We, the people of Missouri, inhabiting the limits
hereinafter designated, by our representatives in convention assembled at Saint
Louis, on Monday, the 12th day of June, 1820, do mutually agree to form and establish a free
and independent republic, by the name of the “State of Missouri,” and for the government
thereof do ordain and establish this constitution:
ARTICLE I.
OF BOUNDARIES. We do declare, establish, ratify, and confirm
the following as the permanent boundaries of said State, that is to say:
Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six
degrees of north latitude; thence west along the said parallel of latitude to
Saint François River; thence up and following the course of that river, in the
middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six
degrees and thirty minutes; thence west along the same to a point where the
said parallel is intersected by a meridian-line passing through the middle of
the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River;
thence from the point aforesaid north, along the said meridian-line, to the
intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the
river Des Moines, making the said line correspond with the Indian
boundary-line; thence east from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along
the said parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of
the said river Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the main channel
of the said river Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into
the Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the
Mississippi River; thence down and following the course of the Mississippi
River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning.
ARTICLE II.
OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.
The powers of government
shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be
confided to a separate magistracy; and no person charged with the exercise of
powers properly belonging to one of those departments shall exercise any power
properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter
expressly directed or permitted.
ARTICLE III.
OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.
SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a
general assembly, which shall consist of a senate and of a house of
representatives.
Sec. 2. The house of representatives shall consist of
members to be chosen every second year, by the qualified electors of the
several counties. Each county shall have at least one representative; but the
whole number of representatives shall never exceed one hundred.
SEC. 3. No person shall be a member of the house of
representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four years; who
shall not be a free white male citizen of the United States; who shall not have
been an inhabitant of this State two years, and of the county which he
represents one year next before his election, if such county shall have been so
long established; but if not, then of the county or counties from which the
same shall have been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a State or
county tax.
SEC. 4. The general assembly at their first session, and in
the years one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two and one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-four, respectively, and every fourth year thereafter, shall
cause an enumeration of the inhabitants of this state to be made; and at the
first session after such enumeration shall apportion the number of
representatives among the several counties, according to the number of free
white male inhabitants therein.
SEC. 5: The senators shall be chosen by the qualified
electors for the term of four years. No person shall be a senator who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty years; who shall not be a free white male
citizen of the United States; who shall not have been an inhabitant of this
State four years, and of the district which he may be chosen to represent one
year before his election, if such district shall have been so long established;
but if not, then of the district or districts from which the same shall have
been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a State or county tax.
SEC. 6. The senate shall consist of not less than fourteen
nor more than thirty-three members; for the election of whom the State shall be
divided into convenient districts, which may be altered from time to time, and
new districts established, as public convenience may require, and the senators
shall be apportioned among the several districts according to the number of
free white male inhabitants in each: Provided, That when a
senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of
which such district consists shall not be entirely separated by any county
belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a
district.
SEC. 7. At the first session of the general assembly, the
senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes. The
seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of the second year, and
the seats of the second class at the end of the fourth year; so that one-half
of the senators shall be chosen every second year.
Sec. 8. After the first day of January, one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-two, all general elections shall commence on the first
Monday in August, and shall be held biennially; and the electors, in all cases,
except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be privileged from
arrest during their continuance at elections, and in going to and returning
from the same.
SEC. 9. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill
up such vacancies as may occur in either house of the general assembly.
Sec. 10. Every free white male citizen of the United States,
who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have resided
in this State one year before an election, the last three months whereof shall
have been in the county or district in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed
a qualified elector of all elective offices: Provided, That no
soldier, seaman, or marine in the Regular Army or Navy of the United States
shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.
SEC. 11. No judge of any court of law or equity, secretary
of state, attorney-general, State auditor, State or county treasurer, register,
or recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, coroner, member of
Congress, nor other person holding any lucrative office under the United States
or this State, militia officers, justices of the peace, and postmasters
excepted, shall be eligible to either house of the general assembly.
SEC. 12. No person who now is or hereafter may be a
collector or holder of public money, nor any assistant or deputy of such
collector or holder of public money, shall be eligible to either house of the
general assembly, nor to any office of profit or trust until he shall have
accounted for and paid all sums for which he may be accountable.
SEC. 13. No person while he continues to exercise the
functions of a bishop, priest, clergyman, or teacher of any religious
persuasion, denomination, society, or sect whatsoever, shall be eligible to
either house of the general assembly; nor shall he be appointed to any office
of profit within the State, the office of justice of the peace excepted.
