ARTICLE VIII.

IMPEACHMENTS AND REMOVALS FROM OFFICE.

SECTION 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching all civil officers of the State for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors; but a majority of all the members elected shall be necessary to direct an impeachment.

SEC. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When the governor or lieutenant-governor shall be tried, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside. Before the trial of an impeachment, the members of the court shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question according to the evidence; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from office; but the party convicted shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to law.

SEC. 3. For any reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for the impeachment of the judges of any of the courts, the governor shall remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the legislature; but the cause or causes for which such removal may be required shall be stated at length in the address.

SEC. 4. The legislature shall provide by law for the removal of justices of the peace, and other county and township officers, in such manner and for such cause as to them shall seem just and proper.

ARTICLE IX.

MILITIA.

SECTION 1. The legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States.

SEC. 2. The legislature shall provide for the efficient discipline of the officers, commissioned and non-commissioned, and musicians, and may provide by law for the organization and discipline of volunteer companies.

SEC. 3. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed in such manner as the legislature shall from time to time direct, and shall be commissioned by the governor. SEC. 4. The governor shall have power to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.

ARTICLE X.

EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. The governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislature in joint vote, shall appoint a superintendent of public instruction, who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law. SEC. 2. The legislature shall encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, scientifical, and agricultural improvement. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this State, for the support of schools, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with the rents of all such unsold lands, shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of schools throughout the

State.

SEC. 3. The legislature shall provide for a system of common schools, by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each school-district at least three months in every year; and any school-district neglecting to keep up and support such a school may be deprived of its equal proportion of the interest of the public fund.

SEC. 4. As soon as the circumstances of the State will permit, the legislature shall provide for the establishment of libraries; one at least in each township; and the money which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines assessed in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws, shall be exclusively applied to the support of said libraries.

SEC. 5. The legislature shall take measures for the protection, improvement, or other disposition of such lands as have been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the United States to this State for the support of a university, and the funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other source, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund for the support of said university, with such branches as the public convenience may hereafter demand for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, and as may be authorized by the terms of such grant. And it shall be the duty of the legislature, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds of said university.

ARTICLE XI.

PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever be introduced into this State, except for the punishment of crimes of which the party shall have been duly convicted.

ARTICLE XII.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECTION 1. Members of the legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, except such inferior officers as may by law be exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of this State, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of —, according to the best of my ability." And no other oath, declaration, or test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.

SEC. 2. The legislature shall pass no act of incorporation, unless with the assent of at least two-thirds of each house.

SEC. 3. Internal improvement shall be encouraged by the government of this State; and it shall be the duty of the legislature, as soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascertaining the proper objects of improvement in relation to roads, canals, and navigable waters; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law for an equal, systematic, and economical application of the funds which may be appropriated to these objects.

SEC. 4. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and an accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be attached to and published with the laws annually.

SEC. 5. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature, but the legislature may by law authorize the higher courts to grant them, under such restrictions as they may deem expedient.

SEC. 6. No lottery shall be authorized by this State, nor shall the sale of lotterytickets be allowed.

SEC. 7. No county now organized by law shall ever be reduced, by the organization of new counties, to less than four hundred square miles.

SEC. 8. The governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor-general shall keep their offices at the seat of government.

SEC. 9. The seat of government for this State shall be at Detroit, or at such other place or places as may be prescribed by law, until the year eighteen hundred and fortyseven, when it shall be permanently located by the legislature.

SEC. 10. The first governor and lieutenant-governor shall hold their offices until the first Monday of January, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, and until others shall be elected and qualified, and thereafter they shall hold their offices for two years, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

SEC. 11. When a vacancy shall happen, occasioned by the death, resignation, or removal from office of any person holding office under this State, the successor thereto shall hold his office for the period which his predecessor had to serve, and no longer, unless again chosen or reappointed.

ARTICLE XIII.

MODE OF AMENDING AND REVISING THE CONSTITUTION.

