MICHIGAN.* VIRGINIA ACT OF CESSION-1783. DEED OF CESSION FROM VIRGINIA-1784. [See "Illinois," page 428.] THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT—1787. [See "Illinois," pages 429–432.] VIRGINIA ACT OF RATIFICATION-1788. [See "Illinois," page 433.] THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT-1789. [See "Illinois," page 433.] THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA-1800.† [See "Illinois," pages 434, 435.] This was ceded * The French discovered Detroit in 1670, and established a colony there in 1702. to Great Britain, with all of the other French possessions east of the Mississippi River, by the treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, and was annexed by royal proclamation to the British colony of Quebec. It was relinquished to the United States by Great Britain by the treaties of 1782-'83, although a British garrison was maintained until 1796. The northern boundary of Indiana, as established by this act, was changed by the act of Congress approved April 30, 1802. THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN—1805.* [Eighth Congress, Second SessiON.] An Act to divide the Indiana Territory into two separate governments. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the thirtieth day of June next, all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend, or extreme, of Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate Territory, and be called Michigan. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be established within the said Territory a government in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of Congress, passed on the thirteenth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio; and by an act passed on the seventh day of August, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An act to provide for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio;" and the inhabitants thereof shall be entitled to and enjoy all and singular the rights, privileges, and advantages granted and secured to the people of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio by the said ordinance. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the said Territory, who, by virtue of this act shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall respectively exercise the same powers, perform the same duties, and receive for their services the same compensations as by the ordinance aforesaid, and the laws of the United States, have been provided and established for similar officers in the Indiana Territory; and the duties and emoluments of superintendent of Indian affairs shall be united with those of governor. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed so as in any manner to affect the government now in force in the Indiana Territory, further than to prohibit the exercise thereof within the said Territory of Michigan, from and after the aforesaid thirtieth day of June next. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all suits, process, and proceeding which, on the thirtieth day of June next, shall be pending in the court of any county which shall be included within the said Territory of Michigan, and also all suits, process, and proceedings which, on the said thirtieth day of June next, shall be pending in the general court of the Indiana Territory in consequence of any writ of removal, or order for trial at bar, and which had been removed from any of the counties included within the limits of the Territory of Michigan aforesaid, shall, in all things concerning the same, be proceeded on, and judgments and decrees rendered thereon, in the same manner as if the said Indiana Territory had remained undivided. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That Detroit shall be the seat of government of the said Territory until Congress shall otherwise direct. APPROVED, January 11, 1805. * The boundaries of Michigan, as established by this act, were necessarily changed by the acts of Congress approved April 9, 1816; June 18, 1818; June 28, 1834, and April 20, 1836. The act of 1818 extended the Territory westward to the Mississippi River, and the act of 1834 added the territory between the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri and White Earth Rivers on the west. Michigan Territory then extended from Lakes Erie and Huron westward to the Missouri River, and from the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri northward to the British domin CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN—1835.* In convention, begun at the city of Detroit, on the second Monday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five: We, the people of the Territory of Michigan, as established by the act of Congress of the eleventh of January, eighteen hundred and five, in conformity to the fifth article of the ordinance providing for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio, believing that the time has arrived when our present political condition ought to cease, and the right of self-government be asserted; and availing ourselves of that provision of the aforesaid ordinance of the Congress of the United States of the thirteenth day of July, seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, and the acts of Congress passed in accordance therewith, which entitled us to admission into the Union, upon a condition which has been fulfilled, do, by onr delegates in convention assembled, mutually agree to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the style and title of "The State of Michigan," and do ordain and establish the following constitution for the government of the same: ARTICLE I. SECTION 1. All political power is inherent in the people SEC. 2. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and they have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, and to abolish one form of government and establish another, whenever the public good requires it. SEC. 3. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate privileges. SEC. 4. Every person has a right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience; and no person can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support, against his will, any place of religious worship, or pay any tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel or teacher of religion. SEC. 5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or theological or religious seminaries. SEC. 6. The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no individual shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his opinions or belief concerning matters of religion. SEC. 7. Every person may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no laws shall be passed In all prosecutions or to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. SEC. 8. The person, houses, papers, and possessions of every individual shall be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things,. shall issue without describing them, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. SEC. 