SEC. 14. The general assembly shall have power to exclude
from every office of honor, trust, or profit, within the State, and from the
right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous
crime.
Sec. 15. Every person who shall be convicted of having,
directly or indirectly, given or offered any bribe to procure his election or
appointment, shall be disqualified for any office of honor, trust, or profit under
this State; and any person who shall give or offer any bribe to procure the
election or appointment of any person, shall, on conviction thereof, be
disqualified for an elector, or for any office of honor, trust, or profit under
this State, for ten years after such conviction.
SEC. 16. No senator or representative shall, during the term
for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under
this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have
been increased, during his continuance in office, except to such offices as
shall be filled by elections of the people.
SEC. 17. Each
house shall appoint its own officers, and shall judge of the qualifications,
elections, and returns of its own members. A majority of each house shall
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day
to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner, and
under such penalties, as each house may provide.
Sec. 18. Each house may determine the rules of its
proceedings; punish its members for disorderly behavior; and, with the
concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no
member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause. They shall each,
from time to time, publish a journal of their proceedings, except such parts as
may, in their opinion, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question
shall be entered on the journal, at the desire of any two members.
Sec. 19. The doors of each house, and of committee of the
whole, shall be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy; and each
house may punish, by fine or imprisonment, any person, not a member, who shall
be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous
behavior in their presence, during their session: Provided, That
such fine shall not exceed three hundred dollars, and such imprisonment shall
not exceed forty-eight hours for one offence.
SEC. 20. Neither house shall, without the consent of the
other, adjourn for more than two days at any one time, nor to any other place
than to that in which the two houses may be sitting.
SEC. 21. Bills may originate in either house, and may be
altered, amended, or rejected by the other; and every bill shall be read on
three different days in each house, unless two-thirds of the house where the
same is depending shall dispense with this rule; and every bill, having passed
both houses, shall be signed by the speaker of the house of representatives and
by the president of the senate.
SEC. 22. When any officer, civil or military, shall be
appointed by the joint or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate
vote of either house of the general assembly, the votes shall be publicly
given, viva voce, and entered on the journals. The whole
list of members shall be called, and the names of absentees shall be noted and
published with the journal.
SEC. 23. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases,
except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest
during the session of the general assembly, and for fifteen days next before
the commencement and after the termination of each session; and for any speech
or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.
SEC. 24. The members of the general assembly shall severally
receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which may,
from time to time, be increased or diminished by law; but no alteration,
increasing or tending to increase the compensation of members, shall take
effect during the session at which such alteration shall be made.
Sec. 25: The general assembly shall direct by law in what
manner, and in what courts, suits may be brought against the State.
SEC. 26. The general assembly shall not have power to pass
laws,
1. For the emancipation of slaves without the consent of
their owners; or without paying them, before such emancipation, a full
equivalent for such slaves so emancipated; and,
2. To prevent bona-fide immigrants to this
State, or actual settlers therein, from bringing from any of the United States,
or from any of their Territories, such persons as may there be deemed to be
slaves, so long as any persons of the same description are allowed to be held
as slaves by the laws of this state.
They shall have power to pass laws
1. To prohibit the introduction into this State of any
slaves who may have committed any high crime in any other State or Territory;
2. To prohibit the introduction of any slave for the purpose
of speculation, or as an article of trade or merchandise;
3. To prohibit the introduction of any slave, or the
offspring of any slave, who heretofore may have been, or who hereafter may be,
imported from any foreign country into the United States, or any Territory
thereof, in contravention of any existing statute of the United States; and,
4. To permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving
the right of creditors, where the person so emancipating will give security
that the slave so emancipated shall not become a public charge.
It shall be their duty, as soon as may be, to pass such laws
as may be necessary,
1. To prevent free negroes end mulattoes from coming to and
settling in this state, under any pretext whatsoever; and,
2. To oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity,
and to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or limb.
SEC. 27. In prosecutions for crimes, slaves shall not be
deprived of an impartial trial by jury, and a slave convicted of a capital
offence shall suffer the same degree of punishment, and no other, that would be
inflicted on a white person for a like offence; and courts of justice, before
whom slaves shall be tried, shall assign them counsel for their defence.
SEC. 28. Any person who shall maliciously deprive of life or
dismember a slave, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted for the
like offence if it were committed on a free white person.
SEC. 29. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of
state, auditor, treasurer, attorney-general, and all judges of the courts of
law and equity, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office;
but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office,
and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under this
State. The party impeached, whether convicted or acquitted, shall,
nevertheless, be liable to be indicted, tried, and punished according to law.
