to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the general assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in such manner and at such time as the general assembly shall provide; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the general assembly voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of the constitution of this State. SEC. 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors shall vote for or against each of said amendments separately. ARTICLE XIV. APPORTIONMENT. SECTION 1. The congressional districts shall remain as they now are: Provided, That the general assembly may, at the first session held after the adoption of this constitution, redistrict the State for congressional purposes. SEC. 2. Until after the apportionment, as herein provided for, the senatorial and representative districts shall be composed of the following counties, to wit: the 1st of Jackson, Craighead, Poinsett, Cross, and Mississippi; 2d, of Lawrence, Randolph, and Greene; 3d, of Madison, Marion, Carroll, Fulton, and Izard; 4th, of Independence and Van Buren; 5th, of Searcy, Pope, and Conway; 6th, of Newton, Johnson, and Yell; 7th, of Washington and Benton; 8th, of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian; 9th, of Crittenden, Saint Francis, and Woodruff; 10th, of Pulaski and White; 11th, of Phillips and Monroe; 12th, of Prairie and Arkansas; 13th, of Scott, Polk, Montgomery, and Hot Springs; 14th, of Hempstead; 15th, of Lafayette and Little River; 16th, of Union and Calhoun; 17th, of Clark, Pike, and Sevier; 18th, of Columbia; 19th, of Ouachita; 20th, of Jefferson and Bradley; 21st, of Dallas, Saline, and Perry; 22d, of Ashley, Chicot, Drew, and Desha. The senators and representatives shall be apportioned among the several senatorial and representative districts as follows, to wit: 1st district-one senator and four representatives. ARTICLE XV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. SECTION 1. The president of the convention shall, immediately after the adjournment thereof, cause this constitution to be deposited in the office of the secretary of state, and shall transmit a copy of the same to the President of the United States, to be by him laid before the Congress of the United States. SEC. 2. In all cases not otherwise provided for in this constitution, the general assembly may determine the mode of filling all vacancies in all offices, and of choosing all necessary officers, and shall define their respective powers and duties, and provide suitable compensation for all officers. SEC. 3. All general elections shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, and shall be biennial, commencing at the general election of A. D. 1868; but all officers elected under the provisions of this constitution and schedule, except members of Congress, at the election commencing on the 13th day of March, 1868, shall hold and continue in office, in accordance with the provisions of this constitution, the same as though elected at the general election, to be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, 1868; and no election shall be held for said officers at the general election of 1868. SEC. 4. All chartered cities and villages under the laws of this State shall hold their municipal elections for the year 1868 at such times and places as may be provided in this constitution and the schedule to the same. SEC. 5. The term of office of all township and precinct officers shall expire thirty days after this constitution goes into effect, and the governor shall thereafter appoint such officers, whose term of office shall continue until the general assembly shall provide by law for an election of said officers. SEC. 6. Until the general assembly shall otherwise provide, a prosecuting attorney for each judicial circuit shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until his successor is chosen and qualified: Provided, That the general assembly shall not interfere with the term of any appointed prosecuting attorney. SEC. 7. The compensation of senators and representatives shall be six dollars per diem during the first session after the adoption of this constitution, but may afterwards be prescribed by law: Provided, No increase of compensation shall be prescribed which shall take effect until the period for which the members of the house of representatives then existing shall have expired. SEC. 8. Senators and representatives shall receive twenty cents for each mile necessarily travelled in going to and returning from the seat of government in attending each session of the general assembly, until otherwise provided by law. SEC. 9. All salaries, fees, and per diem, or other compensation of all State, county, town, or other officers within the State, shall be payable in such funds as may by law be receivable for State taxes. SEC. 10. Any public fund set apart by the general assembly for one purpose shall not be used for another unless in each case otherwise specially authorized by law. SEC. 11. This convention shall appoint not more than three persons, learned in the law, whose duty it shall be to revise and re-arrange the statute-laws of this State, both civil and criminal, so as to have but one law on any one subject; and also three other persons, learned in the law, whose duty it shall be to prepare a code of practice for the courts, both civil and criminal, in this State, by abridging and simplifying the rules of practice and laws in relation thereto; all of whom shall, at as early a day as practicable, report the result of their labors to the general assembly for their adoption or modification. The general assembly shall provide suitable compensation for said persons appointed as aforesaid. SEC. 12. No county now established by law shall ever be reduced, by the establishment of any new county or counties, to less than six hundred square miles; nor shall any county be hereafter established which shall contain less than six hundred square miles. SEC. 13. No indenture of any person hereafter made and executed out of this State, or, if made in this State, where the term of service exceeds one