tested elections; and shall pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to prevent intimidation, disorder or violence at the polls, and corruption or fraud in voting, counting the vote, ascertaining or declaring the result, or fraud in any manner, upon the ballot.

12. No citizen shall ever be denied or refused the right or privilege of voting at an election, because his name is not, or has not been registered or listed as a qualified voter.

ARTICLE V.

Division of Powers.

1. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial Departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither shall exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of the peace shall be eligible to the Legislature.

ARTICLE VI.
Legislature.

1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and House of Delegates. The style of their acts shall be "Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia."

2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four, and the House of Delegates of sixty-five members, subject to be increased according to the provisions hereinafter contained.

3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and Delegates for the term of two years. The Senators first elected, shall divide themselves into two classes, one Senator from every district being assigned to each class; and of these classes, the first to be designated by lot in such manner as the Senate may determine, shall hold their seats for two years; and the second for four years, so that after the first election, one-half of the Senators shall be elected biennially.

4. For the election of Senators, the State shall be divided into twelve Senatorial Districts, which number shall not be diminished, but may be increased as hereinafter provided. Every district shall elect two Senators, but, where the district is composed of more than one county, both shall not be chosen from the same county. The districts shall be compact, formed

of contiguous territory, bounded by county lines, and, as nearly as practicable, equal in population, to be ascertained by the census of the United States. After every such census, the Legislature shall alter the Senatorial Districts, so far as may be necessary to make them conform to the foregoing provision.

5. Until the Senatorial Districts shall be altered by the Legislature as herein prescribed, the counties of Hancock, Brooke and Ohio, shall constitute the first Senatorial District; Marshall, Wetzel and Marion, the second; Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Gilmer and Calhoun, the third; Tyler, Pleasants, Wood and Wirt, the fourth; Jackson, Mason, Putnam and Roane, the fifth; Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Braxton and Webster, the sixth; Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, McDowell and Mercer, the seventh; Monroe, Greenbrier, Summers, Pocahontas, Fayette and Raleigh, the eighth; Lewis, Randolph, Upshur, Barbour Taylor and Tucker, the ninth; Preston and Monongalia, the tenth; Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy, Grant and Pendleton, the eleventh; Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson, the twelfth.

6. For the election of Delegates, every county containing a population of less than three-fifths of the ratio of representation for the House of Delegates, shall, at each apportionment, be attached to some contiguous county or counties, to form a Delegate District.

7. After every census the Delegates shall be apportioned as follows: The ratio of representation for the House of Delegates shall be ascertained by dividing the whole population of the State by the number of which the House is to consist and rejecting the fraction of a unit, if any, resulting from such division. Dividing the population of every Delegate District, and of every county not included in a Delegate District, by the ratio thus ascertained, there shall be assigned to each a number of Delegates equal to the quotient obtained by this division, excluding the fractional remainder. The additional Delegates necessary to make up the number of which the House is to consist, shall then be assigned to those Delegate Districts and counties, not included in a Delegate District, which would otherwise have the largest fractions unrepresented; but every Delegate District, and county not included in a Delegate District, shall be entitled to at least one Delegate.

8. Until a new apportionment shall be declared, the counties of Pleasants and Wood shall form the first Delegate District and elect three Delegates; Ritchie and Calhoun the second, and elect two Delegates; Barbour, Harrison and Taylor the third, and elect one Delegate; Randolph and Tucker the fourth, and elect one Delegate; Nicholas, Clay and Webster the fifth, and elect one Delegate; McDowell and Wyoming the sixth, and elect one Delegate.

9. Until a new apportionment shall be declared the apportionment of Delegates to the counties not included in Delegate Districts, and to Barbour, Harrison and Taylor counties, embraced in such districts, shall be as follows:

To Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Doddridge, Fayette, Hampshire, Hancock, Jackson, Lewis, Logan, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, Mineral, Morgan, Grant, Hardy, Lincoln, Pendleton, Putnam, Roane, Gilmer, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Wetzel, Wirt, Pocahontas, Summers and Raleigh counties, one Delegate each.