SEC. 30. The house of representatives shall have the sole
power of impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and, when
sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation to do
justice according to law and evidence. When the governor shall be tried, the
presiding judge of the supreme court shall preside; and no person shall be
convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators present.
SEC. 31. A State treasurer shall be biennially appointed by
joint vote of the two houses of the general assembly, who shall keep his office
at the seat of government. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in
consequence of appropriations made by law; and an accurate account of the
receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be annually published.
SEC. 32. The appointment of all officers, not otherwise
directed by this constitution, shall be made in such manner as may be
prescribed by law; and all officers, both civil and military, under the
authority of this state, shall, before entering on the duties of their
respective offices, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of
the United States, and of this State, and to demean themselves faithfully in
office.
SEC. 33. The general assembly shall meet on the third Monday
in September next; on the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and
twenty-one; on the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and twenty-two,
and thereafter the general assembly shall meet once in every two years, and
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in November, unless a different day
shall be appointed by law.
SEC. 34. No county now established shall ever be reduced, by
the establishment of new counties, to less than twenty miles square; nor shall
any county hereafter be established which shall contain less than four hundred
square miles.
SEC. 35. Within five years after the adoption of this constitution,
all the statute laws of a general nature, both civil and criminal, shall be
revised, digested, and promulgated, in such manner as the general assembly
shall direct, and a like revision, digest, and promulgation shall be made at
the expiration of every subsequent period of ten years.
SEC. 36. The style of the laws of this State shall be, “Be
it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Missouri."
ARTICLE IV.
OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER.
SECTION 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a
chief magistrate, who shall be styled “The governor of the State of Missouri.”
SEC. 2. The governor shall be at least thirty-five years of
age, and a natural-born citizen of the United States, or a citizen at the
adoption of the Constitution of the United States, or an inhabitant of that
part of Louisiana now. included in the State of Missouri at the time of the
cession thereof from France to the United States, and shall have been a
resident of the same at least four years next before his election.
SEC. 3. The governor shall hold his office for four years,
and until a successor be duly appointed and qualified. He shall be elected in
the manner following: At the time and place of voting for members of the house
of representatives, the qualified electors shall vote for a governor; and when
two or more persons have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than any
person, the election shall be decided between them by a joint vote of both
houses of the general assembly, at their next session.
SEC. 4. The governor shall be ineligible for the next four
years after the expiration of his term of service.
SEC. 5. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the
militia and navy of the State, except when they shall be called into the
service of the United States; but he need not command in person, unless advised
so to do by a resolution of the general assembly.
SEC. 6. The governor shall have power to remit fines and
forfeitures; and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant reprieves and
pardons.
SEC. 7. The governor shall, from time to time, give to the
general assembly information relative to the state of the government, and shall
recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem necessary and
expedient. On extraordinary occasions he may convene the general assembly by
proclamation, and shall state to them the purposes for which they are convened.
SEC. 8. The governor shall take care that the laws be
distributed and faithfully executed; and he shall be a conservator of the peace
throughout the State.
SEC. 9. When any office shall become vacant, the governor
shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy, who shall continue in office until
a successor be duly appointed and qualified according to law.
SEC. 10. Every bill which shall have been passed by both
houses of the general assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to
the governor for his approbation. If he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he
shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have
originated, and the house shall cause the objections to be entered at large on
its journals, and shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such
reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that house shall
agree to pass the same, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the
other house, by which it shall be in like manner reconsidered, and if approved
by a majority of all the members elected to that house, it shall become a law.
In all such cases the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas and nays; the
names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the
journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the
governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented
to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if the governor had
signed it; unless the general assembly, by its adjournment, shall prevent its
return, in which case it shall not become a law.
SEC. 11. Every resolution to which the concurrence of the
senate and house of representatives may be necessary, except on cases of
adjournment, shall be presented to the governor, and before the same shall take
effect shall be proceeded upon in the same manner as in the case of a bill.
SEC. 12. There shall be an auditor of public accounts, whom
the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint.
He shall continue in office four years, and shall perform such duties as may be
prescribed by law, shall be kept at the seat of government,
SEC. 13. The governor shall, at stated times, receive for
his services an adequate salary, to be fixed by law, which shall neither be
increased nor diminished during his continuance in office, and which shall
never be less than two thousand dollars annually.
