430 INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENT AND LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



assemble to consult for the common good and to petition the government 

 or any dojiartment thereof shall never be abridged. All persons may 

 freely speak, write and publish their sentiments on any subject, being re- 

 sponsible for the abuse of that right, and no laws shall be enacted to re- 

 strain or abridge liberty of speech or the i:)ress. In prosecutions for libel 

 upon public officers, the truth of the matter may be given in evidence to 

 justify the publication, and the jury in such cases are the judges of the 

 law and the facts. Absolute freedom of conscience shall be secured to 

 all, with only the provision that such freedom shall not justify practices 

 inconsistent Avith the peace and moral safety of society. There shall be 

 no established church nor form of religion, but every denomination shall 

 be protected by law in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of wor- 

 ship. The right of trial by jur}^ shall remain inviolate. Every individ- 

 ual shall have the same personal rights; that is, no class of persons shall 

 have any advantages before the law over an}' other class, and there shall 

 be no discrimination between classes or individuals with regard to 

 rights, restraints or responsibilities. No person shall be held to answer 

 for any crime or offence until the same is fully and clearly explained to 

 him ; and he shall not be compelled to accuse himself or furnish evidence 

 against himself, but shall have the right to produce all his proofs in his 

 defence ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him and to cross- 

 examine them ; to have a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, 

 and to be fully heard in his own behalf, either personally or by his coun- 

 sel, as he may elect. 



No person shall be aiTCsted, imprisoned, deprived of his jiroperty or 

 privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled or deprived of his 

 life, liberty or estate, except by the judgment of his equals or the law of 

 the land. No law shall be passed by the General Assembly subjecting 

 any one to punishment without trial by jury, nor shall any law have a 

 retrospective effect, but shall apply only to offences committed after its 

 passage. 



All Courts shall be public, and every person aggrieved shall have full 

 access to them and remedy by due course of law, and there shall be no 

 unnecessar}' dela}' in the administration of justice. All persons shall be 

 bailable, before conviction, by sufficient sureties, except for capital offen- 

 ces where the proof is evident or the presumption great, and excessive 

 bail shall not be required. Whipping and corporal punishment of any 

 sort are prohibited. The privilege of the writ of liabcas corj^us shall not 

 be suspended except in cases of insurrection, rebellion or invasion, Avlien 

 ]'equired by the public safety. 



No person shall be tried again for the same offence after having been 

 once acquitted by a jury. Small offences, under the rank of felonies, and 



