Appendix.
The Charter,
GRANTED BY KING CHARLES II.,
July 8, 1663, and in force until the adoption of the Constitution, November, 1842.
Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas, we have been informed, by the humble petition of our trusty and well-beloved subject, John Clarke, on the behalf of Benjamin Arnold, William Brenton, William Codington, Nicholas Easton, William Boulston, John Porter, John Smith, Samuel Gorton, John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph Clarke, Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, Samuel Wildbore, William Field, James Barker, Richard Tew, Thomas Harris, and William Dyre, and the rest of the purchasers and free inhabitants of our island, called Rhode Island, and the rest of the Colony of Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New England, in America, that they, pursuing, with peaceable and loyal minds, their sober, serious, and religious intentions, of godly edifying themselves, and one another, in the holy Christian faith and worship, as they were persuaded; together with the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant Indian natives, in those parts of America to the sincere profession and obedience of the same faith and worship, did, not only by the consent and good encouragement of our royal progenitors, transport themselves out of this kingdom of England into America, but also, since their arrival there, after their first settlement amongst other our subjects in those parts, for the avoiding of discord, and those many evils which were likely to ensue upon some of those our subjects not being able to bear, in these remote parts, their different apprehensions in religious concernments, and in pursuance of the aforesaid ends, did once again leave their desirable stations and habitations, and with excessive labor and travel, hazard and charge did transplant themselves into the midst of the Indian natives, who, as we are informed, are the most potent princes and people of all that country; where, by the good Providence of God, from whom the Plantations have taken their name, upon their labor and industry, they have not only been preserved to admiration, but have increased and prospered, and are seized and possessed, by purchase and consent of the said natives, to their full content, of such lands, islands, rivers, harbors and roads, as are very convenient, both for plantations, and also for building of ships, supply of pipe-staves, and other merchandize; and which lie very commodious, in many respects, for commerce, and to accommodate our southern plantations, and may much advance the trade of this our realm, and greatly enlarge the the territories thereof; they having by near neighborhood to and friendly society with the great body of the Narragansett Indians, given them encouragement of their own accord, to subject themselves, their people and lands, unto us; whereby, as is hoped, there may, in time, by the blessing of God upon their endeavors be laid a sure foundation of happiness to all America: And whereas, in their humble address, they have freely declared, that it is much on their hearts (if they may be permitted) to hold forth a lively experiment, that a most nourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments; and that true piety rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty: Now, know ye, that we, being willing to encourage the hopeful undertaking of our said loyal and loving subjects, and to secure them in the free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights, appertaining to them, as our loving subjects; and to preserve unto them that liberty, in the true Christian faith and worship of God, which they have sought with so much travail, and with peaceable minds, and loyal subjection to our royal progenitors and ourselves, to enjoy; and because some of the people and inhabitants of the same colony cannot, in their private opinions, conform to the public exercise of religion, according to the liturgy, forms and ceremonies of the Church of England, or take or subscribe the oaths and articles made and established in that behalf; and for that the same, by reason of the remote distances of those places, will (as we hope) be no breach of the unity and uniformity established in this nation: Have therefore thought fit, and do hereby publish, grant, ordain and declare, That our royal will and pleasure is, that no person within the said Colony, at any time hereafter, shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion, and do not actually disturb the civil peace of our said Colony; but that all and every person and persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments, throughout the tract of land hereafter mentioned, they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to licentiousness and profaneness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others, any law, statute, or clause therein contained, or to be contained, usage or custom of this realm, to the contrary hereof, in any wise, notwithstanding. And that they may be in the better capacity to defend themselves, in their just rights and liberties, against all the enemies of the Christian faith, and others, in all respects, we have further thought fit, and at the humble petition of the persons aforesaid are graciously pleased to declare, That they shall have and enjoy the benefit of our late act of indemnity and free pardon, as the rest of our subjects in other our dominions and territories have; and to create and make them a body politic or corporate, with the powers and privileges hereinafter mentioned. And accordingly our will and pleasure is, and of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have ordained, constituted and declared, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do ordain, constitute and declare, That they, the said William Brenton, William Codington, Nicholas Easton, Benedict Arnold, William Boulston, John Porter, Samuel Gorton, John Smith, John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph Clarke, Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, William Dyre, Samuel Wildbore, Richard Tew, William Field, Thomas Harris, James Barker, —— Rainsborrow, —— Williams, and John Nickson, and all such others as now are, or hereafter shall be, admitted and made free of the company and society of our Colony of Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New England, shall be from time to time, and forever hereafter, a body corporate and politic, in fact and name, by the name of the Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America; and that, by the same name, they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall and may be persons able and capable, in the law, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to answer, and be answered unto, to defend and to be defended, in all and singular suits, causes, quarrels, matters, actions, and things, of what kind or nature soever; and also to have, take, possess, acquire, and purchase lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any goods or chattels, and the same to lease, grant, demise, aliene, bargain, sell and dispose of, at their own will and pleasure, as other our liege people of this our realm of England, or any corporation or body politic, within the same, may lawfully do. And further, that they the said Governor and Company, and their successors, shall and may, forever hereafter, have a common seal, to serve and use for all matters, causes, things and affairs, whatsoever, of them, and their successors; and the same seal to alter, change, break, and make new, from time to time, at their will and pleasure, as they shall think fit. And further, we will and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do declare and appoint that, for the better ordering and managing of the affairs and business of the said Company, and their successors, there shall be one Governor, one Deputy-Governor and ten Assistants, to be from time to time, constituted, elected and chosen, out of the freemen of the said Company, for the time being, in such manner and form as is hereafter in these presents expressed, which said officers shall apply themselves to take care for the best disposing and ordering of the general business and affairs of and concerning the lands, and hereditaments hereinafter mentioned to be granted, and the plantation thereof, and the government of the people there. And, for the better execution of our royal pleasure herein, we do, for us, our heirs and successors, assign, name, constitute, and appoint the aforesaid Benedict Arnold to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and the said William Brenton to be the Deputy-Governor, and the said William Boulston, John Porter, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, John Smith, John Greene, John Coggeshall, James Barker, William Field, and Joseph Clarke, to be the ten present Assistants of the said Company, to continue in the said several offices, respectively, until the first Wednesday which shall be in the month of May now next coming. And further, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do ordain and grant that the Governor of the said Company, for the time being, or, in his absence, by occasion of sickness, or otherwise, by his leave and permission, the Deputy-Governor, for the time being, shall and may, from time to time, upon all occasions, give order for the assembling of the said Company, and calling them together, to consult and advise of the business and affairs of the said Company. And that forever hereafter, twice in every year, that is to say, on every first Wednesday in the month of May, and on every last Wednesday in October, or oftener, in case it shall be requisite, the Assistants and such of the freemen of the said Company, not exceeding six persons for Newport, four persons for each of the respective towns of Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick, and two persons for each other place, town or city, who shall be, from time to time, thereunto elected or deputed by the major part of the freemen of the respective towns or places for which they shall be so elected or deputed, shall have a general meeting or assembly, then and there to consult, advise and determine, in and about the affairs and business of the said Company and Plantations. And, further, we do, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America, and their successors, that the Governor, or, in his absence, or, by his permission, the Deputy-Governor, of the said Company, for the time being, the Assistants, and such of the freemen of the said Company as shall be so as aforesaid elected or deputed, or so many of them as shall be present at such meeting or assembly, as aforesaid, shall be called the General Assembly; and that they, or the greatest part of them present, whereof the Governor or Deputy-Governor, and six of the Assistants, at least to be seven, shall have, and have hereby given and granted unto them, full power and authority, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, to appoint, alter and change such days, times and places of meeting and General Assembly, as they shall think fit; and to choose, nominate and appoint, such and so many other persons as they shall think fit, and shall be willing to accept the same, to be free of the said Company and body politic, and them into the same to admit; and to elect and constitute such offices and officers, and to grant such needful commissions, as they shall think fit and requisite, for the ordering, managing, and dispatching of the affairs of the said Governor and Company, and their successors; and from time to time, to make, ordain, constitute or repeal, such laws, statutes, orders and ordinances, forms and ceremonies of government and magistracy, as to them shall seem meet, for the good and welfare of the said Company, and for the government and ordering of the lands and hereditaments, hereinafter mentioned to be granted, and of the people that do, or at any time hereafter shall, inhabit or be within the same; so as such laws, ordinances and constitutions, so made, be not contrary and repugnant unto, but as near as may be, agreeable to the laws of this our realm of England, considering the nature and constitution of the place and people there; and also to appoint, order and direct, erect and settle, such places and courts of jurisdiction, for the hearing and determining of all actions, cases, matters and things, happening within the said Colony and Plantation, and which shall be in dispute, and depending there, as they shall think fit; and also to distinguish and set forth the several names and titles, duties, powers and limits, of each court, office and officer, superior and inferior; and also to contrive and appoint such forms of oaths and attestations, not repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable, as aforesaid, to the laws and statutes of this our realm, as are convenient and requisite, with respect to the due administration of justice, and due execution and discharge of all offices and places of trust by the persons that shall be therein concerned; and also to regulate and order the way and manner of all elections to offices and places of trust, and to prescribe, limit and distinguish the numbers and bounds of all places, towns or cities, within the limits and bounds hereinafter mentioned, and not herein particularly named, who have, or shall have, the power of electing and sending of freemen to the said General Assembly; and also to order, direct and authorize the imposing of lawful and reasonable fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and executing other punishments, pecuniary and corporal, upon offenders and delinquents, according to the course of other corporations within this our kingdom of England; and again to alter, revoke, annul or pardon, under their common seal, or otherwise, such fines, mulcts, imprisonments, sentences, judgments and condemnations, as shall be thought fit; and to direct, rule, order and dispose of, all other matters and things, and particularly that which relates to the making of purchases of the native Indians, as to them shall seem meet; whereby our said people and inhabitants in the said Plantations, may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as that by their good life and orderly conversation, they may win and invite the native Indians of the country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Saviour of mankind; willing, commanding and requiring, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, ordaining and appointing, that all such laws, statutes, orders and ordinances, instructions, impositions and directions, as shall be so made by the Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants and freemen, or such number of them as aforesaid, and published in writing, under their common seal, shall be carefully and duly observed, kept, performed and put in execution, according to the true intent and meaning of the same. And these our letters patent, or the duplicate or exemplification thereof, shall be to all and every such officer, superior or inferior, from time to time, for the putting of the same orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, instructions and directions in due execution, against us, our heirs and successors, a sufficient warrant and discharge. And further, our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, establish and ordain, that yearly, once in the year, forever hereafter, namely, the aforesaid Wednesday in May, and at the town of Newport, or elsewhere, if urgent occasion do require, the Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assistants of the said Company, and other officers of the said Company, or such of them as the General Assembly shall think fit, shall be, in the said General Court or Assembly to be held from that day or time, newly chosen for the year ensuing, by such greater part of the said Company, for the time being, as shall be then and there present; and if it shall happen that the present Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assistants, by these presents appointed, or any such as shall hereafter be newly chosen into their rooms, or any of them, or any other the officers of the said Company, shall die or be removed from his or their several offices or places, before the said general day of election, (whom we do hereby declare, for any misdemeanor or default, to be removable by the Governor, Assistants and Company, or such greater part of them, in any of the said public courts, to be assembled as aforesaid,) that then, and in every such case, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants and Company aforesaid, or such greater part of them, so to be assembled as is aforesaid, in any of their assemblies, to proceed to a new election of one or more of their Company, in the room or place, rooms or places, of such officer or officers, so dying or removed, according to their discretions; and immediately upon and after such election or elections made of such Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistant or Assistants, or any other officer of the said Company, in manner and form aforesaid, the authority, office and power, before given to the former Governor, Deputy-Governor, and other officer and officers, so removed, in whose stead and place new shall be chosen, shall, as to him and them, and every of them, respectively, cease and determine: Provided always, and our will and pleasure is, that as well such as are by these presents appointed to be the present Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assistants of the said Company, as those that shall succeed them, and all other officers to be appointed and chosen as aforesaid, shall, before