USA > New Hampshire > The statistics and gazetteer of New-Hampshire. Containing descriptions of all the counties, towns and villages statistical tables with a list of state officers, etc. > Part 68
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ART. 3. When men enter into a state of society they surrender some of their natural rights to that society, in order to insure the protection of others; and without such an equivalent the surrender is void.
ART, 4. Among the natural rights, some are in their very nature un- alienable, because no equivalent can be given or received for them. Of this kind are the RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.
ART. 5. Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to wor- ship God according to the dictates of his own conscience and reason ; and no subject shall be hurt, molested or restrained in his person, liberty or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession, senti- ments or persuasion ; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or disturb others in their religious worship.
ART. 6. As morality and piety, rightly grounded on evangelical prin- ciples, will give the best and greatest security to government, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to due subjection ; and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propagated through a society by the institution of the public worship of the Deity, and of
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public instruction in morality and religion ; therefore, to promote those important purposes, the people of this State have a right to empower, and do hereby fully empower, the Legislature to authorize, from time to time, the several towns, parishes, bodies corporate, or religious soci- eties within this State, to make adequate provision, at their own ex- pense, for the support and maintenance of public, protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality :
Provided, notwithstanding, That the several towns, parishes, bodies corporate, or religious societies, shall at all times have the exclusive right of electing their own public teachers, and of contracting with them for their support and maintenance. And no person, of any one partic- ular religious sect or denomination, shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the teacher or teachers of another persuasion, sect, or denomination.
And every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves quietly, and as good subjects of the State, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.
And nothing herein shall be understood to affect any former contracts made for the support of the ministry; but all such contracts shall re- main and be in the same state as if this constitution had not been made.
ART. 7. The people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign and independent State, and do, and forever hereafter shall exercise and enjoy every power, juris- diction and right pertaining thereto, which is not or may not hereafter be by.them expressly delegated to the United States of America, in Congress assembled.
ART. 8. All power residing originally in, and being derived from the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substi- tutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them.
ART. 9. No office or place whatsoever in government shall be hered- itary-the abilities and integrity requisite in all not being transmissible to posterity or relations.
ART. 10. Government being instituted for the common benefit, pro- tection and security of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, faniily or class of men; there- fore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to, reform the old or establish a new government. The doctrine of non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurb, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
ART. 11. All elections ought to be free, and every inhabitant of the State, having the proper qualifications, has equal right to elect and be elected into office.
ART. 12. Every member of the community has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property. He is therefore bound to contribute his share in the expense of such protection, and to yield his personal service when necessary, or an equivalent. But no part of a man's property shall be taken from him or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. Nor are the inhabitants of this State controllable by any other laws than those to which they, or their representative body, have given their consent.
ART. 13. No person who is conscientiously scrupulous about the law- fulness of bearing arms, shall be compelled thereto, provided he will pay an equivalent.
ART. 14. Every subject of this State is entitled to a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws for all injuries he may receive in his person, property or character, to obtain right and justice freely, without
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being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without any delay ; conformably to the laws.
ART. 15. No subject shall be held to answer for any crime or offense until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally described to him; or be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence against himself. And every subject shall have a right to produce all proofs that may be favorable to himself; to meet the witnesses against him face to face, and to be fully heard in his defense by himself and counsel. And no subject shall be arrested, imprisoned, despoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities or privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled or deprived of his life, liberty or estate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.
ART. 16. No subject shall be liable to be tried, after an acquital, for the same crime or offense. Nor shall the Legislature make any law that shall subject any person to a capital punishment (excepting for the goverment of the army and navy, and militia in actual service) with- out trial by jury.
ART. 17. In criminal prosecutions, the trial of the facts in the vicinity where they happen is so essential to the security of the life, liberty and estate of the citizen, that no crime or offense ought to be tried in any other county than that in which it is committed; except, in cases of general insurrection in any particular county, when it shall appear to the judge of the superior court that an impartial trial can not be had in the county where the offense may be committed, and upon their report, the Legislature shall think proper to direct the trial in the nearest coun- ty in which an impartial trial can be obtained.
