ARTICLE 3.

Concerning the Executive Department.

§ 1. The supreme executive powers of this state shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the state of Louisiana.

2. The governor shall be elected for the term of four years, in the following manner: the citizens entitled to vote for representatives shall vote for a governor, at the time and place of voting for representatives and senators. Their votes shall be returned by the persons presiding over the elections to the seat of government, addressed to the president of the senate; and on the second day of the general assembly the members of the two houses shall meet in the house of representatives, and immediately after the two candidates who shall have obtained the greatest number of votes shall be balloted for, and the one having a majority of votes shall be governor: Provided, however, that if more than two candidates have obtained the highest number of votes, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to ballot for them in the manner above prescribed; and in case several candidates should obtain an equal number of votes next to the candidate who has obtained the highest number, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to select in the same manner the candidate who is to be balloted for, with him who has obtained the highest number of votes.

3. The governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of the time for which he shall have been elected.

4. He shall be at least thirty-five years of age, and a citizen of the United States, and have been an inhabitant of this state at least six years preceding his election, and shall hold in his own right a landed estate of five thousand dollars value agreeably to the tax list.

5. He shall commence the execution of his office on the fourth Monday succeeding the day of his election, and shall continue in the execution thereof until the end of four weeks next succeeding the election of his successor, and until his successor shall have taken the oath or affirmation prescribed by this constitution.

6. No member of congress, or person holding any office under the United States, or minister of any religious society, shall be eligible to the office of governor.

7. The governor 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.

8. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this state, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; but he shall not command personally in the field, unless he shall be advised so to do by a resolution of the general assembly.

9. He shall nominate and appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, judges, sheriffs, and all other officers whose offices are established by this constitution, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for: Provided, however, that the legislature shall have a right to prescribe the mode of appointment of all other offices to be established by law.

10. The governor shall have power to fill up vacancies that may hap

pen during the recess of the legislature, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session.

11. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and except in cases of impeachment, to grant reprieves and pardons, with the approbation of the senate. In cases of treason he shall have power to grant reprieves, until the end of the next session of the general assembly, in which the power of pardoning shall be vested.

12. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

13. He shall from time to time give to the general assembly information respecting the situation of the state, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.

14. He may on extraordinary occasions convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that should have become dangerous from an enemy or from contagious disorders; and in case of disagreement between the two houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not exceeding four months.

15. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

16. It shall be his duty to visit the different counties at least once in every two years, to inform himself of the state of the militia and the general condition of the country.

17. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation or absence from the state, the president of the senate shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of governor, until another be duly qualified, or the governor absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted.

18. The president of the senate, during the time he administers the government, shall receive the same compensation which the governor would have received, had he been employed in the duties of his office.

19. A secretary of state shall be appointed and commissioned during the term for which the governor shall have been elected, if he shall so long behave himself well: he shall keep a fair register, and attest all official acts and proceedings of the governor; and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before either house of the general assembly: and shall perform such other duties as may be enjoined him by law.

20. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be presented to the governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; 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 upon their journal, and proceed to reconsider it; if, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to that house, it shall be a law; but in such cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively: if any bill shall not be returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless

the general assembly by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting.

21. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by two-thirds of both houses.

22. The free white men of this state shall be armed and disciplined for its defence; but those who belong to religious societies whose tenets forbid them to carry arms, shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service.

23. The militia of this state shall be organized in such manner as may hereafter be deemed most expedient by the legislature.

ARTICLE 4.

Concerning the Judiciary Department.

§ 1. The judiciary powers shall be vested in a supreme court and inferior courts.

2. The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which jurisdiction shall extend to all civil cases when the matter in dispute shall exceed the sum of three hundred dollars.

