BILL OF RIGHTS.* A Declaration of Rights made by the Representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free Convention; which rights do pertain to them, and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government. Unanimously adopted, June 12, 1776. [9 St. Larg. 109.] 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them. 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection and security, of the people, nation, or community: of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best, which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of mal-administration; and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right, to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal. 4. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which not being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge, to be hereditary. 5. That the legislative and executive powers of the state should be separate and distinct from the judiciary; and that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall di rect. 6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, (a) have a right of suffrage, and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public good. 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. 8. That, in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accu *Mr. Madison states in his letter to judge Woodward, Sept. 11, 1824, (Enquirer, May 1, 1825,) that the declaration of rights was substantially from the hand of George Mason. (a) Custis v. Lane, 3 Munf. 592-3. AN AMENDED CONSTITUTION, OR FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR VIRGINIA.* [Adopted January 14, 1830.] Whereas the delegates and representatives of the good people of Virginia, in convention assembled, on the twenty-ninth of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six: reciting and declaring, that whereas, George the third, king of Great Britain and Ireland, and elector of Hanover, before that time entrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in the government of Virginia, had endeavoured to pervert the same into a detestable and insupportable tyranny, by putting his negative on laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good: by denying his governors permission to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation for his assent, and, when so suspended, neglecting to attend * Ratified by the voters qualified under its provisions to vote for delegates to the general assembly by a vote of 26,055 to 15,563. Governor's message and accompanying documents, Dec. 6th, 1830. "The origin of the constitution to which this is an amendment, was with George Mason, who laid before the committee, appointed to prepare a plan, a very broad outline, which was printed by the committee for consideration, and, after being varied in some points, and filled up, was reported to the convention; where a few further alterations gave it the form in which it now stands." "The preamble was, probably, derived in a great measure, if not wholly, from the friends of Mr. Jefferson, the richness of which, in materials, is seen in the declaration of independence, as well as elsewhere."-Mr. Madison's letter to judge Woodward, Sept. 11, 1824, (Enq. May 1, 1825.) "The fact is unquestionable, that the bill of rights and constitution of Virginia, were drawn originally by George Mason, one of our really great men, and of the first order of greatness. The history of the preamble to the latter, is as follows: I was then at Philadelphia with congress, and knowing that the convention of Virginia was engaged in forming a plan of government, I turned my mind to the same subject, and drew a sketch or outline of a constitution, with a preamble, which I sent to Mr. Pendleton, president of the convention, on the mere possibility, that it might suggest something worth incorporation into that before the convention. He informed me afterwards by letter, that he received it on the day on which the committee of the whole had reported to the house the plan they had agreed to; that, that had been so long in hand, so disputed inch by inch, and the subject of so much altercation and debate, that they were worried with the contentions it had produced; and could not, from mere lassitude, have been induced to open the instrument again; but that, being pleased with the preamble to mine, they adopted it in the house, by way of amendment to the report of the committee; and thus, my preamble became tacked to the work of George Mason. The constitution, with the preamble, was passed on the 29th of July, and the committee of congress had, only the day before that, reported to that body the draught of the declaration of independence. The fact is, that that preamble was prior in composition to the declaration; and both having the same object, of justifying our separation from Great Britain, they used necessarily the same materials of justification; and hence their similitude."