USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio, containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its general and local history : with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages > Part 90
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SEC. 30. No new county shall contain less than four hundred square miles of territory, nor, shall any county be reduced below that amount ; and all laws creating new counties, changing county lines, or removing county seats, shall, before taking effect, be submitted to the electors of the several counties to be affected thereby, at the next general election after the passage thereof, and be adopted by a majority of all the electors voting at such election, in each of said counties ; but any county now or hereafter con- taining one hundred thousand inhabitants, may be divided, whenever a majority of the voters residing in each of the proposed divisions, shall approve of the law passed for that purpose ; but no town or city within the same, shall be divided, nor, shall either of the divisions contain less than twenty thousand inhabitants.
SEC. 31. The members and officers of the General Assembly shall receive a fixed compensation, to be prescribed by law, and no other allowance or perquisites, either in the payment of postage or other- wise ; and no change in their compensation shall take effect during their term of office.
SEC. 32. The General Assembly shall grant no divorce, nor exercise any judicial power, not herein' expressly conferred.
ARTICLE III. EXECUTIVE.
SECTION 1. The Executive Department shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secre- tary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and an Attorney-General, who shall be chosen by the Electors of the State on the second Tuesday of October, and at the places of voting for members of the General Assembly.
SEC. 2. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Attorney-General, shall hold their offices for two years ; and the Auditor for four years. Their terms of office shall com. mence on the second Monday of January next after their election, and continue until their successors are elected and qualified.
SEC. 3. The return of every election for the officers named in the foregoing section, shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of Government, by the returning officers, directed to the President of the Senate, who, during the first week of the session, shall open and publish them, and declare the result, in the presence of a majority of the members of each House of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected ; but if any two or more shall be highest, and equal in votes, for the same office, one of them shall be chosen by the joint vote of both Houses.
SEC. 4. Should there be no session of the General Assembly in January next after an election for any of the officers aforesaid, the returns of such election shall be made to the Secretary of State, and opened, and the result declared by the Governor in such manner as may be provided by law.
SEC. 5. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in the Governor.
SEC. 6. He may require information in writing, from the officers in the executive department, upon any auljant relating to the duties of their respective offices ; and shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.
SEC. 7. He shall communicate, at every session, by message, to the General Assembly, the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient.
SEC. 8. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly by proclamation, and shall state to botlı Houses, when assembled, the purpose for which they have been convened.
SEC. 9. In case of disagreement between the two Houses, in respect to the time of adjournment, he
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shall have power to adjourn the General Assembly to such time as he may think proper, but not beyond the regular meetings thereof.
SEC. 10. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.
SEC. 11. He shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, for all crimes and offenses, except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions as he may think proper ; subject, however, to such regulations as to the manner of applying for pardons, as may be pre- scribed by law. Upon conviction for treason, he may suspend the execution of the sentence, and report the case to the General Assembly at its next meeting, when the General Assembly shall either pardon, commute the sentence, direct its execution, or grant a further reprieve. He shall communicate to the General Assembly, at every regular session, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted; stating the name and crime of the convict, the sentence, its date, and the date of the commutation, par- don, or reprieve, with his reasons therefor.
SEC. 12. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called " The Great Seal of the State of Ohio."
SEC. 13. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name, and by the authority of the State of Ohio ; sealed with the Great Seal ; signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State.
SEC. 14. No member of Congress, or other person holding office under the authority of this State, or of the United States, shall execute the office of Governor, except as herein provided.
SEC. 15. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, removal, or other disability of the Gover. nor, the powers and duties of the office for the residue of the term, or until he shall be acquitted, or the disability removed, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor.
SEC. 16. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Senate, but shall vote only when the Senate is equally divided , and in case of his absence or impeachment, or when he shall exercise the office of Governor, the Senate shall choose a President pro tempore.
SEC. 17. If the Lieutenant Governor, while executing the office of Governor, shall be impeached, dis- placed, resign, or die, or otherwise become incapable of performing the duties of the office, the President of the Senate shall act as Governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed ; and if the Pre- sident of the Senate, for any of the above causes, shall be rendered incapable of performing the duties pertaining to the office of Governor, the same shall devolve upon the Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives.
