the House of Representatives, with the concurrence of the Senate. In case of a vacancy in the office of State treasurer in the recess of the General Assembly, either through omission of the General Assembly to appoint, or by the death, removal out of the State, resignation, or inability of the State treasurer, or his failure to give security, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment to continue until the next meeting of the General Assembly. The State treasurer shall settle his accounts annually with the General Assembly, or a committee thereof, which shall be appointed at every biennial session. No person who hath served in the office of State treasurer shall be eligible to a seat in either house of the General Assembly until he shall have made a final settlement of his accounts as treasurer and discharged the balance, if any, due thereon. SEC. 17. No act of incorporation, except for the renewal of existing corporations, shall be hereafter enacted without the concurrence by two-thirds of each branch of the legislature; and with a reserved power of revocation by the legislature; and no act of incorporation which may be hereafter enacted, shall continue in force for a longer period than twenty years, without the re-enactment of the legislature, unless it be an incorporation for public improvement.* [The legislature shall have power to enact a general incorporation act to provide incorporation for religious, charitable, literary and manufacturing purposes, for the preservation of animal and vegetable food, building and loan associations, and for Chap. 1, vol. 15. draining low lands; and no attempt shall be made, in such act or otherwise, to limit or qualify the power of revocation reserved to the legislature in this section.]

Corporations.

Amendment

ARTICLE III.

SEC. 1. The supreme executive powers of the State shall be Executive. vested in a Governor.

Governor.

Election.

SEC. 2. The Governor shall be chosen by the citizens of the State. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up and immediately delivered by the returning officers of the Election returns. several counties to the Speaker of the Senate, or in case of the vacancy of the office of the Speaker of the Senate, or his absence from the State, to the Secretary of State, who shall keep the same until a Speaker of the Senate shall be appointed to whom they shall be immediately delivered after his appointment, who shall open and publish the same in the presence of the members of both

Election in case of the vote.

Contested Elections.

Tenure of office.

Houses of the legislature. Duplicates of the said returns shall also be immediately lodged with the prothonotary of each county. The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor : but if two or more shall be equal in the highest number of votes, the members of the two houses shall, by joint ballot, choose one of them to be Governor; and if, upon such ballot, two or more of them shall still be equal and highest in votes, the Speaker of the Senate shall have an additional casting vote.

Contested elections of a governor shall be determined by a joint committee, consisting of one-third of all the members of each branch of the legislature, to be selected by ballot of the houses respectively every person of the committee shall take an oath or affirmation, that in determining the said election, he will faithfully discharge the trust reposed in him; and the committee shall always sit with open doors.

SEC. 3. The governor shall hold his office during four years from the third Tuesday of January next ensuing his election; and shall not be eligible a second time to said office.

SEC. 4. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a Qualifications. citizen and inhabitant of the United States twelve years next before the first meeting of the legislature after his election, and the last six of that term an inhabitant of this State unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this State. SEC. 5. No member of Congress, nor person holding any office under the United States or this State, shall exercise the office of governor.

Disqualification.

Compensation.

Commander-in

chief.

Appointments to offices.

Incompatible offices.

SEC. 6. The governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services an adequate salary, to be fixed by law, which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.

SEC. 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.

SEC. 8. He shall appoint all officers whose offices are established by this Constitution, or shall be established by law, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for; but no person shall be appointed to an office within a county, who shall not have a right to vote for representatives, and have been an inhabitant therein one year next before his appointment, nor hold the office longer than he continues to reside in the county. No member

of Congress, nor any person holding or exercising any office under the United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise the office of judge, treasurer, attorney-general, secretary, prothonotary, register for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration, recorder, sheriff, or any office under this State, with a salary by law annexed to it, or any other office which the legislature shall declare incompatible with offices or appointments under the United States. No person shall hold more than one of the following offices at the same time, to-wit: Treasurer, attorney-general, prothonotary, Commissions. register or sheriff. All commissions shall be in the name of the State, shall be sealed with the great seal, and be signed and attested by the governor.

