# Constitution of the State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations

CONSTITUTION
OF THE
STATE OF RHODE-ISLAND
AND
PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS,
AS ADOPTED BY THE
CONVENTION,
ASSEMBLED AT NEWPORT, JUNE 21, 1824.
PROVIDENCE: Printed by Jones & Maxcy, at the Office of the Patriot, 1824.
CONSTITUTION.
We, the People of the State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the government thereof:
Article 1. Of the Distribution of Powers.
1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into three distinct departments: the Legislative, Executive and Judicial.
2. No person or persons, belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in cases herein expressly directed or permitted.
Article 2. Of the Legislative Department. Section 1.
1. The Legislative power shall be vested in two distinct Houses or branches; the one to be styled the Senate, the other the House of Representatives, and both together, the General Assembly. The style of their laws shall be—Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations.
2. If any Senator or Representative, in the General Assembly of this State, shall be appointed to any office under the government of the United states, and shall accept of the same, after his election as such Senator or Representative, his seat shall thereby become vacated; and any person, who holds an office under the government of the United States, may be elected a member of the General Assembly, and may hold his seat therein, if, at the time of taking his seat, he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same, on oath, if required. No member of the General Assembly shall, during the time for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office, under this State, which shall have been crea​ted, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during the time for which he was elected.—No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of counsel, or act as an advocate before either branch of the Legislature, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon due proof thereof.
3. There shall be one session of the General Assembly holden annually at Newport, on the first Tuesday of May; and one other session, holden alternately at Providence and South-Kingstown, on the second Monday of January, in each year; and the adjournments from said sessions, respectively, shall be holden at East-Greenwich and Bristol, alternately.
4. The Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest, during the session of the General Assembly, and for two days before the commencement, and two days after the termination of any session thereof; and for any speech in debate, in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.
5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections and qualifications of its own members; and the majority shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn, from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may prescribe.
6. Each House may determine the rules of proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds of the members elected, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause.
7. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, when required by one fifth of its members. The yeas and nays of the members of either House shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.
8. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor. If he approve of it, he shall sign and transmit it to the Secretary; but if not, he shall return it to the House, in which it shall have originated, with his objections thereto, which shall be entered on their journal at large. The House shall then proceed to reconsider the bill; and if, after such reconsidera​tion, that House shall again pass it, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, which shall also reconsider it; and, if approved by that House, it shall become a law. But in such cases, the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the members, voting for and against the bill, shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If the bill shall not be returned by the Governor, within two days, (Sundays excepted,) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which case, it shall not be a law.
9. The civil and military officers, heretofore elected in grand committee, shall hereafter be elected annually by the General Assembly, in joint committee, composed of the two Houses of the Legislature, excepting as is otherwise provided by this Constitution; and excepting the captains and subalterns of the militia, who shall be elected by the written votes of the members, composing their respective companies, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe; and such officers, so elected, shall be approved of and commissioned by the Governor, who shall determine their rank; and if said companies shall neglect or refuse to make such elections, after being duly notified, then the Governor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices.
Section 2. Of the Senate.
1. The Senate shall consist of ten members, to be chosen annually, by the electors, by general ticket; but no person shall be elected to the place of Senator, unless he be possessed of a freehold in this State, sufficient to qualify him to be an elector, and shall be a freeman and inhabitant of the same. In case an election of a majority of Senators should fail, in any instance, to be made by the electors, at their annual election, the vacancies shall be filled by the House of Representatives; and all vacancies, in the Senate, from any other cause, shall be filled by the two Houses in joint committee.
​2. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be President of the Senate, and have, when in committee of the whole, a right to debate; and when the Senate is equally divided, to give the casting vote.
3. When the government shall be administered by the Lieutenant-Governor, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their own members, President pro tempore.
4. The Secretary of State shall be, by virtue of his office, Secretary of the Senate.
Section 3. Of the House of Representatives.
1. The House of Representatives shall consist of members elected by the electors of the several towns, in their respective town-meetings, on the third Wednesday of April, annually. Each town, having three thousand inhabitants, and under five thousand, shall be entitled to elect three Representatives; each town, having five thousand inhabitants, and under eight thousand, shall be entitled to elect four Representatives; each town, having eight thousand inhabitants, and under twelve thousand, shall be entitled to elect five Representatives; each town, having twelve thousand inhabitants, and under seventeen thousand, shall be entitled to elect six Representatives: and each town, having seventeen thousand inhabitants, shall be entitled to elect seven Representatives; but no town shall be entitled to elect more than seven Representatives; nor shall any town be entitled to less than two. The representation in the several towns in this State shall be apportioned agreeably to the census of the people of the United States, taken in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, in conformity to the Constitution thereof; and said apportionment shall continue to have effect, until a new census be taken of the people of the United States, as by their constitution is provided. The representation in the several towns in this State shall be apportioned, agreeably to said new census; and so on, at each subsequent period thereafter, whenever a new census of the people of the United States shall be taken under the constitution thereof.
