Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Front matter

a Constitution or Frame of Government

Agreed upon by the Delegates of the People of the State of Massachusetts-Bay, in Convention, Begun and held at Cambridge on the Firt of September, , and Continued by Adjounrments to the Second of March, ,

To be ubmitted it the Reviion of the Contiuents, in Order to the compleating of the ame, in Conformity to their Amendments at a Seion to be held for that Purpoe, on the Firt Wedneday in June next enuing.

Part the First

A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Art. I. All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, eential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, poeing, and protecting property; in fine, that of eeking and obtaining their afety and happines.

II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in ociety, publicly, and at tated eaons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great creator and preerver of the univere. And no ubject hall be hurt, moleted, or retrained, in his peron, liberty, or etate, for worshiping God in the manner and eaon mot agreeable to the dictates of his own concience; or for his religious profeion or entiments; provided he doth not diturb the public peace, or obtruct others in their religious worship.

III. As the happiness of a people, and the good order and preervation of civil government, eentially depend upon piety, religion and morality; and as thee cannot be generally diffued through a community, but by the intitution of the public worhip of God, and of public intructions in piety, religion and morality: Therefore, to promote their happines, and to ecure the good order and preervation of their government, the people of this Commonwealth have a right to invet their legilature with power to authorize and require, and the legilature hall, from time to time, authorize and require, the everal towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious ocieties, to make uitable proviion, at their own expence, for the intitution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public protetant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in all caes where uch proviion hall not be made voluntarily.

And the people of this Commonwealth have alo a right to, and do, invet their legilature with authority to enjoin upon all the ubjects an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers aforeaid, at lated times and eaons, if there be any on whoe intructions they can concienciouly and conveniently attend.

Provided notwithstanding, that the everal towns, parihes, precincts, and other bodies-politic, or religious ocieties, hall, at all times, have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, and of contracting with them for their upport and maintenance.

And all monies paid by the ubject to the upport of public worhip, and of the public teachers aforeaid, hall, if he require it, be uniformly applied to the upport of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious ect or denomination, provided there be any on whoe intructions he attends; otherwise it may be paid towards the upport of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which the aid monies are raied.

And every denomination of chritians, demeaning themelves peaceably, and as good ubjects of the Commonwealth, hall be equally under the pro- of the law: And no ubordination of any one ect or denomination to another hall ever be etablihed by law.

IV. The people of this Commonwealth have the ole and excluive right of governing themelves as a free, overeign, and independent tate; and do, and forever hereafter hall, exercie and enjoy every power, juridiction, and right, which is not, or may not hereafter, be by them exprely delegated to the United States of America, in Congres aembled.

V. All power reiding originally in the people, and being derived from them, the everal magitrates and officers of government, veted with authority, whether legilative, executive, or judicial, are their ubtitutes and agents, and are at all times accountable to them.

VI. No man, nor corporation, or aociation of men, have any other title to obtain advantages, or particular and excluive privileges, ditinct from thoe of the community, than what aries from the conideration of ervices rendered to the public; and this title being in nature neither hereditary, nor tranfmiible to children, or decendents, or relations by blood, the idea of a man born a magitrate, law-giver, or judge, is aburd and unnatural.

VII. Government is intituted for the common good; for the protection, afety, properity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interet of any one man, family, or clas of men: Therefore the people alone have an incontetible, unalienable, and indefeaible right to intitute government; and to reform, alter, or totally change the fame, when their protection, afety, properity and happines require it.

VIII. In order to prevent thoe, who are veted with authority, from becoming oppreors, the people have a right, at uch periods and in uch manner as they hall establish by their frame of government, to caue their public officers to return to private life; and to fill up vacant places by certain and regular elections and appointments.

IX. All elections ought to be free; and all the inhabitants of this Commonwealth, having uch qualifications as they shall etablish by their frame of government, have an equal right to elect officers, and to be elected, for public employments.

X. Each individual of the ociety has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty and property, according to tanding laws. He is obliged, conequently, to contribute his hare to the expence of this protection; to give his peronal ervice, or an equivalent, when neceary: But no part of the property of any individual, can, with jutice, be taken from him, or applied to public ues, without his own conent, or that of the repreentative body of the people: In fine, the people of this Commonwealth are not controulable by any other laws, than thoe to which their contitutional repreentative body have given their conent. And whenever the public exigencies require, that the property of any individual should be appropriated to public ues, he hall receive a reaonable compenation therefor.

