ARTICLE XVI.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SECTION 1. Whereas, slavery has been destroyed in this State by the Government of the United States; therefore, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall in future exist in this State, except as a punishment for crimes, whereof the party shall have been convicted by the courts of the State, and all the inhabitants of the State, without distinction of color, are free, and shall enjoy the rights of person and property without distinction of color.

§ 2. In all criminal proceedings founded upon injury to a colored person, and in all cases affecting the rights and remedies of colored persons, no person shall be incompetent to testify as a witness on account of color; in all other cases, the testimony of colored persons shall be excluded, unless made competent by future legislation. The jury shall judge of the credibility of the testimony.

§3. The Jurors of this State shall be white men, possessed of such qualifications as may be prescribed by law.

§ 4. 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 his confession in open court.

§ 5. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be allowed but by the judgment of a court, as shall be prescribed by law.

§ 6. The General Assembly shall declare by law what parts of the common law, and what parts of the civil law, not inconsistent with this Constitution, shall be in force in this State.

§ 7. The oaths of officers directed to be taken under this Constitution, may be administered by any judge, or justice of the peace, in the State of Florida, until otherwise provided by law.

ARTICLE XVII.

SCHEDULE AND ORDINANCE.

SECTION 1. All laws of the State passed during and since the tenth session of the Legislature thereof, in 1860, not repugnant to the Constitution of this State, or of the United States, shall be valid; all writs, actions, prosecutions, judgments and decrees, of the courts of the State, all executions and sales made thereunder, and all acts, orders and proceedings of the Judges of Probate; and of executors, administrators, guardians and trustees, provided they were in conformity to the laws then in force, and not fraudulent, shall be as valid as if made under the usual and ordinary legislation of the country, provided that the same be not repugnant to the Constitution of the State and of the United States.

§ 2. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, obligations and escheats, heretofore accruing to the State of Florida, and not made unlawful by the Constitution or laws of the United States, shall continue to accrue to the use of the State.

§ 3. All recognizances heretofore taken shall remain valid, and all bonds executed to the Governor of the State of Florida, either before or since the first day of January, 1861, or to any other officer of the State in his official capacity, shall be of full force and virtue for the uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly; and all criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State.

4. The Provisional Governor of this State is hereby requested to authorize the civil officers of this State who were discharging the duties of their offices prior to, or during the month of May, A. D. 1865, to resume the exercise of the functions of their respective offices, and to make such other appointments to office as may be necessary or proper to reorganize or re-establish the civil government of this State; and all actions at law, or suits in chancery, or any proceeding pending in any of the courts in this State, prior to, or during the said month of May, A. D. 1865, and either before or subsequent to the 10th day of January, A. D. 1861, shall continue in all respects valid, and may be prosecuted to judgment and decree: and all judgments and decrees rendered in civil causes in any of the courts in this State during the period of time last above specified, and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, are hereby declared of full force, validity and effect.

§ 5. The Provisional Governor of the State is hereby requested and authorized, at as early a day as practicable, to issue writs of election to the proper officers in the different counties in this State, and make proclamation for an election for Governor, Lieutenant

Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller of Public Accounts, AttorneyGeneral, Circuit Judges, Judge of Probate, Sheriffs, Clerks of Circuit Courts, Solicitors, Representative in Congress, Senators and Representatives of the General Assembly, County Commissioners, Coroners, Justices of the Peace, County Surveyors, and all other officers provided for by this Constitution. The said election shall be held on the 29th day of November, A. D. 1865. The said election shall be conducted according to the existing laws of the State of Florida, and shall take place on the same day throughout the State, the returns to be made according to law. The members of the General Assembly so elected shall assemble on the 3d Monday in December, A. D. 1865. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Attorney-General, Circuit Judges, Judges of Probate, Sheriffs, Clerks of Circuit Courts, Solicitors, Representative in Congress, Senators and Representatives of the General Assembly, County Commissioners, Coroners, Justices of the Peace, County Surveyors, and all other officers provided for by this Constitution, shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices immediately after their election, and shall continue in office in the same manner and during the same period they would have done had they been elected on the first Monday in October, A. D. 1865. The Representative in Congress shall continue in office in the same manner and during the same period he would have done, had he been elected on the first Monday in October, A. D. 1865.

