ville, and Plantation No. 3, in 6th range, one; Atkinson, Sebec, Foxcroft, Brownville, Williamsburgh, Plantation No. 1, in 7th range, and Plantation No. 3, in 7th range, one.

And the secretary of state pro tempore shall have the same powers and be subject to the same duties, in relation to the votes for governor, as the secretary of state has and is subject to by this constitution; and the election of governor shall, on the said last Wednesday in May, be determined and declared in the same manner as other elections of governor are by this constitution; and, in case of vacancy in said office, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall exercise the office as herein otherwise provided, and the councillors, secretary, and treasurer shall also be elected on the said day, and have the same powers, and be subject to the same duties, as is provided in this constitution; and in case of the death or other disqualification of the president of this convention, or of the secretary of state pro tempore, before the election and qualification of the governor or secretary of state under this constitution, the persons to be designated by this convention, at their session in January next, shall have all the powers and perform all the duties which the president of this convention, or the secretary pro tempore, to be by them appointed, shall have and perform.

SEC. 2. The period for which the governors, senators and representatives, councillors, secretary, and treasurer, first elected or appointed, are to serve in their respective offices and places shall commence on the last Wednesday in May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and continue until the first Wednesday of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two. SEC. 3. All laws now in force in this State, and not repugnant to this constitution, shall remain and be in force until altered or repealed by the legislature or shall expire by their own limitation.

SEC. 4. The legislature, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this constitution; and when any amendment shall be so agreed upon, a resolution shall be passed and sent to the selectmen of the several towns and the assessors of the several plantations, empowering and directing them to notify the inhabitants of their respective towns and plantations, in the manner prescribed by law, at their next annual meetings in the month of September, to give in their votes on the question whether such amendment shall be made; and if it shall appear that a majority of the inhabitants voting on the question are in favor of such amendment, it shall become a part of this constitution.

SEC. 5. All officers provided for in the sixth section of an act of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, passed on the 19th day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, entitled "An act relating to the separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts proper, and forming the same into a separate and independent State," shall continue in office, as therein provided; and the following provisions of said act shall be a part of this constitution; subject, however, to be modified or annulled, as therein is prescribed, and not otherwise, to wit:

"SECTION 1. Whereas it has been represented to this legislature that a majority of the people of the District of Maine are desirous of establishing a separate and inde.pendent government within said District: Therefore,

"Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the consent of this commonwealth be, and the same is hereby, given that the District of Maine may be formed and erected into a separate and independent State, if the people of the said District shall, in the manner and by the majority hereinafter mentioned, express their consent and agreement thereto, upon the following terms and conditions, and provided the Congress of the United States shall give its consent thereto before the fourth day of March next; which terms and conditions are as follows, viz:

"First. All the lands and buildings belonging to the commonwealth, within Massachusetts proper, shall continue to belong to said commonwealth; and all the lands belonging to the commonwealth within the District of Maine shall belong, the one-half thereof to the said commonwealth, and the other half thereof to the State to be formed within the said District, to be divided as is hereinafter mentioned; and the lands

within the said District which shall belong to the said commonwealth shall be free from taxation, while the title of said lands remains in the commonwealth; and the rights of the commonwealth to their lands within said District, and the remedies for the recovery thereof, shall continue the same within the proposed State, and in the courts thereof, as they now are within the said commonwealth, and in the courts thereof; for which purposes, and for the maintenance of its rights and recovery of its lands, the said commonwealth shall be entitled to all other proper and legal remedies, and may appear in the courts of the proposed State, and in the courts of the United States holden therein; and all rights of action for, or entry into lands, and of action upon bonds, for the breach of the performance of the condition of settling duties, so called, which have accrued, or may accrue, shall remain in this commonwealth, to be enforced, commuted, released, or otherwise disposed of, in such manner as this commonwealth may hereafter determine: Frovided, however, That whatever this commonwealth may hereafter receive or obtain on account thereof, if anything, shall, after deducting all reasonable charges relating thereto, be divided, one third part thereof to the new State, and two third parts thereof to this commonwealth.

"Second. All the arms which have been received by this commonwealth from the United States, under the law of Congress entitled, 'An act making provision for arming and equipping the whole body of militia of the United States,' passed April the twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall, as soon as the said District shall become a separate State, be divided between the two States, in proportion to the returns of the militia, according to which the said arms have been received from the United States as aforesaid.

"Third. All money, stock, or other proceeds, hereafter derived from the United States, on account of the claim of this commonwealth for disbursements made and expenses incurred for the defence of the State during the late war with Great Britain, shall be received by this commonwealth; and, when received, shall be divided between the two States, in the proportion of two-thirds to this commonwealth and one-third to the new State.