ART. 18. All penalties ought to be proportioned to the nature of the offense. No wise Legislature will affix the same punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of murder and treason. Where the same undistinguishing severity is exerted against all offenses, the people are led to forget the real distinction in the crimes themselves, and to commit the most flagrant with as little compunction as they do the lightest offenses. For the same reason. a multitude of sanguinary laws is both impolitic and unjust; the true design of all punishments being to reforin, not to exterminate mankind.
ART. 19. Every subject has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions. Therefore, all warrants to search suspected places, or arrest a person for examination or trial, in prosecutions for criminal matters, are contrary to this right if the cause or foundation of them be not pre- viously supported by oath or affirmation; and if the order, in a war- rant to a civil officer, to make search in suspected places, or to arrest one or more suspected persons, or to seize their property, be not accom- panied with a special designation of the persons or object of search, arrest or seizure; and no warrant ought to be issued but in cases and with the formalities prescribed by law.
ART. 20. In all controversies concerning property, and in all suits between two or more persons, except in cases in which it has been heretofore otherwise used and practiced, the parties have a right to trial by jury; and this method of procedure shall be held sacred unless, in cases arising on the high seas, and such as relate to mariners' wages, the Legislature shall think it necessary hereafter to alter it.
ART. 21. In order to reap the fullest advantage of the inestimable privilege of the trial by jury, great care ought to be taken that none but qualified persons should be appointed to serve; and such ought to [be] fully compensated for their travel, time, and attendance.
ART. 12. The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a State; it ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.
ART. 23. Retrospective laws are highly injurious, oppressive and un-
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just. No such laws, therefore, should be made, either for the decision of civil causes, or the punishnient of offenses.
ART. 24. A well regulated militia is the proper, natural and sure de- fense of a State.
ART. 25. Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be raised or kept up, without the consent of the Legislature.
. ART. 26. In all cases, and at all times, the military ought to be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
ART. 27. No soldier, in time of peace, shall be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; and in time of war such quarters ought not to be made but by the civil magistrate, in a manner ordained by the. Legislature.
ART. 28. No subsidy, charge, tax, impost or duty shall be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatsoever, without the consent of the people, or their representatives in the Legislature, or authority derived from that body.
ART. 29. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority de- rived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for.
ART. 30. The freedom of deliberation, speech and debate, in either house of the Legislature, is so essential to the rights of the people, that it can not be the foundation of any action, complaint or prosecution, in any other court or place whatsoever.
ART. 31. The Legislature shall assemble for the redress of public grievances, and for making such laws as the public good may require.
ART. 32. The people have a right, in an orderly and peaceable man- ner, to assemble and consult upon the common good, give instructions to their representatives, and to request of the legislative body, by way of petition or remonstrance, redress of the wrongs done them, and the grievances they suffer.
ART. 33. No magistrate or court of law shall demand excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishment.
ART. 34. No person can in any case be subjected to law-martial or to any pains or penalties by virtue of that law, except those employed in the army or navy, and except the militia in actual service, but by au- thority of the Legislature.
ART. 35. It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every indi- vidual, his life, liberty property, and character, that there be an impar- tial interpretation of the laws and administration of justice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as the lot of humanity will adniit. It is, therefore, not only the best policy, but for the security of the rights of the people, that the judges of the supreme judicial court should hold their offices so long as they behave well; subject, however, to such limitations on account of age as may be pro- vided by the constitution of the State; and that they should have hon- orable salaries, ascertained and established by standing laws.
ART. 36. Economy being a most essential virtue in all States, especi- ally in a young one, no pension should be granted but in consideration of actual services; and such pension ought to be granted with great caution by the Legislature, and never for more than one year at a time.
ART. 37. In the government of this State, the three essential powers thereof, to wit, the legislative, executive and judicial, ought to be kept as separate from, and independent of each other, as the nature of a free government will admit, or as is consistent with that chain of connec- tion that binds the whole fabric of the constitution in one indissoluble bond of union and amity.
