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form of government; provided, that this act shall not be deemed or construed to impair in any manner the validity of the commissions of such persons as shall be in office under previous executive appointment, when this act shall go into operation, or alter, abridge, or change, the tenure, quality, or duration of the same, or of any of them.

15. The Governor shall have power to fill any vacancy that may occur in any such offices during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire upon the appointment of the same person, or any other person, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to the same office, or at the expiration of one calendar month, ensuing the commencement of the next regular session of the Senate, whichever shall first occur.

16. The same person shall in no case be nominated by the Governor a second time during the same session, for the same office, in case he shall have been rejected by the Senate, unless after such rejection, the Senate shall inform the Governor by message of their willingness to receive again the nomination of such rejected person. for further consideration, and in case any person nominated by the Governor for any office, shall have been rejected by the Senate, it shall not be lawful for the Governor at any time afterwards, during the recess of the Senate, in case of vacancy in the same office, to appoint such rejected person to fill said vacancy.

17. It shall be the duty of the Governor, within the period of one calendar month next after this act shall go into operation, and in the same session in which the same shall be confirmed, if it be confirmed, and annually thereafter during the regular session of the Senate, and on such particular day, if any, or within such particular period as may be prescribed by law, to nominate, and by with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a Secretary of State, who shall hold his office until a successor shall be appointed, and who shall discharge such duties, and receive such compensation, as shall be prescribed by law.

18. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of Governor at any time after this act shall go into operation, the General Assembly, if in session, or if in the recess, at their next session, shall proceed to elect by joint ballot of the two houses, some person, being a qualified resident of the gubernatorial district from which the Governor for said term is to be taken, to be Governor for the residue of said term in place of the person originally chosen; and in every case of vacancy, until the election and qualification of the person succeeding, the Secretary of State, by virtue of his said office, shall be clothed, od interim, with the executive powers of government; and in case there shall be no Secretary of State, or in case he shall refuse to act, remove from the State, die, resign, or be removed for cause, the person filling the office of President of the Senate shall, by virtue of his said office, be clothed, ad interim, with the executive powers of government; and in case there shall be no President of the Sen

ate, or in case he shall refuse to act, remove from the State, die, resign, or be removed for cause, the person filling the office of Speaker of the House of Delegates shall, by virtue of his said office, be clothed, ad interim, with the executive powers of government.

19. The term of office of the Governor, who shall be chosen on the first Monday of January next, shall continue for the term of one year, and until the election and qualification of a successor, to be chosen as hereinafter mentioned.

20. At the time and places of holding the elections in the several counties of this State, and in the city of Baltimore, for delegates to the General Assembly for the December session of the year eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, and before the same judges by whom the election for delegates shall be held, and in every third year forever thereafter, an election shall also be held for a Governor of this State, whose term of office shall commence on the first Monday of January next ensuing the day of such election, and continue for three years, and until the election and qualification of a successor; at which said election every person qualified to vote for delegates to the General Assembly, at the place at which he shall offer to vote, shall be entitled to vote for Governor, and the person voted for as Governor shall possess the qualifications now required by the Constitution and form of government, and the additional qualification of being at least thirty years of age, and of being and of having been for at least three whole years before, a resident within the limits of the gubernatorial district from which the Governor is to be taken at such election, according to the priority which shall be determined as hereinafter mentioned; that is to say, the State shall be, and the same is hereby divided into three gubernatorial districts, as follows: the counties of Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Somerset, and Worcester, shall together compose one district, and until its number shall be determined as hereinafter provided, shall be known as the Eastern District; the counties of St. Mary's, Charles, Calvert, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, inclusive of the city of Annapolis, Montgomery, and Baltimore city, shall together compose one district, and until its number shall be determined as hereinafter provided, shall be known as the Southern District; Baltimore, Harford, Carroll, Frederick, Washington, and Alleghany counties, shall together compose one district, and until its number shall be determined as hereinafter provided, shall be known as the North-Western District; and for the purpose of determining the respective numbers and order of priority of said districts in the same session in which this act shall be confirmed, if the same shall be confirmed as hereinafter mentioned, and on some day to be fixed by concurrence of the two branches, the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall present to the President of the Senate, in the Senate chamber, a box containing three ballots of similar size and appearance, and on which shall severally be written, Eastern District, Southern District, North-Western District; and the President of the

Senate shall thereupon draw from said box the said several ballots in succession, and the district, the name of which shall be written on the ballot first drawn, shall thenceforth be distinguished as the first gubernatorial district, and the person to be chosen Governor at the election first to be held under the provisions of this section, and the person to be chosen at every succeeding third election for Governor forever thereafter, shall be taken from the said first district; and the district, the name of which shall be written on the ballot secondly drawn, shall thenceforth be distinguished as the second gubernatorial district, and the person to be chosen Governor at the second election to be held under the provisions of this section, and the person to be chosen at every succeeding third election for Governor forever thereafter, shall be taken from the said second district, and the district, the name of which shall be written on the ballot thirdly drawn, shall thenceforth be distinguished as the third gu bernatorial district, and the person to be chosen Governor at the third election to be held under the provisions of this section, and the person to be chosen at every succeeding third election forever thereafter, shall be taken from the said third district; and the result of such drawing shall be entered on the journal of the Senate, and be reported by the Speaker of the House of Delegates on his return to that body, and be entered on the journal thereof, and shall be certified by a joint letter, to be signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and be addressed and transmitted to the Secretary of State, if appointed, and if not, as soon as he shall be appointed, to be by him preserved in his office.