SEC. 9. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and Pardon. to grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. He shall set forth in writing, fully, the grounds of all reprieves, pardons and remissions, to be entered in the register of his official acts, and laid before the general assembly at their next session. SEC. 10. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

Information.

to general as

SEC. 11. He shall from time to time give to the general assem-Communications bly information of affairs concerning the State and recommend to sembly. their consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient.

adjourning gen

SEC. 12. He may on extraordinary occasions convene the general Convening and assembly; and in case of disagreement between the two houses eral assembly. with respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not exceeding three months.

SEC. 13. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. SEC. 14. Upon any vacancy happening in the office of governor by his death, removal, resignation, or inability, the Speaker of the Senate shall exercise the office until a governor elected by the people shall be duly qualified. If there be no Speaker of the Senate, or upon a further vacancy happening in the office by his death, removol, resignation or inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall exercise the office until a governor elected by the people shall be duly qualified. If the person elected governor shall die, or become disqualified, before the commencement of his term of office, or shall refuse to take the same, the person holding the office shall continue to exercise it, until a governor shall be elected and duly qualified. If upon a va

Vacancy.

Secretary of
State

Elections.

Amendment

Chap. 541, vol. 9.

cancy happening in the office of Governor, there be no other person who can exercise said office within the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary of State shall exercise the same until the next meeting of the general assembly, who shall immediately proceed to elect by joint ballot of both houses, a person to exercise the office until a Governor elected by the people shall be duly qualified. If a vacancy occur in the office of Governor, or if the Governor-elect die, or become disqualified, before the commencement of his term, or refuse to take the office, an election for Governor shall be held at the next general election, unless the vacancy happen within six days next preceding the election, exclusive of the day of the happening of the vacancy and the day of the election; in that case, if an election for Governor would not have been held at said election, without the happening of such vacancy, no election for Governor shall be held at said election in consequence of such vacancy. If the trial of a contested election shall continue longer than until the third Tuesday of January next ensuing the election of a Governor, the Governor of the last year, or the Speaker of the Senate, or of the House of Representatives, who may then be in the exercise of the executive authority, shall continue therein until a determination of such contested election. The Governor shall not be removed from his office for inability but with the concurrence of twothirds of all the members of each branch of the legislature.

SEC. 15. A secretary shall be appointed and commissioned during the Governor's continuance in office, if he shall so long behave himself well. He shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall when required by either branch of the legislature, lay the same, and all papers, minutes and vouchers. relative thereto, before them, and shall perform such other duties as shall be enjoined him by law. a compensation for his services to be fixed by law.

ARTICLE IV.

He shall have

SEC. 1. [All elections for Governor, Senators, Representatives, Sheriffs and Coroners shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November of the year in which they are to be held, and be by ballot.]

[But the legislature may by law prescribe the means, methods and instruments of voting so as to best secure secrecy and the independence of the voter; preserve the freedom and purity of elections and prevent fraud, corruption and intimidation thereat.]

And in such elections every free white male citizen, of the age of twenty-two years or upwards, having resided in the State one year next before the election, and the last month thereof in the county where he offers to vote, and having within two years next before the election, paid a county tax, which shall have been assessed at least six months before the election, shall enjoy the right of an elector; and every free white male citizen of the age of twenty-one years and under the age of twenty-two years, having resided as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote without payment of any tax: Provided that no person in the military, naval or marine service of the United States, shall be considered as acquiring a residence in this State, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval place or station within this State; and no idiot, or insane person, pauper, or person convicted of a crime deemed by law felony, shall enjoy the right of an elector; and that the legislature may impose the forfeiture of the right of suffrage as a punishment for crime.

ог

SEC. 2. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from them.

ARTICLE V.

SEC. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching but two-thirds of all the members must concur in an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to the evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators.

SEC. 2. The governor, and all other civil officers under this State, shall be liable to impeachment for treason, bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office. Judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under this State; but party convicted shall nevertheless be subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.

SEC. 3. Treason against this State shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to the enemies of the government, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

Votes.

Privileges.

Impeachments.

Treason.