"Fourth. All other property, of every description, belonging to the commonwealth, shall be holden and receivable by the same, as a fund and security for all debts, annuities, and Indian subsidies or claims, due by said commonwealth; and within two years after the said District shall have become a separate State, the commissioners to be appointed, as hereinafter provided, if the said States cannot otherwise agree, shall assign a just portion of the productive property so held by said commonwealth, as an equivalent and indemnification to said commonwealth for all such debts, annuities, or Indian subsidies, or claims, which may then remain due or unsatisfied; and all the surplus of the said property, so holden as aforesaid, shall be divided between the said commonwealth and the said District of Maine, in the proportion of two-thirds to the said commonwealth and one-third to the said District; and if in the judgment of the said commissioners the whole of said property, so held as a fund and security, shall not be sufficient indemnification for the purpose, the said District shall be liable for and shall pay to said commonwealth one-third of the deficiency.

"Fifth. The new State shall, as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made for that purpose, assume and perform all the duties and obligations of this commonwealth towards the Indians within said District of Maine, whether the same arise from treaties or otherwise; and for this purpose shall obtain the assent of said Indians, and their release to this commonwealth of claims and stipulations arising under the treaty at present existing between the said commonwealth and said Indians; and, as indemnification to such new State therefor, this commonwealth, when such arrangements shall be completed, and the said duties and obligations assumed, shall pay to said new State the value of thirty thousand dollars, in manner following, viz: The said commissioners shall set off, by metes and bounds, so much of any part of the land within the said District falling to this commonwealth, in the division of the public lands hereinafter provided for, as in their estimation shall be of the value of thirty thousand dollars; and this commonwealth shall, thereupon, assign the same to the said new State, or in lieu thereof may pay the sum of thirty thousand dollars, at its election; which election of the said commonwealth shall be made within one year from the time

that notice of the doings of the commissioners on this subject shall be made known to the governor and council, and if not made within that time, the election shall be with the new State.

"Sixth. Commissioners, with the powers and for the purposes mentioned in this act, shall be appointed in manner following: The executive authority of each State shall appoint two, and the four so appointed, or the major part of them, shall appoint two more; but, if they cannot agree in the appointment, the executive of each State shall appoint one in addition; not, however, in that case, to be a citizen of its own State. And any vacancy happening with respect to the commissioners shall be supplied in the manner provided for their original appointment; and, in addition to the powers hereinbefore given to said commissioners, they shall have full power and authority to divide all the public lands within the District between the respective States, in equal shares or moieties, in severalty, having regard to quantity, situation, and quality; they shall determine what lands shall be surveyed and divided, from time to time, the expenses of which surveys and of the commissioners shall be borne equally by the two States. They shall keep fair records of their doings, and of the surveys made by their direction, copies of which records, authenticated by them, shall be deposited, from time to time, in the archives of the respective States, transcripts of which, properly certified, may be admitted in evidence in all questions touching the subject to which they relate. The executive authority of each State may revoke the power of either or both its commissioners, having, however, first appointed a substitute or substitutes, and may fill any vacancy happening with respect to its own commissioners; four of said commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business; their decision shall be final upon all subjects within their cognizance. In case said commission shall expire, the same not having been completed, and either State shall request the renewal or filling up of the same, it shall be renewed or filled up in the same manner as is herein provided for filling the same in the first instance, and with the like powers; and if either State shall, after six months' notice, neglect or refuse to appoint its commissioners, the other may fill up the whole commission.

"Seventh. All grants of lands, franchises, immunities, corporate or other rights, and all contracts for or grants of lands not yet located, which have been or may be made by the said commonwealth before the separation of said District shall take place, and having or to have effect within the said District, shall continue in full force after the said District shall become a separate State. But the grant which has been made to the president and trustees of Bowdoin College out of the tax laid upon the banks within this commonwealth shall be charged upon the tax upon the banks within the said District of Maine, and paid according to the terms of said grant; and the president and trustees and the overseers of said college shall have, hold, and enjoy their powers and privileges in all respects, so that the same shall not be subject to be altered, limited, annulled, or restrained, except by judicial process, according to the principles of law; and, in all grants hereafter to be made, by either State, of unlocated land within the said District, the same reservations shall be made for the benefit of schools and of the ministry as have heretofore been usual in grants made by this commonwealth. And all lands heretofore granted by this commonwealth to any religious, literary, or eleemosynary corporation or society shall be free from taxation while the same continues to be owned by such corporation or society.

"Eighth. No laws shall be passed in the proposed State with regard to taxes. actions, or remedies at law, or bars or limitations thereof, or otherwise making any distinction between the lands and rights of property of proprietors not resident in, or not citizens of, said proposed State, and the lands and rights of property of the citizens of the proposed State resident therein; and the rights and liabilities of all persons shall, after the said separation, continue the same as if the said District was still a part of this commonwealth, in all suits pending or judgments remaining unsatisfied on the fifteenth day of March next, where the suits have been commenced in Massachusetts proper and process has been served within the District of Maine, or commenced in the District of Maine and process has been served in Massachusetts proper, either by taking bail, making attachments, arresting and detaining persons, or otherwise, where execution remains to be done; and in such suits the courts within

Massachusetts proper, and within the proposed State, shall continue to have the same jurisdiction as if the said District had still remained a part of the commonwealth And this commonwealth shall have the same remedies within the proposed State as it now has for the collection of all taxes, bonds, or debts which may be assessed, due, made, or contracted by, to, or with the commonwealth on or before the said fifteenth day of March, within the said District of Maine, and all officers within Massachusetts proper and the District of Maine shall conduct themselves accordingly.