-Mr. Jefferson's letter to judge Woodward, April 3, 1825, (Enq. May 1, 1825.) to them for many years; by refusing to pass certain other laws, unless the persons to be benefitted by them would relinquish the inestimable right of representation in the legislature; by dissolving legislative assemblies repeatedly and continually, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions of the rights of the people; when dissolved, by refusing to call others for a long space of time, thereby leaving the political system without any legislative head; by endeavouring to prevent the population of our country, and for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; by keeping among us, in time of peace, standing armies and ships of war; by affecting to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power; by combining with others to subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pretended acts of legislation, for quartering large bodies of armed troops among us, for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world, for imposing taxes on us without our consent, for depriving us of the benefits of the trial by jury, for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences, for suspending our own legislatures and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever; by plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts, burning our towns, and destroying the lives of our people; by inciting insurrections of our fellow-subjects with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation; by prompting our negroes to rise in arms among us, those very negroes, whom by an inhuman use of his negative he had refused us permission to exclude by law; by endeavouring to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions of existence; by transporting hither a large army of foreign mercenaries, to complete the work of death, desolation and tyranny, then already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy unworthy the head of a civilized nation; by answering our repeated petitions for redress with the repetition of injuries; and finally, by abandoning the helm of government, and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection by which several acts of misrule, the government of this country, as before exercised under the crown of Great Britain, was totally dissolved; did, therefore, having maturely considered the premises, and viewing with great concern the deplorable condition to which this once happy country would be reduced, unless some regular adequate mode of civil polity should be speedily adopted, and in compliance with the recommendation of the general congress, ordain and declare a form of government of Virginia : And whereas the general assembly of Virginia, by an act passed on the tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, entitled, " an act to organize a convention," did authorize and provide for the election, by the people, of delegates and representatives, to meet and assemble, in general convention, at the capitol in the city of Richmond, on the first Monday of October in the year last aforesaid, to consider, discuss and propose, a new constitution, or alterations and amendments of the existing constitution of this commonwealth, to be submitted to the people, and to be by them ratified or rejected:(a) We, therefore, the delegates and representatives, of the good people of Virginia, elected and in convention assembled, in pursuance of the said act of assembly, do submit and propose to the people, the following amended constitution and form of government for this commonwealth, that is to say: ARTICLE I. The declaration of rights, made on the twelfth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, by the representatives of the good people of (a) See Sup. R. C. p. 3. Virginia, assembled in full and free convention, which pertained to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government, requiring, in the opinion of this convention, no amendment, shall be prefixed to this constitution, and have the same relation thereto as it had to the former constitution of this commonwealth. ARTICLE II. The legislative, executive and judiciary departments, shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that the justices of the county courts shall be eligible to either house of assembly.(b) ARTICLE III. 1. The legislature shall be formed of two distinct branches, which together shall be a complete legislature, and shall be called the general assembly of Virginia.(c) 2. One of these shall be called the house of delegates, and shall consist of(d) one hundred and thirty-four members, to be chosen, annually, for and by the several counties, cities, towns and boroughs of the commonwealth; whereof thirty-one delegates shall be chosen for and by the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany mountains; twenty-five, for and by the fourteen counties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge of mountains; forty-two, for and by the twenty-nine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge of mountains and above tide-water; and thirty-six, for and by the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying upon tide-water, that is to say: Of the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany, the counties of Harrison, Montgomery, (e) Monongalia, Ohio(f) and Washington, shall each elect two delegates :(g) and the counties of Brooke, Cabell, Grayson, Greenbrier, Giles, (h) Kanawha, Lee, Lewis, Logan, Mason, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, Tyler, Wood and Wythe,(i) shall each elect one delegate.