Chris Esh worked on this constitution I am still working on it I think this is ready to go JW 6/14/04 *** CSTART LA 03/02/1868 07/23/1879 *** CONSTITUTION OF LOUISIANA-1868 *** ASTART 9001.0 LA 1868 *** PREAMBLE We, the people of Louisiana, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution. *** AEND *** *** ASTART 001.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE I BILL OF RIGHTS *** SSTART 001.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ARTICLE 1. All men are created free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 002.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 2. All persons, without regard to race, color, or previous condition, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and residents of this State for one year, are citizens of this State. The citizens of this State owe allegiance to the United States; and this allegiance is paramount to that which they owe to the State. They shall enjoy the same civil, political, and public rights and privileges, and be subject to the same pains and penalties. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 003.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 3. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this State, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 004.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 4. The press shall be free; every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of this liberty. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 005.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 5. The right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 006.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 6. Prosecutions shall be by indictment or information. The accused shall be entitled to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the parish in which the offence was committed, unless the venue be changed. He shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself; he shall have the right of being heard by himself or counsel; he shall have the right of meeting the witnesses face to face, and shall have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. He shall not be tried twice for the same offence. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 007.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless for capital offences, where the proof is evident or the presumption great, or unless after conviction for any crime or offence punishable with death or imprisonment at hard labor. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 008.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed; nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 009.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 9. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, or the person or things to be seized. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 010.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 10. All courts shall be open; and every person for injury done him in his land, goods, person, or reputation, shall have adequate remedy, by due process of law, and justice administered without denial or unreasonable delay. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 011.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 11. No law shall be passed fixing the price of manual labor. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 012.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 12. Every person has the natural right to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for office. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 013.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 13. All persons shall enjoy equal rights and privileges upon any conveyance of a public character; and all places of business, or of public resort, or for which a license is required by either State, parish, or municipal authority, shall be deemed places of a public character, and shall be opened to the accommodation and patronage of all persons, without distinction or discrimination on account of race or color. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 014.0 001.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 14. The rights enumerated in this title shall not be construed to limit or abridge other rights of the people not herein expressed. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 002.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE II LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT *** SSTART 015.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 15. The legislative power of the State shall be vested in two distinct branches; the one to be styled the house of representatives, the other the senate; and both, the general assembly of the State of Louisiana. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 016.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 16. The members of the house of representatives shall continue in office for two years from the day of the closing of the general elections. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 017.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 17. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Monday in November, every two years; and the election shall be completed in one day. The general assembly shall meet annually on the first Monday in January, unless a different day be appointed by law, and their sessions shall be held at the seat of government. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 018.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 18. Every elector under this constitution shall be eligible to a seat in the house of representatives; and every elector who has reached the age of twenty-five years shall be eligible to the senate: Provided, That no person shall be a representative or senator unless at the time of his election he be a qualified elector of the representative or senatorial district from which he is elected. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 019.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 19. Elections for members of the general assembly shall be held at the several election precincts established by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 020.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 20. Representation in the house of representatives shall be equal and uniform; and, after the first general assembly elected under this constitution, shall be ascertained and regulated by the total population, each parish in the State being entitled to at least one representative. A census of the State by State authority shall be taken in the year eighteen hundred and seventy- five, and every ten years thereafter. In case of informality, omission, or error in the census- returns from any parish or election district, the general assembly may order a new census taken in such parish or election district; but, until the State census of eighteen hundred and seventy- five, the apportionment of the State shall be made on the basis of the census of the United States for the year eighteen hundred and seventy. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 021.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 21. The general assembly, at the first session after the making of each enumeration, shall apportion the representation amongst the several parishes and representative districts on the basis of the total population, as aforesaid. A representative number shall be fixed, and each parish and representative district shall have as many representatives as the number of its total population will entitle it to have, and an additional representative for any fraction exceeding one-half of the representative number. The number of representatives shall never exceed one hundred and twenty, nor be less than ninety. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 022.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 22. Until an apportionment shall be made in accordance with the provisions of article twenty, the representation in the senate and house of representatives shall be as follows: For the parish of Orleans: First representative district, two; second representative district, three; third representative district, four; fourth representative district, two; fifth representative district, two; sixth representative district, one; seventh representative district, two; eighth representative district, one; ninth representative district, two; tenth representative district, three; Orleans, right bank, one. For the parish of Ascension, two; For the parish of Assumption, two; For the parish of Avoyelles, two; For the parish of Baton Rouge, East, three; For the parish of Baton Rouge, West, one; For the parish of Bienville, one; For the parish of Bossier, two; For the parish of Caddo, three; For the parish of Calcasieu, one; For the parish of Caldwell, one; For the parish of Carroll, two; For the parish of Catahoula, one; For the parish of Claiborne, two; For the parish of Concordia, two; For the parish of De Soto, two; For the parish of Feliciana, East, two; For the parish of Feliciana, West, one; For the parish of Franklin, one; For the parish of Iberville, two; For the parish of Jackson, one; For the parish of Jefferson, four; For the parish of La Fayette, one; For the parish of La Fourche, two; For the parish of Livingston, one; For the parish of Madison, one; For the parish of Morehouse, one; For the parish of Natchitoches, two; For the parish of Ouachita, two; For the parish of Plaquemines, one, For the parish of Point Coupee, two; For the parish of Rapides, three; For the parish of Sabine, one; For the parish of Saint Bernard, one; For the parish of Saint Charles, one; For the parish of Saint Helena, one For the parish of Saint James, two; For the parish of Saint John Baptist, one; For the parish of Saint Landry, four; For the parish of Saint Martin's, two; For the parish of Saint Mary's, two; For the parish of Saint Tammany, one; For the parish of Tensas, two; For the parish of Terre Bonne, two; For the parish of Union, one; For the parish of Vermillion, one; For the parish of Washington, one; For the parish of Winn, one; Total, one hundred and one. And the State shall be divided into the following senatorial districts, to wit: The first, second, and third representative districts of New Orleans shall form one senatorial district, and elect three senators; The fourth, fifth, and six representative districts of New Orleans shall form one district, and elect two senators; The seventh, eighth, and ninth representative districts of New Orleans and the parish of Saint Bernard shall form one district, and elect two senators; The tenth representative district of New Orleans shall form one district, and elect one senator; Orleans, right bank, and the parish of Plaquemines shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Jefferson, Saint Charles, and Saint John Baptist shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parishes of Ascension and Saint James shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Assumption, La Fourche, and Terre Bonne shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parishes of Vermillion and Saint Mary's shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Calcasieu, La Fayette, and Saint Landry shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parishes of Livingston, Saint Helena, Washington, and Saint Tammany shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Point Coupee, East Feliciana, and West Feliciana shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parish of East Baton Rouge shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of West Baton Rouge, Iberville, and Saint Martin's shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parishes of Concordia and Avoyelles shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Tensas and Franklin shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Carroll, Madison, and Morehouse shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parishes of Ouachita and Caldwell shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Jackson and Union shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of Bossier, Bienville, and Claiborne shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parish of Caddo shall form one district, and elect one senator; The parishes of De Soto, Natchitoches, and Sabine shall form one district, and elect two senators; The parish of Rapides shall form one district, and elect one senator, The parishes of Catahoula and Winn shall form one district, and elect one senator; Thirty-six senators in all. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 023.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 23. The house of representatives shall choose its speaker and other officers. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 024.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 24. Electors in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance on, going to, and returning from elections. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 025.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 25. At its first session under this constitution, the general assembly shall provide by law that the names and residence of all qualified electors shall be registered, in order to entitle them to vote; but the registry shall be free of cost to the elector. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 026.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 26. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election held in this State, except in the parish of his residence, and at the election-precinct in which he is registered: Provided, That no voter, in removing one parish to another, shall lose the right in the former until acquired it in the latter. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 027.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 27. The members of the senate shall be elected for the term of four years; and, when assembled, the senate shall have the power to choose its own officers, except as hereinafter provided. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 028.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 28. The general assembly shall divide the State into senatorial districts whenever it apportions representation in the house of representatives. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 029.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 29. No parish shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district, the parish of Orleans excepted; and whenever a new parish shall be created, it shall be attached to the senatorial district from which most of its territory is taken, or to another contiguous district, at the discretion of the general assembly; but shall not be attached to more than one district. The number of senators shall be thirty-six, and they shall be apportioned among the senatorial districts according to the total population of said districts. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 030.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 30. In all apportionments of the senate, the total population of the State shall be divided by the number thirty-six, and the result produced by this division shall be the senatorial ratio entitling a senatorial district to a senator. Single or contiguous parishes shall be formed into districts having a population the nearest possible to the number entitling a district to a senator; and if the apportionment to make a parish or district fall short of, or exceed the ratio, then a district may be formed having not more than two senators; but not otherwise. No new apportionment shall have the effect of abridging the term of service of any senator already elected at the time of making the apportionment. After an enumeration has been made, as directed in the twentieth article, the general assembly shall not pass any law till an apportionment of representation in both houses of the general assembly be made. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 031.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 31. At the first session of the. general assembly, after this constitution goes into effect, the senators shall be divided equally by lot into two classes; the seats of the senators of the first class to be vacated at the expiration of the term of the first house of representatives; those of the second class at the expiration of the term of the second house of representatives, so that one-half shall be chosen every two years successively. When a district shall have elected two senators, their respective terms of office shall be determined by lot between themselves. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 032.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 32. The first election for senators shall be held at the same time with the election for representatives: and thereafter there shall be elections of senators at the same time with each general election of representatives, to fill the places of those senators whose term of office may have expired. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 033.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 33. Not less than a majority of the members of each house of the general assembly shall form a quorum to transact business; but a smaller number may adjourn front day to day, and shall have full power to compel the attendance of absent members. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 034.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 34. Each house of the general assembly shall judge of the qualifications, election, and returns of its members; but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as may be prescribed by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 035.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 35. Each house of the general assembly may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly conduct, and, with a concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 036.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 36. Each house of the general assembly shall keep and publish weekly a journal of its proceedings; and the yeas and nays of the members on any question, at the desire of any two of them, shall be entered on the journal. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 037.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 37. Each house may punish, by imprisonment, any person, not a member, for disrespect and disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings. Such imprisonment shall not exceed ten days for any one offence. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 038.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 38. Neither house shall adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which it may be sitting, during the sessions of the general assembly, without the consent of the other. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 039.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 39. The members of the general assembly shall receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which shall be, eight dollars per day during their attendance, going to, and returning from the sessions of their respective houses. This compensation may be increased or diminished by law, but no alteration shall take effect during the period of service of the members of the house of representatives by which such alteration shall have been made. No session shall extend beyond the period of sixty days, to date from its commencement, and any legislative action had after the expiration of said period of sixty days shall be null and void; but the first general assembly that shall convene after the adoption of this constitution may continue in session for one hundred and twenty days. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 040.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 40. The members of the general assembly, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respective houses, and going to or returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house shall not be questioned in any other place. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 041.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 41. No senator or representative, during the term for which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, shall be appointed to any civil office of profit under this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which may have been increased, during the time such senator or representative was in office. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 042.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 42. No bill shall have the force of a law until on three several days it be read in each house of the general assembly, and free discussion allowed thereon, unless four-fifths of the house where the bill is pending may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 043.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 43. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representatives; but the senate may propose amendments, as in other bills: Provided, It shall not introduce any matter under the color of an amendment which does not relate to raising revenue. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 044.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 44. The general assembly shall regulate by whom and in what manner writs of election shall be issued to fill the vacancies which may occur in either branch thereof. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 045.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 45. On the confirmation or rejection of the officers to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of the senators voting for and against the appointments respectively shall be entered on the journals to be kept for the purpose, and made public on or before the end of each session. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 046.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 46. Returns of all elections for members of the general assembly shall be made to the secretary of state. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 047.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 47. In the year in which a regular election for a Senator of the United States is to take place, the members of the general assembly shall meet in the hall of the house of representatives, on the Monday following the meeting of the general assembly, and proceed to said election. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 003.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE III EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT *** SSTART 048.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 48. The supreme executive power of the State shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the State of Louisiana. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the lieutenant-governor chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: The qualified electors for representatives shall vote for governor and lieutenant- governor at the time and place of voting for representatives. The returns of every election shall be sealed up and transmitted by the proper returning-officer to the secretary of state, who shall deliver them to the speaker of the house of representatives on the second day of the session of the general assembly then to be holden. The members of the general assembly shall meet in the house of representatives to examine and count the votes. The person having the greatest number of votes for governor shall be declared duly elected; but in case of a tie vote between two or more candidates, one of them shall immediately be chosen governor by joint vote of the members of the general assembly. The person having the greatest number of votes polled for lieutenant-governor shall be lieutenant-governor; but in case of a tie vote between two or more candidates, one of them shall be immediately chosen lieutenant-governor by joint vote of the members of the general assembly. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 049.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 49. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant-governor who is not a citizen of the United States and a resident of this State two years next preceding his election. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 050.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 50. The governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of the time for which he shall have been elected. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 051.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 51. The governor shall enter on the discharge of his duties oil the second Monday in January next ensuing his election, and shall continue in office until the Monday next succeeding the day that his successor shall be declared duly elected, and shall have taken the oath or affirmation required by the constitution. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 052.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 52. No member of Congress, or any person holding office under the United States Government, shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant-governor. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 053.