SEC. 18. Should the office of Auditor, Treasurer, Secretary, or Attorney-General become vacant for any of the causes specified in the fifteenth section of this article, the Governor shall fill the vacancy until the disability is removed, or a successor elected and qualified. Every such vacancy shall be filled by election, at the first general election that occurs more than thirty days after it shall have happened ; and the person chosen shall hold the office for the full term fixed in the second section of this article.
SEC. 19. The officers mentioned in this article, shall at stated times, receive, for their services, a com- pensation to be established by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished, during the period for which they shall have been elected.
SEC. 20. The officers of the executive department, and of the public State institutions, shall, at least five days preceding each regular session of the General Assembly, severally report to the Governor, who shall transmit such reports with his message, to the General Assembly.
ARTICLE IV. JUDICIAL.
SECTION 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in District Courts, . Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Probate, Justices of the Peace, and in such other Courts inferior to the' Supreme Court, in one or more counties, as the General Assembly may, from time to time, establish.
SEC. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of five judges, a majority of whom shall be necessary to form a quorum, or to pronounce a decision, It shall have original jurisdiction in quo warranto, manda- mus, habeas corpus, and procedendo, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law. It shall hold at least one term, in each year, at the seat of government, and such other terms, at the seat of gov. ernment or elsewhere, as may be provided by law. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the electors of the State at large.
SEC. 3. The State shall be divided into nine common pleas districts, of which the county of Hamilton shall constitute one, of compact territory and bounded by county lines ; and each of said districts, con- sisting of three or more counties, shall be subdivided into three parts of compact territory, bounded by county lines, and as nearly equal in population as practicable ; in each of which one Judge of the court of common pleas for said district, and residing therein, shall be elected by the electors of said subdivi- sion. Courts of common pleas shall be held by one or more of these Judges, in every county in the dis- trict, as often as may be provided by law ; and more than one court or sitting thereof, may be held at the same time, in each district.
SEC. 4. The jurisdiction of the conrts of common pleas and of the Judges thereof, shall be fixed by law.
SEC. 5 District courts shall be composed of the Judges of the court of common pleas of the respective districts, and, one of the Judges of the supreme court, any three of whom shall be a quorum, and shall be held in each county therein, at least once in each year; but, if it shall be found inexpedient to hold such court annually in each county of any district, the General Assembly may, for such district, pro- vide that said court shall hold at least three annual sessions therein, in not less than three places ; pro- vided, that the General Assembly may, by law, authorize the Judges of each district to fix the times of holding the courts therein.
SEC. 6. The district court shall have like original jurisdiction with the supreme court, and such appel- late jurisdiction as may be provided by law.
SEC. 7. There shall be established in each county a probate court which shall be a court of record, Open at all times and holden by one Judge elected by the voters of the county, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and shall receive such compensation, payable out of the county Treasury, or by fees, or both, as shall be provided by law.
SEC. 8. The Probate Court shall have jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters, the appoint-
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ment of administrators and guardians, the settlement of the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage licenses, and for the sale of land by executors, administrators, and guardians, and such other jurisdiction in any county or counties, as may be provided by law.
SEC. 9. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be elected, by the electors, in each town- ship in the several counties. Their term of office shall be three years, and their powers and duties shall be regulated by law.
SEC. 10. All judges, other than those provided for in this Constitution, shall be elected by the elec- tor's of the judicial district for which they may be created, but not for a longer term of office than five years.
SEC. 11. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall, immediately after the first election under this Con- stitution, be classified by lot; so that one shall hold for the term of one year, one for two years, one for three years, one for four years, and one for five years; and at all subsequent elections the term of each of said Judges shall be for five years.
SEC. 12. The Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas shall, while in office, reside in the district fo which they are elected ; and their term of office shall be for five years.
SEC. 13 In case the office of any Judge shall become vacant before the expiration of the regular term for which he was elected, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, until a successor is elected and qualified, and such successor shall be elected for the unexpired term, at the first annual elec- tion that occurs more than thirty days after the vacancy shall have happened.
SEC. 14. The Judges of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Common Pleas shall, at stated times, receive for their services such compensation as may be provided by law, which shall not be diminished, or increased, during their term of office; but they shall receive no fees or perquisites, nor hold any other office of profit or trust under the authority of this State, or the United States. All votes for either of them, for any elective office, except a judicial office under the authority of this State, given by the General Assembly, or the people, shall be void.
