CONSTITUTION OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

PART FIRST. [1]

BILL OF RIGHTS.

1. ALL men are born equally free and independent; therefore all government of right originates from the peo ple, is founded in confent, and inftituted for the general good. All men have certain natural, effential and inherent rights-among which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, poffeffing and protecting property; and in a word, of feeking and obtaining happiness.

2. When men enter into a state of fociety, they furren der fome of their natural rights to that fociety, in order to infure the protection of others; and without fuch an equiv. alent, the furrender is void. Among the natural rights, fome are in their very nature unalienable; because no equiv. alent can be given or received for them: of this kind are the rights of confcience.

3. Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own confcience and reason; and no fubject fhall be hurt, molefted, or restrained, in his perfon, liberty, or estate, for worship. ping God in the manner and seafon moft agreeable to the dictates of his own confcience, or for his religious profeffion, fentiments, or perfuafion; provided he doth not difturb the public peace or disturb others in their religious worship.

4. As morality and piety, rightly grounded on evangelical principles, will give the beft and greatest fecurity to government, and will lay in the hearts of men, the strongeft obligations to due fubjection; and as the knowledge of thefe is most likely to be propagated through a fociety, by the inftitution of the public worship of the Deity, and of public inftruction in morality and religion;

5. Therefore, to promote thofe important purposes, the people of this state have a right to empower, and do hereby fully empower the legislature, to authorife, from time to time, the feveral towns, parifhes, bodies corporate or relig. ious focieties, within this ftate, to make adequate'provifion, at their own expenfe, for the fupport and maintenance of public proteftant teachers of piety, religion and morality.

6. Provided notwithstanding, that the feveral towns, parishes, bodies corporate, or religious focieties, fhall at all times have the exclufive right of electing their own public teachers, and of contracting with them for their fupport and maintenance. And no perfon of any one particular religious fect or denomination, fhall ever be compelled to pay towards the fupport of the teacher or teachers of another perfuafion, fect or denomination.

7. And every denomination of chriftians, demeaning themselves quietly, and as good fubjects of the state, shall be equally under the protection of the law and no fubordination of any one fect or denomination to another, fhall ever be established by law. And nothing herein fhall be understood to affect any former contracts made for the support of the ministry; but all fuch contracts shall remain, and be in the fame state as if this conftitution had not been made.

8. The people of this state have the fole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, fovereign and inde pendent state; and do, and forever hereafter fhall exercife and enjoy every power, jurifdiction and right, pertaining, thereto, which is not, or may not hereafter be by them exprefsly delegated to the United States of America in congrefs affembled.

9. All power refiding originally in, and being derived from the people, all the magiftrates and officers of government are their fubftitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. No office or place whatever in govern ment, shall be hereditary-the abilities and integrity requi fite in all, not being tranfmiffible to pofterity or relations.

10. Government being inftituted for the common benefit, protection and fecurity of the whole community, and not for the private intereft or emolument of any one man, family, or clafs of men: therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifeftly 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 nonrefiftance against arbitrary power and oppreffion, is abfurd, flavish, and deftructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

11. All elections ought to be free, and every inhabitant of the ftate, having the proper qualifications, has equal

right to elect and be elected into office. 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 fhare in the expense of fuch protec tion, and to yield his personal service when neceffary, or an équivalent.

12. But no part of a man's property shall be taken from him, or applied to public ufes, without his own confent, or that of the reprefentative body of the people. Nor are the inhabitants of this state controllable by any other laws than thofe to which they, or their reprefentative body, have given their confent.

13. No perfon, who is conscientioufly fcrupulous about the lawfulness of bearing arms, fhall be compelled thereto, provided he will pay an equivalent. Every fubject of this ftate is entitled to a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries he may receive in his perfon, property, or character; to obtain right and juftice freely, without being obliged to purchase it; completely and without any denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the laws.

14. No fubject shall be held to answer for any crime or offence, till the fame is fully and plainly, fubftantially and formally defcribed to him; or be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence against himself. And every fubject fhall have a right to produce all proofs that may be favorable to himself; to meet the witneffes against him, face to face; and to be fully heard in his defence, by himself and counsel.

