ance 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 preside in the council, and be entitled to a vote on all questions in which they shall be divided in opinion; and in the absence of the governor the first named of the council shall preside, and as such shall also voté in all cases where the other 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 meing 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, if he shall qualify as such, shall hold or execute any office of profit, or receive the profits of any office exercised by any other person, during the time for which he shall be elected; nor shall any governor be capable of holding any other office of profit in this state while he acts as such; and no person holding a place of profit, or receiving any part of the profits thereof, or receiving the profits or any part of the profits arising on any agency for the supply of clothing or provisions for the army or navy, or holding any office under the United States, or any of them, or a minister or preacher of the gospel, of any denomination, or any person employed in the regular land service, or marine, of this or the United States, shall have a seat in the general assembly or the council of this state.

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 to congress or 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 to congress or 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 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 a 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 in each county by ballot, every third year, 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; and having served for three years, such person shall be ineligible for the four years next succeeding: 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 three years, the other person chosen as aforesaid, shall be commissioned by the governor to execute the said office for the residue of the said three years; the said person giving bond with security as aforesaid, and in case of his death, refusal, resignation, disqualifi cation, or removal out of the county, before the expiration of the said three years, the governor with the advice of the council, may nominate and commission a fit and proper person to execute the said office for such residue of the said three years; the said person giving bond and security 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 one thousand pounds current money; 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 every person who shall offer to vote for delegates, or for the electors of the senate, or for the sheriff, shall (if required by any three persons qualified to vote) before he be admitted to poll, take such oath or affirmation of support and fidelity to this state as this convention or the legislature shall direct.

44. That a justice of the peace may be eligible as a senator, delegate, or member of the council, and may continue to act as a justice of the peace.

45. That no field officer of the militia shall be eligible as a senator, delegate, or member of the council.

46. That all civil officers hereafter to be appointed for the several counties of this state shall have been residents of the county respectively for which they shall be appointed, six months next before their appointment, and shall continue residents of their county respectively during their continuance in office.

47. 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, or from their respective shores, of the clerks of the general court, or either of them, in the vacation of the said court; and in case of the refusal, death, resignation, disqualification, 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.

48. 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 regular 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.

49. 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.

50. That the governor, every member of the council, and every judge and justice, 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 most fit and best qualified for the office, and that he has not made, nor will make any promise or engagements to give his vote or interest in favor of any person.”

51. 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.

52. 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."

53. 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 of public accounts, shall receive directly or indirectly, at any time the profits or any part of the profits of any office, held by any other person, during his acting in the office to which he is appointed, his election, appointment and commission, 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 this state forever, or disqualified forever, from holding any office or place of trust or profit, as the court may adjudge.

54. "That if any person shall give any bribe, present, or reward, or any promise, or any security for the payment or delivery of any money, or any other thing, to obtain or procure a vote, to be governor, senator, delegate to congress, or assembly, member of the council, or judge, or to be appointed to any of the said offices, or to any office of profit or trust, now created or hereafter to be created in this state, the person giving and the person receiving the same, on conviction in a court of law, shall be forever disqualified to hold any office of trust or profit in this state.

55. "That every person appointed to any office of profit or trust shall, before he enters on the execution thereof, take the following oath, to wit, "I, A. B. do swear, That I do not hold myself bound in allegiance to the king of Great Britain, and that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the state of Maryland." And shall also subscribe a declaration of his belief in the christian religion.

56. "That there be a court of appeals, composed of persons of integrity and sound judgment in the law, whose judgment shall be final and conclusive in all cases of appeal, from the general court, court of chancery, and court of admiralty: That one person of integrity and sound judgment in the law, be appointed chancellor : That three persons of integrity and sound judgment in the law, be appointed judges of the court now called the provincial court; and that the same court be hereafter called and known by the name of the general court; which court shall sit on the western and eastern shores for transacting and determining the business of their respective shores, at such times and places as the future legislature of this state shall direct and appoint.

57. "That the style of all laws run thus, "Be it enacted by the general assembly of Maryland:" That all public commissions and