AGREED TO AND RESOLVED UPON BY THE DELEGATES 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

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 diftinct, fo that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to the other; nor fhall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the fame time, except that the Justices of the county courts fhall be eligible to either House of Affembly.

The

The legislative shall be formed of two diftinct branches, who, together, shall be a complete legiflature. They shall meet once, or oftener, every year, and shall be called, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA. One of these shall be called, THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, and confift of two Reprefentatives to be chofen for each county, and for the diftri&t of WeftAugusta, 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 perfons having right of fuffrage therein shall have been for the space of feven years fucceffively less than half the number of voters in some one county in Virginia, such 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 conftitute a Houfe to proceed on bufinefs,

bufinefs, for whofe election the different counties fhall be divided into twenty-four districts, and each county of the refpective district, at the time of the election of its Delegates, shall vote for one Senator, who is actually a refident and freeholder within the diftrict, 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 diftrict, fhall meet at fome convenient place, and from the poll fo taken in their refpective 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 after the general election, the fix Members elected by the first divifion shall be displaced, 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 con- ́ tinued 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

its own Speaker, appoint its own officers, fettle its own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election for the fupplying intermediate vacan

cies.

All laws shall originate in the House of Delegates, to be approved of or rejected by the Senate, or to be amended with confent of the Houfe of Delegates; except money-bills, which in no inftance fhall be altered by the Senate, but wholly approved or rejected.

A Governor, or Chief Magiftrate, shall be chofen annually, by joint ballot of both Houses, to be taken in each House respectively, depofited in the conference-room, the boxes examined jointly by a Committee of each House, and the numbers severally reported to them, that the appointments may be entered (which shall be the mode of taking the joint ballot of both Houses in all cafes), who fhall not continue in that office longer than three years fucceffively, nor be eligible until the expiration of four years after he shall have been out of that office. An adequate, but moderate falary shall be settled on him during his continuance in office; and he fhall, with the advice of a Council of State, exercise the executive powers of government, according to the laws of this Commonwealth;

and

and shall not, under any pretence, exercise any power or prerogative by virtue of any law, ftatute, or custom of England: but he shall, with the advice of the Council of State, have the power of granting reprieves or pardons, except where the profecution shall have been carried on by the Houfe of Delegates, or the law fhall otherwife particularly direct; in which cases no reprieve or pardon fhall be granted, but by refolve of the Houfe of Delegates.

Either House of the General Assembly may adjourn themselves refpectively. The Governor fhall not prorogue or adjourn the Affembly during their fitting, nor diffolve them at any time; but he shall, if neceffary, either by advice of the Council of State, or on application of a majority of the House of Delegates, call them before the time to which they shall stand prorogued or adjourned.

A Privy-Council, or Council of State, confifting of eight Members, shall be chosen by joint ballot of both Houses of Affembly, either from their own Members or the people at large, to affift in the adminiftration of government. They shall annually chufe, out of their own Members, a Prefident, who, in cafe of death, inability, or absence of the Governor from the govern