(j) Of the fourteen counties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge, the counties of Frederick and Shenandoah, shall each elect three delegates :(k) (b) Const. § 3. (c) Ibid. § 4. (d) Ibid. § 5; and see Nor. 1645, act 1, 1 S. L. 299; Oct. 1660-1, act 7, 2 S. L. 20; Oct. 1669, act 7, 2 S. L. 272; Oct. 1670, act 9, Ibid. 262. (e) The county of Pulaski having been formed of parts of the counties of Montgomery and Wythe, Acts 1839, p. 30, 33, the county of Montgomery and so much of Pulaski as was taken from Montgomery, together elect one delegate. (f) The county of Marshall having been formed by dividing the county of Ohio, the latter county elects but one delegate, and the county of Marshall also elects one. Acts 1834-5, p. 38, 40. (g) The county of Floyd having been formed out of a part of Montgomery, April 4th, 1831, acts 1830-31, p. 137, 138; and the county of Smyth out of a part of the counties of Washington and Wythe, Feb. 23, 1832, acts 1831-2, p. 47, 49; the counties of Floyd, Smyth, Montgomery and Washington, now elect but one delegate each. (h) The county of Mercer having been formed out of parts of Giles and Tazewell March 17, 1837, acts 1836-7, p. 31-33; the counties of Giles and Mercer together elect one delegate. (i) The county of Pulaski having been formed of parts of the counties of Montgomery and Wythe, acts 1839, p. 30-33; the county of Wythe and so much of Pulaski as was taken from Wythe, together elect one delegate. (j) The county of Fayette having been formed out of parts of Logan, Greenbrier, Nicholas and Kanawha, February 28th, 1831, acts 1830-31, p. 134-136; and the county of Jackson out of parts of the counties of Mason, Kanawha and Wood, March 1st, 1831, acts 1830-31, p. 138-140; the counties of Nicholas and Fayette together elect one delegate, and the counties of Mason and Jackson together elect one delegate. (k) The county of Page having been formed out of parts of the counties of She-nandoah and Rockingham, March 30th, 1831, acts 1830-31, p. 140-142; the county of Shenandoah now elects but two delegates, and the county of Page elects one delegate. the counties of Augusta, Berkeley, Botetourt,(7) Hampshire, Jefferson, Rockingham and Rockbridge, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Hardy, Morgan and Pendleton, shall each elect one delegate. Of the twenty-nine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge and above tide-water, the county of Loudoun, shall elect three delegates; the counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Culpeper, (m) Fauquier, Franklin, Halifax, Mecklenburg and Pittsylvania, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Amelia, Amherst, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Goochland, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Nelson, Nottoway, Orange, (n) Patrick, Powhatan and Prince Edward, shall each elect one delegate. And of the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying on tidewater, the counties of Accomack and Norfolk, shall each elect two delegates; the counties of Caroline, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Greenesville, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King & Queen, King William, King George, Nansemond, Northumberland, Northampton, Princess Anne, Prince George, Prince William, Southampton, Spottsylvania, Stafford, Sussex, Surry and Westmoreland, and the city of Richmond, the borough of Norfolk, and the town of Petersburg, shall each elect one delegate; the counties of Lancaster and Richmond, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of Mathews and Middlesex, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of Elizabeth City and Warwick, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of James City and York, and the city of Williamsburg, shall together elect one delegate; and the counties of New Kent and Charles City, shall together elect one delegate. 3. The other house of the general assembly shall be called the senate, and shall consist of thirty-two members, of whom thirteen shall be chosen for and by the counties lying west of the Blue Ridge of mountains, and nineteen for and by the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying east thereof; and for the election of whom, the counties, cities, towns and boroughs shall be divided into thirty-two districts, as hereinafter provided. Each county of the respective districts, at the time of the first election of its delegate or delegates under this constitution, shall vote for one senator; and the sheriffs or other officers holding the election for each county, city, town or borough, within five days at farthest after the last county, city, town or borough election in the district, shall meet at some convenient place, and from the polls so taken in their respective counties, cities, towns or boroughs, return as a senator the person who shall have the greatest number of votes in the whole district. To keep up this assembly by rotation, the districts shall be equally divided into four classes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the first general election, the eight members elected by the first division shall be displaced, and the vacancies thereby occasioned, supplied from such class or division by new election in the manner aforesaid. This rotation shall be applied to each division according to its number, and continued in due order annually. And for the election of senators, the counties of Brooke, Ohio(0) and Tyler, shall form one district the counties of Monongalia, Preston and Randolph, shall form another district the counties of Harrison, Lewis and Wood, shall form another district the counties of Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Logan and Nicholas, shall (1) The county of Roanoke having been formed by dividing the county of Botetourt, March 30th, 1838, acts 1838, p. 54-56; the county of Botetourt now elects but one delegate, and the county of Roanoke elects one delegate. (m) The county of Rappahannock having been formed by dividing the county of Culpeper, February 8th, 1833, acts 1832-3, p. 44-46; the county of Culpeper now elects but one delegate, and the county of Rappahannock elects the other. (n) The county of Greene having been formed by dividing the county of Orange, these counties together elect one delegate. Acts 1838, p. 52-54. (0) Marshall county added to this district. Acts 1834-5, p. 39. |