the undertaking the execution of the said offices and places respectively, give their solemn engagement, by oath, or otherwise, for the due and faithful performance of their duties in their several offices and places, before such person or persons as are by these presents hereafter appointed to take and receive the same, that is to say: the said Benedict Arnold, who is hereinbefore nominated and appointed the present Governor of the said Company, shall give the aforesaid engagement before William Brenton, or any two of the said Assistants of the said Company; unto whom we do by these presents give full power and authority to require and receive the same; and the said William Brenton, who is hereby before nominated and appointed the present Deputy-Governor of the said Company, shall give the aforesaid engagement before the said Benedict Arnold, or any two of the Assistants of the said Company; unto whom we do by these presents give full power and authority to require and receive the same; and the said William Boulston, John Porter, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, John Smith, John Greene, John Coggeshall, James Barker, William Field, and Joseph Clarke who are herein before nominated and appointed the present Assistants of the said Company, shall give the said engagement to their offices and places respectively belonging, before the said Benedict Arnold and William Brenton, or one of them; to whom respectively we do hereby give full power and authority to require, administer or receive the same: and further, our will and pleasure is, that all and every other future Governor or Deputy-Governor, to be elected and chosen by virtue of these presents, shall give the said engagement before two or more of the said Assistants of the said Company for the time being; unto whom we do by these presents give full power and authority to require, administer or receive the same; and the said Assistants, and every of them, and all and every other officer or officers to be hereafter elected and chosen by virtue of these presents, from time to time, shall give the like engagements, to their offices and places respectively belonging, before the Governor or Deputy-Governor for the time being: unto which said Governor, or Deputy-Governor, we do by these presents give full power and authority to require, administer or receive the same accordingly. And we do likewise, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, by these presents, that, for the more peaceable and orderly government of the said Plantations, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants and all other officers and ministers of the said Company, in the administration of justice, and exercise of government, in the said Plantations, to use, exercise, and put in execution, such methods, rules, orders and directions, not being contrary or repugnant to the laws and statutes of this our realm, as have been heretofore given, used and accustomed, in such cases respectively, to be put in practice, until at the next or some other General Assembly, special provision shall be made and ordained in the cases aforesaid. And we do further, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, by these presents, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor, or, in his absence, the Deputy-Governor, and major part of the said Assistants, for the time being, at any time when the said General Assembly is not sitting, to nominate, appoint and constitute, such and so many commanders, governors and military officers, as to them shall seem requisite, for the leading, conducting and training up the inhabitants of the said Plantations in martial affairs, and for the defence and safeguard of the said Plantations: and that it shall and may be lawful to and for all and every such commander, governor and military officer, that shall be so as aforesaid, or by the Governor, or in his absence, the Deputy-Governor, and six of the said Assistants, and major part of the freemen of the said Company present at any General Assemblies, nominated, appointed and constituted, according to the tenor of his and their respective commissions and directions to assemble, exercise in arms, martial array, and put in warlike posture, the inhabitants of the said Colony, for their special defence and safety; and to lead and conduct the said inhabitants, and to encounter, expulse, expel and resist, by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, and also to kill, slay and destroy, by all fitting ways, enterprises and means, whatsoever, all and every such person or persons as shall, at any time hereafter, attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of the said inhabitants or Plantations; and to use and exercise the law martial in such cases only as occasion shall necessarily require; and to take or surprise, by all ways and means whatsoever, all and every such person and persons, with their ship or ships, armor, ammunition or other goods of such persons, as shall, in hostile manner, invade or attempt the defeating of the said Plantation, or the hurt of the said Company and inhabitants; and upon just causes, to invade and destroy the native Indians, or other enemies of the said Colony. Nevertheless, our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby declare to the rest of our Colonies in New England, that it shall not be lawful for this our said Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in America, in New England, to invade the natives inhabiting within the bounds and limits of their said Colonies, without the knowledge and consent of the said other Colonies. And it is hereby declared, that it shall not be lawful to or for the rest of the Colonies to invade or molest the native Indians or any other inhabitants inhabiting within the bounds and limits hereafter mentioned, (they having subjected themselves unto us, and being by us taken into our special protection,) without the knowledge and consent of the Governor and Company of our Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Also our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby declare unto all Christian Kings, Princes and States, that if any person, which shall hereafter be of the said Company or Plantations or any other, by appointment of the said Governor and Company for the time being shall at any time or times hereafter, rob or spoil, by sea or land, or do any hurt or unlawful hostility to any of the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, or any of the subjects of any Prince or State, being then in league with us, our heirs or successors, upon complaint of such injury done to any such Prince or State, or their subjects, we, our heirs and successors, will make open proclamation within any parts of our realm of England, fit for that purpose, that the person or persons committing any such robbery or spoil, shall, within the time limited by such proclamation, make full restitution, or satisfaction of all such injuries, done or committed, so as the said Prince, or others so complaining, may be fully satisfied and contented; and if the said person or persons who shall commit any such robbery or spoil shall not make satisfaction, accordingly, within such time, so to be limited, that then we, our heirs and successors, will put such person or persons out of our allegiance and protection; and that then it shall and may be lawful and free for all Princes or others to prosecute with hostility, such offenders, and every of them, their and every of their procurers, aiders, abettors, and counsellors, in that behalf: Provided also, and our express will and pleasure is, and we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, ordain and appoint that these presents, shall not, in any manner, hinder any of our loving subjects, whatsoever, from using and exercising the trade of fishing upon the coast of New England, in America; but that they, and every or any of them, shall have full and free power and liberty to continue and use the trade of fishing upon the said coast, in any of the seas thereunto adjoining, or any arms of the seas, or salt water, rivers and creeks, where they have been accustomed to fish: and to build and to set upon the waste land belonging to the said Colony and Plantations, such wharves, stages and work-houses as shall be necessary for the salting, drying and keeping of their fish, to be taken or gotten upon that coast. And further, for the encouragement of the inhabitants of our said Colony of Providence Plantations to set upon the business of taking whales, it shall be lawful for them, or any of them having struck whale, dubertus, or other great fish, it or them, to pursue unto any part of that coast, and into any bay, river, cove, creek, or shore, belonging thereto, and it or them, upon the said coast, or in the said bay, river, cove, creek, or shore, belonging thereto, to kill and order for the best advantage, without molestation, they making no wilful waste or spoil; anything in these presents contained, or any other matter or thing, to the contrary, notwithstanding. And further also, we are graciously pleased, and do hereby declare, that if any of the inhabitants of our said Colony do set upon the planting of vineyards (the soil and climate both seeming naturally to concur to the production of wines) or be industrious in the discovery of fishing banks, in or about the said Colony, we will, from time to time, give and allow all due and fitting encouragement therein, as to others, in cases of like nature. And further, of our more ample grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant unto the said Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New England, in America, and to every inhabitant there, and to every person and persons, trading thither, and to every such person or persons as are or shall be free of the said Colony, full power and authority, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, to take, ship, transport and carry away, out of any of our realms and dominions, for and towards the plantation and defence of the said Colony, such and so many of our loving subjects and strangers as shall or will willingly accompany them in and to their said Colony and Plantation; except such person or persons as are or shall be therein restrained by us, our heirs and successors, or any law or statute of this realm: and also to ship and transport all and all manner of goods, chattels, merchandizes and other things whatsoever, that are or shall be useful or necessary for the said Plantations, and defence thereof, and usually transported, and not prohibited by any law or statute of this our realm; yielding and paying unto us, our heirs and successors, such the duties, customs and subsidies, as are or ought to be paid or payable for the same. And further, our will and pleasure is, and we do, for us, our heirs and successors, ordain, declare, and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, that all and every the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, which are already planted and settled within our said Colony of Providence Plantations, or which shall hereafter go to inhabit within the said Colony, and all and every of their children, which have been born there, or which shall happen hereafter to be born there, or on the sea, going thither, or returning from thence, shall have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects within any the dominions of us, our heirs or successors to all intents, constructions and purposes, whatsoever, as if they, and every of them, were born within the realm of England. And further, know ye, that we, of our more abundant grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have given, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant and confirm, unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, all that part of our dominions in New England, in America, containing the Nahantic, and Nanhyganset, alias Narragansett Bay, and countries and parts adjacent, bounded on the west, or westerly, to the middle of a channel or river there, commonly called and known by the name of Pawcatuck, alias Pawcawtuck river, and so along the said river, as the greater or middle stream thereof reacheth or lies up into the north country, northward, unto the head thereof, and from thence, by a straight line drawn due north, until it meets with the south line of the Massachusetts Colony; and on the north, or northerly, by the aforesaid south or southerly line of the Massachusetts Colony or Plantation, and extending towards the east, or eastwardly, three English miles to the east and north-east of the most eastern and north-eastern parts of the aforesaid Narragansett Bay, as the said bay lyeth or extendeth itself from the ocean on the south, or southwardly unto the mouth of the river which runneth towards the town of Providence, and from thence along the easterly side or bank of the said river (higher called by the name of Seacunck river) up to the falls called Patuckett Falls, being the most westwardly line of Plymouth Colony, and so from the said falls, in a straight line, due north, until it meet with the aforesaid line of the Massachusetts Colony; and bounded on the south by the ocean; and, in particular, the lands belonging to the towns of Providence, Pawtuxet, Warwick, Misquammacok, alias Pawcatuck, and the rest upon the main land in the tract aforesaid, together with Rhode Island, Block Island, and all the rest of the islands and banks in the Narragansett Bay, and bordering upon the coast of the tract aforesaid, (Fisher’s Island only excepted,) together with all firm lands, soils, grounds, havens, ports, rivers, waters, fishings, mines royal, and all other mines, minerals, precious stones, quarries, woods, wood grounds, rocks, slates, and all and singular other commodities, jurisdictions, royalties, privileges, franchises, preheminancies, and hereditaments, whatsoever within the said tract, bounds, lands and islands aforesaid, or to them or any of them belonging, or in anywise appertaining; to have and to hold the same, unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, forever, upon trust, for the use and benefit of themselves and their associates freemen of the said Colony, their heirs and assigns, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of the Manor of East Greenwich, in our county of Kent, in free and common soccage, and not in capite, nor by knight service; yielding and paying, therefore, to us, our heirs and successors, only the fifth part of all the ore of gold and silver which, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, shall be there gotten, had or obtained, in lieu and satisfaction of all services, duties, fines, forfeitures, made or to be made, claims and demands whatsoever, to be to us, our heirs or successors, therefor or thereout rendered, made or paid; any grant, or clause in a late grant, to the Governor and Company of Connecticut Colony, in America, to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding; the aforesaid Pawcatuck river having been yielded, after much debate, for the fixed and certain bounds between these our said Colonies, by the agents thereof; who have also agreed, that the said Pawcatuck river shall be also called alias Norrogansett or Narrogansett river; and, to prevent future disputes, that otherwise might arise thereby, forever hereafter shall be construed, deemed and taken to be the Narragansett river in our late grant to Connecticut Colony mentioned as the easterly bounds of that Colony. And further, our will and pleasure is, that in all matters of public controversy which may fall out between our Colony of Providence Plantations, and the rest of our Colonies in New England, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Governor and Company of the said Colony of Providence Plantations to make their appeals therein to us, our heirs and successors, for redress in such cases, within this our realm of England: and that it shall be lawful to and for the inhabitants of the said Colony of Providence Plantations, without let or molestation, to pass and repass, with freedom, into and through the rest of the English Colonies, upon their lawful and civil occasions, and to converse, and hold commerce and trade with such of the inhabitants of our other English Colonies as shall be willing to admit them thereunto, they behaving themselves peaceably among them; any act, clause or sentence, in any of the said Colonies provided, or that shall be provided, to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. And lastly, we do, or us, our heirs and successors, ordain and grant unto the said Governor and Company and their successors by these presents that these our letters patent shall be firm, good, effectual and available in all things in the law, to all intents, contents, constructions and purposes whatsoever, according to our true intent and meaning hereinbefore declared; and shall be construed, reputed and adjudged in all cases most favorably on the behalf, and for the best benefit and behoof of the said Governor and Company, and their successors; although express mention of the true yearly value or certainty of the premises, or any of them, or of any other gifts or grants, by us, or by any of our progenitors or predecessors, heretofore made to the said Governor of the Company of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, New England, in America, in these presents is not made, or any statue, act, ordinance, provision, proclamation or restriction, heretofore had, made, enacted, ordained or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. In witness, whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness ourself, at Westminister, the eighth day of July, in the fifteenth year of our reign.
