A. D. 1868. Extra sessions. Commissions. Seal of State. issued. SECTION 16. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly; and should either house remain without a quorum for five days, or in case of disagreement between the two Houses with respect to the time of adjournment, may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; not beyond the time of the annual session then next ensuing. SECTION 17. He shall commission all officers of the State. SECTION 18. There shall be a Seal of the State, for which the General Assembly, at its first session, shall provide, and which shall be used by the Governor officially, and shall be called "The Great Seal of the State of South Carolina." SECTION 19. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the Grants, &c., how name and by the authority of the State of South Carolina, sealed with the Great Seal, signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State. Oath of office. Residence of Veto. SECTION 20. The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take and subscribe the oath of office as prescribed in Article two, Section thirty, of this Constitution. SECTION 21. The Governor shall reside at the capital of the State; but during the sittings of the General Assembly he shall reside where its sessions are held, except in case of contagion. SECTION 22. Every Bill or Joint Resolution which shall have passed the General Assembly, except on a question of adjournment, Bills to be signed shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor, and, if he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it shall have originated; which shall enter the objections at large on its Journals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass it, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall be reconsidered, and, if ap proved by two-thirds of that House, it shall have the same effect as if it had been signed by the Governor; but, in all such cases the vote of both Houses shall be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the Bill or Joint Resolution shall be entered on the Journals of both Houses, respectively. If a Bill or Joint Resolution shall not be returned by the Governor within three days after it shall have been presented to him, Sundays excepted, it shall have the same force and effect as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not have such force and effect unless returned within two days after their next meeting. SECTION 23. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the urer and Secre State a Comptroller General, a Treasurer, and a Secretary of State, Comptroller General, Treas tary of State. who shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years, and whose duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law. ARTICLE IV. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. A. D. 1868. Judicial De SECTION 1. The Judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in two Circuit Courts, to wit, a Court of Common partment. Pleas, having civil jurisdiction, and a Court of General Sessions, with criminal jurisdiction only, in Probate Courts, and in Justices of the Peace. The General Assembly may also establish such municipal and other inferior Courts as may be deemed necessary. SECTION 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, two of whom shall constitute a quorum. They shall be elected by a joint vote of the General Assembly for the term of six years, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified. They shall be so classified that one of the Justices shall go out of office every two years. SECTION 3. The Chief Justice elected under this Constitution shall continue in office for six years, and the General Assembly, immediately after the said election, shall determine which of the two Associate Justices elect shall serve for the term of two years, and which for the term of four years; and having so determined the same, it shall be the duty of the Governor to commission them accordingly. SECTION 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only in cases of Chancery, and shall constitute a Court for the correction of errors at law, under such regulations as the General Assembly may by law prescribe: Provided, The said Court shall always have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other original and remedial writs as may be necessary to give it a general supervisory control over all other. Courts in this State. SECTION 5. The Supreme Court shall be held at least once in each year, at the seat of Government, and at such other place or places in the State as the General Assembly may direct. SECTION 6. No Judge shall preside on the trial of any cause in the event of which he may be interested, or where either of the parties shall be connected with him by affinity or consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by law, or in which he may have been counsel or have presided in any inferior Court, except by consent of all the parties. In case all or any of the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be thus disqualified from presiding in any cause or causes, the Court or the Judges thereof shall Supreme Court. Term of office. Jurisdiction. Sessions. tions. Disqualifica A. D. 1868. Reporter and Clerk. Judgments and decrees. Compensation. Eligibility. Vacancies. Decisions. Circuits. Interchanging. Common Pleas. certify the same to the Governor of the State and he shall immediately commission, specially, the requisite number of men learned in the law for the trial and determination thereof. The same course shall be pursued in the Circuit and inferior Courts as is prescribed in this Section for cases of the Supreme Court. SECTION 7. There shall be appointed by the Judge of the Supreme Court a reporter and clerk of said Court, who shall hold their offices for two years, and whose duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law. SECTION 8. When a judgment or decree is reversed or affirmed by the Supreme Court, every point made and distinctly stated in the cause, and fairly arising upon the record of the case, shall be considered and decided; and the reasons therefor shall be concisely and briefly stated in writing, and preserved with the records of the case. SECTION 9. The Judges of the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for their services, to be fixed by law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. They