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 53. In case of impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal or inability to qualify, or to discharge the powers and duties of his office, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor for the residue of the term, or until the governor absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted, or the disability be removed. The general assembly may provide by law for the case of removal, impeachment, death, resignation, disability, or refusal to qualify, of both the governor and the lieutenant-governor, declaring what officer shall act as governor; and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or for the remainder of the term. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 054.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 54. The lieutenant-governor, or officer discharging the duties of governor, shall, during his administration, receive the same compensation to which the governor would have been entitled had he continued in office. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 055.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 55. The lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the senate, but shall only vote when the senate is equally divided. Whenever he shall administer the government, or shall be unable to attend as president of the senate, the senators shall elect one of their own members as president of the senate for the time being. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 056.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 56. The governor shall receive a salary of eight thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, on his own warrant. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 057.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 57. The lieutenant-governor shall receive a salary of three thousand dollars, per annum, payable quarterly, upon his own warrant. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 058.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 58. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves for all offences against the State; and, except in cases of impeachment, shall, with the consent of the senate, have power to grant pardons, remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction. In cases of treason, he may grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the general assembly, in which the power of pardoning shall be vested. In cases when the punishment is not imprisonment at hard labor, the party upon being reprieved by the governor shall be released, if in actual custody, until final action by the senate. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 059.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 59. He shall be commander-in-chief of the militia of this State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States *** SEND *** *** SSTART 060.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 60. He shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established by the constitution, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for: Provided, however, That the general assembly shall have a right to prescribe the mode of appointment to all other offices established by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 061.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 61. The governor shall have power to fill vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next session thereof, unless otherwise provided for in this constitution; but no person who has been nominated for office and rejected by the senate shall be appointed to the same office during the recess of the senate. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 062.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 62. He may require information in writing from the officers, in the executive department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 063.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 63. He shall, from time to time give the general assembly information respecting the situation of the State, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 064.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 64. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place if that should have become dangerous from an enemy or from epidemic; and, in case of disagreement between the two houses as to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not exceeding four months. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 065.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 65. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 066.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 66. Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be presented to the governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; if he do not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the members present in that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; and if approved by two-thirds of the members present in that house it shall be a law. But in such cases the vote of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five days after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the general assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return; in which case the said bill shall be returned on the first day of the meeting of the general assembly after the expiration of said five days, or be a law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 067.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 67. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor; and before it shall take effect be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the members present. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 068.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 68. There shall be a secretary of state, who shall hold his office during the term for which the governor shall have been elected. The records of the State shall be kept and preserved in the office of the secretary; he shall keep a fair register of the official acts and proceedings of the governor, and, when necessary, shall attest them; he shall, when required, lay the said register, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative to his office, before either house of the general assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may be enjoined on him by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 069.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 69. There shall be a treasurer of the State, and an auditor of public accounts, who shall hold their respective offices during the term of four years. At the first election under this constitution the treasurer shall be elected for two years. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 070.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 70. The secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor of public accounts shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State; and in case of any vacancy caused by the resignation, death, or absence of the secretary, treasurer, or auditor, the governor shall order an election to fill said vacancies: Provided, The unexpired term to be filled be more than twelve months. When otherwise, the governor shall appoint a person to perform the duties of the office thus vacant until the ensuing general election. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 071.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 71. The treasurer and the auditor shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum each. The secretary of state shall receive a salary of three thousand dollars per annum. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 072.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 72. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Louisiana; and shall be sealed with the State seal, signed by the governor, and countersigned by the secretary of state. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 004.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE IV JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT *** SSTART 073.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 73. The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme court,, in district courts, in parish courts, and in justices of the peace. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 074.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 74. The supreme court, except in cases hereinafter provided, shall have appellate jurisdiction only; which jurisdiction shall extend to all cases when the matter in dispute shall exceed five hundred dollars; and to all cases in which the constitutionality or legality of any tax, toll, or impost of any kind or nature whatsoever, or any fine, forfeiture, or penalty imposed by a municipal corporation, shall be in contestation, whatever may be the amount thereof; and ill such cases the appeal shall be direct from the court in which the case originated to the supreme court; and in criminal cases, on questions of law only, whenever the punishment of death or imprisonment at hard labor, or a fine exceeding three hundred dollars, is actually imposed. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 075.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 75. The supreme court shall be composed of one chief justice and four associate justices, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum. The chief justice shall receive a salary of seven thousand five hundred dollars, and each of the associate justices a salary of seven thousand dollars annually, payable quarterly on their own warrants. The chief justice and the associate justices shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term of eight years. They shall be citizens of the United States, and shall have practised law for five years, the last three thereof next preceding their appointment in the State. The court shall appoint its own clerks, and may remove them at pleasure. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 076.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 76. The supreme court shall hold its sessions in the city of New Orleans, from the first Monday in the month of November to the end of the month of May. The general assembly shall have power to fix the sessions elsewhere during the rest of the year. Until otherwise provided, the sessions shall be held as heretofore. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 077.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 77. The supreme court, and each of the judges thereof, shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, at the instance of persons in actual custody, in cases when they may have appellate jurisdiction. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 078.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 78. No judgment shall be rendered by the supreme court without a concurrence of a majority composing the court. Whenever the majority cannot concur, in consequence of the recusation of any member of the court, the judges not recused shall have power to call upon any judge or judges of the district courts, whose duty it shall be, when so called upon, to preside in the place of the judge or judges recused, and to aid in determining the case. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 079.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 79. All judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State. The style of all process shall be "The State of Louisiana." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the State of Louisiana, and conclude "against the peace and dignity of the same." *** SEND *** *** SSTART 080.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 80. The judges of all courts, whenever practicable, shall refer to the law in virtue of which every definitive judgment is rendered; but in all cases they shall adduce the reasons on which their judgment is founded. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 081.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 81. The judges of all courts shall be liable to impeachment for crimes and misdemeanors. For any reasonable cause the governor shall remove any of them, on the address of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly. In every such case the cause or causes for which such removal may be required shall be stated at length in the address and inserted in the journal of each house. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 082.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 82. No duties or functions shall ever be attached by law to the supreme or district courts, or the several judges thereof, but such as are judicial; and the said judges are prohibited from receiving any fees of office, or other compensation than their salaries, for any official duties performed by them. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 083.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 83. The general assembly shall divide the State into judicial districts, which shall remain unchanged for four years, and for each district court one judge, learned in the law, shall be elected for each district by a plurality of the qualified electors thereof. For each district there shall be one district court, except in the parish of Orleans, in which the general assembly may establish as many district courts as the public interests may require. Until otherwise provided, there shall be seven district courts for the parish of Orleans, with the following original jurisdiction: The first, exclusive criminal jurisdiction; the second, exclusive, probate jurisdiction; the third, exclusive jurisdiction of appeals from justices of the peace; the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh district courts, exclusive jurisdiction in all civil cases, except probate, when the sum in contest is above one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. These seven courts shall also have such further jurisdiction, not inconsistent herewith, as shall be conferred by law. The number of districts in the State shall not be less than twelve nor more than twenty. The clerks of the district, courts shall be elected by the qualified electors of their respective parishes, and shall hold their office for four years. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 084.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 84. Each of said judges shall receive a salary to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during his term of office, and shall never be less than five thousand dollars. He must be a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-five years, and have resided in the State and practised law therein for the space of two years next preceding his election. The judges of the district courts shall hold their office for the term of four years. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 085.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 85. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in all civil cases when the amount in dispute exceeds five hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. In criminal cases their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. They shall have appellate jurisdiction in civil ordinary suits when the amount in dispute exceeds one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 086.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 86. For each parish court one judge shall be elected by the qualified electors of the parish. He shall hold his office for the term of two years. He shall receive a salary and fees to be provided by law. Until otherwise provided, each parish judge shall receive a salary of one thousand two hundred dollars per annum, and such fees as are established by law for clerks of district courts. He shall be a citizen of the United States and of this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 087.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 87. The parish courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the justices of the peace in all cases when the amount in controversy is more than twenty-five dollars and less than one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. They shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in ordinary suits in all cases when the amount in dispute exceeds, one hundred dollars and does not exceed five hundred dollars, subject to an appeal to the district court in all cases when the amount in contestation exceeds one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. All successions shall be opened and settled in the parish courts; and all suits in which a succession is either plaintiff or defendant may be brought either in the parish or district court, according to the amount involved. In criminal matters the parish courts shall have jurisdiction in all cases when the penalty is not necessarily imprisonment at hard labor or death, and when the accused shall waive trial by jury. They shall also have the power of committing-magistrates and such other jurisdiction as may be conferred on them by law. There shall be no trial by jury before the parish courts. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 088.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 88. In all probate matters when the amount in dispute shall exceed five hundred dollars exclusive of interest, the appeal shall be directly from the parish to the supreme court. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 089.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 89. The justices of the peace shall be elected by the electors of each parish, in the manner to be provided by the general assembly. They shall hold office for the term of two years, and their compensation shall be fixed by law. Their jurisdiction in civil cases shall not exceed one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, subject to an appeal to the parish court in all cases when the amount in dispute shall exceed ten dollars, exclusive of interest. They shall have such criminal jurisdiction as shall be provided for by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 090.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 90. In any case when the judge may be recused, and when he is not personally interested in the matters in contestation, he shall select a lawyer, having the qualifications required for a judge of his court, to try such cases. And when the judge is personally interested in the suit, he shall call upon the parish or district judge, as the case may be, to try the case. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 091.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 91. The general assembly shall have power to vest in the parish judges the right to grant such orders and to do such acts as may be deemed necessary for the furtherance of the administration of justice, and in all cases the power thus granted shall be specified and determined. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 092.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 92. There shall be an attorney-general for the State, who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State at large. He shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, on his own warrant, and shall hold his office for four years. There shall be a district attorney for each judicial district of the State, who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the judicial district.. He shall receive a salary of fifteen hundred dollars, payable quarterly, on his own warrant, and shall hold his office for four years. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 093.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 93. There shall be a sheriff and coroner elected by the qualified electors of each parish. except the parish of Orleans. In the parish of Orleans there shall be elected by the qualified electors of the parish at large one sheriff for the criminal court, who shall be the executive officer of said court, and shall, have charge of the parish prison. There shall also be elected by the qualified electors of the parish at large one sheriff, who shall be the executive officer of the civil courts, and who shall perform all other duties heretofore devolving upon the sheriff of the parish of Orleans, except those herein delegated to the sheriff of the criminal court. The qualified electors of the city of New Orleans residing below the middle of Canal street shall elect one coroner for that district, and the qualified electors of the city of New Orleans residing above the middle of Canal street, together with those residing in that part of the parish known as Orleans, right bank, shall elect one coroner for that district. All of said officers shall hold their office for two years, and receive such fees of office as may be prescribed by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 094.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 94. No judicial powers, except as committing-magistrates in criminal cases, shall be conferred on any officers other than those mentioned in this title, except such as may be necessary in towns and cities; and the judicial powers of such offices shall not extend further than the cognizances of cases arising under the police regulations of towns and cities in the State. In any case where such officers shall assume jurisdiction over other matters than those which may arise under police regulations, or under their jurisdiction as committing-magistrates, they shall be liable to an action of damages in favor of the party injured, or his heirs; and a verdict in favor of the party injured shall, ipso facto, operate a vacation of the office of said officer. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 005.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE V IMPEACHMENT *** SSTART 095.0 005.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 95. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the house of representatives. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 096.0 005.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 96. Impeachments of the governor, lieutenant-governor, attorney-general, secretary of state, auditor of public accounts, State treasurer, superintendent of public education, and of the judges of the inferior courts, justices of the peace excepted, shall be tried by the senate; the chief-justice of the supreme court, or the senior associate judge thereof, shall preside during the trial of such impeachments. Impeachments of the judges of the supreme court shall be tried by the senate. When sitting as a court of impeachment, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 097.0 005.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 97. Judgments in cases of impeachments shall extend only to removal from office, and disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit in the State; but the convicted parties shall, nevertheless, be subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 006.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE VI GENERAL PROVISIONS *** SSTART 098.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 98. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years or upward, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and a resident of this State one year next preceding an election, and the last ten days within the parish in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed an elector, except those disfranchised by this constitution, and persons under interdiction. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 099.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 99. The following persons shall be prohibited from voting and holding any office: All persons who shall have been convicted of treason, perjury, forgery, bribery, or other crime punishable in the penitentiary, and persons under interdiction. All persons who are estopped from claiming the right of suffrage by abjuring their allegiance to the United States Government, or by notoriously levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid or comfort, but who have not expatriated themselves, nor have been convicted of any of the crimes mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, are hereby restored to the said right, except the following: Those who held office, civil or military, for one year or more, under the organization styled "the Confederate States of America;" those who registered themselves as enemies of the United States; those who acted as leaders of guerrilla bands during the late rebellion; those who, in the advocacy of treason, wrote or published newspaper articles or preached sermons during the late rebellion; and those who voted for and signed an ordinance of secession in any State. No person included in these exceptions shall either vote or hold office until he shall have relieved himself by voluntarily writing and signing a certificate setting forth that he acknowledges the late rebellion to have been morally and politically wrong, and that he regrets any aid and comfort he may have given it; and he shall file the certificate in the office of the secretary of state, and it shall be published in the official journal: Provided, That no person who, prior to the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, favored the execution of the laws of the United States popularly known as the reconstruction acts of Congress, and openly and actively assisted the loyal men of the State in their efforts to restore Louisiana to her position in the Union, shall be held to be included among those herein excepted. Registrars of voters shall take the oath of any such person as prima-facie evidence of the fact that he is entitled to the benefit of this proviso. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 100.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 100. Members of the general assembly and all other officers, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I, [A. B.,] do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race, color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right, privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men; that 1 will support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of this State, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as, according to the best of my ability and understanding: So help me God." *** SEND *** *** SSTART 101.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 101. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason except on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his confession in open court. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 102.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 102. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the offence. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 103.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 103. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections and prohibiting under adequate penalties all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 104.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 104. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance of specific appropriations made by law. A statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be made annually in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; and the first general assembly convening under this constitution shall make a special appropriation to liquidate whatever portion of the debt of this convention may at that time remain unpaid or unprovided for. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 105.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 105. All civil officers of the State at large shall be voters of and reside within the State; and all district or parish officers shall reside within their respective districts or parishes, and shall keep their offices at such place therein as may be required by law. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 106.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 106. All civil officers shall be removable by an address of two-thirds of the members-elect to each house of the general assembly, except those whose removal is otherwise provided for by this constitution. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 107.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 107. In all elections by the people the vote shall be taken by ballot; and in all elections by the senate and house of representatives, jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 108.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 108. None but citizens of the United States and of this State shall be appointed to any office of trust or profit in this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 109.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 109. The laws, public records, and the judicial and legislative proceedings of the State shall be promulgated and preserved in the English language; and no laws shall require judicial process to be issued in any other than the English language. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 110.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 110. No ex post facto or retroactive law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed, nor vested rights be divested, unless for purposes of public utility and for adequate compensation made. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 111.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 111. Whenever the general assembly shall contract a debt exceeding in amount the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, unless, in case of war, to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, it shall, in the law creating the debt, provide adequate ways and means for the payment of the current interest and of the. principal when the same shall become due; and the said law shall be irrepealable until principal and interest be full paid; or unless the repealing law contain some adequate provision for the payment of the principal and interest of the debt. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 112.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 112. The general assembly shall provide by law for all change of venue in civil and criminal cases. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 113.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 113. The general assembly may enact general laws regulating the adoption of children, emancipation of minors, and the granting of divorces; but no special law shall be passed relating to particular or individual cases. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 114.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 114. Every law shall express its object or objects in its title. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 115.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 115. No law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title; but in such case the revived or amended section shall be re-enacted and published at length. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 116.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 116. The general assembly shall never adopt any system or code of laws by general reference to such system or code of laws; but in all cases shall specify the several provisions of the law it may enact. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 117.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 117. No person shall hold or exercise at the same time more than one office of trust or profit, except that of justice of the peace or notary public. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 118.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 118. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. All property shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as directed by law. The general assembly shall have power to exempt from taxation property actually used for church, school, or charitable purposes. The general assembly may levy an income-tax upon all persons pursuing any occupation, trade, or calling. And all such persons shall obtain a license as provided by law. All tax on income shall be pro rata on the amount of income or business done. And all deeds of sale made, or that may be made, by collectors of taxes shall be received by courts in evidence as prima facie valid sales. The general assembly shall levy a poll-tax on all male inhabitants of this State, over twenty-one years old, for school and charitable purposes, which tax shall never exceed one dollar and fifty cents per annum. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 119.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 119. No liability, either State, parochial, or municipal, shall exist for any debts contracted for or in the interest of the rebellion against the United States Government. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 120.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 120. The general assembly may determine the mode of filling vacancies in all offices for which provision is not made in this constitution. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 121.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 121. The general assembly shall pass no law requiring a property qualification for office. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 122.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 122. All officers shall continue to discharge the duties of their offices until their successors shall have been inducted into office, except in cases of impeachment or suspension. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 123.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 123. The general assembly shall provide for the protection of the rights of married women to their dotal and paraphernal property, and for the registration of the same; but no mortgage or privilege shall hereafter affect third parties, unless recorded in the parish where the property to be affected is situated. The tacit mortgages and privileges now existing in this State shall cease to have effect against third persons after the 1st day of January, 1870, unless duly recorded. The general assembly shall provide by law for the registration of all mortgages and privileges. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 124.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 124. The general assembly, at its first session under this constitution, shall provide an annual pension for the veterans of 1814 and 1815, residing in the State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 125.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 125. The military shall be in subordination to the civil power. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 126.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 126. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to make it obligatory upon each parish to support all paupers residing within its limits. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 127.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 127. All agreements, the consideration of which was confederate money, notes, or bonds, are null and void, and shall not be enforced by the courts of this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 128.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 128. Contracts for the sale of persons are null and void, and shall not be enforced by the courts of this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 129.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 129. The State of Louisiana shall never assume nor pay any debt or obligation contracted or incurred in aid of the rebellion; nor shall this State ever, in any manner, claim from the United States, or make any allowance or compensation for slaves emancipated or liberated in any way whatever. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 130.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 130. All contracts made and entered into under the pretended authority of any government heretofore existing in this State, by which children were bound out without the knowledge or consent of their parents, are hereby declared null and void; nor shall any child be bound out to any one for any term of years, while either one of its parents live, without the consent of such parent, except in cases of children legally sent to the house of correction. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 131.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 131. The seat of government shall be established at the city of New Orleans, and shall not be removed without the consent of two-thirds of the members of both houses of the general assembly. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 132.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 132. All lands sold in pursuance of decrees of courts shall be divided into tracts of from ten to fifty acres. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 133.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 133. No judicial powers shall be exercised by clerks of courts. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 134.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 134. No soldier, sailor, or marine, in the military or naval service of the United States, shall hereafter acquire a residence in this State by reason of being stationed or doing duty in the same. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 007.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE VII PUBLIC EDUCATION *** SSTART 135.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 135. The general assembly shall establish at least one free public school in every parish throughout the State, and shall provide for its support by taxation or otherwise. All children of this State between the years of six and twenty-one shall be admitted to the public schools or other institutions of learning sustained or established by the State in common, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition. There shall be no separate schools or institutions of learning established exclusively for any race by the State of Louisiana. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 136.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 136. No municipal corporation shall make any rules or regulations contrary to the spirit and intention of article 135. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 137.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 137. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of this State a superintendent of public education, who shall hold his office for four years. His duties shall be prescribed by law, and he shall have the supervision and the general control of all public schools throughout the State. He shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, on his own warrant. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 138.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 138. The general exercises in the public schools shall be conducted in the English language. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 139.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 139. The proceeds of all lands heretofore granted by the United States for the use and support of public schools, and of all lands or other property which may hereafter be bequeathed for that purpose, and of all lands which may be granted or bequeathed to the State, and not granted or bequeathed expressly for any other purpose, which may hereafter be disposed of by the State, and the proceeds of all estates of deceased persons to which the State may be entitled by law, shall be held by the State as a loan, and shall be and remain a perpetual fund, on which the State shall pay an annual interest of 6 per cent., which interest, with the interest of the trust- fund deposited with this State by the United States under the act of Congress approved June the twenty-third, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and the rent of the unsold land, shall be appropriated to the support of such schools; and this appropriation shall remain inviolable. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 140.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 140. No appropriation shall be made by the general assembly for the support or any private school or any private institution of learning whatever. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 141.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 141. One-half of the funds derived from the poll-tax herein provided for shall be appropriated exclusively to the support of the free public schools throughout the State and the University of New Orleans. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 142.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 142. A university shall be established and maintained in the city of New Orleans. It shall be composed of a law, a medical, and a collegiate department, each with appropriate faculties. The general assembly shall provide by law for its organization and maintenance: Provided, That all departments of this institution of learning shall be open in common to all students capable of matriculating. No rules or regulations shall be made by the trustees, faculties, or other officers of said institution of learning, nor shall any laws be made by the general assembly violating the letter or spirit of the articles under this title. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 143.0 007.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 143. Institutions for the support of the insane, the education and support of the blind and the deaf and dumb, shall always be fostered by the State, and be subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the general assembly. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 008.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE VIII MILITIA *** SSTART 144.0 008.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 144. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to organize the militia of the State; and all able-bodied male citizens, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, not disfranchised by the laws of the United States and of this State, shall be subject to military duty. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 145.0 008.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 145. The governor shall appoint all commissioned officers, subject to confirmation or rejection by the senate, except, the staff-officers, who shall be appointed by their respective chiefs, and commissioned by the governor. All militia officers shall take and subscribe to the oath prescribed for officers of the United States Army and the oath prescribed for officers in this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 146.0 008.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 146. The governor shall have power to call the militia into active service for the preservation of law and order, or when the public safety may require it. The militia, when in active service, shall receive the same pay and allowances, as officers and privates, as is received by officers and privates in the United States Army. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 009.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE IX MODE OF REVISING THE CONSTITUTION *** SSTART 147.0 009.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 147. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or house of representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by two-thirds of the members elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their respective journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon; and the secretary of state shall cause the same to be published three months before the next general election for representatives to the general assembly, in at least one newspaper in every parish of the State in which a newspaper shall be published. And such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people at said election; and if a majority of the voters at said election shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of this constitution. If more than one amendment shall be submitted at one tine, they shall be submitted in such manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 010.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE X SCHEDULE *** SSTART 148.0 010.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 148. The ordinance of secession of the State of Louisiana, passed 26th of January, 1861, is hereby declared to be null and void. The constitution adopted in 1864, and all previous constitutions in the State of Louisiana, are declared to be superseded by this constitution. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 149.0 010.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 149. All rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, contracts, and all laws in force at the time of the adoption of this constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, shall continue as if it had not been adopted; all judgments and judicial sales, marriages, and executed contracts, made in good faith and in accordance with existing laws in this State, rendered, made, or entered into, between the 26th day of January, 1861, and the date when this constitution shall be adopted, are hereby declared to be valid, except the following laws: An act to authorize the widening of the new canal and basin, approved March 14, 1867. An act to amend and re-enact the 121st section of an act entitled "An act relative to crimes and offences," approved December 20, 1865. An act for the punishment of persons for tampering with, persuading, or enticing away, harboring, feeding, or secreting laborers, servants, or apprentices, approved December 21, 1865. An act to punish, in certain cases the employers of laborers and apprentices, approved December 21, 1865. An act in relation to exemption from State, parish, and city taxes, for the years 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1865, in certain cases, certified March 16, 1866. An act granting ferry privileges to C. K. Marshall, his heirs or assigns, approved March 10, 1866. An act to authorize the board of levee commissioners, of the levee district in the parishes of Madison and Carroll, to issue bonds, &c., approved March 28, 1867. Section third of An act to organize the police of New Orleans, and to create a police-board therein, approved February 12, 1866. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 150.0 010.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 150. The laws relative to the duties of officers shall remain in force, though contrary to this constitution, and the several duties be performed by the respective officers, until the organization of the government under this constitution. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 151.0 010.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 151. The general assembly shall provide for the removal of causes now pending in the courts of this State to courts created by or under this constitution. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 011.0 LA 1868 *** TITLE XI ORDINANCE *** SSTART 152.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 152. Immediately upon the adjournment of this convention this constitution shall be submitted for ratification to the registered voters of the State, in conformity to the act of Congress passed March 2, 1867, entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," and the acts supplementary thereto. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 153.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 153. The election for the ratification of the constitution shall be held on Friday and Saturday, the 17th and 18th days of April, 1868, at, the places now prescribed by law; and the polls shall be kept open from 7 o'clock a. m. to 7 o'clock p. m. At that election all those in favor of ratifying the constitution shall have written or printed on their ballots " For the constitution;" and those opposed to ratifying the constitution shall have written or printed on their ballots "Against the constitution." *** SEND *** *** SSTART 154.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 154. In order to establish a civil government, as required by act of Congress passed March 23, 1867, an election shall be held, at the same time and place at which the constitution is submitted for ratification, for all State, judicial, parish, and municipal officers, for members of the general assembly, and for congressional Representatives, at which election the electors who are qualified under the reconstruction acts of Congress shall vote, and none others: Provided, That any elector shall be eligible to any office under any municipal corporation in this State. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 155.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 155. At the election for the ratification of the constitution, and for officers of the civil government, as required by Congress, all registered electors may vote in any parish where they have resided for ten days next preceding said election, and at any precinct in the parish, upon presentation of their certificates of registration, affidavit, or other satisfactory evidence that they are entitled to vote as registered electors. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 156.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 156. The same registrars and commissioners who shall be appointed by the commanding general of the fifth military district to superintend the election for the ratification or rejection of the constitution, shall also, at the same time and place, superintend the election for all officers and representatives herein ordered: Provided, They be authorized so to act by the commanding general. And in case the commanding general should not so authorize said registrars and commissioners, the committee of seven, appointed by this convention to take charge of the whole matter of the ratification of the constitution and the election of civil officers, shall appoint one registrar for each parish in the State, except the parish of Orleans, and one in each district of the parish of Orleans, counting Orleans, right bank, as one district, who shall, each in his parish or district, appoint a sufficient number of commissioners of election to hold the said election for said civil officers and representatives at the same time and place as herein provided for. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 157.