​2. No person shall be eligible to the place of Representative, in the General Assembly, unless he be a freeman, and an inhabitant of the town for which he shall be elected, and possessed of a freehold in the same, sufficient to qualify him to be an elector, according to this Constitution.
3. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect their own Speaker, Clerk and other officers.
4. Whenever the seat of a member of the House of Representatives shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election.
Section 4. Of Impeachments.
1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.
2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and, when sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted, except on concurrence of two thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is impeached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall preside.
3. The Governor and all other executive and judicial officers shall be liable to impeachment; but judgments in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office. The party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law.
Article 3. Of the Executive Department.
1. The Supreme Executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor, who shall be chosen by the electors, properly qualified, and shall hold his office for the term of one year, from the first Tuesday in May, next succeeding his election, and until his successor be duly qualified. But if no person shall have a majority of votes, the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint committee, shall choose a Governor, by ballot, from the two persons having the highest ​number of votes. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, who does not possess the qualifications of an elector, and who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and who is not a native born citizen of the United States, and who shall not have been for the term of five years, resident within this State; or who, at the time of his election, or during the term for which he was elected, shall not be a resident therein.
2. There shall also be chosen, in the same manner as hereinbefore provided for the election of Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, who shall continue in office, for the same term of time, and possess the same qualifications, as are required in the case of the Governor.
3. A Secretary of State, General-Treasurer and Attorney-General, shall also be chosen on the third Wednesday of April, annually, in the same manner, and for the same term of time, as hereinbefore provided, as to the election of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. And in case an election of the Secretary of State, Attorney-General, or General-Treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors, at their annual election, or in case of a vacancy in either of said offices, from any other causes, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the Legislature, in joint committee of both branches thereof.
4. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, after conviction, in all cases, except those of impeachment. He shall preside in the joint committee of both Houses, when assembled for the election of officers, and shall have a casting vote therein, if the joint committee he equally divided.—He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the Government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient.
5. In case of a disagreement between the two Houses of the General Assembly, respecting the time or place of adjournment, the person administering the office of Governor, may adjourn them to such time and place as he shall think proper; provided that the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond the day of the next stated session.
6. The person administering the office of Govern​or, may, on special emergencies, convene the General Assembly at any town in this State, at any other time than herein before provided. And in case of danger from the prevalence of contagious diseases, in either of the places, in which the General Assembly may by law meet, or to which they may have been adjourned, or from other circumstances, he may, by proclamation, convene said Assembly at any other place within this State.
7. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; shall be sealed with the State seal, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary.
8. The Governor shall be Commander in Chief of the Militia of this State.
9. In case of the death, resignation, refusal, or inability to serve, or removal from office, of the Governor, or his impeachment, or absence from the State, the Lieutenant-Governor shall exercise the powers and authority appertaining to the office of Governor until another be chosen, at the next annual election for Governor, and be duly qualified, or until the Governor, impeached or absent, shall be acquitted or return, or his inability be removed.
10. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall die, resign, refuse, or be unable to serve, or be removed from office, or if he shall be impeached, or absent from the State, the President of the Senate, pro tempore, shall in like manner administer the government until he be superseded by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor.
11. The compensation of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be established by law, and shall not be varied so as to take effect, until after an election, which shall next succeed the passage of the law establishing such compensation.
12. The duties of the Secretary, General-Treasurer and Attorney- General, shall be the same under this Constitution, as are now established by law, or as the Legislature may, from time to time, prescribe.
Article 4. Of the Judiciary Department.
1. The Judicial power of this State shall be vest​ed in one Supreme Judicial Court, a Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, and in such other Courts, inferior to the Supreme Judicial Court, as the Legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish: and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Judicial Court and all other Courts, may, from time to time, be regulated by the Legislature.
2. There shall be annually appointed, in each town, a sufficient number of Justices of the Peace, with such jurisdiction as the legislature may prescribe.
3. The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court and Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace shall be appointed in the manner provided by this Constitution. They shall be removable from office, by impeachment, or on the joint resolution of both branches of the Legislature, two thirds of the number elected of each branch concurring therein. But no person, who was a member of the Legislature at the time of such removal, shall be appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned thereby: and in all cases of removal by joint resolution of both branches of the Legislature, the causes of removal, and the ayes and nays thereon, shall be stated, and entered upon the journal of each House.