By the King:
HOWARD.
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
State of Rhode Island,
AND
Providence Plantations.
ARTICLE I.—Declaration of Rights.
Section 1. Right of the people to make and alter their Constitution.
Sec. 2. Object of government—How laws should be made and burdens distributed.
Sec. 3. Religious freedom secured.
Sec. 4. Slavery prohibited.
Sec. 5. Laws should provide remedies—Justice shall be free, complete, prompt.
Sec. 6. Rights of search and seizure regulated.
Sec. 7. Provisions concerning criminal proceedings.
Sec. 8. Bail, fines and punishments.
Sec. 9. Bail and habeas corpus.
Sec. 10. Rights of the accused in criminal proceedings.
Sec. 11. Debtors entitled to relief.
Sec. 12. No ex post facto law, &c., to be passed.
Sec. 13. No man to criminate himself.
Sec. 14. Presumption of innocence—Accused to be secured without severity.
Sec. 15. Trial by jury.
Sec. 16. Private property secured.
Sec. 17. Rights of fishery.
Sec. 18. Military subordinate—Martial law.
Sec. 19. Of quartering soldiers.
Sec. 20. Liberty of the press secured—Truth as a defence to libel.
Sec. 21. Right of the people to assemble, and to petition.
Sec. 22. Right to bear arms.
Sec. 23. Rule of construction.
ARTICLE II.—Electors.
Sec. 1. Of electors owning real estate.
Sec. 2. Of electors qualified to vote on adoption of Constitution—Registered voters—Qualified by dollar tax—Military duty—Who to vote for City Council in Providence, to impose a tax, &c.
Sec. 3. Of assessment and payment of registry tax.
Sec. 4. Who shall not gain residence or be permitted to vote.
Sec. 5. Residents on lands ceded, &c., not electors.
Sec. 6. Power of General Assembly over elections.
ARTICLE III.—Powers Distributed.
Three Departments.
ARTICLE IV.—Legislative Powers.
Section 1. Constitution supreme law.
Sec. 2. Two houses—General Assembly—Style of laws.
Sec. 3. Sessions of General Assembly.
Sec. 4. Members not to take fees, &c.
Sec. 5. Members exempt from arrest, &c.
Sec. 6. Powers of each house—Organization.
Sec. 7. Powers to make rules, &c.
Sec. 8. Of the journal and yeas and nays.
Sec. 9. Of adjournments.
Sec. 10. Of powers not prohibited.
Sec. 11. Pay of members.
Sec. 12. Lotteries prohibited.
Sec. 13. Debts not to be incurred.
Sec. 14. Private or local appropriations.
Sec. 15. Of valuations of property and assessments.
Sec. 16. Officers may be continued until successors are qualified.
Sec. 17. Bills to create corporations to be continued, except, &c.
Sec. 18. Of election of senators to Congress.
ARTICLE V.—House of Representatives.
Section 1. House, how constituted—Ratio of representation.
Sec. 2. May elect its officers, &c.
ARTICLE VI.—Senate.
Section 1. How constituted.
Sec. 2. Governor to preside—when to vote in grand committee.
Sec. 3. May elect presiding officer in case of vacancy, &c.
Sec. 4. Secretary and other officers.
ARTICLE VII.—Executive.
Section 1. Of the governor and lieutenant-governor—How elected.
Sec. 2. Duty of governor.
Sec. 3. He shall command military and naval forces, except, &c.
Sec. 4. He may grant reprieves, &c.
Sec. 5. He may fill vacancies.
Sec. 6. He may adjourn assembly, in case, &c.
Sec. 7. He may convene assembly, when, &c.
Sec. 8. Commissions, how signed, &c.
Sec. 9. Lieutenant-governor, when to act as governor.
Sec. 10. Vacancies, how filled.
Sec. 11. Compensation of governor, &c.
Sec. 12. Duties of general officers.
ARTICLE VIII.—Elections.
Section 1. Governor and general officers, when elected.
Sec. 2. General officers and members of assembly, how voted for.
Sec. 3. Same subject—How votes to be sealed up, transmitted and counted.
Sec. 4. List of voters to be kept. [Obsolete.]
Sec. 5. Ballots for members of Assembly, how counted—Adjournment of elections, when.
Sec. 6. Of voting in the City of Providence.
Sec. 7. If governor or lieutenant-governor not elected by the people grand committee to elect, how.
Sec. 8. In case general officers not elected by the people, how vacancies shall be filled.
Sec. 9. Vacancies in Assembly, how filled.
Sec. 10. Majority required to elect.
ARTICLE IX.—Qualifications for Office.
Section 1. Qualified electors only eligible.
Sec. 2. Conviction of bribery a disqualification.
Sec. 3. Oath of general officers.
Sec. 4. Officers, how engaged.
Sec. 5. How oath to be administered to governor, &c.
Sec. 6. Holding office under United States, or other governments, a disqualification for certain offices,—except, &c.
ARTICLE X.—Judiciary.
Section 1. One supreme court—Inferior courts how established.
Sec. 2. Jurisdiction of courts—Chancery powers.
Sec. 3. Judges of supreme court to instruct jury—To give opinions, &c.
Sec. 4. Of election and tenure of office of judges of supreme court.
Sec. 5. Vacancies, how filled.
Sec. 6. Compensation of judges.
Sec. 7. Justices of the peace and wardens, how elected—Their jurisdiction.
ARTICLE XI.—Impeachments.
Section 1. Impeachments, how ordered.
Sec. 2. Impeachments, how tried.
Sec. 3. What officers liable to impeachmentX—Effect of conviction.
ARTICLE XII.—Education.
Section 1. Duty of General Assembly to promote schools, &c.
Sec. 2. The permanent school fund.
Sec. 3. Donations for support of schools.
Sec. 4. Powers of General Assembly under this article.
ARTICLE XIII.—XAmendments.
Section 1. Amendments, how proposed,X—how voted upon,X—how adopted.
ARTICLE XIV.—XAdoption of the Constitution.
Section 1. Constitution, when to go into operation—Its effect on existing laws, charters, &c.
Sec. 2. Former debts, &c., adopted.
Sec. 3. Jurisdiction of supreme court.
Sec. 4. Exemptions of New Shoreham and Jamestown from military duty, continued.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I.
Lists of voters for general officers no longer required to be kept, &c.
ARTICLE II.
The pardoning power, how exercised.
ARTICLE III.
Sessions of the General Assembly.
ARTICLE IV.
Electors absent from the state in the military service of the United States, allowed to vote.
We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution of Government.
ARTICLE I.
DECLARATION OF CERTAIN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES.
In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom established by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for our posterity, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable rights and principles hereinafter mentioned, shall be established, maintained and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in all legislative, judicial and executive proceedings.
Section 1. In the words of the Father of his Country, we declare, that, “the basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter their constitutions of government; but that the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.”
Sec. 2. All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety and happiness of the people. All laws, therefore, should be made for the good of the whole; and the burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens.
Sec. 3. Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free; and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas, a principal object of our venerable ancestors in their migration to this country and their settlement of this state, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil state may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in religious concernments; we therefore declare that no man shall be compelled to frequent or to support any religious worship, place or ministry whatever, except in fulfillment of his own voluntary contract; nor enforced, restrained, molested or burthened in his body or goods; nor disqualified from holding any office; nor otherwise suffer on account of his religious belief; and that every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to profess and by argument to maintain his opinion in matters of religion; and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect his civil capacity.
Sec. 4. Slavery shall not be permitted in this state.
Sec. 5. Every person within this state ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without purchase, completely, and without denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the laws.
Sec. 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but on complaint in writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as nearly as may be the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or of such offences as are cognizable by a justice of the peace; or in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. No person shall, after an acquittal, be tried for the same offence.
Sec. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offence.
Sec. 9. All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient surety, unless for offences punishable by death or by imprisonment for life, when the proof of guilt is evident, or the presumption great. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public service shall require it, nor ever without the authority of the General Assembly.
Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining them in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and shall be at liberty to speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived of life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.
Sec. 11. The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presumption of fraud, ought not to be continued in prison, after he shall have delivered up his property for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
Sec. 12. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed.
Sec. 13. No man in a court of common law shall be compelled to give evidence criminating himself.
Sec. 14. Every man being presumed innocent, until he is pronounced guilty by the law, no act of severity which is not necessary to secure an accused person shall be permitted.
Sec. 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.
Sec. 16. Private property shall not be taken for public uses, without just compensation.
