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 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 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 ciyil 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

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.

50. "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.

51. "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 will be true and faithful to the state of Maryland, and the government thereof, as by the convention of Maryland established, and that I will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain and defend the said state and government thereof; and that I will use my utmost endeavors to disclose and make known to the governor, the council, or some of the judges or justices of this state for the time being, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies or attempts which I shall know to be against this state and the government thereof; and I do declare, that no king, prince, or state, hath, or ought to have, any power, jurisdiction, superiority, or authority, within this state." And shall also subscribe a declaration of his belief in the christian religion.

52. "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 each shore for determining the business of each shore respectively.

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

grants run thus: "The State of Maryland, &c." and shall bear test by the governor with the seal of the state annexed: That all writs shall run in the same style, and be tested, sealed, and signed as usual: That all indictments shall conclude: "Against the peace, government and dignity of the state."

54. "That all penalties and forfeitures, heretofore going to the king or proprietary, shall go to the state, save only such as the general assembly may abolish or otherwise provide for.

55. "That this form of government, and the declaration of rights, and no part thereof, shall be altered, changed, or abolished unless a bill so to alter, change, or abolish the same, shall pass the general assembly and shall be confirmed by the general assembly after a new election of delegates, in the first session after such new election.

56. "That to introduce the new government, an election be held for the electors of the senate on the third Monday of November in this present year, and that the electors of the senate meet at Annapolis on the first Monday of December in this present year, and there choose senators, and that an election be held on the third Monday of December for delegates to serve in general assembly, and for sheriffs; and that the said elections be made by such persons in the same manner and under the same qualifications as such elections are herein before directed to be made at the periodical times beforementioned; the returns of all which first elections shall be made to the council of safety for the time being, and the general assembly shall meet at Annapolis on the

day of

and shall in their then session, or in such future session as they shall think proper, choose a governor and council for the residue of the year in the manner before directed: and for filling in the first instance only all the offices in the disposition of the governor, with the advice of the council; the house of delegates may also propose to the senate a list of all officers in the appointment of the governor, with the advice of the council, and on the senate concurring therein, or the recommendation of any of the persons therein mentioned, such persons so recommended shall be commissioned by the governor; but if the senate shall not concur in the recommendation of any of the persons proposed as aforesaid, then shall a joint ballot of both houses be taken in manner aforesaid for persons to be recommended for such offices, and the persons in whose favor such ballot shall pass shall be commissioned as aforesaid."

Convention adjourns till Monday morning, 9 o'clock.

MONDAY, November 4, 1776.

Convention met. All members present as on yesterday. The proceedings of yesterday were read. Mr. Barnes, Mr. J. Mackall, Mr. B. Mackall, Mr. B. Hall, Mr. Sprigg, Mr. Hammond, Mr. S. Chase, Mr. J. T. Chase, and Mr. J. Wilson, appeared in the house. On motion of Mr. Gustavus Scott, That all civil officers now in commission for this state under the old form of government, shall continue to act in their respective departments until others shall be appointed and commissioned in their stead by the legislature or executive power of this state, and qualified to act? An amendment was proposed in the words following, "and that the county courts assess the county charges as usual." On which amendment the question was put, and resolved in the affirmative.

The question was then put on the motion so amended, and resolved in the affirmative.

Ordered, That the same be published in the Maryland Gazette and Baltimore papers.

The convention took into consideration the report of the form of government for this state from the committee of the whole, and in progression on reading the same, on motion of Mr. Bayly, the question was put, That the second article thereof be struck out? Carried in the negative.

On motion of Mr. T. Wright, the question was then put, That the word "five" be inserted instead of the word "thirty" in the second article? Carried in the negative.