SEC. 14. There shall be a lieutenant-governor, who shall be
elected at the same time, in the same manner, for the same term, and shall
possess the same qualifications as the governor. The electors shall distinguish
for whom they vote as governor and for whom as lieutenant-governor.
SEC. 15. The lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his
office, be president of the senate. In committee of the whole he may debate on
all questions; and, when there is an equal division, he shall give the casting
vote in senate, and also in joint votes of both houses.
SEC. 16. When the office of governor shall become vacant, by
death, resignation, absence from the State, removal from office, refusal to
qualify, impeachment, or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor, or, in case of
like disability on his part, the president of the senate pro tempore, or,
if there be no president of the senate pro tempore, the
speaker of the house of representatives shall possess all the powers and
discharge all the duties of governor, and shall receive for his services the
like compensation, until such vacancy be filled, or the governor so absent or
impeached shall return or be acquitted.
SEC. 17. Whenever the office of governor shall become
vacant, by death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the
lieutenant-governor, or other person exercising the powers of governor for the
time being, shall, as soon as may be, cause an election to be held to fill such
vacancy, giving three months' previous notice thereof; and the person elected
shall not thereby be rendered ineligible to the office of governor for the next
succeeding term. Nevertheless, if such vacancy shall happen within eighteen
months of the end of the term for which the late governor shall have been
elected, the same shall not be filled.
SEC. 18. The lieutenant-governor, or president of the
senate pro tempore, while presiding in the senate, shall
receive the same compensation as shall be allowed to the speaker of the house
of representatives.
SEC. 19. The returns of all elections of governor and
lieutenant-governor shall be made to the secretary of state, in such manner as
may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 20. Contested elections of governor and
lieutenant-governor shall be decided by joint vote of both houses of the
general assembly, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 21. There shall be a secretary of state, whom the
governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint. He
shall hold his office four years, unless sooner removed on impeachment. He
shall keep a register of all the official acts and proceedings of the governor,
and, when necessary, shall attest them; and he shall lay the same, together
with all papers relative thereto, before either house of the general assembly,
whenever required so to do; and shall perform such other duties as may be
enjoined on him by law.
SEC. 22. The secretary of state shall, as soon as may be,
procure a seal of state, with such emblems and devices as shall be directed by
law, which shall not be subject to change. It shall be called “The Great Seal
of the State of Missouri;” shall be kept by the secretary of state; and all
official acts of the governor, his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be
thereby authenticated.
SEC. 23. There shall be appointed in each county a sheriff
and coroner, who, until the general assembly shall otherwise provide, shall be
elected by the qualified electors, at the time and place of electing
representatives. They shall serve for two years, and until a successor be duly
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed for misdemeanor in office, and
shall be ineligible four years in any term of eight years. The sheriff and
coroner shall each give security for the faithful discharge of the duties of
his office in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Whenever a county
shall be hereafter established, the governor shall appoint a sheriff and
coroner therein, who shall each continue in office until the next succeeding
general election, and until a successor shall be duly qualified.
SEC. 24. When vacancies happen in the office of sheriff or
coroner, they shall be filled by appointment of the governor; and the persons
so appointed shall continue in office until successors shall be duly qualified,
and shall not be thereby rendered ineligible for the next succeeding term.
SEC. 25. In all elections of sheriff and coroner, when two
or more persons have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than
any other person, the circuit courts of the counties respectively shall give
the casting vote; and all contested elections for the said offices shall be
decided by the circuit courts respectively, in such manner as the general
assembly may by law prescribe.
ARTICLE V.
OF THE JUDICIAL POWER.
SECTION 1. The judicial powers, as to matter of law and
equity, shall be vested in a supreme court, in a chancellor, in circuit courts,
and in such inferior tribunals as the general assembly may from time to time
ordain and establish.
SEC. 2. The supreme court, except in cases otherwise directed
by this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be
coextensive with the State, under the restrictions and limitations in this
constitution provided.
SEC. 3. The supreme court shall have a general
superintending control over all inferior courts of law. It shall have power to
issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, and
other original remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same.
SEC. 4. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, any
two of whom shall be a quorum; and the said judges shall be conservators of the
peace throughout the State.
SEC. 5. The State shall be divided into convenient
districts, not to exceed four; in each of which the supreme court shall hold
two sessions annually, at such places as the general assembly shall appoint;
and, when sitting in either district, it shall exercise jurisdiction over
causes originating in that district only: Provided, however, That the
general assembly may, at any time hereafter, direct by law that the said court
shall be held at one place only.