Sec. 17. The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise, all the rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled, under the charter and usages of this state. But no new right is intended to be granted, nor any existing right impaired by this declaration.
Sec. 18. The military shall be held in strict subordination to the civil authority, and the law martial shall be used and exercised in such cases only as occasion shall necessarily require.
Sec. 19. No soldier shall be quartered in any house, in time of peace, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law.
Sec. 20. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of freedom in a state, any person may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, unless published from malicious motives, shall be sufficient defence to the person charged.
Sec. 21. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, or for other purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.
Sec. 22. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Sec. 23. The enumeration of the aforegoing rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people.
ARTICLE II.
OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS.
Section 1. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this state for one year, and in the town or city in which he may claim a right to vote, six months next preceding the time of voting, and who is really and truly possessed in his own right of real estate in such town or city, of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, over and above all incumbrances, or which shall rent for seven dollars per annum, over and above any rent reserved, or the interest of any incumbrances thereon, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, for the life of any person, or an estate in reversion or remainder, which qualifies no other person to vote, the conveyance of which estate, if by deed, shall have been recorded at least ninety days, shall thereafter have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legal town or ward meetings, so long as he continues so qualified. And if any person hereinbefore described shall own any such estate within this state out of the town or city in which he resides, he shall have a right to vote in the election of all general officers and members of the General Assembly, in the town or city in which he shall have had his residence and home for the term of six months next preceding the election, upon producing a certificate from the clerk of the town or city in which his estate lies, bearing date within] ten days of the time of his voting, setting forth that such person has a sufficient estate therein to qualify him as a voter; and that the deed, if any, has been recorded ninety days.
Sec. 2. Every male native citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this state two years, and in the town or city in which he may offer to vote, six months next preceding the time of voting, whose name is registered pursuant to the act calling the convention to frame this Constitution, or shall be registered in the office of the clerk of such town or city at least seven days before the time he shall offer to vote and before the last day of December in the present year; and who has paid or shall pay a tax or taxes, assessed upon his estate within this state, and within a year of the time of voting, to the amount of one dollar, or who shall voluntarily pay, at least seven days before the time he shall offer to vote, and before said last day of December, to the clerk or treasurer of the town or city where he resides, the sum of one dollar, or such sum as, with his other taxes, shall amount to one dollar, for the support of public schools therein, and shall make proof of the same, by the certificate of the clerk, treasurer or collector of any town or city where such payment is made; or who, being so registered has been enrolled in any military company in this state, and done military service or duty therein, within the present year, pursuant to law, and shall, (until other proof is required by law,) prove by the certificate of the officer legally commanding the regiment, or chartered or legally authorized volunteer company, in which he may have served or done duty, that he has been equipped and done duty according to law, or by the certificate of the commissioners upon military claims that he has performed military service shall have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized town or ward meetings, until the end of the first year after the adoption of this Constitution, or until the end of the year eighteen hundred and forty-three.
From and after that time, every such citizen, who has had the residence herein required, and whose name shall be registered in the town where he resides, on or before the last day of December, in the year next preceding the time of his voting, and who shall show by legal proof, that he has for and within the year next preceding the time he shall offer to vote, paid a tax or taxes assessed against him in any town or city in this state, to the amount of one dollar; or that he has been enrolled in a military company in this state, been equipped and done duty therein, according to law, and at least for one day during such year, shall have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized town or ward meetings: Provided, that no person shall at any time be allowed to vote in the election of the City Council of the City of Providence, or upon any proposition to impose a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town or city, unless he shall, within the year next preceding have paid a tax assessed upon his property therein, valued at least at one hundred and thirty-four dollars.
Sec. 3. The assessors of each town or city shall annually assess upon every person whose name shall be registered, a tax of one dollar, or such sum as with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar, which registry tax shall be paid into the treasury of such town or city, and be applied to the support of public schools therein: but no compulsory process shall issue for the collection of any registry tax: Provided that the registry tax of every person who has performed military duty according to the provisions of the preceding section, shall be remitted for the year he shall perform such duty; and the registry tax assessed upon any mariner, for any year while he is at sea, shall, upon his application, be remitted; and no person shall be allowed to vote whose] registry tax for either of the two years next preceding the time of voting is not paid or remitted as herein provided.
Sec. 4. No person in the military, naval, marine, or any other service of the United States, shall be considered as having the required residence by reason of being employed in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval station in this state: and no pauper, lunatic, person non compos mentis, person under guardianship, or member of the Narragansett tribe of Indians, shall be permitted to be registered or to vote. Nor shall any person convicted of bribery, or of any crime deemed infamous at common law, be permitted to exercise that privilege, until he be expressly restored thereto by act of the General Assembly.
Sec. 5. Persons residing on lands ceded by this state to the United States shall not be entitled to exercise the privilege of electors.
Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall have full power to provide for a registry of voters, to prescribe the manner of conducting the elections, the form of certificates, the nature of the evidence to be required in case of a dispute as to the right of any person to vote, and generally to enact all laws necessary to carry this article into effect, and to prevent abuse, corruption and fraud in voting.
ARTICLE III.
OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.
The powers of the government shall be distributed into three departments: the legislative, executive and judicial.
ARTICLE IV.
OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.
Section 1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the state, and any law inconsistent therewith, shall be void. The General Assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry this constitution into effect.
Sec. 2. The legislative power, under this constitution, shall be vested in two houses, the one to be called the senate, the other the house of representatives; and both together, the General Assembly. The concurrence of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws. The style of their laws shall be, It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows.
Sec. 3. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly holden annually; one at Newport, on the first Tuesday of May, for the purposes of election and other business; the other on the last Monday of October, which last session shall be holden at South Kingstown once in two years, and the intermediate years alternately at Bristol and East Greenwich; and an adjournment from the October session shall be holden annually at Providence.
Sec. 4. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fee, or be of counsel in any case pending before either house of the General Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon proof thereof to the satisfaction of the house of which he is a member.
Sec. 5. The person of every member of the General Assembly shall be exempt from arrest, and his estate from attachment, in any civil action, during the session of the General Assembly, and two days before the commencement, and two days after the termination thereof, and all process served contrary hereto, shall be void. For any] speech in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned in any other place.
Sec. 6. Each house shall be the judge of the elections and qualifications of its members; and a majority 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 may be prescribed by such house, or by law. The organization of the two houses may be regulated by law, subject to the limitations contained in this constitution.
Sec. 7. Each house may determine its rules of proceeding, punish contempts, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member; but not a second time for the same cause.
Sec. 8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings. The yeas and nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.
Sec. 9. Neither house shall, during a session, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.
Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall continue to exercise the powers they have heretofore exercised, unless prohibited in this constitution.
Sec. 11. The senators and representatives shall receive the sum of one dollar for every day of attendance, and eight cents per mile for traveling expenses in going to and returning from the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall regulate the compensation of the governor, and all other officers subject to the limitations contained in this constitution.
Sec. 12. All lotteries shall hereafter be prohibited in this state, except those already authorized by the General Assembly.
Sec. 13. The General Assembly shall have no power, hereafter, without the express consent of the people, to incur state debts to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of insurrection or invasion; nor shall they in any case, without such consent, pledge the faith of the state for the payment of the obligations of others. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that may be deposited with this state by the government of the United States.
Sec. 14. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly shall be required to every bill appropriating the public money or property for local or private purposes.
Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, provide for making new valuations of property, for the assessment of taxes, in such manner as they may deem best. A new estimate of such property shall be taken before the first direct state tax, after the adoption of this constitution, shall be assessed.
Sec. 16. The General Assembly may provide by law for the continuance in office of any officers of annual election or appointment, until other persons are qualified to take their places.
Sec. 17. Hereafter, when any bill shall be presented to either house of the General Assembly, to create a corporation for any other than for religious, literary or charitable purposes, or for a military or fire company, it shall be continued until another election of members of the General Assembly shall have taken place, and such public notice of the pendency thereof shall be given as may be required by law.
Sec. 18. It shall be the duty of the two houses, upon the request of either, to join in grand committee for the purpose of electing senators in Congress, at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law for said elections.
ARTICLE V.
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Section 1. The house of representatives shall never exceed seventy-two members, and shall be constituted on the basis of population, always allowing one representative for a fraction exceeding half the ratio; but each town or city shall always be entitled to at least one member; and no town or city shall have more than one-sixth of the whole number of members to which the house is hereby limited. The present ratio shall be one representative to every fifteen hundred and thirty inhabitants, and the General Assembly may, after any new census taken by the authority of the United States, or of this state, reapportion the representation by altering the ratio; but no town or city shall be divided into districts for the choice of representatives.
Sec. 2. The house of representatives shall have authority to elect its speaker, clerks and other officers. The senior member from the town of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in the organization of the house.
ARTICLE VI.
OF THE SENATE.
Section 1. The senate shall consist of the lieutenant-governor and of one senator from each town or city in the state.
Sec. 2. The governor, and, in his absence the lieutenant-governor, shall preside in the senate and in grand committee. The presiding officer of the senate and grand committee shall have a right to vote in case of equal division, but not otherwise.
Sec. 3. If, by reason of death, resignation, absence or other cause, there be no governor or lieutenant-governor present, to preside in the senate, the senate shall elect one of their own members to preside during such absence or vacancy; and until such election is made by the senate the secretary of state shall preside.
Sec. 4. The secretary of state shall, by virtue of his office, be secretary of the senate, unless otherwise provided by law; and the senate may elect such other officers as they may deem necessary.
ARTICLE VII.
OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER.
Section 1. The chief executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor, who, together with a lieutenant-governor, shall be annually elected by the people.
Sec. 2. The governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Sec. 3. He shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of this state, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.
Sec. 4. He shall have power to grant reprieves after conviction, in all cases except those of impeachment, until the the end of the next session of the General Assembly.
Sec. 5. He may fill vacancies in office not otherwise provided for by this constitution, or by law, until the same shall be filled by the General Assembly or by the people.
Sec. 6. In case of disagreement between the two houses of the General Assembly, respecting the time or place of adjournment certified to him by either, he may adjourn them to such time and place as he] shall think proper: provided that the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond the day of the next stated session.
Sec. 7. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly at any town or city in this state, at any time not provided for by law; and in case of danger from the prevalence of epidemic or contagious disease, in the place in which the General Assembly are by law to meet, or to which they may have been adjourned, or for other urgent reasons, he may, by proclamation, convene said Assembly at any other place within this state.
Sec. 8. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; shall be sealed with the state seal, signed by the governor, and attested by the secretary.
Sec. 9. In case of vacancy in the office of governor, or of his inability to serve, impeachment, or absence from the state, the lieutenant-governor shall fill the office of governor, and exercise the powers and authority appertaining thereto, until a governor is qualified to act, or until the office is filled at the next annual election.
Sec. 10. If the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor be both vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, absence, or otherwise, the person entitled to preside over the senate for the time being shall in like manner fill the office of governor during the absence or vacancy.