ART. 38. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the constitution, and a constant adherence to justice, moderation, temper- ance, industry, frugality, and all the social virtues, are indispensably
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necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and good government. The people ought, therefore, to have a particular regard to all those principles in the choice of their officers and representatives; and they have a right to require of their law-givers and magistrates an exact and constant observance of them in the formation and execution of the laws necessary for the good administration of government.
PART SECOND.
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
1. The people inhabiting the territory formerly called the Province of New-Hampshire, do hereby solemnly and mutually agree with each other to form themselves into a free, sovereign and independent body politic, or State, by the name of THE STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
GENERAL COURT.
2. The supreme legislative power within the State shall be vested in the Senate and House of Representatives, each of which shall have a negative on the other.
3. The Senate and House shall assemble every year, on the first Wed- nesday of June, and at such other times as they may judge necessary, and shall dissolve and be dissolved seven days next preceding the said first Wednesday of June, and shall be styled The General Court of New-Hampshire.
4. The General Court shall forever have full power and authority to erect and constitute judicatories and courts of record, or other courts, to be holden in the name of the State, for the hearing, trying and determin- ing all manner of crimes, offenses, pleas, processes, plaints, actions, causes, matters and things whatsoever, arising or happening within this State, or between or concerning persons inhabiting, or residing, or brought within the same, whether the same be criminal or civil, or whether the crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the said pleas be real, personal, or mixed, and for the awarding and issuing execution thereon. To which courts and judicatories are hereby given and granted full power and authority, from time to time, to administer oaths or af- firmations for the better discovery of truth in any matter in controversy, or depending before them.
5. And farther, full power and authority are hereby given and grant- ed to the said General Court, from time to time, to make, ordain and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, directions, and instructions, either with penalties or without, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this Constitution, as they may judge for the benefit and welfare of this State, and for the governing and ordering thereof, and of the subjects of the same, for the necessary support and defense of the government thereof, and to name and settle annually, or provide by fixed laws, for the naming and settling of all civil officers within this State; such officers excepted, the election and appointment of whom are hereafter in this form of government other- wise provided for; and to set forth the several duties, powers and lim- its of the several civil and military officers of this State, and the forms of such oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively administered unto them for the execution of their several offices and places, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this Constitution; and also to impose fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and other punishments ; and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, rates and taxes upon all the inhabitants of, and residents within the said State; and upon all es- tates within the same; to be issued and disposed of by warrant under the hand of the Governor of this State for the time being, with the ad- vice and consent of the Council, for the public service, in the necessa-
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ry defense and support of the government of this State, and the protec- tion and preservation of the subjects thereof, according to such acts as are or shall be in force within the same.
6. And while the public charges of government, or any part thereof shall be assessed on polls and estates in the manner that has heretofore been practiced; in order that such assessments may be made with equal- ity, there shall be a valuation of the estates within the State, taken anew once in every five years at least, and as much oftener as the General Court shall order.
7. No member of the General Court shall take fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate in any cause before either branch of the Legislature; and upon due proof thereof such member shall forfeit his seat in the Legis- lature.
8. The doors of the galleries of each House of the Legislature shall be kept open to all persons who behave decently, except when the welfare of the State, in the opinion of either branch, shall require secrecy.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
9, There shall be in the Legislature of this State a representation of the people, annually elected, and founded upon principles of equality; and in order that such representation may be as equal as circumstances will admit, every town, parish, or place entitled to town privileges, having one hundred and fifty ratable male polls, of twenty-one years of age and upward, may elect one representative; if four hundred and fifty ratable polls, may elect two representatives; and so proceeding in that propor- tion, making three hundred such ratable polls the mean increasing num- ber for every additional representative.