SECTION 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or house of representatives; and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published for three months previous to the time of making such choice. And if in the legislature next chosen as aforesaid such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the legislature to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in such manner and at such time as the legislature shall prescribe; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become part of the constitution.

SEC. 2. And if at any time two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives shall think it necessary to revise or change this entire constitution, they shall recommend to the electors at the next election for members of the legislature to vote for or against a convention; and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors voting at such election have voted in favor of calling a convention, the legislature shall at its next session provide by law for calling a convention to be holden within six months after the passage of such law; and such convention shall consist of a number of members not less than that of both branches of the legislature.

SCHEDULE.

SECTION. I. That no inconvenience may arise from a change of the territorial government to a permanent State government, it is declared that all writs, actions, prosecutions, contracts, claims, and rights of individuals and of bodies-corporate shall continue as if no change had taken place in this government; and all process which may, before the organization of the judicial department under this constitution, be issued under the authority of the Territory of Michigan, shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State.

SEC. 2. All laws now in force in the Territory of Michigan, which are not repugnant to this constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitations, or be altered or repealed by the legislature.

SEC. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats accruing to the Territory of Michigan shall accrue to the use of the State.

SEC. 4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the organization of the judicial department under this constitution, shall remain valid, and shall pass over to and may be prosecuted in the name of the State. And all bonds executed to the governor of this Territory, or to any other officer in his official capacity, shall pass over to the governor or other proper State authority, and to their successors in office, for the uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen or which may arise before the organization of the judicial department under this constitution, and which shall then be depending, may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State.

SEC. 5. All officers, civil and military, now holding their offices and appointments in this Territory under the authority of the United States, or under the authority of this Territory, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices and appointments until superseded under this constitution.

SEC. 6. The first election for governor, lieutenant-governor, members of the State legislature, and a Representative in the Congress of the United States, shall be held on the first Monday in October next, and on the succeeding day. And the president of the convention shall issue writs to the sheriffs of the several counties or districts, or, in case of vacancy, to the coroners, requiring them to cause such election

to be held on the days aforesaid, in their respective counties or districts. The election shall be conducted in the manner prescribed, and by the township officers designated as inspectors of elections, and the returns made as required by the existing laws of the Territory, or by this constitution: Provided, however, That the returns of the several townships in the district composed of the unorganized counties of Ottawa, Ionia, Kent, and Clinton shall be made to the clerk of the township of Kent in said district, and the said township clerk shall perform the same duties as by the existing laws of the Territory devolve upon the clerks of the several counties in similar cases.

SEC. 7. The first meeting of the legislature shall be at the city of Detroit, on the first Monday in November next, with power to adjourn to any other place.

SEC. 8. All county and township officers shall continue to hold their respective offices, unless removed by the competent authority, until the legislature shall, in conformity to the provisions of this constitution, provide for the holding of elections to fill such offices respectively.

SEC. 9. This constitution shall be submitted, at the election to be held on the first Monday in October next, and on the succeeding day, for ratification or rejection, to the electors qualified by this constitution to vote at all elections; and if the same be ratified by the said electors, the same shall become the constitution of the State of Michigan. At the election aforesaid, on such of the ballots as are for the said constitution, shall be written or printed the word "Yes," and on those which are against the ratification of said constitution, the word "No." And the returns of the votes on the question of ratification or rejection of said constitution shall be made to the president of this convention at any time before the first Monday in November next, and a digest of the same communicated by him to the senate and house of representatives on that day.

SEC. 10. And if this constitution shall be ratified by the people of Michigan, the president of this convention shall, immediately after the same shall be ascertained, cause a fair copy thereof, together with an authenticated copy of the act of the legislative council, entitled "An act to enable the people of Michigan to form a constitution and State government, approved January 26, 1835, providing for the calling of this convention, and also a copy of so much of the last census of this Territory as exhibits the number of the free inhabitants of that part thereof which is comprised within the limits in said constitution defined as the boundaries of the proposed State of Michigan, to be forwarded to the President of the United States, together with an expression of the decided opinion of this convention that the number of the free inhabitants of said proposed State now exceeds the number requisite to constitute two congressional districts, and the respectful request of this convention, in behalf of the people of Michigan, that all said matters may be by him laid before the Congress of the United States at their next session.

