© 1994 - 2009
Against the Grain

03/30/97
     Mark Twain: "You see, my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to institutions or its officeholders.  The country is the real thing; it is the thing to watch over and care for and be loyal to; institutions extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.  To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags--that is a loyalty of unreason; it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy; was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it.  I was from Connecticut, whose constitution declared "That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit, and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefensible right to alter their form of government in such a manner as they think expedient."  Under that gospel, the citizen who thinks that the Commonwealth's political clothes are worn out and yet holds his peace and does not agitate for a new suit is disloyal; he is a traitor.  That he may be the only one who thinks he sees this decay does not excuse him; it is his duty to agitate, anyway, and it is the duty of others to vote him down if they do not see the matter as he does."
Congressional Record, April 9, 1934

     Mark Twain has stated very well what needs to be the motivation of all patriots, but any new government with leaders that do not allow God Almighty's Word and Law to reign Supreme will return to the ashes in which it was begun.

                          GUIDE TO THE FOOTNOTES

Footnote #1 - Chronology of North Carolina Governors and Original
Virginia Colony, page 15
Footnote #2 - Virginia Charter, 1609, page 18
Footnote #3 - Virginia Charter, 1621, page 27
Footnote #4 - Charter creating the Council of State, 1621, page 29
Footnote #5 - Carolina Charter, 1663, page 31
Footnote #6 - Carolina Charter granting Proprietorship to eight lords, 1669, page 42
Footnote #7 - Florida Charter, 1763, page 65
Footnote #8 - Hudson Bay Charter, 1670, page 69
Footnote #9 - North Carolina Constitution, 1776, page 80
Footnote #10 - North Carolina Constitution, 1789, and latter amendments, page 88
Footnote #11 - Congressional Record, page 127

                                  PART II

     It's not an easy thing having to tell someone they have been conned into believing they are free.  For some, to accept this is comparable to denying God Almighty.
     You have to be made to understand that the United States is a corporation, which is a continuation of the corporate Charters created by the king of England.  And that the states upon ratifying their individual State constitutions, became sub corporations under and subordinate to the United States.  The counties and municipalities became sub corporations under the State Charters.  It is my duty to report further evidence concerning the claims I made in "The United States is Still a British Colony, part 1."
     I have always used a copy of the North Carolina Constitution provided by the State, I should have known better to take this as the final authority.  To my knowledge the following quote has not been in the Constitution the State hands out or those in use in the schools.  The 1776 North Carolina Constitution created a new corporate Charter, and declared our individual freedoms.  However, the same corporate Charter, reserved the king's title to the land, which restored, and did not diminish, his grants that were made in his early Charters.    If you remember, I made the claim that legally we are still subject to the king.  In the below quote you will see that the king declares our  taxation will be forever, and that a fourth of all gold and silver will be returned to him.

"YIELDlNG AND PAYING yearly, to us, our heirs and Successors, for
the same, the yearly Rent of Twenty Marks of Lawful money of England, at the Feast of All Saints, yearly, forever, The First payment thereof to begin and be made on the Feast of All Saints which shall be in the year of Our Lord One thousand six hundred Sixty and five; AND also, the fourth part of all Gold and Silver Ore which, with the limits aforesaid, shall, from time to time, happen to be found."
(Feast of All Saints occurred November 1 of each year.)  The Carolina Charter, 1663 footnote #5

     I know Patriots will have a hard time with this, because as I said earlier, they would have to deny what they have been taught from an early age.  You have to continue to go back in historical documents and see if what you have been taught is correct.  The following quote is from section 25 of the 1776 North Carolina Constitution, Declaration of Rights.

"And provided further, that nothing herein contained shall affect the titles or possessions of individuals holding or claiming under the laws heretofore in force, or grants heretofore made by the late King George II, or his predecessors, or the late lords proprietors, or any of them." Declaration of Rights 1776, North Carolina Constitution, Footnote #8

     Can it be any plainer?  Nobody reads, they take what is told to them by their schools and government as gospel, and never look any further.  They are quick to attack anyone that does because it threatens their way of life, rocks the boat in other words.  Read the following quote from a court case:

     "* * * definition given by Blackstone, vol. 2, p. 244. I shall therefore only cite that respectable authority in his own words: "Escheat, we may remember, was one of the fruits and consequences of feudal tenure; the word itself is originally French or Norman, in which language it signifies chance or accident, and with us denotes an obstruction of the course of descent, and a consequent determination of the tenure by some unforeseen contingency, in which case the estate naturally results back, by a kind of reversion, to the original grantor, or lord of the fee."
     Every person knows in what manner the citizens acquired the property of the soil within the limits of this State. Being
dissatisfied with the measures of the British Government, they revolted from it, assumed the government into their own hands, seized and took possession of all the estates of the King of Great Britain and his subjects, appropriated them to their own use, and defended their possessions against the claims of Great Britain, during a long and bloody war,  and finally obtained a relinquishment of those claims by the Yreaty of Paris. But this State had no title to the territory prior to the title of the King of Great Britain and his subjects, nor did it ever claim as lord paramount to them. This State was not the original grantor to them, nor did they ever hold by any kind of tenure under the
State, or owe it any allegiance or other duties to which an escheat is annexed. How then can it be said that the lands in this case naturally result back by a kind of reversion to this State, to a source from whence it never issued, and from tenants who never held under it? Might it not be stated with equal propriety that this country escheated to the King of Great Britain from the Aborigines, when he drove them off, and took and maintained possession of their country?    At the time of the revolution, and before the Declaration of Independence, the
collective body of the people had neither right to nor possession of the territory of this State; it is true some individuals had a right to, and were in possession of certain portions of it, which they held under grants from the King of Great Britain; but they did not hold, nor did any of his subjects hold, under the collective body of the people, who had no power to grant any part of it. After the Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the Constitution, the people may be said first to have taken possession of this country, at least so much of it as was not previously appropriated to individuals. Then their sovereignty commenced, and with it a right to all the property
not previously vested in individual citizens, with all the other rights of sovereignty, and among those the right of escheats. This sovereignty did not accrue to them by escheat, but by conquest, from the King of Great Britain and his subjects; but they acquired nothing by that means from the citizens of the State Ä each individual had, under this view of the case, a right to retain his private property, independent of the reservation in the declaration of rights; but if there could be any doubt on that head, it is clearly explained and obviated by the proviso in that instrument. Therefore, whether the State took by right of
conquest or escheat, all the interest which the U. K. had previous to the Declaration of Independence still remained with them, on every principle of law and equity, because they are purchasers for a valuable consideration, and being in possession as cestui que trust under the statute for transferring uses into possession; and citizens of this State, at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and at the time of making the declaration of rights, their interest is secured to them beyond the reach of any Act of Assembly; neither can it be affected by
any principle arising from the doctrine of escheats, supposing, what I do not admit, that the State took by escheat."
MARSHALL v. LOVELESS, 1 N.C. 412 (1801), 2 S.A. 70

     There was no way we could have had a perfected title to this land.  Once we had won the Revolutionary War we would had to have had an unconditional surrender by the king, this did not take place.  Not what took place at Yorktown, when we let the king off the hook.  Barring this, the king would have to had sold us this land, for us to have a perfected title, just as the Indians sold their land to the king, or the eight Carolina Proprietors sold Carolina back to the king.  The treaty of 1783 did not remove his claim and original title, because he kept the minerals.  This was no different than when king Charles II gave Carolina by Charter to the lords that helped put him back in power; compare them and you will see the end result is the same.  The Charter to the lords is footnote #6, where eight proprietors were given title to the land, but the king retained the money and sovereignty for his heirs.  The king could not just give up America to the colonialist, nor would he.  He would violate his own law of Mortmain to put these lands in dead hands, no longer to be able to be used by himself, or his heirs and successors.  He would also be guilty of harming his heirs and successors, by giving away that which he declared in the following quotes, and there are similar quotes in the other Charters:

 "SAVING always, the Faith, Allegiance, and Sovereign Dominion due to us, our heirs and Successors, for the same; and Saving also, the right, title, and interest of all and every our Subjects of the English Nation which are now Planted within the Limits bounds aforesaid, if any be;..." The Carolina Charter, 1663
footnote #5

 "KNOW YE, that We, of our further grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, HAVE thought fit to Erect the same Tract of Ground, Country, and Island into a Province, and, out of the fullness of our Royal power and Prerogative, WE Do, for us, our heirs and Successors, Erect, Incorporate, and Ordain the same into a province, and do call it the Province of CAROLINA, and so from henceforth will have it called..." The Carolina Charter, 1663
footnote #5

     The U.S. Constitution is a treaty between the states creating a corporation for the king.  In the below quote pay attention to the large "S" State and the small "s" state.  The large "S" State is referring to the corporate State and it's sovereignty over the small "s" state, because of the treaty.

Read the following quote:

     "Headnote 5. Besides, the Treaty of 1783 was declared by an Act of Assembly of this State passed  in 1787, to be law in this State, and this State by adopting the Constitution of the United States in 1789, declared the treaty to be the supreme law of the land.  The treaty now under consideration was made, on the part of the United States, by a Congress composed of deputies from each state, to whom were delegated by the Articles of Confederation, expressly, "the sole and exclusive right and power of entering into treaties and alliances"; and being ratified and made by them, it became a complete national act, and the act and law of every state.
     If, however, a subsequent sanction of this State was at all
necessary to make the treaty law here, it has been had and repeated. By a statute passed in 1787, the treaty was declared to be law in this State, and the courts of law and equity were enjoined to govern their decisions accordingly. And in 1789 was adopted here the present Constitution of the United States, which declared that all treaties made, or which should be made under the authority of the United States, should be the supreme law of the land; and that the judges in every state should be bound thereby; anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary not withstanding.  Surely, then, the treaty is now law in this State, and the confiscation act, so far as the treaty interferes with it, is annulled."
      "By an act of the Legislature of North Carolina, passed in
April, 1777, it was, among other  things, enacted, "That all persons, being subjects of this State, and now living therein, or who  shall hereafter come to live therein, who have traded immediately to Great Britain or Ireland,  within ten years last past, in their own right, or acted as factors, storekeepers, or agents  here, or in any of the United States of America, for merchants residing in Great Britain or  Ireland, shall take an oath of abjuration and allegiance, or depart out of the State." Treaties are the "Law of the Land"  HAMILTON v. EATEN, 1 N.C. 641 (1796), HAMILTON v. EATEN. Ä 2 Mart., 1. U.S. Circuit Court.
(June Term, 1796.)

     Your presence in the State makes you subject to its laws; read the following quote:

"The states are to be considered, with respect to each other, as independent sovereignties,  possessing powers completely adequate to their own government, in the exercise of which they are limited only by the nature and objects of government, by their respective constitutions and by that of the United States. Crimes and misdemeanors committed within the limits of each are punishable only by the jurisdiction of that state where they arise; for the right of punishing, being founded upon the consent of the citizens, express or implied, cannot be directed against those who never were citizens, and who likewise committed the offense beyond the territorial limits of the state claiming jurisdiction. Our Legislature may define and punish crimes
committed within the State, whether by citizen or strangers; because the former are supposed to have consented to all laws made by the Legislature, and the latter, whether their residence be temporary or permanent, do impliedly agree to yield obedience to all such laws as long as they remain in the State;"
STATE v. KNIGHT, 1 N.C. 143 (1799), 2 S.A. 70

     Do you understand now?  The treaty, the corporate Charter, the North Carolina Constitution, by proxy of the electorates, created residence in the large "S" State.  Not by some further act you made.  So how can expatriation from the United States, remove your residence in the "State", which was created by treaty, ratified by our Fore Fathers.  As soon as the corporate Charter (treaty) was ratified we returned to subjection to the king of England, through the legal residence created by the treaty.  Remember in the quote I gave earlier, by treaty we recanted our declared freedom, and returned to the king his sovereignty and title.  In the following quote you will see that
the State supreme court sits by being placed by the general assembly:

NC Supreme Court History Supreme Court of North Carolina A Brief
History:
     "The legal and historical origins of the Supreme Court of North Carolina lie in the State Constitution of 1776, which empowered the General Assembly to appoint; Judges of the Supreme Courts of Law and Equity; and; Judges of Admiralty.....The first meeting of the Court took place on January 1, 1819.  The Court began holding two sittings, or ; terms, ; a year, the first beginning on the second Monday in June and the second on the last Monday in December.  This schedule endured until the Constitution of 1868 prescribed the first Mondays in January and July for the sittings.  Vacancies on the Court were filled temporarily by the Governor, with the assistance and advice of the Council of State, until the end of the next session of the state General Assembly."
From the internet, address can be made available.
 
 

                             Council of State
 

What is the Council of State, and where did it originate?

III. "The one of which councils, to be called the council of state (and whose office shall chiefly be assisting, with their care, advice, and circumspection, to the said governor) shall be chosen, nominated, placed, and displaced, from time to time, by us the said treasurer, council and company, and our successors: which council of state shall
consist, for the present only of these persons, as are here inserted,..."
IV. "The other council, more generally to be called by the governor, once yearly, and no oftener, but for very extraordinary and important occasions, shall consist for the present, of the said council of state, and of two burgesses out of every town, hundred, or other particular plantation, to be respectively chosen by the inhabitants: which council shall be called The General Assembly, wherein (as also in the said council of state) all matters shall be decided, determined, and ordered by the greater part of the voices then present; reserving to the
governor always a negative voice. And this general assembly shall have free power, to treat, consult, and conclude, as well of all emergent occasions concerning the public weal of the said colony and every part thereof, as also to make, ordain, and enact such general laws and orders, for the behoof of the said colony, and the good government thereof, as shall, from time to time, appear necessary or requisite;..." An Ordinance and Constitution of the
Virginia Company in England. Footnote #4

     The job of the 1st Council of State was to make sure the
governor followed the kings wishes.  The 2nd was the general
assembly, the laws they passed had to conform to the king's law.
Read the following quote:

V. Whereas in all other things, we require the said general
assembly, as also the said council of state, to imitate and
follow the policy of the form of government, laws, customs, and
manner of trial, and other administration of justice, used in the
realm of England, as near as may be even as ourselves, by his
majesty's letters patent, are required.
VI. Provided, that no law or ordinance, made in the said general
assembly, shall be or continue in force or validity, unless the
same shall be solemnly ratified and confirmed, in a general
quarter court of the said company here in England, and so
ratified, be returned to them under our seal; it being our intent
to afford the like measure also unto the said colony, that after
the government of the said colony shall once have been well
framed, and settled accordingly, which is to be done by us, as by
authority derived from his majesty, and the same shall have been
so by us declared, no orders of court afterwards, shall bind the
said colony, unless they be ratified in like manner in the
general assemblies. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our
common seal the 24th of July, 1621. . . .An Ordinance and
Constitution of the Virginia Company in England. footnote #4

     The Council of State still exists to day, although it has been modified several times.  The first major change came in the 1776,  North Carolina Constitution, read the below quotes:

 16. "That the senate and house of commons, jointly, at their
first meeting, after each annual election, shall, by ballot,
elect seven persons to be a council of state for one year;  who
shall advise the governor in the execution of his office; and
that four members shall be a quorum; their advice and proceedings
shall be entered in a journal, to be kept for that purpose only,
and signed by the members present; to any part of which any
member present may enter his dissent. And such journal shall be
laid before the general assembly when called for by them."
footnote #9

 19. "The governor, for the time being, shall have power to draw
for and apply such sums of money as shall be voted by the general
assembly, for the contingencies of government, and be accountable
to them for the same. He also may, by and with the advice of the
council of state, lay embargoes, or prohibit the exportation of
any commodity, for any term not exceeding thirty days, at any one
time in the recess of the general assembly;  and shall have the
power of granting pardons and reprieves, except where the prosecution shall be carried on by the general assembly, or the law shall otherwise direct; in which case, he may, in the recess, grant a reprieve until the next sitting of the general assembly; and he may exercise all the other executive powers of government, limited and restrained, as by this constitution is mentioned, and according to the laws of the State. And, on his death, inability, or absence from the State, the speaker of the senate, for the time being, and in case of his death, inability,
or absence from the State, the speaker of the house of commons,
shall exercise the powers of government, after such death, or during such absence or inability of the governor, or speaker of the senate, or until a new nomination is made by the general assembly."
footnote #9

 20. "That, in every case, where any officer, the right of whose
appointment is, by this constitution, vested in the general
assembly, shall, during their recess, die, or his office by other
means become vacant, the governor shall have power, with the
advice of the council of State, to fill up such vacancy, by
granting a temporary commission, which shall expire at the end of
the next session of the general assembly."
footnote #9

Also take notice who was not allowed to serve as Council of
State:

26. "That no treasurer shall have a seat, either in the senate,
house of commons, or council of state, during his continuance in
that office, or before he shall have finally settled his accounts
with the public, for all the moneys which may be in his hands ,
at the expiration of his office, belonging to the State, and hath
paid the same into the hands of the succeeding treasurer."

27. "That no officer in the regular army or navy, in the service
and pay of the United States, of this State or any other State,
nor any contractor or agent for supplying such army or navy with
clothing or provisions, shall have a seat either in the senate ,
house of commons, or council of state, or be eligible thereto;
and any member of the senate, house of commons, or council of
state, being appointed to ,and accepting of such office, shall
thereby vacate his seat."

28. "That no member of the council of state shall have a seat,
either in the senate or house of commons."

30. "That no secretary of this State, attorney-general, or clerk
of any court of record, shall have a seat in the senate, house of
commons, or council of state."
footnote #9

     The king continued to rule through the Council of State until several things were in place, his bank, his laws and tradition.  The king succeeded by the acceptance of the American people that they were free, along with the whole of our history not being taught in our schools.  The next change to the Council of State came at the conquest of this country, I referred to this in part 1, and in A Country Defeated In Victory.

     Read this quote from the 1868 North Carolina constitution,
Article 3, sec 14:

SEC. 14. "The Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer,
Superintendent of Public Works, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall constitute ex officio, the Council of State, who shall advise the Governor in the execution of his office, and three of whom shall constitute a quorum; their advice and proceedings in this capacity shall be entered in a Journal, to be kept for this purpose exclusively, and signed by the members present, from any part of which any member may enter his dissent; and such journal shall be placed before the General Assembly when called for by either House.  The Attorney General shall be, ex officio, the legal adviser of the Executive Department."
Footnote #10

     After the Civil War, the conquest of America, you see those that were allowed to be Council of State, were elected officials.  Under the 1776 North Carolina Constitution, it was unlawful for these elected officials to be Council of State.  Why?  Because, the king could not trust the common man to obey him, now that they thought they were free.  After the Civil War the Council of State was no longer needed to fulfill the public policy of the king, the Council of State still exists today, but in a reduced capacity as far as the king goes.  Now he had the 14th Amendment, his lawyers in the government, his bankers in control of the governments money, and above all greed that causes most in office to continue the status quo.
 
 
 

What I will show you next will shock you.  I made brief mention in Part 1, that taxes paid in this country were under treaty to the king of England.  How about if I told you that the law that created our taxes and this countries tax court go back in history to William the Conqueror.  And to further help you understand the below definitions, exchequer is the British branch of the Federal Reserve.

Exchequer: "The English department of revenue.  A very ancient court of record, set up by William the Conqueror, as a part of the aula regia, and intended principally to order the revenues of the crown, and to recover the king's debts and duties.  It was called exchequer, "scaccharium," from the checked cloth, resembling a chessboard, which covers the table."  Ballentine's Law Dictionary

Exchequer: "That department of the English government which has charge of the collection of the national revenue; the treasury department."  Black's Law Dictionary 4th ed.

Exchequer: "In  English Law.  A department of the government which has  the management of the collection of the king's revenue."  Bouvier's Law Dictionary 1914 ed.

Court of Exchequer: "56.The court of exchequer is inferior in rank not only to the court of king's bench, but to the common pleas also: but I have chosen to consider it in this order, on account of its double capacity, as a court of law and a court of equity [44] also.  It is a very ancient court of record, set up by William the Conqueror, as a part of the aula regia, through regulated and reduced to its present order by King Edward I; and intended principally to order the revenues of the crown, and to recover the king's debts and duties.  It is called the exchequer, scaccharium, from the chequed cloth, resembling a chess-board, which covers the table there; and on which, when certain of the
king's accounts are made up, the sums are marked and scored with counters.  It consists of two divisions; the receipt of the exchequer, which manages to royal revenue, and with which these Commentaries have no concern; and the court or judicial part of it, which is again subdivided into a court of equity, and a court of common law."
Black Stone Commentaries Book III, pg 1554

Court of Exchequer: "An English superior court with jurisdiction of matter of law and matters involving government revenue."
Ballentine's Law Dictionary

Court of Exchequer: "A court for the correction and prevention of errors of law in the three superior common-law courts of the kingdom.
     A court of exchequer chamber was first erected by statute 31  Edw. III. C. 12, to determine causes upon writs of error from the common-law side of the exchequer court.  It consisted of the chancellor, treasurer, and the "justices and other sage persons as to them seemeth."  The judges were merely assistants.  A, second court of exchequer chamber was instituted by statute 27 Eliz. C. 8, consisting of the justices of the common pleas and the exchequer, or any six of them, which had jurisdiction in error of cases in the king's bench.  In exchequer chamber substituted in their place as an intermediate court of appeal between the three common-law courts and Parliament.  It consisted of the judges of the two courts which had not rendered the  judgement in the court below.  It is now merged in the High Court of Justice."
Bouvier's Law Dictionary 1914 ed.

     It gets worse, are you just a little ticked off, or maybe you are starting to question what you have been taught all these years?  It's time to wake up America!
     If you'll look at the Judiciary Act of 1789 (I know most won't take time to read it), you'll see that all district courts are admiralty courts.  This is the king's court of commerce, in which he is the plaintiff, recovering damages done against him, or what belongs to him.

The equity court of the exchequer: "57. The court of equity is held in the exchequer chamber before the lord treasurer, the chancellor of the exchequer, the chief baron, and three puisne' ones.  These Mr. Selden conjectures to have been anciently made out of such as were barons of the kingdom, or parliamentary barons; and thence to have derived their name: which conjecture receives great strength form Bracton's explanation of magna carta, c.14, which directs that the earls and barons be amerced by their peers; that is, says he, by the barons of the exchequer.  The primary and original business  of this court is to call the king's debtors to account, by bill filed by the attorney general; and to recover any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, any goods, chattels, or other profits or benefits, belonging to the crown.
So that by their original constitution the jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, king's bench, and exchequer, was entirely separate and distinct; the common pleas being intended to decide all controversies between subject and subject; the king's bench to correct all crimes and misdemeanors that amount to a breach of the peace, the king being then the plaintiff, as such offenses are in open derogation of the jura regalia (regal rights) of his crown; and the exchequer to adjust [45] and recover his revenue, wherein the king also is plaintiff, as the withholding and nonpayment thereof is an injury to his jura fiscalia (fiscal rights).  But, as by a fiction almost all sorts of civil actions are now allowed to be brought in the king's bench, in like manner by another fiction all kinds of personal suits may be prosecuted  in the court of exchequer.  For as all the officers and ministers of this court have, like those of other superior courts, the privilege of suing and being sued only in their own court; so exchequer, are privileged to sue and implead all manner of persons in the same court of equity that they themselves are called into.  They have likewise privilege to sue and implead one another, or any stranger, in the same kind of common-law actions (where the personality only is concerned) as are prosecuted in the court of common pleas."
Black Stone Commentaries Book III, pg 1554

The common-law court of the exchequer: "58. This gives original to the common-law part of their jurisdiction, which was established merely for the benefit of the king's accountants, and is exercised by the barons only of the exchequer, and not the treasurer or chancellor.  The writ upon which the plaintiff suggests that he is the king's farmer or debtor, and that the defendant hath done him the injury or damage complained of; quo minus sufficient exist, by which he is the less able, to pay the king his debt or rent.  And these suits are expressly directed, by what is called the statute of Rutland, to be confined to such matters only as specially concern the king or his ministers of  the exchequer.  And by the articuli super cartas it is enacted that no common pleas be thenceforth holden in the exchequer, contrary to the form of the great charter.  But not, by the suggestion of privilege, any person may be admitted to sue in the exchequer as well as the king's accountant.  The surmise of being debtor to the king is therefore become matter of form and mere words of course, and the court is open to all the nation equally.  The same holds with regard to the equity side of the court: for there any person may file [46] a bill against another upon a bare suggestion that he is the king's accountant; but whether he is so or not is never controverted.  In this court, on the nonpayment of titles; in which case the surmise of being the king's debtor is no fiction, they being bound to pay him their first-fruits, and annual tenths.  But the chancery has of late years obtained a large share in this business."
Black Stone Commentaries Book III, pg 1555

Definition of a legal fiction: For a discussion of fictions in law, see chapter II of Maine's Ancient Law, and Pollock's note D in his edition of the Ancient Law.  Blackstone gives illustrations of legal fictions on pages 43, 45, 153, 203 of this book.  Mr. Justice Curtis (Jurisdiction of United States Courts, 2d ed., 148) gives the following instance of a fiction in our practice:
     "A suit by or against a corporation in its corporate name may be presumed to be a suit by or against citizens of the state which created the corporate body, and no averment or denial to the contrary is admissible for the purpose of withdrawing the suit from the jurisdiction of a court of the United States.
     There is the Roman fiction: The court first decides the law, presumes all the members are citizens of the state which created the corporation, and then says, `you shall not traverse that presumption'; and that is the law now.  (Authors note-by your residence you are incorporated) Under it, the courts of the United States constantly entertain suits by or against corporations. (Muller v. Dows, 94 U. S. 444, 24 L. Ed. 207.)  It has been so frequently settled, that there is not the slightest reason to suppose  that it will ever be departed from by the court.  It has been repeated over and over again in subsequent  decisions; and the supreme court seem entirely satisfied that it is the right ground to stand upon; and, as I am now going to state to you, they have applied it in some cases which go beyond, much beyond, these decisions to which I have referred.  So that when a suit is to be brought in a court of the United States by or against a corporation, by reason of the character of the parties, you have only to say that this corporation (after naming it correctly) was created by a law of the state; and that is exactly the same in its consequences as if you could allege, and did allege, that the corporation was a citizen of that state.  According to the present decisions, it is not necessary you
should say that the members of that corporation are citizens of
Massachusetts.  They have passed beyond that.  You have only to say that the corporation was created by a law of the state of Massachusetts, and has its principal place of business in that state; and that makes it, for the purposes of jurisdiction, the same as if it were a citizen of that state"  See Pound, Readings in Roman Law, 95n.
Black Stone Commentaries Book III, pg 1553

     Combine this with what I said earlier concerning power of the treaty and it's creation of the corporate State, and you now know why you are not allowed to challenge residence or subjection in the State Courts.  And because of the treaty, residence in the State is synonymous with residence in the district.  I know this puts a sour taste in your mouth, because it does mine, but that is the condition we find ourselves in.  The only way I see to change it, is to change the treaty and reinforce the original Declaration of Independence, but this would meet severe objection on the part of the international Bankers, and or course the king's heirs in England.  And most Americans, even if they were aware of this information, would have no stomach for the turmoil this would cause.

     Still a little fuzzy on what has taken place, the word Exchequer is still used today?  In Britain the Exchequer is the Federal Reserve, the same as our Federal Reserve.  They just changed the name here as they have done many things to cloud what is taking place, hoping no one would catch on.  Who wrote the Federal Reserve Act, and put it in place in this country?  Bankers from the Bank of England with their counter part in New York!

Congressman McFadden: "I hope that is the case, but I may say to the gentleman that during the sessions of this Economic Conference in London there is another meeting taking place in London.  We were advised by reports from London last Sunday of the arrival of George L. Harrison, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and we were advised that accompanying him was Mr. Crane, the Deputy Governor, and James P. Warburg, of the Kuhn- Loeb banking family, of New York and Hamburg, Germany, and also Mr. O. M. W. Sprague, recently in the pay of Great Britain as chief economic and financial adviser of Mr. Norman, Governor of the Bank Of England, and now supposed to represent our Treasury.  These men landed in England and rushed to the Bank of England for a private conference, taking their luggage with them, before even going to their hotel.  We know this conference has been taking place for the past 3 days behind closed doors in the Bank of
England with these gentlemen meeting with heads of the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements, of Basel, Switzerland, and the head of the Bank France, Mr. Maret. They are discussing war debts; they are discussing stabilization of exchanges and the Federal Reserve System, I may say to the Members of the House.
     The Federal reserve System, headed by George L. Harrison, is our premier, who is dealing with debts behind the closed doors of the Bank of England; and the United States Treasury is there, represented by O. M. W. Sprague, who until the last 10 days was the representative of the Bank of England, and by Mr. James P. Warburg, who is the son of the principal author of the Federal Reserve Act.  Many things are being settled behind the closed doors of the Bank of England by this group.  No doubt this group were pleased to hear that yesterday the Congress passed amendments to the Federal Reserve Act and that the President
signed the bill which turns over to the Federal Reserve System the complete total financial resources of money and credit in the United States.  Apparently the domination and control of the international banking group is being strengthened....Congressional Record, June 14, 1934

     What else does the Exchequer do?  The government (Congress) puts up bonds (bills of credit) on the international market, that the Federal Reserve (Exchequer) prints fiat money, for which the government (Congress) is the guarantor for, read the following quote:

Exchequer Bills: Bills of credit issued by authority of parliament.
     They constitute the medium of transaction of business between the bank of England and the government.  The exchequer bills contain a guarantee from government which secures the holders against loss by fluctuation.  Bouvier's Law Dictionary 1914 ed.

     Also re-read "A Country Defeated In Victory".  To whom do you think the national debt is owed?  If that's not bad enough the bond indebtedness allowed the king to foreclose on his colony when it was time for the one World government, the king/bankers caused us to reorganize under bankruptcy.  The Bank of England allowed the United States to use you and I (our labor) for collateral and all the property in America, read the following quote:

Congressman Lemke: "....This nation is bankrupt; every State in this Union is bankrupt; the people of the United States, as a whole, are bankrupt.  The public and private debts of this Nation, which are evidenced by bonds, mortgages, notes, or other written instruments about to about $250,000,000,000, and it is estimated that there is about $50,000,000,000 of which there is no record, making in all about $300,000,000,000 of public and private debts.  The total physical cash value of all the property in the United States is now estimated at about $70,000,000,000.  That is more than it would bring if sold at public auction.  In this we do not include debts or the evidence of debts, such as bonds, mortgages, and so fourth.  These are not physical
property.  They will have to be paid out of the physical property.  How are we going to pay $300,000,000,000 with only $70,000,000,000?" Congressional Record, March 3, 1934,
footnote #10

     This debt was more than could be paid as of 1934, this caused the declared bankruptcy by President Roosevelt.  Now the national debt is over 12,000,000,000,000.  The government only tells you about 5,000,000,000,000, they don't tell you about the corporate debt, which America is also guarantor for.  Add to that the personal debt; you know credit cards and home loans, and it approaches 20,000,000,000,000, that's trillion for those of you that miss read the number of zero's. Mix this with a super inflated stock market and a huge trade deficit, and that is what brings you to understand my subtitle for this paper.  BEND OVER AMERICA.  What could possibly be the purpose of the international bankers allowing our nation to over extend so badly and not cut us off?  When back in 1934 they could have legally seized the
whole country.  We are being used for the purpose of the international bankers which is loaning money to third world countries, to enslave them as we are, to colonize the world for Britain, and to use our military machine to control unruly countries and to collect the king's debt.  There will soon be a United Nations personal income tax for the whole world.  The end purpose of the international bankers, is a one world government, with England as the center of government and the international bankers calling the shots.

     Don't despair all these things have to come to pass.  I used to think; what if?  Jesus' Word says, these things have to take place for the world government to come to pass.

     I am going to share a dream I had, July 1992, at the risk of being ridiculed.  I told my friend who is mentioned in the dream, the next day.  At that time neither of us understood the dream, about a month later I started to understand when I began learning about admiralty law and where our admiralty law came from.  As time has passed I have come to understand the dream, because of further information coming to light, such as the information contained in part 1, and part 2, which you are now reading.  I new when I woke up that the dream was not the normal nonsense you can sometimes experience in a dream.  And I might add I dream very seldom, after having this dream I was given the desire to write down and pass along the information that has been brought
my way, via. the Holy Spirit.  The information has defined the dream, not the other way around.
 

