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CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA.

ADOPTED BY THE CONVENTION, OCTOBER 10, 1849; RATIFIED BY THE PEOPLE, NOVEMBER 13, 1849; PROCLAIMED, DECEMBER 20, 1849.

WE, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.

ARTICLE I.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

SECTION 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

SEC. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it.

SEC. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate for ever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties, in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law. (1)

SEC. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall for ever be allowed in this state; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience, hereby secured, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.

SEC. 5. 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 its suspension.

SEC. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained.

SEC. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties; unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great.

SEC. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this state may keep with the consent of Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny under the regulation of the legislature,) unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil actions. No persons shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense; (2) nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. (3)

SEC. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

SEC. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the legislature for redress of grievances.

SEC. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. (4)

(1) The legislature cannot delegate the power of waiving jury trial to the courts. Exline v. Smith, 5 Cal. 112. (2) Where defendant was convicted of manslaughter under an indictment for murder, and verdict set aside, he may be again tried under the same indictment. People v. Gilmore, 4 Cal. 376; People v. March, Oct. 1, 1856. (3) The compensation must be made before the citizen can be divested of his rights. San Francisco v. Scott, 4 Cal. 114; McCann v. Sierra County, Jan. T., 1857.

(4) Should, as near as possible, affect persons and property alike. People v. Coleman, 4 Cal. 46.

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SEC. 12. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be kept up by this state in time of peace; and in time of war no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years.

SEC. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner to be prescribed by law.

SEC. 14. Representation shall be apportioned according to population.

SEC. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud; and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.

SEC. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.

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SEC. 17. Foreigners who are, or may hereafter become, bona fide residents of this state, shall enjoy the same rights, in respect to the possession, enjoyment and inheritance of property, as native born citizens. (1)

SEC. 18. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this state.

SEC. 19. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized.

SEC. 20. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.

SEC. 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people.

ARTICLE II.

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.

SECTION 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, and every white male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a citizen of the United States, under the treaty of peace exchanged and ratified at Querétaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the state six months next preceding the election, and the county or district in which he claims his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or hereafter may be authorized by law; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the legislature, by a two-thirds' concurrent vote, from admitting to the right of suffrage Indians, or the descendants of Indians, in such special cases as such a proportion of the legislative body may deem just and proper. SEC. 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of election, during their attendance at such election, going to and returning therefrom.

SEC. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the day of election, except in time of war or public danger.

SEC. 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States, nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this state or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison.

SEC. 5. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.

SEC. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.

ARTICLE III.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

SECTION 1. The powers of the government of the state of California shall be divided into three separate departments: the legislative, the executive and judicial; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any functions appertaining to either of the others, except in the cases hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

ARTICLE IV.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a senate and assembly, which shall be designated the legislature of the state of California, and the enacting clause of every law shall be as follows: "The people of the state of California, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows."

(1) The foreign miners' law is not repugnant to this section. People v. Naglee, 1 Cal. 232. A non-resident alien cannot maintain ejectment. Siemssen v. Bofer, July T. 1856.

SEC. 2. The sessions of the legislature shall be annual, and shall commence on the first Monday of January next ensuing the election of its members, unless the governor of the state shall, in the interim, convene the legislature by proclamation.

SEC. 3. The members of the assembly shall be chosen annually by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered by the legislature, and their term of office shall be one year.

SEC. 4. Senators and members of assembly shall be duly qualified electors in the respective counties and districts which they represent.

SEC. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of two years, at the same time and places as members of assembly, and no person shall be a member of the senate or assembly who has not been a citizen and inhabitant of the state one year, and of the county or district for which he shall be chosen six months next before his election.

SEC. 6. The number of senators shall not be less than one-third, nor more than one-half, of that of the members of assembly; and at the first session of the legislature after this constitution takes effect the senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes: the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, so that one-half shall be chosen annually.

SEC. 7. When the number of senators is increased, they shall be apportioned by lot, so as to keep the two classes as nearly equal in number as possible.

SEC. 8. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members.

SEC. 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide.

SEC. 10. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member.

SEC. 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journal.

SEC. 12. Members of the legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, and shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session.

SEC. 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the governor, or the person exercising the functions of the governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

SEC. 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy.

SEC. 15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

SEC. 16. Any bill may originate in either house of the legislature, and all bills passed by one house may be amended in the other.

SEC. 17. Every bill which may have passed the legislature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve it he shall sign it, but, if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the same upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again pass both houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each house present, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the governor's objections. If any bill shall not be returned within ten days after it shall have been presented to him, (Sunday excepted,) the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature, by adjournment, prevent such return. (1)

SEC. 18. The assembly shall have the sole power of impeachment, and all impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

SEC. 19. The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, surveyor general, justices of the supreme court and judges of the district courts, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under the state; but the party convicted or acquitted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law. All other civil officers shall be tried, for misdemeanors in office, in such a manner as the legislature may provide.

SEC. 20. No senator or member of assembly shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit, under this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people.

(1) The term "Sunday excepted" applies only to the last day of the ten which the executive has for consideration of a bill. People ex rel. Hepburn v. Whitman, Oct. T. 1856.

SEC. 21. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, or any other power, shall be eligible to any civil office of profit under this state; provided, that officers in the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, or local officers and postmasters, whose compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per annum, shall not be deemed lucrative.

