Sec. 22. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort; and no person shall be convicted of treason except on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

Sec. 23. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the leg. islature shall have power by law to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.

Sec. 24. The military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil authority.

Sec. 25. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in the house of any citizen without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner prescribed by law.

Sec. 26. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free government, and shall never be allowed; nor shall the law of primogeniture or entailments ever be in force in this State.

Sec. 27. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other purposes, by petition, address or remon strance.

Sec. 28. No power of suspending laws in this State shall be exercised except by the Legislature.

Sec. 29. To guard against transgressions of the high powers herein delegated, we declare that everything in this "Bill of Rights" is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void.

ARTICLE II.

The Powers of Government.

Section 1. The powers of the government of the State of Texas shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confined to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: Those which are legislative to one, those which are executive to another, and those which are judicial to another; and no person, or collection of persons, being of one of these departments, shall exercise any powers properly attached to either of the others, except in the instances herein expressly permitted.

ARTICLE III.

Legislative Department.

Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled "The Legislature of the State of Texas."

Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-one members, and shall never be increased above this number. The House of Representatives shall consist of ninety-three members until the first apportionment after the adoption of this Constitution, when, or at any apportionmennt thereafter, the number of representatives may be increased by the Legislature, upon the ratio of not more than one representative for every fifteen thousand inhabitants Provided, The number of Representatives shall never exceed one hundred and fifty.

Sec. 3. The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of four years; but a new Senate shall be chosen after every apportionment, and the Senators elected after each apportionment shall be divided by lot into two classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first two years, and those of the second class at the expiration of four years, so that one-half of the Senators shall be chosen biennially thereafter.

Sec. 4. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the qualified electors, and their term of office shall be two years from the day of their election.

Sec. 5. The Legislature shall meet every two years, at such time as may be provided by law, and at other times when convened by the Governor.

Sec. 6. No person shall be a Senator unless he be a citizen of the United States, and at the time of his election a qualified elector of the State, and shall have been a resident of this State five years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-six years.

Sec. 7. No person shall be a Representative unless he be a citizen of the United States, and at the time of his election a qualified elector of this State, and shall have been a resident of this State two years next preceding his election, the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years.

Sec. 8. Each House shall be the judge of the qualifications and election of its own members; but contested elections shall be determined in such manner as shall be provided by law.

Sec. 9. The Senate shall, at the beginning and close of each session, and at such other times as may be necessary, elect one of its members president pro tempore, who shall perform the duties of the Lieutenant-Governor in any case of absence or disability of that officer, and whenever the said office of LieutenantGovernor shall be vacant. The House of Representatives shall, when it first assembles, organize temporarily, and thereupon proceed to the election of a speaker from its own members; and each House shall choose its other officers.

Sec. 10. Two-thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.

Sec. 11. Each House may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense.

Sec. 12. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journals.

Sec. 13. When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor, or the person exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies; and should the Governor fail to issue a writ of election to fill any such vacancy within twenty days after it occurs, the returning officer of the district in which such vacancy may have happened shall be authorized to order an election for that purpose.

Sec. 14. Senators and Representatives shall, except in cases of treason, felony or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member reside from the place at which the Legislature is convened.

Sec. 15. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, during its sessions, any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly conduct in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings; provided, such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours.

Sec. 16. The sessions of each House shall be open, except the Senate when in executive session.

Sec. 17. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that where the Legislature may be sitting.

Sec. 18. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which he may be elected, be eligible to any civil office of profit under this State which shall have been created or the emoluments of which may have been increased during such term; no member of either House shall, during the term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appointment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either branch of the Legislature; and no member of either House shall vote for any other member for any office whatever, which may be filled by a vote of the Legislature, except in such cases as are in this Constitution provided. Nor shall any member of the Leg islature be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract with the State, or any county thereof, authorized by any law passed during the term for which he shall have been elected.

Sec. 19. No Judge of any court, Secretary of State, AttorneyGeneral, Clerk of any Court of Record, or any person holding a lucrative office under the United States, or this State, or any foreign government, shall, during the term for which he is elected or appointed, be eligible to the Legislature.

Sec. 20. No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, or who may have been otherwise intrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the Legislature, 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, or for all public moneys with which he may have been intrusted.

No member shall be questioned in any other place for words spoken in debate in either House.

Sec. 22. A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.

Sec. 23. If any Senator or Representative remove his residence from the district or county for which he was elected, his office shall thereby become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in section 13 of this article.

Sec. 24. The members of the Legislature shall receive from the public treasury such compensation for their services as may from time to time be provided by law, not exceeding five dollars per day for the first sixty days of each session; and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for the remainder of the session; except the first session held under this Constitution, when they may receive not exceeding five dollars per day for the first ninety days, and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for the remainder of the session. In addition to the per diem, the members of each House shall be entitled to mileage in going to and returning from the seat of government, which mileage shall not exceed five dollars for every twenty-five miles, the distance to be computed by the nearest and most direct route of travel by land regardless of railways or water routes; and the Comptroller of the State shall prepare and preserve at table of distances to each county seat now or hereafter to be established, and by such table the mileage of each member shall be paid; but no member shall be entitled to mileage for any extra session that may be called within one day after the adjournment of a regular or called session.

Sec. 25. The State shall be divided into Senatorial districts of contiguous territory according to the number of qualified electors, as nearly as may be, and each district shall be entitled to elect one Senator, and no single county shall be entitled to more than one Senator.

Sec. 26. The members of the House of Representatives shall be apportioned among the several counties, according to the number of population in each, as nearly as may be, on a ratio obtained by dividing the population of the State, as ascertained by the most recent United States census, by the number of members of which the House is composed: Provided, That whenever a single county has sufficient population to be entitled to a representative, such county shall be formed into a separate Representative district, and when two or more counties are required to make up the ratio of representation, such counties shall be contiguous to each other; and when any one county has more than sufficient population to be entitled to one or more representatives, such representative or representatives shall be apportioned to such county, and for any surplus of population it may be joined in a representative district with any other contiguous county or counties.