the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for, or against, the said bill or resolve, shall be entered upon the public records of the commonwealth. in case of ad the general And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, if any bill For exception or resolve shall not be returned by the governor within journment of five days after it shall have been presented, the same shall court within have the force of a law. 3 Mass. 567. the five days, see amendments, Art.I. judicatories, ord, etc. 12 Gray, 147, III. The general court shall forever have full power General court and authority to erect and constitute judicatories and may constitute courts of record, or other courts, to be held in the name courts of recof the commonwealth, for the hearing, trying, and deter- 8 Gray, 1. mining of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, 154. plaints, actions, matters, causes, and things, whatsoever, arising or happening within the commonwealth, or between or concerning persons inhabiting, or residing, or brought within the same: whether the same be criminal or civil, or whether the said crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the said pleas be real, personal, or mixed; and for the awarding and making out of execution thereupon. To which courts and judicatories are hereby given and Courts, etc., may administer granted full power and authority, from time to time, to oaths. administer oaths or affirmations, for the better discovery of truth in any matter in controversy or depending before them. may enact laws, 4 237. 557. 470. may enact the constitu IV. And further, full power and authority are hereby General court given and granted to the said general court, from time to etc. time to make, ordain, and establish, all manner of whole- Allen, 473. some and reasonable orders, laws, statutes, and ordinances, 12 Allen, 223, directions and instructions, either with penalties or with- 100 Mass. 544, out; so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this 116 Mass. 467, constitution, as they shall judge to be for the good and welfare of this commonwealth, and for the government laws, etc., not and ordering thereof, and of the subjects of the same, and repugnant to for the necessary support and defence of the government tion. thereof; and to name and settle annually, or provide by may provide fixed laws for the naming and settling, all civil officers for the election within the said commonwealth, the election and consti- of officers. tution of whom are not hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided for; and to set forth the several duties, powers, and limits, of the several civil and military officers of this commonwealth, and the forms of such oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively administered unto them for the execution of their several offices and 6 Allen, 358. or appointment 115 Mass. 602. may prescribe their duties. places, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to taxes, etc. See this constitution; and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and persons resident, and estates lying, within the said commonwealth; and also to impose and 8 Allen, 247, 253. levy reasonable duties and excises upon any produce, goods, wares, merchandise, and commodities, whatsoever, brought into, produced, manufactured, or being within 312, 313, 500, 612. the same; to be issued and disposed of by warrant, under the hand of the governor of this commonwealth for the time being, with the advice and consent of the council, for the public service, in the necessary defence and sup- port of the government of the said commonwealth, and the protection and preservation of the subjects thereof, And while the public charges of government, or any part thereof, shall be assessed on polls and estates, in the manner that has hitherto been practised, in order that such assessments may be made with equality, there shall be a valuation of estates within the commonwealth, taken anew once in every ten years at least, and as much oftener as the general court shall order. For the authority of the general court to charter cities, see amendments, Art. II. For the state wide referendum on bills and resolves of the general court, see amendments, For the power given the general court to provide by law for absentee voting, see amend- For the power given the general court to determine the manner of providing and dis- tributing the necessaries of life, etc., during time of war, public distress, etc., by the commonwealth and the cities and towns therein, see amendments, Art. XLVII. ARTICLE I. [There shall be annually elected, by the to councillors, general court, in assigning the numbers to be elected by the respective districts, shall govern themselves by the proportion of the public taxes paid by the said districts; and timely make known to the inhabitants of the common- For provision as wealth the limits of each district, and the number of coun- see amendcillors and senators to be chosen therein; provided, that xvI. the number of such districts shall never be less than thirteen; and that no district be so large as to entitle the same to choose more than six senators. ments, Art. And the several counties in this commonwealth shall, Counties to be districts, until, until the general court shall determine it necessary to etc. alter the said districts, be districts for the choice of councillors and senators, (except that the counties of Dukes County and Nantucket shall form one district for that purpose) and shall elect the following number for councillors and senators, viz.:- Suffolk, six; Essex, six; Middlesex, five; Hampshire, four; Plymouth, three; Barnstable, one; Bristol, three; York, two; Dukes County and Nantucket, one; Worcester, five; Cumberland, one; Lincoln, one; Berkshire, two.] Manner and senators and time of choosing councillors. See Arts. X, XV amendments, Provisions as to voters, super amendments, XXX., XXXI. II. The senate shall be the first branch of the legislature; and the senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz.: there shall be a meeting on the [first Monday in amendments, April,] annually, forever, of the inhabitants of each town and XLV. As in the several counties of this commonwealth; to be called to cities, see by the selectmen, and warned in due course of law, at Art. II. least seven days before the [first Monday in April,] for qualifications of the purpose of electing persons to be senators and coun- seded by cillors; [and at such meetings every male inhabitant of Arts. III., XX., twenty-one years of age and upwards, having a freehold XXVIII. estate within the commonwealth, of