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law to hold elections for members of the general assembly, to open and hold a poll in every parish of the State, at the places designated by law, upon the first Monday of November next, for the purpose of taking the sense of the good people of this State in regard to the adoption or rejection of this constitution; and it shall be the duty of the said officers to receive the votes of all persons entitled to vote under the old constitution, and under this constitution. Each voter shall express his opinion by depositing in the ballot-box a ticket whereon shall be written "The constitution accepted," or "The constitution rejected," or some such words as will distinctly convey the intention of the voter. At the conclusion of the said election, which shall be conducted in every respect as the general State election is now conducted, the parish judges and commissioners designated to preside over the same shall carefully examine and count each ballot so deposited, and shall forthwith make due returns thereof to the secretary of state, in conformity to the provisions of the existing law upon the subject of elections.

ART. 151. Upon the receipt of the said returns, or on the first Monday of December, if the returns be not sooner received, it shall be the duty of the governor, the secretary of state, the attorney-general, and the State treasurer, in the presence of all such persons as may choose to attend, to compare the votes given at the said poll, for the ratification and rejection of this constitution, and if it shall appear from said returns that a majority of all the votes given are for ratifying this constitution, then it shall be the duty of the governor to make proclamation of that fact, and thenceforth this constitution shall be ordained and established as the constitution of the State of Louisiana. But whether this constitution be accepted or rejected, it shall be the duty of the governor to cause to be published in the State paper the result of the polls, showing the number of votes cast in each parish for and against the said constitution.

ART. 152. Should this constitution be accepted by the people, it shall also be the duty of the governor forthwith to issue his proclamation, declaring the present legislature, elected under the old constitution, to be dissolved, and directing the several officers of the State, authorized by law to hold elections for members of the general assembly, to hold an election at the places designated by law, upon the third Monday in January next, (1846,) for governor, lieutenant-governor, members of the general assembly, and all other officers whose election is provided for pursuant to the provisions of this constitution. And the said election shall be conducted, and the returns thereof made, in conformity with the existing laws upon the subject of State elections. ART. 153. The general assembly elected under this constitution shall convene at the State-house, in the city of New Orleans, upon the second Monday of February next (1846) after the elections; and that the governor and lieutenant-governor, elected at the same time, shall be duly installed in office during the first week of their session, and before it shall be competent for the said general assembly to proceed with the transaction of business.

HORATIO DAVIS, Secretary.

JOSEPH WALKER, President.

CONSTITUTION OF LOUISIANA-1852.*

PREAMBLE.

We, the people of the State of Louisiana, do ordain and establish this constitution.

TITLE I.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

ARTICLE 1. The powers of the government of the State of Louisiana shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them be confided to a separate

This constitution was framed by a convention which met at Baton Rouge July 5, 1852, and completed its labors July 31, 1852. It was submitted to the people and ratified November 1, 1852.

body of magistracy, to wit: Those which are legislative to one, those which are executive to another, and those which are judicial to another.

ART. 2. No one of these departments, nor any person holding office in one of them, shall exercise power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances. hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

TITLE II.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

ART. 3. The legislative power of the State shall be vested in two distinct branches, the one to be styled "the house of representatives," the other "the senate," and both "the general assembly of the State of Louisiana."

ART. 4. The members of the house of representatives shall continue in service for the term of two years from the day of the closing of the general elections.

ART. 5. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Monday in November every two years; and the election shall be completed in one day. The general assembly shall meet annually, on the third Monday in January, unless a different day be appointed by law, and their sessions shall be held at the seat of government.

ART. 6. Every duly-qualified elector under this constitution shall be eligible to a seat in the general assembly: Provided, That no person shall be a representative or senator, unless he be, at the time of his election, a duly-qualified voter of the representative or senatorial district from which he is elected.

ART. 7. Elections for members of the general assembly shall be held at the several election-precincts established by law. The legislature may delegate the power of establishing election-precincts to the parochial or municipal authorities.

ART. 8. Representation in the house of representatives shall be equal and uniform, and shall be regulated and ascertained by the total population of each of the several parishes of the State. Each parish shall have at least one representative. No new parish shall be created with a territory less than six hundred and twenty-five square miles, nor with a population less than the full number entitling it to a representative, nor when the creation of such new parish would leave any other parish without the said extent of territory and amount of population.

