of electing and being elected into any office or place within this State, in the town, parish, and plantation, where he dwelleth and hath his home.

And the inhabitants of plantations and places unincorporated, qualified as this Constitution provides, who are or shall be required to asses taxes upon themselves towards the support of government, or shall be taxed therefor, shall have the same privilege of voting for Senators in the plantations and places wherein they reside, as the inhabitants of the respective towns and parishes aforesaid have. And the meetings of such plantations and places for that purpose, shall be holden annually in the month of March, at such places respectively therein as the assessors thereof shall direct; which assessors shall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the Selectmen and Town-Clerks have in their several towns by this Constitution.

The meetings for the choice of Governor, Council, and Senators, shall be warned, by warrant, from the Selectmen, and governed by a Moderator, who shall, in the presence of the Selectmen, (whose duty it shall be to attend) in open meeting, receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns and parishes present, and qualified to vote for Senators; and shall, in said meetings, in presence of the said Selectmen and of the Town-Clerk, in said meeting, sort and count the said votes, and make a public declaration thereof, with the name of every person voted for, and the number of votes for each person: And the Town-Clerk shall make a fair record of the same at large, in the town-book, and shall make out a fair attested copy thereof, to be by him sealed up, and directed to the Secretary of the State, with a superscription expressing the purport thereof: And the said Town-Clerk shall cause such attested copy to be delivered to the Sheriff of the County in which such town or parish shall lie, forty days at least before the last Wednesday of October; or to the Secretary of the State at least thirty days before the last Wednesday of October: And the Sheriff of each County, or his deputy, shall deliver all such certificates by him received,

into the Secretary's office, at least thirty days before the last Wednesday of October.

And that there may be a due meeting of Senators on the last Wednesday of October annually, the Governor, and a majority of the Council for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the returned copies of such records, and fourteen days before the said last Wednesday of October, he shall issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen Senators by a majority of votes, to attend and take their seats on that day.

Provided nevertheless, That for the first year the said returned copies shall be examined by the President, and a majority of the Council then in office: and the said President shall, in like manner, notify the persons elected, to attend and take their seats accordingly.

And in case there shall not appear to be a Senator elected by a majority of votes for any district, the deficiency shall be supplied in the following manner, viz. The members of the House of Representatives, and such Senators as shall be declared elected, shall take the names of the two persons having the highest number of votes in the district, and out of them shall elect, by joint ballot, the Senator wanted for such district; and in this manner all such vacancies shall be filled up, in every district of the State; and in like manner all vacancies in the Senate, arising by death, removal out of the State, or otherwise, shall be supplied, as soon as may be after such vacancies happen.

The Senate shall be final judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications, of their own members, as pointed out in this Constitution.

The Senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, provided such adjournment do not exceed two days at a time.

·Provided nevertheless, That whenever they shall sit on the trial of any impeachment, they may adjourn to such time and place as they may think proper, although the Legislature be not assembled on such day, or at such place.

The Senate shall appoint the President, and other officers, and determine their own rules of proceedings:

And

And not less than seven members of the Senate shall shall make a quorum for doing business; and when less than eight Senators shall be present, the assent of five, at least, shall be necessary, to render their acts and proceedings valid.

The Senate shall be a Court, with full power and authority to hear, try, and determine, all impeachments made by the House of Representatives against any officer or officers of the State, for bribery, corruption, malpractice, or mal-administration, in office; with full power to issue summons, or compulsory process, for convening witnesses before them, with all necessary powers incident to a Court of Trials : But previous to the trial of any such impeachment, the members of the Senate shall respectively be sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence. And every officer, impeached for bribery, corruption, mal-practice, or mal-administration, in office, shall be served with an attested copy of the impeachment, and order of Senate thereon, with such citation as the Senate may direct, setting forth the time and place of their sitting to try the impeachment; which service shall be made by the Sheriff, or such other sworn officer as the Senate may appoint, at least fourteen days previous to the time of trial; and such citation being duly served and returned, the Senate may proceed in hearing of the impeachment, giving the person impeached, if he shall appear, full liberty of producing witnesses and proofs, and of making his defence, by himself and counsel; and may also, upon his refusing or neglecting to appear, hear the proofs in support of the impeachment, and render judgment thereon, his non-appearance notwithstanding; and such judgment shall have the same force and effect as if the person impeached had appeared and pleaded in the trial. Their judgment, however, shall not extend further than removal from office, disqualification to hold or enjoy any place of honour, trust or profit, under this State; but the party so convicted, shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the laws of the land.

When

Whenever the Governor shall be impeached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall, during the trial, preside in the Senate, but have no vote therein. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

THERE shall be, in the Legislature of this State, a Representation of the People, annually elected, and founded upon principles of equality: And, in order that such representation may be as equal as circumstances will admit, every town, parish, or place entitled to town privileges, having one hundred and fifty rateable male polls, of twenty-one years of age, and upwards, may elect one Representative: if four hundred and fifty rateable polls, may elect two Representatives; and so proceeding, in that proportion, making three hundred such rateable polls the mean increasing number, for every additional Representative.

Such towns, parishes or places, as have less than one hundred and fifty rateable polls, shall be classed by the General Assembly, for the purpose of choosing a Representative, and seasonably notified thereof. And in every class, formed for the above mentioned purpose, the first annual meeting shall be held in the town, parish, or place, wherein most of the rateable polls reside, and afterwards in that which has the next highest number; and so on annually, by rotation, through the several towns, parishes or places, forming the district.

Whenever any town, parish or place, entitled to town privileges, as aforesaid, shall not have one hundred and fifty rateable polls, and be so situated as to render the classing thereof with any other town, parish, or place, very inconvenient, the General Assembly may, upon application of a majority of the voters in such town, parish, or place, issue a writ for their electing and sending a Representative to the General Court.

The Members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen annually, in the month of March, and shall be the second branch of the Legislature.

All persons, qualified to vote in the election of Senators, shall be entitled to vote within the district where they dwell, in the choice of Representatives. Every member of the House of Representatives shall be cho

sen

sen by ballot; and for two years at least, next preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of this State; shall have an estate within the district which he may be chosen to represent, of the value of one hundred pounds, one half of which to be a freehold, whereof he is seized in his own right: shall be, at the time of his election, an inhabitant of the district which he may be chosen to represent; and shall cease to represent such district immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid.

The members of both Houses of the Legislature shall be compensated for their services out of the treasury of the State, by a law made for that purpose; such members attending seasonably, and not departing without licence. All intermediate vacancies in the House of Representatives, may be filled up, from time to time, in the same manner as annual elections are made.

The House of Representatives shall be the Grand Inquest of the State; and all impeachments made by them, shall be heard and tried by the Senate.

All money-bills shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose, or concur with amendments, as on other bills.

The House of Representatives shall have power to adjourn themselves, but no longer than two days at a time.

A majority of the members of the House of Representatives shall be a quorum for doing business: But when less than two-thirds of the Representatives elected shall be present, the assent of two-thirds of those members shall be necessary to render their acts and proceedings valid.

No member of the House of Representatives, or Senate, shall be arrested, or held to bail, on mean process, during his going to, returning from, or attendance upon, the Court.

The House of Representatives shall choose their own Speaker, appoint their own officers, and settle the rules of proceedings in their own House; and shall be judge of the returns, elections, and qualifications of its members, as pointed out in this Constitution. They shall