States; who shall not have been an inhabitant of this state one year; and who shall not, at the time of his election, have an actual residence in the district he may be chosen to represent. Meeting of the General Assembly. 7. The general assembly shall meet every two years, on the first Monday of November, at the seat of government, until altered by law. The Mode of Election, and Time, and Privilege of Electors. 8. All general elections shall be viva voce, until otherwise directed by law, and shall commence and be holden every two years, on the first Monday in October, until altered by law; and the electors, in all cases except in cases of treason, felony, and breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance on elections, and in going to and returning therefrom. Duty of Governor. 9. The governor shall issue writs of election, to fill such vacancies as shall occur in either house of the general assembly. 10. No judge of the supreme, circuit, or inferior courts of law or equity, secretary of state, attorney for the United States, state auditor or treasurer, register or recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, coroner, member of congress, nor any other person holding any lucrative office under the United States, or this state, (militia officers, justices of the peace, postmasters, and judges of the county courts, excepted,) shall be eligible to a seat in either house of the general assembly. 11. No person who now is, or shall be hereafter, a collector or holder of public money, nor any assistant or deputy of such holder or collector of public money, shall be eligible to a seat in either house of the general assembly, nor to any office of profit or trust, until he shall have accounted for and paid over all sums for which he may have been liable. 12. The general assembly shall exclude from every office of trust and profit, and from the right of suffrage within this state, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime. 13. Every person who shall have been convicted of directly or indirectly giving or offering any bribe, to procure his election or appointment, shall be disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit in this state; and any person who shall give or offer any bribe to procure the election or appointment of any person, shall, on conviction thereof, be disqualified from being an elector, or from holding any office of trust or profit under this state. 14. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during his continuance in office; except such offices as shall be filled by the election of the people. 15. Each house shall appoint its own officers, and shall judge of the qualifications, returns, and elections of its own members. Two-thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house shall provide. 16. Each house may determine rules of its own proceedings, punish its own members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same offence. They shall each, from time to time, publish a journal of their proceedings, except such parts as may, in their opinion, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the journal at the desire of any five members. 17. The door of each house, when in session, or in committee of the whole, shall be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy: and each house may punish, by fine and imprisonment, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous behaviour in their presence during their session; but such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of that session. 18. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended or rejected in the other; and every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, unless two-thirds of the house where the same is pending shall dispense with the rules; and every bill having passed both houses shall be signed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives. 19. Whenever an officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by the joint or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate vote of either house, of the general assembly, the vote shall be given viva voce, and entered on the journal. 20. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general assembly, and for fifteen days before the commencement and after the termination of each session; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 21. The members of the general assembly shall severally receive from the public treasury compensation for their services, which may be in- creased or diminished; but no alteration of such compensation of mem:bers shall take effect during the session at which it is made. The Manner of bringing Suits against the State. 1 22. The general assembly shall direct, by law, in what courts and in what manner suits may be commenced against the state. 23. They shall have power to pass all laws that are necessary to prohibit the introduction in this state of any slave or slaves who may have committed any high crime in any other state or territory. 24. The general assembly shall not have power to pass any bill of divorce; but may prescribe by law the manner in which such cases shall be investigated in the courts of justice, and divorces granted. 25. The general assembly shall have power to prohibit the introduction of any slave or slaves for the purpose of speculation, or as an article of trade and merchandise; to oblige the owners of any slave or slaves to treat them with humanity; and in the prosecution of slaves for any crime, they shall not be deprived of an impartial jury; and any slave who shall be convicted of a capital offence shall suffer the same degree of punishment as would be inflicted on a free white person, and no other; and courts of justice, before whom slaves shall be tried, shall assign them counsel for their defence. 26 The governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and all the judges of the supreme, circuit, and inferior courts of law and equity, and the prosecuting attorney for the state, shall be liable to impeachment for any malpractice or misdemeanour in office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend farther than removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honour, trust, or profit, under this state. The party impeached, whether convicted or acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to be indicted, tried, and punished, according to law. 27. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment; and all impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. When the governor shall be tried, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators elected; and for reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment, the governor shall, on the joint address of twothirds of each branch of the general assembly, remove from office the judges of the supreme and inferior courts: Provided, the cause or causes of removal be spread on the journals, and the party charged be notified of the same, heard by himself and counsel, before the vote is finally taken and decided. 28. The appointment of all officers not otherwise directed by this constitution, shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by law; and all officers, both civil and military, acting under the authority of this state, shall, before entry on the duties of their respective offices, take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States, and of this state, and to demean themselves faithfully in office. 29. No county now established by law shall ever be reduced, by the establishment of any new county or counties, to less than nine hundred square miles, nor to a less population than its ratio of representation in the house of representatives; nor shall any county be hereafter established which shall contain less than nine hundred square miles, (except Washington county, which may be reduced to six hundred square miles,) or a less population than would entitle such county to a member in the house of representatives. 30. The style of the laws of the state shall be, "Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Arkansas." 31. The state shall, from time to time, be divided into convenient districts, in such manner that the senate shall be based upon the free white male inhabitants of the state, each senator representing an equal number, as nearly as practicable; and until the first enumeration of the inhabitants is taken, the districts shall be arranged as follows: The county of Washington shall compose one district, and elect two senators; The counties of Carroll, Searcy, and Izard shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Independence and Jackson shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Lawrence and Randolph shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Johnson and Pope shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Crawford and Scott shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Conway and Van Buren shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Pulaski, White, and Saline shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Hot Spring, Clark, and Pike shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Hempstead and Lafayette shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Sevier and Miller shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Chicot and Union shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Arkansas and Jefferson shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Phillips and Monroe shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of St. Francis and Greene shall compose one district, and elect one senator; The counties of Crittenden and Mississippi shall compose one district, and elect one senator; And the senate shall never consist of less than seventeen nor more than thirty-three members; and as soon as the senate shall meet after the first election to be held under the constitution, they shall cause the senators to be divided by lot, into two classes, nine of the first class and eight of the second class; and the seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of two years from the time of their election, and the seats of the second class at the end of four years from the time of their election; in order that one class of the senators may be elected every two years. 32. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the state shall be taken under the direction of the general assembly, on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and at the end of every four years thereafter; and the general assembly shall, at the first session after the return of every enumeration, so alter and arrange the senatorial districts, that each district shall contain, as nearly as practicable, an equal number of free white male inhabitants; Provided, that Washington county, as long as the population shall justify the same, may, according to its numbers, elect more than one senator; and such districts shall then remain unaltered, until the return of another enumeration; and shall, at all times, consist of contiguous territory, and no county shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district. 33. The ratio of representation in the senate shall be fifteen hundred free white male inhabitants to each senator, until the senators amount to twenty-five in number; and then they shall be equally apportioned upon the same basis throughout the state, in such ratio as the increased numbers of free white male inhabitants may require, without increasing the senators to a greater number than twenty-five, until the population of the state amounts to five hundred thousand souls; and when an increase of senators takes place, they shall, from time to time, be divided by lot, and classed as prescribed above. 34. The house of representatives shall consist of not less than fifty-four nor more than one hundred representatives, to be apportioned among the several counties in this state, according to the number of free white male inhabitants therein, taking five hundred as the ratio, until the number of representatives amount to seventy-five; and when they amount to seventy-five, they shall not be farther increased until the population of the state amounts to five hundred thousand souls: Provided, that each county now organized shall, although its population may not give the existing ratio, always be entitled to one representative; and until the first enumeration shall be taken, the representatives shall be apportioned among the several counties as follows: The county of Washington shall elect six representatives. And at the first session of the legislature, after the return of every enumeration, the representatives shall be equally divided and reapportioned among the several counties, according to the number of free white males in each county, as above prescribed. Mode of amending the Constitution. 35. The general assembly may at any time propose such amendments to this constitution as two-thirds of each house shall deem expedient, which shall be published in all the newspapers published in this state, |