SEC. 6. The circuit court shall have jurisdiction over all
criminal cases which shall not be otherwise provided for by law; and exclusive
original jurisdiction in all civil cases which shall not be cognizable before
justices of the peace, until otherwise directed by the general assembly. It
shall hold its terms in such place in each county as may be by law directed
SEC. 7. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits,
for each of which a judge shall be appointed, who, after his appointment, shall
reside, and be a conservator of the peace, within the circuit for which he
shall be appointed.
SEC. 8. The circuit courts shall exercise a superintending
control over all such inferior tribunals as the general assembly may establish,
and over justices of the peace in each county in their respective circuits.
SEC. 9. The jurisdiction of the court of chancery shall be
coextensive with the State, and the times and places of holding its sessions
shall be regulated in the same manner as those of the supreme court.
SEC. 10. The court of chancery shall have original and
appellate jurisdiction in all matters of equity, and a general control over
executors, administrators, guardians, and minors, subject to appeal, in all
cases, to the supreme court, under such limitations as the general assembly may
by law provide.
SEC. 11. Until the general assembly shall deem it expedient
to establish inferior courts of chancery, the circuit courts shall have
jurisdiction in matters of equity, subject to appeal to the court of chancery,
in such manner and under such restrictions as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 12. Inferior tribunals shall be established in each
county for the transaction of all county business, for appointing guardians,
for granting letters-testamentary and of administration, and for settling the
accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians.
SEC. 13. The governor shall nominate and, by and with the
advice and consent of the senate, appoint the judges of the superior court, the
judges of the circuit courts, and the chancellor, each of whom shall hold his
office during good behavior, and shall receive for his services a compensation,
which shall not be diminished during his continuance in office, and which shall
not be less than two thousand dollars annually.
SEC. 14. No person shall be appointed a judge of the supreme
court, nor of a circuit court, nor chancellor, before he shall have attained to
the age of thirty years, nor shall any person continue to exercise the duties
of any of said offices after he shall have attained to the age of sixty-five
years.
SEC. 15. The courts respectively shall appoint their clerks,
who shall hold their offices during good behavior. For any misdemeanor in
office they shall be liable to be tried and removed by the supreme court, in
such manner as the general assembly shall by law provide.
SEC. 16. Any judge of the supreme court, or of the circuit
court, or the chancellor, may be removed from office on the address of
two-thirds of each house of the general assembly to the governor for that
purpose, but each house shall state on its respective journal the cause for
which it shall wish the removal of such judge or chancellor, and give him
notice thereof, and he shall have the right to be heard in his defence in such
manner as the general assembly shall by law direct; but no judge or chancellor
shall be removed in this manner for any cause for which he might have been
impeached.
SEC. 17. In each county there shall be appointed as many
justices of the peace as the public good may be thought to require. Their
powers and duties and their duration in office shall be regulated by law.
SEC. 18. An attorney-general shall be appointed by the
governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. He shall remain in
office four years, and shall perform such duties as shall be required of him by
law.
SEC. 19. All writs and process shall run and all
prosecutions shall be conducted in the name of the State of Missouri; all writs
shall be tested by the clerk of the court from which they shall be issued, and
all indictments shall conclude, “against the peace and dignity of the State.”
ARTICLE VI.
OF EDUCATION.
SECTION 1. Schools and the means of education shall forever
be encouraged in this State; and the general assembly shall take measures to
preserve from waste or damage such lands as have been, or hereafter may be,
granted by the United States for the use of schools within each township in
this State, and shall apply the funds which may arise from such lands in strict
conformity to the object of the grant; and one school or more shall be
established in each township as soon as practicable and necessary, where the
poor shall be taught gratis.
SEC. 2. The general assembly shall take measures for the
improvement of such lands as have been, or hereafter may be, granted by the
United States to this State for the support of a seminary of learning, and the
funds accruing from such lands, by rent or lease, or in any other manner, or
which may be obtained from any other source, for the purposes aforesaid, shall
be and remain a permanent fund to support a university for the promotion of
literature and of the arts and sciences, and it shall be the duty of the
general assembly, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the
improvement and permanent security of the funds and endowments of such
institution.
ARTICLE VII.
OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.
Internal improvement shall forever be encouraged by the
government of this state, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly, as
soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascertaining the most proper
objects of improvement, in relation both to roads and navigable waters; and it
shall also be their duty to provide by law for a systematic and economical
application of the funds appropriated to these objects.
ARTICLE VIII.
OF BANKS.
The general assembly may incorporate one banking company,
and no more, to be in operation at the same time.