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 157. Returns shall be made in duplicate, sworn to by the commissioners holding the election, and forwarded within three days thereafter, to the registrars f the parish or district. The registrars shall immediately forward one copy of said returns to the chairman of the committee of seven appointed by this convention, who shall, within ten days after the last return has been received, make proclamation of the result of said election. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 158.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 158. All civil officers thus elected shall enter upon the discharge of their duties on the second Monday after the return of their election shall have been officially promulgated, or as soon as qualified according to law, and shall continue in office for the terms of their respective offices herein prescribed, said terms to date from the first Monday in November following the election. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 159.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 159. The general assembly elected under this constitution shall hold its first session in the city of New Orleans on the third Monday after the official promulgation aforesaid, and proceed immediately upon its organization to vote upon the adoption of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by Congress, and passed June 13, 1866. Said general assembly shall not have power to enact any laws relative to the per diem of members, or any other subject, after organization, until said constitutional amendment shall have been acted upon. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 160.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 160. All registrars and commissioners appointed under this constitution shall, before entering upon their duties, take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by Congress, approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office; " the said oath of office shall be administered to each registrar by the chairman of the committee of seven and to each commissioner by the registrar appointing him. *** SEND *** *** SSTART 161.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 *** ART. 161. All registrars, commissioners, and other officers, necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this ordinance, except as otherwise provided for by the reconstruction acts of Congress, shall be paid out of any funds raised by virtue of the tax ordinance adopted by the convention December twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, not otherwise appropriated. *** SEND *** *** AEND *** *** ASTART 9016.0 LA 1868 *** JAMES G. TALIAFERRO, President. WM. VIGERS, Secretary. *** AEND *** *** MSTART 001 050.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 1870 *** [Repealed by Acts 1870, No. 11.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 002 099.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 1870 *** TITLE VI. ART. 99. No person shall hold any office, or shall be permitted to vote at any election, or to act as a juror who, in due course of law, shall have been convicted of treason, perjury, forgery, bribery, or other crime, punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, or who shall have been under interdiction. [Amended by Acts 1870, No. 85] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 003 001.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1870 *** That no person who, at any time, may have been a collector of taxes, whether State, parish, or municipal, or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, or to any office of profit or trust under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, and for all public moneys with which he may have been entrusted. [Amended by Acts 1870, No. 21.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 004 002.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1870 *** SEC. 2. That prior to the first day of January, 1890, the debt of the State shall not be so increased as to exceed twenty-five millions of dollars. [Amended by Acts 1870, No. 12] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 005 162.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 1874 *** ART. [162]. SEC. 1. The issue of consolidated bonds authorized by the General Assembly of the State, at its regular session in the year 1874, is hereby declared to create a valid contract between the State and each and every holder of said bonds, which the State shall by no means and in no wise impair. The said bonds shall be a valid obligation of the State in favor of any holder thereof, and no court shall enjoin the payment of the principal or interest thereof, or the levy and collection of the tax therefor; to secure such levy, collection, and payment the judicial power shall be exercised when necessary. The tax required for the payment of the principal and interest of said bonds shall be assessed and collected each and every year until the bonds shall be paid, principal and interest, and the proceeds shall be paid by the treasurer of the State to the holders of said bonds as the principal and interest of the same shall fall due, and no further legislation or appropriation shall be requisite for the said assessment and collection and for such payment from the treasury. SEC. 2. Whenever the debt of the State shall have been reduced below twenty-five million dollars, the constitutional limit shall remain at the lowest point reached, beyond which the public debt shall not thereafter be increased; and this rule continue in operation until the debt is reduced to fifteen million dollars, beyond which it shall not be increased. Nor shall taxation for all State purposes, excepting the support of public schools, ever exceed twelve and a half mills on the dollar of the assessed valuation of the real and personal property in the State, except in case of war or invasion. SEC. 3. The revenue of each year derived from taxation upon real, personal, and mixed property, or from licenses, shall be devoted solely to the expenses of the said year for which it shall be raised, excepting any surplus remain, which shall be directed to sinking the public debt. All appropriations and claims in excess of revenue shall be null and void, and the State shall in no manner provide for their payment. *** MEND *** *** MSTART 006 163.0 011.0 0 LA 1868 1874 *** ART. [163]. The city of New Orleans shall not hereafter increase her debt in any manner or form or under any pretext. After the first day of January, 1875, no evidence of indebtedness or warrant for payment of money shall be issued by any officer of said city, except against cash actually in the treasury; but this shall not be so construed as to prevent a renewal of matured bonds at par, or the issue of new bonds in exchange for other bonds, provided the city debt be not thereby increased, nor to prevent the issue of drainage warrants to the transferee of contract, under act No. 30, of 1871, payable only from drainage taxes, and not otherwise; any person violating the prohibitions [provisions] of this article shall, on conviction, be by imprisonment for not less two nor more than ten years, and by fine of not less than three dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars. [Added by Acts 1874, No. 22] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 007 017.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 1874 *** TITLE II. ART. 17. Strike out the words " first Monday " and insert the words " first Tuesday after the first Monday." [Amended by Acts 1874, No. 64.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 008 003.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** That the seat of government shall be established at the city of Baton Rouge or at the city of New Orleans, as the majority of the voters of the State may determine at the next ensuing election; those voting to locate the State capital at Baton Rouge shall endorse on their tickets, "For State Capital, Baton Rouge;" those voting to locate the capital at New Orleans shall endorse on their tickets, "For State Capital, New Orleans." Strike out article one hundred and thirty-one. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] ***MEND*** ***MSTART 009 131.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 010 004.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE. Representatives shall be chosen on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every two years, and the election shall be completed in one day. The General Assembly shall meet on the first Monday in January, 1879, and biennially thereafter, on the first Monday in January, unless a different day be appointed by law, and their sessions shall be held at the seat of government. (Strike out article seventeen.) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 74.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 011 017.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 012 005.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO After the year 1878, the General Assembly shall not have power to levy in any one year for all State purposes more than one per centum taxation, nor shall any collection of more than one per centum taxation be made in any one year, on the actual cash value of all real and personal property liable to taxation, except in case of a foreign invasion, or a domestic insurrection, and in that event any additional taxation shall only be for the immediate purpose of repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection. The city of New Orleans shall not levy or collect in any one year more than one and one-half per centum taxation on the actual cash value of all real and personal property liable to taxation within its limits. No parish or municipal corporation, except the city of New Orleans, shall levy or collect in any one year more than one per centum taxation upon the actual cash value of all the real and personal property liable to taxation within its limit. The General Assembly shall not have power to issue any bond or pledge the faith of the State for any purpose, nor shall it authorize any parish or municipal corporation to issue any bond or create any debt; provided, that this shall not prohibit the issue of new bonds in exchange for old bond, where the debt or rate of interest is not increased. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 013 006.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER THREE The members of the General Assembly shall be paid a salary of five hundred dollars ($500) per session, and actual travelling expenses by the nearest practical route, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) for any one member; provided, that if two sessions are held in the same year they shall receive for the second session in that year a salary of only two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) and actual travelling expenses by the nearest practicable route, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) for any one member. The regular biennial session shall not exceed ninety days in duration, unless by vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. (Strike out article thirty-nine.) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 014 039.0 002.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 015 007.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER FOUR The General Assembly shall not pass any local or special law changing the venue in criminal cases, changing the manner of persons legitimating children, vacating roads, streets, or alleys, remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures, or refunding moneys legally paid into the treasury: affecting the estates of minors, or persons under disability, exempting property from taxation, creating any monopoly, legalizing the unauthorized or invalid acts of any officer or agent of the State, or of any parish or municipality; granting any extra compensation to any public officer, agent, or contractor, after the service has been rendered or contracted for; changing any parish seat, or creating new parishes, except by the assent of the majority of the qualified electors of the parish, or parishes, to be affected; in all other cases, where a general law can be make applicable, no local or special law shall be passed. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 016 008.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER FIVE The Governor shall receive a salary of seven thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, on his own warrant. (Strike out article fifty six) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 017 056.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 018 009.