SEC. 15. The General Assembly may increase or diminish the number of the Judges of the Supreme Court, the number of the districts of the Court of Common Pleas, the number of Judges in any district; change the districts or the subdivisions thereof, or establish other courts, whenever two-thirds of the niem- bers elected to each house shall concur therein; but, no such change, addition, or diminution, shall vacate the office of any Judge.
SEC. 16. There shall be elected in each county, by the electors thereof, one Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. He shall, by virtue of his office, be Clerk of all other courts of record held therein; but, the General Assembly may provide by law for the election of a Clerk with a like term of office, for each or any other of the Courts of Record, and may authorize the Judge of the Probate Court to perform the duties of Clerk for his Court, under such regulations as may be directed by law. Clerks of Courts shall be removable for such cause, and in such manner, as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 17. Judges may be removed from office by concurrent resolution of both Houses of the General Assembly, if two-thirds of the members elected to each House concur therein; but no such removal shall be made, except upon complaint, the substance of which shall be entered on the journal, nor until the party charged shall have had notice thereof, and an opportunity to be heard.
SEC. 18. The several Judges of the Supreme Court, of the Common Pleas, and of such other Courts as may be created, shall respectively liave and exercise such power and jurisdiction, at chambers, or otherwise, as may be directed by law.
SEC. 19. The General Assembly may establish Courts of Conciliation, and prescribe their powers and duties; but such Courts shall not render final judgment in any case, except upon submission by the parties of the matter in dispute, and their agreement to abide such judgment.
SEC. 20. The style of all process shall be " The State of Ohio;": all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the State of Ohio; and all indictments shall conclude "against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio."
ARTICLE V.
ELECTIVE FRANCHISE.
SECTION. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, wh shall have been a resident of the State one year next preceding the election, and of the county, township, or ward, in which he resides, such time as may be provided by law, shall have the qualifications of an elector, and be entitled to vote at all elections.
SEC. 2. All elections shall be by ballot.
SEC. 3. Electors, during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning therefrom, shall be privileged from arrest in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace.
SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall have power to exclude from the privilege of voting, or of being eligible to office, any person convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime.
SEC. 5. No person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States, shall, by being sta- tioned in any garrison or military or naval station within the State, be considered a resident of this State.
SEC. 6. No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector,
ARTICLE VI. EDUCATION.
SECTION 1. The principal of all funds arising from the sale or other disposition of lands, or other pro- perty granted or intrusted to this State for educational and religious purposes, shall forever be preserved inviolate, and undiminished; and, the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully applied to the specific objects of the original grants or appropriations.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall make such provisions by taxation, or otherwise, as with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the State, but no religious or other sect or sects shall ever have any exclusive right to, or con- trol of, any part of the school funds of this State.
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ARTICLE VII.
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
SECTION 1. Institutions for the benefit of the insane, blind, and deaf and dumb, shall always be fos- tered and supported by the State; and be subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the General Assembly.
SEC. 2. The directors of the Penitentiary shall be appointed or elected in such a manner as the Gene- ral Assembly may direct; and the Trustees of the benevolent, and other State institutions, now elected by the General Assembly, and of such other State institutions as may be hereafter created, shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and upon all nominations made by the Governor, the question shall be taken by the yeas and nays, and entered upon the journals of the Senate.
SEC. 3. The Governor shall have power to fill all vacancies that may occur in the offices aforesaid, until the next session of the General Assembly, and, until a successor to his appointee shall be confirmed and qualified.
ARTICLE VIII. PUBLIC DEBT AND PUBLIC WORKS.
SECTION 1. The State may contract debts to supply casual deficits or failures in revenues, or to meet expenses not otherwise provided for; but the aggregate amount of such debts, direct and contingent, whether contracted by virtue of one or more acts of the General Assembly, or at different periods of time, shall never exceed seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and the money arising from the creation of such debts, shall be applied to the purpose for which it was obtained, or to repay the debts so contracted, and to no other purpose whatever.
SEC. 2. In addition to the above limited power the State may contract debts to repel invasion, sup- press insurrection, defend the State in war, or to redeem the present outstanding indebtedness of the State; but the money, arising from the contracting of such debts, shall be applied to the purpose for which it was raised, or to repay such debts, and to no other purpose whatever; and all debts incurred to redeem the present outstanding indebtedness of the State, shall be so contracted as to be payable by the sinking fund hereinafter provided for, as the same shall accumulate.