The bank to be incorporated may have any number of branches
not to exceed five, to be established by law, and not more than one branch
shall be established at any one session of the general assembly. The capital
stock of the bank to be incorporated shall never exceed five millions of
dollars, at least one-half of which shall be reserved for the use of the State.
ARTICLE IX.
OF THE MILITIA.
SECTION 1. Field-officers and company-officers shall be
elected by the persons subject to militia duty within their respective command.
Brigadiers-general shall be elected by the field-officers of their respective
brigades, and majors-general by the brigadiers and field-officers of their
respective divisions, until otherwise directed by law.
SEC. 2. General and field officers shall appoint their
officers of the staff.
SEC. 3. The governor shall appoint an adjutant-general, and
all other militia officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for in
this constitution.
ARTICLE X.
OF MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
SECTION 1. The general assembly of this State shall never
interfere with the primary disposal of the soil of the United States, nor with
any regulation Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil
to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on
lands the property of the United States, nor shall lands belonging to persons
residing out of the limits of this state ever be taxed higher than the lands
belonging to persons residing within this state.
SEC. 2. The State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the
river Mississippi, and on every other river bordering on the said State, so far
as the said river shall form a common boundary to the said State and any other
State or States, now or hereafter to be
formed, and bounded by the same; and the said river Mississippi, and the
navigable rivers and waters leading into the same, whether bordering on or
within this State, shall be common highways, and forever free to the citizens of
this State and of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll
thereof imposed by the State.
ARTICLE XI.
OF THE PERMANENT SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.
SECTION 1. The general assembly, at their first session,
shall appoint five commissioners for the purpose of selecting a place for the
permanent seat of government, whose duty it shall be to select four sections of
the land of the United States which shall not have been exposed to public sale.
SEC. 2. If the commissioners believe the four sections of land,
so by them to be selected, be not a suitable and proper situation for the
permanent seat of government, they shall select such other place as they deem
most proper for that purpose, and report the same to the general assembly at
the time of making their report, provided for in the first section of this
article: Provided, That no place shall be selected which is
not situated on the bank of the Missouri River, and within forty miles of the
mouth of the river Osage.
SEC. 3. If the general assembly determine that the four
sections of land which may be selected by authority of the first section of
this article be a suitable and proper place for the permanent seat of
government, the said commissioners shall lay out a town thereon, under the
direction of the general assembly; but if the general assembly deem it most
expedient to fix the permanent seat of government at the place to be
selected by authority of the second section of this article, they shall so
determine, and in that event shall authorize the said commissioners to purchase
any quantity of land, not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, which may be
necessary for the purpose aforesaid; and the place so selected shall be the
permanent seat of government of this State from and after the first day of October,
one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.
SEC. 4. The general assembly, in selecting the
above-mentioned commissioners, shall choose one from each extreme part of the
State, and one from the centre, and it shall require the concurrence of at
least three of the commissioners to decide upon any part of the duties assigned
them.
ARTICLE XII.
MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION.
The general assembly may at any time propose such amendments
to this constitution as two-thirds of each house shall deem expedient; which
shall be published in all the newspapers published in this State three several
times, at least twelve months before the next general election; and if, at the
first session of the general assembly after such general election, two-thirds
of each house shall, by yeas and nays, ratify such proposed amendments, they
shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this
constitution: Provided, That such proposed amendments shall be
read on three several days, in each house, as well when the same are proposed
as when they are finally ratified.
ARTICLE XIII.
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.
That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty
and free government may be recognized and established, we declare
SECTION 1. That all political power is vested in, and
derived from, the people.
SEC. 2. That the people of this State have the inherent,
sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police
thereof, and of altering and abolishing their constitution and form of
government whenever it may be necessary to their safety and happiness.
SEC. 3. That the people have the right peaceably to assemble
for their common good, and to apply to those vested with the powers of
government for redress of grievances by petition or remonstrance; and that
their right to bear arms in defence of themselves and of the State cannot be
questioned.
SEC. 4. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right
to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences;
that no man can be compelled to erect, support, or attend any place of worship,
or to maintain any minister of the gospel or teacher of religion; that no human
authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no
person can ever be hurt, molested, or restrained in his religious profession or
sentiments, if he do not disturb others in their religious worship.
SEC. 5. That no person, on account of his religious
opinions, can be rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit under
this State; that no preference can ever be given by law to any sect or mode of
worship; and that no religious corporation can ever be established in this State.
