27. "That the delegates to congress from this state shall be chosen annually or superseded in the mean time by the joint ballot of both houses of assembly, and that there be a rotation in such manner that at least two of the number be annually changed, who shall not be eligible for two years then next to come: and that no person who holds any office of profit in the gift of congress shall be eligible to sit in congress, but if appointed to any such office his seat shall be thereby vacated: That no person unless above twenty-five years of age, and a resident in this state more than five years next preceding the election, and having real and personal estate in this state above the value of one thousand pounds current money, shall be eligible to sit in congress.

28. "That the senators and delegates, immediately on their annual meeting, and before they proceed to any business, and every person hereafter elected a senator, or delegate, before he acts as such, shall take such oath of support and fidelity to this state as aforesaid, and before the election of the governor, or members of the council shall take an oath "to elect without favour, effection, partiality or prejudice, such person, as governor, or member of the council, as they, in their judgment and conscience, believe best qualified for the office."

29. "That the senate and delegates may adjourn themselves respectively; but if the two houses should not agree on the same time, but adjourn to different days, then shall the governor appoint and notify one of those days or some day between, and the assembly shall then meet and be held accordingly, and he shall, if necessary, by advice of the council call them before the time to which they shall in any manner be adjourned, on giving not less than ten days notice thereof, but the governor shall not adjourn the assembly otherwise than as aforesaid, nor prorogue or dissolve it at any time,

30." That no person unless above twenty-five years of age, a resident in this state above five years next preceding the election, and having in the state real and personal property above the value of five thousand pounds current money, one thousand pounds, whereof at least to be of freeehold estate, shall be eligible as gov

ernor.

31. "That the governor shall not continue in that office longer than three years sucessively, nor be eligible as governor until the expration of four years after he shall have been out of that office.

32. "That upon the death, resignation, or removal out of this state of the governor, the first named of the council for the time being shall act as governor, and qualify in the same manner, and

shall immediately call a meeting of the general assembly, giving not less than fourteen days notice of the meeting, at which meeting a governor shall be appointed in manner aforesaid, for the residue of the year.

33. "That the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the council, may embody the militia, and when embodied, shall alone have the direction thereof, aud shall also have the direction of all the regular land and sea forces under the laws of this state, but he shall not command in person unless advised thereto by the council, and then only so long as they shall approve thereof, and may alone exercise all other the executive powers of government, where the concurrence of the council is not required, according to the laws of this state, and grant reprieves or pardons for any crime, except in such cases where the law shall otherwise direct; and may, during the recess of the general assembly, lay embargoes to prevent the departure of any shipping, or the exportation of any commodities, for any time not exceeding thirty days in any one year, summoning the general assembly to meet within the time of the continuance of such embargo, and may also order and compel any vessel to ride quarantine, if such vessel, or the port from which she shall have come, shall, on strong grounds be suspected to be infected with the plague; but the governor shall not, under any pretence, exercise any power or prerogative, by virtue of any law, statute, or custom of England or Great Britain.

34. "That the members of the council, or any three or more of them, when convened, shall constitute a board for the transacting of business; that the governor for the time being shall always be the president of the council, and as such entitled to a vote on all questions in which they shall be divided in opinion; and in the ab sence of the governor the first named of the council shall act as vice president, and as such shall also vote in all cases where the members disagree in their opinion.

35. "That in case of refusal, death, resignation, disqualification or removal out of the state, by any person chosen a member of the council, the members thereof, immediately thereupon, or at their next meeting thereafter, shall elect by ballot, another person, qualified as aforesaid, in his place, for the residue of the year.

36. "That the council shall have power to make the great seal of this state, which shall be kept by the chancellor for the time being, and affixed to all laws, commissions, grants, and other public testimonials, as has been heretofore practised in this state.

37. "That no senator, delegate of the assembly, or member of the council, shall be capable of holding any office of profit in this state,

during the time he shall act as senator, delegate of the assembly, or member of the council; nor shall any governor be capable of holding any other office of profit in this state while he acts as such.

38. "That every governor, senator, delegate to congress or assembly, and member of the council, before he acts as such, shall take an oath, "That he will not receive directly or indirectly, at any time, any part of the profits of any office, held by any other person during his acting in his office of governor, senator, delegate to congress or assembly, or member of the council, or the profits, or any part of the profits arising on any agency, for the supply of clothing or provisions for the army or navy."

39. "That if any senator, delegate of the assembly, or member of the council, shall hold or execute any office of profit, or receive directly or indirectly, at any time, the profits or any part of the profits of any office exercised by any other person, during his acting as senator, delegate of the assembly, or member of the council, his seat, on conviction in a court of law, by the oath of two credible witnesses, shall be void, and he shall suffer the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, or be banished from this state forever, or disqualified forever from holding any office or place of trust or profit, as the court may adjudge.

