Proposition Number Two. of right. The writ of habeas corpus shall be granted as of right in Habeas corpus all cases in which a discretion is not' especially conferred upon the court by the Legislature; but the Legislature may prescribe forms of proceeding preliminary to the obtaining of the writ. Power of legislature. Proposition Number Three. ries in criminal cases. court. In all trials for criminal offences, the jury, after having Rights of jureceived the instruction of the court, shall have the right, in their verdict of guilty or not guilty, to determine the law and the facts of the case, but it shall be the duty of the Duty of the court to superintend the course of the trials, to decide upon the admission and rejection of evidence, and upon all questions of law raised during the trials, and upon all collateral and incidental proceedings; and also to allow bills of exceptions. And the court may grant a new trial in case of conviction. Proposition Number Four. Every person having a claim against the Commonwealth, Claims against ought to have a judicial remedy therefor. Proposi ion Number Five. No person shall be imprisoned for any debt hereafter contracted, unless in cases of fraud. the Commonwealth. Imprisonment for debt. Proposition Number Six. schools. All moneys raised by taxation in the towns and cities, for Sectarian the support of public schools, and all moneys which may be appropriated by the State for the support of common schools, shall be applied to and expended in no other schools than those which are conducted according to law, under the order and superintendence of the authorities of the town or city in which the money is to be expended; and such moneys shall never be appropriated to any religious sect, for the maintenance, exclusively, of its own schools. Corporations. Proposition Number Seven. The Legislature shall not create corporations by special act when the object of the incorporation is attainable by general laws. Banks Proposition Number Eight. The Legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting any special charter for banking purposes, or any special act to increase the capital stock of any chartered bank; but corporations may be formed for such purposes, or the capital stock of chartered banks may be increased, under general laws. The Legislature shall provide by law for the registry of all notes or bills authorized by general laws to be issued or put in circulation as money; and shall require ample security for the redemption of such notes in specie. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. IN CONVENTION, AUGUST 1, 1853. A true copy of the Resolutions adopted by the Convention, and of the several Constitutional propositions annexed. Attest, W. S. ROBINSON, N. P. BANKS, JR., President. Secretaries. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. IN CONVENTION, August 1, 1853. The Committee which was directed to prepare an Address to the People of Massachusetts, ask leave to report the form of such Address. For the Committee, GEO. S. BOUTWELL, Chairman. 7 Commonwealth of Massachusetts. ADDRESS To the People of Massachusetts : The Convention of Delegates, assembled by your authority and directed to revise the Constitution of this Commonwealth, has now closed its labors; and it seeks only to commend and commit the result to your consideration and final judgment. The necessity for the Convention was great, and its labors have been arduous and protracted. As your delegates we have sought for the principles of freedom in the ancient institutions of the State; but we have thought it wise also to accept the teachings and experience of nearly a century of independent existence. It has then been our purpose to unite in one system of organic law, the principles of American republican institutions, and the experiences of other free States, all contemplated in the light derived from the history and usages of Massachusetts. And first of all, we think it proper to present for your consideration a complete system of organic law. The present Constitution was adopted in 1780, and there have since been added thirteen important amendments. By these amendments much of the original text is already annulled, and it is only by a careful and critical analysis and enparison, that the existing provisions can be determined. This ought not to be. Constitutional laws should be plain, that they may be impartially interpreted and faithfully executed, "that every man may at all times find his security in them." We have not then thought it wise, or even proper, to preserve, as a part of the |