SEC. 6. That all elections shall be free and equal.
SEC. 7. That courts of justice ought to be open to every
person, and certain remedy afforded for every injury to person, property, or
character; and that right and justice ought to be administered without sale,
denial, or delay; and that no private property ought to be taken or applied to
public use without just compensation.
SEC. 8. That the right of trial by jury shall remain
inviolate.
SEC. 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has
the right to be heard by himself and his counsel; to demand the nature and
cause of accusations; to have compulsory process for witnesses in his favor; to
meet the witnesses against him face to face; and, in prosecutions on
presentment or indictment, to a speedy trial, by an impartial jury of the
vicinage; that the accused cannot be compelled to give evidence against
himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by the judgment of
bis peers, or the law of the land.
SEC. 10. That no person, after having been once acquitted by
a jury, can, for the same offence, be again put in jeopardy of life or limb;
but if in any criminal prosecution the jury be divided in opinion at the end of
the term, the court before which the trial shall be had may, in its discretion,
discharge the jury, and commit or bail the accused for trial at the next term
of such court.
SEC. 11. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,
except for capital ofFences, when the proof is evident or the presumption
great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot
be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
may require it
SEC. 12. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
SEC. 13. That the people ought to be secure in their
persons, papers, houses, and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures;
and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, can issue
without describing the place to be searched, or the person or thing to be
seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation.
SEC. 14. 'That no person can, for an indictable offence, be
proceeded against criminally, by information, except in cases arising in the
land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war
or public danger, or by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanor in
office.
SEC. 15. That treason against the State can consist only in
levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and
comfort; that no person can be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of
two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his own confession in open court;
that no person can be attainted of treason or felony by the general assembly;
that no conviction can work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate; that
the estates of such persons as may destroy their own lives shall descend or
vest as in cases of natural death; and when any person shall be killed by
casualty, there ought to be no forfeiture by reason thereof.
SEC. 16. That the free communication of thoughts and
opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and that every person may
freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse
of that liberty; that in all prosecutions for libels the truth thereof may be
given in evidence, and the jury may determine the law and the facts, under the
direction of the court.
SEC. 17. That no ex post facto law,
nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, or retrospective in its
operations, can be passed; nor can the person of a debtor be imprisoned for
debt after he shall have surrendered his property for the benefit of his
creditors in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 18. That no person who is religiously scrupulous of
bearing arms can be compelled to do so, but may be compelled to pay an
equivalent for military service, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law;
and that no priest, preacher of the gospel, or teacher of any religious
persuasion or sect, regularly ordained as such, be subject to militia duty, or
compelled to bear arms.
SEC. 19. That all property, subject to taxation in this
State, shall be taxed in proportion to its value.
SEC. 20. That no title of nobility, hereditary emolument,
privilege, or distinction shall be granted; nor any office created, the
duration of which shall be longer than the good behavior of the officer
appointed to fill the same.
SEC. 21. That emigration from this State cannot be
prohibited.
SEC. 22. That the military is, and in all cases and at all
times shail be, in strict subordination to the civil power ; that no soldier
can, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the
owner, nor in time of war but in such manner as may be prescribed by law; nor
can any appropriation for the support of any army be made for a longer period
than two years.
SCHEDULE.
SECTION 1. That no inconvenience may arise from the change
of government, we declare, that all writs, actions, prosecutions, judgments,
claims, and contracts of individuals and of bodies-corporate shall continue as
if no change had taken place; and all process which may, before the third
Monday in September next, be issued under the authority of the Territory of
Missouri shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State.
SEC. 2. All laws now in force in the Territory of Missouri,
which are not repugnant to this constitution, shall remain in force until they
expire by their own limitations, or be altered or repealed by the general
assembly.
SEC. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats,
accruing to the Territory of Missouri, shall accrue to the use of the State.
SEC. 4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be
taken before the third Monday in September next, shall remain valid, and shall
pass over to and may be prosecuted in the name of the State; and all bonds
executed to the governor of the Territory, or to any other officer or court, in
his official capacity, shall pass over to the governor, or other proper State
authority, and to their successors in office, for the uses therein respectively
expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly. All criminal
prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen, or which may arise before the
third Monday in September next, and which shall then be depending, shall be
prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. All actions at
law which now are, or which, on the third Monday in September next, may be
depending in any of the courts of record in the Territory of Missouri may be
commenced in or transferred to any court of record of the State which shall
have jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof; and all suits in equity may,
in like manner, be commenced in or transferred to the court of chancery.
