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that year military duty in the militia of this State; or who shall be exempted from performing militia duty in consequence of being a fireman in any city, town or village in this State: And also, every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been, for three years next preceding such election, an inhabitant of this State, and for the last year a resident in the town or county where he may offer his vote; and shall have been, within the last year, assessed to labor on the public highways, and shall have performed the labor, or paid an equivalent therefor, according to law; shall be entitled to vote in the town or ward where he actually resides, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be, elective by the people. But no man of color, unless he shall have been for three years a citizen of this State, and for one year next preceding any election shall be seized and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged thereon; and shall have been actually rated, and paid a tax thereon, shall be entitled to vote at any such election. And no person of color shall be subject to direct taxation, unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as aforesaid.

2. Laws may be passed, excluding from the right of suffrage persons who have been, or may be, convicted of infamous crimes.

3. Laws shall be made for ascertaining, by proper proofs, the citizens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage, hereby established.

4. All elections by the citzens shall be by ballot, except for such town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen.

ARTICLE III.'

SEC. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor. He shall hold his office for two years; and a Lieutenant-Governor shall be chosen for the same time, and for the same term.

2. No person, except a native citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the office of Governor, nor shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not be a freeholder, and shall not have attained the age of thirty years, and have been for five years a resident within the State; unless he shall have been absent during that time on public business of the United States, or of this State.

3. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the times and places of choosing members of the Legislature. The persons respectively having the highest number of votes for Governor, and Lieutenant-Governor, shall be elected; but in case two or more shall have an equal and the highest number of votes for Governor, or for Lieutenant-Governor, the two houses of the Legislature shall, by joint ballot, choose one of the said persons, so having an equal and the highest number of votes, for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor.

4. The Governor shall be general and commander-in-chief of all the militia, and admiral of the navy of the State. He shall have power to convene the Legislature (or the Senate only) on extraordinary occasions. He shall communicate by message to the Legislature, at every session, the condition of the State; and recommend such matters to them as he shall judge expedient. He shall transact all necessary business with the officers of government, civil and military. He shall expedite all such measures as may be resolved upon by the Legislature, and shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. He shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected.

5. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction, for all offences, except treason and cases of impeachment. Upon convictions for treason, he shall have power to suspend the execution of the sentence, until the case shall be reported to the Legislature at its next meeting; when the Legislature shall either pardon or direct the execution of the criminal, or grant a further reprieve.

6. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, or his removal from office, death, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor for the residue of the term, or until the Governor absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted. But when the Governor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the State in time of war, at the head of a military force thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief of all the military force of the State.

7. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Senate, but shall have only a casting vote therein. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or be absent from the

State, the President of the Senate shall act as Governor, until the vacancy shall be filled, or the disability shall cease.

ARTICLE IV.

SEC. 1. Militia officers shall be chosen, or appointed, as follows: Captains, subalterns, and non-commissioned officers shall be chosen by the written votes of the members of their respective companies. Field-officers of regiments, and separate battalions, by the written votes of the commissioned officers of the respective regiments, and separate battalions. Brigadier-generals, by the field officers of their respective brigades. Major-generals, brigadier-generals, and commanding officers of giments or separate battalions, shall appoint the staff-officers to their respective divisions, brigades, regiments, or separate battalions.

2. The Governor shall nominate, and, with the consent of the Senate, appoint, all major-generals, brigade-inspectors, and chiefs in the staff departments, except the adjutant-general and commissary-general. The adjutant-general shall be appointed by the Governor.

3. The Legislature shall, by law, direct the time and manner of electing militia officers, and of certifying their elections to the Governor.

4. The commissioned officers of the militia shall be commissioned by the Governor; and no commissioned officer shall be removed from office unless by the Senate on the recommendation of the Governor, stating the grounds on which such removal is recommended, or by the decision of a court-martial, pursuant to law. The present officers of the militia shall hold their commission, subject to removal as before provided.

5. In case the mode of election and appointment of militia officers directed, shall not be found conducive to the improvement of the militia, the Legislature may abolish the same, and provide by law for their appointment and removal, if two-thirds of the members present in each house shall concur therein.

6. The Secretary of State, comptroller, treasurer, attorney-general, surveyor-general, and commissary-general, shall be appointed as follows: The Senate and Assembly shall each openly nominate one person for the said offices respectively: after which, they shall meet together, and if they shall agree in their nominations, the person so nominated shall be appointed to the office for which he shall be nominated. If they shall 'disagree, the appointment shall be made by the joint ballot of the senators and members of Assembly. The treasurer shall be chosen annually. The Secretary of State, comptroller, attorney-general, surveyor-general, and commissary-general, shall hold their offices for three years, unless sooner removed by concurrent resolution of the Senate and Assembly.

