The Virginia gazette — Williamsburg, Va., 1776-07-05 00:00:00, page 7

7 8 U P P.L E .Mss E N T _ss
]N A GENERAL CONVENTlON
Begun und holden at the CAI'ITO l.,
in the cityuf' \\ lLLlANSBURG, nn Mos
pct-\Y the sixth day of MAY, one thousursil
ssi-ven hundred and seyenty six, and con
(inuc'tl, by ;uljmt-rnment, to the day
of ! U LY ictUHU'A it!"
T/zssf CONS l'l'l'U l'lON, or FOR\I Os
GOVERNMENT, agreed to am! re—
sblucsid uctlmnpy the Dt-[csssigates am! Ra
prqslzututive: Ost/ze/L-vcsrul couutic: am!
corporafian: of Vm GlNlA .
\ HEREAS George the third, king of
Great Britain sitntl [o-eluml, and elec—
tor- of Hauovcr, heretnsore intrusted with
the exercise of the kingly office in this
gov mment, hath cnzlcavoured to pervert
the s.une into a detestzthle end insupport
able tyranny,! by putting his negative on
laws the most. wholcsbme and necessary For
the publick good:
By denying his governours permislion
to pass Ltws of i-simnediate and prcssmg
importance, uniess suspendecl in their ope
rationsorhis assent,:tnd, when (i) susssnct-nded ,
neglectingto attend to them For m .tnyyezsssix:
By t'cfusing to pass curtain other ]awz,
n-iiess the persons to be henefited bv them
would relinquish the inestimahle right of
representation in the legifluturc:
By dissalving legillmve alicmbnes re
peatedly and continually, for oppnsing
with manly firmness his invasions of the
rights of the people:
When dissulvcd, by resusing to call
_others for a long space of time, thereby
leaving the political system without any
'legishtive head: '
By endeavouring to prevent the popula
tion of our country, and, for that purpose,
ohstructing the 14ws for the naturahmtiun
of foreigners : '
By keeping amdng us, in times of
pc'n'ce, standing- armics and ships of war:
By affecting to render the military inde
pendent us, and supclsiiour'to; the civil
power:
By combining' with others to subject us
to a' soreign jurisdiction, giving-his assent
to their pretended acts of legillsilcttiuu: '
For quartering large.!)odics of armed
troops among us:
For cutting off our trade with all parts
(is the wssorld :
For imposing tnxes on us without our
consent: '
For depriving uS'os the benesits os trial
by jury :
For transporting us beyond seas, to be
triecl For pretended offences :
For silshending our own legiflatures, and
declaring- themselves inveshxl wi'h puwcr
to ]cgifl'itc for us simsial' cases whatsocvelss :
By plundrrmg our lous, ravagmg our
coasts, burning our towns, and destroying
the lives us our people:
( By inciting insussrections of our Fellow
subjects, with the: ulluremcuts offursciture
and consiscation : .
By prumptiug our ncgroes to ,risc in
arms among us, those very ncgroes whom,
by an inhusinsim use oshis negative,, he hath
refused m pcrmisslon to exclude by law :
By cnzlcavouring to bring on the inha
bitants osuur fl'nntiers the mercilcss lmlian
shvagcs, whose known rule os wnrssiu'c is
an undiltinguiihed destruction of all ages,
scxes, un ! conditions nfctexi'sifence :
By transporting, at t-his time, a large
ar ny OF shreigsin IllCYCUlsslssilCS, to cumpchc
the works of'dcznh, dcsolninn. and tyran—
ny, already begun with circumszmccs cf'
cruelty and persuly onworthy the head of
& civiiized nation:
By mns—Nersimg our repeated pfl'ninns for
redress with & repelilinn us 'ns-siuric's:
And finally. lzy nhnndoningthc helm
os gnvr'rnmcm, and dc—vlsiu'ing us out us
his ullcgizmcc and protection :
By 'vsh'tchsi several acts of mishfle, the
governssment ot this country, as formerly
exercilsird under the crown of Great Britain,
ts 'lsi()l'1\LLY DlSdOLVED:
\Ve therefore, the tlclcguusand repre
scntztt'n es of the good people of Virginia,
hgn'tng' uuturely considered the prctuilts,
um] vtcwing with great, concern the deplo—
rable condition to which this once happy
country must be reduced, unless some t'e
gular udcquutc mode Qf_ c'nsisitl pulity 'ls
speedily adopted, and in compliance with
& recommendation of the General (lon
gt'csh, do nrtlsit'm and declare ths future
form ossiruverttment of'l'irginia to be as
followeth :
The legiflativc, executhLe, andjudiciat'y
departments, shall be separate uml distinct,
so that neither exercise the powns ptto—
perly belonging to the other; nor shall any
person exercise the powcrs-os more than
one of them at the same time, except that
the justices of the cuunty cuurts shall be
elipss'sitblc to either House of Assembly.
'l'he ]egisiz—ttive shall be formed us two
distinct branches. who, ;ogcther, shall he
a complete legiflature. They shaH mcct
once, m'ostcner, evcl'yyeur, ;mtl shallhc
called the GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
Vll'tGlNlA.
One ofthese shall be called the HGUSE
OF DELEGA'l'ES, and cunsist of two
representatives to be chosen snr each coun
ty, and forth: districsst of We/Z Augu/Ia,
annuully, of such men as actually reside
in and are sl'eeholders of the same, or duly
qualisied according to law, and also of one
delegate or reprtsentative to be chosen
annnssxlly for the city ofWil/iamctburg, and
one for the borough of Norj/ulk, and :: re-.
presentative for each of such other citiesis
and boroughs as may llereasterbe allowed
particularrepresentation by the legifl'iture;
but when any city or borough shall so de
crease as that the. number of persims hav
' ing ri >'ht of suffl'age thercin shall have
been for the space of seven years succes
sively less than half the number of vutcrs
in some one county in Virginia. such city
or borongh thenceforward shall cectse to
send a delegnte or representative to the
Assembly. .