                                 MY DREAM
 

July 1992    A record of a dream I had.  I was what appeared to be hovering above the below scene, and it appeared to be three dimensional, like the scene had texture. It was also in color, with the smell of war in the air.  I awoke at 5:00 am, and was wide awake and immediately wrote down what took place in my dream.

     A friend and I were among thousands of Christians that were massed together awaiting execution.  I saw untold thousands of Christians executed before us.  There were many troops guarding us, these troops were British; they had on Revolutionary War clothing and were carrying the old style muskets.
     The people that went before us to be executed went voluntarily.  They went out of some false sense of duty to this envisioned government, that was British controlled.  These people were in ranks waiting to be lead away to their death.  While standing in the ranks my friend and I kept looking at one another, but we were separated by what seemed to be hundreds of people.
     Just before they called our number they lead us away (untold
thousands) under guard to return later.  I asked some of the people in the ranks to step aside so I could get next to my friend.  I told him that while I was in the ranks awaiting death, the Holy Spirit told me not to listen to their reasons for death, but to consider His reasons (Holy Spirit's) for the sanctity of life and that we were to do whatever it took to stay alive and defeat the beast.  I saw myself tapping my friend on the head, and told him this was an example of how the Holy Spirit related to me, that He wanted our attention.
     The Holy Spirit said we were to go and do the Holy Spirit's
bidding no matter where it lead us and that we would be protected.  We both looked at each other and decided we could not die voluntarily as the other Christians.  We looked at each other and said this is crazy; my friend said this is voluntary just like being a Fourteenth Amendment citizen.  We then walked out of the ranks right in front of the British guards, unseen and escaped.

     Keep in mind you cannot control your dreams.  Does God Almighty still communicate through dreams as he did with George Washington?  The Bible makes it clear He does.  Whether this dream is a product of uncontrolled imagination while asleep, or insight from the Holy Spirit, I will only say, let history decide.  I am satisfied of the dreams origin, because of its fulfillment through recent knowledge, that wasn't known at that time.   I hope you will read the rest of the documentation in the footnotes following this commentary.
 

                                 FOOTNOTES

Footnote #1

Chronology of North Carolina Governors Original Virginia Colony
Ralph Lane, 1585 - 1586
John White, 1587

Commander of the Southern Plantation
Samuel Stephens, 1662 - 1664 (later governor under Lords
Proprietors)
Lords Proprietors
William Drummond, 1664 - 1667
Samuel Stephens, 1667 - 1669 (previously Commander of the
Southern Plantation)<
Peter Carteret, 1670 - 1672
John Jenkins, 1672 - 1677 (first of two terms)
Thomas Eastchurch, 1676 - 1678 (never actually served)
Thomas Miller, 1677
John Harvey, 1679
John Jenkins, 1679 - 1681 (second term)
Philip Ludwell, 1689 - 1691
Thomas Jarvis, 1691 - 1694
John Archdale, 1694 - 1696
Thomas Harvey, 1696 - 1699
Henderson Walker, 1699 - 1704
Robert Daniel, 1704 - 1705
Thomas Cary, 1705 - 1706 (first of two terms)
William Glover, 1706 - 1708
Thomas Cary, 1708 - 1711 (second of two terms)
Edward Hyde, 1711 - 1712
Thomas Pollock, 1712 - 1714 (first of two terms)
Charles Eden, 1714 - 1722
Thomas Pollock, 1722 (second of two terms)
William Reed, 1722 - 1724
George Burrington, 1724 - 1725 (later royal governor)
Richard Everard, 1725 - 1731
 
 

Royal Governors

George Burrington, 1731 - 1734 (previously governor under the
Lords Proprietors)
Gabriel Johnston, 1734 - 1752
Nathaniel Rice, 1752 - 1753
Matthew Rowan, 1753 - 1754
Arthur Dobbs, 1754 - 1765
William Tryon, 1675 - 1771
James Hasell, 1771
Josiah Martin, 1771 - 1775
 

Governors of the State of North Carolina

Richard Caswell, 1776 - 1780 (first of two terms)
Abner Nash, 1780 - 1781
Thomas Burke, 1781 - 1782
Alexander Martin, 1782 - 1785 (first of two terms)
Richard Caswell, 1784 - 1787 (second of two terms)
Samuel Johnston, 1787 - 1789
Alexander Martin, 1789 - 1792 (second of two terms)
Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr., 1792 - 1795
Samuel Ashe, 1795 - 1798
William Richardson Davie, 1798 - 1799
Benjamin Williams, 1799 - 1802 (first of two terms)
James Turner, 1802 - 1805
Nathaniel Alexander, 1805 - 1807
Benjamin Williams, 1807 - 1808 (second of two terms)
David Stone, 1808 - 1810
Benjamin Smith, 1810 - 1811
William Hawkins, 1811 - 1814
William Miller, 1814 - 1817
John Branch, 1817 - 1820
Jesse Franklin, 1820 - 1821
Gabriel Holmes, 1821 - 1824
Hutchins Gordon Burton, 1824 - 1827
James Iredell, Jr., 1827 - 1828
John Owen, 1828 - 1830
Montford Stokes, 1830 - 1832
David Lowry Swain, 1832 - 1835
Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr., 1835 - 1836
Edward Dudley Bishop, 1836 - 1841
John Motley Morehead, 1841 - 1845
William Alexander Graham, 1845 - 1849
Charles Manly, 1849 - 1850
David Steele Reid, 1851 - 1854
Warren Winslow, 1854 - 1855
Thomas Bragg, 1855 - 1859
John Willis Ellis, 1859 - 1861
Henry Toole Clark, 1861 - 1862
Zebulon Baird Vance, 1862 - 1865 (first of two terms)
William Woods Holden, 1865 (first of two terms)
Jonathan Worth, 1865 - 1868
William Woods Holden, 1868 - 1870
Tod Robinson Caldwell, 1870 - 1874
Curtis Hooks Brogden, 1874 - 1877
Zebulon Baird Vance, 1877 - 1879 (second of two terms)
Thomas Jordan Jarvis, 1879 - 1885
James Lowry Robinson, 1883
Alfred Moore Scales, 1885 - 1889
David Gould Fowle, 1889 - 1891
Thomas Michael Holt, 1891 - 1893
Elias Carr, 1893 - 1897
Daniel Lindsay Russell, 1897 - 1901
Charles Brantley Aycock, 1901 - 1905
Robert Broadnax Glenn, 1905 - 1909
William Walton Kitchin, 1909 - 1913
Locke Craig, 1913 - 1917
Thomas Walter Bickett, 1917 - 1921
Cameron Morrison, 1921 - 1925
Angus Wilton McLean, 1925 - 1929
Oliver Max Gardner, 1929 - 1933
John Christoph Blucher Ehringhaus, 1933 - 1937
Clyde Roark Hoey, 1937 - 1941
Joseph Melville Broughton, 1941 - 1945
Robert Gregg Cherry, 1945 - 1949
William Kerr Scott, 1949 - 1953
William Bradley Umstead, 1953 - 1954
Luther Hartwell Hodges, 1954 - 1961
Terry Sanford, 1961 - 1965
Dan Killian Moore, 1965 - 1969
Robert Walker Scott, 1969 - 1973
James Eubert Holshouser, Jr., 1973 - 1977
James Baxter Hunt, Jr., 1977 - 1985 (first of two terms)
James Grubbs Martin, 1985 - 1993
James Baxter Hunt, Jr., 1993 - Present
 
 

Footnote #2
THE SECOND VIRGINIA CHARTER
The Second Virginia Charter May 23, 1609

     James, by the grace of God [King of England, Scotland,
France  and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc.] To all [to whom
these  presents shall come, greeting.]

     Whereas, at the humble suite and request of sondrie oure lovinge and well disposed subjects intendinge to deduce a colonie and to make habitacion and plantacion of sondrie of oure people in that parte of America comonlie called Virginia, and other part and territories in America either apperteyninge unto us or which are not actually possessed of anie Christian prince or people within certaine bound and regions, wee have formerly, by oure lettres patents bearinge date the tenth of Aprill in the fourth yeare of oure raigne of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, and the nine and thirtieth of Scotland, graunted to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers and others, for the more speedie accomplishment of the said plantacion and habitacion, that they shoulde devide themselves into twoe colloniesthe one consistinge of divers
Knights, gentlemen, merchaunts and others of our cittie of London, called the First Collonie; and the other of sondrie Knights, gentlemen and others of the citties of Bristoll, Exeter,  the towne of Plymouth, and other places, called the Seccond Collonie and have yielded and graunted maine and sondrie priviledges and liberties to each Collonie for their quiet setlinge and good government therein, as by the said lettres patents more at large appeareth.

     Nowe, forasmuch as divers and sondrie of oure lovinge subjects, as well adventurers as planters, of the said First Collonie (which have alreadie engaged them selves in furtheringe the businesse of the said plantacion and doe further intende by the assistance of Almightie God to prosecute the same to a happie ende) have of late ben humble suiters unto us that, in respect of their great chardeges and the adventure of manie of their lives which they have hazarded in the said discoverie and plantacion of the said countrie, wee woulde be pleased to graunt them a further enlargement and explanacion of the said graunte, priviledge and liberties, and that suche counsellors and other officers maie be appointed amonngest them to manage and direct their affaires [as] are willinge and readie to adventure with them; as also whose
dwellings are not so farr remote from the cittye of London but that they maie at convenient tymes be readie at hande to give advice and assistance upon all occacions requisite.

     We, greatlie affectinge the effectual prosecucion and happie successe of the said plantacion and comendinge their good desires theirin, for their further encouragement in accomplishinge so
excellent a worke, much pleasinge to God and profitable to oure Kingdomes, doe, of oure speciall grace and certeine knowledge and
meere motion, for us, oure heires and successors, give, graunt and confirme to oure trustie and welbeloved subjects,

[Subjects deleted by author, because of space]

     And to such and so manie as they doe or shall hereafter admitt to be joyned with them, in forme hereafter in theis presentes expressed, whether they goe in their persons to be planters there in the said plantacion, or whether they goe not, but doe adventure their monyes, goods or chattels, that they shalbe one bodie or communaltie perpetuall and shall have perpetual succession and one common seale to serve for the saide bodie or communaltie; and that they and their successors shalbe knowne, called and incorporated by the name of The Tresorer and
Companie of Adventurers and Planters of the Citty of London for
the Firste Collonie in Virginia.

     And that they and their successors shalbe from hensforth, forever enabled to take, acquire and purchase, by the name aforesaid (licens for the same from us, oure heires or successors first had and obtained) anie manner of lands, tenements and hereditaments, goods and chattels, within oure realme of England and dominion of  Wales; and that they and their successors shalbe likewise enabled, by the name aforesaid, to pleade and to be impleaded before anie of oure judges or justices, in anie oure courts, and in anie accions or suits whatsoever.

     And wee doe also, of oure said speciall grace, certaine knowledge and mere mocion, give, grannte and confirme unto the said Treasurer and Companie, and their successors, under the  reservacions, limittacions and declaracions hereafter expressed, all those lands, countries and territories scituat, lieinge and beinge in that place of America called Virginia, from the pointe of lande called Cape or Pointe Comfort all alonge the seacoste to the northward twoe hundred miles and from the said pointe of Cape Comfort all alonge the sea coast to the southward twoe hundred miles; and all that space and circuit of lande lieinge from the sea coaste of the precinct aforesaid upp unto the lande, throughoute, from sea to sea, west and northwest; and also all the island beinge within one hundred miles alonge the coaste of bothe seas of the precincte aforesaid; togeather with all the soiles, groundes, havens and portes, mynes, aswell royall mynes of golde and silver as other mineralls, pearles and precious stones, quarries, woods, rivers, waters, fishings, comodities, jurisdictions, royalties, priviledges, franchisies and preheminences within the said territorie and the precincts there of whatsoever; and thereto or there abouts, both by sea and lande, beinge or in anie sorte belonginge or appertayninge, and
which wee by oure lettres patents maie or cann graunte; and in as ample manner and sorte as wee or anie oure noble progenitors have heretofore graunted to anie companie, bodie pollitique or corporate, or to anie adventurer or adventurers, undertaker or undertakers, of anie discoveries, plantacions or traffique of, in, or into anie forraine parts whatsoever; and in as large and ample manner as if the same were herin particulerly mentioned and expressed: to have, houlde, possesse and enjoye all and singuler the said landes, countries and territories with all and singuler other the premisses heretofore by theis [presents] graunted or mencioned to be grannted, to them, the said Treasurer and Companie, their successors and assignes, forever; to the sole and successors and assignes [forever], to be holden of us, oure
heires and successors, as of oure mannour of Estgreenewich, in free and common socage and not in capite; yeldinge and payinge, therefore, to us, oure heires and successors, the fifte parte onlie of all oare of gould and silver that from tvme to time, and at all times hereafter, shalbe there gotton, had and obtained, for all manner of service.

     And, nevertheles, oure will and pleasure is, and wee doe by theis presentes chardge, commannde, warrant and auctorize, that the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors, or the major parte of them which shall be present and assembled for that purpose, shall from time to time under their common seale distribute, convey, assigne and set over such particuler porcions of lands, tenements and hereditaments, by theise presents formerly grannted, unto such oure lovinge subjects naturallie borne of denizens, or others, aswell adventurers as planters, as by the said Companie, upon a commission of survey and
distribucion executed and retourned for that purpose, shalbe named, appointed and allowed, wherein oure will and pleasure is, that respect be had as well of the proporcion of the adventure[r] as to the speciall service, hazarde, exploite or meritt of anie person so as to be recompenced, advannced or rewarded.

     And for as muche as the good and prosperous successe of the said plantacion cannot but cheiflie depende, next under the blessinge of God and the supporte of oure royall aucthoritie, upon the provident and good direccion of the whole enterprise by a carefull and understandinge Counsell, and that it is not convenient that all the adventurers shalbe so often drawne to meete and assemble as shalbe requisite for them to have metings and conference aboute theire affaires, therefore we doe ordaine, establishe and confirme that there shalbe perpetually one
Counsell here resident, accordinge to the tenor of oure former lettres patents, which Counsell shall have a seale for the better governement and administracion of the said plantacion besides the legall seale of the Companie or Corporacion, as in oure former lettres patents is also expressed.

     And further wee establishe and ordaine that

        Henrie, Earl of Southampton
        William, Earl of Pembrooke
        Henrie, Earl of Lincoln
        Thomas, Earl of Exeter
        Roberte, Lord Viscounte Lisle
        Lord Theophilus Howard
        James, Lord Bishopp of Bathe and Wells
        Edward, Lord Zouche
        Thomas, Lord Laware
        William, Lord Mounteagle
        Edmunde, Lord Sheffeilde
        Grey, Lord Shanndoys [Chandois]
        John, Lord Stanhope
        George, Lord Carew
        Sir Humfrey Welde, Lord Mayor of London
        Sir Edward Cecil
        Sir William Waad [Wade]
        Sir Henrie Nevill
        Sir Thomas Smith
        Sir Oliver Cromwell
        Sir Peter Manwood
        Sir Thomas Challoner
        Sir Henrie Hovarte [Hobart]
        Sir Franncis Bacon
        Sir George Coppin
        Sir John Scott
        Sir Henrie Carey
        Sir Roberte Drurie [Drury]
        Sir Horatio Vere
        Sir Eward Conwaye [Conway]
        Sir Maurice Berkeley [Barkeley]
        Sir Thomas Gates
        Sir Michaele Sands [Sandys]
        Sir Roberte Mansfeild [Mansel]
        Sir John Trevor
        Sir Amyas Preston
        Sir William Godolphin
        Sir Walter Cope
        Sir Robert Killigrewe
        Sir Henrie Faushawe [Fanshaw]
        Sir Edwyn Sandes [Sandys]
        Sir John Watts
        Sir Henrie Montague
        Sir William Romney
        Sir Thomas Roe
        Sir Baptiste Hicks
        Sir Richard Williamson
        Sir Stephen Powle [Poole]
        Sir Dudley Diggs
        Christopher Brooke, [Esq.]
        John Eldred, and
        John Wolstenholme

shalbe oure Counsell for the said Companie of Adventurers and Planters in Virginia.

     And the said Sir Thomas Smith wee ordaine to be Treasurer of the said Companie, which Treasurer shall have aucthoritie to give order for the warninge of the Counsell and sommoninge the Companie to their courts and meetings.

     And the said Counsell and Treasurer or anie of them shalbe from  henceforth nominated, chosen, contynued, displaced, chaunged, altered and supplied, as death or other severall occasions shall require, out of the Companie of the said adventurers by the voice of the greater parte of the said Counsell and adventurers in their assemblie for that purpose; provided alwaies that everie Councellor so newlie elected shalbe presented to the Lord Channcellor of England, or to the Lord
Highe Treasurer of England, or the Lord Chambleyne of the housholde of us, oure heires and successors, for the tyme beinge to take his oathe of a Counsellor to us, oure heires and Successors, for the said Companie and Collonie in Virginia.

     And wee doe by theis presents, of oure especiall grace, certaine knowledge and meere motion, for us, oure heires and successors, grannte unto the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors, that if it happen at anie time or times the Treasurer for the tyme beinge to be sick, or to have anie such cause of absente from the cittie of London as shalbe allowed by the said Counsell or the greater parte of them assembled, so as he cannot attende the affaires of that Companie, in everie such case it shall and maie be lawfull for such Treasurer for the tyme beinge to assigne, constitute and appointe one of the Counsell
for Companie to be likewise allowed by the Counsell or the greater parte of them assembled to be the deputie Treasurer for the said Companie; which Deputie shall have power to doe and execute all things which belonge to the said Treasurer duringe such tyme as such Treasurer shalbe sick or otherwise absent, upon cause allowed of by the said Counsell or the major parte of them as aforesaid, so fullie and wholie and in as large and ample manner and forme and to all intents and purposes as the said Treasurer if he were present himselfe maie or might doe and execute the same.

     And further of oure especiall grace, certaine knowledge and meere mocion, for us, oure heires and successors, wee doe by theis presents give and grannt full power and aucthoritie to oure said Counsell here resident aswell at this present tyme as hereafter, from time to time, to nominate, make, constitute, ordaine and confirme by such name or names, stile or stiles as to them shall seeme good, and likewise to revoke, dischardge, channge and alter aswell all and singuler governors, oficers and ministers which alreadie hath ben made, as also which hereafter shalbe by them thought fitt and meedefull to be made or used for the government of the said Colonie and plantacion.

     And also to make, ordaine and establishe all manner of orders, lawes, directions, instructions, formes and ceremonies of government and magistracie, fitt and necessarie, for and concerninge the government of the said Colonie and plantacion; and the same att all tymes hereafter to abrogate, revoke or chaunge, not onely within the precincts of the said Colonie but also upon the seas in goeing and cominge to and from the said Collonie, as they in their good discrecions shall thinke to be fittest for [the] good of the adventurers and inhabiters there.

     And we doe also declare that for divers reasons and consideracions us thereunto especiallie moving, oure will and pleasure is and wee doe hereby ordaine that imediatlie from and after such time as anie such governour or principall officer so to be nominated and appointed by oure said Counsell for the governement of the said Colonie, as aforesaid, shall arive in Virginia and give notice unto the Collonie there resident of oure pleasure in this behalfe, the government, power and aucthority of the President and Counsell, heretofore by oure former lettres patents there established, and all lawes and constitucions by
them formerlie made, shall utterly cease and be determined; and all officers, governours and ministers formerly constituted or appointed shalbe dischardged, anie thinge in oure said former lettres patents conserninge the said plantacion contayned in aniewise to the contrarie notwithstandinge; streightlie chardginge and commaundinge the President and Counsell nowe resident in the said Collonie upon their alleadgiance after knowledge given unto them of oure will and pleasure by theis
presentes signified and declared, that they forth with be obedient to such governor or governers as by oure said Counsell here resident shalbe named and appointed as aforesaid; and to all direccions, orders and commandements which they shall receive from them, aswell in the present resigninge and giveinge upp of their aucthoritie, offices, chardg and places, as in all other attendannce as shalbe by them from time to time required.

     And wee doe further by theis presentes ordaine and establishe that the said Treasurer and Counsell here resident, and their successors or anie fower of them assembled (the Treasurer beinge one), shall from time to time have full power and aucthoritie to admitt and receive anie other person into their companie, corporacion and freedome; and further, in a generall assemblie of the adventurers, with the consent of the greater parte upon good cause, to disfranchise and putt oute anie person or persons oute of the said fredome and Companie.

     And wee doe also grannt and confirme for us, oure heires and
successors that it shalbe lawfull for the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors, by direccion of the Governors there, to digg and to serche for all manner of mynes of goulde, silver, copper, iron, leade, tinne and other mineralls aswell within the precincts aforesaid as within anie parte of the maine lande not formerly graunted to anie other; and to have and enjoye the gould, silver, copper, iron, leade, and tinn, and all other mineralls to be gotten thereby, to the use and behoofe of the said Companie of Planters and Adventurers, yeldinge therefore and payinge yerelie unto us, oure heires and successors, as
aforesaid.

     And wee doe further of oure speciall grace, certaine knowledge and meere motion, for us, oure heires and successors, grannt, by theis presents to and withe the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors, that it shalbe lawfull and free for them and their assignes at all and everie time and times here after, oute of oure realme of England and oute of all other [our] dominions, to take and leade into the said voyage, and for and towards the said plantacion, and to travell thitherwards and to abide and inhabite therein the said Colonie and plantacion, all such and so manie of oure lovinge subjects, or anie other straungers that wilbecomme oure lovinge subjects and live under
oure allegiance, as shall willinglie accompanie them in the said voyadge and plantation with sufficient shippinge armour, weapons, ordinannce, municion, powder, shott, victualls, and such merchaundize or wares as are esteemed by the wilde people in those parts, clothinge, implements, furnitures, catle, horses and mares, and all other thinges necessarie for the said plantation and for their use and defence and trade with the people there, and in passinge and retourninge to and from without yeldinge or payinge subsedie, custome, imposicion, or anie other taxe or duties to us, oure heires or successors, for the space of seaven yeares from the date of theis presents; provided, that none of
the said persons be such as shalbe hereafter by speciall name restrained by us, oure heires or successors.

     And for their further encouragement, of oure speciall grace and favour, wee doe by theis present for us, oure heires and successors, yeild and graunte to and with the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors and everie of them, their factors and assignes, that they and every of them shalbe free and quiett of all subsedies and customes in Virginia for the space of one and twentie yeres, and from all taxes and imposicions for ever, upon anie goods or merchaundizes at anie time or times hereafter, either upon importation thither or exportation from thence into oure realme of England or into anie other of oure [realms or] dominions, by the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors, their deputies, factors [or] assignes or anie of them, except onlie the five pound per centum due for custome upon all such good and merchanndizes as shalbe brought or imported into oure realme of England or anie other of theis oure dominions accordinge to the auncient trade of merchannts, which five poundes per centum onely beinge paid, it shalbe thensforth lawfull and free for the said Adventurers the same goods [and] merchaundizes to export and carrie oute of oure said dominions into forraine partes without anie custome, taxe or other duty to be paide to us oure heires or successors or to anie other oure
officers or deputies; provided, that the saide goods and merchaundizes be shipped out within thirteene monethes after their first landinge within anie parte of those dominions.

     And wee doe also confirme and grannt to the said Treasurer and Companie, and their successors, as also to all and everie such governer or other officers and ministers as by oure said Counsell shalbe appointed, to have power and aucthoritie of governement and commannd in or over the said Colonie or plantacion; that they and everie of them shall and lawfullie maie from tyme to tyme and at all tymes forever hereafter, for their severall defence and safetie, enconnter, expulse, repell and resist by force and armes, aswell by sea as by land, and all
waies and meanes whatsoever, all and everie such person and persons whatsoever as without the speciall licens of the said Treasurer and Companie and their successors shall attempte to inhabite within the said  severall precincts and lymitts of the said Colonie and plantacion; and also, all and everie such person and persons whatsoever as shall enterprise, or attempte at anie time hereafter, destruccion, invasion, hurte, detriment or annoyannce to the said Collonye and plantacion, as is likewise specified in the said former grannte.

     And that it shalbe lawful for the said Treasurer and Companie, and their successors and everie of them, from time to time and at all times hereafter, and they shall have full power and aucthoritie, to take and surprise by all waies and meanes whatsoever all and everie person and persons whatsoever, with their shippes, goods and other furniture, traffiquinge in anie harbor, creeke or place within the limitts or precincts of the said Colonie and plantacion, [not] being allowed by the said Companie to be adventurers or planters of the said Colonie,
untill such time as they beinge of anie realmes or dominions under oure obedience shall paie or agree to paie, to the hands of the Treasurer or [of] some other officer deputed by the said governors in Virginia (over and above such subsedie and custome as the said Companie is or here after shalbe to paie) five poundes per centum upon all goods and merchaundizes soe brought in thither, and also five per centum upon all goods by them shipped oute from thence; and being straungers and not under oure obedience untill they have payed (over and above such subsedie and custome as the same Treasurer and Companie and their successors is or hereafter shalbe to paie) tenn pounds per centum upon all such goods, likewise carried in and oute, any thinge in the former lettres patents to the contrarie not withstandinge; and the same sommes of monie and benefitt as aforesaid for and duringe the space of one and twentie yeares shalbe wholie imploied to the benefitt and behoof of the said Colonie and plantacion; and after the saide one and twentie yeares ended, the same shalbe taken to the use of us, oure heires or successors, by such officer and minister as by us, oure heires or successors, shalbe thereunto assigned and appointed, as is specified in the said former lettres patents.

     Also wee doe, for us, oure heires and successors, declare by theis presents, that all and everie the persons beinge oure subjects which shall goe and inhabit within the said Colonye and plantacion, and everie of their children and posteritie which shall happen to be borne within [any] the lymitts thereof, shall have [and] enjoye all liberties, franchesies and immunities of free denizens and naturall subjects within anie of oure other dominions to all intents and purposes as if they had bine abidinge and borne within this oure kingdome of England or in anie other of oure dominions.

     And forasmuch as it shalbe necessarie for all such our lovinge subjects as shall inhabitt within the said precincts of Virginia aforesaid to determine to live togither in the feare and true woorshipp of Almightie God, Christian peace and civill quietnes, each with other, whereby everie one maie with more safety, pleasure and profitt enjoye that where unto they shall attaine with great paine and perill, wee, for us, oure heires and successors, are likewise pleased and contented and by theis presents doe give and graunte unto the said Tresorer and Companie and their successors and to such governors, officers and ministers as shalbe, by oure said Councell, constituted and appointed, accordinge to the natures and lymitts of their offices and places respectively, that they shall and maie from time to time for ever hereafter, within the said precincts of Virginia or in the waie by the seas thither and from thence, have full and absolute power and aucthority to correct, punishe, pardon, governe and rule all such the subjects of us, oure heires and successors as shall from time to time adventure themselves in anie voiadge thither or that shall at anie tyme hereafter inhabitt in the precincts and territorie of the said Colonie as aforesaid, accordinge to such order, ordinaunces, constitution,
directions and instruccions as by oure said Counsell, as aforesaid, shalbe established; and in defect thereof, in case of necessitie according to the good discretions of the said governours and officers respectively, aswell in cases capitall and criminall as civill, both marine and other, so alwaies as the said statuts, ordinannces and proceedinges as neere as convenientlie maie be, be agreable to the lawes, statutes, government and pollicie of this oure realme of England.

     And we doe further of oure speciall grace, certeine knowledge and mere mocion, grant, declare and ordaine that such principall governour as from time to time shall dulie and lawfullie be aucthorised and appointed, in manner and forme in theis presents heretofore expressed, shall [have] full power and aucthoritie to use and exercise marshall lawe in cases of rebellion or mutiny in as large and ample manner as oure leiutenant in oure counties within oure realme of England have or
ought to have by force of their comissions of lieutenancy. And furthermore, if anie person or persons, adventurers or planters, of the said Colonie, or anie other at anie time or times hereafter, shall transporte anie monyes, goods or marchaundizes oute of anie [of] oure kingdomes with a pretence or purpose to lande, sell or otherwise dispose the same within the lymitts and bounds of the said Collonie, and yet nevertheles beinge at sea or after he hath landed within anie part of the said Colonie shall carrie the same into anie other forraine Countrie, with a purpose there to sell and dispose there of that, then all the goods and chattels of the said person or persons so offendinge and transported, together with the shipp or vessell wherein such
transportacion was made, shalbe forfeited to us, oure heires and successors.

     And further, oure will and pleasure is, that in all questions and doubts that shall arrise upon anie difficultie of construccion or interpretacion of anie thinge contained either in this or in oure said former lettres patents, the same shalbe taken and interpreted in most ample and beneficiall manner for the said Tresorer and Companie and their successors and everie member there of.

     And further, wee doe by theis presents ratifie and confirme unto the said Tresorer and Companie and their successors all privuleges, franchesies, liberties and immunties graunted in oure said former lettres patents and not in theis oure lettres patents revoked, altered, channged or abridged.

And finallie, oure will and pleasure is and wee doe further hereby for us, oure heires and successors grannte and agree, to and with the said Tresorer and Companie and their successors, that all and singuler person and persons which shall at anie time or times hereafter adventure anie somme or sommes of money in and towards the said plantacion of the said Colonie in Virginia and shalbe admitted by the said Counsell and Companie as adventurers of the said Colonie, in forme aforesaid, and shalbe enrolled in the booke or record of the adventurers of the said Companye, shall and maie be accompted, accepted, taken, helde and reputed Adventurers of the said Collonie and shall and maie enjoye all and singuler grannts, priviledges, liberties, benefitts, profitts, commodities [and immunities], advantages and emoluments whatsoever as fullie, largely, amplie and absolutely as if they and everie of them had ben precisely, plainely, singulerly and
distinctly named and inserted in theis oure lettres patents.

And lastely, because the principall effect which wee cann desier or expect of this action is the conversion and reduccion of the people in those partes unto the true worshipp of God and Christian religion, in which respect wee would be lothe that anie person should be permitted to passe that wee suspected to affect the superstitions of the Churche of Rome, wee doe hereby declare that it is oure will and pleasure that none be permitted to passe in anie voiadge from time to time to be made into the saide countrie but such as firste shall have taken the oath of
supremacie, for which purpose wee doe by theise presents give full power and aucthoritie to the Tresorer for the time beinge, and anie three of the Counsell, to tender and exhibite the said oath to all such persons as shall at anie time be sent and imploied in the said voiadge.

    Although expresse mention [of the true yearly value or certainty of the premises, or any of them, or of any other gifts or grants, by us or any of our progenitors or predecessors, to the aforesaid Treasurer and Company heretofore made, in these presents is not made; or any act, statute, ordinance, provision, proclamation, or restraint, to the contrary hereof had, made,  ordained, or provided, or any other thing, cause, or matter, whatsoever, in any wise notwithstanding.] In witnes whereof [we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness ourself at Westminster, the 23d day of May (1609) in the seventh year of our reign of England, France, and Ireland, and of Scotland the
****]

     Per ipsum Regem exactum.