7. The Governor shall nominate, by message, in writing, and with the consent of the Senate, shall appoint all judicial officers, except justices of the peace, who shall be appointed in manner following, that is to say: The board of supervisors in every county in this State, shall, at such times as the Legislature may direct, meet together: and they or a majority of them so assembled, shall nominate so many persons as shall be equal to the number of justices of the peace to be appointed in the several towns in the respective counties. And the judges of the respective county courts, or a majority of them, shall also meet and nominate a like number of persons: and it shall be the duty of the said boards of supervisors, and judges of county courts, to compare such nominations, at such time and place as the Legislature may direct; and if, on such comparison, the said boards of supervisors and judges of county courts shall agree in their nominations, in all or in part, they shall file a certificate of the nominations in which they shall agree in the office of the clerk of the county; and the person or persons named in such certificates shall be justices of the peace; and in case of disagreement in whole or in part, it shall be the further duty of the said boards of supervisors and judges, respectively, to transmit their said nominations, so far as they disagree in the same, to the Governor, who shall select from the said nominations, and appoint so many justices of the peace as shall be requisite to fill the vacancies. Every person appointed a justice of the peace shall hold his office for four years, unless removed by the county court, for causes particularly assigned by the judges of the said court. And no justice of the peace shall be removed, until he shall have notice of the charges made against him, and an opportunity of being heard in his defense.

8. Sheriffs, and clerks of counties, including the register, and clerks of the city and county of New York, shall be chosen by the electors of the respective counties, once in every three years, and as often as vacancies shall happen. Sheriffs shall hold no other office, and be ineligible for the next three years after the termination

of their offices. They may be required by law to renew their security, from time to time, and in default of giving such new security, their offices shall be deemed vacant. But the county shall never be made responsible for the acts of the sheriff. And the Governor may remove any such sheriff, clerk, or register, at any time within the three years for which he shall be elected, giving to such sheriff, clerk, or register, a copy of the charges against him, and an opportunity of being heard in his defense before any removal be made.

9. The clerks of courts, except those clerks whose appointment is provided for in the preceding section, shall be appointed by the courts of which they respectively are clerks; and district attorneys, by the county courts. Clerks of courts, and district attorneys, shall hold their offices for three years, unless sooner removed by the courts appointing them.

10. The mayors of all the cities in this State shall be appointed annually by the common councils of their respective cities.

11. So many coroners as the Legislature may direct, not exceeding four in each county, shall be elected in the same manner as sheriffs, and shall hold their offices for the same term, and be removable in like manner.

12. The Governor shall nominate, and, with the consent of the Senate, appoint masters and examiners in chancery; who shall hold their offices for three years, unless sooner removed by the Senate, on the recommendation of the Governor. The registers, and assisting-registers, shall be appointed by the chancellor, and hold their offices during his pleasure.

13. The clerk of the courts of oyer and terminer and general sessions of the peace, in and for the city and county of New York, shall be appointed by the court of general sessions of the peace in said city, and hold his office during the pleasure of the said court; and such clerks and other officers of courts, whose appointment is not herein provided for, shall be appointed by the several courts; or by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, as may be directed by law.

14. The special justices, and the assistant-justices, and their clerks in the city of New York, shall be appointed by the common council of this said city; and shall hold their offices for the same term that the justices of the peace, in the other counties in this State, hold their offices, and shall be removable in like manner.

15. All officers heretofore elective by the people shall continue to be elected; and all other officers whose appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, and all officers, whose offices may be hereafter created by law, shall be elected by the people, or appointed as may by law be directed.

16. Where the duration of any office is not prescribed by this Constitution, it may be declared by law; and if not so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the appointment.

ARTICLE V.

SEC. 1. The court for the trial of impeachments and the correction of errors, shall consist of the President of the Senate, the senators, the chancellor, and the justices of the Supreme Court, or the major part of them: but when an impeachment shall be prosecuted against the chancellor, or any justice of the Supreme Court, the person so impeached shall be suspended from exercising his office, until his acquittal: and when an appeal from a decree in chancery shall be heard, the chancellor shall inform the court of the reasons for his decree, but shall have no voice in the final sentence; and when a writ of error shall be brought on a judgment of the Supreme Court, the justices of that court shall assign the reasons for their judgment, but shall not have a voice for its affirmance or reversal.

2. The Assembly shall have the power of impeaching all civil officers of this State for mal and corrupt practices in office, and high crimes and misdemeanors: but a majority of all the members elected shall concur in an impeachment. Before the trial of an impeachment, the members of the court shall take an oath or affirmation, truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence: and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than the removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under this State; but the party convicted shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to law.

3. The chancellor, and justices of the Supreme Court, shall hold their offices during good behavior, or until they shall attain the age of sixty years.

4. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief-justice and two justices, any of whom may hold the Court.