4. The Supreme Judicial Court shall consist of one Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, a majority of whom shall form a quorum. The Chief Justice shall be appointed for the term of six years; the second Justice, for the terra of four years; and the third Justice, for the term of two years; but all subsequent appointments, at the end of either of these terms, shall be for the term of six years. The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court shall receive a compensation which shall not be diminished during their term of office.
5. The Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace shall consist of five Justices, one Justice to be taken from each county: and the jurisdiction of said Court shall extend to every county in this State; and the terms of said Court shall be holden in each county, as shall be prescribed by law. The Justices of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace shall be appointed for the term of one year.
​6. No Judge shall charge Juries on matters of fact; but may state the testimony, and declare the law.
7. The Courts of Probate, in this State, shall remain as at present established by law, until the Legislature shall otherwise prescribe.
Article 5. Of Elections and the Right of Suffrage.
1. Every person, who now is, or hereafter may be, admitted a freeman, previous to the adoption of this Constitution, shall be an elector, so long as he shall be possessed of the qualifications by which he was admitted to be a freeman; and, hereafter, every free white male citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, who is really and truly possessed, in his own proper right, of a real estate, within this State, of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, or which shall rent for seven dollars per annum, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, or an estate in reversion, which qualifies no other person, or at least an estate for the person’s own life, shall be entitled to be admitted a freeman in the town in which his estate lies; and being so admitted, shall be an elector, and no other persons: provided, however, that the yearly value of such life estate shall exceed the amount of the rent reserved, (if any,) by the sum of seven dollars, per annum: and provided, that no person, whose estate is under mortgage, and the mortgagee is in possession of such estate, either by suit at law, or by consent of the mortgager, shall be admitted to vote in the election of an officer in this State, or be capable of acting as an elector therein; but the mortgagee having possession of the land as aforesaid, shall be admitted to vote in the election of officers, if he be in other respects qualified: provided, however, that no mortgager, while in possession of the mortgaged premises, shall be admitted to vote thereon, unless his interest therein shall exceed the sum of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, over and above all sums secured by mortgage: and provided also, that no person shall be admitted to vote in any town in this State, for Representatives to the General Assembly, or for any town officers, or in any town affairs, who has not a sufficient freehold in such town.
​2. Electors shall, in all cases, except in those of treason, felony and breach of the peace, he privileged from arrest, during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same; said privilege not to extend farther than on said day of election.
3. The privileges of an elector shall be forfeited by a conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime; but such elector, so forfeiting his privileges, may be restored to the same by the General Assembly.
4. No person shall be eligible to any office in this State, other than offices in the militia, or town-offices, unless he possess a freehold sufficient to qualify him to be an Elector.
5. The Town-Meetings in this State, for choosing the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Senators and Representatives to the General Assembly, Secretary of State, Attorney-General and General-Treasurer, shall be holden on the third Wednesday of April, annually.
6. Every person who shall vote for the officers mentioned in the preceding paragraph, excepting for Representatives to the General Assembly, shall have his name written at length on the back of his vote at the time of delivering in the same: and the names of all the officers voted for shall be put upon one ticket; and all the votes, so taken, shall be, in open Town-Meeting, sealed up by the Town Clerk, and shall, together with a list of the persons voting for Governor, be delivered by said Town Clerk to a Senator or one of the Representatives of such town, whose duty it shall be to deliver them to the Speaker of the House of Representatives after the said House shall be duly organized; which votes shall be opened, counted and declared, as the House of Representatives shall direct.
Article 6. A Declaration of certain Constitutional Rights and Principles.
1. Every person, within this State, ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it; completely and without any denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the laws.
2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated: and no warrant shall issue, but on complaint in writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.
3. No person shall be holden to answer a capital or other infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person shall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offence.
4. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offence.
5. All prisoners ought to be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. The privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety shall require it, nor ever, without the authority of the Legislature, nor for a longer period than sixty days at any one time.
6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the privilege of a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process to obtain them in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence. Nor shall he be de​prived of his life, liberty or property unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.
7. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, ought not to be confined in prison, after he shall have delivered up his property for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
8. Retrospective laws, punishing offences, committed before the existence of such laws, are oppressive and unjust, and ought not to be made.
9. No man in a court of common law, shall be compelled to give evidence against himself.
10. Every man being presumed to be innocent, until pronounced guilty by the law, all acts of severity, that are not necessary to secure an accused person, ought to be repressed.
11. The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.
12. The liberty of the press, being essential to the security of freedom in a State, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
13. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.
14. Private property shall not be taken for public uses, without just compensation.
15. The military power shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil authority.
16. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor, in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law.
17. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it, by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil State may stand, and be best maintained with full liberty in religious concernments: We therefore declare, that no man shall be compelled to frequent, or support, any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor ​enforced, restrained, molested or burthened, in his body or goods, nor disqualified from holding any office, nor otherwise suffer on account of his religious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument, to maintain their opinion in matters of religion; and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities; and that all other religious rights and privileges of the people of this State, as now enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and inviolable.
18. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair nor deny others retained by the people.
Article 7. Of Education.
1. A fund shall be created from all monies received for taxes on licenses, granted under the authority of this State, for the support of Free Schools, which shall be called the School Fund, and shall be invested and remain a perpetual fund and shall continue to accumulate, until the interest arising therefrom, together with the taxes annually paid on licenses, shall be sufficient to support Free Schools, at least three months in each year, in every town in this State.
2. All charitable donations for the support of Free Schools, shall be invested and applied agreeably to the will and pleasure of the donors.
3. The General Assembly shall make all the necessary provisions by law for carrying this article into effect; but no law shall ever be passed, authorizing said fund to be diverted to any other use than the support of Free Schools, in the several towns in this State, as provided in the first paragraph of this article.
Article 8. Of Amendments.
The General Assembly may propose amendments to this Constitution, by the votes of two thirds of the members of each House. Such propositions shall be published in the newspapers, and printed copies thereof shall be sent, by the Secretary, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with ​the yeas and nays, to all the Town Clerks in the State; and said propositions shall be, by said Clerks, inserted in the warrants or notices by them to be issued, for warning the next annual town meetings in April; and the Clerks shall read them to the electors, when assembled, with the names of all the Senators and Representatives who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of Senators and Representatives shall be had. If two thirds of the members chosen at said annual meeting present in each House shall approve any proposition thus made, the same shall be published in the newspapers, and again sent to the electors, in the mode to be prescribed by the act of approval; and, if then approved by two thirds of the electors of the State, present and voting thereon, in Town-Meeting, to be specially convened for that purpose, shall become a part of the Constitution of this State.
Article 9. General Provisions.
1. This Constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty five. The first election of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Senators and Representatives, Secretary, Attorney-General and General-Treasurer, under said Constitution, shall be had on the third Wednesday of April next preceding. All civil, judicial and military officers, now appointed, or who shall hereafter be appointed by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the said first Tuesday of May, shall hold their offices, and may exercise their powers, until ten days thereafter. All laws now in force, and not repugnant to this Constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assembly. All charters, contracts, judgments, actions and rights of action, shall be as valid as though this Constitution had not been made. The present government shall exercise all the powers, not repugnant to this Constitution with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
​2. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the State as if this Constitution had not been formed.
3. This Constitution shall be the Supreme Law of the State; and the Judges of all the Courts, and all other officers, whether civil or military, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to its due observance.
4. The Supreme Judicial Court, established by this Constitution, shall have the same jurisdiction as the Supreme Judicial Court at present established, and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to or pending in the same, and shall be holden at the same times and places, in each county, as the present Supreme Judicial Court, until the Legislature shall otherwise prescribe.
5. The Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace shall have the same jurisdiction as the present Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, in the several counties, and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to or pending in the said Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace in the respective counties; and shall be holden at the same times and places in the respective counties, as the said Courts of Common Pleas, until the Legislature shall otherwise prescribe; and all writs and processes, which may be made returnable to the said Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, shall be returned to, and the same proceedings shall be had thereon in the said Circuit Court of Common Pleas, in each county, as might have been had thereon, in the said Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace.
ELISH R. POTTER,  President of the Convention.
Attest—
| Christopher Ellery Robbins, | Secretaries. |
| Welcome Arnold Burgess, | Secretaries. |
STATE OF RHODE-ISLAND, &c.
In Convention, July 3, 1824.
Resolved, That Town-Meetings be holden, in the several towns in this State, on the second Monday of October next; that at such Town-Meetings, the Constitution, framed by this Convention, be submitted to the freemen for their ratification, in the manner prescribed by an act of the General Assembly of this State, entitled “an act to authorize the holding a Convention for the purpose of framing a Written Constitution of Government for this State;” and that the several Town-Clerks in this State shall issue the usual warrants or notices for holding said Town-Meetings, at least thirty days before the said second Monday of October next.
| Christopher E. Robbins, | Secretaries. |
| Welcome A. Burgess, | Secretaries. |
State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations.
* Secretary's Office,
* July 15, A. D. 1824.
I certify, that the foregoing is a true copy of the Constitution framed by the Delegates met in Convention, at Newport, on the twenty-first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, under the act, entitled “an act to authorize the holding a Convention for the purpose of forming a Written Constitution of Government for this State:” I also certify, that the foregoing is a true copy of the resolution adopted by said Convention, prescribing the time when Town-Meetings shall be holden for the purpose of ratifying said Constitution.
Henry Bowen. Sec’ry.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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