British Public Record Office, Chancery Patent Rolls (c. 66),
1796, 5; William Stith, The History of the First Discovery and
Settlement of Virginia
 

Footnote #3
The Third Virginia Charter

The Third Virginia Charter, 1612

     James, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith; To all  to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting. Whereas at the humble Suit of divers and sundry our loving Subjects, as well Adventurers as Planters of the first Colony in Virginia,  and for the Propagation of Christian Religion, and Reclaiming of People barbarous, to Civility and Humanity,  We have, by our Letters-Patents, bearing Date at Westminster,  the three-and-twentieth Day of May, in the seventh  Year of our Reign of England, France, and Ireland,  and the two-and-fortieth of Scotland, Given and Granted  unto them that they and all such and so many of our loving  Subjects as should from time to time, for ever after,  be joined with them as Planters or Adventurers in the said  Plantation, and their Successors, for ever, should be one  Body politick, incorporated by the Name of The Treasurer  and Company of Adventurers and Planters of the City of  London for the first Colony in Virginia;  And whereas also for the greater Good and Benefit  of the said Company, and for the better
Furtherance,  Strengthening, and Establishing of the said Plantation, we  did further Give, Grant and Confirm, by our Letters-   Patents unto the said Company and their Successors, for  ever, all those Lands, Countries or Territories, situate, lying  and being in that Part of America called Virginia, from  the Point of Land called Cape or Point Comfort all along  the Sea Coasts to the Northward two hundred Miles; and  from the said Point of Cape Comfort all along the Sea  Coast to the Southward two hundred Miles; and all that  Space and Circuit of Land lying from the Sea Coast of  the Precinct aforesaid, up into the Land throughout from  Sea to Sea West and North-west; and also all the Islands  lying within one hundred Miles along the Coast of both  the Seas of the Precinct aforesaid; with divers other Grants,  Liberties, Franchises and Preheminences, Privileges, Profits, Benefits, and Commodities granted in and by our said  Letters-patents to the said Treasurer and Company and  their Successors for ever.  Now forasmuch as we are given to understand, that in  those Seas adjoining to the said Coasts of Virginia, and  without the Compass of those two hundred Miles by Us  so granted unto the said Treasurer and Company as aforesaid,  and yet not far distant from the said Colony in  Virginia, there are or may be divers Islands lying desolate  and uninhabited, some of which are already made known  and discovered by the Industry, Travel, and Expences of  the said Company, and others also are supposed to be and  remain as yet unknown and undiscovered, all and every  of which it may import the said Colony both in Safety and  Policy of Trade to populate and plant; in Regard whereof,  as well for the preventing of Peril, as for the better Commodity  of the said Colony, they have been humble suitors  unto Us, that We would be pleased to grant unto them an  Enlargement of our said former Letters-patents. . . . all  and singular those Islands whatsoever situate and beiiig  in any Part of the Ocean Seas bordering upon the Coast  of our said first Colony in Virginia, and being within  three Hundred Leagues of any of the Parts heretofore  granted to the said Treasurer and Company in our said  former Letters-Patents as aforesaid. . . . To have and to  hold, possess and enjoy, all and singular the said Islands  in the said Ocean Seas so lying and bordering upon the  Coast and Coasts of the Territories of the said first Colony  in Virginia, as aforesaid. With all and singular the said Soils, Lands, Grounds, and all and singular other the  Premises heretofore by these Presents granted or mentioned  to be granted to them. . . .  And We are further pleased, and We do by these Presents grant and confirm, that Philip Earl of Montgomery, William Lord Paget, sir John Starrington, Knight  etc., whom the said Treasurer and Company have since  the said last Letters-Patents nominated and set down as  worthy and discreet Persons fit to serve Us as Counsellors,  to be of our Council for the said Plantation, shall be reputed,  deemed, and taken as Persons of our said Council  for the said first Colony, in such Manner and Sort, to all  Intents and Purposes, as those who have been formerly  elected and nominated as our Counsellors for that Colony,  and whose Names have been, or are inserted and expressed  in our said former Letters-Patents.  And we do hereby ordain and grant by these Presents  that the said Treasurer and Company of Adventurers and  Planters aforesaid, shall and may, once every week, or  oftener, at their Pleasure, hold, and keep a Court and Assembly  for the better Order and Government of the said  Plantation, and such Things as shall concern the same:

And that any five Persons of our Council for the said first  Colony in Virginia, for the Time being, of which Company  the Treasurer, or his Deputy, to be always one, and the  Number of fifteen others, at the least, of the Generality  of the said Company, assembled together in such Manner.  as is and bath been heretofore used and accustomed, shall  be said, taken, held, and reputed to be, and shall be a  sufficient Court of the said Company, for the handling and  ordering, and dispatching of all such casual and particular  Occurrences, and accidental Matters, of less Consequence  and Weight, as shall from Time to Time happen, touching  and concerning the said Plantation  And that nevertheless, for the handling, ordering, and  disposing of Matters and Affairs of greater Weight and  Importance, and such as shall or may, in any Sort, concern  the Weal Publick and general Good of the said Company  and Plantation, as namely, the Manner of Government  from Time to Time to be used, the ordering and Disposing  of the Lands and Possessions, and the settling and establishing  of a Trade there, or such like, there shall be held  and kept every Year, upon the last Wednesday, save one,  of Hillary Term, Easter, Trinity, and Michaelmas Terms,  for ever, one great, general, and solemn Assembly, which  four Assemblies shall be stiled and called, The four Great  and General Courts of the Council and Company of Adventurers  for Virginia; In all and every of which said  Great and General Courts, so assembled, our Will and  Pleasure is, and we do, for Us, our Heirs and Successors,  for ever, Give and Grant to the said Treasurer and Company,  and their Successors for ever, by these Presents, that  they, the said Treasurer and Company, or the greater Number  of them, so assembled, shall and may have full Power  and Authority, from Time to Time, and at all Times  hereafter, to elect and chuse discreet Persons, to be of our  said Council for the said first Colony in Virginia, and to  nominate and appoint such Officers as they shall think fit  and requisite, for the
Government, managing, ordering,  and dispatching of the Affairs of the said Company; And  shall likewise have full Power and Authority, to ordain  and make such Laws and Ordinances, for the Good and  Welfare of the said Plantation, as to them from Time to  Time, shall be thought requisite and meet: So always, as  the same be not contrary to the Laws and Statutes of this  our Realm of England. . . .

An Ordinance And Constitution Of The Virginia Company
 

Footnote #4
An Ordinance and Constitution of the Virginia, and the creation of
Counsel of State
Company in England, 24 July 1621

An Ordinance and Constitution of the Treasurer Council, and
Company in England, for a Council of State and General Assembly.
     I. To all people, to whom these presents shall come, be seen, or heard, the treasurer, council, and company of adventurers and planters for the city of London for the first colony of Virginia, send greeting. Know ye, that we, the said treasurer, council, and company, taking into our careful consideration the present state of the said colony of Virginia, and intending by the divine assistance, to settle such a form of government there, as may be to the greatest benefit and comfort of the people, and whereby all injustice, grievances, and oppression may be prevented and kept off as much as possible, from the said colony, have thought fit to make our entrance, by ordering and establishing such supreme councils, as may not only be assisting to the governor for the time being, in the administration of justice, and the executing of other duties to this office belonging, but also, by their vigilant care and prudence, may provide, as well for a remedy of all inconveniences, growing from time to time, as also for advancing of increase, strength, stability, and prosperity of the said colony:
     II. We therefore, the said treasurer, council, and company,  by authority directed to us from his majesty under the great seal, upon mature deliberation, do hereby order and declare, that, from hence forward, there shall be two supreme councils in Virginia, for the better government of the said colony aforesaid.
     III. The one of which councils, to be called the council of state (and whose office shall chiefly be assisting, with their care, advice, and circumspection, to the said governor) shall be chosen, nominated, placed, and displaced, from time to time, by us the said treasurer, council and company, and our successors: which council of state shall consist, for the present only of these persons, as are here inserted, viz., sir Francis Wyatt, governor of Virginia, captain Francis West, sir George Yeardley, knight, sir William Neuce, knight, marshal of Virginia, Mr. George Sandys, treasurer, Mr. George Thorpe, deputy of the college, captain Thomas Neuce, deputy for the company, Mr. Powlet, Mr. Leech, captain Nathaniel Powel, Mr. Christopher Davidson, secretary, Doctor Potts, physician to the company, Mr. Roger Smith, Mr. John Berkeley, Mr. John Rolfe, Mr. Ralph Hamer, Mr. John Pountis, Mr. Michael Lapworth, Mr. Harwood, Mr. Samuel Macock. Which said counsellors and council we earnestly pray and desire, and in his majesty's name strictly charge and command, that (all factions, partialities, and sinister respect laid aside) they bend their care and endeavours to assist the said governor; first and principally, in the advancement of the honour and service of God, and the enlargement of his kingdom against the heathen people; and next, in erecting of the said colony in due obedience to his majesty, and all lawful authority from his majesty's directions; and lastly, in maintaining the said people in justice and christian conversation amongst themselves, and in strength and ability to withstand their enemies. And this council, to be always, or for the most part, residing about or near the governor.
     IV. The other council, more generally to be called by the governor, once yearly, and no oftener, but for very extraordinary and important occasions, shall consist for the present, of the said council of state, and of two burgesses out of every town, hundred, or other particular plantation, to be respectively chosen by the inhabitants: which council shall be called The General Assembly, wherein (as also in the said council of state) all matters shall be decided, determined, and ordered by the greater part of the voices then present; reserving to the governor always a negative voice. And this general assembly shall have free power, to treat, consult, and conclude, as well of all emergent occasions concerning the publick weal of the said colony and every part thereof, as also to make, ordain, and enact such general laws and orders, for the behoof of the said colony, and the good government thereof, as shall, from time to time, appear necessary or requisite;
     V. Whereas in all other things, we require the said general assembly, as also the said council of state, to imitate and follow the policy of the form of government, laws, customs, and manner of trial, and other administration of justice, used in the realm of England, as near as may be even as ourselves, by his majesty's letters patent, are required.
     VI. Provided, that no law or ordinance, made in the said general assembly, shall be or continue in force or validity, unless the same shall be solemnly ratified and confirmed, in a general quarter court of the said company here in England, and so ratified, be returned to them under our seal; it being our intent to afford the like measure also unto the said colony, that after the government of the said colony shall once have been well framed, and settled accordingly, which is to be done by us, as by authority derived from his majesty, and the same shall have been so by us declared, no orders of court afterwards, shall bind the said colony, unless they be ratified in like manner in the general assemblies. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our common seal the 24th of July, 1621. . . .
 

Footnote #5
THE CHARTER, 1663, The Charter of Carolina
 

CHARLES THE SECOND, BY THE grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the Faith, etc. TO ALL to whom these presents shall come, Greeting:

 WHEREAS, our right trusty and right well-beloved Cousins and Counsellors: Edward, Earl of Clarendon, our High Chancellor of England; and George, Duke of Albemarle, Master of our Horse and Captain General of all our Forces; Our right trusty and well-beloved William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Our right trusty and wellbeloved Counsellor, Anthony, Lord Ashley, Chancellor of our Exchequer; Sir George Carterett, Knight and Baronet, Vice Chamberlain of our Household; And our trusty and well-beloved Sir W illiam Berkley, Knight; and Sir John Colleton, Knight and Baronet, being excited with a laudable and pious zeal for the propagation of the Christian Faith and the enlargement of our Empire and Dominions, HAVE humbly besought leave of us, by their industry  and Charge, to Transport and make an ample Colony of our Subjects, Natives of our Kingdom of England and elsewhere within our Dominions, unto a certain Country, hereafter described, in the parts of AMERICA not yet cultivated or planted, and only inhabited by some barbarous People who have no knowledge of Almighty God;

AND WHEREAS, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, have humbly besought us to give, grant, and Confirm unto them, and their heirs, the said Country, with Privileges and Jurisdictions requisite for the good Government and safety thereof:

KNOW YE, therefore, that We, favouring the pious and noble purpose of the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, Of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, HAVE given,granted, and Confirmed, AND, by this our present Charter, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give, grant, and Confirm, unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns:

ALL that Territory or Tract of ground, situate, lying, and being within our Dominions in America, extending from the North end of the Island called Luck Island, which lies in the Southern Virginia Seas and within six and Thirty Degrees of the Northern Latitude, and to the West as far as the South Seas; and so Southerly as far as the River Saint Mathias, which borders upon the Coast of Florida, and within one and Thirty Degrees of Northern Latitude; and West in a direct Line as far as the South Seas aforesaid; Together with all and singular Ports, Harbours, Bays, Rivers, Isles, and Islets belonging unto the Country aforesaid; And also, all the Soil, Lands, Fields, Woods, Mountains, Farms, Lakes, Rivers, Bays, and Islets situate or being within the Bounds or Limits aforesaid; with the Fishing of all sorts of Fish, Whales, Sturgeons, and all other Royal Fishes in the Sea, Bays, Islets, and Rivers within the premises, and the Fish therein taken;

 AND moreover, all Veins, Mines, and Quarries, as well discovered as not discovered, of Gold, Silver, Gems, and precious Stones, and all other, whatsoever be it, of Stones, Metals, or any other thing whatsoever found or to be found within the Country, Isles, Limits aforesaid;

 AND FURTHERMORE, the Patronage and Advowsons of all the Churches and Chapels which, as Christian Religion shall increase within the Country, Isles, Islets, and Limits aforesaid:  aforesaid, shall happen hereafter to be erected; Together with licence and power to Build and found Churches, Chapels, an Oratories in convenient and fit places within the said Bounds and Limits, and to cause them to be Dedicated and Consecrated according to the Ecclesiastical Laws of our Kingdom in England,; Together with all and singular the like and as ample Rights, Jurisdictions, Privileges, Prerogatives, Royalties, Liberties, Immunities, and Franchises of what kind soever with the Country, Isles, Islets, and Limits aforesaid;

 TO HAVE, use, exercise, and enjoy, and in as ample manner as any Bishop of Durham, in our Kingdom of England, ever heretofore have held, used, or enjoyed, or of right ought or could have, use, or enjoy;

 AND them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven, John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and assigns, WE DO, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, make, Create, and Constitute the true and absolute Lords and Proprietaries of the Country aforesaid, and of all other the premises;

 SAVING always, the Faith, Allegiance, and Sovereign Dominion due to us, our heirs and Successors, for the same; and Saving also, the right, title, and interest of all and every our Subjects of the English Nation which are now Planted within the Limits bounds aforesaid, if any be;

 TO HAVE, HOLD, possess and enjoy the said Country, Isles, Islets, and all and singular other the premises; to them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, forever;

 TO BE HELD of us, our heirs and Successors as of our Manor of East Greenwich, in our County of Kent, in Free and Common Soccage, and not in Capite nor by knight's Service;

 YIELDlNG AND PAYING yearly, to us, our heirs and Successors, for the same, the yearly Rent of Twenty Marks of Lawful money of England, at the Feast of All Saints, yearly, forever, The First payment thereof to begin and be made on the Feast of All Saints which shall be in the year of Our Lord One thousand six hundred Sixty and five ; AND also, the fourth part of all Gold and Silver Ore which, with the limits aforesaid, shall, from time to time, happen to be found.

 AND that the Country thus by us granted and described may be dignified with as large Titles and Privileges as any other parts of our Dominions and Territories in that Region;

 KNOW YE, that We, of our further grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, HAVE thought fit to Erect the same Tract of Ground, Country, and Island into a Province, and, out of the fullness of our Royal power and Prerogative, WE Do, for us, our heirs and Successors, Erect, Incorporate, and Ordain the same into a province, and do call it the Province of CAROLINA, and so from henceforth will have it called.

AND FORASMUCH AS we have hereby made and Ordained the aforesaid Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, the true Lords and Proprietors of all the Province aforesaid:

KNOW YE, therefore, moreover, that We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in their fidelity, Wisdom, Justice, and provident circumspection, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do Grant full and absolute power, by virtue of these presents, to them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, and their heirs, for the good and happy Government of the said Province:

To ORDAIN, make, Enact, and under their Seals to publish any Laws whatsoever, either appertaining to the public State of the said
Province or to the private utility of particular Persons, according to their best discretion, of and with the advice, assent, and approbation of the Freemen of the said Province, or of the greater part of them, or of their Delegates or Deputies; whom, for enacting of the said Laws, when and as often as need shall require, WE WILL that the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley;  Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, and their heirs, shall, from time to time. assemble, in such manner and form as to them shall seem best;

AND the same Laws duly to execute upon all people within the said Province and Limits thereof for the time being, or which shall be Constituted under the power and Government of them, or any of them, either Sailing towards the said Province of CAROLINA or returning from thence towards England, or any other of our or foreign Dominions; by Imposition of penalties, Imprisonment, or any other punishment, YEA, if it shall be needful and the quality of the Offence require it, by taking away member and life, either by them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, and their heirs, or by them or their Deputies, Lieutenants, Judges, Justices, Magistrates, Officers, and Ministers, to be Ordained or appointed according to the tenor and true intention of these presents;

 AND LIKEWISE, to appoint and establish any Judges or Justices, Magistrates or Officers whatsoever within the said Province, at Sea or land, in such manner and form as unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George
Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, or their heirs, shall seem most convenient;

 ALSO, to remit, release, Pardon, and abolish, whether before Judgment or after, all Crimes and Offences whatsoever against the said Laws; and to do all and every other thing and things which unto the Complete establishment of Justice, unto Courts, Sessions, and forms of Judicature, and manners of proceeding therein, do belong, although in these presents express mention be not made thereof;

 AND by Judges, by him or them delegated, to award Process, hold Pleas, and determine, in all the said Courts and Places of Judicature, all Actions, Suits, and Causes whatsoever, as well Criminal as Civil, real, mixt, personal, or of any other kind or nature whatsoever;

WHICH LAWS, SO as aforesaid, to be published OUR PLEASURE IS, and We do enjoin, require, and Command shall be absolute, firm, and available in law; And that all the liege People of us, our heirs and Successors, within the said Province of CAROLINA, do observe and keep the same inviolably in those parts, so far as they concern them, under the pains and penalties therein expressed or to be expressed;

PROVIDED, nevertheless, that the said laws be consonant to reason and, as near as may be conveniently, agreeable to the laws and Customs of this our Kingdom of England.

AND because such assemblies of Freeholders cannot be so suddenly called as there may be occasion to require the same:

WE Do, therefore, by these presents, give and Grant unto the said Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, by themselves or their Magistrates in that behalf lawfully authorized, full power and authority, from time to time, to make and Ordain fit and wholesome Orders and Ordinances within the Province aforesaid, to be kept and observed, as well for the keeping of the Peace as for the better Government of the People there abiding; and to publish the same to all to whom it may concern;

WHICH Ordinances We do, by these presents, straightly Charge and Command to be inviolably observed within the said Province, under the penalties therein expressed; So as such Ordinances be reasonable, and not repugnant or contrary, but as near as may be agreeable, to the laws and Statutes of this our Kingdom of England; And so as the same Ordinances do not extend to the binding, charging, or taking away of the right or interest of any Person or Persons in their freehold, goods, or Chattels whatsoever.

AND to the end the said Province may be the more happily increased by the multitude of People resorting thither, and may likewise be the more strongly defended from the incursions of Savages and other Enemies, Pirates, and robbers:

THEREFORE, We, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give and Grant, by these presents, Power, licence, and liberty unto all the liege people of us, our heirs and Successors, in our Kingdom of England or elsewhere within any other our Dominions, Islands, Colonies, or Plantations, Excepting those who shall be especially forbidden, to transport themselves and Families unto the said Province, with convenient Shipping and fitting Provisions, and there to settle themselves, dwell and inhabit; any law, Act, Statute, Ordinance, or other thing to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

AND WE WILL also, and, of our more especial grace, for us, our heirs and Successors, do straightly enjoin, Ordain, Constitute, and Command, that the said Province of Carolina shall be of our Allegiance; And that all and singular the Subjects and liege people of us, our heirs and Successors, transported or to be transported into the said Province, and the Children of them and of such as shall descend from them there, born or hereafter to be born, be and shall be Citizens and lieges of us, our heirs and Successors, of this our Kingdom of England; and be in all things held, treated, and reputed as the liege, faithful people of us, our heirs and Successors, born within this our said Kingdom or any other of our Dominions; and may inherit or otherwise Purchase and receive, take, have, hold, buy, and possess any lands, Tenements, or hereditaments within the same Places, and them-may Occupy and enjoy, give, sell alien, and bequeath; as likewise, all liberties, Franchises, and Privileges of this our Kingdom of England, and of other our Dominions aforesaid, may freely and quietly have, possess, and enjoy as our liege people born within the same, without the let, molestation, vexation, trouble, or grievance of us, our heirs and Successors; any Statute, Act, Ordinance, or Provision to the contrary notwithstanding.

 AND FURTHERMORE, that our Subjects, of this our said Kingdom of England and other our Dominions, may be the rather encouraged to undertake this Expedition with ready and cheerful minds:

 KNOW YE, that We, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, Do give and Grant, by virtue of these presents, as well to the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, and their heirs, as unto all others as shall, from time to time, repair unto the said Province with a purpose to inhabit there or to trade with the Natives of the said Province, full liberty and Licence to lade and freight in any Ports whatsoever of us, our heirs and Successors;

 AND into the said Province of Carolina, by them, their Servants and Assigns, to Transport all and singular their goods, Wares, and Merchandises; as likewise, all sorts of grain whatsoever, and any other things whatsoever necessary for the food and Clothing,; not prohibited by the laws and Statutes of our Kingdoms and Dominions; to be Carried out of the same without any let or molestation of us, our heirs and Successors, or of any other our Officers and Ministers whatsoever; Saving also, to us, our heirs and Successors, the Customs and other duties and payments due for the said Wares and Merchandises, according to the several rates of the Places from whence the same shall be transported.

 WE WILL also, and, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give and Grant Licence, by this our Charter, unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley;  Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, and to all the Inhabitants and Dwellers in the Province aforesaid, both present and to come, full power and absolute authority to Import or unlade, by themselves or their servants, Factors, or Assigns, all Merchandises and goods whatsoever that shall arise of the fruits and Commodities of the said Province, either by land or Sea, into any the Ports of us, our heirs and Successors, in our Kingdom of England, Scotland, or Ireland, Or otherwise to dispose of the said goods in the said Ports; and, if need be, within one year next after the unlading, to lade the said Merchandises and goods again into the same or other Ships, and to Export the same into any other Countries, either of our Dominions or foreign, being in Amity with us, our heirs and Successors; So as they pay such Customs, Subsidies, and other duties for the same, to us, our heirs and Successors, as the rest of our Subjects of this our Kingdom for the time being shall be bound to pay, beyond which We will not that the inhabitants of the said Province of Carolina shall be any way Charged.

 PROVIDED, nevertheless, and our Will and pleasure is, and We have further, for the Considerations aforesaid, of our more especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, given and Granted, and, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give and grant, unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full and free licence, liberty, and authority, at any time or
times from and after the Feast of Saint Michaell The Archangel which shall be in the year of our Lord Christ One thousand six hundred Sixty and Seven, as well to Import and bring into any of our Dominions from the said Province of Carolina, or any part thereof, the several goods and Commodities hereinafter mentioned: THAT IS TO SAY, Silks, Wines, Currants, Raisins, Capers, Wax, Almonds, Oil, and Olives; without paying or Answering to us, our heirs or Successors, any Custom, Impost, or other duty for or in respect thereof, for and during the term and space of Seven years, to commence and be accounted from and after the First Importation of four Tons of any the said goods in any one Bottom, Ship, or Vessel from the said Province into any of our Dominions; as also, to export and carry out of any of our Dominions into the said Province of Carolina, Custom free, all sorts of Tools which shall be useful or necessary for the Planters there in the accommodation and Improvement of the premises; any thing before in these presents contained, or any Law, Act, Statute, Prohibition, or other matter or thing heretofore had, made, Enacted, or provided, or hereafter to be had, made, Enacted, or Provided, to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

AND FURTHERMORE, of our more ample and especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, WE DO, for us, our heirs and Successors, Grant unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony , Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full and absolute power and authority to Make, Erect, and Constitute within the said Province of CAROLINA, and the Isles and Islets aforesaid, such and so many Seaports, harbours, Creeks, and other Places for discharge and unlading of goods and Merchandises out of Ships, Boats, and other Vessels, and for lading of them, in such and so many Places, and with such Jurisdictions, Privileges, Jurisdictions , and Franchises unto the said Ports belonging, as to them shall seem most expedient;

AND that all and singular the Ships, Boats, and other Vessels which shall come for Merchandise and Trade into the said Province, or shall depart out of the same, shall be laden and unladen at such Ports only as shall be erected and Constituted by the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, and not elsewhere; any use, Custom, or anything to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

AND WE Do, furthermore, Will, appoint, and Ordain, and, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, do Grant unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, That they, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, may, from time to time, forever, have and enjoy the Customs and Subsidies, in the Ports, Harbours, Creeks, and other Places within the Province aforesaid, payable for goods, Merchandises, and Wares there laded or to be laded or unladed; the said Customs to be reasonably Assessed upon any occasion by themselves, and by and with the Consent of the free people there, by the greater part of them, as aforesaid: to whom We give power, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, upon just Cause and in a due proportion, to Assess and Impose the same.

AND FURTHER, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, WE HAVE given, Granted, and Confirmed, and, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give, Grant, and Confirm, unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full and absolute licence, power, and authority that the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon;  George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven;
John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, from time to time hereafter, forever, at his and their will and pleasure, may Assign, Alien, Grant, Demise, or enfeoff the premises, or any part or parcels thereof, to him or them that shall be willing to purchase the same, and to such Person or Persons as they shall think fit;

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD to them the said Person or Persons, their heirs and Assigns, in Fee simple or Fee tail, or for term of life or lives or years; to be held of them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, by such Rents, Services, and Customs as shall seem meet to the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, and not immediately of us, our heirs and Successors.

AND to the same Person or Persons, and to all and every of them, WE DO give and Grant, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, Licence, authority, and power That such Person or Persons may have or take the premises, or any parcel thereof, of the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns; and the same to hold to themselves, their heirs or Assigns, in what estate of Inheritance soever, in Fee simple of Fee tail or otherwise, as to them and the said Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett ; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, shall seem expedient; The Statute made in the Parliament of Edward, Son of King Henry, heretofore King of England, our Predecessor, commonly called the Statute of Quia Emptores Terrarum, or any other Statute, Act, Ordinance, use, Law, Custom, or any other matter, Cause, or thing heretofore published or provided to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

AND because many Persons born or inhabiting in the said Province, for their deserts and Services, may expect, and be capable of, Marks of Honour and favour, which, in respect of the great distance, cannot conveniently be Conferred by us:

OUR WILL AND PLEASURE, therefore, is, and We do, by these presents, Give and Grant unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their Heirs and Assigns, full Power and Authority to give and Confer, unto and upon such of the Inhabitants of the said Province as they shall think do or shall merit the same, such marks of favour and Titles of honour as they shall think fit; so as those Titles or honours be not the same as are enjoyed by or Conferred upon any the Subjects of this our Kingdom of England.

AND FURTHER, also, We do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, give and grant Licence to them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full power, liberty, and licence to Erect, raise, and build, within the said Province and Places aforesaid, or any part or parts thereof, such and so many Forts, Fortresses, Castles , Cities, Boroughs, Towns, Villages, and other Fortifications whatsoever; And the same, or any of them, to Fortify and furnish with Ordnance, Powder, Shot, Armour, and all other Weapons, Ammunition, and habiliments of War, both offensive and defensive, as shall be thought fit and convenient, for the safety and welfare of the said Province and Places, or any part thereof; And the same, or any of them, from time to time, as occasion shall require, to dismantle, disfurnish, demolish, and pull down; and Also, to place, Constitute, and appoint, in or over all or any of the said Castles, Forts, Fortifications, Cities, Towns, and Places aforesaid, Governors, Deputy Governors, Magistrates, Sheriffs, and other Officers, Civil and Military, as to them shall seem meet;

AND to the said Cities, Boroughs, Town, Villages, or any other Place or Places within the said Province, to grant Letters or Charters of Incorporation, with all Liberties, Franchises, and Privileges requisite and usual, or to or within any Corporations within this our Kingdom of England granted or belonging; And in the same Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and other Places, to Constitute, Erect, and appoint such and so many Markets, Marts, and Fairs as shall in that behalf be thought fit and necessary;

AND further, also, to Erect and make in the Province aforesaid, or any part thereof, so many Manors as to them shall seem meet and convenient; and in every of the same Manors to have and to hold a Court Baron, with all things whatsoever which to a Court Baron do belong; And to have and to hold Views of Frankpledge and Courts Leet, for the Conservation of the Peace and better Government of those parts, within such Limits, Jurisdiction, and Precincts as by the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, or their heirs, shall be appointed for that purpose, with all things whatsoever which to a Court Leet or View of Frankpledge do belong; the same Courts to be held by Stewards, to be Deputed and authorized by the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, or their heirs, or by the Lords of other Manors and Leets for the time being, when the same shall be Erected.

AND because that, in so remote a Country and situate among so many barbarous Nations, the Invasions as well of Savages as other Enemies, Pirates, and Robbers may probably be feared:

THEREFORE, WE HAVE given, and, for us, our heirs and Successors, Do give, power, by these presents, unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, by themselves or their Captains or other their Officers, to Levy, Muster, and Train all sorts of men, of what Condition or wheresoever born, in the said Province for the time being; and to make War and pursue the Enemies aforesaid, as well by Sea as by land, yea, even without the limits of the said Province; and, by God's assistance, to vanquish and take them, and being taken, to put them to death, by the law of war, or to save them, at their pleasure; and to do all and every other thing which unto the Charge And Office of a Captain General of an Army belongs, or has accustomed to belong, as fully and freely as any Captain General of an Army has ever had the same.

ALSO, our Will and pleasure is, and, by this our Charter, WE DO give unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full power, liberty, and authority, in case of rebellion, tumult, or Sedition, if any should happen, which God forbid, either upon the land within the Province aforesaid or upon the main Sea in making a Voyage thither or returning from thence, by him and themselves, their Captains, Deputies, or Officers, to be authorized under his or their Seals for that purpose, to whom also, for us, our heirs and Successors, WE DO give and Grant, by these presents, full power and authority, to exercise Martial Law against mutinous and
seditious Persons of those parts, such as shall refuse to submit themselves to their Government, or shall refuse to serve in the Wars, or shall fly to the Enemy, or forsake their Colors or Ensigns, or be loiterers or Stragglers, or otherwise howsoever offending against Law, Custom, or Discipline Military; as freely and in as ample manner and form as any Captain General of an Army, by virtue of his Office, might, or has accustomed to, use the same.  AND Our further pleasure is, and, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, WE DO Grant unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett;  Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, and to the Tenants and Inhabitants of the said Province of Carolina, both present and to come, and to every of them, that the said Province, and the Tenants and Inhabitants thereof, shall not from henceforth be held or reputed a Member or part of any Colony whatsoever, in America or elsewhere, now transported or made, or hereafter to be transported or made; nor shall be depending on, or subject to, their Government in any thing, but be absolutely separated and divided from the same;

AND OUR pleasure is, by these presents, that they be separated, and that they be subject immediately to our Crown of England, as depending thereof, forever; And that the Inhabitants of the said Province, nor any or them, shall, at any time hereafter, be compelled or compellable, or be any ways subject or liable, to appear or Answer to any matter, Suit, Cause, or Plaint whatsoever, out of the Province aforesaid, in any other of our Islands, Colonies, or Dominions, in America or elsewhere, other than in our Realm of England and Dominion of Wales.

  AND because it may happen that some of the People and Inhabitants of the said Province cannot in their private opinions Conform to the Public Exercise of Religion according to the Liturgy, forms, and Ceremonies of the Church of England, or take or subscribe the Oaths and Articles made and established in that behalf; AND for that the same, by reason of the remote distances of those Places, Will, as We hope, be no breach of the unity and uniformity established in this Nation:

 OUR WILL and pleasure, therefore, is, AND WE DO, by these presents, for us, our heirs and Successors, Give and Grant unto the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley;  Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns, full and free Licence, liberty, and Authority, by such legal ways and means as they shall think fit, to give and grant unto such Person and Persons inhabiting and being within the said Province, or any part thereof, Who
really in their Judgments, and for Conscience sake, cannot or shall not Conform to the said Liturgy and Ceremonies, and take and Subscribe the Oaths and Articles aforesaid, or any of them, such Indulgencies and Dispensations in that Behalf, for and during such time and times, and with such limitations and restrictions, as they, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs or Assigns, shall, in their discretions, think fit and reasonable;

AND with this express Proviso and Limitation also, that such Person and Persons to whom such Indulgencies or Dispensations shall be granted, as aforesaid, do and shall, from time to time, Declare and continue all fidelity, Loyalty, and Obedience to us, our heirs and Successors; and be subject and obedient to all other the Laws, Ordinances, and Constitutions of the said Province, in all matters whatsoever, as well Ecclesiastical as Civil; And do not in any wise disturb the Peace and safety thereof, or scandalize or reproach the said Liturgy, forms, and
Ceremonies, or any thing relating thereunto, or any Person or Persons whatsoever for, or in respect of, his or their use or exercise thereof, or his or their obedience or Conformity thereunto.

