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this Constitution had not been adopted, and may be prosecuted in the name of the Commonwealth. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen, or may arise before the reorganization of the Judicial Department under this Constitution, may be prosecuted to judgment and execution, in the name of the Commonwealth.

"We, the representatives of the freemen of Kentucky, in convention assembled, in their name, and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and in virtue of the powers vested in us, as delegates from the counties respectively affixed to our names, do ordain and proclaim the foregoing to be the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from and after this day.

"Done at Frankfort this eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord. one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and in the fifty-ninth year of the Commonwealth."

ATTEST:

JAMES GUTHRIE,

President of the Convention, and member from the city of Louisville.
THO. S. HELM, Secretary of the Convention.
THO. D. TILFORD, Assistant Secretary.

[Signed by ninety-six delegates.]

CONSTITUTION OF LOUISIANA. 1864.*

PREAMBLE.

We, the people of the State of Louisiana, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

TITLE I.
EMANCIPATION.

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ARTICLE 1. Slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, are hereby forever abolished and prohibited throughout the State.

ART. 2. The Legislature shall make no law recognizing the right of property in man.

TITLE II.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

ARTICLE 3. The powers of the government of the State of Louisiana shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them shall be confined to a separate body of magistracy, to-wit: those which are Legislative to one, those which are Executive to another, and those which are Judicial to another.

ART. 4. No one of these departments, nor any person holding office in one of them, shall exercise power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

TITLE III.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

ARTICLE 5. The Legislative power of the State shall be vested in two distinct branches, the one to be styled "the House of Representatives," the other "the Senate," and both "the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana. ”

ART. 6. The members of the House of Representatives shall continue in service for the term of two years from the day of the closing of the general elections.

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ART. 7. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Monday in November every two years, and the election shall be completed in one day. The General Assembly shall meet annually on the first Monday in January, unless a different day be appointed by

* This State was included in the purchase from Spain in 1803, and was named in honor of Louis XIV. It became a State of the Union in 1812. A new Constitution was formed by a Convention in 1845, and adopted on the 14th of May of that year. A revision was recommended by a Convention assembled at Baton Rouge, July 31, 1852. A State Government, in sympathy with the rebellion, continued nominally in existence until the close of the war. This State passed an Ordinance of Secession, January 26, 1861. On the 4th of April 1864, a Convention, called in pursuance of a Proclama tion of Governor Hahn, under the auspices of the Federal Military Commandant of the Department, convened at New Orleans, and proceeded to form a new Constitution. On the 25th of July it adjourned to the call of its President, having repealed the Ordinance of Secession, and prepared the form of Constitution which we give in the text. This was ratified at a general election, on the first Monday of September, 1864.

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law, and their sessions shall be held at the seat of government. There shall also be a session of the General Assembly in the city of New Orleans, beginning on the first Monday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-four; and it shall be the duty of the Governor to cause a special election to be held for members of the General Assembly, in all the parishes where the same may be held, on the day of the election for ratification or rejection of this Constitution-to be valid in case of ratification; and in other parishes or districts he shall cause elections to be held as soon as it may become practicable, to fill the vacancies for such parishes or districts in the General Assembly. The term of office of the first General Assembly shall expire as though its members had been elected on the first Monday of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-three.

ART. 8. Every duly qualified elector under this Constitution shall be eligible to a seat in the General Assembly; Provided, That no person shall be a Representative or Senator unless he be, at the time of his election, a duly qualified voter of the Representative or Senatorial district from which he is elected.

ART. 9, Elections for the members of the General Assembly shall be held at the several election precincts established by law.

ART. 10. Representation in the House of Representatives shall be equal and uniform, and shall be regulated and ascertained by the number of qualified electors. Each par ish shall have at least one Representative. No new parish shall be created with a territory less than six hundred and twenty-five square miles, nor with a number of electors less than the full number entitling it to a Representative; nor when the creation of such new parish would leave any other parish without the said extent of territory and number of electors. The first enumeration by the State authorities, under this Constitution, shall be made in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six, the second in the year eighteen hundred and seventy; the third in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six; after which time the General Assembly shall direct in what manner the census shall be taken, so that it be made at least once in every period of ten years for the purpose of ascertaining the total population, and the number of qualified electors in each parish and election district; and in case of informality, omission or error, in the census returns from any district, the Legislature shall order a new census taken in such parish or election district.