3. The supreme court shall consist of not less than three judges, nor more than five; the majority of whom shall form a quorum: each of said judges shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars annually. The supreme court shall hold its sessions at the places hereinafter mentioned; and for that purpose the state is hereby divided into two districts of appellate jurisdiction, in each of which the supreme court shall administer justice, in the manner hereafter prescribed. The eastern district to consist of the counties of New Orleans, German Coast, Acadia, Lafourche, Iberville, and Point Coupee. The western district to consist of the counties of Attakapas, Oppelousas, Rapides, Concordia, Natchitoches, and Ouachitta. The supreme court shall hold its sessions in each year, for the eastern district, in December, January, February, March, April, May, June, and July; and for the western district, at the Oppelousas, during the months of August, September, and October, for five years: Provided, however, that every five years the legislature may change the place of holding said court in the western district. The said court shall appoint its own clerks.

4. The legislature is authorized to establish such inferior courts as may be convenient to the administration of justice.

5. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour; but, for any reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the governor shall remove any of them, on the address of three-fourths of each house of the general assembly: Provided, however, that the cause or causes for which such removal may be required shall be stated at length in the address, and inserted on the journal of each house.

6. The judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of the peace throughout the state; the style of all process shall be "The State of Louisiana." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by

the authority of the state of Louisiana, and conclude, against the peace and dignity of the same.

7. There shall be an attorney-general for the state, and as many other prosecuting attorneys for the state as may be hereafter found necessary. The said attorneys shall be appointed by the governor, with the ad-. vice and approbation of the senate. Their duties shall be determined' by law.

8. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the state of Louisiana, and sealed with the state seal, and signed by the go

vernor.

9. The state treasurer, and printer or printers of the state shall be appointed, annually, by the joint vote of both houses of the general assembly: Provided, that during the recess of the same, the governor shall have power to fill vacancies which may happen in either of the said offices.

10. The clerks of the several courts shall be removable for breach of good behaviour by the court of appeals only, who shall be judge of the fact as well as of the law.

11. The existing laws in this territory, when this constitution goes into effect, shall continue to be in force until altered or abolished by the legislature: Provided, however, that the legislature shall never adopt any system or code of laws, by a general reference to the said system or code: but in all cases shall specify the several provisions of the laws it may enact.

12. The judges of all courts within this state shall, as often as it may be possible so to do, in every definite judgment, refer to the particular law in virtue of which such judgment is founded.

ARTICLE 5.

Concerning Impeachment.

§ 1. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the house of representatives alone.

2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

3. The governor and all the civil officers shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanour in office; but judgment, in such cases, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honour, trust, or profit, under this state; but the parties convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law.

ARTICLE 6.

General Provisions.

1. Members of the general assembly, and all officers, executive and judicial, before they enter upon the execution of their respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I (A. B.) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, as according to the

best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regu lations of the constitution and the laws of this state: so help me God."

2. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his confession in open court.

3. Every person shall be disqualified from serving as governor, senator, or representative, for the term for which he shall have been elected, who shall have been convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election.

4. Laws shall be made to exclude from office and from suffrage those who shall thereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon, from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practices.

5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance of appropriations made by law; nor shall any appropriation of money, for the support of an army, be made for a longer term than one year; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published annually.

6. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties who may choose that summary mode of adjust

ment.

7. All civil officers for the state at large shall reside within the state; and all district or county officers, within their respective districts or counties, and shall keep their respective offices at such places therein as may be required by law.

8. The legislature shall determine the time of duration of the several public offices, when such time shall not have been fixed by the constitution; and all civil officers, except the governor, and judges of the superior and inferior courts, shall be removable by an address of two-thirds of the members of both houses; except those, the removal of whom has been otherwise provided for by this constitution.

9. Absence on the business of this state or of the United States shall not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive any one of the rights of suffrage, or of being elected or appointed to any office under this state, under the exceptions contained in this constitution.

10. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to regulate by law in what cases and what deduction from the salaries of public officers shall be made for neglect of duty in their official capacity.

11. Return of all elections for the members of the general assembly shall be made to the secretary of state for the time being.

12. The legislature shall point out the manner in which a man coming into the country shall declare his residence.

13. In all elections by the people, and also by the senate and house of representatives, jointly or separately, the votes shall be given by

ballot.

14. No member of congress, nor person holding or exercising any office of trust or profit under the United States, or either of them, or