AND in Case it shall happen that any doubts or questions should arise concerning the true Sense and understanding of any word, Clause, or Sentence contained in this our present Charter:

WE WILL, Ordain, and Command that, at all times and in all things, such interpretation be made thereof, and allowed in all and every of our Courts whatsoever, as lawfully may be Adjudged most advantageous and favourable to the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, their heirs and Assigns.

ALTHOUGH EXPRESS MENTION be not made in these presents of the true yearly value and certainty of the premises, or any part thereof, or of any other gifts and grants made by us, our Ancestors or Predecessors, to them, the said Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Carterett; Sir William Berkley; and Sir John Colleton, or any other Person or Persons whatsoever, Or any Statute, Act, Ordinance, Provision, Proclamation, or restraint heretofore had, made, published,
ordained, or Provided, or any other thing, Cause, or matter whatsoever to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

IN WITNESS whereof We have caused these our Letters to be made Patent.

WITNESS, our Self, at Westminster, the Four and Twentieth day of
March, in the Fifteenth year of our Reign.

By the King
HOWARD

Footnote #6
The Fundamental Constitutions, Granting North Carolina to the lord Proprietors

Version of July 21, 1669

OUR Sovereign Lord the King having, out of his royal grace and bounty, granted unto us the Province of Carolina, with all the royalties, Proprieties, Jurisdictions, and privileges of a County Palatine, as large and ample as the County Palatine of Durham, with other great privileges; for the better settlement of the Government of the said Place, and establishing the interest of the Lords Proprietors with Equality, and without confusion; and that the Government of this Province may be made most agreeable unto the Monarchy under which we live, and of which this province is a part; and that we may avoid erecting a numerous Democracy: We, the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the Province aforesaid, have agreed to this following form of Government, to be perpetually established amongst us, unto which we do oblige ourselves, our heirs and successors, in the most
binding ways that can be devised.

2. Out of the eight Proprietors there shall be chosen, by themselves, a Palatine, who shall continue during life, whose son shall not be capable of immediately succeeding him after his death; but the eldest in Age of the other Proprietors shall succeed, to prevent the making the office in this little government Hereditary and to avoid the mischief of factions in Elections.

3. There shall be Seven other chief offices erected, viz., the chief Justice's, Chancellor's, Constable's, High Steward's, Treasurer's, Chamberlain's, Admiral's; which places shall be enjoyed by none but the Lords Proprietors, to be assigned at first by lot; and upon the vacancy of any one of the seven great Offices by death, or otherwise, the Eldest proprietor [shall] have his choice of the said place.

4. Each Province shall be divided into Counties; each County shall consist of eight Seigniories, eight Baronies, and four precincts; each Precinct shall consist of Six Colonies.

5. Each Colony, Seigniory, and Barony shall consist of twelve thousand Acres, the eight Seigniories being the share of the eight Proprietors, and the eight Baronies of the Nobility; both which shares, being each of them a fifth part of the whole, are to be perpetually annexed, the one to the Proprietors, the other to the Hereditary Nobility, Leaving the Colonies, being three fifths, amongst the people; that so, in the Setting out and planting the lands, the Balance of Government may be preserved.

6. At any time before the year 1701, any of the [Lords] Proprietors shall have power to relinquish, Alienate, and dispose, to any other person, his Proprietorship, and all the Seigniories, powers, and Interest thereunto belonging, wholly and entirely together, and not otherwise. But after the year 1700, those who are then [Lords] Proprietors shall not have power to Alienate or make over their proprietorship, with Seigniories and privileges thereunto belonging, or any part thereof, to any person whatsoever , otherwise than as in Article 18, but it shall descend unto their heirs male; and for want of heirs male, it shall descend on that Landgrave or Cacique of Carolina who is descended of the next heir female of the said Proprietor; and for want of Such heirs, it shall descend on the next heir general; and for want of Such heirs, the remaining Seven proprietors shall, upon the Vacancy, choose a Landgrave to succeed the deceased proprietor, who being chosen by the majority of the Seven Surviving proprietors, he and his heirs Successively shall be proprietors as fully, to all intents and purposes, as any of the rest.

 7. And that the number of eight Proprietors may be constantly kept, if, upon the vacancy of any Proprietorship, the Surviving Seven Proprietors shall not choose a Landgrave or [Cacique] as a proprietor before the Second session of Parliament after the vacancy, then the Parliament, at the next Session but one after Such vacancy, shall have power to choose and Landgrave [or Cacique] to be Proprietor; but whosoever after the year 1700, either by inheritance or choice, shall Succeed any Proprietor in his proprietorship, and Seigniories thereunto belonging, shall be obliged to take the name and Arms of that proprietor whom he Succeeds, which from thenceforth shall be the name and Arms of his Family and their posterity.

 8. Whatsoever Landgrave [or Cacique] shall be chosen into a proprietorship shall take the Seigniories annexed to the said proprietorship, but shall relinquish all the Baronies belonging to his Landgraveship [or Caciqueship] to be disposed of by the proprietors as in the following Articles.

 9. To every County there shall be three as the hereditary Nobility of this Palatinate, who shall be called the one a Landgrave and the other two Caciques, and shall have place the in the Parliament there; the Landgrave shall have four Baronies, and the two Caciques, each of them, two apiece, hereditary, and unalterably annexed to and settled upon the said Dignity.

 10. The first Landgrave and Caciques of every County shall be nominated, not by the Joint election of the Proprietors all together, but the eight Proprietors shall, each of them separately, nominate and choose one Landgrave and two Caciques for the eight first Counties to be planted; and when the said eight Counties shall be planted, the proprietors shall, n the same manner, nominate and Choose eight more Landgraves and sixteen aciques for the eight next Counties to be planted; and so proceed, in the same manner, till the whole province of Carolina be set out and planted according to the [proportions] in these
fundamental Constitutions.

 11. Any Landgrave or Cacique, at any time before the year 1701, shall have power to alienate, sell, or make over, to any other person, his dignity, with the Baronies thereunto belonging, all entirely together; but after the year 1700, no Landgrave or Cacique shall have power to alienate, Sell, make over, or let the hereditary Baronies of his dignity, r any part thereof, otherwise than as in Article 18; but they shall all entirely, with the dignity thereunto belonging, descend unto his heirs male; and for want of Such heirs Male, all entirely and undivided, to the next heir general; and for want of Such heirs, shall devolve into the hands of the Proprietors.

 12. That the due number of Landgraves and Caciques may be always kept up, if, upon the devolution of any Landgraveship or Caciqueship, the Proprietors shall not settle the devolved dignity, with the Baronies thereunto annexed, before the second Session of Parliament after Such devolution, the Parliament, at the next [Biennial] Session but one after Such devolution, shall have power to make any one Landgrave or Cacique in the Room of him, who dying without heirs, his dignity and Baronies devolved.

 13. No one person shall have more than one dignity, with the Seigniories or Baronies thereunto belonging; but whensoever it shall happen that any one who is already Proprietor, Landgrave, or Cacique shall have any of those dignities descend to him by inheritance, it shall be at his choice to keep one of the two dignities, with the Lands annexed, he shall like best, but shall leave the other, with the lands annexed, to be enjoyed by him who, not being his heir apparent, and certain successor to his present dignity, is next afterward.

 14. Whosoever, by right of Inheritance, shall come to be Landgrave or Cacique shall take the name and Arms of his predecessor in that dignity, to be from thenceforth the Name and Arms of his Family and their posterity.

 15. Since the dignity of Proprietor, of 8 Landgrave, or Cacique cannot be divided, and the Seigniories or Baronies thereunto annexed must for ever, all entirely, descend with and accompany that dignity, when ever, for want of heirs Male, it shall descend upon the Issue Female, the Eldest Daughter and her heirs shall be preferred; and in the Inheritance of those dignities, and in the Seigniories or Baronies annexed, there shall be no Coheirs.

 16. After the year 1700, whatsoever Landgrave or Cacique shall, without leave from the Palatine's Court, be out of Carolina during two successive biennial Parliaments shall, at the end of the second biennial Parliament after such his absence, be summoned by Proclamation: and if he come not into Carolina before the next biennial Parliament after Such Summons, then it shall be lawful for the grand Council, at a price set by the said Council and approved by the Parliament, to sell the Baronies, with the Dignities thereunto belonging, of the said absent Landgrave or Cacique, all together, to any one to whom the said Council shall think fit; but the price so paid for said Dignity or Baronies shall be deposited in the Treasury, for the sole use and behoof of the former owner, or his [heirs or] assigns.

 17. In every Seigniory, Barony, and Manor, the Lord shall have power in his own name, to hold Court there, for trying of all causes, both Civil and Criminal; but where it shall concern any other person being no Inhabitant, Vassal, or Leet man of the said Barony or Seigniory [or manor], he, upon paying down of forty shillings unto the Proprietors' use, shall have an appeal from thence unto the County Court; and if the Lord be cast, the said Lord shall pay unto the appellant the said forty shillings, with other charges.

 18. The Lords of Seigniories and Baronies shall have power only of granting Estates, not exceeding three lives or one and thirty years, in two thirds of the said Seigniories or Baronies; and the remaining third shall be always Demesne.

 19. Every Manor shall consist of not less than three thousand Acres and not above twelve thousand Acres in one entire piece; but any three thousand acres or more in one piece and the possession of one Man shall not be a manor unless it be constituted a manor by the grant of the Lords Proprietors.

 20. Every Lord of a manor, within his manor, shall have all the powers, Jurisdictions, and Privileges which a Landgrave or Cacique has in his Baronies.

 21. Any Lord of a manor may Alienate, sell, or dispose, to any other person, and his heirs, for ever, [his manor], all entirely together, with all the privileges and Leet men thereunto belonging, so far forth as any other Colony Lands; but no grant of any part thereof, either in fee or for any longer term than three lives or twenty one years, shall be good against the next heir; neither shall a manor, for want of Issue Male, be divided amongst Coheirs; but the manor, if there be but one, shall all entirely descend to the Eldest Daughter and [her] heirs; if there be more manors than one in the possession of Palatine the deceased, the Eldest Sister shall have her choice, the Second next, and so on, beginning [again] at the Eldest, till all the manors be taken up, that So, the privileges which belong to manors being indivisible, the lands of the manor to which they are annexed may be Kept entire, and the manor not lose those privileges, which upon parcelling out to Several owners must necessarily cease.

 22. In every Seigniory, Barony, and manor, all the tenants or Leet men shall be under the Jurisdiction of the Lord of the said Seigniory, Barony, or Manor, without appeal from him unless as in the Article 26; nor shall any Leet man or Leet woman have liberty to go off from the Land of his particular Lord and live any where else without Licences obtained from his Said Lord, under hand and Seal.

 23. All the Children of Leet men shall be Leet men, and so to all generations.

 24. NO man shall be capable of having a Court Leet or Leet men but a Proprietor Landgrave, or Cacique, or Lord of a Manor.

 25. Whoever is Lord of Leet men shall, upon the marriage of a Leet man or Leet woman of his, give them ten Acres of Land for their lives, they paying to him therefor one eighth of all the yearly increase and growth of the said acres.

 26. In case the Lord of any Seigniory, Barony, or manor shall have made a Contract or agreement with his Tenants, which agreement, by consent, is Registered in the next [precinct] Registry, then, in Such case, the said Tenant may appeal unto, or bring his Complaint originally in, the County Court for the performance of such agreements, and not otherwise.

 27. There shall be eight Courts or Councils for the dispatch of all affairs, the first, Called the Palatine's Court, to consist of the Palatine and the other Seven Proprietors.  The other seven courts of the other seven great Officers shall consist, each of them, of a Proprietor and Six Councillors added to him; under each of these latter seven [Courts] shall be a College of twelve assistants. The twelve assistants [out] of the Several Colleges shall be Chosen: two out of the Landgraves, by the Landgraves' Chamber during the Session of Parliament; two out of the Caciques, by the Caciques' Chamber during the Session of Parliament; two out of the Landgraves, Caciques, or Eldest sons of the Proprietors, by the Palatine's Court; four more of the twelve shall be chosen by the Commons' Chamber, during the Session of Parliament, out of such as have been or are members of Parliament, Sheriffs, or Justices of the County Court; the other two shall be Chosen by the Palatine's Court out of the aforesaid members of Parliament, or Sheriffs, or Justices of the County Court, or the Eldest sons of Landgraves or Caciques, or younger Sons of Proprietors.

28. Out of these Colleges shall be Chosen Six Councillors to be joined with each Proprietor in his Court; of which six, one shall be of those who were Chosen into any of the Colleges by the Palatine's Court out of the Landgraves, Caciques, or Eldest Sons of Proprietors; one out of those who were Chosen into any of the Colleges by the Landgraves' Chamber; and one [out of] those who were Chosen into any one of the Colleges by the Caciques' Chamber; two out of those who were Chosen into any one of the Colleges by the Commons' Chamber; and one out of those who were Chosen by the Palatine's Court into any of the Colleges out of the Proprietors' younger Sons, or Eldest Sons of Landgraves or Caciques, or Commons Qualified as aforesaid.

29. When it shall happen that any Councillor dies, and thereby there is a vacancy, the grand council shall have power to remove any Councillor that is willing to be removed out of any other of the Proprietors' Courts to fill up this vacancy, provided they take a man of the Same degree and choice the other was [of] whose vacant place [is] to be filled; but if no Councillor consent to be removed, or upon Such remove, the last remaining vacant place in any of the Proprietors' Courts shall be filled up by the choice of the grand Council, who shall have power to remove out of any of the Colleges any Assistant who is of the same degree and choice that Councillor was [of] into whose vacant place he is to succeed; the grand Council, also, shall have power to remove any Assistant that is willing out of one College into another, provided he be of the same degree and choice; but the last remaining vacant place in any College shall be filled up by the same choice and out of the same degree of persons the Assistant was of who is dead or removed. No Place shall be vacant in any Proprietors' Court above six Months; no place shall be vacant in any College longer than the next session of Parliament.

30. No man being a member of the grand Council or of any of the seven Colleges shall be turned out but For misdemeanor, of which the grand Council shall be Judge; and the vacancy of the person so put out shall be filled, not by the Election of the grand Council, but by those who first chose him, and out of the same degree he was [of] who is expelled.

31. All Elections in the Parliament, in the Several Chambers of the Parliament, and in the grand Council shall be passed by balloting.

 32. The Palatine's Court shall consist of the Palatine and Seven Proprietors, wherein nothing shall be acted without the presence and consent of the Palatine, or his Deputy, and three others of the Proprietors, or their Deputies. [This Court] shall have power to call Parliaments, to pardon all Offences, to make Elections of all Officers in the Proprietors' dispose; and also, they shall have power, by their Order to the Treasurer, to dispose of all public Treasure, excepting money granted by the Parliament and by them directed to Some [particular] public use; and also, they shall have a Negative upon all Acts, Orders, Votes, and Judgments of the grand Council and the Parliament; and shall have all the powers granted to the Proprietors by their patent, except in such things as are limited by these fundamental constitutions and form of government.

 33. The Palatine him self, when he in person shall be either in the Army or in any of the Proprietors' Courts, shall then have the power of General or of that Proprietor in whose Court he is then present; and the Proprietor in whose Court the Palatine then presides shall, during his presence there, be but as one of the Council.

 34. The Chancellor's Court, consisting of one of the Proprietors and his six Councillors, who shall be called vice-chancellors, shall have the Custody of the Seal of the Palatinate, under which all charters, of Lands or otherwise, Commissions, and grants of the Palatine's Court shall pass, etc. To this Court, also, belongs all state matters, dispatches, and treaties, with the Neighbour Indians or any other, so far forth as us permitted by our Charter from our Sovereign Lord the King. To this office, also, belongs all Innovations of the Law of Liberty of conscience, and all disturbances of the public peace upon
pretence of Religion, as also, the Licence of printing. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Recorders.

 35. The Chancellor, or his Deputy, shall be always Speaker in Parliament and President of the grand council, and in his and his Deputy's absence, one of his Vice-Chancellors.
     The Chief Justice's Court, consisting of one of the proprietors and his six Councillors, who shall be called Justices of the Bench, shall Judge all appeals, both in cases Civil and Criminal, except all Such cases as shall be under the Jurisdiction and Cognizance of any other of the Proprietors' Courts, which shall be tried in those Courts respectively.  The Government and regulations of the Registries of writings and contracts shall belong to the Jurisdiction of this Court. The twelve assistants of this Court shall be called Masters.

 36. The High Constable's Court, consisting of one of the Proprietors and his six Councillors, who shall be called Marshals, shall order and determine of all Military affairs concern by land, and all land forces, Arms, Ammunition, Artillery, Garrisons, and Forts, etc., and whatever belongs unto war. His twelve assistants shall be called Lieutenant Generals. In Court s time of actual war, The High Constable, whilst he is in the Army, shall be General of the 42 Army, and the six Councillors, or such of them as the Palatine's Court shall for that time Courts [and service] appoint, shall be the immediate great Officers under him, and the Lieutenant appeal. Generals next to them.

 37. The Admiral's Court, consisting of one of the Proprietors and his Six Councillors, called Consuls, shall have the care and inspection over all ports, Moles, and Navigable Rivers so far as the Tide flows; and also, all the public Shipping of Carolina, and stores thereunto belonging, and all maritime affairs. This Court, also, shall have the power of the Court of Admiralty; and also, to hear and try by Law-Merchant all cases in Matters of shall Trade between the Merchants of Carolina amongst them selves, arising without the limits of Carolina; as also, all controversies in Merchandising that shall happen between be Denizens of Carolina and foreigners. The twelve Assistants belonging to this court shall be where l called proconsuls.

 38. The Treasurer's Court, consisting of one proprietor and his Six Councillors, called under-Treasurers, shall take care of all matters that concerns the public revenue and Treasury. The twelve assistants shall be called Auditors.

 39. The High Steward's court, consisting of a proprietor and his six Councillors, who shall be called Comptrollers, shall have the care of all foreign and domestic Trade, factures, public buildings and work-houses, high ways, passages by water above the flood the of the Tide, drains, sewers and Banks against inundations, Bridges, Posts, Carriers, Fairs, Markets, and all things in order to Travel and commerce, and anything that may corrupt, deprave, or Infect the common Air or water, and all other things wherein the Public [trade], commerce, or health is
concerned; and also, the setting out and surveying of lands; and also, the setting out and appointing [places] for towns to be built on in the Precincts, and the prescribing and determining the Figure and bigness of the said Towns according to such Models as the said court shall order, contrary or differing from which Models it shall not be lawful for any one to build in any Town.

 40. This Court shall have power, also, to make any public building or any new highway, or enlarge any old high way, upon any Man's Land whatsoever; as also, to make cuts, Channels, Banks, locks, and Bridges, for making Rivers Navigable, for draining of Fens, or any other public uses; the damage the owner of such land, on or through where any such public thing shall be made, shall receive thereby shall be valued by a Jury of twelve men of the Precinct in which any such thing is done, and
satisfaction shall be made accordingly by a Tax, either on the County or that particular precinct, as the grand Council shall think fit to order in that particular case. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Surveyors.

 41. The Chamberlain's Court, consisting of a proprietor and his six Councillors, called Vice-Chamberlains, shall have the power to convocate the grand Council; shall have the care of all Ceremonies, Precedency, Heraldry, reception of public Messengers, and pedigrees; the registries of all Births, Burials, and Marriages; legitimation and all cases concerning Matrimony or arising from it; and shall, also, have power to Regulate all Fashions, Habits, Badges, Games, and Sports. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Provosts.

42. All causes belonging to, or under the Jurisdiction of, any of the Proprietors' Courts shall in them respectively be tried and ultimately determined, without any further appeal.

43. The proprietors' Courts shall have a power to mitigate all fines and suspend all executions, either before or after sentence, in any of the other respective Inferior Courts.

44. In all debates, hearings, or Trials in any of the Proprietors' Courts, the twelve assistants belonging to the Said Court respectively shall have Liberty to be present, but shall not interpose unless their opinions be required, nor have any Vote at all; but their [business shall] be, by direction of the respective courts, to prepare Such business as shall be committed to them; as also, to bear Such Offices and dispatch Such affairs, either where the Court is kept or else where, as the Court shall think fit.

45. In all the Proprietors' Courts [any] three shall make a Quorum.

46. The grand Council shall consist of the Palatine, and Seven Proprietors, and the forty two Councillors of the Several Proprietors' Courts; who shall have power to determine any Controversies that may arise between any of the Proprietors' Courts about their respective Jurisdictions; to make peace and war, Leagues, Treaties, etc., with any of the Neighbour Indians; To issue out their General Orders to the Constable's and Admiral's Court for the Raising, disposing, or disbanding the Forces, by land or by Sea; to prepare all matters to be proposed in Parliament; nor shall any Tax or law or other matters whatsoever be proposed, debated, or Voted in Parliament but what has first passed the grand Council and, in form of a bill to be passed, is by them presented to the Parliament; nor shall any bill So prepared [and presented by the grand Council to the Parliament to be enacted, whether it be an antiquated Law or otherwise, be voted or passed into an Act of Parliament], or be at all Obligatory, unless it be three Several days read openly in the Parliament, and then, afterwards, by Majority of Votes, Enacted, during the same session wherein it was thrice read, and also confirmed by the Palatine and three of the Proprietors as is above said.

 47. The grand Council shall always be Judges of all Causes and appeals that concerns the Palatine, or any of the proprietors, or any councillor of any Proprietors' Court in any Case which otherwise should have been Tried in that Court in which the said Councillor is Judge him self.

 48. The Grand Council, by their warrants to the Treasurer's Court, shall dispose of all the money given by the Parliament and by them directed to any particular public use.

 49. The Quorum of the grand Council shall be thirteen, whereof a Proprietor, or his Deputy, shall be always one.

 50. The Palatine, or any of the Proprietors shall have power, under hand and seal, to be Registered in the grand Council, to make a Deputy; who shall have the same power, to all intents and purposes, that he himself who deputes him, except in confirming Acts of Parliament, as in Article [70]; all Such deputation shall cease and determine of them selves at the end of four years, and at any time shall be revocable at the pleasure of the Deputator.

 51. No Deputy of any Proprietor shall have any power whilst the deputator is in any part of Carolina, except the Proprietor whose deputy he is be a Minor.

 52. During the minority of any Proprietor, his Guardian shall have power to constitute and appoint his deputy.

 53. The Eldest of the Proprietors who shall be personally in Carolina shall of Course be the Palatine's Deputy; and if no Proprietor be in Carolina, he shall choose his deputy out of the heirs apparent of any of the Proprietors, if any such be there; and if there be no heir apparent of any of the Proprietors, above twenty one years old, in Carolina, then he shall choose for Deputy any one of the Landgraves of the grand Council; and till he have, by deputation, under hand and Seal, Chosen any one of the forementioned heirs apparent or Landgrave to be his deputy, the Eldest Man of the Landgraves, and for want of Landgraves, the Eldest Man of the Caciques, who shall be personally in Carolina shall of course be his deputy.

 54. The Proprietors' deputy shall be always one of their own Six Councillors respectively.

 55. In every County there shall be a Court, consisting of a Sheriff and four Justices of the County, being Inhabitants and having, each of them, at least five hundred Acres of Freehold within the said County, to be chosen and Commissionated from time to time the Palatine's court; who shall try and Judge all appeals from any of the precinct Courts.

 56. For any personal causes Exceeding the value of two hundred pounds, or in Title of Lands, or in any Criminal Cause, either party, upon paying twenty pounds to the Proprietors' use, shall have Liberty of Appeal from the County Court unto the respective Proprietors' Court.

57. In every Precinct there shall be a Court, consisting of a Steward and four Justices of the Precinct, being Inhabitants and having three hundred Acres of Freehold within the said Precinct; who shall Judge all Criminal causes, except for Treason, Murder, and any other offences punished with death; and all civil causes whatsoever, and in all personal actions not exceeding fifty pounds without appeal; but where the Cause shall exceed that Value, or concern a Title of land, and in all Criminal causes, there, either party, upon paying five pounds to the Proprietors' use, shall have Liberty of appeal unto the County Court.

58. No cause shall be twice tried in any one Court, upon any reason or pretence whatsoever.

59. For Treason, Murder, and all other offences punishable with death, there shall be a Commission, twice a year at least, granted unto one or more members of the [Grand] Council or Colleges, who shall come as Itinerant Judges to the Several Counties, and , with the Sheriff and four Justices, shall hold assizes, and Judge all Such causes. But upon paying of fifty pounds to the proprietors' use, there shall be Liberty of appeal to the respective Proprietors' Court.

60. The grand Juries at the Several assizes shall have, upon their Oaths, and, under their hands and Seals, deliver in to the Itinerant Judges a presentment of Such grievances, Misdemeanors, exigencies, or defects which they shall think necessary for the Public good of the Country; which presentment shall, by the Itinerant Judges, at the End of their circuit, be delivered in to the grand Council at their next Sitting; and whatsoever therein concerns the Execution of Laws already made, the Several Proprietors' Courts, in the matters belonging to each of them respectively, shall take Cognizance of [it], and [give] such
order about it as shall be Effectual for the due Execution of the laws; but whatever concerns the making of any new laws shall be referred to the Several respective Courts to which that matter belongs, and by them prepared and brought to the grand Council.

 61. For Terms, there shall be quarterly Such a certain number of days, not exceeding twenty one at any one time, as the Several respective Courts shall appoint; the time for the beginning of the Term in the precinct Court shall be the first Monday in January, April, July, and October; and in the County Court, the first Monday of February, May, August, November; and in the Proprietors' [Courts], the first Monday of March, June, September, and December.

 62. For Juries in the Precinct Court, no Man shall be a Jury Man under fifty Acres of Freehold. In the County Court, or at the assizes, no man shall be a Jury Man under two hundred acres of Freehold. No man shall be a Grand Jury Man under three hundred acres of freehold; and in the Proprietors' Courts, no Man shall be a Jury Man under five hundred acres of Freehold.

 63. Every Jury shall consist of twelve Men; and [it] shall [not] be necessary they should all agree, but the Verdict shall be according to the consent of the Majority.

 64. It shall be a base and vile thing to Plead for money or Reward; nor shall any one, except he be a Near Kinsman, not farther off than Cousin German to the party concerned, be admitted to plead another man's cause till, before the Judge in open Court, he has taken an Oath that he does [not] pleas for money or reward, nor has nor will receive, nor directly nor indirectly bargained with the party, whose cause he is going to Plead, for any money or other reward for Pleading his Cause.

 65. There shall be a Parliament, consisting of the Proprietors, or their deputies, the Landgraves and Caciques, and one Freeholder out of every Precinct, to be Chosen by the Freeholders of the said Precinct respectively. They shall sit all together in one Room, and have every member one Vote.

 66. No man shall be Chosen a member of Parliament who has less than five hundred Acres of Freehold within the Precinct for which he is Chosen; nor shall any have a vote in choosing the said member that has less than fifty acres of Freehold within the said precinct.

 67. A new Parliament shall be assembled the first Monday of the Month of November every second year, and shall meet and Sit in the Town they last Sat in, without any Summons, unless by the Palatine, or his Deputy, together with any three of the Proprietors, or their Deputies, they be Summoned to meet at any other place; and if there shall be any occasion of a Parliament in these Intervals, it shall be in the power of the Palatine, with any three of the Proprietors, to assemble them on forty days' notice, at such time and place as they shall think fit; and
the Palatine, or his Deputy, with the ad vice and consent of any three of the Proprietors, or their Deputies, shall have power to dissolve the Said Parliament when they shall think fit.

 68. At the opening of every Parliament, the first thing that shall be done shall be the reading of these fundamental constitutions, which the Palatine, and Proprietors, and the rest of the members then present shall Subscribe. Nor shall any Person whatsoever Sit or Vote in the Parliament till he has, that Sessions, Subscribed these fundamental constitutions in a book kept for that purpose by the Clerk of the Parliament.

 69. And in order to the due Election of members for this Biennial Parliament, it shall be lawful for the Freeholders of the respective precincts to meet the first Tuesday in September every two years, in the Same Town or place that they last met in, to choose Parliament men, and there choose those members that are to Sit the next November following, unless the Steward of the Precinct shall, by Sufficient notice Thirty days before, appoint some other place for their meeting in order to the Election.

 70. No act or Order of Parliament shall be of any force unless it be Ratified in open Parliament, during the same Session, by the Palatine, or his Deputy, and three more of the Proprietors, or their deputies; and then not to continue longer in force but until the End of the next Biennial Parliament, unless in the mean time it be Ratified under the hand and seal of the Palatine him self and three more of the Proprietors them selves, and, by their Order, published at the next Biennial Parliament.

 71. Any Proprietor, or his Deputy, may enter his Protestation against any act of the Parliament, before the Palatine or his deputy's consent be given as aforesaid, if he shall conceive the said act to be contrary to this Establishment or any of these Fundamental Constitutions of the Government; and in Such case, after a full and free debate, the several Estates shall retire into four several Chambers, the Palatine and Proprietors into one, the Landgraves into another, and the Caciques into another, and those Chosen by the Precincts into a fourth; and if the major part of any four of these Estates 2'shall Vote that the law is not agreeable to this Establishment and fundamental constitution of the Government, then it shall pass no further, but be as if it had never been proposed.

 72. To avoid multiplicity of laws, which by degrees always change the Right foundations of the Original Government, all acts of Parliament whatsoever, in what form soever passed or enacted, shall, at the end of Sixty years after their enacting, respectively Cease and determine of them selves, and, without any repeal, become Null and void, as if no such acts or laws had ever been made.

73. Since multiplicity of Comments, as well as of laws, have great inconveniences, and Serve only to obscure and perplex, all manner of comments and expositions on any part of these fundamental constitutions, or on any part of the Common or Statute law of Carolina, are absolutely prohibited.

74. There shall be a Registry in every precinct, wherein shall be enrolled all deeds, Leases, Judgments, or other conveyances which may concern any of the land within the Said Precinct; and all Such conveyances not so entered or Registered shall not be of force against any person not privy to the Said contract or conveyance.

75. No man shall be Register of any Precinct who has not at least three hundred acres of Freehold within the Said Precinct.

76. The freeholders of every Precinct shall nominate three men, out of which three the Chief Justice court shall choose and Commission one to be Register of the Said precinct, whilst he shall well behave him self.

77. There shall be a Registry in every Colony, wherein shall be Recorded all the Births, Marriages, and deaths that shall happen within the said Colony.

78. No man shall be Register of a Colony that has not above fifty acres of Freehold within the said Colony.

79. The time of every one's Age shall be Recorded from the day that his Birth is entered in the Registry, and not before.

 80. No Marriage shall be lawful, whatever Contract or Ceremonies they have used till both the parties mutually own it before the Colony Register, and he enter it, with the names of the Father and mother of such party.

 81. No man shall administer to the goods, or have right to them, or enter upon the Estate, of any person deceased till his death be Registered in the Colony Registry.

82. He that does not enter in the Colony Registry the death or Birth of any person that dies in his house or ground shall pay to the said Register one shilling per week for each Such neglect, Reckoning from the time of each death or birth respectively to the time of Registering it.

83. In like manner, the births, Marriages, and deaths of the Lords Proprietors, Landgraves, and Caciques shall be Registered in the Chamberlain's Court.

84. There shall be in every Colony one Constable, to be Chosen annually by the Freeholders of the Colony, his Estate to be above one hundred acres of Freehold within the Said Colony; and Such Subordinate officers appointed for his assistance as the precinct court shall find requisite, and shall be Established by the Precinct court; the Election of the Subordinate annual officers shall be also in the Freeholders of the Colony.

85. All Towns incorporate shall be Governed by a Mayor, twelve Aldermen, and twenty four of the Common Council; the Said Common Council to be chosen by the present householders of the Said Town; and the Aldermen to be Chosen out of the Common Council, and the Mayor out of the Aldermen, by the Palatine and the
 Proprietors.