ART. 11. At the first session of the Legislature after the making of each enumeration, the Legislature shall apportion the representation amongst the several parishes and election districts on the basis of qualified electors as aforesaid. A representative number shall be fixed, and each parish and election district shall have as many Representatives as the aggregate number of its electors will entitle it to, and an additional Representative for any fraction exceeding one-half the representative number. The number of Representatives shall not be more than one hundred and twenty, nor less thian ninety.

ART. 12. Until an apportionment shall be made, and elections held under the same, in accordance with the first enumeration to be made, as directed in article 10, the representation in the Senate and House of Representatives shall be as follows;

For the parish of Orleans, forty-four Representatives, to be elected as follows:

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And the State shall be divided into the following Senatorial districts: All that portion of the parish of Orleans lying on the left bank of the Mississippi river shall be divided into two Senatorial districts; the first and fourth districts of the city of New Orleans shall compose one district and shall elect five Senators; and the second and third districts of said city shall compose the other district, and shall elect four Senators.

The parishes of Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and all that part of the parish of Orleans on the right bank of the Mississippi river, shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parish of Jefferson shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of St. Charles and Lafourche shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of St. John the Baptist and St. James shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Ascension, Assumption and Terrebonne shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

The parish of Iberville shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parish of East Baton Rouge shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator. The parishes of West Baton Rouge, Point Coupee and West Feliciana shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators

The parish of East Feliciana shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator. The parishes of Washington, St. Tammany, St. Helena and Livingston shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Concordia and Tensas shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Madison and Carrol shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Morehouse, Ouachita, Union and Jackson shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

The parishes of Catahoula, Caldwell and Franklin shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Bossier, Bienville, Claiborne and Winn shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

The parishes of Natchitoches, Sabine, De Soto and Caddo shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

The parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette and Calcasieu shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

The parishes of St. Martin and Vermillion shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parish of St. Mary shall form one district, and shall elect one Senator.

The parishes of Rapides and Avoyelles shall form one district, and shall elect two Senators.

ART. 13. The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker and other officers. ART. 14. Every white male, who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and who has been a resident of the State twelve months next preceding the election, and the last three months thereof in the parish in which he offers to vote, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, shall have the right of voting.

ART. 15. The Legislature shall have power to pass laws extending suffrage to such other persons, citizens of the United States, as by military service, by taxation to support the government, or by intellectual fitness, may be deemed entitled thereto.

ART. 16. No voter, on removing from one parish to another within the State, shall lose the right of voting in the former until he shall have acquired it in the latter. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at, going to, or returning from elections.

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ART. 17. The Legislature shall provide by law that the names and residence of all qualified electors shall be registered in order to entitle them to vote; but the registry shall be free of cost to the elector.

ART. 18. No pauper, no person under interdiction, nor under conviction of any crime punishable with hard labor, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.

ART. 19. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election held in this State except in the parish of his residence, and, in cities and towns divided into election precincts, in the election precinct in which he resides.

ART. 20. The members of the Senate, shall be chosen for the term of four years. The Senate, when assembled, shall have the power to choose its own officers.

ART. 21. The Legislature, in every year in which they apportion representation in the House of Representatives, shall divide the State into Senatorial districts.

ART. 22. No parish shall be divided in the formation of a Senatorial district, the parish of Orleans excepted. And whenever a new parish shall be created, it shall be attached to the Senatorial district from which most of its territory was taken, or to another contiguous district, at the discretion of the Legislature, but shall not be attached to more than one district. The number of Senators shall be thirty-six; and they shall be apportioned among the Senatorial districts according to the electoral population contained in the several districts; Provided, That no parish be entitled to more than nine Senators. ART. 23. In all apportionments of the Senate, the electoral population of the whole State shall be divided by the number thirty-six, and the result produced by this division shall be the Senatorial ratio entitling a Senatorial district to a Senator. Single or contiguous parishes shall be formed into districts, having a population the nearest possible to the number entitling a district to a Senator; and if in the apportionment to make a parish or district fall short of or exceed the ratio, then a district may be formed having not more than two Senators, but not otherwise. No new apportionment shall have the effect of abridging the term of service of any Senator already elected at the time of making the apportionment. After an enumeration has been made, as directed in the tenth article. the Legislature shall not pass any law until an apportionment of representation in both Houses of the General Assembly be made.

ART. 24. At the first session of the General Assembly, after this Constitution takes effect, the Senators shall be equally divided by lot into two classes; the seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the term of the first House of Representatives; of the second class, at the expiration of the term of the second House of Representatives; so that one-half shall be chosen every two years, and a rotation thereby kept up perpetually. In case any district shall have elected two or more Senators, said Senators shail vacate their seats respectively at the end of the term aforesaid, and lots shall be drawn between them.