XI. Every ubject of the Commonwealth ought to find a certain remedy, by having recoure to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his peron, property, or character. He aught to obtain right and jutice freely, and with being obliged to purchae it; compleatly, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay; conformably to the laws.

XII. No ubject hall be held to answer for any crime or offence, until the fame is fully and plainly, ubtantially and formally, decribed to him; or be compelled to accue, or furnish evidence against himelf. And every ubject hall have a right to produce all proofs, that may be favourable to him; to meet the witnees against him face to face, and to be fully heard in his defence by himself, or his council, at his election. And no ubject shall be arreted, imprioned, depoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities, or privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled, or deprived of his life, liberty, or eftate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.

And the legilature shall not make any law, that shall ubject any peron to a capital or infamous punihment, excepting for the government of the army, and navy, without trial by jury.

XIII. In criminal proecutions, the verification of facts in the vicinity where they happen, is one of the greatet ecurities of the life, liberty, and preperty of the citizen.

XIV. Every ubject has a right to be ecure from all unreaonable earches, and eizures of his peron, his houses, his papers, and all his poeions. All warrants, therefore, are contrary to this right, if the caue or foundation of them be not previouly upported by oath or affirmation; and if the order in the warrant to a civil officer, to make earch in upected places, or to arret one or more upected perons, or to eize their property, be not accompanied with a pecial deignation of the perons or ob of earch, arret, or eizure and no warrant ought to be iued but in caes, and with the formalities, precribed by the laws.

XV. In all controveries concerning property, and in all uits between two or more perons, except in caes in which it has heretofore been otherways ued and practiced, the parties have a right to a trial by a jury; and this method of procedure hall be held acred, unles, in caues ariing on the high-eas, and uch as relate to mariners wages, the legislature hall hereafter find it neceary to alter it.

XVI. The liberty of the pres is eential to the ecurity of freedom in a tate: it ought not, therefore, to be retrained in this Commonwealth.

XVII. The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defence. And as in time of peace armies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the conent of the legilature; and the military power hall always be held in an exact ubordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it.

XVIII. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the contitution, and a conant adherence to thoe of piety, jutice, moderation, temperance, indutry, and frugality, are abolutely neceary to preerve the advantages of liberty, and to maintain a free government: The people ought, conequently, to have a particular attention to all thoe principles, in the choice of their officers and repreentatives: And they have a right to require of their law-givers, and magitrates, an exact and contant obervance of them, in the formation and execution of the laws neceary for the good adminitration of the Commonwealth.

XIX. The people have a right, in an orderly and peaceable manner, to aemble to conult upon the common good; give intructions to their repreentatives; and to request of the legislative body, by the way of addrees, petitions, or remontrances, redres of the wrongs done them, and of the grievances they uffer.

XX. The power of upending the laws, or the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercied but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercied in uch particular caes only as the legilature hall exprely provide for.

XXI. The freedom of deliberation, peech and debate, in either houe of the legilature, is o eential to the rights of the people, that it cannot be the foundation of any accuation or proecution, action or complaint, in any other court or place whatoever.

XXII. The legilature ought frequently to aemble for the redres of grievances, for correcting, trengthening,and confirming the laws, and for making new laws, as the common good may require.

XXIII. No ubidy, charge, tax, impot, or duties, ought to be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatoever, without the conent of the people,or their repreentatives in the legislature.

XXIV. Laws made to punish for actions done before the exitence of uch laws, and which have not been declared crimes by preceeding laws, are unjuft, oppreive, and inconitent with the fundamental principles of a free government.

XXV. No ubject ought, in any cae, or in any time, to be declared guilty of treaon or felony by the legilature.

XXVI. No magitrate or court of law, hal demand exceive bail or ureties, impoe exceive fines, or inflict cruel or unuual punihments.

XXVII. In time of peace no oldier ought to be quartered in any houe without the conent of the owner; and in time of war uch quarters ought not to be made but by the civil magitrate, in a manner ordained by the legislature.

XXVIII. No peron can in any cae be ubjected to law-martial, or to any penalties or pains, by virtue of that law, except thoe employed the army or navy, and except the militia in actual ervice, bur by authority of the legilature.

XXIX. It is eential to the preervation of the rights of every individual, his life, liberty, property and character, that there be an impartial interpretation of the laws, and adminitration of jutice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial and independent as the lot of humanity will admit. It is therefore not only the be policy, but for the ecurity of the rights of the people, and of every citizen, that the judges of the upreme judicial court hould hold their offices as long as they behave themeives well; and that they should have honorable alaries acertained and established by tanding laws.