 86. No man shall be permitted to be a Freeman of Carolina, or to have any Estate or habitation within it, that does not acknowledge a God, and that God is publicly and Solemnly to be worshipped.

 87. But since the Natives of that place, who will be concerned in our Plantations, are utterly Strangers to Christianity, whose Idolatry, Ignorance, or mistake gives us no right to expel or use them ill; and those who remove from other parts to Plant there will unavoidably be of different opinions concerning matters of Religion, the liberty whereof they will expect to have allowed them, and it will not be reasonable for us, on this account, to keep them out- that Civil peace may be maintained amidst the diversity of opinions, and our agreement and compact with all men may be duly and faithfully observed, the violation whereof, upon what pretence soever, cannot be without great offence to Almighty God, and great Scandal to the true Religion that we profess; and also, that heathens, Jews, and other dissenters from the purity of Christian Religion may not be Scared and kept at a distance from it, but, by having an opportunity of acquainting them selves with the truth and reasonableness of its Doctrines, and the peaceableness and inoffensiveness of its professors, may, by good usage and persuasion, and all those convincing Methods of Gentleness and meekness Suitable to the Rules and design of the Gospel, be won over to embrace and unfeignedly receive the truth: Therefore, any Seven or more persons agreeing in any Religion shall constitute a church or profession, to which they shall give Some name to distinguish it from others.

88. The terms of admittance and communion with any church or profession shall be written in a book and therein be Subscribed by all the members of the said church or profession.

 89. The time of every one's Subscription and admittance shall be dated in the said book, or record.

 90. In the terms of Communion of every church or profession, these following shall be three, without which no agreement or assembly of men upon pretence of Religion shall be accounted a Church or Profession within these Rules:

1. That there is a God.
2. That God is publicly to be worshipped.
3. That it is lawful, and the duty of every man, being thereunto called by those that Govern, to bear witness to truth; and that every church or profession shall, in their Terms of Communion, Set down the External way whereby they witness a truth as in the presence of God, whether it be by laying hands on and Kissing the Gospel, as in the Protestant and Papist Churches, or by holding up the hand, or any other Sensible way.

 91. No person above seventeen years of Age shall have any benefit or protection of the law, or be capable of any place of profit or honor, who is not a member of Some church or profession, having his name recorded in Some one, and but one Religion Record at once.

 92. The Religious Record of every church or profession shall be kept by the public Register of the Precinct where they reside.

 93. No man of any other Church or profession shall disturb or molest any Religious Assembly.

 94. No person whatsoever shall speak any thing in their Religious assembly Irreverently or Seditiously of the Government or Governors or States matters.

95. Any person Subscribing the terms of Communion of any church or profession in the Record of the said church before the Precinct Register and any one member of the church or profession shall be thereby made a member of the Said church or profession.

96. Any person striking out his own name out of any Record, or his name being struck out by any officer thereunto Authorized by any church or profession, shall cease to be a member of that Church or profession.

97. No person shall use any reproachful, Reviling, or abusive language against the Religion of any Church or Profession, that being the certain way of disturbing the public peace, and of hindering the conversion of any to the truth, by engaging them in Quarrels and animosities, to the hatred of the professors and that profession, which otherwise they might be brought to assent to.

98. Since Charity obliges us to wish well to the Souls of all men, and Religion ought to alter nothing in any man's civil Estate or Right, It shall be lawful for Slaves, as all others, to enter them selves and be of what church any of them shall think best, and thereof be as fully members as any freemen. But yet, no Slave shall hereby be exempted from that civil dominion his Master has over him, but be in all other things in the same State and condition he was in before.

99. Assemblies, upon what pretence soever of Religion, not observing and performing the above said Rules shall not be Esteemed as churches, but unlawful meetings, and be punished as other Riots.

100. No person whatsoever shall disturb, molest, or persecute another for his speculative opinions in Religion or his way of worship.

101. Every Freeman of Carolina shall have absolute Authority over his Negro Slaves, of what opinion or Religion soever.

102. No person whatsoever shall hold or claim any land in Carolina, by Purchase or gift or otherwise, from the Natives or any other person whatsoever, but merely from and under the [Lords] Proprietors, upon pain of forfeiture of all his Estate, moveable or unmoveable, and perpetual Banishment.

103. Whoever shall possess any Freehold in Carolina, upon what Title or grant soever, shall, at the farthest, from and after the year 1689, pay yearly unto the Proprietors for each acre of Land, English measure, as much fine Silver as is at this present in one English penny, or the Value thereof, to be as a Chief Rent and acknowledgment of the Proprietors, their heirs and Successors, for ever; and it shall be lawful for the proprietors, by their Officers, at any time, to take a new Survey of any man's land, not to out him of any part of his possession, but that by Such a Survey, the Just number of acres he possesses may be known, and the Rent thereupon due may be paid by him.

104. All wrecks, mines, minerals, Quarries of Gems and precious stones, with whale fishing, [Pearl fishing], and one half of all ambergris, by whom soever found, shall wholly belong to the Proprietors.

105. All Revenues and profits arising out of any thing but their distinct particular Lands and possessions shall be divided into ten parts, whereof the Palatine shall have three, and each Proprietor one; but if the Palatine shall Govern by a Deputy, his Deputy shall have one of those three tenths, and the Palatine the other two tenths.

106. All Inhabitants and freemen of Carolina above seventeen years of Age and under Sixty shall be bound to bear Arms and serve as Soldiers whenever the grand Council shall find it necessary.

[No 107 in manuscript]

108. A true Copy of these Fundamental Constitutions shall be kept in a great book by the Register of every precinct, to be Subscribed before the said Register. Nor shall any person, of what condition or degree soever, above seventeen years Old, have any Estate or possession in Carboline, or protection or benefit of the law there, who has not Subscribed these fundamental constitutions in this form:
     I, A. B., do promise to bear faith and true allegiance to our sovereign Lord King Charles the Second; and will be true and faithful to the [ Palatine and ] Lords Proprietors of Carolina; and, with my utmost power, will defend them and maintain the Government, according to this Establishment in these fundamental constitutions.

 109. And whatsoever Alien shall, in this form, before any Precinct Register, Subscribe these fundamental Constitutions shall be thereby Naturalized.

 110. In The Same manner shall every person at his admittance into any Office Subscribe these fundamental constitutions.

 111. These fundamental constitutions, [in number 111], and every part thereof, shall be, and remain as, the Sacred unalterable form and Rule of Government [of Carolina] for ever. Witness our hands and Seals, this twenty first day July, in the year of our Lord 1669.
 

Footnote #6
THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONS
 Revisions in the Version of July 21, 1669

Article 2 was struck out and the following was substituted: The eldest of the Lords Proprietors shall be Palatine; and upon the decease of the Palatine, the Eldest of the Seven Surviving Proprietors shall always succeed him.

Article 6 was revised to read as follows: At any time before the year 1701, any of the Lords Proprietors shall have power to relinquish, Alienate, and dispose, to any other person, his Proprietorship, and all the Seigniories, powers, and Interest thereunto belonging, wholly and entirely together, and not otherwise. But after the year 1700, those who are then Lords Proprietors shall not have power to Alienate, make over, or let their proprietorship, with the Seigniories and privileges thereunto belonging, or any part thereof, to any person whatsoever, otherwise than as in article 18, but it shall descend unto their heirs male; and for want of heirs male, it shall descend on that Landgrave or Cacique of Carolina who is descended of the next heir female of the said Proprietor; and for want of Such heirs, it shall descend on the next heir general; and for want of Such heirs, the remaining Seven proprietors shall, upon the Vacancy, choose a Landgrave to succeed the deceased proprietor, who being chosen by the majority of the Seven
Surviving proprietors, he and his heirs Successively shall be proprietors as fully, to all intents and purposes, as any of the rest.

Article 7 was revised to read as follows: And that the number of eight Proprietors may be constantly kept, if, upon the vacancy of any Proprietorship, the Surviving Seven Proprietors shall not choose a Landgrave as a Proprietor before the Second Biennial Parliament after the vacancy, then the next Biennial Parliament but one after Such vacancy shall have power to choose any Landgrave to be Proprietor; but whosoever after the year 1700, either by inheritance or choice, shall Succeed any Proprietor in his proprietorship, and Seigniories thereunto belonging, shall be obliged to take the name and Arms of that proprietor whom he Succeeds, which from thenceforth shall be the name and Arms of his Family and their posterity.

Article 8 was struck out and the following was submitted: Whatsoever Landgrave or Cacique shall any way come to be a Proprietor shall take the Seigniories annexed to the said Proprietorship, but his former dignity, with the Baronies annexed, shall devolve into the hands of the Lords Proprietors.

Article 10 was revised to read as follows: The first Landgrave and Caciques of every County shall be nominated, not by the Joint election of the Proprietors all together, but the eight Proprietors shall, each of them separately, nominate and choose one Landgrave and two Caciques to be the eight Landgraves and the sixteen Caciques for the eight first Counties to be Planted; and when the said eight Counties shall be planted, the proprietors shall, in the same manner, nominate and Chose eight more Landgraves and sixteen Caciques for the eight next Counties to be appeal planted; and so proceed, in the same manner, till the whole province of Carolina be set out Land and planted according to the proportions in these fundamental Constitutions.

Article 12 was revised to read as follows: That the due number of Landgraves and Caciques may be always kept up, if, upon the devolution of any Landgraveship or Caciqueship The Palatine's Court shall not settle the devolved dignity, with the Baronies thereunto annexed, before the Second biennial Parliament after Such devolution, the next Biennial Parliament but one after such devolution shall have power to make any one Landgrave or Cacique in the Room of him, who dying with out heirs, his dignity and Baronies devolved.

Article 13 was revised to read as follows: No one person shall have more than one dignity, with the Seigniories of Baronies thereunto belonging; but whensoever it shall happen that any one who is already Proprietor, Landgrave, or Cacique shall have any of those dignities descend to him by inheritance, it shall be at his choice to keep which of the two dignities, with the Lands annexed, he shall like best, but shall leave the other, with the lands annexed to be enjoyed by him who, not being his heir apparent, and certain successor to his present dignity, is next of blood, unless when a Landgrave or Cacique comes to be proprietor, and then his former dignity and Baronies shall devolve as in Article 8.

Article 16 was revised to read as follows: After the year 1700, whatsoever Landgrave or Cacique shall, without leave from the Palatine's Court, be out of Carolina during two successive biennial Parliaments shall, at the end of the second biennial Parliament after such his absence, be summoned by Proclamation; and if he come not into Carolina before the next biennial Parliament after Such Summons, then the Grand Council shall have power thence forward to receive all the rents and profits arising out of his Baronies until his return or death, and to dispose of the said profits as they shall think fit.

Article 17 was revised to read as follows: In every Seigniory, Barony, and Manor, the respective Lord shall have power, in his own name, to hold Court there, for trying of all causes, both Civil and Criminal; But where it shall concern any 2 person being no inhabitant, vassal, or Leet man of the said Barony, Seigniory, or manor, he, upon paying down of forty shillings to the Lords Proprietors' use, shall have an appeal from t the Seigniory or Barony Court to the County Court, and from the Manor Court to the precinct court.

 Article 19 was revised to read as follows:
 Every Manor shall consist of not less than three thousand Acres and not above twelve thousand Acres in one entire piece; but any three thousand acres or more in one piece and the possession of one Man shall not be a manor unless it be constituted a manor by the grant of the Palatine's Court.

Article 22 was revised to read as follows: In every Seigniory, Barony, and manor, all the Leet men shall be under the Jurisdiction of the respective Lord of the said Seigniory, Barony, or Manor, without appeal from him; nor shall any Leet man or Leet woman have liberty to go off from the Land of his particular Lord and live any where else without Licences obtained from his Said Lord, under hand and Seal.

Article 24 was revised to read as follows: No man shall be capable of having a Court Leet or Leet men but a Proprietor, Landgrave, or Cacique, or Lord of a Manor. Nor shall any man be a Leet man who has not voluntarily entered himself a Leet man in the Registry of the County Court.

Article 25 was revised to read as follows: Whoever is Lord of Leet men shall, upon the marriage of a Leet man or Leet woman of his, give them ten Acres of Land for their lives, they paying to him therfor not more than one eighth of all yearly produce and growth of the said ten acres.

Article 26 was struck out and the following was submitted: No Landgrave or Cacique shall be tried for any criminal cause in any but in the Chief Justice Court, and that by a jury of his peers.

Article 27 was revised to read as follows: There shall be eight supreme Courts, the first, Called the Palatine's Court, consisting of the Palatine and the other Seven Proprietors. The other seven courts of the other 8 to him; under each of these latter seven Courts shall be a College of twelve assistants. f '
The twelve assistants of the Several Colleges shall be Chosen: two out of the Landgraves, by the Landgraves' Chamber; two out of the Caciques, by the Caciques' Chamber; two out of the Landgraves, Caciques, or Eldest sons of the Proprietors, by the Palatine's Court;  four more of the twelve shall be chosen by the Commons' Chamber out of such as have been or are members of Parliament, Sheriffs, or Justices of the County Court; the other two shall be Chosen by the Palatine's Court out of the aforesaid members of Parliament, or Sheriffs, or Justices of the County Court, or the Eldest sons of Landgraves or Caciques, or younger Sons of Proprietors. |

Article 28 was revised to read as follows: Out of these Colleges shall be Chosen Six Councillors to be joined with each Proprietor in his Court; of which six, one shall be of those who were Chosen into any of the Colleges by the Palatine's Court out of the Landgraves, Caciques, or Eldest Sons of Proprietors; one out of those who were chosen by the Landgrave's Chamber; and one out of those who were Chosen by the Caciques' Chamber; two out of those who were Chosen by the Commons' Chamber; and one out of those who were Chosen by the Palatine's Court out of the Proprietors' younger Sons, or Eldest Sons of Landgraves or Caciques, or Commons Qualified as aforesaid.

Article 30 was revised to read as follows: No man being a member of the grand Council or of any of the seven Colleges shall be turned out but For misdemeanor, of which the grand Council shall be Judge; and the vacancy of the person so put out shall be filled, not by the Election of the grand Council, but by those who first chose him, and out of the same degree he was of who is expelled.  But is not hereby to be understood that the Grand Council has any power to turn out any one of the Lords Proprietors, or their Deputies, The Lords Proprietors having in themselves an inherent original right.

Article 32 was revised to read as follows: The Palatine's Court shall consist of the Palatine and Seven Proprietors, wherein nothing shall be acted without the presence and consent of the Palatine, or his Deputy, and three others of the Proprietors, or their deputies. This Court shall have power to call Parliaments, to pardon all Offences, to make Elections of all Officers in the Proprietors' dispose, to nominate and appoint port towns; and also, shall have power, by their Order to the Treasurer, to dispose of all public Treasure, excepting money granted by the Parliament and by them directed to some particular public use;
and also, shall have a Negative upon all Acts, Orders, Votes, and Judgments of the grand Council and the Parliament. Except only as in Articles 7 and 12; and also, shall have a negative upon all Acts and orders of the Constable's Court and Admiral's Court relating to wars; And shall have all the powers granted to the Proprietors by their patent from our Sovereign Lord The King, except in such things as are limited by these fundamental constitutions.

Article 34 was revised to read as follows: The Chancellor's Court, consisting of one of the Proprietors and his six Councillors, who shall be called vice-chancellors, shall have the Custody of the Seal of the Palatinate, under which all charters, of Lands or otherwise, Commissions, and grants of the Palatine's Court shall pass, etc. And it shall not be lawful to put the Seal of the Palatinate to any Writing which is not signed by the Palatine, or his Deputy, and three other Proprietors, or their Deputies. To this Court, also, belongs all state matters, dispatches, and treaties, with the Neighbour Indians or any other, so far forth as is permitted by our Charter from our Sovereign Lord the King. To this Court, also, belongs all Invasions of the Law of Liberty of conscience, and all disturbances of the public peace upon pretence of Religion, as also, the Licence of printing. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Recorders.

Article 37 was revised to read as follows; The Admiral's Court, consisting of one of the Proprietors and his Six Councillors, called Consuls, shall have the care and inspection over all ports, Moles, and Navigable Rivers so far as the Tide flows; and also, all the public Shipping of Carolina, and stores thereunto belonging, and all maritime affairs. This Court, also, shall have the power of the Court of Admiralty, and also, to hear and try by Law-Merchant all cases in Matters of Trade between the Merchants of Carolina amongst them selves, arising without the limits of Carolina; as also, all controversies in Merchandising that shall happen between Denizens of Carolina and foreigners. The twelve Assistants belonging to this court shall be called proconsuls. In time of actual war, the High Admiral, whilst he is at Sea, Shall command in chief, and his Six Councillors, or such of them as the Palatine's Court shall for that time and service appoint, shall be the immediate great officers under him, and the proconsuls next to them.

Article 39 was revised to read as follows: The High Steward's court, consisting of a proprietor and his six Councillors, who shall be called Comptrollers, shall have the care of all foreign and domestic Trade, Manufactures, public buildings and workhouses, high ways, passages by water above the flood of the Tide, drains, sewers and Banks against inundations, Bridges, Posts, Carriers, Fairs, Markets, and all things in order to trade and travel, and any thing that may corrupt, deprave, or infect the common Air or water, and all other things wherein the Public commerce or health is concerned; and also, the setting out and surveying of lands; and also, the setting out and appointing places for towns to be built on in the Precincts, and the prescribing and determining the Figure and bigness of the said Towns according to such Models as the said court shall order, contrary or differing from which Models it shall not be lawful for any one to build in any Town.
 

Another revision of Article 39 reads as follows:  The High Steward' court, consisting of a proprietor and his six Councillors, who shall be called Comptrollers, shall have the care of all foreign and domestic Trade, Manufactures, public buildings and workhouses, high ways, passages by water above the flood of the Tide, drains, sewers and Banks against inundations, Bridges, Posts, Carriers, Fairs, Markets, Corruptions or infections of the common air and water, and all things in order to public commerce and health....

[Nothing in the manuscript indicates which revision of Article 39 was adopted, but the latter appears in the March 1, 1670, version.]

Article 40 was first revised to read as follows: This Court shall have power, also, to make any public building or any new high way, or enlarge any old high way, upon any Man's Land whatsoever; as also, to make cuts, Channels, Banks, locks, and Bridges, for making Rivers Navigable, for draining of Fens, or any other public uses; the damage the owner of such land, on or through which any such public thing shall be made, shall receive therby shall be valued by a Jury of twelve men of the Precinct in which any such thing is done, and satisfaction shall be made accordingly by a Tax, either on the County or that particular
precinct, as the grand Council shall think fit to order in that
particular case. And if it be a Seigniory or Barony on or through which any such public thing shall be made, then the damage the owner of the said Seigniory or Barony shall receive thereby shall be valued by the High Steward's Court, and satisfaction shall be made accordingly by a tax on the County. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Surveyors.

Article 40 was finally revised to read as follows: This Court shall have power, also, to make any public building or any new high way, or enlarge any old high way, upon any Man's Land whatsoever; as also, to make cuts, Channels, Banks, locks, and Bridges, for making Rivers Navigable, for draining of Fens, or any other public uses; the damage the owner of such land, on or through which any such public thing shall be made, shall receive thereby shall be valued, and satisfaction made, by such ways as the Grand Council shall appoint. The twelve assistants belonging to this Court shall be called Surveyors.

Article 45 was struck out and the fouling was substituted: In all the Proprietors' Courts, the Proprietor and any three of his Councillors shall make a Quorum; Provided always, that, for the better dispatch of business, it shall be in the power of the Palatine's Court to direct what sort of causes shall be heard and determined by a Quorum of any three.

Article 46 was revised to read as follows: The grand Council shall consist of the Palatine, and Seven Proprietors, and the forty two Councillors of the Several Proprietors' Courts; who shall have power to determine any Controversies that may arise between any of the Proprietors' Courts about their respective Jurisdictions, or between the Members of one and the same Court about their manner and methods of proceeding; to make peace and war, Leagues, Treaties, etc., with any of the Neighbour Indians; To issue out their General Orders to the Constable's and Admiral's Court for the Raising, disposing, or disbanding the Forces, by land or by Sea;  to prepare all matters to be proposed in Parliament; nor shall any matter whatsoever be proposed in Parliament but what his first passed the Grand Council, which, after having been read three several days in the Parliament, shall be passed or rejected.

Article 54 was revised to read as follows: Each Proprietor's deputy shall be always one of their own Six Councillors respectively; And in case any of the Proprietors has not, in his absence out of Carolina, a Deputy in Carolina, commissioned under his hand and seal, the Eldest Nobleman of his Court shall of course be his Deputy.

Article 55 was struck out and the following was substituted:  In Every County there shall be a Court, consisting of a Sheriff and four Justices of the County Court, for Every precinct one. The Sheriff Shall be an inhabitant of this County and have at least five hundred acres of freehold within the said County; and the Justices Shall be inhabitants and have, each of them, five hundred acres apiece in the precinct for which they Serve respectively. These five Shall be chosen, commissioned from time to time by the Palatine's Court.

Article 57 was revised to read as follows: In every Precinct there shall be a Court, consisting of a Steward and four Justices of the Precinct, being Inhabitants and having three hundred Acres of Freehold within the said Precinct; who shall Judge all Criminal causes, except for Treason, Murder, and any other offences punished with death and all criminal causes of the Nobility; and all civil causes whatsoever, and in all personal actions not exceeding fifty pounds without appeal;  but where the Cause shall exceed that Value, or concern a Title of land, and in all Criminal causes, there, either party, upon paying five pounds to the Proprietors' use, shall have Liberty of appeal unto the
County Court.

Article 67 was revised to read as follows: A new Parliament shall be assembled the first Monday of the Month of November every second year, and shall meet and Sit in the Town they last Sat in, without any Summons, unless by the Palatine's Court they be Summoned to meet at any other place;  and if there shall be any occasion of a Parliament in these Intervals, it shall be in the power of the Palatine's Court to assemble them on forty days' notice, at Such time and place as the said Court shall think fit; and the Palatine's Court shall have power to dissolve the said Parliament when they Shall think fit.

Article 71 was revised to read as follows: Any Proprietor, or his Deputy, may enter his Protestation against any act of the Parliament, before the Palatine or his deputy's consent be given as aforesaid, if he shall conceive the said act to be contrary to this Establishment or any of these Fundamental Constitutions of the Government; and in Such case, after a full and free debate, the several Estates shall retire into four several Chambers, the Palatine and Proprietors into one, the Landgraves into another, and the Caciques into another, and those Chosen by the Precincts into a fourth; and if the major part of any of these four Estates shall Vote that the law is not agreeable to this Establishment and these fundamental constitution of the Government, then it shall pass no further, but be as if it had never been proposed. The Quorum of the Parliament shall be one half of those who are members and capable of sitting in the house that present session of Parliament. The Quorum of each of the Chambers of Parliament shall be one half of the members of that Chamber.

Article 74 was revised to read as follows: There shall be a Registry in every precinct, wherein shall be enrolled all deeds, Leases, Judgments, mortgages, or other conveyances which may concern any of the land within the Said Precinct; and all Such conveyances not so entered or Registered shall not be of force against any person not privy to the Said contract or conveyance.

Article 77 was revised to read as follows: There shall be a Registry in every Seigniory, Barony, and Colony, wherein shall be Recorded all the Births, Marriages, and deaths that shall happen within the said Colony.

Article 79 was revised to read as follows: The time of every one's Age that is born in Carolina shall be Reckoned from the day that his Birth is entered in the Registry, and not before.

Article 80 was revised to read as follows: No marriage shall be lawful, whatever Contract of Ceremonies they have used, till both the parties mutually own it before the Register where they were married, and he enter it, with the names of the Father and mother of each party.

Article 81 was revised to read as follows: No man shall administer to the goods, or have right to them, or enter upon the Estate, of any person deceased till his death be Registered in the Respective Registry.

Article 82 was revised to read as follows: He that does not enter in the respective Registry the death or Birth or any person that dies or is born in his house or ground shall pay to the said Register one shilling per week for each Such neglect, Reckoning from the time of each death or birth respectively to the time of Registering it.

Article 84 was revised to read as follows: There shall be in every Colony one Constable, to be Chosen annually by the Freeholders of the Colony, his Estate to be above one hundred acres of Freehold within the Said Colony; and Such Subordinate officers appointed for his assistance as the County Court shall find requisite, and shall be Established by the said County court; the Election of the Subordinate annual officers shall be also in the Freeholders of the Colony.

Article 85 was revised to read as follows: All Towns incorporate shall be Governed by a Mayor, twelve Aldermen, and twenty four of the Common Council; the Said Common Council to be chosen by the present householders of the Said Town; and the Aldermen to be Chosen out of the Common Council, and the Mayor out of the Aldermen, by the Palatine's Court.

Article 90 was revised to read as follows: In the terms of Communion of every church or profession, these following shall be three, without which no agreement or assembly of men upon pretence of Religion shall be accounted a Church or Profession within these Rules:

1. That there is a God.
2. That God is publicly to be worshipped.
3. That it is lawful, and the duty of every man, being thereunto called by those that Govern, to bear witness to truth; and that every church or profession shall, in their Terms of Communion, Set down the External way whereby they witness a truth as in the presence of God, whether it be by laying hands on and Kissing the Bible, as in the Protestant and Papist Churches, or by holding up the hand, or any other Sensible way.

Article 95 was revised to read as follows: Any person Subscribing the terms of Communion of any church or profession in the Record of the said church before the Precinct Register and any five members of the church or profession shall be thereby made a member of the Said church or profession.

Article 96 was revised to read as follows: Any person striking out his own name out of any religious Record, or his name being struck out by any officer thereunto Authorized by Each church or profession respectively, shall cease to be a member of that Church or profession.

Article 101 was revised to read as follows: Every Freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and Authority over his Negro Slaves, of what opinion or Religion soever.
 

Footnote #7
PROCLAMATION OF 1763, Charter of Florida

October 7, 1763
By the King, a Proclamation George R.
Whereas We have taken into Our Royal Consideration the extensive
and valuable Acquisitions in America, secured to our Crown by the late Definitive Treaty of Peace concluded at Paris, the 10th Day of February last; and being desirous that all Our loving Subjects, as well of our Kingdom as of our Colonies in America, may avail themselves with all convenient Speed, of the great Benefits and Advantages which must accrue therefrom to their Commerce, Manufactures, and Navigation, We have thought fit, with the Advice of our Privy Council, to issue this our Royal Proclamation, hereby to publish and declare to all our loving
Subjects, that we have, with the Advice of our Said Privy Council, granted our Letters Patent, under our Great Seal of Great Britain, to erect, within the Countries and Islands ceded and confirmed to Us by the said Treaty, Four distinct and separate Governments, styled and called by the names of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida and Grenada, and limited and bounded as follows, viz.

First - The Government of Quebec bounded on the Labrador Coast by the River St. John, and from thence by a Line drawn from the Head of that River through the Lake St. John, to the South end of the Lake Nipissim; from whence the said Line, crossing the River St. Lawrence, and the Lake Champlain, in 45. Degrees of North Latitude, passes along the High Lands which divide the Rivers that empty themselves into the said River St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Sea; and also along the North Coast of the Baye des Chaleurs, and the Coast of the Gulph of St. Lawrence to Cape Rosieres, and from thence crossing the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence by the West End of the Island of Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid River of St. John.

Secondly - The Government of East Florida, bounded to the Westward by the Gulph of Mexico and the Apalachicola River; to the Northward by a Line drawn from that part of the said River where the Chatahouchee and Flint Rivers meet, to the source of St. Mary's River, and by the course of the said River to the Atlantic Ocean; and the Eastward and Southward by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulph of Florida, including all Islands within Six Leagues of the Sea Coast.

Thirdly - The Government of West Florida, bounded to the Southward by the Gulph of Mexico, including all Islands within Six Leagues of the Coast, from the River Apalachicola to Lake Pontchartrain; to the Westward by the said Lake, the Lake Maurepas, and the River Mississippi; to the Northward by a Line drawn due East from that part of the River Mississippi which lies in 31 Degrees North Latitude, to the River Apalachicola or Chatahouchee; and the Eastward by the said River

Fourthly - The Government of Grenada, comprehending the Island of that name, together with the Grenadines, and the Islands of Dominico, St. Vincent's and Tobago.

And to the end that the open and free Fishery of our Subjects may be extended to and carried on upon the Coast of Labrador, and the adjacent Islands, We have thought fit, with the advice of our said Privy Council to put all that Coast, from the River St. John's to Hudson's Streights, together with the Islands of Anticosti and Madelaine, and all other smaller Islands lying upon the said Coast, under the care and Inspection of our Governor of Newfoundland. We have also, with the advice of our Privy Council, thought fit to annex the Islands of St. John's and Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, with the lesser Islands adjacent thereto, to our Government of Nova Scotia. We have also, with the advice of our Privy Council aforesaid, annexed to our Province of Georgia all the Lands lying between the Rivers Alatamaha and St. Mary's.

And whereas it will greatly contribute to the speedy settling of our said new Governments, that our loving Subjects should be informed of our Paternal care, for the security of the Liberties and Properties of those who are and shall become Inhabitants thereof, We have thought fit to publish and declare, by this Our Proclamation, that We have, in the Letters Patent under our Great Seal of Great Britain, by which the said Governments are constituted, given express Power and Direction to our Governors of our Said Colonies respectively, that so soon as the state and circumstances of the said Colonies will admit thereof, they
shall, with the Advice and Consent of the Members of our Council, summon and call General Assemblies within the said Governments respectively, in such Manner and Form as is used and directed in those Colonies and Provinces in America which are under our immediate Government;

And We have also given Power to the said Governors, with the consent of our Said Councils, and the Representatives of the People so to be summoned as aforesaid, to make, constitute, and ordain Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances for the Public Peace, Welfare, and good Government of our said Colonies, and of the People and Inhabitants thereof, as near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, and under such Regulations and Restrictions as are used in other Colonies; and in the mean Time, and until such Assemblies can be called as aforesaid, all Persons
Inhabiting in or resorting to our Said Colonies may confide in our Royal Protection for the Enjoyment of the Benefit of the Laws of our Realm of England; for which Purpose We have given Power under our Great Seal to the Governors of our said Colonies respectively to erect and constitute, with the Advice of our said Councils respectively, Courts of Judicature and public Justice within our Said Colonies for hearing and determining all Causes, as well Criminal as Civil, according to Law and Equity, and as near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, with Liberty to all Persons who may think themselves aggrieved by the Sentences of such Courts, in all Civil Cases, to appeal, under the usual Limitations and Restrictions, to Us in our Privy Council.

We have also thought fit, with the advice of our Privy Council as aforesaid, to give unto the Governors and Councils of our said Three new Colonies, upon the Continent full Power and Authority to settle and agree with the Inhabitants of our said new Colonies or with any other Persons who shall resort thereto, for such Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, as are now or hereafter shall be in our Power to dispose of; and them to grant to any such Person or Persons upon such Terms, and under such moderate Quit-Rents, Services and Acknowledgments, as have been appointed and settled in our other Colonies, and under such other Conditions as shall appear to us to be necessary and expedient for the Advantage of the Grantees, and the Improvement and settlement of our said Colonies.

And Whereas, We are desirous, upon all occasions, to testify our Royal Sense and Approbation of the Conduct and bravery of the Officers and Soldiers of our Armies, and to reward the same, We do hereby command and impower our Governors of our said Three new Colonies, and all other our Governors of our several Provinces on the Continent of North America, to grant without Fee or Reward, to such reduced Officers as have served in North America during the late War, and to such Private Soldiers as have been or shall be disbanded in America, and are actually residing there, and shall personally apply for the same, the following Quantities of Lands, subject, at the Expiration of Ten Years, to the same Quit- Rents as other Lands are subject to in the Province within which they are granted, as also subject to the same Conditions of Cultivation and Improvement; viz.

To every Person having the Rank of a Field Officer -- 5,000 Acres.
To every Captain -- 5,000 Acres.
To every Subaltern or Staff Officer, -- 2,000 Acres.
To every Non-Commission Officer, -- 200 Acres.
To every Private Man -- 50 Acres.

