USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 35
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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 Gov- ernor, the Senate shall choose a President pro tempore.
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Sec. 17. If the Lieutenant Governor, while executing the office of Governor, shall be impeached, displaced, resign or die, or otherwise be- come incapable of performing the duties of the office, the President of the Senate shall act as Governor, until the vacancy is filled, or the dis- ability removed; and if the President 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 Representatives.
Sec. 18. Should the office of Auditor, Treasurer, Secretary, or Attor- ney General, become vacant, for any of the causes specified in the fifteenth section of this article, the Governor shall fill the vacancy until the disa- bility is removed, or a successor elected and qualified. Every such va- cancy 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 compensation 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, jus- tices 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, mandamus, habeas corpus, and procedendo, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be pro- vided 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 government, or else- where, 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, consisting 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 subdivision. Courts of common pleas shall be held, by one or more of these judges, in every county in the district, as often as may be pro- vided 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 courts 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, provide that said court shall hold at least three annual sessions therein, in not less than three - places: Provided, 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 appellate 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 testa- mentary matters, the appointment 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 township 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 electors 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 constitution, 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 elec- tions, 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 for 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
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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 election that occurs more than thirty days after the va- cancy shall have happened.
4 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 subdivision thereof, or establish other courts, whenever two-thirds of the members 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 quali- fied. 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 the 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, have 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 processes 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, who 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, ex- cept 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 stationed 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 privilege of an elector.
ARTICLE VI .- EDUCATION.
Section 1. The principal of all funds arising from the sale, or other disposition of lands or other property, granted or entrusted to the State for educational and religious purposes, shall forever be preserved invio- late, and undiminished; and the income arising therefrom, shall be faith- fully applied to the specific objects of the original grants or appropria- tions.
Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxa- tion or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools through- out the State; but no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this State.
ARTICLE VII .- PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
Section 1. Institutions for the benefit of the insane, blind, and deaf and dumb, shall always be fostered and supported by the State, and be sub- ject 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 manner as the General Assembly may direct ; and the trustees of the benevolent, and other State institutions, now elected by the Gen- eral 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 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 As- sembly, 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 con- tracted by virtue of one or more acts of the General Assembly, or at dif- ferent 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, suppress 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 out- standing indebtedness of the State, shall be so contracted as to be pay- able 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 individual association or corporation what- ever; nor shall the State ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stock- holder, 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, or township, or of any corporation 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 association 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
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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 Gen- eral, 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 esti- mate 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 such 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 sink- ing 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, excepting 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 proceedings to the Governor, who shall imme- diately cause the same to be published, and shall also communicate 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 term 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 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 Colo- nels, 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, Quarter Master General, and such other staff officers as may be provided for 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 musi- cians.
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 exe- cute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrection, and 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 elec- tion of such county and township officers as may be necessary.
Sec. 2. County officers shall be elected on the second Tuesday of Oc- tober, 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.
Sec. 5. No money shall be drawn from any county or township treas- ury, except by authority of law.
Sec. 6. Justices of the peace, and county and township officers may be removed in such manner and for such cause as shall be prescribed by law.
Sec. 7. The commissioners of counties, the trustees of townships, and similar boards, shall have such power of local taxation for police pur- poses as may be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE XI .- APPORTIONMENT.
Section 1. The apportionment of this State for members of the Gen- eral Assembly shall be made every ten years, after the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the following manner: The whole popu- lation of the State, as ascertained by the federal census, or in such other mode as the General Assembly may direct, shall be divided by the number one hundred, and the quotient shall be the ratio of repre- sentation in the House of Representatives for ten years next succeed- ing such apportionment.
Sec. 2. Every county, having a population equal to one-half of said ratio, shall be entitled to one Representative; every county containing said ratio, and three-fourths over, shall be entitled to two Representa- tives; every county containing three times said ratio, shall be entitled to three Representatives; and so on, requiring after the first two, an entire ratio for each additional Representative.