10. Such towns, parishes, or places as have less than one hundred and fifty ratable polls shall be classed by the General Court for the purpose of choosing a representative, and seasonably notified thereof. And in every class formed for the above mentioned purpose, the first annual meeting shall be held in the town, parish or place wherein most of the ratable polls reside; and afterward in that which has the next highest number, and so on annually by rotation, through the several towns, parishes or places forming the district.
11. Whenever any town, parish or place entitled to town privileges as aforesaid, shall not have one hundred and fifty ratable polls, and be so situated as to render classing thereof with any other town, parish or place very inconvenient, the General Court may, upon application of a majority of the voters in such town, parish or place issue a writ for their electing and sending a representative to the General Court.
12. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen an- nually, in the month of March, and shall be the second branch of the Legislature.
13. All persons qualified to vote in the election of senators shall be entitled to vote within the district where they dwell, in the choice of representatives.
14. Every member of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by ballot; and for two years at least next preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of this State, [shall have an estate within the district which he may be chosen to represent, of the value of one hundred pounds, one half of which to be a free hold, whereof he is seized in his own right]* shall be at the time of his election an inhabitant of the town, parish or place he may be chosen to represent; shall be of the Pro- testant religion, and shall cease to represent such town or parish or place immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid.
15. The members of both Houses of the Legislature shall be compen- sated for their services out of the treasury of the State, by a law made
* See Amendments
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for that purpose; such members attending seasonably, and not departing without license.
16. All intermediate vacancies in the House of Representatives may be filled, from time to time, in the same manner as annual elections are made.
17. The House of Representatives shall be the grand inquest of the State, and all impeachments made by them shall be heard and tried by the Senate.
18. All money bills shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills,
19. The House of Representatives shall have power to adjourn them- selves, but no longer than two days at a time.
20. A majority of the members of the House of Representatives shall be a quorum for doing business; but when less than two thirds of the representatives elected shall be present, the assent of two thirds of those members shall be necessary to render their acts and proceedings valid.
21. No member of the House of Representatives or Senate shall be arrested or held to bail on mesne process, during his going to, return- ing from, or attendance upon, the Court.
22. The House of Representatives shall choose their own Speaker, appoint their own officers, and settle the rules of the proceedings in their own House; and shall be judge of the returns, elections and qualifica- tions of its members, as pointed out in this constitution. They shall have authority to punish by imprisonment every person who shall be guilty of disrespect to the House in its presence by any disorderly and contemptuous behavior, or by threatening or ill treating any of its mem- bers; or by obstructing its deliberations; every person guilty of a breach of its privileges in making arrests for debt, or by assaulting any member during his attendance at any session; in assaulting or disturbing any one of its officers in the execution of any order or procedure of the House; in assaulting any witness or other person ordered to attend, by and during his attendance of the House, or in securing any person ar- rested by order of the House, knowing them to be such.
23. The Senate, Governor aud Council, shall have the same powers in like cases ; provided that no imprisonment by either, for any offense ex- ceed ten days.
24. The journals of the proceedings, and all public acts of both houses of the Legislature, shall be printed and published immediately after ev- ery adjournment or prorogation; and upon motion made by any one member, the yeas and nays upon any question shall be entered on the journal; and any member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall have a right, on motion made at the same time for that purpose, to have his protest or dissent, with the reasons, against any vote, resolve or bill passed, entered on the journal.
SENATE.
25. 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.
26. And that the State may be equally represented in the Senate, the Legislature shall from time to time, divide the State into twelve dis- tricts, as nearly equal as may be, without dividing towns and unincor- porated places; and in making this division they shall govern them- selves 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.
27. The free holders 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.
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28. The Senate shall be the first branch of the Legislature, and the Senators shall be chosen in the following manner: namely, every male inhabitant of each town and parish with town privileges, and places unincorporated, in this State, of twenty-one years of age and upward, 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 wliereof he is a member.
29. Provided nevertheless, That no person shall be capable of being elected a senator who is not of the Protestant religion [and seized of a frechold estate in his own right of the value of two hundred pounds, ly- ing within the 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 preceding his election, and at the time thereof he shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he shall be chosen.
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