SEC. 22. No person who shall be convicted of the embezzlement or defalcation of the public funds of this state shall ever be eligible to any office of honor, trust or profit under this state; and the legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pass a law providing for the punishment of such embezzlement or defalcation as a felony.

SEC. 23. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached to, and published with, the laws at every regular session of the legislature. SEC. 24. The members of the legislature shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public treasury; but no increase of the compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of either house shall have been elected.

SEC. 25. Every law enacted by the legislature shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in the title; and no law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title; but in such case the act revised, or section amended, shall be re-enacted and published at length. (1) SEC. 26. No divorce shall be granted by the legislature.

SEC. 27. No lottery shall be authorized by this state, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed.

SEC. 28. The enumeration of the inhabitants of this state shall be taken, under the direction of the legislature, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end of every ten years thereafter; and these enumerations, together with the census that may be taken, under the direction of the congress of the United States, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and every subsequent ten years, shall serve as the basis of representation in both houses of the legislature.

SEC. 29. The number of senators and members of assembly shall, at the first session of the legislature holden after the enumerations herein provided for are made, be fixed by the legislature, and apportioned among the several counties and districts to be established by law, according to the number of white inhabitants. The number of members of assembly shall not be less than twenty-four, nor more than thirty-six, until the number of inhabitants within this state shall amount to one hundred thousand; and, after that period, at such ratio that the whole number of members of assembly shall never be less than thirty, nor more than eighty. SEC. 30. When a congressional, senatorial or assembly district shall be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be separated by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a congressional, senatorial or assembly district.

SEC. 31. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes. (2) All general laws and special acts passed pursuant to this section may be altered from time to time, or repealed.

SEC. 32. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such individual liability of the corporators, and other means, as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 33. The term corporations, as used in this article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint-stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts, in like cases as natural persons.

SEC. 34. The legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting any charter for banking purposes; but associations may be formed, under general laws, for the deposit of gold and silver; but no such association shall make, issue or put in circulation any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the paper of any bank, to circulate as money.

SEC. 35. The legislature of this state shall prohibit by law any person or persons, association, company or corporation from exercising the privileges of banking, or creating paper to circulate as money.

SEC. 36. Each stockholder of a corporation or joint-stock association shall be individually and personally liable for his proportion of all its debts and liabilities.

SEC. 37. It shall be the duty of the legislature to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and in contracting debts by such municipal corporations.

SEO. 38. In all elections by the legislature the members thereof shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal.

(1) A law is constitutional, in view of this section, where the subjects embraced in the statute, and not expressed in the title, have congruity or proper connection. Dewitt v. San Francisco, 2 Cal. 289. This section is merely directory. Washington v. Page, 4 Cal. 388.

(2) The term "municipal" is limited to governmental, and cannot be extended to commercial purposes. Lowe v. Marysville, 5 Cal. 214.

ARTICLE V.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the state of California.

SEC. 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and places of voting for members of assembly, and shall hold his office two years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be qualified.

SEC. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor (except at the first election) who has not been a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state two years next preceding the election, and attained the age of twenty-five years, at the time of said election. SEC. 4. The returns of every election for governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker of the assembly, who shall, during the first week of the session, open and publish them in presence of both houses of the legislature. The person having the highest number of votes shall be governor; but, in case any two or more have an equal and the highest number of votes, the legislature shall, by joint vote of both houses, choose one of said persons so having an equal and the highest number of votes for governor.

SEC. 5. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, the army and navy of this state.

SEC. 6. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of government, civil and military, and may require information in writing from the officers of the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.

SEC. 8. When any office shall, from any cause, become vacant, and no mode is provided by the constitution and laws for filling such vacancy, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy by granting a commission, which shall expire at the end of the next session of the legislature, or at the next election by the people.

SEC. 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the legislature by proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assembled, the purpose for which they shall have been convened.

SEC. 10. He shall communicate by message to the legislature, at every session, the condition of the state, and recommend such matters as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 11. In case of a disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adjourn the legislature to such time as he may think proper; provided, it be not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the next legislature, SEC. 12. No person shall, while holding any office under the United States or this state, exercise the office of governor, except as hereinafter expressly provided.

SEC. 13. The governor shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction, for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have the power to suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the legislature at its next meeting, when the legislature shall either pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or graut a further reprieve. He shall communicate to the legisla ture, at the beginning of every session, every case of reprieve or pardon granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the pardon or reprieve.

SEC. 14. There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called "the great seal of the state of California."

SEC. 15. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the people of the state of California, sealed with the great seal of the state, signed by the governor, and conntersigned by the secretary of state.

SEC. 16. A lieutenant-governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the governor; and his term of office, and his qualifications of eligibility, shall also be the same. He shall be president of the senate, but shall only have a casting vote therein. If, during a vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from the state, the president of the senate shall act as governor, until the vacancy be filled, or the disability shall cease.

SEC. 17. In case of the impeachment of the governor, or his removal from office, death, inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, resignation, or absence from the state, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease. But when the governor shall,

with the consent of the legislature, be out of the state in time of war, at the head of any military force thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief of all the military force of the state. SEC. 18. A secretary of state, a controller, a treasurer, an attorney-general, and surveyor

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