We do likewise authorize and require the Governors and Commanders in Chief of all our said Colonies upon the Continent of North America to grant the like Quantities of Land, and upon the same conditions, to such reduced Officers of our Navy of like Rank as served on board our Ships of War in North America at the times of the Reduction of Louisbourg and Quebec in the late War, and who shall personally apply to our respective Governors for such Grants.

And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest, and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds.

We do therefore, with the Advice or our Privy Council, declare it to be our Royal Will and Pleasure, that no Governor or Commander in Chief in any of our Colonies of Quebec, East Florida, or West Florida, do presume, upon any Pretence whatever, to grant Warrants of Survey, or pass any Patents for Lands beyond the Bounds of their respective Governments, as described in their Commissions; as also that no Governor or Commander in Chief in any of our other Colonies or Plantations in America do presume for the present, and until our further Pleasure be known, to grant Warrants of Survey, or pass Patents for any Lands beyond the Heads or Sources of any of the Rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean from the West and North West, or upon any Lands whatever, which, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us as aforesaid, are reserved to the said Indians, or any of them.

And We do further declare it to be Our Royal Will and Pleasure, for the present as aforesaid, to reserve under our Sovereignty, Protection, and Dominion, for the use of the said Indians, all the Lands and Territories not included within the Limits of Our said Three new Governments, or within the Limits of the Territory granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, as also all the Lands and Territories lying to the Westward of the Sources of the Rivers which fall into the Sea from the West and North West as aforesaid.

And We do hereby strictly forbid, on Pain of our Displeasure, all our loving Subjects from making any Purchases or Settlements whatever, or taking Possession of any of the Lands above reserved, without our especial leave and Licence for that Purpose first obtained.

And, We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands within the Countries above described, or upon any other Lands which, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements.

And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed in purchasing Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of our Interests, and to the great Dissatisfaction of the said Indians; In order, therefore, to prevent such Irregularities for the future, and to the end that the Indians may be convinced of our Justice and determined Resolution to remove all reasonable Cause of Discontent, We do, with the Advice of our Privy Council strictly enjoin and require, that no private Person do presume to make any purchase from the said Indians of any Lands reserved to the said Indians, within those parts of our Colonies where, We have thought proper to allow Settlement; but that, if at any Time any of the Said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands, the same shall be Purchased only for Us, in our Name, at some public Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that Purpose by the Governor or Commander in Chief of our Colony respectively within which they shall lie; and in case they shall lie within the limits of any Proprietary Government, they shall be purchased only for the Use and in the name of such Proprietaries, conformable to such Directions and Instructions as We or they shall think proper to give for that Purpose; And we do, by the Advice of our Privy Council, declare and enjoin, that the Trade with the said Indians shall be free and open to all our Subjects whatever, provided that every Person who may incline to Trade with the said Indians do take out a Licence for carrying on such Trade from the Governor or Commander in Chief of any of our Colonies respectively where such Person shall reside, and also give Security to observe such Regulations as We shall at any Time think fit, by ourselves or by our Commissaries to be appointed for this Purpose, to direct and appoint for the Benefit of the said Trade:

And we do hereby authorize, enjoin, and require the Governors and Commanders in Chief of all our Colonies respectively, as well those under Our immediate Government as those under the Government and Direction of Proprietaries, to grant such Licences without Fee or Reward, taking especial Care to insert therein a
Condition, that such Licence shall be void, and the Security forfeited in case the Person to whom the same is granted shall refuse or neglect to observe such Regulation as We shall think proper to prescribe as aforesaid.

And we do further expressly enjoin and require all Officers whatever, as well Military as those Employed in the Management and Direction of Indian Affairs, within the Territories reserved as aforesaid for the use of the said Indians, to seize and apprehend all Persons whatever, who standing charged with Treason, Misprisions of Treason, Murders, or other Felonies or Misdemeanors, shall fly from Justice and take Refuge in the said Territory, and to send them under a proper guard to the Colony where the Crime was committed of which they stand accused, in order to take their Trial for the same.

Given at our Court at St. James's the 7th Day of October 1763, in the Third Year of our Reign.
GOD SAVE THE KING

Footnote #8
1670 Charter
THE ROYAL CHARTER incorporating The Hudson's Bay Company 2 May
1670

CHARLES THE SECOND By the grace of God King of England Scotland
France and Ireland defender of the faith &amp;c

TO ALL to whom these presents shall come greeting

WHEREAS Our Dear and entirely Beloved cousin Prince Rupert Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke of Bavaria and Cumberland &amp;c Christopher Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven Henry Lord Arlington Anthony Lord Ashley Sir John Robinson and Sir Robert Vyner Knights and Baronets Sir Peter Colleton Baronet Sir Edward Hungerford Knight of the Bath Sir Paul Neil Knight Sir John Griffith and Sir Philip Carteret Knights James Hayes John Kirke Francis Millington William Prettyman John Fenn Esquires and John Portman Citizen and Goldsmith of London have at their own great cost and charge undertaken an EXPEDITION for Hudson's Bay in the North west part of America for the discovery of a new Passage into the South Sea and for the finding some Trade for Furs Minerals and other considerable Commodities and by such their undertaking have already made such discoveries as do encourage them to proceed further in pursuance of their said design by means whereof there may probably arise very great advantage to us and our Kingdom

AND WHEREAS the said undertakers for their further encouragement in the said design have humbly besought us to Incorporate them and grant unto them and their successors the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas Straits Bays Rivers Lakes Creeks and Sounds in whatsoever Latitude they shall be that lie within the entrance of the Straits commonly called Hudson's Straits together with all the Lands Countries and Territories upon the Coasts and Confines of the Seas Straits Bays Lakes Rivers Creeks and Sounds aforesaid which are not now actually possessed by any of our Subjects or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or
State

NOW KNOW YE that We being desirous to promote all Endeavours tending to the public good of our people and to encourage the said undertaking HAVE of our especial grace certain knowledge and mere motion Given granted ratified and confirmed And by these Presents for us our heirs and Successors DO give grant ratify and confirm unto our said Cousin Prince Rupert Christopher Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven Henry Lord Arlington Anthony Lord Ashley Sir John Robinson Sir Robert Vyner Sir Peter Colleton Sir Edward Hungerford Sir Paul Neil Sir John Griffith and Sir Philip Carteret James Hayes John Kirke Francis Millington William Prettyman John Fenn and John Portman That they and such others as shall be admitted into the said Society as is hereafter expressed shall be one Body Corporate and Politic in deed and in name by the name of the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay and them by the name of the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay one Body Corporate and Politic in deed and in name really and fully for ever for us our heirs and successors WE DO make ordain constitute establish confirm and declare by these Presents and that by the same name of Governor &amp; Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay they shall have perpetual succession And that they and their successors by the name of Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay be and at all times hereafter shall be persons able and capable in Law to have purchase receive possess enjoy and retain Lands Rents privileges liberties Jurisdictions Franchises and hereditaments of what kind nature and quality soever they be to them and their Successors And also to give grant demise alien assign and dispose Lands Tenements and hereditaments and to do and execute all and singular other things by the same name that to them shall or may appertain to do   And that they and their Successors by the name of the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay may plead and be impleaded answer and be answered defend and be defended in whatsoever Courts and places before whatsoever Judges and Justices and other persons and Officers in all and singular Actions Pleas Suits Quarrels causes and demands whatsoever of whatsoever kind nature or sort in such manner and form as any other our Liege people of this our Realm of England being persons able and capable in Law may or can have purchase receive possess enjoy retain give grant demise alien assign dispose plead defend and be defended do permit and execute   And that the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay and their successors may have a Common Seal to serve for all the causes and businesses of them and their Successors and that it shall and may be lawful to the said Governor and Company and their Successors the same Seal from time to time at their will and pleasure to break change and to make a new or alter as them shall seem expedient

AND FURTHER WE WILL

And by these presents for us our Heirs and successors WE DO ordain that there shall be from henceforth one of the same Company to be elected and appointed in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed which shall be called The Governor of the said Company   And that the said Governor and Company shall or may elect seven of their number in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed which shall be called the Committee of the said Company which Committee of seven or any three of them together with the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the time being shall have the direction of the Voyages of and for the said Company and Provision of the Shipping and Merchandises thereunto belonging and also the sale of all merchandises Goods and other things returned in all or any the Voyages or Ships of or for the said Company and the managing and handling of all other business affairs and things belonging to the said Company

AND WE WILL ordain and Grant by these presents for us our heirs and successors unto the said Governor and Company and their successors that they the said Governor and Company and their successors shall from henceforth for ever be ruled ordered and governed according to such manner and form as is hereafter in these presents expressed and not otherwise And that they shall have hold retain and enjoy the Grants Liberties Privileges Jurisdictions and Immunities only hereafter in these presents granted and expressed and no other And for the better WE HAVE ASSIGNED nominated constituted and made And by these presents for us our heirs and successors WE DO ASSIGN nominate constitute and make our said Cousin Prince Rupert to be the first and present Governor of the said Company and to continue in the said Office from the date of these presents until the tenth of November then next following if he the said Prince Rupert shall so long live and so until a new Governor be chosen by the said Company in form hereafter expressed AND ALSO WE HAVE assigned nominated and appointed And by these presents for us our heirs and Successors WE DO assign nominate and constitute the said Sir John Robinson Sir Robert Vyner Sir Peter Colleton James Hayes John Kirke Francis Millington and John Portman to be the seven first and present Committees of the said Company from the date of these presents until the said tenth Day of November then also next following and so until new Committees shall be chosen in form hereafter expressed AND FURTHER WE WILL and grant by these presents for us our heirs and Successors unto the said Governor and Company and their successors that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company for the time being or the greater part of them present at any public Assembly commonly called the Court General to be holden for the said Company the Governor of the said Company being always one from time to time elect nominate and appoint one of the said Company to be Deputy
to the said Governor which Deputy shall take a corporal Oath before the Governor and three or more of the Committee of the said Company for the time being well truly and faithfully to execute his said Office of Deputy to the Governor of the said Company and after his Oath so taken shall and may from time to time in the absence of the said Governor exercise and execute the Office of Governor of the said Company in such sort as the said Governor ought to do AND FURTHER WE will and grant and by these presents for us our heirs and Successors unto the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay and their Successors That they or the greater part of them whereof the Governor for the Time being or his Deputy to be one from time to time and at all times hereafter shall and may have authority and power yearly and every year the first and last day of November to assemble and meet together in some convenient place to be appointed from time to time by the Governor or in his absence by the Deputy of the said Governor for the time being And that they being so assembled it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor or Deputy of the said Governor and the said Company for the time being or the greater part of them which then shall happen to be present whereof the Governor of the said Company or his Deputy for the time being to be one to elect and nominate one of the said Company which shall be Governor of the same Company for one whole year then next following which person
being so elected and nominated to be Governor of the said Company as is aforesaid before he be admitted to the Execution of the said Office shall take a Corporal Oath before the last Governor being his Predecessor or his Deputy and any three or more of the Committee of the said Company for the time being that he shall from time to time well and truly execute the Office of Governor of the said Company in all things concerning the same and that Immediately after the same Oath so taken he shall and may execute and use the said Office of Governor of the said Company for one whole year from thence next following and in like sort We will and grant that as well every one of the above named to be of the said Company or fellowship as all other hereafter to be admitted or free of the said Company shall take a Corporal Oath before the Governor of the said Company or his Deputy for the time being to such effect as by the said Governor and Company or the greater part of them in any public Court to be held for the said Company shall be in reasonable and legal manner set down and devised before they shall be allowed or admitted to Trade or traffic as a freeman of the said Company

AND FURTHER WE WILL and grant by these presents for us our heirs and successors unto the said Governor and Company and their successors that the said Governor or Deputy Governor and the rest of the said company and their successors for the time being or the greater part of them whereof the Governor or the Deputy Governor from time to time to be one shall and may from time to time and at all times hereafter have power and authority yearly and every year between the first and last day of November to assemble and meet together in some convenient place from time to time to be appointed by the said Governor of the said Company or in his absence by his Deputy and that they being so assembled it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor or his Deputy and the Company for the time being or the greater part of them which then shall happen to be present whereof the Governor of the said Company or his Deputy for the time being to be one to elect and nominate seven of the said Company which shall be a Committee of the said Company for one whole year from thence next ensuing which persons being so elected and nominated to be a Committee of the said Company as aforesaid before they be admitted to the execution of their Office shall take a Corporal Oath before the Governor or his Deputy and any three or more of the said Committee of the said Company being their last Predecessors and that they and every of them shall well and faithfully perform their said Office of Committees in all things concerning the same And that immediately after the said Oath so taken they shall and may execute and sue their said Office of Committees of the said Company for one whole year from thence next following

AND MOREOVER Our will and pleasure is And by these presents for us our heirs and successors WE DO GRANT unto the said Governor and Company and their successors that when and as often as it shall happen the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the time being at any time within one year after that he shall be nominated elected and sworn to the Office of the Governor of the said Company as is aforesaid to dye or to be removed from the said Office which Governor or Deputy Governor not demeaning himself well in his said Office WE WILL to be removable at the Pleasure of the rest of the said Company or the greater part of them which shall be present at their public assemblies commonly called their General Courts holden for the said Company that then and so often it shall and may be lawful to and for the Residue of the said Company for the time being or the greater part of them within convenient time after the death or removing of any such Governor or Deputy Governor to assemble themselves in such convenient place as they shall think fit for the election of the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company and that the said Company or the greater part of them being then and there present shall and may then and there before their departure from the said place elect and nominate one other of the said Company to be Governor or Deputy Governor for the said Company in the place and stead of him that so dyed or was removed which person being so elected and nominated to the Office of Governor of Deputy Governor of the said Company shall have and exercise the said Office for and during the residue of the said year taking first a Corporal Oath as is aforesaid for the due execution thereof And this to be done from time to time so often as the case shall so require

AND ALSO Our Will and Pleasure is and by these presents for us our heirs and successors WE DO grant unto the said Governor and Company that when and as often as it shall happen any person or persons of the Committee of the said Company for the time being at any time within one year next after that they or any of them  shall be nominated elected and sworn to the Office of Committee of the said Company as is aforesaid to dye or to be removed from the said Office which Committees not demeaning themselves well in their said Office We will to be removable at the pleasure of the said Governor and Company or the greater part of them whereof the Governor of the said Company for the time being or his Deputy to be one that then and so often it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and the rest of the Company for the time being or the greater part of them whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one within convenient time after the death or removing of any of the said Committee to assemble themselves in such convenient place as is or shall be usual and accustomed for the election of the Governor of the said Company or where else the Governor of the said Company for the time being or his Deputy shall appoint And that the said Governor and Company or the greater part of them whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one being then and there present shall and may then and there before their Departure from the said place elect and nominate one or more of the said Company to be of the Committee of the said Company in the place and stead of him or them that so died or were or was so removed which person or persons so elected and nominated to the Office of Committee of the said Company shall have and exercise the said Office for and during the residue of the said year taking first a  as is aforesaid for the due execution thereof and this to be done from time to time so often as the case shall require.  And to the end the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay may be encouraged to undertake and effectually to prosecute the said design of our more especial grace certain knowledge and mere Motion WE HAVE given granted and confirmed And by these presents for us our heirs and successors DO give grant and confirm unto the said Governor and Company and their successors the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas Straits Bays Rivers Lakes Creeks and in whatsoever Latitude they shall be that lie within the entrance of the Straits commonly called Hudson's Straits together with all the Lands and Territories upon the Countries Coasts and confines of the Seas Bays Lakes Rivers Creeks and aforesaid that are not already actually possessed by or granted to any of our Subjects or possessed by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State with the Fishing of all Sorts of Fish Whales Sturgeons and all other Royal Fishes in the Seas Bays Islets and Rivers within the premises and the Fish therein taken together with the Royalty of the Sea upon the Coasts with the Limits aforesaid and all Mines Royal as well discovered as not discovered of Gold Silver Gems and precious Stones to be found or discovered within the Territories Limits and Places aforesaid And that the said Land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our Plantations or Colonies in America called Rupert's Land.

AND FURTHER WE DO by these presents for us our heirs and successors make create and constitute the said Governor and Company for the time being and their successors the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the same Territory limits and places aforesaid And of all other the premises SAVING ALWAYS the faith Allegiance and Sovereign Dominion due to us our heirs and successors for the same TO HAVE HOLD possess and enjoy the said territory limits and places and all and singular other the premises hereby granted as aforesaid with their and every of their Rights Members Jurisdictions Prerogatives Royalties and Appurtenances whatsoever to them the said Governor and Company and their Successors for ever TO BE HOLDEN of us our heirs and successors as of our Manor of East Greenwich in our Country of Kent in free and common Socage and not in Capite or by Knights Service YIELDING AND PAYING yearly to us our heirs and Successors for the same two Elks and two Black beavers whensoever and as often as We our heirs and successors shall happen to enter into the said Countries Territories and Regions hereby granted.

AND FURTHER our will and pleasure is And by these presents for us our heirs and successors WE DO grant unto the said Governor and Company and to their successors that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company and their successors from time to time to assemble themselves for or about any the matters causes affairs or businesses of the said Trade in any place or places for the same convenient within our Dominions or elsewhere and there to hold Court for the said Company and the affairs thereof   And that also it shall and may be lawful to and for them and the greater part of them being so assembled and that shall then and there be present in any such place or places whereof the Governor or his Deputy for the time being to be one to make ordain and constitute such and so many reasonable Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances as to them or the greater part of them being then and there present shall seem necessary and convenient for the good Government of the said Company and of all Governors of Colonies Fortes and Plantations Factors Masters Mariners and other Officers employed or to be employed in any of the Territories and Lands aforesaid and in any of their Voyages and for the better advancement and continuance of the said Trade or Traffic and Plantations and the same Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances so made to put in use and execute accordingly and at their pleasure to revoke and alter the same or any of them as the occasion shall require   And that the said Governor and Company so often as they shall make ordain or establish any such Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances in such form as aforesaid shall and may lawfully impose ordain limit and provide such pains penalties and punishments upon all Offenders contrary to such Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances or any of them as to the said Governor and Company for the time being or the greater part of them then and there being present the said Governor or his Deputy being always one shall seem necessary requisite or convenient for the observation of the same Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances   And the same Fines and Amerciaments shall and may by their Officers and Servants from time to time to be appointed for that purpose levy take and have to the use of the said Governor and Company and their successors without the impediment of us our heirs or successors or of any the Officers or Ministers of us our heirs or successors and without any account therefore to us our heirs or successors to be made   All and singular which Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances so as aforesaid to be made WE WILL to be duly observed and kept under the pains and penalties therein to be contained so always as the said Laws Constitutions Orders and Ordinances Fines and Amerciaments be reasonable and not contrary or repugnant but as near as may be agreeable to the Laws Statutes or of this our Realm.

AND FURTHERMORE of our ample and abundant grace certain knowledge and mere motion WE HAVE granted and by these presents for us our heirs and successors do grant unto the said Governor and Company and their Successors That they and their Successors and their Factors Servants and Agents for them and on their behalf and not otherwise shall for ever hereafter have use and enjoy not only the whole Entire and only Trade and Traffic and the whole entire and only liberty use and privilege of trading and Trafficking to and from the Territory Limits and places aforesaid but also the whole and entire Trade and Traffic to and from all Havens Bays Creeks Rivers Lakes and Seas into which they shall find entrance or passage by water or Land out of the Territories Limits or places aforesaid and to and with all the Natives and People Inhabiting or which shall inhabit within the Territories Limits and places aforesaid and to and with all other Nations Inhabiting any of the Coasts adjacent to the said Territories Limits and places which are not already possessed as aforesaid or whereof the sole liberty or privilege of Trade and Traffic is not granted to any other of our Subjects

AND WE of our further Royal favour And of our more especial grace certain knowledge and mere Motion HAVE granted and by these presents for us our heirs and Successors DO grant to the said Governor and Company and to their Successors That neither the said Territories Limits and places hereby Granted as aforesaid nor any part thereof nor the islands Havens Ports Cities Towns or places thereof or therein contained shall be visited frequented or haunted by any of the Subjects of us our heirs or successors contrary to the true meaning of these presents and by virtue of our Prerogative Royal which We will not have in that behalf argued or brought into Question WE STRAIGHTLY Charge Command and prohibit for us our heirs and Successors all the of us our heirs and Successors of what degree or Quality soever they be that none of them directly or indirectly do visit haunt frequent or Trade Traffic or Adventure by way of Merchandise into or from any the said Territories Limits or Places hereby granted or any or either of them other then the said Governor and Company and such particular persons as now be or hereafter shall be of that Company their Agents Factors and Assignees unless it be by the License and agreement of the said Governor and Company in writing first had and obtained under their Common Seal to be granted upon pain that every such person or persons that shall Trade or Traffic into or from any the Countries Territories or Limits aforesaid other then the said Governor and Company and their Successors shall incur our Indignation and the forfeiture and the loose of the Goods Merchandises and other things whatsoever which so shall be brought into this Realm of England or any the Dominions of the same contrary to our said Prohibition or the purport or true meaning of these presents for which the said Governor and Company shall finned take and seize in other places out of our Dominions where the said Company their Agents Factors or Ministers shall Trade Traffic inhabit by virtue of these our Letters Patent As also the Ship and Ships with the Furniture thereof wherein such goods Merchandises and other things shall be brought or found the one half of all the said Forfeitures to be to us our heirs and successors and the other half thereof WE DO by these Presents clearly and wholly for us our heirs and Successors Give and Grant unto the said Governor and Company and their Successors AND FURTHER all and every the said Offenders for their said contempt to suffer such other punishment as to us our heirs or Successors for so high a contempt shall seem meet and convenient and not to be in any wise delivered until they and every of them shall become bound unto the said Governor for the time being in the sum of one thousand Pounds at the least at no time then after to Trade or Traffic into any of the said places Seas Straits Bays Ports Havens or Territories aforesaid contrary to our Express Commandment in the behalf herein set down and published

AND FURTHER of our more especial grace WE HAVE condescended and granted And by these presents for us our heirs and Successors do grant unto the said Governor and Company and their successors That We our heirs and Successors will not Grant liberty license or power to any person or persons whatsoever contrary to the tenor of these our Letters Patent to Trade traffic or inhabit unto or upon any the Territories limits or places afore specified contrary to the true meaning of these presents without the consent of the said Governor and Company or the most part of them AND of our more abundant grace and favour to the said Governor and Company WE DO hereby declare our will and pleasure to be that if it shall so happen that any of the persons free or to be free of the said Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay who shall before going forth of any Ship or Ships appointed for A VOYAGE or otherwise promise or agree by Writing under his or their hands to adventure any sum or Sums of money towards the furnishing any provision or maintenance of any voyage or voyages set forth or to be set forth or intended or meant to be set forth by the said Governor and Company or the more part of them present at any Public Assembly commonly called their General Court shall not within the Space of twenty Days next after Warning given to him or them by the said Governor or Company or their known Officer or Minister bring in and deliver to the Treasurer or Treasurers appointed for the Company such sums of money as shall have been expressed and set down in by the said Person or Persons subscribed with the name of the said Adventurer or Adventurers that then and at all Times after it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company or the more part of them present WHEREOF the said Governor or his Deputy to be one at any of their General Courts or General Assemblies to remove and disfranchise him or them and every such person and persons at their wills and pleasures and he or they so removed and disfranchised not to be permitted to trade into the Countries Territories Limits aforesaid or any part thereof nor to have any Adventure or Stock going or remaining with or amongst the said Company without the special license of the said Governor and Company or the more part of them present at any General Court first had and obtained in that behalf Any thing before in these presents to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding

AND OUR WILL AND PLEASURE is And hereby We do also ordain that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company or the greater part of them whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one to admit into and to be of the said Company all such Servants or Factors of or for the said Company and all such others as to them or the most part of them present at any Court held for the said Company the Governor or his Deputy being one shall be thought fit and agreeable with the Orders and Ordinances made and to be made for the Government of the said Company

AND FURTHER Our will and pleasure is And by these presents for us our heirs and Successors WE DO grant unto the said Governor and Company and to their Successors that it shall and may be lawful in all Elections and By-Laws to be made by the General Court of the Adventurers of the said Company that every person shall have a number of votes according to his Stock that is to say for every hundred pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present Stock one vote and that any of these that have Subscribed less than one hundred pounds may join their respective sums to make up one hundred pounds and have one vote jointly for the same and not otherwise

AND FURTHER of our especial grace certain knowledge and mere motion WE DO for us our heirs and successors grant to and with the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay that all Lands Islands Territories Plantations Forts Fortifications Factories or Colonies where the said Companies Factories and Trade are or shall be within any the Ports and places afore limited shall be immediately and from henceforth under the power and command of the said Governor and Company their Successors and Assignees SAVING the faith and Allegiance due to be performed to us our heirs and successors as aforesaid and that the said Governor and Company shall have liberty full Power and authority to appoint and establish Governors and all other Officers to govern them And that the Governor and his Council of the several and respective places where the said Company shall have Plantations Forts Factories Colonies or Places of Trade within any of the Countries Lands or Territories hereby granted may have power to judge all persons belonging to the said Governor and Company or that shall live under them in all Causes whether Civil or Criminal according to the Laws of this Kingdom and to execute Justice accordingly And in case any crime or misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the said Companies Plantations Forts Factories or Places of Trade within the Limits aforesaid where Judicature cannot be executed for want of a Governor and Council there then in such case it shall and may be lawful for the chief Factor of that place and his Council to the party together with the offence to such other Placation Factory or Fort where there shall be a Governor and Council where Justice may be executed or into this Kingdom of England as shall be thought most convenient there to receive such punishment as the nature of his offence shall deserve

AND MOREOVER Our will and pleasure is And by these presents forus our heirs and Successors WE DO GIVE and grant unto the said Governor and Company and their Successors free Liberty and License in case they conceive it necessary to send either Ships of War Men or Ammunition unto any their Plantations Forts Factories or Places of Trade aforesaid for the security and defence of the same and to choose Commanders and Officers over them and to give them power and authority by Commission under their Common Seal or otherwise to continue or make peace or War
with any Prince or People whatsoever that are not Christians in any places where the said Company shall have any Plantations Forts or Factories or adjacent thereunto as shall be most for the advantage and benefit of the said Governor and Company and of their Trade and also to right and recompense themselves upon the Goods Estates or people of those parts by whom the said Governor and Company shall sustain any injury loss or damage or upon any other People whatsoever that shall any way contrary to the intent of these presents interrupt wrong or injure them in their said Trade within the said places Territories and Limits granted by this Charter and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company and their Successors from time to time and at all times from henceforth to Erect and build such Castles Fortifications Forts Garrisons Colonies Plantations Towns or Villages in any parts or places within the Limits and Bounds granted before in these presents unto the said Governor and Company as they in their Discretions shall think fit and requisite and for the supply of such as shall be needful and convenient to keep and be in the same to send out of this Kingdom to the said Castles Forts Fortifications Garrisons Colonies Plantations Towns or Villages all of Clothing Provision of Victuals Ammunition and Implements necessary for such purpose paying the Duties and Customs for the same As also to transport and carry over such number of Men being willing thereunto or not prohibited as they shall think fit and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable manner as the said Governor and Company shall think best and to inflict punishment for misdemeanors or impose such Fines upon them for breach of their Orders as in these Presents are formerly expressed

AND FURTHER Our will and pleasure is And by these presents for us our heirs and Successors WE DO grant unto the said Governor and Company and to their Successors full Power and lawful authority to seize upon the Persons of all such English or any other of our Subjects which shall sail into Hudson's Bay or Inhabit in any of the Countries Islands or Territories hereby Granted to the said Governor and Company without their leave and Licence in that Behalf first had and obtained or that shall contemn or disobey their Orders and send them to England and that all and every Person and Persons being our Subjects any ways Employed by the said Governor and Company within any the Parts places and Limits aforesaid shall be liable unto and suffer such punishment for any Offences by them committed in the Parts aforesaid as the President and Council for the said Governor and Company there shall think fit and the merit of the offence shall require as aforesaid. And in case any Person or Persons being convicted and Sentenced by the President and Council of the said Governor and Company in the Countries Lands or Limits aforesaid their Factors or Agents there for any Offence by them done shall appeal from the same That then and in such Case it shall and may be lawful to and for the said President and Council Factors or Agents to seize upon him or them and to carry him or them home Prisoners into England to the said Governor and Company there to receive such condign punishment as his Cause shall require and the Law of this Nation allow of and for the better discovery of abuses and injuries to be done unto the said Governor and Company or their Successors by any Servant by them to be employed in the said Voyages and Plantations it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company and their respective Presidents Chief Agent or Governor in the parts aforesaid to examine upon Oath all Factors Masters Pursers Supra Cargoes Commanders of Castles Forts Fortifications Plantations or Colonies or other Persons touching or concerning any matter or thing in which by Law or usage an Oath may be administered so as the said Oath and the matter
therein contained be not repugnant but agreeable to the Laws of this Realm

AND WE DO hereby straightly charge and Command all and singular our Admirals Vice-Admirals Justices Mayors Sheriffs Constables Bailiffs and all and singular other our Officers Ministers Liege Men and Subjects whatsoever to be aiding favouring helping and assisting to the said Governor and Company and to their Successors and to their Deputies Officers Factors Servants Assignees and Ministers and every of them in executing and enjoying the premises as well on Land as on Sea from time to time when any of you shall thereunto be required ANY STATUTE Act Ordinance Proviso Proclamation or restraint heretofore had made set forth ordained or provided or any other matter cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding

IN WITNESS WHEREOF we have caused these our Letters to be made Patented WITNESS OURSELF at Westminster the second day of May in the two and twentieth year of our Reign By Writ of Privy Seal

Source:  Statutes, Orders in Council &amp;c, relating to the
Hudson's Bay Company (London, 1949).
 

Footnote #9
CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA OF 1776

 A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

A Declaration of Rights, made by the Representatives of the Freeman of the State of North Carolina.

 1. That all political power is vested, in and derived from, the people only.

 2. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof.

 3. That no men, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services.

 4. That the legislative, executive and supreme judicial powers of government, ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other.

 5. That all powers of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.

6. That elections of members to serve as representatives in general assembly ought to be free.

 7. That in all criminal prosecutions, every man has a right to be informed of the accusation against him, and to confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony, and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself.

8. That no freeman shall be put to answer any criminal charge, but by indictment, presentment, or impeachment.

9. That no freeman shall be convicted of any crime, but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men, in open court, as heretofore used.

10. That excessive bail should not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel nor unusual punishments inflicted.

 11. That general warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offenses are not particularly described, and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be granted.

 12. That no freeman ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the law of the land.

 13. That every freeman restrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy, to inquire in to the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the same, if unlawful; and that such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed.

 14. That in all controversies at law, respecting property, the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights of the people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable.

 15. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty; and therefore ought never to be restrained.

 16. That the people of this State ought not to be taxed, or made subject to the payment of any impost, or duty, without the consent of themselves, or their representatives in the general assembly freely given.

17. That the people have a right to bear arms, for the defense of the State; and as standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

18. That the people have a right to assemble together, to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the legislature for redress of grievances.

19. That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience.

20. That, for redress of grievances, and for amending and strengthening the laws, elections ought to be often held.

21. That a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.

22. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors ought to be granted or conferred in this State.

23. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State, and ought not to be allowed.

