9. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches; and that no warrant to search any place or to seize any person or thing, shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

10. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard by himself and counsel: to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him: to meet the witnesses face to face: to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour; and, in prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the vicinage; that he cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 11. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger, by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanour in office.

12. No person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of his life or limb, nor shall any man's property be taken or applied to public use without the consent of his representatives, and without just compensation being previously made to him.

13. That all courts shall be open, and every person for any injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by the due course of law; and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay.

14. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the legislature or its authority.

15. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted.

16. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 17. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

18. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing contracts, shall be made.

19. That no person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the legislature.

20. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the commonwealth. 21. That the estates of such persons as shall destroy their own lives, shall descend or vest as in case of natural death; and if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof.

22. That the citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.

23. That the rights of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the state shall not be questioned.

24. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up, with out the consent of the legislature; and the military shall, in all cases and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power.

25. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

26. That the legislature shall not grant any title of nobility or hereditary distinction, nor create any office, the appointment to which shall be for a longer term than during good behaviour.

27. That emigration from this state shall not be prohibited.

28. To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare, that every thing in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall for ever remain inviolate; and that all laws contrary thereto, or contrary to this constitution, shall be void.

SCHEDULE.

That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amendments made in the constitution of this commonwealth, and in order to carry the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained:

§ 1. That all laws of this commonwealth, in force at the time of making the said alterations and amendments, and not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies corporate, shall continue as if the said alterations and amendments had not been made.

2. That all officers now filling any office or appointment, shall continue in the exercise of the duties of their respective offices or appoint ments for the terms therein expressed, unless by this constitution it is otherwise directed.

3. The oaths of office herein directed to be taken, may be adminis tered by any justice of the peace, until the legislature shall otherwise di

rect.

4. The general assembly, to be held in November next, shall apportion the representatives and senators, and lay off the state into senatorial districts conformable to the regulations prescribed by this constitu tion. In fixing those apportionments, and in establishing those districts, they shall take for their guide the enumeration directed by law to be made in the present year, by the commissioners of the tax, and the ap portionments thus made shall remain unaltered until the end of the stated annual session of the general assembly in the year eighteen hundred and three.

5. In order that no inconvenience may arise from the change made by this constitution in the time of holding the general election, it is hereby ordained that the first election for governor, lieutenant-governor, and members of the general assembly, shall commence on the first Monday in May, in the year eighteen hundred. The persons then elected shall continue in office during the several terms of service prescribed by this constitution, and until the next general election which shall be held

after their said terms shall have respectively expired. The returns for the said first election of governor and lieutenant-governor shall be made to the secretary, within fifteen days from the day of election, who shall, as soon as may be, examine and count the same, in the presence of at least two judges of the court of appeals, or district courts, and shall declare who are the persons thereby duly elected, and give them official notice of their election; and if any person shall be equal and highest on the poll, the said judges and secretary shall determine the election by lot. 6. This constitution, except so much thereof as is therein otherwise directed, shall not be in force until the first day of June, in the year eighteen hundred; on which day the whole thereof shall take full and complete effect.

Done in convention, at Frankfort, the seventeenth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, and of the independence of the United States of America the twenty-fourth.

ALEXANDER S. BULLIT, P. C.

Philemon Thomas,

Philip Buckner,

Thomas Sandford,

Robert Clark,
R. Hickman,

Thomas Marshal, Jr.
Joshua Baker,

Peter Brunner,

John Adair,
Thomas Allen,
Samuel Taylor,
Green Clay,
Thomas Clay,
William Irvine,
Jilson Payne,
John Rowan,
Richard Prather,
Nicholas Minor,
Benjamin Logan,
Abraham Owen,
William Henry,

Harry Innis,

John Logan,

George Stockton,

William Casey,

Henry Coleman,

William Elliot Boswell,

Robert Johnson,

1799

Richard Taylor,

John Price,

William Logan,

N. Huston,
John Bailey,

Reuben Ewing,

X

Caleb Wallace,
William Steel,
Felix Grundy,
Robert Abell,

Alexander Davidson.

CONSTITUTION OF TENNESSEE.

WHEREAS the people of the territory of the United States, south of the river Ohio, having the right of admission into the general government as a member state thereof, consistent with the constitution of the United States, and the act of cession of the state of North Carolina, recognising the ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States, north-west of the river Ohio, by their delegates and representatives in convention assembled, did, on the sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, ordain and establish a constitution or form of government; and mutually agreed with each other to form themselves into a free and independent state, by the name of "The State of Tennessee;" and whereas the general assembly of said state of Tennessee, (pursuant to the third section of the tenth article of the constitution,) by an act passed on the twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, entitled "An act to provide for the calling of a convention,” did authorize and provide for the election, by the people, of delegates and representatives, to meet at Nashville, in Davidson county, on the third Monday in May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, "for the purpose of revising, and amending (or changing) the constitution;" we, therefore, the delegates and representatives of the people of the state of Tennessee, elected and in convention assembled, in pursuance of the said act of assembly, have ordained and established the following amended constitution and form of government for this state, which we recommend to the people of Tennessee for their ratification; that is to say:

ARTICLE 1.
Declaration of Rights.

§ 1. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; for the advancement of those ends, they have, at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.

2. That government being instituted for the common benefit, the doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power and oppression, is absurd, slavish and destructive to the good and happiness of mankind.

3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience; that no man can, of right, be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any minister against his consent; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience; and that no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship.

4. That no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this state.

5. That elections shall be free and equal.

6. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and that general warrants, whereby an officer may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offences are not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be granted.

8. That no free man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of hig freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.

9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard by himself and his counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof; to meet the witnesses face to face; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour; and in prosecutions by indictment or presentment, a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the crime shall have been committed; and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself.

10. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.

11. That laws made for the punishment of facts committed previous to the existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are contrary to the principles of a free government; wherefore no ex post facto law shall be made.

12. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate. The estate of such persons as shall destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in case of natural death. If any person be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture in consequence thereof. 13. That no person arrested or confined in jail, shall be treated with unnecessary rigour.

14. That no freeman shall be put to answer any criminal charge but by presentment, indictment, or impeachment.

15. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences when the proof is evident or the presumption great. And the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

16. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

17. That all courts shall be open; and every man, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay. Suits may be brought against the state in such manner, and in such courts, as the legislature may by law direct.

18. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditor or creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

19. That the printing presses shall be free to every person who un