21. The General Assembly shall have power to regulate by law all matters which relate to the judges, time, place, and manner of holding elections for Governor, and of making returns thereof not affecting the tenure and term of office thereby, and that until otherwise, directed, the returns shall be made in like manner as in elections for electors of President and Vice President, save that the form of the certificates shall be varied to suit the case, and save also, that the returns, instead of being made to the Governor and Council shall be made to the Senate, and be addressed to the President of the Senate, and be enclosed under cover to the Secretary of State, by whom they shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, at the commencement of the session next ensuing such election.

22. Of the persons voted for as Governor at any such election, the person having, in the judgment of the Senate, the highest number of legal votes, and possessing the legal qualifications, and resi dent as aforesaid, in the district from which the Governor at such election is to be taken, shall be Governor, and shall qualify in the manner prescribed by the Constitution and laws, on the first Monday of January next ensuing his election, or as soon thereafter as may be, and all questions in relation to the number or legality of the votes given for each and any person voted for as Governor, and

in relation to the returns, and in relation to the qualifications of the persons voted for as Governor, shall be decided by the Senate, and in case two or more persons, legally qualified according to the provisions of this act, shall have an equal number of legal votes, then the Senate and House of Delegates, upon joint ballot, shall determine which one of them shall be Governor, and the one which, upon counting the ballots, shall have the highest number of votes, shall be Governor, and shall qualify accordingly.

23. No person who shall be elected, and shall act as Governor, shall be again eligible for the next succeeding term.

24. The elections to be held in pursuance of this act, shall be held on the first Wednesday of October, in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-eight; and for the election of delegates on the same day in every year thereafter, for the election of Governor on the same day in every third year thereafter, and for the election of senators of the first class, on the same day, in the second year after their election and classification, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter; and for the election of senators of the second class, on the same day in the fourth year after their election and classification, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter; and for the election of senators of the third class, on the same day, in the sixth year after their election and classification, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter.

25. In all elections for Governor, the city of Annapolis shall be deemed and taken as part of Anne-Arundel county.

26. The relation of master and slave, in this State, shall not be abolished, unless a bill so to abolish the same shall be passed by a unanimous vote of the members of each branch of the General Assembly, and shall be published at least three months before a new election of delegates, and shall be confirmed by a unanimous vote of the members of each branch of the General Assembly, at the next regular constitutional session after such new election, nor then, without full compensation to the master for the property of which he shall be thereby deprived.

27. The city of Annapolis shall continue to be the seat of government, and the place of holding the sessions of the Court of Appeals for the Western Shore, and the high Court of Chancery.

28. If this act shall be confirmed by the General Assembly, after a new election of delegates, in the first session after such new election, agreeably to the provisions of the Constitution and form of government, then and in such case, this act, and the alterations and amendments of the Constitution therein contained, shall be taken and considered, and shall constitute and be valid, as a part of said Constitution and form of government, anything in the said Constitution and form of government to the contrary notwithstanding.

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Or the original thirteen colonies, this was the largest. It was named Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, in honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England, who had granted him the country. He attempted to settle it, but failed. A grant was made of it to the London Company as early as 1606. Soon after, they sent out three ships with one hundred and five persons to begin a settlement. They located themselves at Jamestown, on the James river, in 1607. These adventurers suffered much for want of provisions, and in four months from the time of their landing, fifty of their little company had perished. In 1608, 120 new settlers arrived. In 1609, the London Company obtained a new charter, with greater power and privileges. When Charles II. was in exile, Va. invited him to become her King, which was prevented by his returning to England; hence Va. was called the old dominion. In 1619, the first legislative body ever held in America, met at Jamestown. As many had become dissatisfied, and contemplated returning to England, the London Company, in 1620, sent over more than ninety girls to be disposed of as wives among the young planters. At first the price was 100 lbs. of tobacco each, but the demand was so great, that it was increased to 160 lbs. The infant colony suffered much from the Indians, and for want of provisions; so that, in 1624, out of about 9000 persons who had come over, only 1800 were living.

In 1624 King James dissolved the London Company, assumed the government, and appointed a Governor. The colonists submitted reluctantly to this till 1636, when they took the government into their own hands, sending back to England the Governor appointed by the King. This State adopted its first Constitution in 1776, and its present one in 1830.

Virginia has the honor of being the birth-place of six of the Presidents of . the United States, viz.: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, and Tyler.

Area, 64,000 sq. m. Pop. in 1840, 1,239,797, of which 448,987 are slaves. Free colored, 49,834.

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