5. The State shall be divided, by law, into a convenient number of circuits, not less than four, nor exceeding eight, subject to alteration by the Legislature, from time to time, as the public good may require; for each of which a circuit judge shall be appointed, in the same manner, and hold his office by the same tenure, as the justices of the Supreme Court; and who shall possess the powers of a justice of the Supreme Court at chambers, and in the trial of issues joined in the Supreme Court, and in courts of oyer and terminer and jail delivery. And such equity powers may be vested in the said circuit judges, or in the county courts, or in such other subordinate courts, as the Legislature may by law direct, subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the chancellor.

6. Judges of the county courts, and recorders of cities, shall hold their offices for five years, but may be removed by the Senate, on the recommendation of the Governor, for causes to be stated in the recommendation.

7. Neither the chancellor, nor justices of the Supreme Court, nor any circuit judges, shall hold any other office or public trust. All votes for any elective office, given by the Legislature or the people, for the chancellor, or a justice of the Supreme Court, or circuit judge, during his continuance in his judicial office, shall be void.

ARTICLE VI.

SEC. 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, except such inferior officers as may by law be exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of according to the

best of my ability.

And no other oath, declaration, or test, shall be required as a qualification for any office of public trust.

ARTICLE VII.

SEC. 1. No member of this State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers.

2. The trial by jury, in all cases in which it has been heretofore used shall remain inviolate forever; and no new court shall be instituted, but such as shall proceed according to the course of the common law; except such courts of equity as the Legislature is herein authorized to establish.

3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State to all mankind; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse any acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State.

4. And whereas the ministers of the gospel are, by their profession, dedicated to the service of God, and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions: therefore, no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatsoever, shall, at any time hereafter, under any pretence or description whatever, be eligible to, or capable of holding any civil or military office or place within this State.

5. The militia of this State shall, at all times hereafter, be armed and disciplined, and in readiness for service; but all such inhabitants of this State, of any religious denomination whatever, as from scruples of conscience may be averse to bearing arms, shall be excused therefrom, by paying to the State an equivalent in money; and the Legislature shall provide by law for the collection of such equivalent, to be estimated according to the expense in time and money of an ordinary able-bodied militia-man..

6. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its suspension.

7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime [except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of the militia when in actual service; and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep, with the consent of Congress, in time of peace, and in case of petit larceny, under the regulation of the Legislature], unless on presentment or indictment, of a grand jury; and in every trial on impeachment or indictment, the party accused shall be allowed counsel as in civil actions. No person shall be subject for the same offence to be

twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law: nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

8. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press. In all prosecutions, or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury, that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

9. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the public moneys or property for local or private purposes, or creating, continuing, altering, or renewing any body politic or corporate.

10. The proceeds of all lands belonging to this State, except such parts thereof as may be reserved or appropriated to public use, or ceded to the United States, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, together with the fund denominated the common school fund, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated and applied to the support of common schools throughout this State. Rates of toll, not less than those agreed to by the canal commissioners, and set forth in their report to the Legislature on the twelfth of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, shall be imposed upon, and collected from, all parts of the navigable communication between the great western and nothern lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, which now are, or hereafter shall be, made and completed; and the said tolls, together with the duties on the manufacture of all salt, as established by the act of the fifteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen: and the duties on goods sold at auction, excepting therefrom the sum of thirty-three thousand five hundred dollars, otherwise appropriated by the said act; and the amount of the revenue, established by the act of the Legislature of the thirtieth of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, in lieu of the tax upon steamboat passengers; shall be and remain inviolably appropriated and applied to the completion of such navigable communications, and to the payment of the interest, and reimbursement of the capital, of the money already borrowed, or which hereafter shall be borrowed to make and complete the same. And neither the rates of toll on the said navigable communications, nor the duties on the manufacture of salt aforesaid, nor the duty on goods sold at auction, as established by the act of the fifteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen; nor the amount of the revenue, established by the act of March the thirtieth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, in lieu of the tax upon steamboat passengers; shall be reduced or diverted, at any time, before the full and complete payment of the principal and interest of the money borrowed, or to be borrowed, as aforesaid. And the Legislature shall never sell or dispose of the salt springs belonging to this State, nor the land contiguous thereto, which may be necessary or convenient for their use, nor the said navigable communications, or any part or section thereof, but the same shall be and remain the property of this State. 11. No lottery shall hereafter be authorized in this State; and the Legislature shall pass laws to prevent the sale of all lottery tickets within this State, except in lotteries already provided for by law.

12. No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this State, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made, of or with the Indians in this State, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent of the Legislature.

13. Such parts of the common law, and of the acts of the Legislature of the colony of New York, as together did form the law, of the said colony on the nineteenth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and the resolutions of the Congress of the said colony, and of the convention of the State of New York, in force on the twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and seventyseven, which have not since expired, or been repealed, or altered, and such acts of the Legislature of this State as are now in force, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such alterations as the Legislature shall make concerning the same. But all such parts of the common law, and such of the said acts, or parts thereof, as are repugnant to the Constitution, are herereby abrogated.

14. All grants of land within this State, made by the King of Great Britain, or persons acting under his authority, after the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, shall be null and void; but nothing contained in

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