the annual income of and XXXII. three pounds, or any estate of the value of sixty pounds, ant" defined. shall have a right to give in his vote for the senators for amendments, the district of which he is an inhabitant.] And to remove which was all doubts concerning the meaning of the word "inhabit- annulled by ant" in this constitution, every person shall be considered 12 Gray, 21. as an inhabitant, for the purpose of electing and being elected into any office, or place within this state, in that town, district, or plantation where he dwelleth, or hath his home. Word "inhabit See also Art. XXIII., Art. XXVI. 122 Mass. 595, 597. preside at town The selectmen of the several towns shall preside at Selectmen to such meetings impartially; and shall receive the votes of meetings. all the inhabitants of such towns present and qualified to vote for senators, and shall sort and count them in Return of votes. As to cities, see amendments, Art. II. Time changed to first Wednes day of January. ments, Art. X. See amend Inhabitants of unincorporated plantations, who pay state taxes, may vote. Plantation meetings. Time of election changed by amend ments, Art. XV. Assessors to notify, etc. Governor and council to examine and count votes, and issue open town meeting, and in presence of the town clerk, who shall make a fair record, in presence of the selectmen, and in open town meeting, of the name of every person voted for, and of the number of votes against his name: and a fair copy of this record shall be attested by the selectmen and the town clerk, and shall be sealed up, directed to the secretary of the commonwealth for the time being, with a superscription, expressing the purport of the contents thereof, and delivered by the town clerk of such towns, to the sheriff of the county in which such town lies, thirty days at least before [the last Wednesday in May] annually; or it shall be delivered into the secretary's office seventeen days at least before the said [last Wednesday in May:] and the sheriff of each county shall deliver all such certificates by him received, into the secretary's office, seventeen days before the said [last Wednesday in May.] And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, qualified as this constitution provides, who are or shall be empowered and required to assess taxes upon themselves toward the support of government, shall have the same privilege of voting for councillors and senators in the plantations where they reside, as town inhabitants have in their respective towns; and the plantation meetings for that purpose shall be held annually [on the same first Monday in April], at such place in the plantations, respectively, as the assessors thereof shall direct; which assessors shall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the selectmen and town clerks have in their several towns, by this constitution. And all other persons living in places unincorporated (qualified as aforesaid) who shall be assessed to the support of government by the assessors of an adjacent town, shall have the privilege of giving in their votes for councillors and senators in the town where they shall be assessed, and be notified of the place of meeting by the selectmen of the town where they shall be assessed, for that purpose, accordingly. III. And that there may be a due convention of senators on the [last Wednesday in May] annually, the governor with five of the council, for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the returned copies of such Wednesday in records; and fourteen days before the said day he shall issue his summons to such persons as shall appear to be summonses. Time changed to first January by amendments, changed to amendments, chosen by [a majority of] voters, to attend on that day, amex and take their seats accordingly: provided, nevertheless, Majority that for the first year the said returned copies shall be plurality by examined by the president and five of the council of the Art. XIV. former constitution of government; and the said president shall, in like manner, issue his summons to the persons so elected, that they may take their seats as aforesaid. final judge of of its own to first January by Art. X. changed to Art. XIV. IV. The senate shall be the final judge of the elec- Senate to be tions, returns and qualifications of their own members, as elections, etc., pointed out in the constitution; and shall, [on the said members. last Wednesday in May] annually, determine and declare Time changed who are elected by each district to be senators [by a Wednesday of majority of votes; and in case there shall not appear to amendments, be the full number of senators returned elected by a Majority majority of votes for any district, the deficiency shall be plurality by supplied in the following manner, viz.: The members of amendments, the house of representatives, and such senators as shall be declared elected, shall take the names of such persons as shall be found to have the highest number of votes in such district, and not elected, amounting to twice the number of senators wanting, if there be so many voted for; and out of these shall elect by ballot a number of Vacancies, how senators sufficient to fill up the vacancies in such district; Changed to and in this manner all such vacancies shall be filled up in people. every district of the commonwealth; and in like manner ments, Art. all vacancies in the senate, arising by death, removal out XXIV. of the state, or otherwise, shall be supplied as soon as may be, after such vacancies shall happen.] filled. election by See amend of a senator. ification abol See amendments, Art. For further V. Provided, nevertheless, that no person shall be Qualifications capable of being elected as a senator, [who is not seised Property qualin his own right of a freehold, within this commonwealth, ished. of the value of three hundred pounds at least, or possessed of personal estate to the value of six hundred pounds at XIII least, or of both to the amount of the same sum, and] who provision as to has not been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for the also amendments, space of five years immediately preceding his election, and, at the time of his election, he shall be an inhabitant in the district for which he shall be chosen. residence, see . Art. adjourn more VI. The senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, Senate not to provided such adjournments do not exceed two days at a than two days. time. shall choose VII. The senate shall choose its own president, ap- its officers and point its own officers, and determine its own rules of establish its proceedings. rules. |