Sec. 3. When any county shall have a fraction above the ratio so large that, being multiplied by five, the result will be equal to one or more ratios, additional Representatives shall be apportioned for such ratios, among the several sessions of the decennial period, in the follow- ing manner : If there be only one ratio, a Representative shall be allot- ted to the fifth session of the decennial period ; if there are two ratios, a Representative shall be allotted to the fourth and third sessions, re- spectively; if three, to the third, second, and first sessions, respectively ; if four, to the fourth, third, second, and first sessions, respectively.
Sec. 4. Any county, forming with another county or counties a repre- sentative district, during one decennial period, if it have acquired suffi- cient population at the next decennial period, shall be entitled to a sepa- rate representation, if there shall be left, in the district from which it shall have been separated, a population sufficient for a Representative; but no such change shall be made, except at the regular decennial period for the apportionment of Representatives.
Sec. 5. If in fixing any subsequent ratio, a county, previously entitled to a separate representation, shall have less than the number required by the new ratio for a Representative, such county shall be attached to the county adjoining it having the least number of inhabitants; and the representation of the district so formed shall be determined as herein provided.
Sec. 6. The ratio for a Senator shall forever hereafter be ascertained by dividing the whole population of the State by the number thirty-five.
Sec. 7. The State is hereby divided into thirty-three senatorial dis- tricts, as follow : The county of Hamilton shall constitute the first sena- torial district; the counties of Butler and Warren, the second; Mont- gomery and Preble, the third; Clermont and Brown, the fourth; Greene, Clinton and Fayette, the fifth ; Ross and Highland, the sixth ; Adams, Pike, Scioto and Jackson, the seventh ; Lawrence, Gallia, Meigs and Vinton, the eighth ; Athens, Hocking and Fairfield, the ninth; Franklin and Pickaway, the tenth ; Clark, Champaign, and Madison, the eleventh; Miami, Darke and Shelby, the twelfth; Logan, Union, Marion and Hardin, the thirteenth; Washington and Morgan, the fourteenth; Mus- kingum and Perry, the fifteenth; Delaware and Licking, the sixteenth; Knox and Morrow, the seventeenth ; Coshocton and Tuscarawas, the
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eighteenth; Guernsey and Monroe, the nineteenth; Belmont and Har- rison, the twentieth ; Carroll and Stark, the twenty-first ; Jefferson and Columbiana, the twenty-second; Trumbull and Mahoning, the twenty- third ; Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga, the twenty-fourth; Cuyahoga, the twenty-fifth ; Portage and Summit, the twenty-sixth ; Medina and Lorain, - the twenty-seventh; Wayne and Holmes, the twenty-eighth; Ashland and Richland, the twenty ninth; Huron, Erie, Sandusky and Ottawa, the thirtieth ; Seneca, Crawford and Wyandot, the thirty-first ; Mercer, Auglaize, Allen, Van Wert, Paulding, Defiance and Williams, the thirty- second ; and Hancock, Wood,. Lucas, Fulton, Henry and Putnam, the thirty-third. For the first decennial period after the adoption of this Constitution, each of said districts shall be entitled to one Senator, except the first district, which shall be entitled to three Senators.
Sec. 8. The same rules shall be applied, in apportioning the fractions of senatorial districts, and in annexing districts which may hereafter have less than three-fourths of a senatorial ratio, as are applied to rep- resentative districts.
Sec. 9. Any county forming part of a senatorial district, having ac- quired a population equal to a full senatorial ratio, shall be made a separate senatorial district, at any regular decennial apportionment, if a full senatorial ratio shall be left in the district from which it shall be taken.
Sec. 10. For the first ten years after the year one thousand eight hun- dred and fifty-one, the apportionment of Representatives shall be pro- vided in the schedule, and no change shall ever be made in the principles of representation as herein established, or in the senatorial districts, except as above provided. All territory belonging to a county at the time of any apportionment shall, as to the right of representation and suffrage, remain an integral part thereof during the decennial period.
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