Sec. 11. The compensation of the governor and lieutenant-governor shall be established by law and shall not be diminished during the term for which they are elected.
Sec. 12. The duties and powers of the secretary, attorney-general, and general treasurer, shall be the same under this constitution as are now established, or as from time to time may be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE VIII.
OF ELECTIONS.
Section 1. The governor, lieutenant-governor, senators, representatives, secretary of state, attorney-general, and general treasurer, shall be elected at the town, city, or ward meetings, to be holden on the first Wednesday of April, annually; and shall severally hold their offices for one year, from the first Tuesday of May next succeeding, and until others are legally chosen, and duly qualified to fill their places. If elected or qualified after the said first Tuesday of May, they shall hold their offices for the remainder of the political year, and until their successors are qualified to act.
Sec. 2. The voting for governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, general treasurer, and representatives to Congress shall be by ballot; senators and representatives to the General Assembly, and town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on demand of any seven persons entitled to vote for the same; and in all cases where an election is made by ballot or paper vote, the manner of balloting shall be the same as is now required in voting for general officers, until otherwise prescribed by law.
Sec. 3. The names of the persons voted for as governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, and general treasurer, shall be placed upon one ticket; and all votes for these officers shall, in open town or ward meetings, be sealed up by the moderators and town clerks and by the wardens and ward clerks, who shall certify the same, and deliver or send them to the secretary of state; whose duty it shall be securely to keep and deliver the same to the grand committee, after the organization of the two houses at the annual May] session; and it shall be the duty of the two houses at said session, after their organization, upon the request of either house, to join in grand committee, for the purpose of counting and declaring said votes, and of electing other officers.
Sec. 4. The town and ward clerks shall also keep a correct list or register of all persons voting for general officers, and shall transmit a copy thereof to the General Assembly, on or before the first day of said May session.
Sec. 5. The ballots for senators and representatives in the several towns shall, in each case, after the polls are declared to be closed, be counted by the moderator, who shall announce the result, and the clerk shall give certificates to the persons elected. If, in any case, there be no election, the polls may be reopened, and the like proceedings shall be had until an election shall take place: Provided, however, that an adjournment or adjournments of the election may be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting.
Sec. 6. In the city of Providence, the polls for senator and representatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the day, and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks in open ward meeting, and afterwards delivered to the city clerk. The mayor and aldermen shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election; and if no election of senator and representatives or if an election of only a portion of the representatives shall have taken place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election, to be held not more than ten days from the day of the first election, and so on until the election shall be completed. Certificates of election shall be furnished by the city clerk to the persons chosen.
Sec. 7. If no person shall have a majority of votes for governor, it shall be the duty of the grand committee to elect one by ballot from the two persons having the highest number of votes for the office, except when such a result is produced by rejecting the entire vote of any town, city or ward for informality or illegality, in which case a new election by the electors throughout the state shall be ordered; and in case no person shall have a majority of votes for lieutenant-governor, it shall be the duty of the grand committee to elect one by ballot from the two persons having the highest number of votes for the office.
Sec. 8. In case an election of the secretary of state, attorney-general, or general treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors at the annual election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the General Assembly in grand committee from the two candidates for such office having the greatest number of the votes of the electors. Or, in case of a vacancy in either of said offices, from other causes, between the sessions of the General Assembly, the governor shall appoint some person to fill the same, until a successor elected by the General Assembly is qualified to act; and in such case, and also in all other cases of vacancies, not otherwise provided for, the General Assembly may fill the same in any manner they may deem proper.
Sec. 9. Vacancies from any cause in the senate and house of representatives, may be filled by a new election.
Sec. 10. In all elections held by the people under this constitution, a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the election of the persons voted for.
ARTICLE IX.
OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE.
Section 1. No person shall be eligible to any civil office (except the office of school committee), unless he be a qualified elector for such office.
Sec. 2. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office to which he may have been elected, if he be convicted of having offered, or procured any other person to offer, any bribe to secure his election, or the election of any other person.
Sec. 3. All general officers shall take the following engagement before they act in their respective offices, to wit: You ... being by the free vote of the electors of this State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, elected unto the place of ... do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) to be true and faithful unto this state, and to support the constitution of this state and of the United States; that you will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties of your aforesaid office to the best of your abilities, according to law: So help you God. Or, this affirmation you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury.
Sec. 4. The members of the General Assembly, the judges of all the courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, and the constitution of the United States.
Sec. 5. The oath or affirmation shall be administered to the governor, lieutenant-governor, senators and representatives, by the secretary of state, or, in his absence, by the attorney-general. The secretary of state, attorney-general and general treasurer shall be engaged by the governor, or by a justice of the supreme court.
Sec. 6. No person holding any office under the government of the United States, or of any other state or country, shall act as a general officer, or as a member of the General Assembly, unless at the time of taking his engagement he shall have resigned his office under such government; and if any general officer, senator, representative, or judge, shall after his election and engagement, accept any appointment under any other government his office under this shall be immediately vacated; but this restriction shall not apply to any person appointed to take depositions or acknowledgment of deeds, or other legal instruments, by the authority of any other state or country.
ARTICLE X.
OF THE JUDICIAL POWER.
Section 1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the General Assembly may, from time to time, ordain and establish.
Sec. 2. The several courts shall have such jurisdiction as may, from time to time, be prescribed by law. Chancery powers may be conferred on the supreme court, but on no other court to any greater extent than is now provided by law.
Sec. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall, in all trials, instruct the jury in the law. They shall also give their written opinion upon any question of law whenever requested by the governor, or by either house of the General Assembly.
Sec. 4. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the two houses in grand committee. Each judge shall hold his office until his] place be declared vacant by a resolution of the General Assembly to that effect; which resolution shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the house in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same majority of the other house. Such resolutions, shall not be entertained at any other than the annual session for the election of public officers; and in default of the passage thereof at said session, the judge shall hold his place as is herein provided. But a judge of any court shall be removed from office, if, upon impeachment, he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor.
Sec. 5. In case of vacancy by death, resignation, removal from the state or from office, refusal or inability to serve, of any judge of the supreme court, the office may be filled by the grand committee, until the next annual election, and the judge then elected shall hold his office as before provided. In cases of impeachment or temporary absence or inability, the governor may appoint a person to discharge the duties of the office during the vacancy caused thereby.
Sec. 6. The judges of the supreme court shall receive a compensation for their services, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
Sec. 7. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown may continue to elect their wardens as heretofore. The other towns and the city of Providence may elect such number of justices of the peace, resident therein, as they may deem proper. The jurisdiction of said justices and wardens shall be regulated by law. The justices shall be commissioned by the governor.
ARTICLE XI.
OF IMPEACHMENTS.
Section 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. A vote of two-thirds of all the members elected shall be required for an impeachment of the governor. Any officer impeached shall thereby be suspended from office until judgment in the case shall have been pronounced.
Sec. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and, when sitting for that purpose, they shall be under oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted, except by vote of two-thirds of the members elected. When the governor is impeached, the chief or presiding justice of the supreme court, for the time being, shall preside, with a casting vote in all preliminary questions.
Sec. 3. The governor and all other executive and judicial officers shall be liable to impeachment; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office. The person convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment according to law.
ARTICLE XII.
OF EDUCATION.
Section 1. The diffusion of knowledge, as well as of virtue among the people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and liberties, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to promote public schools, and to adopt all means which they may deem necessary and proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.
Sec. 2. The money which now is, or which may hereafter be appropriated by law for the establishment of a permanent fund for the] support of public schools shall be securely invested, and remain a perpetual fund for that purpose.
Sec. 3. All donations for the support of public schools, or for other purposes of education, which may be received by the General Assembly, shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donors.
Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall make all necessary provisions by law for carrying this article into effect. They shall not divert said money or fund from the aforesaid uses, nor borrow, appropriate, or use the same, or any part thereof, for any other purpose, under any pretence whatsoever.
ARTICLE XIII.
ON AMENDMENTS.
The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each house. Such propositions for amendment shall be published in the newspapers and printed copies of them shall be sent by the secretary of state, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks in the state. The said propositions shall be, by said clerks, inserted in the warrants or notices by them issued, for warning the next annual town and ward meetings in April; and the clerks shall read said propositions to the electors when thus assembled, with the names of all the representatives and senators who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of senators and representatives shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected to each house, at said annual meeting, shall approve any proposition thus made, the same shall be published and submitted to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval; and if then approved by three-fifths of the electors of the state present, and voting thereon in town and ward meetings, it shall become a part of the constitution of the state.
ARTICLE XIV.
ON THE ADOPTION OF THIS CONSTITUTION.
Section 1. This constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-three. The first election of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney-general and general treasurer, and of senators and representatives under said constitution, shall be had on the first Wednesday of April next preceding, by the electors qualified under said constitution. And the town and ward meetings therefor shall be warned and conducted as is now provided by law. All civil and military officers now elected, or who shall hereafter be elected, by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the said first Wednesday of April, shall hold their offices and may exercise their powers until the said first Tuesday of May, or until their successors shall be qualified to act. All statutes, public and private, not repugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assembly. All charters, contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action shall be as valid as if this constitution had not been made. The present government shall exercise all the powers with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, and until the government under this constitution is duly organized.
Sec 2. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the state as if this constitution had not been adopted.
Sec 3. The supreme court, established by this constitution, shall have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present established, and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to, or pending in the same; and shall be held at the same times and places, and in each county, as the present supreme judicial court, until otherwise prescribed by the General Assembly.
Sec 4. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown shall continue to enjoy the exemptions from military duty which they now enjoy, until otherwise prescribed by law.
Done in convention, at East Greenwich, this fifth day of November,
A. D. one thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
JAMES FENNER, President.
HENRY Y. CRANSTON, Vice-Pres’t.
Thomas A. Jenckes,
Walter W. Updike, } Secretaries.
Articles of Amendment.
Adopted November, 1854.
ARTICLE I.
It shall not be necessary for the town or ward clerks to keep and transmit to the General Assembly a list or register of all persons voting for general officers; but the General Assembly shall have power to pass such laws on the subject as they may deem expedient.
ARTICLE II.
The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall hereafter exclusively exercise the pardoning power, except in cases of impeachment, to the same extent as such power is now exercised by the General Assembly.
ARTICLE III.
There shall be one session of the General Assembly holden annually, commencing on the last Tuesday in May, at Newport, and an adjournment from the same shall be holden annually at Providence.
Adopted August, 1864.
ARTICLE IV.
Electors of this state who in time of war are absent from the state, in the actual military service of the United States, being otherwise qualified, shall have a right to vote in all elections in the state for electors of president and vice-president of the United States, representatives in Congress, and general officers of the state. The General Assembly shall have full power to provide by law for carrying this article into effect: and until such provision shall be made by law, every such absent elector on the day of such elections, may deliver a written or printed ballot, with the names of the persons voted for thereon, and his Christian and surname, and his voting residence in the state, written at length on the back thereof, to the officer commanding the regiment or company to which he belongs: and all such ballots, certified by such commanding officer to have been given by the elector whose name is written thereon, and returned by such commanding officer to the secretary of state within the time prescribed by law for counting the votes in such elections, shall be received and counted with the same effect as if given by such elector in open town, ward, or district meeting: and the clerk of each town or city, until otherwise provided by law, shall, within five days after any such election, transmit to the secretary of state a certified list of the names of all such electors on their respective voting lists.