shall not be allowed any fees or perquisites of office, nor shall they hold any other office of trust or profit under this State, the United States, or any other power. SECTION 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of Judge of the Supreme Court or Circuit Courts who is not at the time of his election a citizen of the United States, and has not attained the age of thirty years, and been a resident of this State for five years next preceding his election, or from the adoption of this Constitution. SECTION 11. All vacancies in the Supreme Court or other inferior tribunal shall be filled by election as herein prescribed: Provided, That, if the unexpired term does not exceed one year, such vacancy may be filled by Executive appointment. All Judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State. SECTION 12. In all cases decided by the Supreme Court, a concurrence of two of the Judges shall be necessary to a decision. SECTION 13. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, and for each circuit a Judge shall be elected by joint ballot of the General Assembly, who shall hold his office for a term of four years; and, during his continuance in office, he shall reside in the circuit of which he is Judge. SECTION 14. Judges of the Circuit Court shall interchange circuits with each other in such manner as may be determined by law. SECTION 15. The Courts of Common Pleas shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases of divorce, and exclusive original jurisdic A. D. 1868. Times of hold tion in all cases and actions ex delicto, which shall not be cogniza- records. SECTION 17. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the Preservation of preservation of the records of the Courts of Equity, and also for the transfer to the Court of Common Pleas and Probate Courts for final decision of all causes that may remain undetermined. It shall be the duty of the Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts to file their decisions within sixty days from the last day of the term of Court at which the causes were heard. SECTION 18. The Court of General Sessions shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all criminal cases which shall not be otherwise provided for by law. It shall sit in each County in the State at least three times in each year, at such stated times and places as the General Assembly may direct. Jurisdiction. County Com SECTION 19. The qualified electors of each County shall elect three persons for the term of two years, who shall constitute a Board missioners. of County Commissioners, which shall have jurisdiction over roads, highways, ferries, bridges, and in all matters relating to taxes, disbursements of money for County purposes, and in every other case that may be necessary to the internal improvement and local concerns of the respective Counties: Provided, That in all cases there shall be the right of appeal to the State Courts. Court of Pro SECTION 20. A Court of Probate shall be established in each County, with jurisdiction in all matters testamentary and of admin- bate. istration, in business appertaining to minors and the allotment of dower in cases of idiocy and lunacy, and persons non compotes mentis. The Judge of said Court shall be elected by the qualified electors of the respective Counties for the term of two years. SECTION 21. A competent number of Justices of the Peace and Justices of the Constables shall be chosen in each County by the qualified electors thereof, in such manner as the General Assembly may direct; they. shall hold their offices for a term of two years and until their successors are elected and qualified. They shall reside in the County, Peace. A. D. 1868. Jurisdiction. Powers. Right of ap. peal. Compensation. Charge of. Clerks of Courts. Attorney General. city or beat for which they are elected, and the Justices of the Peace shall be commissioned by the Governor. SECTION 22. Justices of the Peace, individually, or two or more of them jointly, as the General Assembly may direct, shall have original jurisdiction in cases of bastardy, and in all matters of contract, and actions for the recovery of fines and forfeitures where the amount claimed does not exceed one hundred dollars, and such jurisdiction as may be provided by law in actions ex delicto, where the damages claimed do not exceed one hundred dollars, and prosecutions for assault and battery, and other penal offences less than felony, punishable by fines only. SECTION 23. They may also sit as examining Courts, and commit, discharge or recognize (except in capital cases) persons charged with offences, subject to such regulations as the General Assembly may provide; they shall also have power to bind over to keep the peace, or for good behavior. For the foregoing purposes, they shall have power to issue all necessary processes. SECTION 24. Every action cognizable before Justices of the Peace, instituted by summons or warrant, shall be brought before some Justice of the Peace in the County or city where the defendant resides, and in all such causes tried by them, the right of appeal shall be secured under such rules and regulations as may be provided by law. SECTION 25. The Judges of Probate, County Commissioners, Justices of the Peace, and Constables, shall receive for their services such compensation and fees as the General Assembly may, from time to time, by law direct. SECTION 26. Judges shall not charge juries in respect to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare the law. SECTION 27. There shall be elected in each County, by the electors thereof, one Clerk for the Court of Common Pleas, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. He shall, by virtue of his office, be Clerk of all other Courts of record held therein, but the General Assembly may provide by law for the election of a Clerk, with a like term of office, for each or any other of the Courts of record, and may authorize the Judge of the Probate Court to perform the duties of Clerk for his Court, under such regulations as the General Assembly may direct. Clerks of Courts shall be removable for such cause and in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. SECTION 28. There shall be an Attorney General for the State, who shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law. He shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State for the term of |