To Berkeley, Harrison, Jefferson, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Monongalia and Preston counties, two Delegates each.

To Kanawha county, three Delegates.

To Ohio county, four Delegates.

10. The arrangement of the Senatorial and Delegate Districts, and apportionment of Delegates, shall hereafter be declared by law, as soon as possible after each succeeding census, taken by authority of the United States. When so declared they shall apply to the first general election for members of the Legislature to be thereafter held, and shall continue in force unchanged until such districts shall be altered, and delegates apportioned, under the succeeding census.

11. Additional territory may be admitted into, and become part of this State, with the consent of the Legislature and a majority of the qualified voters of the State, voting on the question. And in such case provision shall be made by law for the representation thereof in the Senate and House of Delegats, in conformity with the principles set forth in this Constitution. And the number of members of which each house of the Legislature is to consist, shall thereafter be increased by the representation assigned to such additional territory.

12. No person shall be a Senator or Delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election, been a resident within the district or county from which he is elected; and if a Senator or Delegate remove from the district or county from which he was elected, his seat shall thereby be vacated.

13. No person holding a lucrative office under this State, the United States or any foreign government; no member of Congress; no person who is a salaried officer of any railroad company, or who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature.

14. No person who has been, or hereafter shall be convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature. No person who may have collected or been intrusted with public money, whether State or county, township, district, or other municipal organization, shall be eligible to the Legislature, or to any office of honor, trust or profit in this State, until he shall have duly accounted for and paid over such money according to law.

15. No Senator or Delegate, during the term for which he shall have been elected, shall be elected or appointed to any civil office of profit under this State, which has been created, or the emoluments of which have been increased during such term, except offices to be filled by election by the people. Nor shall any member of the Legislature be interested, 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.

16. Members of the Legislature, before they enter upon their duties, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, and faithfully discharge the duties of Senator (or Delegate), according to the best of my ability;" and they shall also take this further oath, to wit: "I will not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable. thing from any corporation, company, or person, for any vote or influence I may give or withhold, as Senator (or Delegate) on any bill, resolution or appropriation, or for any act I may do or perform as Senator (or Delegate)." Those oaths shall be adminis

tered in the hall of the house to which the member is elected, by a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, or of a Circuit Court, or by any other person authorized by law to administer an oath; and the Secretary of State shall record and file said oaths subscribed by each member; and no other oath or declaration shall be required as a qualification. Any member who shall refuse to take the oath herein prescribed, shall forfeit his seat; and any member who shall be convicted of having violated the oath last above required to be taken, shall forfeit his seat and be disqualified thereafter from holding any office of profit or trust in this State.

17. Members of the Legislature, shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session, and for ten days before and after the same; and for words spoken in debate, or on any report, motion or proposition made in either house, a member shall not be questioned in any other place.

18. The Legislature shall assemble at the seat of government biennially, and not oftener, unless convened by the Governor. The first session of the Legislature, after the adoption of this Constitution, shall commence on the third Tuesday of November, 1872; and the regular biennial session of the Legislature shall commence on the second Wednesday of January, 1875, and every two years thereafter on the same day.

19. The Governor may convene the Legislature by proclamation whenever, in his opinion, the public safety or welfare shall require it. It shall be his duty to convene it, on application in writing, of three-fifths of the members elected to each house.

20. The seat of government shall be at Charleston, until otherwise provided by law.

21. The Governor may convene the Legislature at another place, when, in his opinion, it cannot safely assemble at the seat of Government, and the Legislature may, when in session, adjourn to some other place, when in his opinion, the public safety or welfare, or the safety of the members, or their health shall require it.

22. No session of the Legislature, after the first, shall continue longer than forty-five days, without the concurrence of twothirds of the members elected to each house.