24. That retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty; wherefore, no ex post facto law ought to be made.

25. The property of the soil, in a free government, being one of the essential rights of the collective body of the people, it is necessary, in order to avoid future disputes, that the limits of the State should be ascertained with precision: and as the former temporary line betweenNorth and South Carolina was confirmed, and extended by commissioners, appointed by the legislatures of the two States, agreeable to the order of the late King George II in council, that line, and that only, should be esteemed the southern boundary of this State; that is to say, beginning on the seaside at a cedar stake at or near the mouth of Little River, (being the southern extremity of Brunswick County), and running from thence a northwest course, through the boundary-house, which stands in thirty-three degrees fifty-six minutes, to a thirty-five degrees north latitude; and from thence a west course, so far as is mentioned in the charter of King Charles II
to the late proprietors of Carolina. Therefore, all the territory, seas, waters, and harbors, with their appurtenances, lying between the line above described, and the southern line of the State of Virginia, which begins on the seashore, in thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, and from thence runs west, agreeable to the said charter of King Charles, are the right and property of the people of this State, to be held by them in sovereignty: any partial line, without the consent of the legislature of this State, at any time thereafter directed or laid out, in any wise notwithstanding: provided always, that this declaration of right shall not prejudice any nation or nations of Indians, from enjoying such hunting grounds as may have been, or hereafter shall be secured to them, by any former or future legislature of this State: And provided also, that it shall not be construed so as to prevent the establishment of one or more governments westward of this State, by consent of the legislature:  And provided further, that nothing herein contained shall affect the titles or possessions of individuals holding or claiming under the laws heretofore in force, or grants heretofore made by the late King George II, or his predecessors, or the late lords proprietors, or any of them.

THE CONSTITUTION

 The Constitution, or form of Government, agreed to and Resolved upon, by the Representatives of the freemen of the State of North Carolina, elected and chosen for that particular purpose, in Congress assembled, at Halifax, the eighteenth day of December , in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six.

Whereas, allegiance and protection are in their nature reciprocal, and the one should of right be refused when the other is withdrawn;

 And whereas, George the Third, king of Great Britain, and late sovereign of the British American colonies, hath not only withdrawn from them his protection, but, by an act of the British legislature, declared the inhabitants of these States out of the protection of the British crown, and all their property found upon the high-seas liable to be seized and confiscated to the uses mentioned in the said act; and the said George the Third has also sent fleets and armies to prosecute a cruel war against them, for the purpose of reducing the inhabitants of the said colonies to a state of object slavery; in consequence whereof, all government, under the said king, within the said colonies, hath ceased, and a total dissolution of government, in many of them, hath taken place:

 And whereas, the continental congress, having considered the premises, and other previous violations of the rights of the good people of America, have therefore declared that the thirteen united colonies are, of right, wholly absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, or any other foreign jurisdiction whatsoever; and that the said colonies now are, and forever shall be, free and independent states. Wherefore, in our present State, in order to prevent anarchy and confusion, it becomes necessary that government should be established in this State; therefore, we the representatives of the freemen of North Carolina, chosen and assembled in congress for the express purpose of framing a constitution, under the authority of the people, most conducive to their happiness and prosperity, do declare, that a government for this State shall be established, in manner and form following, to wit:

 1. That the legislative authority shall be vested in two distinct branches, both dependent on the people, to wit, a senate and house of commons.

 2. That the senate shall be composed of representatives, annually chosen by ballot, one for each county in the State.

 3. That the house of commons shall be composed of representatives, annually chosen by ballot, two for each county, and one for each of the towns of Edenton, New Bern, Wilmington, Salisbury, Hillsborough, and Halifax.

4. That the senate and house of commons, assembled for the purpose of legislation, shall be denominated the general assembly.

5. That each member of the senate shall have usually resided in the county in which he is chosen for one year immediately preceeding his election, and for the same time shall have possessed, and continue to possess, in the county which he represents, not less than three hundred acres of land in fee.

6. That each member of the house of commons shall have usually resided in the county in which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election, and for six months shall have possessed, and continue to possess, in the county which he represents , not less than one hundred acres of land in fee, or for the term of his own life.

7. That all freemen of the age of twenty-one years, who have been inhabitants of any one county within the State twelve months immediately preceding the day of any election, and possessed of a freehold, within the same county, of fifty acres of land, for six months next before, and at the day of election, shall be entitled to vote for a member of the senate.

8. That all freemen of the age of twenty-one years, who have been inhabitants of any one county within the State twelve months immediately preceding the day of any election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entitled to vote for members of the house of commons, for the county in which he resides.

9. That all persons possessed of a freehold, in any town in this State, having a right of representation, and also all freemen, who have been inhabitants of any such town twelve months next before, and at the day of election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entitled to vote for a member to represent such town in the house of commons: provided, always, that this section shall not entitle any inhabitant of such town to vote for members of the house of commons for the county in which he may reside : nor any freeholder in such county, who resides without or beyond the limits of such town, to vote for a member of the said town.

10. That the senate and house of commons, when met, shall each have power to choose a speaker, and their other officers; be judges of the qualifications and elections of their members; sit upon their own adjournments from day to day; and prepare bills to be passed into laws. The two houses shall direct writs of election, for supplying intermediate vacancies: and shall also jointly, by ballot, adjourn themselves to any future day and place.

11. That all bills shall be read three times in each house, before they pass into laws, and be signed by the speakers of both houses.

12. That every person, who shall be chosen a member of the senate or house of commons, or appointed to any office or place of trust, before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, shall take an oath to the State: and all officers shall take an oath of office.

13. That the general assembly shall, by joint ballot of both houses, appoint judges of the supreme courts of law and equity, judges of admiralty and attorney-general, who shall be commissioned by the governor, and hold their offices during good behavior.

14. That the senate and house of commons shall have power to appoint the generals and field officers of the militia, and all officers of the regular army of this State.

 15. That the senate and house of commons, jointly, at their first meeting after each annual election, shall, by ballot, elect a governor for one year, who shall not be eligible to that office longer than three years, in six successive years; that no person under thirty years of age, and who has not been a resident in this State above five years, and having, in the State, a freehold in lands and tenements, above the value of one thousand pounds, shall be eligible as a governor.

 16. That the senate and house of commons, jointly, at their first meeting, after each annual election, shall, by ballot, elect seven persons to be a council of state for one year;  who shall advise the governor in the execution of his office; and that four members shall be a quorum; their advice and proceedings shall be entered in a journal, to be kept for that purpose only, and signed by the members present; to any part of which any member present may enter his dissent. And such journal shall be laid before the general assembly when called for by them.

 17. That there shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him as occasion may require; and shall be called the great seal of the State of North Carolina, and shall be affixed to all grants and commissions.

 18. The governor, for the time being, shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief of the militia; and in the recess of the general  assembly, shall have power, by and with the advice of the council of  state, to embody the militia for the public safety.

 19. The governor, for the time being, shall have power to draw for and apply such sums of money as shall be voted by the general assembly, for the contingencies of government, and be accountable to them for the same. He also may, by and with the advice of the council of state, lay embargoes, or prohibit the exportation of any commodity, for any term not exceeding thirty days, at any one time in the recess of the general assembly;  and shall have the power of granting pardons and reprieves, except where the prosecution shall be carried on by the general assembly, or the law shall otherwise direct; in which case, he may, in the recess, grant a reprieve until the next sitting of the general assembly; and he may exercise all the other executive powers of government, limited and restrained, as by this constitution is mentioned, and according to the laws of the State. And, on his death, inability, or absence from the State, the speaker of the senate, for the time being, and in case of his death, inability, or absence from the State, the speaker of the house of commons, shall exercise the powers of government, after such death, or during such absence or inability of the governor, or speaker of the senate, or until a new nomination is made by the general assembly.

 20. That, in every case, where any officer, the right of whose appointment is, by this constitution, vested in the general assembly, shall, during their recess, die, or his office by other means become vacant, the governor shall have power, with the advice of the council of State, to fill up such vacancy, by granting a temporary commission, which shall expire at the end of the next session of the general assembly.

 21. That the governor, judges of the supreme court of law and equity, judges of admiralty, and attorney-general, shall have adequate salaries, during their continuance in office.

 22. That the general assembly shall, by joint ballot of both houses, annually appoint a treasurer or treasurers for this State.

23. That the governor, and other officers, offending against the State, by violating any part of this constitution, maladministration, or corruption, may be prosecuted, on the impeachment of the general assembly, or presentment of the grand jury of any court of supreme jurisdiction in this State.

24. That the general assembly shall, by joint ballot of both houses, triennially appoint a secretary for this State.

25. That no persons who heretofore have been, or hereafter may be, receivers of public moneys, shall have a seat in either house of general assembly, or be eligible to any office in this State, until such person shall have fully accounted for, and paid in to the treasury, all sums for which they may be accountable and liable.

26. That no treasurer shall have a seat, either in the senate, house of commons, or council of state, during his continuance in that office, or before he shall have finally settled his accounts with the public, for all the moneys which may be in his hands , at the expiration of his office, belonging to the State, and hath paid the same into the hands of the succeeding treasurer.

27. That no officer in the regular army or navy, in the service and pay of the United States, of this State or any other State, nor any contractor or agent for supplying such army or navy with clothing or provisions, shall have a seat either in the senate , house of commons, or council of state, or be eligible thereto; and any member of the senate, house of commons, or council of state, being appointed to ,and accepting of such office, shall thereby vacate his seat.

28. That no member of the council of state shall have a seat, either in the senate or house of commons.

29. That no judge of the supreme court of law or equity, or judge of admiralty, shall have a seat in the senate, house of commons, or council of state.

30. That no secretary of this State, attorney-general, or clerk of any court of record, shall have a seat in the senate, house of commons, or council of state.

31. That no clergyman, or preacher of the gospel, of any denomination, shall be capable of being a member of either the senate, house of commons, or council of state, while he continues in the exercise of his pastoral function.

32. That no person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of either the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principlesincompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office, or place of trust or profit, in the civil department, within this State.

33. That the justices of the peace, within their respective counties in this State, shall in future be recommended to the governor for the time being, by the representatives in general assembly; and the governor shall commission them accordingly; and the justices, when so commissioned, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall not be removed from office by the general assembly, unless for misbehaviour, absence, or inability.

34. That there shall be no establishment of any one religious church or denomination in this State, in preference to any other; neither shall any person, on any pretense whatsoever be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith or judgement, nor be obliged to pay for the purchase of any glebe, or the building of any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right, or has voluntarily and personally engaged to perform; but all persons shall be at liberty to exercise their own mode of worship: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to exempt preachers of treasonable or seditious discourses, from legal trial and punishment.

  35. That no person in the State shall hold more than one lucrative office at any one time: Provided that no appointment in the militia, or the office of a justice of the peace, shall be considered as a lucrative office.

 36. That all commissions and grants shall run in the name of the
State of North Carolina, and bear test, and be signed by the Governor. All writs shall run in the same manner, and bear test, and be signed by the clerks of the respective courts. Indictments shall conclude, against the peace and dignity of the State.

 37. That the delegates for this State to the continental congress, while necessary, shall be chosen annually by the general assembly, by ballot; but may be superseded, in the mean time, in the same manner; and no person shall be elected to serve in that capacity for more than three years successively.

 38. That there shall be a sheriff, coroner, or coroners, and constables, in each county within this State.

 39. That the person of a debtor, where there is not a strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after
delivering up, bona fide, all his estate, real and personal, for the use of his creditors, in such manner as shall hereafter be regulated by law. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great.

 40. That every foreigner who comes to settle in this State; having first taken an oath of allegiance to the same, may purchase, or, by other just means, acquire, hold, and transfer land, or other real estate, and after one year's residence be deemed a free citizen.

 41. That a school or schools shall be established by the legislature, for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at low prices; and, all usefull learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more universities.

 42. That no purchase of lands shall be made of the Indian natives, but on behalf of the public, by authority of the general assembly.

 43. That the future legislature of this State shall regulate entails, in such a manner as to prevent perpetuities.

 44. That the declaration of rights is hereby declared to be part of the constitution of this State, and ought never to be violated on any pretence whatsoever.

  45. That any member of either house of general assembly shall have liberty to dissent from and protest against any act or resolve which he may think injurious to the public, or any individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journals.

 46. That neither house of the general assembly shall proceed upon public business, unless a majority of all the members of such house are actually present; and that upon a motion made and seconded, the yeas and nays, upon any question, shall be taken and entered on the journals: and that the journals of the proceedings of both houses of the general assembly shall be printed, and made public, immediately after their adjournment.

 This constitution is not intended to preclude the present congress from making a temporary provision, for the well ordering of this State, until the general assembly shall establish government agreeable to the mode herein before described.

 RICHARD CASWELL, President.

 December the eighteenth, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, read the third  time, and ratified in open congress.
 

Footnote #10
THE CONSTITUTION
 Preamble

 We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union, and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledgeing our dependence upon Him, for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof, and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution.
 

 Article I.

 Declaration of Rights.

 That the great, general and essential principles of liberty and free government, may be recognized and established, and that the relations of this State to the Union and government of the United States, and those of the people of this State to the rest of the American people, may be defined and affirmed, we do declare;

 SECTION 1. That we hold it to be selfevident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.

 SEC. 2. That all political power is vested in, and derived from the people; all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.

 SEC. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Constitution and form of government, whenever it may be necessary to their safety and happiness; but every such right should be exercised in pursurance of law, and consistently with the Constitution of the United States.

 SEC. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union, that the people thereof are part of the American nation; that there is no right on the part of this State to secede, and that all attempts from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State.

SEC. 5. That every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the United States, and that no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof, can have any binding force.

SEC. 6. To maintain the honor and good faith of the State untarnished, the public debt, regularly contracted before and Since the rebellion, shall be regarded as inviolable and never be questioned; but the State shall never assume or pay, or authorize the collection of, any debt or obligation, express or implied, incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave.

SEC. 7. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community but in consideration of public services.

SEC. 8. The legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other.

SEC. 9. All power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.

SEC. 10. All elections ought to be free.

SEC. 11. In all criminal prosecutions, every man has the right to be informed of the accusation against him and to confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony, and to have counsel for his defence, and not be compelled to give evidence against himself, or to pay costs, jail fees, or necessary witness fees of the defence, unless found guilty.

SEC. 12. No person shall be put to answer any criminal charge except as hereinafter allowed, but by indictment, presentment, or impeachment.

SEC. 13. No person shall be convicted of any crime but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open court. The legislature may, however, provide other means of trial, for petty misdemeanors, with the right of appeal.

SEC. 14. Excessive bail should not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.

SEC. 15. General warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the act committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not to be granted.

SEC. 16. There shall be no imprisonment for debt in this State, except in cases of fraud.

SEC. 17. No person ought to be taken, imprisoned or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land.

SEC. 18. Every person restrained of his liberty, is entitled to a remedy to enquire in to the lawfulness thereof and to remove the same, if unlawful, and such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed.

SEC. 19. In all controversies at law respecting property, the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights of the people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable.

SEC. 20. The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and there ~ fore ought never to be restrained, but every individual shall be held responsible for the abuse of the same.

SEC. 21. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

SEC. 22. As political rights and privileges are not dependent upon or modified by property, therefore no property qualification ought to affect the right to vote or hold office.

SEC. 23. The people of this State ought not to be taxed, or made subject to the payment of any impost or duty, without the consent of themselves, or their representatives in General Assembly freely given.

SEC. 24. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up, and the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

SEC. 25. The people have a right to assemble together to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the Legislature for redress of grievances.

SEC. 26. All men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and no human authority should, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.

SEC. 27. The people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.

SEC. 28. For redress of grievances, and for amending and strengthening the laws, elections should be often held.

SEC. 29. A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles, is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.

SEC. 30. No hereditary emoluments, priviliges, or honors, ought to be granted or conferred in this State.

SEC. 31. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State, and ought not to be allowed.

SEC. 32. Retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the
existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are oppressive, unjust and incompatible with liberty, wherefore, no ex post facto law ought to be made. No law taxing retrospectively, sales, purchases, or other acts previously done, ought to be passed.

SEC. 33. Slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than for crime whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and are hereby forever prohibited within this State.

SEC. 34. The limits and boundaries of the State shall be and remain as they now are.

SEC. 35. All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay.

SEC. 36. 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 a manner prescribed by law.

SEC. 37. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others, retained by the people; and all powers, not herein delegated, remain with the people.
 

Article II.

 Legislative Department.

 SECTION 1. The Legislative authority shall be vested in two distinct branches, both dependent on the people to wit: a Senate and House of Representatives.

 SEC. 2. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet annually on the third Monday in November and when assembled, shall be denominated the General Assembly.   Neither House shall proceed upon public business, unless a majority of all the members are actually present.

SEC. 3. The Senate shall be composed of fifty Senators biennially chosen by ballot.

SEC. 4. Until the first session of the General Assembly which shall be had after the year eighteen hundred and seventy one, the Senate shall be composed of members elected from districts constituted as follows:   1st District-Perquimans, Pasquotank, Chowan, Currituck, Gates and Camden, shall elect two Senators.
 2nd District-Martin, Washington and Tyrrell shall elect one Senator.
 3rd District-Beaufort and Hyde, shall elect one Senator.
 4th District-Northampton shall elect one Senator.
 5th District-Bertie and Hertford, shall elect one Senator.
 6th District-Halifax, shall elect one Senator.
 7th District-Edgecombe, shall elect one Senator.
 8th District-Pitt, shall elect one Senator.
 9th District-Nash and Wilson, shall elect one Senator.
 10th District-Craven and Carteret, shall elect two Senators.
 11th District-Jones and Lenoir, shall elect one Senator.
 12th District-Duplin and Onslow, shall elect one Senator.
 13th District-Brunswick and New Hanover, shall elect two Senators.
 14th District-Bladen and Columbus, shall elect one Senator.
 15th District-Robeson, shall elect one Senator.
 16th District-Cumberland, Harnett and Sampson shall elect two Senators.
 17th District-Johnston, shall elect one Senator.
 18th District-Greene and Wayne, shall elect one Senator.
 19th District-Franklin and Wake, shall elect two Senators.
 20th District-Warren, shall elect one Senator.
 21st District-Granville and Person, shall elect two Senators.
 22nd District-Orange, shall elect one Senator.
 23rd District-Chatham, shall elect one Sentor.
 24th District-Caswell shall elect one Senator.
 25th District-Rockingham, shall elect one Senator.
 26th District-Alamance and Guilford, shall elect two Senators.
 27th District-Randolph and Montgomery, shall elect one Senator.
 28th District-Moore and Richmond, shall elect one Senator.
 29th District-Anson and Union, shall elect one Senator.
 30th District-Mecklenburg, shall elect one Senator.
 31st District-Cabarrus and Stanly, shall elect one Senator.
 32nd District-Davie and Rown, shall elect one Senator.
 33rd District-Davidson, shall elect one Senator.
 34th District-Forsyth and Stokes, shall elect one Senator.
 35th District-Surry and Yadkin, shall elect one Senator.
 36th District-Alexander and Iredell, shall elect one Senator.
 37th District-Catawba, Gaston and Lincoln, shall elect one Senator.
 38th District-Cleveland, Polk and Rutherford, shall elect one Senator.
 39th District-Alleghany, Ashe and Wilkes, shall elect one Senator.
 40th District-Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania shall elect one Senator.
 41st District-Burke, Caldwell and Watauga, shall elect one Senator.
 42nd District-Madison, Mitchell, McDowell, and Yancey shall elect one Senator.
 43rd District-Clay, Cherokee, Haywood, Jackson and Macon, shall elect one Senator.

SEC. 5. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the State shall be taken under the direction of the General Assembly in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy five, and at the end of every ten years thereafter; and the said Senate districts, shall be so altered by the General Assembly, at the first session after the return of every enumeration taken as aforesaid, or by order of Congress, that each Senate district shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens and Indians not taxed, and shall remain unaltered until the return of another enumeration, and shall at all times consist of contiguous territory; and no county shall be divided in the formation of a Senate district, unless such county shall be equitably entitled to two or more Senators.

SEC. 6. The House of Representatives shall be composed of one hundred and twenty Representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by the counties respectively, according to their population, and each county shall have at least one Representative in the House of Representatives, although it may not contain the requisite ratio of representation.  This apportionment shall be made by the General Assembly at the respective times and periods when the districts for the Senate are hereinbefore directed to be laid off.

 SEC. 7. In making the apportionment in the House of Representatives, the ratio of representation should be ascertained by dividing the amount of the population of the State, exclusive of that comprehended within those counties which do not severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the population of the State, by the number of Representatives, less the number assigned to such counties; and in ascertaining the number of the population of the State, aliens and Indians not taxed, shall not be included. To each county containing the said ratio and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned one representative; to each county containing twice but not three times the said ratio, there shall be assigned two representatives, and so on progressively, and then the remaining representatives shall be assigned severally to the counties having the largest fractions.

SEC. 8. Until the General Assembly shall have made the apportionment as herein before provided, the House of Representatives shall be composed of members elected from the counties in the following manner, to wit; The county of Wake shall elect four members; the counties of Craven, Granville, Halifax and New Hanover shall elect three members each; the counties of Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Warren and Wayne shall elect two members each; the counties of Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Camden Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Columbus, Currituck, Davie, Forsooth, Gaston, Gates, Greene, Harnett, Henderson, Haywood, Hertford, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Lenoir, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, Martin, McDowell, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Onslow, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Polk, Richmond, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Union, Washington, Watauga, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin and Yancy shall elect one member each.

 SEC. 9. Each member of the Senate shall be not less than twenty-five years of age, shall have resided in the State as a citizen two years, and shall have usually resided in the district for which he is chosen, one year immediately preceding his election.

 SEC. 10. Each member of the House of Representatives shall be a qualified elector of the State, and shall have resided in the county for which he is chosen, for one year immediately preceding his election.

 SEC. 11. In the election of all officers, whose appointment shall be conferred upon the General Assembly by the Constitution, the vote shall be viva voce.

SEC. 12. The General Assembly shall have power to pass general laws regulating divorce and alimony, but shall not have power to grant a divorce or secure Alimony in any individual case.

SEC. 13. The General Assembly shall not have power to pass any private law to alter the name of any person, or to legitimate any person not born in lawful wedlock, or to restore the rights of citizenship any person convicted of an infamous crime, but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the same.

SEC. 14. The General Assembly shall not pass any private law, unless it shall be made to appear, that thirty day's notice of application to pass such law shall have been given, under such direction, and in such manner as shall be provided by law.

SEC. 15. If vacancies shall occur in the General Assembly by death, resignation or otherwise, writs of election shall be issued by the Governor under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 16. No law shall be passed to raise money on the credit of the State, or to pledge the faith of the State directly or indirectly for the payment of any debt, or to impose any tax upon the people of the State, or to allow the counties, cities or towns to do so, unless the bill for the purpose shall have been read three several times in each House of the General Assembly, and passed three several readings, which readings shall have been on three different days, and agreed to by each House respectively, and unless the yeas and nays on the second and third readings of the bill shall have been entered on the Journal.

SEC. 17. The General Assembly shall regulate entails in such manner as to prevent perpetuities.

SEC. 18. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, which shall be printed and made public immediately after the adjurnment of the General Assembly.

SEC. 19. Any member of either House may dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve, which he may think injurious to the public, or any individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the Journal.

SEC. 20. The House of Representatives shall choose their own Speaker and other officers.

SEC. 21. The Lieutenant-Governor shall preside in the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless it may be equally divided.

SEC. 22. The Senate shall choose its other officers and also; a Speaker (pro tempore) in the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, or when he shall exercise the office of Governor.

SEC. 23. The style of the acts shall be, "The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact :".

SEC. 24. Each House shall be judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members, shall sit upon its own adjournment from day to day, prepare bills to be passed into laws, and the two Houses, may also jointly adjourn to any future day, or other place.

SEC. 25. All bills and resolutions of a legislative nature, shall be read three times in each House, before they pass into laws; and shall be signed by the presiding officers of both Houses.

SEC. 26. Each member of the General Assembly, before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation that he will support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, and will faithfully discharge his duty as a member of the Senate or House of Representatives.

SEC. 27. The terms of office for Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall commence at the time of their election; and the term of office of those elected at the first election held under this Constitution shall terminate at the same time as if they had been elected, at the first ensuing regular election.

SEC. 28. Upon motion made and seconded in either House, by one fifth of the members present, the yeas and nays upon any question shall be taken and entered upon the journals.

SEC. 29. The election for members of the General Assembly shall be held for the respective districts, and counties, at the places where they are now held, or may be directed hereafter to be held, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, on the first Thursday in August, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and every two years thereafter. But the General Assesmbly may change the time of holding the elections. The first election shall be held when the vote shall be taken on the ratification of this Constitution by the voters of the State, and the General Assembly then elected, shall meet on the fifteenth day after the approval thereof by the Congress of the United States, if it fall not on Sunday, but if it shall so fall, then on the next day thereafter, and the members then elected shall hold their seats until their successors are elected at a regular election.

 Article III.

 Executive Department.

SECTION 1. The Executive Department shall consist of a Governor (in whom shall be vested the Supreme executive power of the State) a Lieutenant Governor, a Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Works, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, and an Attorney General, who shall be elected for a term of four years, by the qualified electors of the State, at the same time and places, and in t he same manner as members of the General Assembly are elected. Their term of office shall commence on the first day of January next, after their election, and continue until their successors are elected and qualified: Provided, That the officers first elected shall assume the duties of their offlce ten days after the approval of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, and shall hold their offices four years from and after the first of January, 1869.

SEC. 2. No person shall be eligible as Governor or Lieutenant Governor, unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall have been a citizen of the United States five years, and shall have been a resident of this State for two years next before the election; nor shall the person elected to either of these two offices be eligible to the same office more than four years in any term of eight years unless the office shall have been cast upon him as Lieutenant Governor or President of the Senate.

SEC. 3. The return of every election for officers of the Executive Department shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of Government by the returning officers, directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall open and publish the same in the presence of a majority of the members of both Houses of the General Assembly. The persons having the highest number of votes respectively, shall be declared duly elected; but if two or more be equal and highest in votes for the same office, th en one of them shall be chosen by joint ballot, of both Houses of the General Assembly. Contested elections shall be determined by a joint vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 4. The Governor, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall, in the presence of the members of both branches of the General Assembly, or before any Justice of the Supreme Court, take an oath or affirmation, that he will support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the State of North Carolina, and that he will faithfully perform the duties appertaining to the office of Governor to which he has been elected.

SEC. 5. The Governor shall reside at the seat of government of this State, and he shall, from time to time, give the General Assembly information of the affairs of the State, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 6. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves commutations and pardons, after conviction, for all offences, (except in cases of impeachment) upon such conditions as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. He shall annually communicate to the General Assembly each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted; stating the name of each convict, the crime for which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, the date of commutation, pardon, or reprieve, and the reasons therefore.

SEC. 7. The officers of the Executive Department and of the Public Institutions of the State, shall at least five days previous to each regular session of the General Assembly, severally report to the Governor, who shall transmit such reports, with his message, to the General Assembly; and the Governor may, at any time, require information in writing from the officers in the Executive Department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and shall take care that the laws be faith fully executed.

SEC. 8. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Militia of the State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.

SEC. 9. The Governor shall have power, on extraordinary occasions, by and with the advice of the Council of State, to convene the General Assembly in extra session by his proclamation, stating therein the purpose or purposes for which they are thus convened.

SEC. 10. The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senators elect, appoint, all officers whose offices are established by this Constitution, or which shall be created by law, and whose appointments are not otherwise provided for, and no such officer shall be appointed or elected by the General Assembly.

SEC. 11. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless the Senate be equally divided. He shall, whilst acting as President of the Senate, receive for his services the same pay which shall for the same period, be allowed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and he shall receive no other compensation except when he is acting as Governor.

SEC. 12. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his failure to qualify, his absence from the State, his inability to discharge the duties of his office, or in case the office of Governor shall in any wise become vacant, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor until the disabilities shall cease, or a new Governor shall be elected and qualified.  In every case in which the Lieutenant Governor shall be unable to preside over the Senate, the Senators shall elect one of their own number President of their body; and the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office of the office of Governor shall devolve upon him whenever the Lieutenant Governor shall, for any reason, be prevented from discharging the duties of such office as above provided, and he shall continue as acting Governor until the disabilities be removed or a new Governor or Lieutenant Governor shall be elected and qualified.   Whenever, during the recess of the General Assembly, it shall become necessary for a President of the Senate to administer the government, the Secretary of State shall convene the Senate, that they may elect such President.

 SEC. 13. The respective duties of the Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Super intendent of Public Works, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Attorney General shall be prescribed by law. If the office of any of said officers shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty to the Governor to appoint another until the disability be removed or his successor be elected and qualified. Every such vacancy shall be filled by election, at the first general election that occurs more than thirty days after the vacancy has taken place and the person chosen, shall hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term fixed in the first section of this Article.

SEC. 14. The Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Works, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall constitute ex officio, the Council of State, who shall advise the Governor in the execution of his office, and three of whom shall constitute a quorum; their advice and proceedings in this capacity shall be entered in a Journal, to be kept for this purpose exclusively, and signed by the members present, from any part of which any member may enter his dissent; and such journal shall be placed before the General Assembly when called for by either House.  The Attorney General shall be, ex officio, the legal adviser of the Executive Department.

SEC. 15. The officers mentioned in this Article shall, at stated periods, receive for their services a compensation to be established by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the time for which they shall have been elected, and the said officers shall receive no other emolument or allowance whatever.

SEC. 16. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him, as occasion may require, and shall be called "the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina." All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name and by the authority of the State of North Carolina, sealed with "the Great Seal of the State," signed by the Governor and countersigned by the Secretary of State.

SEC. 17. There shall be established in the office of Secretary of State, a Bureau of Statistics, Agriculture and Immigration, under such regulations as the General Assembly may provide.

Article IV

Judicial Department.

SEC. 1. The distinction between actions at law and suits in equity, and the forms of all such actions and suits shall be abolished, and there shall be in this State but one form of action, for the enforcement or protection of private rights or the redress of private wrongs which shall be denominated a civil action; and every action prosecuted by the people of the State as a party, against a person charged with a public offence, for the punishment of the same, shall be termed a criminal action. Feigned issues shall be abolished and the fact at issue tried by order of court before a jury.

SEC. 2. Three Commissioners shall be appointed by this Convention to report to the General Assembly at its first session after this Constitution shall be adopted by the people, rules of practice and procedure in accordance with the provisions of the foreign section, and the Convention shall provide for the commissioners, a reasonable compensation

SEC. 3. The same Commissioners shall also report to the General Assembly as soon as practible, a code of the law of North Carolina. The Governor shall have power to fill all vacancies occurring in this Commission.

SEC. 4. The Judicial power of the State shall be vested in a court for the trial of impeachments, a Supreme Court, Superior Courts, Courts of Justices of the Peace, and Special Courts.

SEC. 5. The Court for the trial of Impeachments shall be the Senate. A majority of the members shall be necessary to a quorum, and the judgment shall not extend beyond removal from, and disqualification to hold, office in this State; but the party shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to law.

SEC. 6. The House of Representatives solely, shall have the power of impeaching. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the Senators present. When the Governor is impeached the Chief Justice shall preside.

SEC. 7. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it or adhearing to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. No conviction of treason or attainder shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture.

SEC. 8. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.

SEC. 9. There shall be two terms of the Supreme Court held at the seat of Government of the State in each year, commencing on the first Monday in January, and first Mon day in June, and continuing as long as the public interest may require.

SEC. 10. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction to review, upon appeal, any decision of the courts below, upon any matter of law or legal inference; but no issue of fact it shall be tried before this court: and the court shall have power to issue any remedial writs necessary, to give it a general supervision and control of the inferior courts.

SEC. 11. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction to hear claims against the State, but its decisions shall be merely recommendatory: no process in the nature of execution, shall issue thereon; they shall be reported to the next session of the General Assembly for its action.

SEC. 12. The State shall be divided into twelve judicial districts, for each of which a Judge shall be chosen, who shall hold a Superior Court in each county in said District, at least twice in each year, to continue for two weeks, unless the business shall be sooner disposed of.

SEC. 13. Until altered by law, the following shall be the Judicial Districts:

 First District. Currituck, Perquimans, Hertford, Camden, Chowan, Bertie, Pasquotank, Gates;  Second District. Tyrrell, Beaufort, Edgecombe, Hyde, Martin, Washington, Pitt;   Third District. Craven, Greene, Wayne, Carteret, Onslow, Wilson, Jones, Lenoir;   Fourth District. Brunswick, Columbus, Robeson, New Hanover, Btaden, Duplin Sampson;   Fifth District. Cumberland, Richmond, Stanly, Harnett, Anson, Union, Moore, Montgomery;   Sixth District. Northampton, Wake, Johnson, Warren, Nash, Halifax, Franklin;   Seventh District. Person, Randolph, Caswell, Orange, Guilford, Rockingham, Chatham, Alamance;   Eighth District. Stokes, Rowan, Surry, Forsyth, Davie, Davidson, Yadkin;   Ninth District. Catawba, Lincoln, Rutherford, Cabarrus, Gaston, Polk, Mecklenburg;   Tenth District. Iredell, Caldwell, Alexander, Burke, Wilkes, McDowall;   Eleventh District. Alleghany, Mitchell, Buncombe, Ashe, Yancy, Watauga, Madison;   Twelfth District. Henderson, Macon, Cherokee, Transylvania, Jackson, Haywood, Clay.