year, shall be of the least validity, except those given in cases of apprenticeships, which shall not be for a longer term than until the apprentice shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years if a male, or eighteen years if a female. SEC. 14. All contracts for the sale or purchase of slaves are null and void, and no court of this State shall take cognizance of any suit founded on such contracts, nor shall any amount ever be collected or recovered on any judgment or decree which shall have been, or which hereafter may be, rendered on account of any such contract or obligation on any pretext, legal or otherwise. SEC. 15. There shall be a great seal of the State, which shall be kept and used officially by the secretary of state; and the seal heretofore in use in this State shall continue to be the great seal of the State until another shall have been adopted by the general assembly. SEC. 16. Private seals are hereby abolished, and hereafter no distinction shall exist between sealed and unsealed instruments concerning contracts between individuals. All laws of this State not in conflict with this constitution shall remain in full force until otherwise provided by the general assembly, or until they expire by their own limitation. Nothing herein shall be construed to impair vested rights under provisions of existing laws. SEC. 17. All officers of this State, executive, legislative, and judicial, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath: “1, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not disfranchised by the Constitution or laws of the United States or the constitution of the State of Arkansas; that I will honestly and faithfully support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, the Union of States, and the constitution and laws of the State of Arkansas; and that I will honestly and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter to the best of my ability. So help me God." SEC. 18. The term of all officers elected or appointed under the provisions of this constitution shall expire on the 1st day of January, 1873, unless herein otherwise provided. SEC. 19. No one shall be precluded from being elected or appointed to any office by reason of having been a delegate to this convention or an officer of the same. SEC. 20. No person shall be allowed or qualified to sit on any jury who is not a qualified elector. SEC. 21. The general assembly may, by general law, declare the legal rate of interest upon contracts in which no rate of interest is specified, but no law limiting the rate of interest for which individuals may contract in this State shall ever be passed. SEC. 22. All judges and clerks of election appointed under provisions of this constitution shall take and subscribe to the oath of an elector as provided in section 5 of Article VIII before they enter upon the duties of said offices; and said judges are hereby authorized to administer the oath to each other and to the clerks; also to administer the same to all electors offering to vote. Said judges and clerks shall also swear to discharge their respective duties to the best of their ability according to law. Judges of election may appoint a suitable number of persons, who shall, with themselves, be conservators of the peace, and they are hereby empowered to arrest all offenders. Any one refusing to act as such, when called on by the judges, shall be subject to a fine of at least one hundred dollars, or imprisonment not less than six months, or both. SCHEDULE. SECTION 1. On the 13th day of March, A. D. 1868, and such successive days as hereinafter provided, an election shall be held for members of the House of Representatives of the United States, governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney-general, superintendent of public instruction, judges of the supreme court, members of the general assembly, and all county officers, and also for the submission of this constitution to the people for their adoption or rejection. SEC. 2. Upon the days designated as aforesaid, every qualified elector under the provisions of this constitution may vote for all officers to be elected under this constitution at such election, and also for or against the adoption of this constitution. SEC. 3. In voting for or against the adoption of this constitution, the words "for constitution" or "against constitution" shall be written or printed on the ballot of each voter, but no voter shall vote for or against this constitution on a separate ballot from that cast by him for officers to be elected at said election under this constitution. SEC. 4. A board of commissioners is hereby appointed, to consist of James L. Hodges, Joseph Brooks, and the president of this convention, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum to transact business, who shall keep an office for the transaction of business in Little Rock, and who may employ such clerical force as may be necessary, said clerks not to receive more per day for each day actually employed than the per diem paid the assistant secretaries of this convention, and who are empowered and authorized to appoint, or cause to be appointed, suitable persons for judges and clerks of election in each county in this State, to hold the election therein for all State and county officers, and for members of the general assembly and of the House of Representatives of the United States, and also for the ratification of this constitution. Said election shall be held at such times and places in each county, commencing on the 13th day of March, and continuing on such successive days as the commissioners may direct, to secure a full and fair vote at such election. SEC. 5. The judges of election appointed as aforesaid shall make returns of the same to said commissioners in such manner and under such regulations as said commissioners may prescribe, which returns shall show the number of votes cast at said election for and against this constitution, and the number cast for each candidate for the offices provided for in this constitution and schedule. SEC. 6. Any person contesting the election under this constitution