§ 6. The statutes of limitations shall not be pleaded upon any claim in the hands of any person whomsoever, not sued upon when such claim was not barred by the statutes of limitation on the 10th day of January, 1861.

§ 7. No law of this State providing that claims or demands against the estates of decedents shall be barred if not presented within two years, shall be considered as being in force within this State between the 10th day of January, 1861, and the 25th day of October, 1865.

Done in open Convention. In witness whereof, the undersigned, the President of said Convention, and Delegates present, representing the people of Florida, do hereby sign our names, this the seventh day of November, Anno Domini, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the ninetieth year, and the Secretary of said Convention doth countersign the same. E. D. TRACY, President.

THOMAS BALTZELL,

A. H. BUSH,

F. B. CALLAWAY,

W. B. COOPER,

W. R. COULTER,
R. H. M. DAVIDSON,
ARTHUR J. FORMAN,
ALEXANDER BELL,
JAMES GETTIS,
W. J. J. DUNCAN,
JAS. D. GREEN,
FRANCIS A. HENDRY,
W. JAS. HINES,
D. P. HOGUE,
J. W. H. HOLDEN,

JAS. F. P. JOHNSTON,

WM. W. J. KELLY,

J. M. LANDRUM,

JESSE B. LASSITER,
FELIX LESLIE,

DAN'L G. LIVINGSTON,

THOS. T. LONG,

JAMES LOVE,

A. J. PEELER, Secretary.

JAMES T. MAGBEE,

G. TROUP MAXWELL,
ASA MAY,

JOHN MCLELLAN,
JAMES A. MICKLER, JR.,
S. L. NIBLACK,

SILAS T. OVERSTREET,
JAMES G. OWENS,
JOHN C. RICHARD,
JACKSON N. RICHARDS,
A. RICHARDSON,
W. WASH. SCOTT,
MOSES SIMMONS,
S. SPENCER,
J. L. TAYLOR,
G. K. WALKER,

D. W. WHITEHURST,
JAMES A. WIGGINS,
B. D. WRIGHT,
WM. WILSON,

WM. CAPERS BIRD,
WILEY W. WHIDDEN,

S. N. WILLIAMS.

CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA. 1865.*

PREAMBLE.

We, the people of the State of Georgia, in order to form a permanent government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity-acknowledging and invoking the guidance of Almighty God, the author of all good government, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the State of Georgia.

ARTICLE I.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

1. Protection to person and property is the duty of government.

2. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law.

3. The writ of habeas corpus, shall not be suspended unless in case of rebellion, or invasion, the public safety may require it.

4. A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

5. Perfect freedom of religious sentiment, be and the same is hereby secured, and no inhabitant of this State, shall ever be molested in person or property, nor prohibited from holding any public office or trust on account of his religious opinion.

6. Freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, are inherent elements of political liberty. But while every citizen may freely speak or write, or print on any subject, he shall be responsible for the abuse of the liberty.

7. The right of the people to appeal to the courts, to petition government on all matters of legitimate cognizance and peaceably to assemble for the consideration of any matter of public concern shall never be impaired.

8. Every person charged with an offense against the laws of the State, shall have the privilege and benefit of counsel, shall be furnished on demand with a copy of the accusation, and list of the witnesses on whose testimony the charge against him is founded; shall have compulsory process to obtain the attendance of his own witnesses; shall be confronted with the witnesses testifying against him, and shall have a public and speedy trial by an impartial jury, as heretofore practiced in Georgia.