XXX. In the government of this Commonwealth, the legislative department hall never exercie the executive and judicial powers, or either of them: The executive hall never exercise the legilative and judicial powers, or either of them: The judicial hall never exercie the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men.

Part the Second. The Frame of Government

The people inhabiting the territory formerly called the Province of Maachuetts-Bay, do hereby olemnly and mutually agree with each other, to form themelves into a free, overeign, and independent body politic or tate, by the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Section I. The General Court

Art. I. The department of legilation hall be formed by two branches, a Senate and House of Representatives: each of which shall have a negative on the other.

The legislative body hall aemble every year on the last Wednesday in May, and at uch other times as they hall judge neceary; and hall diolve and be diolved on the day next preceeding the aid lat Wednesday in May; and hall be tiled, The General Court of Massachusetts.

II. No bill or reolve of the Senate or Houe of Repreentatives hall become a law, and have force as uch, until it hall have been laid before the Gover for his revial: And if he, upon uch revision, approve thereof, he shall ignify his approbation by igning the ame. But if he have any objection to the paing of uch bill or reolve, he shall return the ame, together with his objections thereto, in writing, to the Senate or House of Repreentatives, in which oever the ame hall have originated; who hall enter the objections ent down by the Governor, at large, on their records, and proceed to reconider the aid bill or reolve: But if after uch reconideration, two thirds of the aid Senate or House of Repreentatives, hall, notwithtanding the aid objections, agree to pas the fame, it hall, together with the objections, be ent to the other branch of the legilature, where it shall alo be reconidered, and if approved by two thirds of the members preent, it shall have the force of a law: But in all uch caes, the votes of both houes hall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the perons voting for, or against, the aid bill or reolve, hall be entered upon the public records of the Commonwealth.

And in order to prevent unneceary delays, if any bill or reolve hall not be returned by the Governor within five days after it hall have been preented, the ame hall have the force of a law.

III. The General Court hall forever have full power and authority to erect and contitute judicatories and courts of record, or other courts, to be held in the name of the Commonwealth, for the hearing, trying, and determining of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, procees, plaints, actions, matters, caues and things, whatsoever, ariing or happening within the Commonwealth, or between of concerning perons inhabiting, or reiding, or brought within the fame; whether the ame; be criminal or civil, or whether the aid crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the aid pleas be real, peronal, or mixt; and for the awarding and making out of execution thereupon: To which courts and judicatories are hereby given and granted full power and authority, from time to time, to adminiter oaths or affirmations, for the better dicovery of truth in any matter in controvery or depending before them.

IV. And further, full power and authority are hereby given and granted to the aid General Court, from time to time, to make, ordain, and etablish, all manner of wholeome and reaonable orders, laws, tatutes, and ordinances, directions and intructions, either with penalties or without; o as the ame be not repugnant or contrary to this Contitution, as they hall judge to be for the good and welfare of this Commonwealth, and for the government and ordering thereof, and of the ubjects of the ame, and for the neceary upport and defence of the government thereof; and to name and ettle annually, or provide by fixed laws, for the naming and ettling all civil officers within the aid Commonwealth; the election and contitution of whom are not hereafter in this Form of Government otherwie provided for; and to et forth the everal duties, powers and limits, of the everal civil and military officers of this Commonwealth, and the forms of uch oaths or affirmations as hall be repectively adminitred unto them for the execution of their everal offices and places, o as the ame be not repugnant or contrary to this Contitution; and to impoe and levy proportional and reasonable aements, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and perons reident, and etates lying, within the aid Commonwealth; and alo to impoe, and levy, reaonable duties and excies, upon any produce, goods, wares, merchandize, and commodities whatoever, brought into, produced, manufactured, or being within the fame; to be iued and dipoed of by warrant, under the hand of the Governor of this Commonwealth for the time being, with the advice and conent of the Council, for the public ervice, in the neceary defence and upport of the government of the aid Commonwealth, and the protection and preervation of the the ubjects thereof, according to uch acts as are or shall be in force within the ame.

And while the public charges of government or any part thereof, hall be aeed on polls and etates, in the manner that has hitherto been practied; in order that uch aements may be made with equality, there shall be a valuation of etates within the Commonwealth taken anew once in every ten years at the leat, and as much oftener as the General Court hall order.

