or discharged; specifying the purposes to which the funds to be raised shall be applied, and providing for the levy of a tax, not exceeding twelve (12) mills on each dollar of valuation of taxable property within such city or town, sufficient to pay the annual interest, and extinguish the principal of such debt within fifteen, but not less than ten years from the creation thereof; and such tax when collected shall be applied only to the purposes in such ordinance specified, until the indebtedness shall be paid or discharged. But no such debt shall be created unless the question of incurring the same shall at a regular election for councilmen, aldermen or officers of such city or town, be submitted to a vote of such qualified electors thereof as shall, in the year next preceding, have paid a property tax therein, and a majority of those voting on the question, by ballot deposited in a separate ballot-box, shall vote in favor of creating such debt; but the aggregate amount of debt so created, together with the debt existing at the time of such election, shall not at any time exceed three per cent. of the valuation last aforesaid. Debts contracted for supplying water to such city or town are excepted from the operation of this section. The valuation in this section mentioned shall be in all cases that of the assessment next preceding the last assessment before the adoption of such ordinance.

SEC. 9. Nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to either impair or add to the obligation of any debt heretofore contracted by any county, city, town, or school district, in accordance with the laws of Colorado Territory, or prevent the contracting of any debt, or the issuing of bonds therefor, in accordance with said laws, upon any proposition for that purpose which may have been, according to said laws, submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of any county, city, town, or school district, before the day on which this Constitution takes effect.

ARTICLE XII.

OFFICERS.

SECTION 1. Every person holding any civil office under the State, or any municipality therein, shall, unless removed according to law, exercise the duties of such office until his successor is duly qualified; but this shall not apply to members of the general assembly, nor to

members of any board or assembly, two or more of whom are elected at the same time; the general assembly may by law provide for suspending any officer in his functions, pending impeachment or prosecution for misconduct in office.

SEC. 2. No person shall hold any office or employment of trust or profit, under the laws of the State, or any ordinance of any municipality therein, without devoting his personal attention to the duties of the same.

SEC. 3. No person who is now or hereafter may become a collector or receiver of public money, or the deputy or assistant of such collector or receiver, and who shall have become a defaulter in his office, shall be eligible to or assume the duties of any office of trust or profit in this State, under the laws thereof, or of any municipality therein, until he shall have accounted for and paid over all public money for which he may be accountable.

SEC. 4. No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public moneys, bribery, perjury, solicitation of bribery, or subornation of perjury, shall be eligible to the general assembly, or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this State.

SEC. 5. The district court of each county shall, at each term thereof, specially give in charge to the grand jury, if there be one. the laws regulating the accountability of the county treasurer, and shall appoint a committee of such grand jury, or of other reputable persons, not exceeding five, to investigate the official accounts and affairs of the treasurer of such county, and report to the court the condition thereof. The judge of the district court may appoint a like committee in vacation at any time, but not oftener than once in every three months. The district court of the county wherein the seat of government may be, shall have the like power to appoint committees to investigate the official accounts and affairs of the state treasurer and the auditor of state.

SEC. 6. Any civil officer or member of the general assembly who shall solicit, demand, or receive, or consent to receive, directly or indirectly, for himself or for another, from any company, corporation or person, any money, office, appointment, employment, testimonial, reward, thing of value or enjoyment, or of personal advantage, or promise thereof, for his vote, official influence or action, or for withholding the same, or with an understanding that his official influence or action shall [be] in any way influenced thereby, or who shall solicit or demand any such money or advantage, matter or thing aforesaid

for another, as the consideration of his vote, official influence or action, or for withholding the same, or shall give or withhold his vote, official influence or action, in consideration of the payment or promise of such money, advantage, matter or thing to another, shall be held guilty of bribery, or solicitation of bribery, as the case may be, within the meaning of this Constitution, and shall incur the disabilities provided thereby for such offense, and such additional punishment as is or shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 7. Every member of the general assembly shall, before he enters upon his official duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado, and to faithfully perform the duties of his office according to the best of his ability. This oath, or affirmation, shall be administered in the hall of the house to which the member shall have been elected. SEC. 8. Every civil officer, except members of the general assembly and such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado, and to faithfully perform the duties of the office upon which he shall be about to enter.

SEC. 9. Officers of the executive department and judges of the supreme and district courts, and district attorneys, shall file their oaths of office with the secretary of State; every other officer shall file his oath of office with the county clerk of the county wherein he shall have been elected.

SEC. 10. If any person elected or appointed to any office shall refuse or neglect to qualify therein within the time prescribed by law, such office shall be deemed vacant.

SEC. II.

The term of office of any officer elected to fill a vacancy, shall terminate at the expiration of the term during which the vacancy

occurred.

SEC. 12. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist in the same as a second, or send, accept or knowingly carry a challenge therefor, or agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall hold any office in the State.

ARTICLE XIII.

IMPEACHMENTS.

SECTION I. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. The concurrence of a majority of all the members. shall be necessary to an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate, and when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. When the governor or lieutenant governor is on trial, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside. No person shall be convicted without a concurrence of two-thirds of the senators elected. SEC. 2. The governor and other State and judicial officers, except county judges and justices of the peace, shall be liable to impeachment for high crimes or misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office, but judgment in such cases shall only extend to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the State. The party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall nevertheless, be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.

SEC. 3. All officers not liable to impeachment shall be subject to removal for misconduct or malfeasance in office, in such manner as may be provided by law.

I.

ARTICLE XIV.

COUNTIES.

SECTION 1. The several counties of the Territory of Colorado, as they now exist, are hereby declared to be counties of the State.

SEC. 2. The general assembly shall have no power to remove the county seat of any county, but the removal of county seats shall be provided for by general law, and no county seat shall be removed unless a majority of the qualified electors of the county, voting on the proposition at a general election, vote therefor; and no such. proposition shall be submitted oftener than once in four years, and no person shall vote on such proposition who shall not have resided in the county six months and in the election precinct ninety days next preceding such election.

SEC. 3. No part of the territory of any county shall be stricken

off and added to an adjoining county without first submitting the question to the qualified voters of the county from which the territory is proposed to be stricken off; nor unless a majority of all the qualified voters of said county voting on the question shall vote therefor. SEC. 4. In all cases of the establishment of any new county, the new county shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all then existing liabilities of the county or counties from which such new county shall be formed.

SEC. 5. When any part of a county is stricken off and attached to another county, the part stricken off shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all then existing liabilities of the county from which it is taken.

COUNTY OFFICERS.

SEC. 6. In each county there shall be elected for the term of three years, three county commissioners, who shall hold sessions for the transaction of county business as provided by law; any two of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. One of said commissioners shall be elected on the first Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and every year thereafter one such officer shall be elected in each county, at the general election, for the term of three years; provided, that when the population of any county shall exceed ten thousand, the board of county commissioners may consist of five members, who shall be elected as provided by law, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of busi

ness.

SEC. 7. The compensation of all county and precinct officers shall be as provided by law.

SEC. 8. There shall be elected in each county, on the first Tuesday in October, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and every alternate year forever thereafter, one county clerk, who shall be ex-officio recorder of deeds and clerk of the board of county commissioners; one sheriff; one coroner; one treasurer, who shall be collector of taxes; one county superintendent of schools; one county surveyor, and one county assessor.

SEC. 9. In case of a vacancy occurring in the office of county commissioner, the governor shall fill the same by appointment; and in case of a vacancy in any other county office, or in any precinct office, the board of county commissioners shall fill the same by appointment; and the person appointed shall hold the office until the