SEC. 5. All officers, civil and military, now holding
commissions under the authority of the United States, or of the Territory of
Missouri, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices until
they shall be superseded under the authority of the State; and all such
officers holding commissions under the authority of the Territory of Missouri
shall receive the same compensation which they hitherto received, in proportion
to the time they shall be so employed.
SEC. 6. The first meeting of the general assembly shall be
at Saint Louis, with power to adjourn to any other place; and the general
assembly, at the first session thereof, shall fix the seat of government until
the first day of October, eighteen hundred and twenty-six; and the first
session of the general assembly shall have power to fix the compensation of the
members thereof; anything in the constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 7. Until the first enumeration shall be made, as
directed in this constitution, the county of Howard shall be entitled to eight
representatives, the county of Cooper to four representatives, the county of
Montgomery to two representatives, the county of Lincoln to one representative,
the county of Pike to two representatives, the county of Saint Charles to three
representatives, the county of Saint Louis to six representatives, the county
of Jefferson to one representative, the county of Washington to two
representatives, the county of Saint Genevieve to four representatives, the
county of Cape Girardeau to four representatives, the county of New Madrid to
two representatives, the county of Madison to one representative, the county of
Wayne to one representative, and that part of the county of Saint Lawrence
situated within this State, shall attach to and form part of the county of
Wayne until otherwise provided by law, and the sheriff of the county of Wayne
shall appoint the judges of the first election, and the place of holding the
same, in the part thus attached; and any person who shall have resided within
the limits of this State five months previous to the adoption of this
constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the third
section of the third article thereof, shall be eligible to the house of
representatives, anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 8. For the first election of senators, the State shall
be divided into districts, and the apportionment shall be as follows, that is
to say, the counties of Howard and Cooper shall compose one district and elect
four senators, the counties of Montgomery and Franklin shall compose one
district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Charles shall compose one
district and elect one senator, the counties of Lincoln and Pike shall compose
one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Louis shall compose one
district and elect two senators, the counties of Washington and Jefferson shall
compose one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Genevieve shall
compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Madison and Wayne
shall compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Cape
Girardeau and New Madrid shall compose one district and elect two senators; and
in all cases where a senatorial district consists of more than one county, it
shall be the duty of the clerk of the county second named in that district to
certify the returns of the senatorial election within their proper county to
the clerk of the county first named, within five days after he shall have
received the same; and any person who shall have resided within the limits of
this State five months previous to the adoption of this constitution, and who
shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the fifth section of the third
article thereof, shall be eligible to the senate of this State, anything in
this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 9. The president of the convention shall issue writs of
election to the sheriffs of the several counties, or in case of vacancy to the
coroners, requiring them to cause an election to be held on the fourth Monday
in August next, for a governor, a lieutenant-governor, a Representative in the
Congress of the United States, for the residue of the Sixteenth Congress, a
Representative for the Seventeenth Congress, senators and representatives for
the general assembly, sheriffs and coroners, and the returns of all township
elections, held in pursuance thereof, shall be made to the clerks of the proper
county within five days after the day of election; and any person who shall
reside within the limits of this State at the time of the adoption of this
constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the tenth
section of the third article thereof, shall be deemed a qualified elector,
anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 10. The elections shall be conducted according to the
existing laws of the Missouri Territory. The clerks of the circuit courts of
the several counties shall certify the returns of the election of governor and
lieutenant-governor, and transmit the same to the speaker of the house of
representatives, at the temporary seat of government, in such time that they
may be received on the third Monday of September next. As soon as the general
assembly shall be organized, the speaker of the house of representatives, and
the president pro tempore of the senate, shall, in the
presence of both houses, examine the returns, and declare who are duly elected
to fill those offices; and if any two or more persons shall have an equal
number of votes, and a higher number than any other person, the general
assembly shall determine the election in the manner herein provided; and the
returns of the election for members of Congress shall be made to the secretary
of the State within thirty days after the day of election.
SEC. 11. The oaths of office, herein directed to be taken,
may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace, until the general
assembly shall otherwise direct.
SEC. 12. Until a seal of the State be provided, the governor
may use his private seal.
DAVID BARTON, President.
W. G. PETTUS,
Secretary. _______________
* This constitution was framed by a convention which met at
Saint Louis June 12, 1820, and completed its labors July 19, 1820. It was
ratified by the people at the ensuing election.
SOURCES: Benjamin Perley Poore, Compiler, The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other
Organic Laws of the United States, Part 2, p. 1104-17