for any State officer or member of the general assembly, shall do so before said board of commissioners, who shall have power to decide and declare the right to any office contested, and give the candidate legally elected a certificate of the same: Provided, Said commissioners may, in the cases of members of the general assembly whose right to the seats may be contested, refer the same to the general assembly for their determination. Said board of commissioners shall appoint the judges and clerks of the municipal elections to be held under the provisions of this constitution. Said judges shall conduct and make returns of said elections in the manner prescribed by the charter of the city or village in which said municipal election shall be held. SEC. 7. Said commissioners shall appoint suitable persons as boards in every county, to hear and decide all cases of contested county elections. SEC. 8. The said commissioners shall have power to inquire into the fairness or validity of the voting upon the ratification of this constitution, and to count the votes given at said election, and thall reject all fraudulent or illegal votes cast at said election; and said commissioners shall also have power, whenever it is made to appear that fraud, fear, violence, improper influence, or restraint were used, or persons were prevented or intimidated from voting at such elections, to take such steps, either by setting aside the election and ordering a new one, or rejecting votes, or correcting the result in any county or precinct as may in such cases be just and equitable. SEC. 9. The said commissioners shall declare the result of the election upon the ratification of this constitution, and, if adopted, the president of this convention shall transmit a certified copy of the same, together with an abstract of the votes cast, to the President of the United States, to be by him laid before the Congress of the United States for their approval or rejection, and shall also declare the officers elected thereunder; and if declared ratified, the constitution shall from and after that date be in full force and effect. SEC. 10. No person disqualified from voting or registering under this constitution shall vote for candidates for any office, nor shall be permitted to vote for the ratification or rejection of this constitution at the polls herein authorized. The governor and all other officers elected under this constitution shall enter upon the duties of their offices when they shall have been declared duly elected by said board of commissioners, and shall have been duly qualified. All officers shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices within fifteen days after they have been duly notified of their election or appointment. SEC. 11. Upon notice of the election or appointment and qualification of the officers elected or appointed under this constitution, the present incumbents of all State, county, and city offices shall vacate the same and turn over to the officers so elected or appointed and qualified hereunder all books, papers, records, moneys, and documents belonging or pertaining to said offices on application made by the officers elected or appointed and qualified under this constitution. SEC. 12. Any person may vote at the polls herein authorized for the election of officers and ratification of this constitution whom the judges of said election shall be satisfied by oath of the person offering to vote, and such other satisfactory evidence as they may require, is a legally qualified elector under this constitution: Provided, The judges of election shall administer to every person offering to vote at said election the oath prescribed in this constitution. SEC. 13. In the event that either of the three commissioners appointed by section 4 hereof should be a candidate for any office, the other two commissioners shall canvass the vote, so far as it relates to that office, and issue the certificate to the person elected. SEC. 14. In case of death or any disability of any member or members of said board of commissioners, the remaining commissioner or commissioners shall have power to fill such vacancy; and said commissioner or commissioners so appointed shall have full power to act as though originally appointed. SEC. 15. Any person selling or giving away intoxicating liquor, during the time of the election herein provided for, shall be punished by a fine not less than two hundred dollars, for each and every offense, or imprisonment not less than six months, or both. SEC. 16. Said commissioners shall provide suitable poll-books for each county, and such instructions as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this schedule. Judges and clerks of election thus appointed shall receive the same per diem as the boards of registers provided for in the act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, and acts supplementary thereto. SEC. 17. The commissioners herein appointed shall receive for their services, for each day actually employed, such compensation per day, and allowances, and in such manner, as are now provided for members of this convention. All expenses incurred under this schedule, not otherwise provided for, shall be paid out of the appropriation for defraying the expenses of this convention. Done in convention, at Little Rock, the eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-second. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names. JOHN G. PRICE, Secretary. THOS. M. BOWEN, President. CONSTITUTION OF ARKANSAS-1874.* PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government, for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings, and secure the same to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution. ARTICLE I. We do declare and establish, ratify and confirm, the following as the permanent boundaries of the State of Arkansas, that is to say: Beginning at the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six degrees of north latitude; running thence west with said parallel of latitude to the middle of the *Adopted in convention, and ratified by the people October 13, 1874. |