IN CONVENTION HELD AT CONCORD, the last Wednesday OF May, 1792, BY adjournment.

Whereas upon examining the returns from the several towns and unincorporated places, it appears that under the heads senate, governor and council, many articles are approved by two thirds of the voters; and many are not approved, by reason whereof said amendments are rendered inconsistant, and contradictory: And the convention not having the power to reject what has been approved by the people as aforesaid,

THEREFORE, resolved, That articles be again sent out to be laid before the several towns and unincorporated places, on the twenty seventh day of August next, that the whole may be approved or rejected; and that return thereof be made to the convention on the fifth day of September next. And that the articles which have been already approved by more than two thirds of the voters, and not inconsistant or contradictory, be printed, that it may be known what articles have been ratified by the people.

And whereas, if the articles now sent out are not approved by two thirds of the qualified voters, the last clause in the exclusion bill, which is in the following words, "No member of the council shall have a seat in the senate or house of representatives," will be repugnant to other parts of the constitution - Therefore resolved, That an article be sent out for expunging said clause.

ARTICLE.

"No member of the council shall have a seat in the senate or house of representatives," shall be expunged.

SENATE.

The senate shall consist of twelve members, who shall hold their office for one year from the first Wednesday of June next ensuing their election.

And that the State may be equally represented in the senate, the legislature shall, from time to time, divide the state into twelve districts, as nearly equal as may be without dividing towns and unincorporated places; and in making this division, they shall govern

themselves by the proportion of direct taxes paid by the said districts, and timely make known to the inhabitants of the state the limits of each district.

The freeholders and other inhabitants of each district, qualified as in this constitution is provided shall annually give in their votes for a senator, at some meeting holden in the month of March.

The senate shall be the first branch of the legislature; and the senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz. Every male inhabitant of each town, and parish with town privileges, and places unincorporated, in this state, of twenty-one years of age and upwards, excepting paupers, and persons excused from paying taxes at their own request, shall have a right, at the annual or other meetings of the inhabitants of said towns and parishes, to be duly warned and holden annually forever in the month of March, to vote in the town or parish wherein he dwells, for the senator in the district whereof he is a member.

Provided nevertheless, That no person shall be capable of being elected a senator, who is not of the Protestant religion, and seized of a freehold estate, in his own right, of the value of two hundred pounds, lying within this state, who is not of the age of thirty years, and who shall not have been an inhabitant of this state for seven years immediately preceeding his election, and at the time thereof he shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he shall be chosen. And every person, qualified as the constitution provides, shall be considered an inhabitant for the purpose of electing and being elected into any office or place within this state, in the town, parish, and plantation, where he dwelleth and hath his home.

And the inhabitants of plantations and places unincorporated, qualified as this constitution provides, who are or shall be required to assess taxes upon themselves towards the support of government, or shall be taxed therefor, shall have the same privilege of voting for senators, in the plantations and places wherein they reside, as the inhabitants of the respective towns and parishes aforesaid have. And the meetings of such plantations and places for that purpose, shall be holden annually in the month of March, at such places respectively therein as the assessors thereof shall direct; which assessors shall

have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the selectmen and town clerks have in their several towns by this constitution.

The meetings for the choice of governour, council, and senators, shall be warned by a warrant from the selectmen, and governed by a moderator, who shall, in the presence of the selectmen, (whose duty it shall be to attend) in open meeting, receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns and parishes present, and qualified to vote for senators; and shall, in said meetings, in presence of the said selectmen, and of the town clerk, in said meeting, sort and count the said votes, and make a public declaration thereof, with the name of every person voted for, and the number of votes for each person; And the town clerk shall make a fair record of the same at large, in the town book, and shall make out a fair attested copy thereof, to be by him sealed up and directed to the secretary of the state, with a superscription expressing the purport thereof: And the said town clerk shall cause such attested copy to be delivered to the sheriff of the county in which such town or parish shall lie, thirty days at least before the first Wednesday of June, or to the secretary of the state at least twenty days before the said first Wednesday of June: And the sheriff of each county, or his deputy, shall deliver all such certificates by him received into the Secretary's office, at least twenty days before the first Wednesday of June.

And that there may be a due meeting of senators on the first Wednesday of June annually, the governor, and a majority of the council for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the returned copies of such records, and fourteen days before the first Wednesday of June, he shall issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen senators, by a majority of votes, to attend and take their seats on that day.

Provided nevertheless, That for the first year the said returned copies shall be examined by the president, and a majority of the council then in office; and the said president shall, in like manner, notify the persons elected, to attend and take their seats accordingly.

And in case there shall not appear to be a senator elected by a majority of votes, for any district, the deficiency shall be supplied in

the following manner, viz. The members of the house of representatives, and such senators as shall be declared elected, shall take the names of the two persons having the highest number of votes in the district, and out of them shall elect, by joint ballot, the senator wanted for such district; and in this manner all such vacancies shall be filled up, in every district of the state, and in like manner all vacancies in the senate, arising by death, removal out of the state, or otherwise, shall be supplied, as soon as may be after such vacancies happen.

The senate shall be final judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications, of their own members, as pointed out in this constitution. The senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, provided such adjournment do not exceed two days at a time.

Provided nevertheless, That whenever they shall sit on the trial of any impeachment, they may adjourn to such time and place as they may think proper, although the legislature be not assembled on such day, or at such place.

The senate shall appoint their president, and other officers, and determine their own rules of proceedings: And not less than seven members of the senate shall make a quorum for doing business; and when less than eight senators shall be present, the assent of five, at least, shall be necessary, to render their acts and proceedings valid.

The senate shall be a court, with full power and authority to hear, try, and determine, all impeachments made by the house of representatives against any officer or officers of the state, for bribery, corruption, mal-practice, or mal-administration, in office; with full power to issue summons, or compulsory process, for convening witnesses before them: But previous to the trial of any such impeachment, the members of the senate shall respectively be sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence. And every officer, impeached for bribery, corruption, malpractice, or mal-administration in office, shall be served with an attested copy of the impeachment, and order of senate thereon with such citation as the senate may direct, setting forth the time and place of their setting to try the impeachment; which service shall be made by the sheriff, or such other sworn officer as the senate may appoint, at least fourteen days previous to the time of trial; and such citation