[Copy of the Dorr Constitution.]
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
State of Rhode Island,
AND
Providence Plantations,
As finally adopted by the Convention of the People assembled at Providence, on the 18th day of November, 1841.
WE, the PEOPLE of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, grateful to Almighty God for His blessing vouchsafed to the “lively experiment” of Religious and Political Freedom here “held forth” by our venerated ancestors, and earnestly imploring the favor of His gracious Providence toward this our attempt to secure, upon a permanent foundation, the advantages of well ordered and rational Liberty, and to enlarge and transmit to our successors the inheritance that we have received, do ordain and establish the following CONSTITUTION of Government for this State:
ARTICLE I.
DECLARATIONS OF PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS.
1. In the spirit of and in the words of Roger Williams, the illustrious founder of this state, and of his venerated associates, We declare “that this government shall be a Democracy,” or government of the PEOPLE, “by the major consent” of the same, “ONLY IN CIVIL THINGS.” The will of the people shall be expressed by representatives freely chosen, and returning at fixed periods to their constituents. This state shall be and forever remain, as in the design of its founder, sacred to “Soul Liberty,” to the rights of conscience, to freedom of thought, of expression and of action, as hereinafter set forth and secured.
2. All men are created free and equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, the acquisition of property and the pursuit of happiness. Government cannot create or bestow these rights which are the gift of God, but it is instituted for the stronger and surer defence of the same; that men may safely enjoy the rights of life and liberty, securely possess and transmit property, and so far as laws avail may be successful in the pursuit of happiness.
3. All political power and sovereignty are originally vested in and of right belong to the People. All free governments are founded in their authority and are established for the greatest good of the whole number. The People have therefore an inalienable and indefeasible right in their original, sovereign and unlimited capacity to ordain and institute government, and in the same capacity to alter, reform, or totally change the same, whenever their safety or happiness requires.
4. No favor or disfavor ought to be shown in legislation toward any man, or party, or society, or religious denomination. The laws should be made not for the good of the few, but of the many, and the burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens.
5. The diffusion of useful knowledge and the cultivation of a sound morality in the fear of God being of the first importance in a republican state, and indispensable to the maintenance of its liberty, it shall be an imperative duty of the legislature to promote the establishment of free schools and to assist in the support of public education.
6. Every person in this state ought to find a certain remedy by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be done to his rights of person, property or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws.
7. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on complaint in writing upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.
8. No person shall be held to answer to a capital or other infamous charge unless on indictment by a grand jury except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person shall be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offence.
9. Every man being presumed to be innocent until pronounced guilty by the law, all acts of severity that are not necessary to secure an accused person ought to be repressed.
10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted, and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offence.
11. All prisoners shall be bailable upon sufficient surety, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety shall require it.
12. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the privilege of a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; be confronted with the witnesses against him; have compulsory process to obtain them in his favor, and at the public expense, when necessary, have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and be at liberty to speak for himself. Nor shall he be deprived of his life, liberty or property unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.
13. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and in all criminal cases the jury shall judge both of the law and of the facts.
14. Any person in this state who may be claimed to be held to labor or service under the laws of any other state, territory or district, shall be entitled to a jury trial, to ascertain the validity of such claim.
15. No man in a court of common law shall be required to criminate himself.
16. Retrospective laws, civil and criminal, are unjust and oppressive, and shall not be made.
17. The people have a right to assemble in a peaceable manner, without molestation or restraint, to consult upon the public welfare; a right to give instructions to their senators and representatives; and a right to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, for the repeal of injurious laws, for the correction of faults of administration, and for all other purposes.
18. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of freedom in a state, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, spoken from good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient defence to the person charged.
19. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just compensation; nor unless the public good require it; nor under any circumstances until compensation shall have been made, if required.
20. The military shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil authority.
21. 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 manner to be prescribed by law.
22. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas a principal object of our venerated ancestors in their migration to this country and their settlement of this state, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil state may stand, and be best maintained, with full liberty in religious concernments. We therefore DECLARE that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor be enforced, restrained, molested or burdened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from holding any office, nor otherwise suffer on account of his religious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion; and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities; and that all other religious rights and privileges of the people of this state as now enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and inviolable.
23. No witness shall be called in question before the legislature, nor in any court of this state, nor before any magistrate or other person authorized to administer an oath or affirmation, for his or her religious belief, or opinions, or any part thereof; and no objection to a witness, on the ground of his or her religious opinions, shall be entertained or received.
24. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery and privileges of the shore to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this state.
25. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair nor deny others retained by the people.
ARTICLE II.
OF ELECTORS AND THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.
1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who has resided in this state for one year, and in any town, city or district of the same for six months next preceding the election at which he offers to vote, shall be an elector of all officers, who are elected or may hereafter be made eligible by the people. But persons in the military, naval or marine service of the United States shall not be considered as having such established residence by being stationed in any garrison, barrack or military place in any town or city in this state.
2. Paupers and persons under guardianship, insane or lunatic are excluded from the electoral right; and the same shall be forfeited on conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime; and shall not be restored unless by an act of the General Assembly.
3. No person who is excluded from voting for want of the qualification first named in section first of this article, shall be taxed or be liable to do military duty; provided that nothing in said first article shall be so construed as to exempt from taxation any property or persons now liable to be taxed.
4. No elector who is not possessed of and assessed for ratable property in his own right to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, or who shall have neglected or refused to pay any tax assessed upon him in any town, city or district for one year preceding the town, city, ward or district meeting at which he shall offer to vote, shall be entitled to vote on any question of taxation, or the expenditure of any public moneys in such town, city or district, until the same be paid.
5. In the city of Providence and other cities no person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, alderman or common councilman, who is not taxed or who shall have neglected or refused to pay his tax, as provided in the preceding section.
6. The voting for all officers chosen by the people, except town or city officers, shall be by ballot; that is to say, by depositing a written or printed ticket in the ballot box, without the name of the voter written thereon. Town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on the demand of any two persons entitled to vote for the same.
7. There shall be a strict registration of all qualified voters in the towns and cities of the state; and no person shall be permitted to vote whose name has not been entered upon the list of voters before the polls are opened.
8. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for the prevention of fraudulent voting by persons not having an actual permanent residence or home in the state, or otherwise disqualified according to this constitution; for the careful registration of all voters, previously to the time of voting; for the prevention of frauds upon the ballot box; for the preservation of the purity of elections; and for the safe keeping and accurate counting of the votes; to the end that the will of the people may be freely and fully expressed, truly ascertained and effectually exerted, without intimidation, suppression or unnecessary delay.
9. The electors shall be exempted from arrest on days of election and one day before and one day after the same, except in cases of treason, felony or breach of the peace.
10. No person shall be eligible to any office by the votes of the people who does not possess the qualifications of an elector.
ARTICLE III.
OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.
1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into three departments, the legislative, the executive and the judicial.
2. No person or persons connected with one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, except in cases herein directed or permitted.
ARTICLE IV.
OF THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct houses, the one to be called the house of representatives, the other the senate, and both together the General Assembly. The concurrent votes of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws; and the style of their laws shall be—Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows.
2. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any civil office under the authority of the state during the term for which he shall have been elected.
3. If any representative or senator in the General Assembly of this state shall be appointed to any office under the government of the United States, and shall accept the same after his election as such senator or representative, his seat shall thereby become vacant.
4. Any person who holds an office under the government of the United States may be elected a member of the General Assembly and may hold his seat therein if at the time of taking his seat he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same on oath or affirmation, if required.
5. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate in any case pending before either branch of the General Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat upon due proof thereof.
6. Each house shall judge of the election and qualifications of its members; and a majority of all the members of each house, whom the towns and senatorial districts are entitled to elect, 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 have previously prescribed.
7. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected, expel a member; but not a second time for the same cause.
8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same when required by one-fifth of its members. The yeas and nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of any five members present, be entered on the journal.
9. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place than that at which the General Assembly is holding its session.
10. The senators and representatives shall in all cases of civil process be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and for two days before the commencement and two days after the termination of any session thereof. For any speech in debate in either house no member shall be called in question in any other place.
11. The civil and military officers heretofore elected in grand committee shall hereafter be elected annually by the General Assembly in joint committee, composed of the two houses of the General Assembly, excepting as is otherwise provided in this constitution, and excepting the captains and subalterns of the militia who shall be elected by the ballots of the members composing their respective companies, in such manner as the General Assembly may prescribe; and such officers so elected shall be approved of and commissioned by the governor, who shall determine their rank, and if said companies shall neglect or refuse to make such elections after being duly notified, then the governor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices.
12. Every bill and every resolution requiring the concurrence of the two houses (votes of adjournment accepted) which shall have passed both houses of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the governor for his revision. If he approve of it he shall sign and transmit the same to the secretary of state, but if not he shall return it to the house in which it shall have originated, with his objections thereto which shall be entered at large on their journal. The house shall then proceed to reconsider the bill; and if after such reconsideration that house shall pass it by a majority of all the members elected, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house which shall also reconsider it; and if approved by that house by a majority of all the members elected it shall become a law. If the bill shall not be returned by the governor within forty-eight hours (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
13. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly in every year; one session to be held at Newport, on the first Tuesday of June, for the organization of the government, the election of officers, and for other business; and one other session on the first Tuesday of January, to be held at Providence, in the first year after the adoption of this constitution and in every second year thereafter. In the intermediate years the January session shall be forever hereafter held in the counties of Washington, Kent, or Bristol, as the General Assembly may determine before their adjournment in June.
ARTICLE V.
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
1. The house of representatives shall consist of members chosen by the electors in the several towns and cities in their respective town and ward meetings annually. 2. The towns and cities shall severally be entitled to elect members according to the apportionment which follows, viz: Newport to elect five; Warwick, four; Smithfield, five; Cumberland, North Providence and Scituate, three; Portsmouth, Westerly, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Glocester, West Greenwich, Coventry, Exeter, Bristol, Tiverton, Little Compton, Warren, Richmond, Cranston, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Johnston, Foster and Burrillville to elect two; and Jamestown, Middletown and Barrington to elect one. 3. In the city of Providence there shall be six representative districts, which shall be the six wards of said city. And the electors resident in said districts for the term of three months next preceding the election at which they offer to vote, shall be entitled to elect two representatives for each district.
4. The General Assembly in case of great inequality in the population of the wards of the city of Providence, may cause the boundaries of the six representative districts therein to be so altered as to include in each district as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants.
5. The house of representatives shall have authority to elect their own speaker, clerks and other officers. The oath of office shall be administered to the speaker by the secretary of state, or, in his absence, by the attorney-general.
6. Whenever the seat of a member of the house of representatives shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election.
