its dependencies, will be left in the possession of the Commissaries of the United States, and copies will be afterwards given in due form to the magistrates and municipal officers, of such of the said papers and documents as may be necessary to them.

ART. 3. The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities, of citizens of the United States; and, in the mean time, they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the religion which they profess.

ART. 4. There shall be sent by the Government of France a Commissary to Louisiana, to the end that he do every act necessary, as well to receive from the officers of His Catholic Majesty the said country and its dependencies in the name of the French Republic, if it has not been already done, as to transmit it, in the name of the French Republic, to the Commissary or agent of the United States.

ART. 5. Immediately after the ratification of the present treaty by the President of the United States, and in case that of the First Consul shall have been previously obtained, the Commissary of the French Republic shall remit all the military posts of New Orleans, and other parts of the ceded territory, to the Commissary or Commissaries named by the President to take possession; the troops, whether of France or Spain, who may be there, shall cease to occupy any military post from the time of taking possession, and shall be embarked as soon as possible in the course of three months after the ratification of this treaty.

ART. 6. The United States promise to execute such treaties and articles as may have been agreed between Spain and the tribes and nations of Indians, until, by mutual consent of the United States and the said tribes or nations, other suitable articles shall have been agreed upon.

ART. 7. As it is reciprocally advantageous to the commerce of France and the United States, to encourage the communication of both nations, for a limited time, in the country ceded by the present treaty, until general arrangements relative to the commerce of both nations may be agreed on, it has been agreed between the contracting parties, that the French ships coming directly from France or any of her Colonies, loaded only with the produce or manufactures of France or her said Colonies, and the ships of Spain coming directly from Spain or any of her Colonies, loaded only with the produce or manufactures of Spain or her Colonies, shall be admitted during the space of twelve years in the port of New Orleans, and in all other legal ports of entry within the ceded territory, in the same manner as the ships of the United States coming directly from France or Spain, or any of their Colonies, without being subject to any other or greater duty on the merchandise, or other or greater tonnage than those paid by the citizens of the United States.

During the space of time above mentioned, no other nation shall have a right to the same privileges in the ports of the ceded territory. The twelve years shall commence three months after the exchange of ratifications, if it shall take place in France, or three months after it shall have been notified at Paris to the French Government, if it shall take place in the United States; it is, however, well understood, that the object of the above article is to favor the manufactures, commerce, freight, and navigation of France and Spain, so far as relates to the importations that the French and Spanish shall make into the said ports of the United States, without in any sort affecting the regulations that the United States may make concerning the exporta

tion of the produce and merchandise of the United States, or any right they may have to make such regulations.

ART. 8. In future and forever, after the expiration of the twelve years, the ships of France shall be treated upon the footing of the most favored nations in the ports above mentioned.

ART. 9. The particular convention signed this day by the respective Ministers, having for its object to provide the payment of debts due to the citizens of the United States by the French Republic, prior to the 30th of September, 1800, (8th Vendemiaire, an 9,) is approved, and to have its execution in the same manner as if it had been inserted in the present treaty; and it shall be ratified in the same form and in the same time, so that the one shall not be ratified distinct from the other. Another particular convention, signed at the same date as the present treaty, relative to a definitive rule between the contracting parties is, in the like manner, approved, and will be ratified in the same form and in the same time, and jointly.

ART. 10. The present treaty shall be ratified in good and due form, and the ratification shall be exchanged in the space of six months after the date of the signature by the Ministers Plenipotentiary, or sooner if possible.

In faith whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed these articles in the French and English languages, declaring, nevertheless, that the present treaty was originally agreed to in the French language, and have thereunto put their seals.

Done at Paris, the 10th day of Floreal, in the 11th year of the French Republic, and the 30th April, 1803.

R. R. LIVINGSTON.
JAMES MONROE.
BARBE MARBOIS.

A CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

The President of the United States of America, and the First Consul of the French Republic, in the name of the French people, in consequence of the Treaty of Cession of Louisiana, which has been signed this day, wishing to regulate definitively everything which has relation to the said cession, have authorized, to this effect, the Plenipotentiaries, that is to say: the President of the United States has, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the said States, nominated for their Plenipotentiaries, Robert R. Livingston, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, and James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the said United States, near the Government of the French Republic; and the First Consul of the French Republic, in the name of the French people, has named, as Plenipotentiary of the said Republic, the French citizen Barbe Marbois, who, in virtue of their full powers, which have been exchanged this day, have agreed to the following articles: ART. I. The Government of the United States engages to pay to the French Government, in the manner specified in the following articles, the sum of sixty millions of francs, independent of the sum which shall be fixed by any other convention for the payment of the debts due by France to citizens of the United States. ART. 2. For the payment of the sum of sixty millions of francs, mentioned in the preceding article, the United States shall create a stock of eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, bearing an interest of six per cent. per annum, payable, half-yearly, in London, Amsterdam, or Paris, amounting by the half-year to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, according to the proportions which shall be determined by the French Government, to be paid at either place: the principal of the said stock to be reimbursed at the Treasury of the United States, in annual payments of not less than three millions of dollars each; of which the first payment shall commence fifteen years after the date of the exchange of ratifications: this stock shall be transferred to the Government of France, or to such

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