The other shall be called the SENATE,
and confist of twenty four members, of
whom thirteen shall constitute a House to
proceed on business, for whose election the
different connties shall be divided into
twenty Four districts, and each connty of
the respcctite district, at the time of the
election of'its delegates, shall vote for one
Senatnrsi who is actually a rcsnlcnt and
srccholdcr within the dish'ict, or dufctv qua
hfied according to ldw, and is upn'nlrdssitls
tvycnty llVC years of age ; unu me ]llcnu:
ui each county, within five days at furthest
after the lafl county election in the dish'ict,
shall meet at some convenient place, and
from the poll so taken in their respective
councies return as ;: Scnator the man who
shall have the greatest number of votes in
the whole diflrssict. To keep up this As
sembly by rotation, the chsh'icts shall be
equally divided into fburchtsses, mzd num
hered by lot. At the end of one year after
the general election, the six members
clectcd by the first division shall he dis
placcd, and the vacancies thereby occasi
nncd supplied ssom such class or division,
bsiv new elsiction, in the manner asoresuid.
'l'h'ls rotation shall he applied to each divi
sion, according- to its number, and conti—
nued in due mjtler nmmally.
The right of sussrage in the electionos
members for both Houscs shall remain ns
exercistd at present, and each House (hull
choose its own spcukcr, appo'mt its own
officers, settlc its own rulcs usprucccchng,
and direct writs of (lection sor suppl) ing
intennediatc vztcancics. si
All laws (hall originute in the House of
Delcgates, to be approv-Zd or rejected by ,
the Scnute, or to be amended with the
consent ol'the House ochi-ssfgutes ; except
money hills, which in no instance shall be
altered lay the Senatc, but wholly apprm cd
or rejected.
si A Goveinour, or chicsmngiflrate, shall
be chosen unnmilly, by juint hallut ofbuth
Iluuscs, to be tukcuin catch Huuse respec
tively, dcpnlited in the conference room,
thc boxes examined joiiitly by a committec
of each House, and the numbers seyerally.
reported to them, that the appointments_
may be entered (which shall be the modes
Qi' taking the joint ballot of' both Honses
in all calcs) who shall not continue in that
osiice longer than three years succcsiively,
nor he cligihlc until the expiration of four
years after he shall haye-bcen out of that si
uflicc. An udequnte, butmndcrate sala
ry, [hail be scttlcd on him during his con—ss
tinuuncc in osslcc; and he shall, with the
advice us a (Iouucil of'Stute, exercise the
exccntive ]mners of government accor-si
(ling to the laws of this common'weahh;
and shall not, under'a'nv pretence. eXc-r—
utc :my power 01- prcrogative by virtue—
of any law , statute, or custom, osEngland:
But he shall, with the advice of the Coun—
cil os Stale, have the power of granting
reprjevcs or pardons, except where the.
prulccution shall have beensi carn'ed on !: . -
the House of Delegates, or the lawsishasi
otherwise particularly direct ; in which
cases, no rcpricve or pardon shall be grant
ed but by resolve of the House ochlc-si _
ates. , '
EitherHouseosthe GeneralAsscmblymay
adjourn themselves ssrespectivcly. The
Governour shall not proroguc or adjoum
the Assembly during their sitting, nor dis—ss
shlvc them at any time; but he shall, isnc
ccssary, either by advice of the Council Of
State, or on application of & mctjority of
the House osDclegates, cal] them before
the time to which they shall stand lito—
rogucd or adjourned.
A Privy Council, or Counci] os State,
cousiliing of eight members, shall be cho
isiezi bsivjnint ballot ofboth Houses us Assem
bly, either from their owh pucmbers (31
the people at large, to ashst m the admi
uish'zuion osgovcrmnent. 'l'hectv shdffian
nuully choose out ostheisir own members a
president, who, in case of the death, in
nbihtv, or necessary absence of the Goverf
nourssl'rom the government, shall act asss
Licutcfiuht—Gowrnour. Fo_ur_ rsinemsibsiers
[lull be lumcnent to act, anu lnclr aavlcc
and pl'oceedsimgcts shall be entered of record,
'and sighed by the members present (to any
)zn't whereof any member, may enter hls
dissent) to be laid before thc'Gcnera] As
sembly, when called for by them. '] his
()ouncil may zlppoinc their own clerk, who
shall have a sqlary settled by law, and take
an osiztth olct secrccy in such m utters as he shall
be directed by the board to conceal. A
sum oisimoney appropriated to that purpose
shall be divided unnually among the mem—
bers, in proportion to their attendance;
and they shall be incapable, during their
continunncc in office, of sitting in either
House of Assembly. Two members shall
be removed by juint ballot ofboth House:
osAssc-mbly at the: end ot'every three years,
and be incligiblc for the three next years,.
These vacuncies, as well as these occasiff
oned by death orincapacity, shall be sup;
)hed by neWCIcetiunsct in the same manner.
' "he delegates for Virginia to the Con
tinenta] (J'ongresis shall be chosen annunlly,
or supersedcd in the mean time by joint;
bullot (zsbuth Houses us AflZ-mbiy.
The pre sent miiitia officers shall be con
tinued, and vncancics supplied by appoint
ment osthc Govcmuur, with the advice
of the Privy Cuunci} , on recumnxcndatiutrs