Chapter I.

Section II. Senate

Art. I There hall be annually elected by the freeholders and other inhabitants of this Commonwealth, qualified as in this Contitution is provided, forty perons to be Counellors and Senators for the year enuing their election; to be choen by the inhabitants of the ditricts, into which the Commonwealth may from time to time be divided by the General Court for that purpoe: And the General Court, in aigning the numbers to be elected by the repective ditricts, hall govern themelves by the proportion of the public taxes paid by the aid ditricts; and timely make known to the inhabitants of the Commonwealth, the limits of each ditrict, and the number of Counellors and Senators to be choen therein; provided that the number of uch ditricts hall be never les than thirteen; and that no district be o large as to entitle the fame to chooe more than fix Senators.

And the feveral counties in this Commonwealth hall, until the General Court hall determine it neceary to alter the aid ditricts, be ditricts for the choice of Counsellors and Senators, (except that the counties of Duke’s County and Nantucket hall form one district for that purpoſe) and shall elect the following number for Counsellors and Senators, viz.

II. The Senate hall be the firt branch of the legilature; and the Senators hall be choen in the following manner, viz. There hall be a meeting on the firt Monday in April annually, forever, of the inhabitants of each town in the everal counties of this Commonwealth; to be called by the Selectmen, and warned in due coure of law, at leat even days before the irt Monday in April, for the purpoe of electing perons to be Senators and Counellors: And at uch meetings every male inhabitant of twenty-one years of age and upwards, having a freehold etate within the Commonwealth, of the annual income of three pounds, or any etate of the value of ixty pounds, hall have a right to give in his vote for the Senators for the ditrict of which he is an inhabitant. And to remove all doubts concerning the meaning of the word "inhabitant" in this contitution, every peron hall be conidered as an inhabitant, for the purpoe of electing and being elected into any office, or place within this State, in that town, ditrict or plantation, where he dwelleth, or hath his home.

The Selectmen of the everal towns hall preide at uch meetings impartially; and hall receive the votes of all the inhabitants of uch towns preent and qualified to vote for Senators, and hall ort and count them in open town meeting, and in preence of the Town Clerk, who hall make a fair record, in preence of the Selectmen, and in open town-meeting, of the name of every peron voted for, and of the number of votes againt his name; and a fair copy of this record hall be atteted by the Selectmen and the Town-Clerk, and hall be ealed up, directed to the Secretary of the Commonwealth for the time being, with a upercription, expreing the purport of the contents thereof, and delivered by the Town-Clerk of uch towns, to the Sheriff of the county in which uch town lies, thirty days at least before the lat Wednesday in May annually; or it hall be delivered into the Secretary’s office eventeen days at leat before the aid lat Wednesday in May; and the Sheriff of each county hall deliver all uch certificates by him received into the Secretary’s office eventeen days before the aid lat Wedneday in May.

And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, qualified as this Contitution provides, who are or hall be empowered and required to aes taxes upon themelves toward the upport of government, hall have the ame privilege of voting for Counellors and Senators in the plantations where they reide,as town inhabitants have in their repective towns; and the plantation-meetings for that purpoe hall be held annually on the ame first Monday in April, at uch place in the plantations repectively, as the Aeers thereof shall direct which Aeors hall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the Selectmen and Town-Clerks have in their everal towns, by this Contitution. And all other perons living in places unincorporated (qualified as aforeaid) who shall be aeed to the upport of government by the Aeors of an adjacent town, hall have the privilege of giving in their votes for Counellors and Senators, in the town where they hall be aeed, and be notified of the place of meeting by the Selectmen of the town where they hall be aeed, for that purpoe accordingly.

III. And that there may be a due convention of Senators on the lat Wedneday in May annually, the Governor, with five of the Council, for the time being, hall, as oon as may be, examine the returned copies of uch records; and fourteen days before the aid day he hall iue his ummons to uch perons as hall appear to be choen by a majority of voters, to attend on that day, and take their eats accordingly: Provided nevertheles, that for the first year the aid returned copies shall be examined by the Preident and five of the Council of the former Contitution of Government; and the aid Preident hall, in like manner, iue his ummons to the perons o elected, that they may take their feats as aforeaid.

