to prepare for his defence; and there shall be awarded to him compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.

15. No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever; nor shall any man be enforced, restrained, molested or burthened, in his body or goods, or otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument, to maintain their opinions in matters of religion; and the same shall, in no wise, affect, diminish, or enlarge their civil capacities; and the Legislature shall not prescribe any religious test whatever, or confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any sect or denomination, or pass any law requiring or authorizing any religious society, or the people of any district within this State, to levy on themselves, or others, any tax for the erection or repair of any house for public worship, or for the support of any church or ministry, but it shall be left free for every person to select his religious instructor, and to make for his support, such private contract as he shall please.

16. The right of the people to assemble in a peaceable manner, to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, or to apply for redress of grievances, shall be held in violate.

17. The courts of this State shall be open, and every person, for an injury done to him, in his person, property or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law; and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.

18. No conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of

estate.

19. No hereditary emoluments, honors or privileges shall ever be granted or conferred in this State.

20. Free government and the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people only by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.

ARTICLE IV.

ELECTIONS AND OFFICERS.

1. The male citizens of the State shall be entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties in which they respectively reside; but no person who is a minor, or of unsound mind, or a pauper, or who is under conviction of treason, felony, or bribery in an election, or who has not been a resident of the State for one year, and of the county in which he offers to vote, for sixty days next preceding such offer, shall be permitted to vote while such disability continues; but no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State by reason of being stationed therein.

2. In all elections by the people, the mode of voting shall be by ballot; but the voter shall be left free to vote by either open, sealed or secret ballot, as he may elect.

3. No voter, during the continuance of an election at which he is entitled to vote, or during the time necessary and convenient for going to and returning from the same, shall be subject to arrest upon civil process, or be compelled to attend any court, or judicial proceeding, as suitor, juror or witness; or to work upon the public roads ; or, except in time of war or public danger, to render military service. 4. No person, except citizens entitled to vote, shall be elected or appointed to any State, county, or municipal office; but the Governor and Judges must have attained the age of thirty, and the Attorney-General and Senators the age of twenty-five years, at the beginning of their respective terms of service; and must have been citizens of the State for five years next preceding their election or appointment, or be citizens at the time this Constitution goes into operation.

5. Every person elected or appointed to any office, before proceeding to exercise the authority, or discharge the duties thereof, shall make oath or affirmation that he will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State, and that he will faithfully discharge the duties of his said office to the best of his skill and judgment; and no other oath, declaration, or test shall be required as a qualification, unless herein otherwise provided.

6. All officers elected or appointed under this Constitution, may, unless in cases herein otherwise provided for, be removed from of fice for official misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty, or gross immorality, in such manner as may be prescribed by general laws, and unless so removed they shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices until their successors are elected, or appointed and qualified.

7. The general elections of State and county officers, and of members of the Legislature, shall be held on the second Tuesday of October, until otherwise provided by law. The terms of such officers, not elected or appointed to fill a vacancy, shall, unless herein otherwise provided, begin on the first day of January, and of the members of the Legislature on the first day of November, next succeeding their election. Elections to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term. When vacancies occur prior to any general election they shall be filled by appointments in such manner as may be prescribed herein, or by general law, which appointments shall expire at such time after the next general election as the person so elected to fill such vacancy shall be qualified.

8. The Legislature, in cases not provided for in this Constitution, shall prescribe, by general laws, the terms of office, powers, duties and compensation of all public officers and agents, and the manner in which they shall be elected, appointed and removed.

9. Any officer of the State may be impeached for mal-administration, corruption, incompetency, gross immorality, neglect of duty, or any high crime or misdemeanor. The House of Delegates shall have the sole power of impeachment. The Senate shall have the sole

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power to try impeachments, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected thereto. When sitting as a court of impeachment, the President of the Supreme Court of Appeals, or, if from any cause it be improper for him to act, then any other judge of that court, to be designated by it, shall preside; and the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation, to do justice according to law and evidence. Judgment in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit, under the State; but the party convicted shall be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law, The Senate may sit during the recess of the Legislature, for the trial of impeachments.

10. Any citizen of this State, who shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, either in, or out of the State, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or accept a challenge so to do, or who shall act as a second, or knowingly aid or assist in such duel, shall, ever thereafter, be incapable of holding any office of honor, trust, or profit in this State.

11. The Legislature shall prescribe the manner of conducting and making returns of elections, and of determining contested elections; and shall pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to prevent intimidation, disorder or violence at the polls, and corruption or fraud in voting, counting the vote, ascertaining or declaring the result, or fraud in any manner, upon the ballot.

12. No citizen shall ever be denied or refused the right or privilege of voting at an election, because his name is not, or has not been. registered or listed as a qualified voter.

ARTICLE V.

DIVISION OF POWERS.

1. The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither shall exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that Justices of the Peace shall be eligible to the Legislature.

ARTICLE VI.