SEC. 3. Except the debts above specified in sections one and two of this article, no debt whatever shall hereafter be created by, or on behalf of, the State.
SEC. 4. The credit of the State shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any indi- vidual, association or corporation whatever; nor shall the State ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this State or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.
SEC. 5. The State shall never assume the debts of any county, city, town, or township, or of any cor- poration whatever, unless such debt shall have been created to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in war.
SEC. 6. The General Assembly shall never authorize any county, city, town, or township, by vote of its citizens, or otherwise, to become a stockholder in any joint-stock company, corporation, or associa- tion whatever; or to raise money for, or loan its credit to, or in aid of, any such company, corporation, or association.
SEC. 7. The faith of the State being pledged for the payment of its public debt, in order to provide therefor, there shall be created a sinking fund, which shall be sufficient to pay the accruing interest on such debt, and, annually, to reduce the principal thereof, by a sum not less than one hundred thousand dollars, increased yearly, and each and every year, by compounding, at the rate of six per cent. per annum. The said sinking fund shall consist, of the net annual income of the public works and stocks owned by the State, of any other funds or resources that are, or may be provided by law, and of such further sum, to be raised by taxation, as may be required for the purposes aforesaid.
SEC. 8. The Auditor of State, Secretary of State, and Attorney-General, are hereby created a board of commissioners, to be styled " The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund."
SEC. 9. The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall, immediately preceding each regular session of the General Assembly, make an estimate of the probable amount of the fund, provided for in the seventh section of this article, from all sources except from taxation, and report the same, together with all their proceedings relative to said fund and the public debt, to the Governor, who shall transmit the same, with his regular message, to the General Assembly; and the General Assembly shall make all necessary provision for raising and disbursing said sinking fund, in pursuance of the provisions of this article.
SEC. 10. It shall be the duty of the said Commissioners faithfully to apply said fund, together with all moneys that may be, by the General Assembly, appropriated to that object, to the payment of the interest, as it becomes due, and the redemption of the principal of the public debt of the State, except- ing only the school and trust funds held by the State.
SEC. 11. The said Commissioners shall, semi-annually, make a full and detailed report of their pro- ceedings to the Governor, who shall, immediately, cause the same to be published, and shall also com- municate the same to the General Assembly, forthwith, if it be in session, and if not, then at its first session after such report shall be made.
SEC. 12. So long as this State shall have public works which require superintendence, there shall be a Board of Public Works, to consist of three members, who shall be elected by the people, at the first general election after the adoption of this Constitution; one for the term of one year, one for the terni of two years, and one for the term of three years; and one member of said Board shall be elected annually thereafter. who shall hold his office for three years.
SEC. 13. The powers and duties of said Board of Public Works, and its several members, and their compensation, shall be such as now are, or may be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE IX. MILITIA.
SECTION. 1. All white male citizens, residents of this State, being eighteen years of age, and under the age of forty-five years, shall be enrolled in the militia, and perform military duty in such
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manner, not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States, as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. Majors General, Brigadiers General, Colonels, Lieutenant-Colonels, Majors, Captains, and Subalterns, shall be elected by the persons subject to military duty, in their respective districts.
SEC. 3. The Governor shall appoint the Adjutant-General, Quartermaster-General, and such other staff officers, as may be provided by law. Majors General, Brigadiers General, Colonels or Commandants of Regiments, Battalions or Squadrons, shall, severally, appoint their staff, and Captains shall appoint their non-commissioned officers and musicians.
SEC. 4. The Governor shall commission all officers of the line and staff, ranking as such, and shall have power to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrection, and to repel invasion.
SEC. 5. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for the protection and safe keeping of the public arms.
ARTICLE X. COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATIONS.
SECTION 1. The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for the election of such county and town- ship officers as may be necessary.
SEC. 2. County officers shall be elected on the second Tuesday of October, until otherwise directed by law, by the qualified electors of each county, in such manner, and for such term, not exceeding three years, as may be provided by law.
SEC. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Sheriff, or County Treasurer, for more than four years, in any period of six years.
SEC. 4. Township officers shall be elected on the first Monday of April, annually, by the qualified electors of their respective townships, and shall hold their offices for one year, from the Monday next succeeding their election, and until their successors are qualified.
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