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. SEC. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; to have the assistance of counsel for his defence; and in all civil cases, in which personal liberty may be involved, the trial by jury shall not be refused. SEC. 11. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the *This constitution was framed by a convention called by the territorial legislative council, which met at Detroit May 11, 1835, and completed its labors June 29, 1835. It was submitted to the people and ratified November 2, 1835. President Jackson laid it before Congress in a special message, December 9, 1835. presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. SEC. 12. No person for the same offence shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment; all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. SEC. 13. Every person has a right to bear arms for the defence of himself and the State. SEC. 14. The military shall, in all cases and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. SEC. 15. 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 prescribed by law. SEC. 16. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or in 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 on confession in open court. SEC. 17. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed. SEC. 18. Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed; and cruel and unjust punishments shall not be inflicted. SEC. 19. The property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just compensation therefor. SEC. 20. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the legislature for redress of grievances. SEC. 21. All acts of the legislature, contrary to this or any other article of this constitution, shall be void. ARTICLE II. ELECTORS. SECTION 1. In all elections, every white male citizen above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the State six months next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote at such election; and every white male inhabitant of the age aforesaid, who may be a resident of the State at the time of the signing of this constitution, shall have the right of voting as aforesaid; but no such citizen or inhabitant shall be entitled to vote except in the district, county, or township in which he shall actually reside at the time of such election. SEC. 2. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such township officers as may, by law, be directed to be otherwise chosen. SEC. 3. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same. SEC. 4. No elector shall be obliged to do military duty on the days of election, except in time of war or public danger. SEC. 5. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this State by reason of his absence on business of the United States, or of this State. SEC. 6. No soldier, seaman, or marine, in the Army or Navy of the United States, shall be deemed a resident of this State in consequence of being stationed in any military or naval place within the same. ARTICLE III. DIVISION OF THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT. The powers of the government shall be divided into three distinct departments: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial; and one department shall never exercise the powers of another, except in such cases as are expressly provided for in this constitution. SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and house of representatives. SEC. 2. The number of the members of the house of representatives shall never be less than forty-eight, nor more than one hundred; and the senate shall, at all times, equal in number one-third of the house of representatives, as nearly as may be. SEC. 3. The legislature shall provide by law for an enumeration of the inhabitants of this State in the years eighteen hundred and thirty-seven and eighteen hundred and forty-five, and every ten years after the said last-mentioned time; and at their first session after each enumeration so made as aforesaid, and also after each enu meration made by the authority of the United States, the legislature shall apportion anew the representatives and senators among the several counties and districts, according to the number of white inhabitants. SEC. 4. The representatives shall be chosen annually on the first Monday of November, and on the following day, by the electors of the several counties or districts into which the State shall be divided for that purpose. Each organized county shall be entitled to at least one representative; but no county hereafter organized shall be. entitled to a separate representative, until it shall have attained a population equal to the ratio of representation hereafter established. SEC. 5. The senators shall be chosen for two years, at the same time and in the same manner as the representatives are required to be chosen. At the first session of the legislature under this constitution, they shall be divided by lot from their respective districts, as nearly as may be, into two equal classes; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, and of the second class at the expiration of the second year; so that one-half thereof, as nearly as may be, shall be chosen annually thereafter. SEC. 6. The State shall be divided, at each new apportionment, into a number of not less than four, nor more than eight, senatorial districts, to be always composed of contiguous territory, so that each district shall elect an equal number of senators annually, as nearly as may be; and no county shall be divided in the formation of such districts. SEC. 7. Senators and representatives shall be citizens of the United States, and be qualified electors in the respective counties and districts which they represent; and a removal from their respective counties or districts shall be deemed a vacation of their seats. SEC. 8. No person holding any office under the United States, or of this State, officers of the militia, justices of the peace, associate judges of the circuit and county courts, and postmasters excepted, shall be eligible to either house of the legislature. SEC. 9. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, nor shall they be subject to any civil process, during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session. SEC. 10. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. Each house shall choose its own officers. SEC. 11. Each house shall determine the rules of its proceedings, and judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its own members; and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause, nor for any cause known to his constituents antecedent to his election. SEC. 12. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, except such parts as may require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, at the request of one-fifth of the members present, be entered on the journal. Any member of either house shall have liberty to |