17. The military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil autnority. 18. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free government, and shall never be allowed; nor shall the law of primogeniture or entailments ever be in force in this State. 19. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 20. No power of suspending laws in this State shall be exercised, except by the Legislature or its authority. 21. To guard against transgressions of the high powers herein delegated, we declare that everything in this "bill of rights" is excepted out of the general powers of Government, and shall forever remain inviolate; and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. ARTICLE II. SEC. 1. The powers of the government of the State of Texas shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them 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; and no person, or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly attached to either of the others, except in the instances herein expressly permitted. ARTICLE III.-Legislative Department. SEC. 1. Every free male person who shall have attained the age of twentyone years, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, or who is, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, a citizen of the republic of Texas, and shall have resided in this State one year next preceding an election, and the last six months within the district, county, city, or town, in which he offers to vote (Indians not taxed, Africans and descendants of Africans, excepted), shall be deemed a qualified elector; and should such qualified elector happen to be in any other county situated in the district in which he resides at the time of an election, he shall be permitted to vote for any district officer: provided, that the qualified electors shall be permitted to vote anywhere in the State for State officers: and provided, further, that no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, shall be entitled to vote at any election created by this Constitution. 2. All free male persons over the age of twenty-one years (Indians not taxed, Africans and descendants of Africans, excepted), who shall have resided six months in Texas, immediately preceding the acceptance of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, shall be deemed qualified electors. 3. Electors in all cases shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same, except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 4. The legislative powers of this State shall be vested in two distinct branches; the one to be styled the Senate, and the other the House of Representatives, and both together the "Legislature of the State of Texas." The style of all laws shall be, "Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas." 5. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the qualified electors, and their term of office shall be two years from the day of the general election; and the sessions of the Legislature shall be biennial, at such times as shall be prescribed by law. 6. No person shall be a representative, unless he be a citizen of the United States, or at the time of the adoption of this Constitution a citizen of the republic of Texas, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a citizen of the county, city, or town for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twentyone years at the time of his election. 7. All elections by the people shall be held at such time and olaces, in the several counties, cities, or towns, as are now, or may hereafter be, designated by law. 8. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of four years; and shall be divided by lot into two classes, as nearly equal as can be. The seats of senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first two years, and of the second class at the expiration of four years; so that one-half thereof shall be chosen biennially thereafter. 9. Such mode of classifying new additional senators shall be observed, as will as nearly as possible preserve an equality of number in each class. 10. When a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be separated by any county belonging to another district. 11. No person shall be a senator unless he be a citizen of the United States, or at the time of the acceptance of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, a citizen of the republic of Texas; and shall have been an inhabitant of this State three years next preceding the election, and the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, and have attained the age of thirty years. 12. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a Speaker and its other officers; and the Senate shall choose a President for the time being and its other officers. Each house shall judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members; but contested elections shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law. 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 may provide. 13. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence. 14. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall at the desire of any three members present be entered on the journals. 15. When vacancies happen in either house, the Governor, or the person exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancy. 16. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except in treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the Legislature is convened. 17. Each house may punish by imprisonment during the session, any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly conduct, in its presence; or for obstructing any of its proceedings: provided such imprisonment shall not at any one time exceed 48 hours. 18. The doors of each house shall be kept open. 19. Neither house 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, without the concurrence of both houses. 20. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered, or rejected by the other; but no bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several days, it be read in each house, and free discussion be allowed thereon, unless, in case of great emergency, four-fifths of the house in which the bill shall be pending may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; and every bill having passed both houses, shall be signed by the Speaker and President of their respective houses. 21. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may amend or reject them, as other bills. 22. After a bill or resolution has been rejected by either branch of the Legislature, no bill or resolution containing the same substance shall be passed into a law during the same session. 23. Each member of the Legislature shall receive from the public treasury a compensation for his services, which may be increased or diminished by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase shall be made. 24. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he may be elected, be eligible to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which may have been increased, during the term; and no member of either house of the Legislature shall, during the term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appointment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either branch of the Legislature; nor shall the members thereof be capable of voting for a member of their own body, for any office whatever, except it be in such cases as are herein provided. The President for the time being of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall be elected from their respective bodies. 25. No judge of any court of law or equity, secretary of state, attorney-general, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, or collector, or any person holding a lucrative office under the United States, or this State, or any foreign government, shall be eligible to the Legislature, nor shall at the same time hold or exercise any two offices, agencies, or appointments of trust or profit under this State: provided, that offices of the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, or the office of justice of the peace, shall not be deemed lucrative. 26. No person, who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the Legislature, 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 entrusted. 27. Ministers of the gospel being by their profession dedicated to God and the care of souls, ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to the Legislature. 28. Elections for senators and representatives shall be general throughout the State, and shall be regulated by law. 29. The Legislature shall, at their first meeting, and in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and fifty, and every eight years thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the free inhabitants (Indians not taxed, Africans and descendants of Africans, excepted) of the State, designating particularly the number of qualified electors; and the whole number of representatives shall, at the several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the Legislature, and apportioned among the several counties, cities or towns, according to the number of free population in each; and shall not be less than forty-five, nor more than ninety. 30. Until after the first enumeration and apportionment under this Constitution, the following shall be the apportionment of representatives amongst the several counties, viz.: The county of Montgomery shall elect four representatives; the counties of Red River, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Harris, and Washington, shall elect three representatives each; the counties of Fannin, Lamar, Bowie, Shelby, San Augustine, Rusk, Houston, Sabine, Liberty, Robertson, Galveston, Brazoria, Fayette, Colorado, Austin, Gonzales, and Bexar, two representatives each; the counties of Jefferson, Jasper, Brazos, Milan, Bastrop, Travis, Matagorda, Jackson, Fort Bend, Victoria, Refugio, Goliad, and San Patricio, one representative each. 31. The whole number of senators shall, at the next session after the several periods of making the enumeration, be fixed by the Legislature, and apportioned among the several districts to be established by law, according to the number of qualified electors, and shall never be less than nineteen, nor more than thirty-three. 32. Until the first enumeration, as provided for by this Constitution, the senatorial districts shall be as follows, to wit: The counties of Fannin and Lamar shall constitute the first district, and elect one senator; the counties of Red River and Bowie, the second district, and elect one senator; the counties of Fannin, Lamar, Red River, and Bowie, conjointly, shall elect one senator; the county of Harrison, the third district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Nacogdoches, Rusk, and Houston, the fourth district, shall elect two senators; the counties of San Augustine and Shelby, the fifth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Sabine and Jasper, the sixth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Liberty and Jefferson, the seventh district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Robertson and Brazos, the eighth district, shall elect one senator; the county of Montgomery, the ninth district, shall elect one senator; the county of Harris, the tenth district, shall elect one senator; the county of Galveston, the eleventh district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Brazoria and Matagorda, the twelfth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Austin and Fort Bend, the thirteenth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Colorado and Fayette, the fourteenth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Bastrop and Travis, the fifteenth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Washington and Milan, the sixteenth district, shall elect one senator; the counties of Victoria, Gonzales, and Jackson, the seventeenth district, shall elect one senator; the county of Bexar, the eighteenth district, shall elect one senator; and the counties of Goliad, Refugio, and San Patricio, the nineteenth district, shall elect one senator. 33. The first session of the Legislature, after the adoption of the Constitution by the Congress of the United States, shall be held at the city of Austin, the present seat of government, and thereafter, until the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty; after which period, the seat of government shall be permanently located by the people. 34. The members of the Legislature shall at their first session receive from the treasury of the State, as their compensation, three dollars for each day they shall be in attendance on, and three dollars for every twenty-five miles traveling to and from the place of convening the Legislature. 