The first enumeration by the State authorities under this constitution shall be made in the year 1853, the second in the year 1858, the third in the year 1865; after which time the general assembly shall direct in what manner the census shall be taken, so that it be made at least once in every period of ten years, for the purpose of ascertaining the total population in each parish and election-district.

At the first regular session of the legislature after the making of each enumeration, the legislature shall apportion the representation among the several parishes and election-districts on the basis of the total population as aforesaid. A representative number shall be fixed, and each parish and election-district shall have as many representatives as its aggregate population shall entitle it to, and an additional representative for any fraction exceeding one-half the representative number. The number of representatives shall not be more than one hundred nor less than seventy.

Until an apportionment shall be made, and elections held under the same, in accordance with the first enumeration to be made as directed in this article, the representation in the senate and house of representatives shall be and remain as at present established by law.

The limits of the parish of Orleans are hereby extended, so as to embrace the whole of the present city of New Orleans, including that part of the parish of Jefferson formerly known as the city of La Fayette.

All that part of the parish of Orleans which is situated on the left bank of the Mississippi River, shall be divided by the legislature into not more than ten representative districts, and until a new apportionment shall be made according to the first census to be taken under this constitution, that part of the city of New Orleans which was comprised within the former limits of the city of La Fayette shall vote for senators from the parish of Orleans, and form the tenth representative district, and shall elect two out of the three representatives now apportioned by law to the

parish of Jefferson; the other representative districts shall remain as they are now established.

ART. 9. The house of representatives shall choose its speaker and other officers. ART. 10. Every free white male who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and who has been a resident of the State twelve months next preceding the election, and the last six months thereof in the parish in which he offers to vote, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, shall have the right of voting, but no voter, on removing from one parish to another within the State, shall lose the right of voting in the former until he shall have acquired it in the latter. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, during their attendance at, going to, or returning from elections.

ART. II. The legislature shall provide by law that the names and residence of all qualified electors of the city of New Orleans shall be registered, in order to entitle them to vote; but the registry shall be free of cost to the elector.

ART. 12. No soldier, seaman, or marine in the Army or Navy of the United States, no pauper, no person under interdiction, nor under conviction of any crime punishable with hard labor, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.

ART. 13. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election held in this State except in the parish of his residence, and in cities and towns divided into electionprecincts, in the election-precinct in which he resides.

ART. 14. The members of the senate shall be chosen for the term of four years. The senate, when assembled, shall have the power to choose its officers.

ART. 15. The legislature, in every year in which they shall apportion representation in the house of representatives, shall divide the State into senatorial districts. No parish shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district, the parish of Orleans excepted. And whenever a new parish shall be created, it shall be attached to the senatorial district from which most of its territory was taken, or to another contiguous district, at the discretion of the legislature; but shall not be attached to more than one district. The number of senators shall be thirty-two, and they shall be apportioned among the senatorial districts according to the total population contained in the several districts: Provided, That no parish shall be entitled to more than five

senators.

ART. 16. In all apportionments of the senate, the population of the city of New Orleans shall be deducted from the population of the whole State, and the remainder of the population divided by the number twenty-seven, and the result produced by this division shall be the senatorial ratio entitling a senatorial district to a senator. Single or contiguous parishes shall be formed into districts, having a population the nearest possible to the number entitling a district to a senator; and if, in the apportionment to be made, a parish or district fall short of or exceed the ratio one-fifth, then a district may be formed having not more than two senators, but not otherwise. No new apportionment shall have the effect of abridging the term of service of any senator already elected at the time of making the apportionment. After an enumeration has been made as directed in the eighth article, the legislature shall not pass any law until an apportionment of representation in both houses of the general assembly be made.

ART. 17. At the first session of the general assembly after this constitution takes effect, the senators shall be equally divided by lot into two classes; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year; so that one-half shall be chosen every two years, and a rotation thereby kept up perpetually. In case any district shall have elected two or more senators, said senators shall vacate their seats respectively at the end of two and four years, and lots shall be drawn between them.

ART. 18. The first election for senators shall be general throughout the State, and at the same time that the general election for representatives is held; and thereafter there shall be biennial elections to fill the places of those whose time of service may have expired.

ART. 19. Not less than a majority of the members of each house of the general assembly shall form a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn

from day to day, and shall be authorized by law to compel the attendance of absent members.

ART. 20. Each house of the general assembly shall judge of the qualification, election, and returns of its members; but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law.

ART. 21. Each house of the general assembly may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of twothirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence.

