MISSOURI. 



521 



ment whenever they may cteem it necessary to their 

 safety and happiness : Provided, Such change be not 

 repugnant to the Constitution of the United States. 

 SEO. 3. That Missouri is a free and independent 

 State, subject only to the Constitution of the United 

 States ; 'and as the preservation of the States and 

 the maintenance of their governments are necessary 

 to an indestructible Union, and were intended to co- 

 exist with it, the Legislature is not authorized to 

 adopt, nor will the people of this State ever assent 

 to any amendment or change of the Constitution of 

 the United States which may in any wise impair the 

 right o'f local self-government belonging to the peo- 

 ple of this State. 



Complete religious freedom and equality are 

 guaranteed, and it is declared that no one shall 

 be compelled to attend any place of worship 

 or contribute to the maintenance of any form 

 of religion. On the use of public funds for 

 religious purposes the following declaration is 

 made : 



SEO. 7. That no money shall ever be taken from 

 the public Treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of 

 any church, sect, or denomination of religion, or in aid 

 of any priest, minister, or teacher thereof, as such ; 

 and that no preference shall be given to, nor any 

 discrimination made against, any church, sect, or 

 creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or 

 worship. 



On the subject of freedom of speech it is 

 declared 



SEO. 14. That no law shall be passed impairing 



the freedom of speech ; that every person shall be 

 to say, write, or publish whatever he will on any 



free 



subject, being responsible for all abuse of that lib- 

 erty ; and that in all suits and prosecutions for libel 

 the truth thereof may be given in evidence, and the 

 jury, under the direction of the court, shall deter- 

 mine the law and the fact. 



The usual guarantees regarding personal 

 rights, privileges, and immunities, are set forth 

 without any discriminations, and the following 

 prohibition of slavery is included : 



SEO. 81. That there cannot be in this State either 

 slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 

 ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been 

 duly convicted. 



Article III. distributes the powers of govern- 

 ment into legislative, executive, and judicial, 

 and declares their independence of each other. 



Article IY. deals with the legislative depart- 

 ment, and consists of fifty-six sections. The 

 official style of the legislative body is "The 

 General Assembly of the State of Missouri." 

 The regular sessions are to begin on the first 

 Wednesday after the first day of January in 

 1877, and every second year thereafter, and 

 adjourned sessions are prohibited. The Sen- 

 ate consists of thirty-four members, chosen 

 for a term of four years, one-half to go out of 

 office every two years. The State is to be 

 divided into " convenient " senatorial districts 

 according to population as shown in the last 

 decennial census of the United States. Until 

 such division is made, the districts are to he as 

 designated in the constitution itself. Repre- 

 sentatives in the Lower House are to be appor- 

 tioned as follows : The ratio of representation 

 shall be ascertained by dividing the whole 



number of inhabitants as shown by the last 

 United States census by two hundred ; a coun- 

 ty having one ratio or less shall be entitled to 

 one representative ; a county having two and 

 a half ratios shall be entitled to two represent- 

 atives; a county having four ratios shall be 

 entitled to three representatives ; a county 

 having six ratios shall be entitled to four rep- 

 resentatives ; and one additional representa- 

 tive shall be allowed for every two and a half 

 ratios above six. Counties entitled to more 

 than one representative must be divided into 

 districts. Until the apportionment is made, 

 the House of Representatives is to consist of 

 143 members, seventeen from the county of 

 St. Louis, four from the county of Jackson, 

 three from the county of Buchanan, two each 

 from the counties of Franklin, Greene, John- 

 son, Lafayette, Macon, Marion, Pike, and Sa- 

 line, and one from each of the others. A new 

 apportionment is to be made at the first session 

 after each Federal census. The following oath 

 is prescribed for all members of the General 

 Assembly : 



I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support 

 the Constitution of the United States and of the 

 State of Missouri, and faithfully perform the duties 

 of my office ; and that I will not knowingly receive, 

 directly or indirectly, any money, or other valuable 

 thing, for the performance or non-perforinaiice of 

 any act or duty pertaining to my office, other than 

 the compensation allowed by law. 



The compensation of members is limited to 

 $5 a day for the first seventy days of the ses- 

 sion and $1 per day thereafter, with allowance 

 for travel not greater than that already fixed 

 by law, and $30 per session for stationery, 

 postage, and incidental expenses. Sections 24 

 to 42 inclusive prescribe the form and method 

 of legislative proceedings. A revision of the 

 statutes is required within five years after the 

 adoption of the constitution, and every ten 

 years thereafter. If a bill is returned by the 

 Governor without his approval within ten days 

 from the time he receives it, a two-thirds vote 

 of both branches is necessary to make it a law. 

 If it is not returned at all within ten days, it 

 becomes a law without the Governor's ap- 

 proval. Sections 43 to 56 inclusive lay down 

 the limitations of legislative power. The Gen- 

 eral Assembly can authorize no money to be 

 drawn from the Treasury except to meet regu- 

 lar appropriations made by law. It is prohibited 

 from contracting or authorizing any debt ex- 

 cept in the following cases : 



1. In the renewal of existing bonds when they 

 cannot be paid at maturity out of the sinking-fund 

 or other resources. 



2. On the occurring of an unforeseen emergency, 

 or casual deficiency of the revenue, when the tempo- 

 rary liability incurred, upon the recommendation of 

 the Governor first had, shall not exceed the sum of 

 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for any one 

 year, to be paid in not more than two years from 

 and after its creation. 



3. On the occurring of any unforeseen emergency, 

 or casual deficiency of the revenue, when the tem- 

 porary liability incurred or to be incurred shall ex- 

 ceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dol- 