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER SIX The Lieutenant Governor shall receive a salary which shall be double that of a member of the General Assembly. (Strike out article fifty seven). [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 019 057.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 020 010.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER SEVEN Every bill which shall have passed both houses shall be presented to the Governor; if he approve it, he shall sign it; if he does not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the members present in that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the members present in that house, it shall be a law. But in such cases the vote of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of members voting for or against the bill shall be entered upon the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return; in which case, within thirty days, the Governor shall file the same, with his objections thereto, in the office of the Secretary of State, and give public notice thereof; otherwise it shall become a law, as if he had signed it. The Secretary of State shall communicate said objections and bill so deposited to the house in which it originated on the first day of the meeting of the next General Assembly, who shall act upon the same as above provided. The Governor shall have power to veto one or more items in any bill appropriating money, embracing distinct items, while approving other portions of the bill, and the part or parts of the bill approved shall become law, and the item or items of appropriations disapproved shall be void, unless repassed according to the rules and limitations prescribed for the passage of other bills over the Governor's veto. (Strike out article sixty-six). [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 021 066.0 003.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 022 011.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER EIGHT No officer, whose salary is fixed by the Constitution, shall be allowed any fees or perquisites of office. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 023 012.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER NINE The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme court, in district courts, and in justices of the peace. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in all civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. In criminal cases, and in all probate matters, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. They shall have appellate jurisdiction in civil suits from justices of the peace, when the amount in dispute exceeds ten dollars, exclusive of interest. The justices of the peace shall be elected by the electors of each parish in the manner and with the qualifications to be determined by the General Assembly. They shall hold office for the term of two years, and their compensation shall be fixed by law. Their jurisdiction in civil cases shall not exceed one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, subject to an appeal to the district court in all cases when the amount in dispute shall exceed ten dollars, exclusive of interest. They shall have such criminal jurisdiction as shall be conferred by law. The General Assembly shall have power to vest in the clerks of the district courts the right to grant such orders and do such acts as may be deemed necessary for the furtherance of the administration of justice. In all cases the power thus granted shall be specified and determined. (Strike out articles seventy-three, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety-one, and one hundred and thirty-three) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 024 073.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 025 085.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 026 086.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 027 087.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 028 088.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 029 089.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 030 091.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 031 133.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 032 013.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER TEN The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall receive a salary of seven thousand dollars per annum, and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court each receive a salary of six thousand five hundred dollars per annum, payable quarterly on their own warrant. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 033 014.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER ELEVEN The General Assembly shall divide the State into judicial districts, which shall remain unchanged for four years, and for each district on judge, learned in the law, shall be elected by a plurality of qualified electors thereof. For each district there shall be one district court, except in the parish of Orleans, in which the General Assembly may establish as many district courts as the public interest may require, not to exceed the number now authorized by existing laws, except by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to both branches of the General Assembly. Until otherwise provided by law, the district courts now existing in the parish of Orleans shall have the jurisdiction at present conferred by law, no redistricting or change shall be made so as to take effect during the incumbency of any judge. The number of districts in the State shall not be less than thirty nor more than forty-five. The General Assembly shall provide by law for at least four terms annually of the district court in every parish. The General Assembly shall have power to create circuit courts, to be constituted by grouping the district courts into circuits, and composing the circuit court of the judges of the district courts within such circuits. To direct the place or places of meeting of said circuit courts so constituted, and to vest said circuit courts with appellate jurisdiction from the district courts within the circuit where the amount involved exceeds one hundred dollars ($100) exclusive of interest, and does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) exclusive of interest. The General Assembly shall have power, by a two thirds vote of all the members elected to both houses, to restrict the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to causes where the amount involved exceed one thousand dollars ($1000) exclusive of interest; and in case of such restriction, the circuit courts so to be created shall have appellate jurisdiction of the class of cases thus excluded from the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The clerks of the district courts shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective parishes, and shall hold their office for four years. (Strike out article eighty-three). [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 034 083.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 035 015.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER TWELVE Each of the district judges shall receive a salary, to be fixed by law, which, except in the parish of Orleans, shall not be less than two thousand dollars, nor more than three thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly on his warrant, and which shall nor be increased nor diminished during his term of office. He must be a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-five years, and have resided in the State and practiced law therein for the space of two years next preceding his election. The judges of the district courts shall hold their appointment for the term of four years. In the parish of Orleans the annual salary of the district judges shall not exceed five thousand dollars, to be paid as above provided. (Strike out article eighty-four.) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 036 084.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 037 016.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER THIRTEEN In lieu of the office of district attorney, established by article ninety-two of the Constitution of 1868, there shall be elected, by the qualified voters of each parish, a State's attorney therefor: who shall be a citizen of the United States, and who shall have been a resident of the State, and a practicing and duly licensed attorney at law, for at least two years. He shall receive a salary from the State of nor less than three nor more than seven hundred dollars per annum, to be provided by law upon the basis of representation in the House of Representatives, and payable quarterly on his own warrant. He shall be ex-officio attorney of the parish, and receive such salary therefrom as may be fixed by the parochial authorities, not to exceed seven hundred dollars per annum. He shall moreover, receive such fees of office as may be allowed by law. In the city of New Orleans the State's attorney shall receive such compensation from the city, in addition to the salary above provided, as may be established by law. He shall be elected at the same time with the judges of the district courts, and shall hold his office for the term of four years. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 038 017.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER FOURTEEN In every case where the judge may be recused, and when his is not personally interested in the matters of contestation, he shall select a lawyer, having the necessary qualifications required for a judge of his court, to try such cases; and the General Assembly shall provide by law for the trail of those cases in which the judge may be personally interested, or when he may be absent or refuses to act. (Strike out article ninety.) [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 039 090.0 004.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 040 018.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER FIFTEEN In order to provide for the establishment of the judicial system created by the above amendments, and to prevent the evils of an interregnum, it is hereby ordained by the people of Louisiana: First That the General Assembly, which meets the first Monday in January, 1879, shall, in accordance with the foregoing amendments, immediately redistrict the State, and provide for the authority of clerks, and the election and criminal jurisdiction of justices of the peace. Second That as soon as the Legislature shall have acted as aforesaid, the Governor shall by proclamation call an election for justices of the peace for each parish, except the parish of Orleans, and for district judges, in each district created by the redistricting, where one or more parishes have been added, or taken from the existing judicial district, and for State attorneys, as above provided, except in the parish of Orleans, where the district attorney for the parish shall be State attorney. This election shall be held on the same day throughout the State, which day shall not be less than sixty, nor more than ninety days after the passage of said Act. The terms of the officers elected at said election shall expire at the general election of 1880. Third That the judicial system, as established by the Constitution of 1868, shall remain in force until the expiration of the thirtieth day after said election, excluding from the computation the day of the election. Fourth The adoption of these amendments shall not vacate the offices of the present clerks of courts in each parish. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 041 132.0 006.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER SIXTEEN Article one hundred and thirty-two of the Constitution of 1868 shall be abrogated. [Repealed by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 042 019.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER SEVENTEEN The superintendent of Public Education shall receive a salary of thirty-five hundred dollars, payable quarterly upon his own warrant. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 043 020.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER EIGHTEEN No license tax shall be imposed by the State, or any parish or municipal authority, on any mechanical trade, manufactory, or factory, except such as may require police[?] regulations, in towns and cities. [Added by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** MSTART 044 021.0 9099.0 0 LA 1868 1878 *** AMENDMENT NUMBER NINETEEN The Legislature is authorized to exempt from State, municipal, or parish taxation household goods, such as furniture, wearing apparel, tools of trade, or profession, and family portraits, not exceeding in aggregate value the sum of five hundred dollars. [Amended by Acts 1878, No. 73.] *** MEND *** *** CEND ***