ART. 22. Each house of the general assembly shall keep and publish a weekly journal of its proceedings, and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journal.

ART. 23. Each house may punish by imprisonment any person, not a member, for disrespectful and disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings. Such imprisonment shall not exceed ten days for any one offence.

ART. 24. Neither house, during the sessions of the general assembly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

ART. 25. The members of the general assembly shall receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which shall be four dollars per day during their attendance, going to and returning from the session of their respective houses. The compensation may be increased or diminished by law; but no alteration shall take effect during the period of service of the members of the house of representatives by whom such alteration shall have been made. No session shall extend to a period beyond sixty days, to date from its commencement, and any legislative action had after the expiration of the said sixty days shall be null and void. This provision shall not apply to the first legislature which is to convene after the adoption of this constitution.

ART. 26. The members of the general assembly shall in all cases, except treason, felony, breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respective houses, and going to or returning from the same, and for any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other place.

ART. 27. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed or elected to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been created or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during the time such senator or representative was in office, except to such offices or appointments as may be filled by the elections of the people.

ART. 28. No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, whether State, parish, or municipal, or who may have been otherwise intrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the general assembly, or to any office of profit or trust under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, and for all public moneys with which he may have been intrusted. ART. 29. No bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several days, it be read over in each house of the general assembly, and free discussion allowed thereon, unless, in case of urgency, four-fifths of the house where the bill shall be pending may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule.

ART. 30. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representatives, but the senate may propose amendments as in other bills, provided they shall not introduce any new matter under color of an amendment which does not relate to raising revenue.

ART. 31. The general assembly shall regulate by law by whom and in what manner writs of elections shall be issued to fil the vacancies which may happen in either branch thereof.

ART. 32. The senate shall vote on the confirmation or rejection of officers, to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, by yeas and nays, and the names of the senators voting for and against the appointments, respect

ively, shall be entered on a journal to be kept for that purpose, and made public at the end of each session, or before.

ART. 33. Returns of all elections for members of the general assembly shall be made to the secretary of state.

ART. 34. In the year in which a regular election for a Senator of the United States is to take place, the members of the general assembly shall meet in the hall of the house of representatives, on the Monday following the meeting of the legislature, and proceed to the said election.

TITLE III.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

ART. 35. The supreme executive power of the State shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the State of Louisiana. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the lieutenant-governor, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: The qualified electors for representatives shall vote for a governor and lieutenant-governor, at the time and place of voting for representatives. The returns of every election shall be sealed up and transmitted by the proper returning-officer to the secretary of state, who shall deliver them. to the speaker of the house of representatives on the second day of the session of the general assembly then next to be holden. The members of the general assembly shall meet in the house of representatives to examine and count the votes. The person having the greatest number of votes for governor shall be declared duly elected, but if two or more persons shall be equal and highest in the number of votes polled for governor, one of them shall immediately be chosen governor by joint vote of the members of the general assembly. The person having the greatest number of votes for lieutenant-governor shall be lieutenant-governor, but if two or more persons shall be equal and highest in the number of votes polled for lieutenant-governor, one of them shall be immediately chosen lieutenant-governor by joint vote of the members of the general assembly.

ART. 36. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant-governor who shall not have attained the age of twenty-eight years, and been a citizen and a resident within the State for the space of four years next preceding his election. ART. 37. The governor shall enter on the discharge of his duties on the fourth Monday of January next ensuing his election, and shall continue in office until the Monday next succeeding the day that his successor shall be declared duly elected, and shall have taken the oath or affirmation required by the constitution.

ART. 38. The governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of the time for which he shall have been elected.

ART. 39. No member of Congress or person holding any office under the United States shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant-governor.

ART. 40. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal or inability to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor for the residue of the term, or until the governor, absent or impeached, shall return or be acquitted. The legislature may provide by law for the case of removal, impeachment, death, resignation, disability or refusal to qualify of both the governor or lieutenant-governor, declaring what officer shall act as governor, and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or for the residue of the term. ART. 41. The lieutenant-governor, or officer discharging the duties of governor, shall, during his administration, receive the same compensation to which the governor would have been entitled had he continued in office.

ART. 42. The lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the senate, but shall have only a casting vote therein. Whenever he shall administer the government, or shall be unable to attend as president of the senate, the senators shall elect one of their own members as president of the senate for the time being.

ART. 43. While he acts as president of the senate, the lieutenant-governor 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.

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