SEC. 11. In case of the failure of the president of this convention to perform the duties prescribed by this constitution, by reason of his absence, death, or from any other cause, said duties shall be performed by the secretaries of this convention.

SEC. 12. Until the first enumeration shall be made, as directed by this constitution, the county of Wayne shall be entitled to eight representatives; the county of Monroe to four representatives; the county of Washtenaw to seven representatives; the county of Saint Clair to one representative; the county of Saint Joseph to two representatives; the county of Berrien to one representative; the county of Calhoun to one representative; the county of Jackson to one representative; the county of Cass to two representatives; the county of Oakland to six representatives; the county of Macomb to three representatives; the county of Lenawee to four representatives; the county of Kalamazoo, and the unorganized counties of Allegan and Barry, to two representatives; the county of Branch to one representative; the county of Hillsdale to one representative; the county of Lapeer to one representative; the county of Saginaw, and the unorganized counties of Genesee and Shiawasse, to one representative; the county of Michilimackinac to one representative; the county of Chippewa to one representative; and the unorganized counties of Ottawa, Kent, Ionia, and Clinton to one representative.

And for the election of senators the State shall be divided into five districts, and the apportionment shall be as follows: The county of Wayne shall compose the first district, and elect three senators; the counties of Monroe and Lenawee shall compose the second district, and elect three senators; the counties of Hillsdale, Branch, Saint Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Kalamazoo, and Calhoun shall compose the third district, and elect three senators; the counties of Washtenaw and Jackson shall compose the fourth district, and elect three senators; and the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Saginaw, Macomb, Saint Clair, Michilimackinac, and Chippewa shall compose the fifth district, and elect four senators.

Any country attached to any county for judicial purposes, if not otherwise represented, shall be considered as forming part of such county, so far as regards elections for the purpose of representation in the legislature.

JOHN BIDDLE, President.

ORDINANCE.

Be it ordained by the convention assembled to form a constitution for the State of Michigan, in behalf and by authority of the people of said State, That the following propositions be submitted to the Congress of the United States, which, if assented to by that body, shall be obligatory on this State:

1. Section numbered sixteen in every surveyed township of the public lands, and, where such section has been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to the State for the use of schools.

2. The seventy-two sections of land set apart and reserved for the use and support of a university, by an act of Congress approved on the twentieth day of May, eighteen hundred and twenty-six, entitled "An act concerning a seminary of learning in the Territory of Michigan," shall, together with such further quantities as may be agreed upon by Congress, be conveyed to the State, and shall be appropriated solely to the use and support of such university, in such manner as the legislature may prescribe. 3. Four entire sections of land, to be selected under the direction of the legislature, from any of the unappropriated lands belonging to the United States, shall be granted to the State for its use in establishing a seat of government.

AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 1835.
RATIFIED 1839.

ART. II. SEC. 1. Strike out the words "district, county, or township," and substitute in the place thereof "township or ward."

RATIFIED 1843.

That the constitution of this State be so amended that every law authorizing the borrowing of money or the issuing of State stocks, whereby a debt shall be created on the credit of the State, shall specify the object for which the money shall be appropriated; and that every such law shall embrace no more than one such object, which shall be simply and specifically stated, and that no such law shall take effect until it shall be submitted to the people at the next general election, and be approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against it at such election; that all money to be raised by the authority of such law be applied to the specific object stated in such law, and to no other purpose, except the payment of such debt thereby created. This provision shall not extend or apply to any law to raise money for defraying the actual expenses of the legislature, the judicial and State officers, for suppressing insurrection, repelling invasion, or defending the State in time of war.

RATIFIED 1844.

ART. IV. SEC. 4. Strike out the words "On the first Monday in November and on the following days," and insert the words "On the first Tuesday," so that said section will read: "The representatives shall be chosen annually on the first Tuesday of November, by the electors of the several counties or districts into which the State shall be divided for that purpose."