9. No person shall be put in jeopardy of life or liberty, more than once for the same offense, save on his or her own motion for a new trial after conviction, or in case of mis-trial.

10. No conviction shall work corruption of blood or general forfeiture of estate.

11. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

12. The powers of the courts to punish for contempt shall be limited by legislative

acts.

13. Legislative acts in violation of the Constitution are void, and the judiciary shall so declare them.

14. Ex post facto laws-laws impairing the obligation of contracts, and retroactive laws injuriously affecting any right of the citizen, are prohibited.

15. Laws should have a general operation, and no general law affecting private rights shall be varied in any particular case by special legislation, except with the free consent, in writing, of all persons to be affected thereby; and no person being under a legal disability to contract, is capable of such free consent.

16. The power of taxation over the whole State shall be exercised by the General Assembly only to raise revenue for the support of government, to pay the public debt, to provide for the common defense, and for such other purposes as the General Assem

*This State formed its first Constitution in 1777, and another in 1785. A Convention assembled at Louisville on the 30th of May, 1798, reported a revised_Constitution, which remained substantially the same, but with frequent amendments until 1865. These amendments were made in 1808, 1811, 1812, 1818, 1819, 1823, 1824, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1845, 1847, and 1849. This State seceded from the Federal Union, January 19, 1861. The ordinance was repealed, October 26, 1865, by a Cónvention called to revise the Constitution. Their labors were concluded November 8, 1865, by adopting the Constitution above given.

bly may be specially required or empowered to accomplish by this Constitution. But the General Assembly may, by statute, grant the power of taxation for designated purposes, with such limitations as they may deem expedient, to county authorities and municipal corporations, to be exercised within their several territorial limits.

17. In cases of necessity, private ways may be granted upon just compensation being first paid; and with this exception private property shall not be taken, save for public use, and then only on just compensation to be first provided and paid, unless there be a pressing, unforseen necessity; in which event the General Assembly shall make early provision for such compensation.

18. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place or places to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized. 19. The person of a debtor shall not be detained in prison, after delivery, for the benefit of his creditors of all his estate, not expressly exempted by law from levy and sale.

20. The Government of the United States having, as a war measure, proclaimed all slaves held or owned in this State, emancipated from slavery, and having carried that proclamation into full practical effect, there shall henceforth be, within the State of Georgia, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, save as a punishment for crime, after legal conviction thereof; Provided, This acquiescence in the action of the government of the United States, is not intended to operate as a relinquishmemt, waiver, or estoppel of such claim for compensation of loss sustained by reason of the emancipation of his slaves, as any citizen of Georgia may hereafter make upon the justice and magnanimity of that government.

21. The enumeration of rights herein contained is a part of this Constitution, but shall not be construed to deny to the people any inherent rights which they have hitherto enjoyed.

ARTICLE II.
SECTION 1.

1. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial departments shall be distinct; and each department shall be confided to a separate body of magistracy. No person, or collection of persons, being of one department, shall exercise any power properly attached to either of the others, except in cases herein expressly provided.

2. The Legislative power shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, the members whereof shall be elected and returns of the elections made in the manner now prescribed by law (until changed by the General Assembly) on the 15th day of November, in the present year, and biennially thereafter, on the first Wednesday of October, to serve until their successors shall be elected; but the General Assembly may, by law, change the day of election.

3. The first meeting of the General Assembly, under this Constitution, shall be on the first Monday in December next, after which, it shall meet annually on the first Thursday in November, or on such other day as the General Assembly may prescribe. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of its absent members, as each House may provide. No session of the General Assembly, after the first above mentioned, shall continue longer than forty days, unless prolonged by a vote of twothirds of each branch thereof.

4. No person holding any military commission, or other appointment, having any emolument or compensation annexed thereto, under this State or the United States, or either of them (except Justices of the Inferior Court, Justices of the Peace, and officers of the militia), nor any defaulter for public money, or for any legal taxes required of him; shall have a seat in either branch of the General Assembly; nor shall any Senator or Representative, after his qualification as such, be elected by the General Assembly, or appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, to any office or appointment having any emolument or compensation annexed thereto, during the time for which he shall have been elected.