35. In order to settle permanently the seat of government, an election shall be holden throughout the State, at the usual places of holding elections, on the first Monday in March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-which shall be conducted according to law-at which time the people shall vote for such place as they may see proper for the seat of government. The returns of said election to be transmitted to the Governor by the first Monday in June: if either place voted for shall have a majority of the whole number of votes cast, then the same shall be the permanent seat of government until the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy, unless the State shall sooner be divided. But in case neither place voted for shall have the majority of the whole number of votes given in, then the Governor shall issue his proclamation for an election to be holden in the same manner, on the first Monday in October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, between the two places having the highest number of votes at the first election. The election shall be conducted in the same manner as at the first, and the returns made to the Governor; and the place having the highest number of votes shall be the seat of government for the time herein provided. ARTICLE IV.-Judicial Department. SEC. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, in district courts, and in such inferior courts as the Legislature may from time to time ordain and establish; and such jurisdiction may be vested in corporation courts as may be deemed necessary, and be directed by law. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief-Justice and two associates, any two of whom shall form a quorum. 3. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with the limits of the State; but, in criminal cases, and in appeals from interlocutory judgments, with such exceptions and under such regu lations as the Legislature shall make; and the Supreme Court and judges thereof shall have power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law, may issue writs of mandamus, and such other writs as shall be necessary to enforce its own jurisdiction; and also compel a judge of the district court to proceed to trial and judgment in a cause; and the Supreme Court shall hold its sessions once every year, between the months of October and June, inclusive, at not more than three places in the State. 4. The Supreme Court shall appoint its own clerks, who shall hold their offices for four years, and be subject to removal by the said Court for neglect of duty, misdemeanor in office, and such other causes as may be prescribed by law. 5. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, shall appoint the judges of the Supreme and district courts, and they shall hold their offices for six years. 6. The State shall be divided into convenient judicial districts. For each district there shall be appointed a judge, who shall reside in the same, and hold the courts at one place in each county, and at least twice in each year, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 7. The judges of the Supreme Court shall receive a salary not less than two thousand dollars annually, and the judges of the district court a salary not less than seventeen hundred and fifty dollars annually; and the salaries of the judges shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office. 8. The judges of the Supreme and district courts shall be removed by the Governor, on the address of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature, for wilful neglect of duty, or other reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment; provided, however, that the cause or causes for which such removal shall be required, shall be stated at length in such address, and entered on the journals of each house: and provided, further, that the cause or causes shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed; and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defense, before a vote for any such address shall pass; and, in all such cases, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of each house respectively. 9. All judges of the Supreme and district courts shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. The style of all writs and processes shall be, "The State of Texas." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the "State of Texas," and conclude," against the peace and dignity of the State." 10. The district court shall have original jurisdiction of all criminal cases, of all suits in behalf of the State to recover penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, and of all cases of divorce, and of all suits, complaints, and pleas whatever, without regard to any distinction between law and equity, when the matter in controversy shall be valued at, or amount to, one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest; and the said courts, or the judges thereof, shall have power to issue all writs necessary to enforce their own jurisdiction, and give them a general superintendence and control over inferior jurisdictions. And in the trial of all criminal cases, the jury trying the same shall fine and assess the amount of punishment to be inflicted, or fine imposed, except in oapital cases, and where the punishment or fine imposed shall be specifically imposed by law. 11. There shall be a clerk of the district court for each county, who shall be elected by the qualified voters for members of the Legislature, and who shall hold his office for four years, subject to removal by information, or by presentment of a grand jury, and conviction of a petit jury. In case of vacancy, the judge of the district shall have the power to appoint a clerk until a regular election can be held. 12. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, appoint an Attorney-General, who shall hold his office for two years; and there shall be elected, by joint vote of both houses of the Legislature, a district-attorney for each district, who shall hold his office for two years; and the duties, salaries, and perquisites of the Attorney-General and district-attorneys, shall be prescribed by law. 13. There shall be appointed for each county a convenient number of justices of the peace, one sheriff, one coroner, and a sufficient number of constables, |