IV. The Senate hall be the final judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of their own members, as pointed out in the Contitution; and hall, on the aid lat Wedneday in May annually, determine and declare who are elected by each ditrict, to be Senators by a majority of votes: And in cae there hall not appear to be the full number of Senators returned elected by a majority of votes for any ditrict, the deficiency hall be upplied in the following manner, viz. The members of the Houe of Repreentatives, and uch Senators as hell be declared elected, hall take the names of uch perons as hall be found to have the highest number of votes in uch ditrict, and not elected, amounting to twice the number of Senators wanting, if there be o many voted for; and out of thee, hall elect by ballot a number of Senators fuicient to fill up the vacancies in uch ditrict: And in this manner all uch vacancies hall be filled up in every ditrict of the Commonwealth; and in like manner all vacancies in the Senate, ariing by death, removal out of the State, or otherwie, hall be upplied as foon as may be, after uch vacancies hall happen.

V. Provided nevertheless, that no peron hall be capable of being elected as a Senator, who is not eized in his own right of a freehold within this Commonwealth, of the value of three hundred pounds at leat, or poeed of peronal etate to the value of fix hundred pounds at leat, or of both to the amount of the ame um, and who has not been an inhabitant of this Commonwealth for the space of five years immediately preceeding his election, and at the time of his election, he shall be an inhabitant in the ditrict, for which he hall be choen.

VI. The Senate hall have power to adjourn themelves, provided uch adjournments do not exceed two days at a time.

VII. The Senate hall chooe its own Preident, appoint its own officers,and determine its own rules of proceedings.

VIII. The Senate hall be a court with full authority to hear and determine all impeachments made by the Houe of Repreentatives, againt any officer or officers of the Commonwealth, for miconduct and mal-adminiftration in their offices. But previous to the trial of every impeachment, the members of the Senate hall repectively be worn, truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in quetion, according to evidence. Their judgment, however, hall not extend further than to removal from office, and diqualification to hold or enjoy any place of honour, trut, or profit, under this Commonwealth But the party o convicted, hall be nevertheless, liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the laws of the land.

IX. Not less than ixteen members of the Senate hall contitute a quorum for doing business.

Chapter I.

Section III: Houe of Repreentatives

Art.I. There hall be in the Legilature of this Commonwealth, a repreentation of the people, annually elected, and founded upon the principle of equality.

II. And in order to provide for a repreentation of the citizens of this Commonwealth, founded upon the principle of equality, every corporate town containing one hundred and fifty rateable polls, may elect one Repreentative: Every corporate town, containing three hundred and eventy-five rateable polls, may elect two Repreentatives: Every corporate town, containing ix hundred rateable polls, may elect three Repreentatives; and proceeding in that manner, making two hundred and twenty-five rateable polls the mean increaing number for every additional Repreentative.

Provided nevertheless, that each town now incorporated, not having one hundred and fifty rateable polls, may elect one repreentative: but no place hall hereafter be incorporated with the privilege of electing a Repreentative, unless there are within the fame one hundred and fifty rateable polls.

And the House of Repreentatives hall have power from time to time to impoe fines upon uch towns as hall, neglect to chooe and return members to the ame, agreeably to this Contition.

The expences of travelling, to the Geneval Aembly, and returning home, once in every eion, and no more, hall be paid by the government, out of the public treaury, to every member who hall attend as eaonably as he can, in the judgment of the Houe and does hot depart without leave.

III Every member of the Houe of Repreentatives choen by written votes; and for one year at leat next preceding his election, hall have been an inhabitant of, and have been eized in his own right of a freehold of the value of one hundred pounds within the town he shall be choen to repreent, or any rateable etate to the value of two hundred pounds; and he shall ceae to repreent the aid town immediately on his ceaing to be qualified as aforeaid.

IV. Every male peron, being twenty-one years of age, and resident in any particular town in this Commonwealth for the space of one year next preceeding, having a freehold etate within the ame town, of the annual income of three pounds, or any etate of the value of ixty pounds, hall have a right to vote in the choice of a Repreentative or Repreentatives for the aid town.

V. The members of the Houe of Repreentatives hall be choen annually in the month of May, ten days at leat before the lat Wednesday of that month.

VI. The Houe of Repreentatives hall be the Grand Inquet of this Commonwealth; and all impeachments made by them, hall be heard and tried by the Senate.

VII. All money-bills hall originate in the Houe of Repreentatives; but the Senate may pro or concur with amendments, as on other Bills.

VIII. The Houe of Repreentatives shall have power to adjourn themelves; provided uch adjournment hall not exceed two days at a time.