run thus, The State of Maryland, &c. and shall be figned by the Governor, and attested by the Chancellor, with the Seal of the State annexed, except military commiffions, which shall not be attefted by the Chancellor, or have the Seal of the State annexed: That all writs fhall run in the fame ftile, and be tefted, fealed and figned as ufual: That all indictments fhall conclude, Against the Peace, Government, and Dignity of the State.

LVIII. That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the King or Proprietary, fhall go to the State, fave only fuch as the General Affembly may abolish or otherwise provide for.

LIX. That this Form of Government, and the Declaration of Rights, and no part thereof, shall be altered, changed, or abolished, unless a bill fo to alter, change, or abolish the fame, fhall pass the General Affembly, and be published at least three months before a new election, and shall be confirmed by the General Affembly after a new election of Delegates, in the first feffion after fuch new election: Provided, that nothing in this Form of Government which relates to the caftern shore particularly, fhall at any time hereafter be altered,

unlefs

unless for the alteration and confirmation thereof at least two-thirds of all the Members of each branch of the General Affembly shall

concur.

LX. That every bill paffed by the General Affembly, when engroffed, fhall be presented by the Speaker of the Houfe of Delegates, in the Senate, to the Governor for the time being, who fhall fign the fame, and thereto affix the Great Seal, in the prefence of the Members of both Houfes. Every law fhall be recorded in the General Court-Office of the western fhore, and in due time printed, published, and certified under the Great Seal, to the feveral county courts, in the fame manner as hath been heretofore used in this State.

This Form of Government was affented to, and paffed in Convention of the Delegates of the Freemen of Maryland, begun and held at the city of Annapolis, the 14th of August, A. D. 1776,

By order of the Convention,

M. TILGHMAN, PRESIDENT.

VIR

T 4

VIRGINIA.

THE

CONSTITUTION,

OR

FORM OF GOVERNMENT,

AGREED TO AND RESOLVED UPON BY THE DELE GATES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES AND CORPORATIONS OF VIRGINIA, IN A GENERAL CONVENTION HELD AT WILLIAMSBURGH, ON THE SIXTH OF MAY, AND CONTINUED BY ADJOURNMENTS TO THE FIFTH OF JULY, 1776.

WE

E, the Delegates and Reprefentatives of the good people of Virginia, do declare the future Form of Government of Virginia to be as followeth ;

The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments fhall be feparate and distinct, fo that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to the other; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the fame time, except that the Juftices of the county courts fhall be eligible to either House of Affembly.

The

The legislative shall be formed of two distinct branches, who, together, fhall be a complete legislature. They fhall meet once, or oftener, every year, and fhall be called, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA. One of these shall be called, THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, and confist of two Representatives to be chofen for each county, and for the district of WestAugufta, annually, of fuch men as actually refide in and are freeholders of the fame, or duly qualified according to law; and also of one Delegate or Representative to be chosen annually for the city of Williamsburgh, and one for the borough of Norfolk, and a Reprefentative for each of fuch other cities and boroughs as may hereafter be allowed particular representation by the legislature; but when any city or borough shall so decrease, as that the number of persons having right of fuffrage therein shall have been for the space of feven years fucceffively less than half the number of voters in fome one county in Virginia, fuch city or borough thenceforward fhall cease to send a Delegate or Representative to the Affembly.

The other fhall be called, THE SENATE, and confift of twenty-four Members, of whom thirteen shall constitute a House to proceed on

bufinefs,

bufinefs, for whofe election the different counties fhall be divided into twenty-four diftricts, and each county of the refpective district, at the time of the election of its Delegates, fhall vote for one Senator, who is actually a refident and freeholder within the district, or duly qualified according to law, and is upwards of twenty-five years of age; and the Sheriffs of each county, within five days at fartheft after the last county election in the district, fhall meet at fome convenient place, and from the poll fo taken in their respective counties, return as a Senator the man who shall have the greatest number of votes in the whole diftrict. To keep up this Affembly by rotation, the diftricts fhall be equally divided into four claffes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year At the end of one year after the general election, the fix Members elected by the first division shall be difplaced, and the vacancies thereby occafioned fupplied from such class or divifion, by new election in the manner aforefaid. This rotation fhall be applied to each divifion according to its number, and continued in due order annually.

The right of fuffrage in the election of Members for both Houfes fhall remain as exercised at present, and each House shall chuse

its