5. No person convicted of any felony before any court of this State, or of the United States, shall be eligible to any office, or appointment of honor, profit or trust, within this State, until he shall have been pardoned.

6. No person who is collector or holder of public money, shall be eligible to any office in this State, until the same is accounted for and paid into the treasury.

SECTION 2.

There shall be forty-four Senatorial Districts in the State of Georgia, each composed of three contiguous counties, from each of which districts one Senator shall be chosen, until otherwise arranged, as hereinafter provided.

The said Districts shall be constituted of counties as follows:

The First District of Chatham, Bryan and Effingham.

The Second, of Liberty, Tattnall and McIntosh.

The Third, of Wayne, Pierce and Appling.

The Fourth, of Glynn, Camden and Charlton.
The Fifth, of Coffee, Ware and Clinch.

The Sixth, of Echols, Lowndes and Berrien.
The Seventh, of Brooks, Thomas and Colquitt.
The Eighth, of Decatur, Mitchell and Miller.
The Ninth, of Early, Calhoun and Baker.
The Tenth, of Dougherty, Lee and Worth.
The Eleventh, of Clay, Randolph and Terrell.
The Twelfth, of Stewart, Webster and Quitman.
The Thirteenth, of Sumter, Schley and Macon,
The Fourteenth, of Dooly, Wilcox and Pulaski.
The Fifteenth, of Montgomery, Telfair and Irwin.
The Sixteenth, of Laurens, Johnson and Emanuel.
The Seventeenth, of Bulloch, Scriven and Burke.
The Eighteenth, of Richmond, Glascock and Jefferson.
The Nineteenth, of Taliaferro, Warren and Greene.
The Twentieth, of Baldwin, Hancock and Washington.
The Twenty-first, of Twiggs, Wilkinson and Jones.
The Twenty-second, of Bibb, Monroe and Pike.
The Twenty-third, of Houston, Crawford and Taylor.

The Twenty-fourth, of Marion, Chattahoochee and Muscogee.
The Twenty-fifth, of Harris, Upson and Talbot.
The Twenty-sixth, of Spaulding, Butts and Fayette.
The Twenty-seventh, of Newton, Walton and Clark.
The Twenty-eighth, of Jasper, Putnam and Morgan.
The Twenty-ninth, of Wilkes, Lincoln and Columbia.
The Thirtieth, of Oglethorpe, Madison and Elbert.
The Thirty-first, of Hart, Franklin and Habersham.
The Thirty-second, of White, Lumpkin and Dawson.
The Thirty-third, of Hall, Banks and Jackson.
The Thirty-fourth, of Gwinnett, DeKalb and Henry.
The Thirty-fifth, of Clayton, Fulton aud Cobb.
The Thirty-sixth, of Meriwether, Cowetta and Campbell.
The Thirty-seventh, of Troup, Heard and Carroll.
The Thirty-eighth, of Haralson, Polk and Paulding.
The Thirty-ninth, of Cherokee, Milton and Forsyth.
The Fortieth, of Union, Towns and Rabun.
The Forty-first, of Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens.
The Forty-second, of Bartow, Floyd and Chattooga.
The Forty-third, of Murray, Whitfield and Gordon.
The Forty-fourth, of Walker, Dade and Catoosa.

If a new county be established, it shall be added to a district which it adjoins. The Senatorial districts may be changed by the General Assembly, but only at the first session after the taking of each census by the United States Government, and their number shall never be increased.

2. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years and be a citizen of the United States, and have been for three years an inhabitant of this State, and for one year a resident of the district from which he is chosen.

3. The presiding officer shall be styled the President of the Senate, and shall be elected viva voce from their own body.

4. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, profit, or trust, within this State; but the party convicted