ART. 25. The first election for Senators shall be held at the same time that the election for Representatives is held; and thereafter there shall be elections of Senators at the same time with each general election of Representatives, to fill the places of those Senators whose term of service may have expired.

ART. 26. Not less than a majority of the members of each House of the General Assembly shall form a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be authorized by law to compel the attendance of absent members. ART. 27. Each House of the General Assembly shall judge of the qualifications, elections and return of its members; but a contested election shall be determined in such a manner as shall be directed by law.

ART. 28. Each House of the General Assembly may determine the rules of its proceeding, punish a member for disorderly behavior, and, with a concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member; but not a second time for the same offense.

ART. 29. Each House of the General Assembly shall keep and publish weekly a journal of its proceedings: and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journal.

ART. 30. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, any person not a member. for disrespectful and disorderly behavior in its presence. or for obstructing any of its proceedings. Such imprisonment shall not exceed ten days for any one offense.

ART. 31. Neither House, during the sessions of the General Assembly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

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ART. 32. The members of the General Assembly shall receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which shall be eight dollars per day, during their attendance, going to and returning from the sessions of their respective Houses. The compensation may be increased or diminished by law, but no alteration shall take effect during the period of service of the members of the House of Representatives by whom such alteration shall have been made. No session shall extend to a period beyond sixty days, to date from its commencement, and any legislative action had after the expiration of the said sixty days, shall be null and void. This provision shall not apply to the first Legislature which is to convene after the adoption of this Constitution.

ART. 33 The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respective Houses, and going to or returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House shall not be questioned in any other place.

ART. 34. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during the time such Senator or Representative was in office, except to such offices as may be filled by the election of the people.

ART. 35. No person, who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, whether State parish or municipal, or who may have been otherwise intrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, or to any office of profit or trust, under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, and for all public moneys with which he may have been intrusted.

ART. 36. No person, while he continues to exercise the functions of a clergyman of any religious denomination whatever, shall be eligible to the General Assembly.

ART. 37. No bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several days, it be read over in each House of the General Assembly, and free discussion allowed thereon; unless, in case of urgency, four-fifths of the House, where the bill shall be pending, may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule.

ART. 38. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose amendments, as in other bills; Provided, They shall not introduce any new matter, under the color of an amendment, which does not relate to raising revenue.

ART. 39. The General Assembly shall regulate, by law, by whom, and in what manner, writs of election shall be issued to fill the vacancies which may happen in either branch thereof.

ART. 40. The Senate shall vote on the confirmation or rejection of the officers to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, by yeas and nays; and the names of the Senators voting for and against the appointments, respectively, shall be entered on a journal to be kept for that purpose, and made public at the end of each session, or before.

ART. 41. Returns of all elections for members of the General Assembly shall be made to the Secretary of State.

ART. 42. In the year in which a regular election for a Senator of the United States is to take place, the members of the General Assembly shall meet in the hall of the House of Representatives on the second Monday following the meeting of the Legislature, and proceed to said election.

TITLE IV.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

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ARTICLE 43. The Supreme Executive power of the State shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Louisiana. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Lieutenant-Governor, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: The qualified electors for Representa-tives shall vote for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor at the time and place of voting for Representatives; the returns of every election shall be sealed up and transmitted by the proper returning officer to the Secretary of State, who shall deliver them to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the second day of the session of the General Assembly then to be holden. The Members of the General Assembly shall meet in the House of Representatives to examine and count the votes. The person having the greatest number of votes for Governor shall be declared duly elected; but if two or more persons shall be equal and the highest in the number of votes polled for Governor, one of them shall immediately be chosen Governor by joint vote of the members of the General Assembly. The person having the greatest number of votes polled for Lieutenant-Governor shall be Lieutenant-Governor; but if two or more persons shall be equal and highest in the number of votes polled for Lieutenant-Governor, one of them shall be immediately chosen Lieutenant-Governor by joint vote of the members. of the General Assembly.

ART. 44. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant-Governor who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been a citizen and resident within the State for the period of five years next preceding his election.

ART. 45. The Governor shall enter on the discharge of his duties on the second Monday of January next ensuing his election, and shall continue in office until the Monday next succeeding the day that his successor shall be declared duly elected, and shall have taken the oath or affirmation required by the Constitution.

ART. 46. No member of Congress, minister of any religious denomination, or any person holding office under the United States government, shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant-Governor.

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