ARTICLE VI.
OF THE SENATE.
1. The state shall be divided into twelve senatorial districts; and each district shall be entitled to one senator, who shall be annually chosen by the electors in his district.
2. The first, second and third representative districts in the city of Providence shall constitute the first senatorial district; the fourth, fifth and sixth representative districts in said city the second district; the town of Smithfield the third district; the towns of North Providence and Cumberland the fourth district; the towns of Scituate, Glocester, Burrillville and Johnston the fifth district; the towns of Warwick and Cranston the sixth district; the towns of East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry and Foster the seventh district; the towns of Newport, Jamestown and New Shoreham the eighth district; the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton and Little Compton the ninth district; the towns of North Kingstown and South Kingstown the tenth district; the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, Exeter, Richmond and Hopkinton the eleventh district; the towns of Bristol, Warren and Barrington the twelfth district.
3. The lieutenant-governor, shall be by virtue of his office, president of the senate; and shall have a right, in case of an equal division to vote in the same, and also to vote in joint committe of the two houses.
4. When the government shall be administered by the lieutenant-governor, or he shall be unable to attend as president of the senate, the senate shall elect one of their own members president of the same.
5. Vacancies in the senate occasioned by death, resignation or otherwise, may be filled by a new election.
6. The secretary of state shall be, by virtue of his office, secretary of the senate.
ARTICLE VII.
OF IMPEACHMENTS.
1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.
2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and when sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted except by vote of two-thirds of the members elected. When the governor is impeached the chief-justice of the supreme court shall preside, with a casting vote in all preliminary questions.
3. The governor and all other executive and judicial officers shall be liable to impeachment, but judgments in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office. The party convicted shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law.
ARTICLE VIII.
OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
1. The chief executive power of this state, shall be vested in a governor who shall be chosen by the electors, and shall hold his office for one year and until his successor be duly qualified.
2. No person holding any office or place under the United States, this state, any other of the United States, or any foreign power, shall exercise the office of governor.
3. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed.
4. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the state, except when called into the actual service of the United States; but he shall not march nor convey any of the citizens out of the state without their consent, or that of the General Assembly, unless it shall become necessary in order to march or transport them from one part of the state to another, for the defence thereof.
5. He shall appoint all civil and military officers whose appointment is not by this constitution, or shall not, by law, be otherwise provided for.
6. He shall from time to time inform the General Assembly of the condition of the state, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.
7. He may require from any military officer or any officer in the executive department, information upon any subject relating to the duties of his office.
8. He shall have power to remit forfeitures and penalties, and to grant reprieves, commutation of punishments and pardons after conviction, except in cases of impeachment.
9. The governor shall at stated times receive for his services a compensation, which shall not be increased nor diminished during his continuance in office.
10. There shall be elected in the same manner as is provided for the election of governor, a lieutenant-governor, who shall continue in office for the same term of time. Whenever the office of governor shall become vacant by death, resignation, removal from office or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the office of governor until another governor shall be duly qualified.
11. Whenever the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor shall both become vacant by death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the president of the senate shall exercise the office of governor until a governor be duly qualified; and should such vacancies occur during a recess of the General Assembly, and there be no president of the senate, the secretary of state shall by proclamation convene the senate, that a president may be chosen to exercise the office of governor.
12. Whenever the lieutenant-governor or president of the senate shall exercise the office of governor, he shall receive the compensation of governor only; and his duties as president of the senate shall cease while he shall continue to act as governor; and the senate shall fill the vacancy by an election from their own body.
13. In case of a disagreement between the two houses of the General Assembly respecting the time or place of adjournment, the person exercising the office of governor may adjourn them to such time or place as he shall think proper; provided, that the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond the first day of the next stated session.
14. The person exercising the office of governor may, in cases of special necessity convene the General Assembly at any town or city in this state, at any other time than herein before provided. And, in case of danger from the prevalence of epidemic or contagious diseases, or from other circumstances in the place in which the General Assembly are next to meet, he may by proclamation convene the Assembly at any other place within the state.
15. A secretary of state, a general treasurer and an attorney-general shall also be chosen annually, in the same manner and for the same time as is herein provided respecting the governor. The duties of these offices shall be the same as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law. Should there be a failure to choose either of them, or should a vacancy occur in either of their offices, the General Assembly shall fill the place by an election in joint committee.
16. The electors in each county shall, at the annual elections, vote for an inhabitant of the county to be sheriff of said county for one year and until a successor be duly qualified. In case no person shall have a majority of the electoral votes of his county for sheriff, the General Assembly, in joint committee, shall elect a sheriff from the two candidates, who shall have the greatest number of votes in such county.
17. All commissions shall be in the name of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, sealed with the seal of the state, and attested by the secretary.
ARTICLE IX.
GENERAL PROVISIONS.
1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the state, and all laws contrary to or inconsistent with the same which may be passed by the General Assembly shall be null and void.
2. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for carrying this constitution into effect.
3. The judges of all the courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to the due observance of this constitution and of the constitution of the United States.
4. No jurisdiction shall hereafter be entertained by the General Assembly in cases of insolvency, divorce, sale of real estate of minors, or appeal from judicial decisions, nor in any other matters appertaining to the jurisdiction of judges and courts of law. But the General Assembly shall confer upon the courts of the state all necessary powers for affording relief in the cases herein named; and the General Assembly shall exercise all other jurisdiction and authority which they have heretofore entertained, and which is not prohibited by, or repugnant to this constitution.
5. The General Assembly shall from time to time cause estimates to be made of the ratable property of the state, in order to the equitable apportionment of state taxes.
6. Whenever a direct tax is laid by the state, one-sixth part thereof shall be assessed on the polls of the qualified electors, provided that the tax on a poll shall never exceed the sum of fifty cents, and that all persons who actually perform military duty, or duty in the fire department, shall be exempted from said poll tax.
7. The General Assembly shall have no power hereafter to incur state debts to an amount exceeding the sum of fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of invasion, without the express consent of the people. Every proposition for such increase shall be submitted to the electors at the next annual election, or on some day to be set apart for that purpose, and shall not be farther entertained by the General Assembly, unless it receive the votes of a majority of all the persons voting. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that now is, or hereafter may be, deposited with this state by the general government.
8. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the public moneys, or property for local or private purposes; or for creating, continuing, altering or renewing any body politic or corporate, banking corporations excepted.
9. Hereafter when any bill creating, continuing, altering or renewing any banking corporation, authorized to issue its promissory notes for circulation shall pass the two houses of the General Assembly, instead of being sent to the governor, it shall be referred to the electors for their consideration at the next annual election, or on some day to be set apart for that purpose, with printed tickets, containing the question, shall said bill (with a brief description thereof) be approved, or not; and if a majority of the electors voting shall vote to approve said bill it shall become a law, otherwise not.
10. All grants of incorporation shall be subject to future acts of the General Assembly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in any wise affecting the same, and this provision shall be inserted in all acts of incorporation hereafter granted.
11. The General Assembly shall exercise as heretofore a visitorial power over corporations. Three bank commissioners shall be chosen at the June session for one year, to carry out the powers of the General Assembly in this respect. And commissioners for the visitation of other corporations, as the General Assembly may deem expedient, shall be chosen at the June session for the same term of office.
12. No city council or other government in any city shall have power to vote any tax upon the inhabitants thereof, excepting the amount necessary to meet the ordinary public expenses in the same, without first submitting the question of an additional tax or taxes to the electors of said city; and a majority of all who vote shall determine the question. But no elector shall be entitled to vote in any city upon any question of taxation thus submitted, unless he shall be qualified by the possession in his own right of ratable property to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, and shall have been assessed thereon to pay a city tax, and shall have paid the same as provided in section fourth of Article II. Nothing in that article shall be construed as to prevent any elector from voting for town officers, and in the city of Providence and other cities for mayor, aldermen, and members of the common council.
13. The General Assembly shall not pass any law nor cause any act or thing to be done in any way to disturb any of the owners or occupants of land in any territory now under the jurisdiction of any other state or states, the jurisdiction whereof may be ceded to, or decreed to belong to this state; and the inhabitants of such territory shall continue in the full, quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of their titles to the same, without interference in any way on the part of this state.
ARTICLE X.
OF ELECTIONS.
1. The election of the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney-general, and also of senators and representatives to the General Assembly, and of sheriffs of the counties, shall be held on the third Wednesday of April, annually.
2. The names of the persons voted for as governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney-general and sheriffs of the respective counties, shall be put upon one ticket; and the tickets shall be deposited by the electors in a box by themselves. The names of the persons voted for as senators and as representatives shall be put upon separate tickets, and the tickets shall be deposited in separate boxes. The polls for all the officers named in this section shall be opened at the same time.
3. All the votes given for governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney-general, sheriffs, and also for senators shall remain in the ballot boxes till the polls be closed. These votes shall then, in open town and ward meetings, and in the presence of at least ten qualified voters, be taken out and sealed up in separate envelopes by the moderators and town clerks and by the wardens and ward clerks, who shall certify the same and forthwith deliver or send them to the secretary of state, whose duty it shall be securely to keep the same, and to deliver the votes for state officers and sheriffs to the speaker of the house of representatives after the house shall be organized at the June session of the General Assembly. The votes last named shall, without delay, be opened, counted and declared in such manner as the house of representatives shall direct, and the oath of office shall be administered to the persons who shall be declared to be elected by the speaker of the house of representatives, and in the presence of the house; provided that the sheriffs may take their engagement before a senator, judge or justice of the peace. The votes for senators shall be counted by the governor and secretary of state within seven days from the day of election; and the governor shall give certificates to the senators who are elected.
4. The boxes containing the votes for representatives to the General Assembly in the several towns shall not be opened till the polls for representatives are declared to be closed. The votes shall then be counted by the moderator and clerk, who shall announce the result and give certificates to the persons elected. If there be no election, or not an election of the whole number of representatives to which the town is entitled, the polls for representatives may be reopened, and the like proceedings shall be had until an election shall take place; provided, however, that an adjournment of the election may be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting.
5. In the city of Providence and other cities, the polls for representatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the day; and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks, in the presence of at least ten qualified electors, and delivered to the city clerks. The mayor and aldermen of said city or cities shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election; and if no election, or an election of only a portion of the representatives whom the representative districts are entitled to elect shall have taken place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election, to be held not more than ten days from the day of the first election; and so on till the election of representatives shall be completed. Certificates of election shall be furnished to the persons chosen by the city clerks.
6. If there be no choice of a senator or senators at the annual election, the governor shall issue his warrant to the town and ward clerks of the several towns and cities in the senatorial district or districts that may have failed to elect, requiring them to open town or ward meetings for another election, on a day not more than fifteen days beyond the time of counting the votes for senators. If, on the second trial there shall be no choice of a senator or senators the governor shall certify the result to the speaker of the house of representatives; and] the house of representatives, and as many senators as shall have been chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a senator or senators from the two candidates who may receive the highest number of votes in each district.