LEGISLATURE.

1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and House of Delegates. The style of their acts shall be, "Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia."

2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four, and the House of Delegates of sixty-five members, subject to be increased according to the provisions hereinafter contained.

3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and Delegates for the term of two years. The Senators first elected, shall divide themselves into two classes, one Senator from every district being

assigned to each class; and of these classes, the first to be designated by lot in such manner as the Senate may determine, shall hold their seats for two years; and the second for four years, so that after the first election, one-half of the Senators shall be elected bi-ennially. 4. For the election of Senators, the State shall be divided into twelve Senatorial Districts, which number shall not be diminished, but may be increased as hereinafter provided. Every district shall elect two Senators, but, where the district is composed of more than one county, both shall not be chosen from the same county. The districts shall be compact, formed of contiguous territory, bounded by county lines, and, as nearly as practicable, equal in population, to be ascertained by the census of the United States. After every such census, the Legislature shall alter the Senatorial Districts, so far as may be necessary to make them conform to the foregoing provision.

5. Until the Senatorial Districts shall be altered by the Legislature as herein prescribed, the counties of Hancock, Brooke and Ohio, shall constitute the first Senatorial District; Marshall, Wetzel and Marion, the second; Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Gilmer and Calhoun, the third; Tyler, Pleasants, Wood and Wirt, the fourth; Jackson, Mason, Putnam and Roane, the fifth; Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Braxton and Webster, the sixth; Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, McDowell and Mercer, the seventh; Monroe, Greenbrier, Summers, Pocahontas, Fayette and Raleigh, the eighth; Lewis, Randolph, Upshur, Barbour, Taylor and Tucker, the ninth; Preston and Monongalia, the tenth; Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy, Grant and Pendleton, the eleventh; Berkeley, Morgan, and Jefferson, the twelfth.

6. For the election of Delegates, every county containing a population of less than three-fifths of the ratio of representation for the House of Delegates, shall, at each apportionment, be attached to some contiguous county or counties, to form a Delegate District.

7. After every census the Delegates shall be apportioned as follows: The ratio of representation for the House of Delegates shall be ascertained by dividing the whole population of the State by the number of which the House is to consist and rejecting the fraction of a unit, if any, resulting from such division. Dividing the population of every Delegate District and of every county not included in a Delegate District, by the ratio thus ascertained, there shall be assigned to each a number of Delegates equal to the quotient obtained by this division, excluding the fractional remainder. The additional Delegates necessary to make up the number of which the House is to consist, shall then be assigned to those Delegate Districts, and counties not included in a Delegate District, which would otherwise have the largest fractions unrepresented; but every Delegate District, and county not included in a Delegate District, shall be entitled to at least one delegate,

8. Until a new apportionment shall be declared, the counties of

Pleasants and Wood shall form the first Delegate District, and elect three Delegates; Ritchie and Calhoun the second, and elect two Delegates; Barbour, Harrison and Taylor the third, and elect one Delegate; Randolph and Tucker the fourth, and elect one Delegate; Nicholas, Clay and Webster the fifth, and elect one Delegate; McDowell and Wyoming the sixth, and elect one Delegate.

9. Until a new apportionment shall be declared the apportionment of Delegates to the counties not included in Delegate Districts, and to Barbour, Harrison and Taylor counties, embraced in such Districts, shall be as follows:

To Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Doddridge, Fayette, Hampshire, Hancock, Jackson, Lewis, Logan, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, Mineral, Morgan, Grant, Hardy, Lincoln, Pendleton, Putnam, Roane, Gilmer, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Wetzel, Wirt, Pocahontas, Summers and Raleigh counties, one Delegate each.

To Berkeley, Harrison, Jefferson, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Monongalia and Preston counties, two Delegates each.

To Kanawha county, three Delegates.

To Ohio county, four Delegates.

10. The arrangement of the Senatorial and Delegate Districts, and apportionment of Delegates, shall hereafter be declared by law, as soon as possible after each succeeding census, taken by authority of the United States. When so declared they shall apply to the first general election for members of the Legislature, to be thereafter held, and shall continue in force unchanged, until such Districts shall be altered, and delegates apportioned, under the succeeding

census.

11. Additional territory may be admitted into, and become a part of this State, with the consent of the Legislature and a majority of the qualified voters of the State, voting on the question. And in such case provision shall be made by law for the representation thereof in the Senate and House of Delegates, in conformity with the principles set forth in this Constitution. And the number of members of which each House of the Legislature is to consist, shall thereafter be increased by the representation assigned to each additional territory.

12. No person shall be a Senator or Delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election, been a resident within the District or county from which he is elected; and if a Senator or Delegate remove from the District or county for which he was elected, his seat shall be thereby vacated.

13. No person holding a lucrative office under this State, the United States. or any foreign government; no member of Congress; no person who is a salaried officer of any railroad company, or who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature.

14. No person who has been, or hereafter shall be convicted of