"Ninth. These terms and conditions, as here set forth, when the said District shall become a separate and independent State, shall, ipso facto, be incorporated into and become and be a part of any constitution, provisional or other, under which the government of the said proposed State shall, at any time hereafter, be administered, subject, however, to be modified or annulled by the agreement of the legislature of both the said States, but by no other power or body whatsoever."

SEC. 6. This constitution shall be enrolled on parchment, deposited in the secretary's office, and be the supreme law of the State, and printed copies thereof shall be prefixed to the books containing the laws of this State.

Done in convention October 29, 1819.

ROBERT C. VOSE, Secretary.

WILLIAM KING, President.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 1820.*

RATIFIED 1834.

ARTICLE I. The electors resident in any city may, at any meeting duly notified for the choice of representatives, vote for such representatives in their respective ward meetings, and the wardens in said wards shall preside impartially at such meetings, receive votes of all qualified electors present, sort, count, and declare them in open ward meetings, and in the presence of the ward clerk, who shall form a list of the persons voted for, with the number of votes for each person against his name; shall make a fair record thereof in the presence of the wardens, and in open ward meeting; and a fair copy of this list shall be attested by the warden and ward clerk, sealed up in open ward meeting, and delivered to the city clerk within twenty-four hours after the close of the polls. And the aldermen of any city shall be in session, at their usual place of meeting, within twenty-four hours after any election, and, in the presence of the city clerk, shall examine and compare the copies of said lists, and in case any person shall have received a majority of all the votes he shall be declared elected by the aldermen, and the city clerk of any city shall make a record thereof, and the aldermen and city clerk shall deliver certified copies of such lists to the person or persons so elected within ten days after the election. And the electors resident in any city may, at any meeting duly notified and holden for the choice of any other civil officers for whom they have been required heretofore to vote in town meeting, vote for such officers in their respective wards, and the same proceedings shall be had by the warden and ward clerk in each ward as in the case of votes for representatives. And the aldermen of any city shall be in session within twenty-four hours after the close of the polls in such meetings, and, in the presence of the city clerk, shall open, examine, and compare the copies from the lists of votes given in the several wards, of which the city clerk shall make a record, and a return thereof shall be made into the secretary of state's office, in the same manner as selectmen of towns are required to do.

* Several of the earlier amendments have been amended by others ratified at later dates.
† See article twelve of amendments.

RATIFIED 1837.

ART. II. No person, before conviction, shall be bailable for any of the crimes which now are or have been denominated capital offences since the adoption of the constitution, when the proof is evident or the presumption great, whatever the punishment of the crime may be.

RATIFIED 1839.

ART. III. All judicial officers now in office, or who may be hereafter appointed, shall, from and after the first day of March, in the year 1840, hold their offices for the term of seven years from the time of their respective appointments, (unless sooner removed by impeachment or by address of both branches of the legislature to the executive,) and no longer, unless reappointed thereto.

RATIFIED 1841.

ART. IV. The second section, article fourth, part first, of the constitution is amended by substituting the words "one hundred and fifty-one" for "not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred," before the word "members" in said section, so as to establish the number of representatives for the State at the number of one hundred and fifty-one; and the latter part of said section, being the words and sentences following: "and, whenever the number of representatives shall be two hundred, at the next annual meetings of election which shall thereafter be had, and at every subsequent period of ten years, the people shall give in their votes, whether the number of representatives shall be increased or diminished, and if a majority of votes are in favor thereof, it shall be the duty of the next legislature thereafter to increase or diminish the number by the rule hereinafter prescribed," shall not be a part of the constitution; but one hundred and fifty-one representatives shall be apportioned according to the rule in this constitution.

RATIFIED 1845.

ART. V.* The annual meeting of the legislature shall be on the second Wednesday of May in each year; and the governor and other State officers elected for the political year commencing on the first Wednesday of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, shall hold their offices till the second Wednesday of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fortysix.

RATIFIED 1848.

ART. VI. The credit of the State shall not be directly or indirectly loaned in any

case.

The legislature shall not create any debt or debts, liability or liabilities, on behalf of the State, which shall singly, or in the aggregate, with previous debts and liabilities hereafter incurred at any one time, exceed three hundred thousand dollars, except to suppress insurrection, to repel invasion, or for purposes of war; but this amendment shall not be construed to refer to any money that has been or may be deposited with this State by the Government of the United States, or to any fund which the State shall hold in trust for any Indian tribe.

ART. VII. The constitution of this State is amended in the fifth section of the first part of the fourth article, by striking out the words "a majority of all the," and inserting instead thereof the words "the highest number of," and by striking out the words "a majority," where they again occur in the same section, and inserting instead thereof the words "the highest number;" also in the first amendment to the constitution of this State, by striking out the words "a majority of all the," and inserting instead thereof the words "the highest number of."

RATIFIED 1851.

ART. VIII. The annual meeting of the legislature shall be on the first Wednesday of January in each year; and the governor and other State officers elected for the political year commencing on the second Wednesday of May, in the year of our

Annulled. See eighth amendment.