7. If there be no choice of governor at the annual election, the speaker of the house of representatives shall issue his warrant to the clerks of the several towns and cities requiring them to notify town and ward meetings for another election, on a day to be named by him, not more than thirty nor less than twenty days beyond the time of receiving the report of the committee of the house of representatives, who shall count the votes for governor. If, on this second trial there shall be no choice of a governor, the two houses of the General Assembly, shall, at their next session, in joint committee elect a governor from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, to hold his office for the remainder of the political year, and until his successor be duly qualified.
8. If there be no choice of governor and lieutenant-governor at the annual election, the same proceedings for the choice of a lieutenant-governor shall be had as are directed in the preceding section; provided that the second trial for the election of governor and lieutenant-governor shall be on the same day; and also provided, that if the governor shall be chosen at the annual election and the lieutenant-governor shall not be chosen, then the last named officer shall be elected in joint committee of the two houses from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, without a further appeal to the electors. The lieutenant-governor, elected as is provided in this section, shall hold his office as is provided in the preceding section respecting the governor.
9. All town, city and ward meetings for the choice of representatives, justices of the peace, sheriffs, senators, state officers, representatives to Congress and electors of president and vice-president, shall be notified by the town, city and ward clerks at least seven days before the same are held.
10. In all elections held by the people under this constitution, a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the choice of the person or persons voted for.
11. The oath or affirmation to be taken by all the officers named in this article shall be the following: You, being elected to the place of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney-general, or to the places of senators or representatives, or to the office of sheriff or justice of the peace, do solemnly swear, or severally solemnly swear, or affirm, that you will be true and faithful to the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and that you will support the constitution thereof; that you will support the constitution of the United States, and that you will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of your aforesaid office to the best of your abilities and understanding—So help you God! or, this affirmation you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury.
ARTICLE XI.
OF THE JUDICIARY.
1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such other courts inferior to the supreme court as the legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish; and the jurisdiction of the supreme and of all other courts, may, from time to time be regulated by the General Assembly.
2. Chancery powers may be conferred on the supreme court; but no other court exercising chancery powers shall be established in this State, except as is now provided by law.
3. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected in joint committee of the two houses, to hold their offices for one year, and until their places be declared vacant by a resolution to that effect, which shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the house in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same vote of the other house, without revision by the governor. Such resolution shall not be entertained at any other than the annual session for the election of public officers; and in default of the passage thereof at the said session, the judge or judges shall hold his or their place or places for another year. But a judge of any court shall be removable from office, if upon impeachment, he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor.
4. In case of vacancy by the death, resignation, refusal, or inability to serve, or removal from the state of a judge of any court, his place may be filled by the joint committee until the next annual election; when, if elected, he shall hold his office as herein provided.
5. The justices of the supreme court shall receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
6. The judges of the courts inferior to the supreme court shall be annually elected in joint committee of the two houses, except as herein provided.
7. There shall be annually elected by each town and by the several wards in the city of Providence, a sufficient number of justices of the peace or wardens resident therein with such jurisdiction as the General Assembly may prescribe. And said justices or wardens, (except in the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown) shall be commissioned by the governor.
8. The General Assembly may provide that justices of the peace who are not re-elected, may hold their offices for a time not exceeding ten days beyond the day of the annual election of these officers.
9. The courts of probate in this state, except the supreme court, shall remain as at present established by law, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe.
ARTICLE XII.
OF EDUCATION.
1. All moneys which now are, or may hereafter be appropriated by the authority of the state to public education, shall be securely invested, and remain a perpetual fund for the maintenance of free schools in this state; and the General Assembly are prohibited from diverting said moneys or fund from this use, and from borrowing, appropriating or using the same or any part thereof for any other purpose, or under any pretence whatsoever. But the income derived from said moneys or fund, shall be annually paid over by the general treasurer to the towns and cities of the state, for the support of said schools in equitable proportions; provided, however, that a portion of said income may, in the discretion of the General Assembly, be added to the principal of said fund.
2. The several towns and cities shall faithfully devote their portions of said annual distribution to the support of free schools; and in default thereof shall forfeit their shares of the same to the increase of the fund.
3. All charitable donations for the support of free schools and other purposes of public education, shall be received by the General Assembly and invested, and applied agreeably to the terms prescribed by the donors, provided the same be not inconsistent with the constitution, or with sound public policy; in which case the donation shall not be received.
ARTICLE XIII.
AMENDMENTS.
The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution by the vote of a majority of all the members elected to each house. Such propositions shall be published in the newspapers of the state; and printed copies of said propositions shall be sent by the secretary of state, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks in the state; and the said propositions shall be by said clerks inserted in the notices by them issued for warning the next annual town and ward meetings in April; and the town and ward clerks shall read said propositions to the electors when thus assembled, with the names of all the representatives and senators who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of representatives and senators shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected at said annual meetings, present in each house, shall approve any proposition thus made, the same shall be published as before provided and then sent to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval; and if then approved by a majority of the electors who shall vote in town and ward meetings to be specially convened for that purpose, it shall become apart of the constitution of the state.
ARTICLE XIV.
OF THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION.
1. This constitution shall be submitted to the people for their adoption or rejection, on Monday, the 27th day of December next, and on the two succeeding days; and all persons voting are requested to deposit in the ballot-boxes printed or written tickets in the following form: I am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, and have my permanent residence or home in this state. I am (or not) qualified to vote under the existing laws of this state. I vote for (or against) the constitution formed by the convention of the people, assembled at Providence, and which was proposed to the people by said convention, on the 18th day of November, 1841.
2. Every voter is requested to write his name on the face of his ticket; and every person entitled to vote as aforesaid, who from sickness or other causes may be unable to attend and vote in the town or ward meetings, assembled for voting upon said constitution on the days aforesaid, is requested to write his name upon a ticket, and to obtain the signature upon the back of the same of a person who has given his vote as a witness thereto. And the moderator or clerk of any town or ward meeting convened for the purpose aforesaid, shall receive such vote on either of the three days next succeeding the three days before named for voting on said constitution.
3. The citizens of the several towns in this state, and of the several wards in the city of Providence, are requested to hold town and ward meetings on the days appointed and for the purpose aforesaid; and also to choose in each town and ward a moderator and clerk to conduct said meetings and receive the votes.
4. The moderators and clerks are required to receive and carefully to keep the votes of all persons qualified to vote as aforesaid, and to make registers of all the persons voting; which, together with the tickets given in by the voters shall be sealed up and returned by said moderators and clerks, with certificates signed and sealed by them, to the clerks of the convention of the people, to be by them safely deposited and kept, and laid before said convention to be counted and declared at their next adjourned meeting on the 12th day of January, 1842.
5. This constitution, except so much thereof as relates to the election of the officers named in the sixth section of this article, shall, if adopted, go into operation on the first Tuesday in May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
6. So much of the constitution as relates to the election of officers named in this section, shall go into operation on the Monday before the third Wednesday of April next preceding. The first election under this constitution of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer and attorney-general, of senators and representatives, of sheriffs for the several counties, and of justices of the peace for the several towns and the wards of the city of Providence, shall take place on the Monday aforesaid.
7. The electors of the several towns and wards are authorized to assemble on the day aforesaid, without being notified as is provided in section ninth of Article X., and without the registration required in section seventh of Article II., and to choose moderators and clerks, and proceed in the election of the officers named in the preceding section.
8. The votes given in at the first election for representatives to the General Assembly and for justices of the peace, shall be counted by the moderators and clerks of the towns and wards chosen as aforesaid; and certificates of election shall be furnished by them to the representatives and justices of the peace elected.
9. Said moderators and clerks shall seal up, certify, and transmit to the house of representatives all the votes that may be given in at said first election for governor and state officers, and for senators and sheriffs; and the votes shall be counted as the house of representatives may direct.
10. The speaker of the house of representatives shall, at the first session of the same, qualify himself to administer the oath of office to the members of the house and to other officers, by taking and subscribing the same oath in presence of the house.
11. The first session of the General Assembly shall be held in the city of Providence, on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with such adjournments as may be necessary; but all other sessions shall be held as is provided in Article IV. of this Constitution.
12. If any of the representatives whom the towns or districts are entitled to choose, at the first annual election aforesaid, shall not be then elected, or if their places shall become vacant during the year, the same proceedings may be had to complete the election, or to supply vacancies as are directed concerning elections in the preceding sections of this article.
13. If there shall be no election of governor or lieutenant-governor, or of both of these officers, or of a senator or senators at the first annual election, the house of representatives and as many senators as are chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a governor or lieutenant-governor, or both, or a senator or senators, to hold their offices for the remainder of the political year, and, in the case of the two officers first named, until their successors shall be duly qualified.
14. If the number of the justices of the peace determined by the several towns and wards on the day of the first annual election shall not be then chosen, or if vacancies shall occur, the same proceedings shall be had as are provided for in this article in the case of a non-election of representatives and senators, or of vacancies in their offices. The justices of the peace thus elected shall hold office for the remainder of the political year, or until the second annual election of justices of the peace to be held on such day as may be prescribed by the General Assembly.
15. The justices of the peace elected in pursuance of the provisions of this article may be engaged by the persons acting as moderators of the town and ward meetings as herein provided; and said justices after obtaining their certificates of election, may discharge the duties of their office for a time not exceeding twenty days, without a commission from the governor.
16. Nothing contained in this article, inconsistent with any of the provisions of other articles of the constitution shall continue in force for a longer period than the first political year under the same.
17. The present government shall exercise all the powers with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday in May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and until their successors under this constitution shall be duly elected and qualified.
18. All civil, judicial and military officers now elected, or who shall hereafter be elected by the General Assembly or other competent authority, before the said first Tuesday of May, shall hold their offices and may exercise their powers until that time.
19. All laws and statutes, public and private, now in force and not repugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assembly. All contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this constitution had not been made. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the state as if this constitution had not been made.
20. The supreme court established by this constitution shall have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present established; and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to or pending in the same; and shall be held in the same times and places in each county as the present supreme judicial court until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe.
21. The citizens of the town of New Shoreham shall be hereafter exempted from military duty and the duty of serving as jurors in the courts of this state. The citizens of the town of Jamestown shall be forever hereafter exempted from military field duty.
22. The General Assembly shall, at their first session after the adoption of this constitution, propose to the electors the question, whether the word “white,” in the first line of the first section of Article II. of the constitution shall be stricken out. The question shall be voted upon at the succeeding annual election; and if a majority of the electors voting shall vote to strike out the word aforesaid, it shall be stricken from the constitution; otherwise not. If the word aforesaid shall be stricken out, section third of Article II. shall cease to be a part of the constitution.
23. The president, vice-president and secretaries shall certify and sign this constitution, and cause the same to be published.
Done in convention at Providence, on the eighteenth day of November, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, and of American Independence the sixty-sixth.
JOSEPH JOSLIN, President of the Convention.
WAGER WEEDEN,
SAMUEL H. WALES, } Vice Presidents.
Attest:
William H. Smith,
John S. Harris } Secretaries.