15. And no fubject fhall be arrested, imprisoned, defpoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities or privile ges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled or depriv ed of his life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.

16. No fubject fhall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for the fame crime or offence. Nor fhall the legiflature make any law that shall subject any person to a capi tal punishment (excepting for the government of the army and navy, and the militia in actual fervice) without trial by jury.

17. In criminal profecutions, the trial of facts, in the vicinity where they happen, is fo effential to the fecurity of the life, liberty, and estate of the citizen, that no crime or

offence ought to be tried in any other county than that in which it is committed: except in cafes of general infurrection in any particular county, when it fhall appear to the judges of the fuperior court, that an impartial trial cannot be had in the county where the offence may be committed, and on their report, the legiflature fhall think proper to dis rect the trial in the nearest county in which an impartial trial can be obtained.

18. All penalties ought to be proportioned to the nature of the offence, No wife legiflature will affix the fame punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery and the like, which they do to thofe of murder and treafon; where the fame undiftinguishing severity is exerted against all offences, the people are led to forget the real diftinction in the crimes themselves, and to commit the most flagrant with as little compunction as they do the lighteft offences: for the fame reafon a multitude of fanguinary laws is both impolitic and unjuft; the true defign of all punishments being to reform, not to exterminate mankind.

19. Every fubject hath a right to be fecure from all unreasonable searches and feizures of his perfon, his houses, his papers, and all his poffeffions. Therefore, all warrants to fearch fufpected places, or arreft a perfon for examination or trial, in profecutions for criminal matters, are contrary to this right, if the caufe or foundation of them be not previously fupported by oath or affirmation;

20. And if the order, a warrant to a civil officer, to make search in fufpected places, or to arreft one or more fufpected perfons, or to feize their property, be not accompanied with a special defignation of the perfons or objects of fearch, arreft, or seizure; and no warrant ought to be iffued, but in cases, and with the formalities, prescribed by law.

21. In all controverfies concerning property, and in all fuits between two or more perfons, except in cafes in which it has been heretofore otherwife ufed and practised, the parties have a right to a trial by jury, and this method of procedure fhall be held facred, unless in cafes arifing on the high feas and fuch as .relate to mariners' wages, the legislature fhall think it neceffary hereafter to alter it.

22. In order to reap the fulleft advantage of the ineftimable privilege of the trial by jury, great care ought to be

taken, that none but qualified perfons fhould be appointed to ferve; and fuch ought to be fully compenfated for their travel, time and attendance..

23. The liberty of the prefs is effential to the fecurity of freedom in a state: it ought therefore to be inviolably preferved. Retrospective laws are highly injurious, oppreffive and unjuft. No fuch laws therefore fhould be made, either for the decision of civil caufes, or the punishment of offences.

24. A well regulated militia is the proper, natural and fure defence of a state. Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be raised, or kept up without confent of the legiflature. In all cafes and at all times, the military ought to be under strict subordination to, and governed by the civil power.

25. No foldier in time of peace, fhall be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; and in time of war, fuch quarters ought not to be made but by the civil magiftrate, in a manner ordained by the legislature.

26. No fubfidy, charge, tax, impoft, or duty, shall be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatever, without the confent of the reople, or their reprefentatives in the legislature, or authority derived from that body.

27. The power of fufpending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived therefrom, to be exercised in fuch particular cafes only as the legilature shall expressly provide.

28. The freedom of deliberation, fpeech and debate, in either house of the legiflature, is fo effential to the rights of the people, that it cannot be the foundation of any action, complaint, or profecution, in any other court or place whatever. The legislature fhall affemble for the redress of pub, lic grievances, and for making fuch laws as the public good may require.

29. The people have a right in an orderly and peaceable manner, to affemble and confult on the common good, give instructions to their representatives, and to request of the legiflative body, by way of petition or remonftrance, redress of the wrongs done them, and of the grievances they fuf

fer.

30. No magiftrate, or court of law, fhall demand ex

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