to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, or in cases where there is strong presumption of fraud.

16. No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the validity of contracts, shall ever be made; and no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate.

17. That no person shall be liable to be transported out of this State for any offence committed within the same.

18. That a frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of civil government is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.

19. That the people have a right to assemble together in a peaceable manner, to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the General Assembly for redress of grievances.

20. That the mode of levying a tax shall be by valuation; so that every person shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of the property he or she has in his or her possession.

21. That there shall be no other banks or monied institutions in this State but those already provided by law, except a State Bank and its branches, which may be established and regulated by the General Assembly of the State, as they may think proper.

22. The printing presses shall be free to every person who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the General Assembly, or of any branch of government; and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man; and every citizen may freely speak, write, or print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.

23. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers or men acting in a political capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and, in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right of determining both the law and the fact, under the direction of the court, as in other cases,

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 north-west of the river Ohio, believing that the time has arrived when our present political condition ought to cease, and the right of selfgovernment 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 our 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.

SEC. 1. All political power is inherent in the people.

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.

3. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate privileges.

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.

5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or theological or religious seminaries.

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.

7. Every person may freely speak, write, aud publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no laws shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all prosecutions or 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 libelous 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.

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.

9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

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 defense; and in all civil cases, in which personal liberty may be involved, the trial by jury shall not be refused.

11. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the 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.

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.

13. Every person has a right to bear arms for the defense of himself and the State.

14. The military shall, in cases and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power.

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.

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.

17. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed.

18. Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed; and cruel and unjust punishments shall not be inflicted. 19. The property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just compensation therefor.

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.

21. All acts of the Legislature, contrary to this or any other arti. cle of this Constitution, shall be void.

ARTICLE II.-Electors.

SEC. 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. 2. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such township officers as may, by law, be directed to be otherwise chosen.

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.

4. No elector shall be obliged to do militia duty on the days of election, except in time of war or public danger.

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.

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.

SEC. 1. 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 Con

stitution.

ARTICLE IV.-Legislative Department.

SEC. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives.

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.

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 enumeration 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.

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.

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,