15. That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free State; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty, and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

16. That the people have a right to uniform government; and, therefore, that no government separate from or independent of the government of Virginia ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof.

17. That no free government or the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles

18. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other.

19. That neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as lawful imprisonment may corstitute such, shall exist within this State.

20. That all citizens of the State are hereby declared to possess equal civil and political rights.

21. The rights enumerated in this bill of rights shall not be construed to limit other rights of the people not therein expressed.

The declaration of the political rights and privileges of the inhabitants of this State is hereby declared to be a part of the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and shall not be violated on any pretense whatever.

ARTICLE II.
Division of Powers.

The legislative, executive and judiciary departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the power of more than one of them at the same time, except as hereinafter provided.

ARTICLE III.

Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office.

Section 1. Every male citizen of the United States, twentyone years old, who shall have been a resident of the State twelve months and of the county, city or town in which he shall offer to vote, three months next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly and all officers elected by the people: Provided, that no officer, soldier, seaman or marine of the United States army or navy shall be considered a resident of this State by reason of being stationed therein: And provided, also, that the following persons shall be excluded from voting:

First-Idiots and lunatics.

Second Persons convicted of bribery in any election, embezzlement of public funds, treason, felony or petit larceny.

Third - No person who, while a citizen of this State, has since the adoption of this Constitution, fought a duel with a deadly weapon, sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with a deadly weapon, either within or beyond the boundaries of this State, or knowingly conveyed a challenge, or aided or assisted in any manner in fighting a duel, shall be allowed to vote or hold any office of honor, profit or trust under this Constitution.

Sec. 2. All elections shall be by ballot, and all persons entitled to vote shall be eligible to any office within the gift of the people, except as restricted in this Constitution.

Sec. 3. All persons entitled to vote and hold office, and none others, shall be eligible to sit as jurors.

Sec. 4. No voter, during the time of holding any election at which he is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform military service, except in time of war or public danger, to work upon public roads or to attend any court as suitor, juror or witness; and no voter shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his attendance at elections, or in going to or returning from them.

Oath of Office.

Sec. 5. All persons, before entering upon the discharge of any function as officers of this State, must take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:

"I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United

States and the Constitution and laws of the State of Virginia; that I recognize and accept the civil and political equality of all men before the law, and that I will faithfully perform the duty of to the best of my ability. So help me God."

ARTICLE IV.

Executive Department-Governor.

Section 1. The chief executive power of this Commonwealth shall be vested in a Governor. He shall hold office for a term of four years, to commence on the first day of January next succeeding his election, and be ineligible to the same office for the term next succeeding that for which he was elected, and to any other office during his term of service.

Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the voters at the times and places of choosing members of the General Assembly. Returns of elections shall be transmitted, under seal, by the proper officers to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, who shall deliver them to the Speaker of the House of Delegates on the first day of the next session of the General Assembly. The Speaker of the House of Delegates shall, within one week thereafter, in the presence of a majority of the Senate and House of Delegates, open the said returns, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the highest number of votes shall be declared elected; but if two or more shall have the highest and an equal number of votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. Contested elections for Governor shall be decided by a like vote, and the mode of proceeding in such cases shall be prescribed by law.

Sec. 3. No person except a citizen of the United States shall be eligible to the office of Governor; and if such person be of foreign birth, he must have been a citizen of the United States for ten years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be eligible to that office unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, and have been a resident of this State for three years next preceding his election.

Sec. 4. The Governor shall reside at the seat of government; shall receive five thousand dollars for each year of his service, and while in office shall receive no other emolument from this or any other government.

Sec. 5. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; communicate to the General Assembly at every session

the condition of the Commonwealth; recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient, and convene the General Assembly on application of two-thirds of the members of both houses thereof, or when, in his opinion, the interest of the Commonwealth may require it. He shall be commanderin-chief of the land and naval forces of the State; have power to embody the militia to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and enforce the execution of the laws; conduct, either in person or in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, all intercourse with other and foreign States; and during the recess of the General Assembly, to fill, pro tempore, all vacancies in those offices for which the Constitution and laws make no provision; but his appointments to such vacancies shall be by commissions, to expire at the end of thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly. He shall have power to remit fines and penalties in such cases and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law, and except when the prosecution has been carried on by the House of Delegates; to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction; to remove political disabilities consequent upon conviction for offenses committed prior or subsequent to the adoption of this Constitution, and to commute capital punishment; but he shall communicate to the General Assembly, at each session, particulars of every case of fine or penalty remitted, of reprieve or pardon granted, and of punishment commuted, with his reasons for remitting, granting or commuting the same.

Sec. 6. He may require information, in writing, from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; and may also require the opinion, in writing, of the Attorney-General upon any ques tion of law connected with his duties.

Sec. 7. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and be attested by the Governor, with the seal of the Commonwealth annexed.

Sec. 8. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and House of Delegates, and every resolution requiring the assent of both branches of the General Assembly, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor; if he approves, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it.

If, after such consideration, two-thirds of the members present shall agree to pass the bill or joint resolution, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members present, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by ayes and noes, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill or joint resolution shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill or resolution shall not be returned by the Governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Lieutenant-Governor.

Sec. 9. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the Governor, and his qualification and the manner of his election in all respects, shall be the

same.

Sec. 10. In case of the removal of the Governor from office, or of his death, failure to qualify, resignation, removal from the State, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the said office, with its compensation, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor; and the General Assembly shall provide by law for the discharge of the executive functions in other necessary cases.

Sec. 11. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote except in case of an equal division; and while acting as such shall receive a compensation equal to that allowed to the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer and Auditor. Sec. 12. A Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor of Public Accounts shall be elected by the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly, and continue in office for the term of two years, unless sooner relieved. The salary of each shall be determined by law.

Sec. 13. The Secretary shall keep a record of the official acts of the Governor, which shall be signed by the Governor and attested by the Secretary; and when required, he shall lay the