40. "That the chancellor, all judges, the attorney general, clerks of the general court, the clerks of the county courts, the register of the land-office, and the register of wills, shall hold their commissions during good behaviour, removable only for misbehaviour, on conviction in a court of law.

41. "That there be a register of wills appointed for each county, who shall be commissioned by the governor, on the joint recommendation of the senate and house of delegates, and that upon the death, resignation, disqualification, or removal out of the county, by any register of wills in the recess of the general assembly, the governor, with the advice of the council, may appoint and commission fit and proper person to such vacant office, to hold the same until the meeting of the general assembly.

42. That sheriffs shall be elected annually in each county by ballot, that is to say, two persons for the office of sheriff for each county, the one of whom having the majority of votes, or if both have an equal number, either of them, at the discretion of the governor, to be commissioned by the governor for the said office; no person to continue in the said office more than three successive years, or be capable of being again elected during four years afterwards: bond with security to be taken every year as usual, and no sheriff shall be qualified to act before the same is given. In case

of death, refusal, resignation, disqualification, or removal out of the county, before the expiration of the year, the other person chosen as aforesaid, shall be commissioned by the governor to execute the said office for such residue of the year as shall be unexpired ; the said person giving bond with security as aforesaid, and in case of his death, refusal, resignation, disqualification, or removal out of the county, before the expiration of the year, the governor with the advice of his council, may nominate and commission a fit and proper person to execute the said office for such residue of the year as shall be then unexpired; the said person giving bond and secu rity as aforesaid; the election shall be held at the same time and place appointed for the election of delegates, and the justices there summoned to attend for the preservation of the peace shall be judges thereof, and of the qualification of candidates, who shall appoint a clerk to take the ballots: all freemen above the age of twenty-one years, having a freehold of fifty acres of land in the county in which they offer to ballot, and residing therein, and all freemen above the age of twenty-one years, and having property in the state above the value of thirty pounds current money, and having resided in the county in which they offer to ballot one whole year next preceding the election, shall have a right of suffrage; no person to be eligible to the office of sheriff for a county but an inhabitant of the said county, above the age of twenty-one years, and having real and personal property in the state above the value of the justices aforesaid shall examine the ballots, and the two candidates properly qualified, having in each county the majority of legal ballots, shall be declared duly elected for the office of sheriff for such county, and returned to the governor and council, with a certificate of the number of ballots for each of them.

43. "That the judges of the general court and justices of the county courts, may appoint the clerks of their respective courts, and in case of refusal, death, resignation, disqualification, or removal out of the state, of the clerk of the general court in the vacation of the said court; and in case of the refusal, death, resignation, disqualification, or removal out of the county of any of the said county clerks in the vacation of the county court of which he is clerk, the governor with the advice of the council may appoint and commission a fit and proper person to such vacant office respectively, to hold the same until the meeting of the next general court or county court, as the case may be.

44. "That the governor for the time being, with the advice and consent of the council, may appoint the chancellor, and all judges and justices, the attorney general, naval officers, officers in the re

gular land and sea service, officers of the militia, registers of the land office, surveyors, and all other civil officers of government (assessors, constables and overseers of the roads only excepted) and may also suspend or remove any civil officer who has not a commission, during good behaviour, and may suspend any militia officer for one month, and may also suspend or remove any regular officer in the land or sea service; and the governor may remove or suspend any militia officer in pursuance of the judgment of a court martial.

45. "That all civil officers, of the appointment of the governor and council, who do not hold commissions during good behaviour, shall be appointed annually in the third week of November, but if any of them shall be re-appointed, they may continue to act without any new commission or qualification; and every officer though not re-appointed shall continue to act until the person who shall be appointed and commissioned in his stead, shall be qualified.

46. "That the governor, and every member of the council, before they act as such, shall respectively take an oath, " that he will not, through favor, affection, or partiality, vote for any person to office, and that he will vote for such person as in his judgment and conscience he believes best qualified for the office, and that he has not made, nor will make, any promise or engagement to give his vote or interest in favor of any person."

47. "That there be two registers of the land office, one upon the western, and one upon the eastern shore; that short extracts of the grants and certificates of the land on the western and eastern shores respectively be made in separate books, at the public expense, and deposited in the offices of the said registers, in such manner as shall hereafter be provided by the general assembly.

48. "That every chancellor, judge, register of wills, commissioner of the loan office, attorney general, sheriff, treasurer, naval officer, register of the land office, register of the chancery court, and every clerk of the common law courts, surveyor, and auditor of public accounts, before he acts as such, shall take an oath "that he will not directly or indirectly receive any fee or reward for doing his office of but what is or shall be allowed by law, nor will directly or indirectly receive the profits or any part of the profits of any office held by any other person, and that he does not hold the same office in trust or for the benefit of any other person."

49. "That if any governor, chancellor, judge, register of wills, attorney general, register of the land office, commissioner of the loan office, register of the chancery court, or any clerk of the common law courts, treasurer, naval officer, sheriff, surveyor, or auditor