SEC. 14. Every Judge of a Superior Court shall reside in his District while holding his office. The Judges may exchange districts with each other with the consent of the Governor and the Governor, for good reasons, which he shall report to the Legislature at its current or next session, may require any Judge to hold one or more specified terms of said Courts in lieu of the Judge in whose district they are.

SEC. 15. The Superior Courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of all civil actions, whereof exclusive original jurisdiction is not given to some other courts; and of all criminal actions, in which the punishment may exceed a fine of fifty dollar s or imprisonment for one month.

SEC. 16. The Superior Courts shall have appellate jurisdiction of all issues of law or fact, determined by a Probate Judge or a Justice of the Peace, where the matter in controversy exceeds twenty-five dollars, and of matters of law in all cases.

SEC. 17. The Clerks of the Superior Courts shall have jurisdiction of the probate of deeds, the granting of letters testamentary and of administration, the appointment of Guardians, the apprenticing of orphans, to audit the accounts of executors, administrators and guardians, and of such other matters as shall be prescribed by law.  All issues of fact joined before them shall be transferred to the Superior Courts for trial, and appeals shall lie to the Superior Courts from their judgements in all matters of law.

SEC. 18. In all issues of fact, joined in any court, the parties may waive the right to have the same determined by jury, in which case the finding of the Judge upon the facts, shall have the force and effect of a verdict of a jury.

SEC. 19. The General Assembly shall provide for the establishment of special courts, for the trial of misdemeanors, in cities and towns, where the same may be necessary.

SEC. 20. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the court, and shall hold his office for eight years.

SEC. 21. A Clerk of the Superior Court for each county, shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, at the time and in the manner prescribed by law, for the election of members of the General Assembly.

SEC. 22. Clerks of the Superior Courts shall hold their offices for four years.

SEC. 23. The General Assembly shall prescribe and regulate the fees, salaries, and emoluments of all officers provided for in this Article; but the salaries of the Judges shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

SEC. 24. The laws of North Carolina, not repugnant to this Constitution, or to the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be ill force until lawfully altered.

SEC. 25. Actions at law, and suits in equity, pending when this Constitution shall go into effect, shall be transferred to the courts having jurisdiction thereof, without prejudice by reason of the change, and all such actions and suits, commenced before, and pending at, the adoption by the General Assembly, of the rules of practice and procedure herein provided for, shall be heard and determined, according to the practice now in use, unless otherwise provided for by said rules.

SEC. 26. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, as is provided for the election of members of the General Assembly. They shall hold their offices for eight years. The Judges of the Superior Courts shall be elected in like manner, and shall hold their offices for eight years; but the Judges of the Superior Courts elected at the first election under this Constitution, shall, after their election, under the superintendance of the Justices of the Supreme Court be divided by lot into two equal classes, one of which shall hold office for four years, the other for eight years.

SEC. 27. The General Assembly may provide by law that the Judges of the Superior Courts, instead of being elected by the voters of the whole State, as is herein provided for, shall be elected by the voters of their respective districts.

SEC. 28. The Superior Courts shall be, at all times, open for the transaction of all business within their jurisdeition, except the trial of issues of fact requiring a jury.

SEC. 29. A Solicitor shall be elected for each judicial district by the qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for members of the General Assembly, who shall hold office for the term of four years, and prosecute on behalf of the State, in all criminal actions in the Supericr Courts, and advise the officers of justice in his district.

SEC. 30. In each county a Sheriff and Coroner, shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof as is prescribed for members of the General Assembly, and shall hold their offices for two years. In each township there shall be a Constable, elected in like manner by the voters thereof, who shall hold his office for two years. When there is no Coroner in the county, the Clerk of the Superior Court for the county may appoint one for special cases.   In case of a vacancy existing for any cause, in any of the offices created by this Section, the Commissioners for the county may appoint to such office for the unexpired term.

SEC. 31. All vacancies occurring in the offices provided for by this article of this Constitution, shall be filled by the appointment of the Governor, unless otherwise provided for, and the appointees shall hold their places until the next regular election.

SEC. 32. The officers elected at the first election held under this Constitution, shall hold their offices for the terms prescribed for them respectively, next ensuing after the next regular election for members of the General Assembly.  But their terms shall begin upon the approval of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States.

SEC. 33. The several Justices of the Peace shall have exclusive original jurisdiction under such regulations as the General Assembly shall prescribe, of all civil actions, founded on contract, wherein the sum demanded shall not exceed two hundred dollars, and wherein the title to real estate shall not be in controversy; and of all criminal matters arising within their counties, where the punishment cannot exceed a fine of fifty dollars, or imprisonment for one month.
  When an issue of fact shall be joined before a Justice, on demand of either party thereto, he shall cause a jury of six men to be summoned, who shall try the same.   The party against whom judgement shall be rendered in any civil action, may appeal to the Superior Court from the same, and, if the judgement shall exceed twenty-five dollars, there may be a new trial of the whole matter in the appelate court; but if th e judgement shall be for twenty five dollars or less, then the case shall be heard in the appelate court, only upon matters of law.   In all cases of a criminal nature, the party against whom judgement is given may appeal to the Superior Court, where the matter shall be heard
anew. In all cases brought before a Justice, he shall make a record of the proceedeings, and file the same with the Clerk of the Superior Court for his county.

SEC. 34. When the office of Justice of the Peace shall become vacant, otherwise than by expiration of the term, and in case of a failure by the voters of any district, to elect, the Clerk of the Superior Court for the County, shall appoint to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

SEC. 35. In case the office of Clerk of a Superior Court for a County shall become vacant, otherwise than by the expiration of the term, and in case of a failure by the people to elect, the Judge of the Superior Court for the County shall appoint to fill the vacancy until an election can be regularly held.
 

Article V.

Revenue and Taxations

SECTION 1. The General Assembly shall levy a capitation tax on every male inhabitant of the State over twenty one and under fifty years of age, which shall be equal on each, to the tax on property valued at three hundred dollars in cash. The Commissioners of the several counties may exempt from capitation tax in special cases, on account of poverty and infirmity, and the State and county capitation tax combined, shall never exceed two dollars on the head.

SEC. 2. The proceeds of the State and County capitation tax shall be applied to the purposes of education and the support of the poor, but in no one year shall more than twenty five per cent, thereof, be appropriated to the latter purpose.

SEC. 3. Laws shall be passed taxing, by a uniform rule, all monies, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock companies or otherwise; and, also, all real and personal property, according to its true value in money. The General Assembly may also tax trades, professions, franchises, and incomes, provided, that no income shall be taxed when the property from which the income is derived, is taxed.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation and by adequate taxation, provide for the prompt and regular payment of the interest on the public debt, and after the year 1880, it shall lay a specific annual tax upon the real and personal property of the State, and the sum thus realized shall be set apart as a sinking fund, to be devoted to the payment of
the public debt.

SEC. 5. Until the Bonds of the State shall be at par, the General
Assembly shall have no power to contact any new debt or pecuniary obligation in behalf of the State, except to supply a casual deficit, or for suppressing invasion or insurrection, unless it shall in the same bill levy a special tax to pay the interest annually. And the General Assembly shall have no power to give or lend the credit of the State in aid of any person, association or corporation, except to aid in the completion of such Rail Roads as may be unfinished at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, or in which the State has a direct pecuniary interest, unless the subject be submitted, to a direct vote of the people of the State, and be approved by a majority of those
who shall vote thereon.

SEC. 6. Property belonging to the State, or to municipal corporations, shall be exempt from taxation. The General Assembly exempt cemeteries, and property held for educational, scientific, literary, charitable, or religious purposes; Also, wearing apparel , Arms for Muster, household and kitchen furniture, the Mechanical and agricultural implements of Merchants and farmers, libraries and scientific instruments, to a value not exceeding three hundred dollars.

SEC. 7. The taxes levied by the commissioners of the several counties, for county purposes, shall be levied in like manner with the State taxes and shall never exceed the double of the State tax, except for a special purpose, and with the special approval of the General Assembly.

SEC. 8. Every act of the General Assembly, levying a tax, shall state the special object to which it is to be applied, and it shall be applied to no other purpose.
 

Article VI

Suffrage and Eligibility to Office.

SECTION 1. Every male person born in the United States, and every male person who has been naturalized, twenty one years old or upward, who shall have resided in this state twelve months next preceeding the election, and thirty days in the county, in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed an elector.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide from time to time, for the registration of all electors, and no person shall be allowed to vote without registration, or to register, without first taking an oath or affirmation to support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution and laws of North Carolina, not inconsistent therewith.

SEC. 3. All elections by the people shall be by ballot and all elections by the General Assembly shall be viva voce.

SEC. 4. Every voter, except as hereinafter provided, shall be eligible to office; but before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe the following oath: "I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution and laws of North Carolina not inconsistent there with, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office. So help me God."

SEC. 5. The following classes of persons shall be disqualified for office: First, All persons who shall deny the being of Almighty God. Second; All persons who shall have been convicted of treason, perjury or of any other infamous crime, since becoming citizens of the United States, or of corruption, or malpractice in office, unless such persons shall have been legally restored to the rights of citizenship.
 

 Article VII.

Municipal Corporations

SECTION 1. In each county, there shall be elected, biennially, by the qualified voters thereof, as provided for the election of members of the General Assembly, the following officers, a Treasurer, Register of Deeds, Surveyor and five Commissioners.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners to exercise a general supervision and control of the penal and charitable institutions, schools, roads, bridges, levying of taxes and finances of the county, as may be prescribed by law. The Register of Deeds shall be ex officio, Clerk of the Board of Commissioners.

SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners, first elected in each county, to divide the same into convenient districts, to determine the boundaries and prescribe the names of the said districts, and report the same to the General Assembly before the first day of January, 1869.

SEC. 4. Upon the approval of the reports provided for in the foregoing section, by the General Assembly, the said districts shall have corporate powers for the necessary purposes of local government and shall be known as townships.

SEC. 5. In each township there shall be biennially elected, by the qualified voters thereof, a Clerk and two Justices of the Peace, who shall constitute a board of trustees, and shall, under the supervision of the County Commissioners, have control of the taxes and finances, roads and bridges of the township as may be prescribed by law. The General Assembly may provide for the election of a larger number of Justices of the Peace in cities and towns and in those townships in which cities and towns and in those townships in which cities and towns are situated. In every township there shall also be biennially elected a School Committee consisting of three persons whose duties shall be
prescribed by law.

SEC. 6. The township Board of Trustees, shall assess the taxable property of their townships and make return to the County Commissioners, for revision as may be prescribed by law. The Clerk shall also be ex officio, Treasurer of the township.

SEC. 7. No county, city, town or other municipal corporation, shall contract any debt, pledge its faith, or loan its credit, nor shall any tax be levied or collected by any officers of the same, except for the necessary expenses thereof, unless by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters therein.

SEC. 8. No money shall be drawn from any County or Township Treasury, except by authority of law.

SEC. 9. All taxes levied by any county, city, town or township, shall be uniform, and ad valorem, upon all property in the same, except property exempted by this Constitution.

SEC. 10. The county officers first elected under the provisions of this article shall enter upon their duties ten days after the approval of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States.

SEC. 11. The Governor shall appoint a sufficient number of Justices of the Peace, in each County who shall hold their places until sections four, five and six of this article shall have been carried into effect.

SEC. 12. All charters, ordinances and provisions relating to municipal corporations, shall remain in force until legally changed, unless inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution.

SEC. 13. No county, city, town or other municipal corporation, shall assume or pay, nor shall any tax be levied or collected, for the payment of any debt, or the interest upon any debt, contracted, directly or indirectly, in aid or support of the rebellion.
 

Article VIII.

Corporations other than Municipal

SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, and in cases where, in the judgement of the Legislature, the object of the corporations cannot be attained under general laws . All general laws and special acts passed pursuant to this Section, may be altered from time to time or repealed.

SEC. 2. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such individual liabilities of the corporations and other means, as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 3. The term corporation, as used in this Article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint stock companies, having any of the powers and privileges of corporations, not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts, in like cases as natural persons.

SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for the organization of cities, towns, and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and in contracting debts, by such municipal corporation.

Article IX

SECTION 1. Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and happiness of mankind, schools, and the means of education, shall forever be encouraged.

SEC. 2. The General Assembly at its first session under this Constitution, shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of Public Schools, wherein tuition shall be free of charge to all the children of the State between the ages of six and twenty-one years.

SEC. 3. Each County of the State shall be divided into a convenient number of Districts, in which one or more Public Schools shall be maintained, at least four months in every year; and if the Commissioners of any County shall fail to comply with the afore said requirement of this section, they shall be liable to indictment.

SEC. 4. The proceeds of all lands that have been, or hereafter may be, granted by the United States to this State and not otherwise specially appropriated by the United States or heretofore by this State; also all monies, stocks, bonds, and other property now belonging to any fund for purposes of Education; also the net proceeds that may accrue to the State from sales of estrays or from fines, penalties and forfeitures; also the proceeds of all sales of the swamp lands belonging to the State; also all money that shall be paid as an equivalent for exemptions from military duty; also, all grants, gifts or devises that may hereafter be made to this State, and not otherwise appropriated by the grant, gift or devise, shall be securely invested, and sacredly  preserved as an irreducible educational fund, the annual income of which, together with so much of the ordinary revenue of the State as may be necessary, shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing and perfecting, in this State, a system of Free Public Schools, and for no other purposes or uses whatsoever.

SEC. 5. The University of North Carolina with its lands, emoluments and franchises, is under the Control of the State, and shall be held to an inseparable connection with the Free Public School System of the State.

SEC. 6. The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of the University, as far as practicable, be extended to the youth of the State free of expense for tuition; also, that all the property which has heretofore accrued to the State, or shall thereafter accrue from escheats, unclaimed dividends or distributive shares of the estates of deceased persons, shall be appropriated to the use of the University.

SEC. 7. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Public Works, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Attorney General, shall constitute a State Board of Education.

SEC. 8. The Governor shall be President, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be Secretary, of the Board of Education.

SEC. 9. The Board of Education shall succeed to all the powers and trusts of the President and directors of the Literary Fund of North Carolina, and shall have full power to legislate and make all needful rules and regulations in relation to Free Public Schools, and the Educational fund of the State; but all acts, rules and regulations of said Board may be altered, amended, or repealed by the General Assembly, and when so altered, amended or repealed by the General Assembly, and when so altered, amended or repealed they shall not be reenacted by the Board.

SEC. 10. The first session of the Board of Education shall be held at the Capital of the State, within fifteen days after the organization of the State Government under this Constitution; the time of future meetings may be determined by the Board.

SEC. 11. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

SEC. 12. The contingent expenses of the Board shall be provided for by the General Assembly.

SEC. 13 The Board of Education shall elect Trustees for the University, as follows: One trustee for each County in the State, whose term of office shall be eight years. The first meeting of the Board shall be held within ten days after their election, and at this and every subsequent meeting, ten Trustees shall constitute a quorum. The Trustees, at their first meeting, shall be divided, as equally as may be, into four classes. The seats of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of two years; of the second class at the expiration of four years; of the third class at the expiration of six years; of the fourth class at the expiration of eight years; so that one fourth may be chosen every second year.

SEC. 14. The Board of Education and the President of the University, shall be ex officio members of the Board of Trustees of the University; and shall, with three other Trustees to be appointed by the Board of Trustees, constitute the Executive Committee of the Trustees of the University of North Carolina, and shall be clothed with the powers delegated to the Executive Committee under the existing organization of the Institution. The Governor shall be ex ogeio President of the Board of Trustees and Chair man of the Executive Committee of the University. The Board of Education shall provide for the more perfect organization of the Board of Trustees.

SEC. 15. All the privileges, rights, franchises and endowments heretofore granted to, or conferred upon, the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina by the Charter of 1789, or by any subsequent legislation, are hereby vested in the Board of Trustees, authorized by this Constitution, for the perpetual benefit of the University.

SEC. 16. As soon as practicable after the adoption of this Constitution, the General Assembly shall establish and maintain, in connection with the University, a Department of Agriculture, of Mechanics, of Mining and of Normal Instruction.

SEC. 17. The General Assembly is hereby empowered to enact that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability, shall attend the Public Schools during the period between the ages of six and eighteen years, for a term of not less than sixteen months, unless educated by other means.
 

Article X.

Homesteads and Exemptions

SECTION 1. The personal property of any resident of this State, to the value of five hundred dollars, to be selected by such resident, shall be, and is hereby exempted, from sale under execution, or other final process of any court, issued for the collect ion of any debt.

SEC. 2. Every Homestead and the dwelling and buildings used therewith, not exceeding in value one thousand dollars, to be selected by the owner thereof, or in lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in a city, town or village, with the dwelling and buildings used thereon, owned and occupied by any resident of this State, and not exceeding the value of one thousand dollars, shall be exempted from sale under execution, or other final process, obtained on any debt. But no property shall be exempt from sale for taxes or for payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of said premises.

SEC. 3. The Homestead, after the death of the owner thereof, shall be exempt from the payment of any debt, during the minority of his children, or any one of them.

SEC. 4. The provisions of section one and two of this Article shall not be so construed as to prevent a laborer's lien for work done and performed for the person claiming such exemption, or a mechanic's lien for work done on the premises.

SEC. 5. If the owner of a Homestead die, leaving a widow, but no children the same shall be exempt from the debts of her husband, and the rents and profits thereof shall in sure to her benefit, during her widowhood, unless she be the owner of a Homestead, in her own right.

SEC. 6. The real personal property of any female in this State, acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which she may after marriage, become in any manner entitled, shall be and remain, the sole and separate estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for any debts, obligations or engagements of her husband, and may be devised, or requeathed, and, with the written assent of her husband, convey ed, by her, as if she were unmarried.

SEC. 7. The husband may insure his own life for the sole use and benefit of his wife and children, and in case of the death of the husband, the amount thus insured, shall be paid over to the wife and children, or the guardian, if under age, for her, or their own use, free from all the claims of the representatives of the husband, or any of his creditors.

SEC. 8. Nothing contained in the foregoing sections of this Article shall operate to prevent the owner of a Homestead from disposing of the same by deed; but no deed made by the owner of a Homestead shall be valid without the voluntary signature and assent of his wife, signified on her private examination according to law.
 

Article XI.

Punishments, Penal Institutions and Public Charities.

SECTION 1. The following punishments only, shall be known to the laws of this State, viz: death, imprisonment, with, or without hard labor, fines, removal from office, and dis-qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under this State.

SEC. 2.  The object of punishments, being not only to satisfy justice, but also to reform and offender, and thru prevent crime, murder, arson, burglary, and rape, and these only, may be punishable with death, if the General Assembly shall so enact.

SEC. 3.  The General Assembly shall, at its first meeting, make provision for the erection and conduct of a States' Prison or Penitentiary at some central and accessible point with the State.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly may provide for the erection of Houses of Correction, where vagrants and persons guilty of misdemeanors shall be restrained and usefully employed.

SEC. 5. A House or Houses of Refuge may be established, whenever the public interest may require it, for the correction and instruction of other classes of offenders.

SEC. 6. It shall be required, by competent legislation, that the structure and superintendence of penal institutions of the State, the county jails, and city police prisons, secure the health and comfort of the prisoners, and that male and female prisoners be never confined in the same room or cell.

SEC. 7. Beneficient provision for the poor, the unfortunate and orphan, being one of the first duties of a civilized and a Christian State, The General Assembly shall, at its first session, appoint and define the duties of a Board of Public Charities, to whom shall be intrusted the supervision of all charitable and penal State institutions, and who shall annually report to the Governor upon their condition, with suggestions for their improvement.

SEC. 8. There shall also, as soon as practicable, be measures devised by the State, for the establishment of one or more Orphan Houses, where destitute orphans may be cared for, educated and taught some business or trade.

SEC. 9. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, as soon as practicable, to devise means for the education of idiots and,inebriates.

SEC. 10. The General Assembly shall provide that all the deaf mutes, the blind, and the insane of the State, shall be cared for at the charge of the State.

SEC. 11. It shall be steadily kept in view by the Legislature, and the Board of Public Charities, that all penal and charitable institutions should be made as nearly self-supporting as is consistent with the purposes of their creations.

Article XII

Militia

SECTION 1. All able bodied male citizens of the State of North-Carolina, between the ages of twenty-one and forty years, who are citizens of the United States, shall be liable to duty in the Militia, Provided, That all persons who may be adverse to bearing arms, from religious scruples,  shall be exempt therefrom.

SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall provide for the organizing, arming, equipping and discipline of the Militia, and for paying the same when called into active service.

SEC. 3. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief, and have power to call out the Militia to execute the law, suppress riots or insurrection, and to repel invasion.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall have power to make suche exemptions as may be deemed necessary, and to enact laws that may be expedient for the government of the Militia.
 

Article XIII

Amendments

SECTION 1. No Convention of the people shall be called by the General Assembly unless by the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of each House of the General Assembly.

SEC. 2. No part of the Constitution of this State shall be altered, unless a bill to alter the same shall have been read three times in each House of the General Assembly and agreed to by three-fifths of the whole number of members of each House, respectively; nor shall any alteration take place until the bill, so agreed to, shall have been published six months previous to a new election of members to the General Assembly.  If, after such publication, the alteration proposed by the preceding General Assembly shall be agreed to, in the first session thereafter, by  two-thirds of the whole representation in each House of the General Assembly, after the same shall have been read three times on three several days in each House, then the said General Assembly shall prescribe a mode by which the amendment or amendments may be submitted to the qualified voters of the House of Representatives throughout the State; and if, upon comparing the votes given in the whole State, it shall appear that a majority of the voters voting thereon have approved thereof, then, and not otherwise, the same shall become part of the  Constitution.
 

Article XIV

Miscellaneous

SECTION 1. All indictments which shall have been found, or may hereafter be found, for any crime or offence committed before the Constitution takes effect, may be preceeded upon in the proper courts, but no punishment shall be inflicted, which is forbidden by this Constitution.

SEC. 2. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist in the same as a second, or send, accept, or knowingly carry a challenge therefor, or agree to go out of this State to fight a duel, shall hold any office in this State.

SEC. 3. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of made by law, and an accurate account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be annually published.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall provide, by proper legislation, for giving to mechanics and laborers an adequate lien on the subject matter of their labor.

SEC. 5. In the absence of any contrary provision, all officers in this State, whether heretofore elected, or appointed by the Governor, shall hold their positions only until other appointments are made by the Governor, or, if the officers are elective, until their successors shall have been chosen and duly qualified, according to the provisions of this Constitution.

SEC. 6. The seat of government in this State shall remain at the city of Raleigh.

SEC. 7. No person shall hold more than one lucrative office under the State at the same time; Provided, That officers in the Militia, Justices of the Peace, Commissioners of Public Charities and Commissioners appointed for special purposes, shall not be considered officers within the meaning of this section.

Done at Convention at Raleigh, the sixteenth day of March in the year of our Lord, a thousand eight hundred and sixty eight, and of the Independence of the United States, the ninety second.

AMENDMENTS

AMENDMENT OF 1789

AN ORDINANCE TO ENABLE THE FREEMAN OF THE TOWN OF FAYETTEVILLE TO
SELECT A MEMBER TO REPRESENT SAID TOWN ON THE SAME TERMS WITH THE
OTHER TOWNS IN THE STATE.
 

AMENDMENTS OF 1835

Article I.
Section 1.

1. The senate of this State shall consist of fifty representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, and to be elected by districts; which districts shall be laid off by the general assembly, at its first session after the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one; and afterwards, at its first session after the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one; and then every twenty years thereafter, in proportion to the public taxes paid into the treasury of the State, by the citizens thereof; and the average of the public taxes paid by each county into the treasury of the State, for the five years preceding the laying off of the districts, shall be considered as its proportion of the public taxes, and constitute the basis of apportionment: Provided that no county shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district. And when there are one or more counties having an excess of taxation above the ratio to form a senatorial district, adjoining a county or counties deficient in such ratio, the excess or excesses aforesaid shall be added to the taxation of the county or counties deficient; and if, with such addition, the county or counties receiving it shall have the requisite ratio, such county and counties each shall constitute a senatorial district.
 

2. The house of commons shall be composed of one hundred and twenty representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by counties according to their federal population, that is, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons; and each county shall have at least one member in the house of commons, although it may not contain the requisite ratio of population.
 

3. This apportionment shall be made by the general assembly, at the respective times and periods when the districts for the senate are hereinbefore directed to be laid off; and the said apportionment shall be made according to an enumeration to be ordered by the general assembly, or according to the census which may be taken by order of congress, next preceding the making such apportionment.
 

4. In making the apportionment in the House of Commons, the ratio of representation shall be ascertained by dividing the amount of federal population in the State, after de ducting that comprehended within those counties which do not severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the entire federal population aforesaid, by the number of representatives less than the number assigned to the said counties. To each county containing the said ratio, and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned one representative; to each county containing twice, but not three times the said ratio, there shall be as signed two representatives, and so on progressively; and then the remaining representatives shall be assigned severally to the counties having the largest fractions.

 Section 2.

 1. Until the first session of the general assembly, which shall be had after the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, the senate shall be composed of members to be elected from the several districts hereinafter named, that is to say, the first district shall consist of the counties of Perquimans and Pasquotank; the 2nd district of Camden and Currituck; the 3rd district, Gates and Chowan; the 4th district, Washington and Tyrrell; the 5th district, Northampton; the 6th district, Hertford; the 7th district, Bertie; the 8th district, Martin;  the 9th district, Halifax; the 10th district, Nash; the 11th district, Wake; the 12th district, Franklin; the 13th district, Johnston; the 14th district, Warren; the 15th district, Edgecombe; the 16th district, Wayne; the 17th district, Greene and Lenoir; the 18th district, Pitt; the 19th district, Beaufort and Hyde; the 20th district, Carteret and Jones; the 21st district, Craven; the 22d district, Chatham; the 23d district, Granville; the 24th district, Person; the 25th district, Cumberland; the 26th district, Sampson; the 27th district, New Hanover; the 28th district, Duplin; the 29th district, Onslow; the 30th district, Bruns wick, Bladen, and Columbus; the 31st district, Robeson and Richmond; the 32d district, An son; the 33d district, Cabarrus; the 34th district, Moore and Montgomery; the 35th district, Caswell; the 36th district, Rockingham; the 37th district, Orange; the 38th district, Randolph; the 39th district, Guilford; the 40th district, Stokes; the 41st district, Rowan;  the 42d district, Davidson; the 43d district, Surry; the 44th district, Wilkes and Ashe; the 45th district, Burke and Yancey; the 46th district, Lincoln; the 47th district, Iredell; the 48th district, Rutherford; the 49th district, Buncombe, Haywood and Macon; the 50th district, Mecklenburg:-each district to be entitled to one senator.

 2. Until the first session of the general assembly after the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, the house of commons shall be composed of members elected from the counties in the following manner, viz.: The counties of Lincoln and Orange shall elect four members each. The counties of Burke, Chatham, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Surry, Stokes, and Wake shall elect three members each. The counties of Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Buncombe, Cumberland, Craven, Caswell, Davidson, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Johnston, Montgomery, New Hanover, Northampton, Person, Pitt, Randolph,
Robeson, Richmond, Rockingham, Sampson Warren, Wayne, and Wilkes shall elect two members each. The counties of Ashe, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Columbus, Chowan, Currituck, Carteret, Cabarrus, Gates, Greene, Haywood, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Macon, Moore, Martin, Nash, Onslow, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Washington, and Yancey shall elect one member each.

 Section 3

 1. Each member of the senate shall have usually resided in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election, and for the same time shall have possessed and continued to possess in the district which he represents, not less than three hundred acres of land in fee.

2. All free men of the age of twenty-one years (except as is hereinafter declared), who have been inhabitants of any one district within the State twelve months immediately preceding the day of any election, and possessed of a freehold within the same district of fifty acres of land, for six months next before and at the day of election, shall be entitled to vote for a member of the senate.
 

3. No free Negro, free mulatto, or free person of mixed blood, descended from Negro ancestors to the fourth generation inclusive (though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white person) shall vote for members of the senate or house of commons.
Section 4.

1. In the election of all officers, whose appointment is conferred on the general assembly by the constitution, the vote shall be viva voce.

2. The general assembly shall have power to pass laws regulating the mode of appointing and removing militia officers.

3. The general assembly shall have power to pass general laws regulating divorce and alimony, but shall not have power to grant a divorce or secure alimony in any individual case.

4. The general assembly shall not have power to pass any private law to alter the name of any person, or to legitimate any persons not born in lawful wedlock, or to restore to the rights of citizenship any person convicted of an infamous crime; but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the same.

5 The general assembly shall not pass any private law, unless it shall be made to appear that thirty days' notice of application to pass such law shall have been given, under such directions and in such manner as shall be provided by law.

6. If vacancies shall occur by death, resignation or otherwise, before the meeting of the general assembly, writs may be issued by the governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.

7. The general assembly shall meet biennially, and at each biennial session shall elect, by joint vote of the two houses, a secretary of state, treasurer and council of state, who shall continue in office for the term of two years.

Article II.

1. The governor shall be chosen by the qualified voters for the members of the house of commons, at such time and places as members of the general assembly are elected.

2. He shall hold his office for the term of two years from the time of his installation, and until another shall be elected and qualified; but he shall not be eligible more than four years in any term of six years.

 3. The returns of every election for governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, by the returning officers, directed to the speaker of the senate, who shall open and publish them in the presence of a majority of the members of both houses of the general assembly. The person having the highest number of votes shall be governor; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen governor by joint vote of both houses of the general assembly.

 4. Contested elections for governor shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

 5. The governor-elect shall enter on the duties of the office on the first day of January next after his election, having previously taken the oaths of office in the presence of the members of both branches of the general assembly, or before the chief justice of the supreme court, who, in case the governor-elect should be prevented from attendance before the general assembly, by sickness or other unavoidable cause, is authorized to administer the same.

 Article III.

 Section 1.
  1. The governor, judges of the supreme court, and judges of the superior courts, and all other officers of this State (except justices of the peace and militia officers), may be impeached for wilfully violating any article of the constitution, maladministration, or corruption.

2. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to remove from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State; but the party convicted may nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law.

 3. The House of Commons shall have the sole power of impeachment. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. No person shall be convicted upon any impeachment, unless two-thirds of the senators present shall concur in such conviction; and before the trial of any impeachment, the members of the senate shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence.

 Section 2.

 1. Any judge of the Supreme Court, or of the superior courts, may be removed from office for mental or physical inability, upon a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of both branches of the general assembly. The judge, against whom the legislature may be about to proceed, shall receive notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least twenty days before the day on which either branch of the general assembly shall act thereon.

The salaries of the judges of the supreme court, or of the superior courts, shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
 

Section 3.

Upon the conviction of any justice of the peace of any infamous crime, or of corruption or malpractice in office, the commission of such justice shall be thereby vacated, and he shall be forever disqualified from holding such appointment.

Section 4.

The general assembly at its first session after the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and from time to time thereafter, shall appoint an attorney-general, who shall be commissioned by the governor, and shall hold his office for the term of four years; but if the general assembly should hereafter extend the term during which solicitors of the State shall hold their offices, then they shall have power to extend the term of office of the attorney-general to the same period.

Article IV
Section 1.

l. No convention of the people shall be called by the general assembly, unless by the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of each house of the general assembly.

2. No part of the constitution of this State shall be altered, unless a bill to alter the same shall have been read three times in each house of the general assembly, and agreed to by three-fifths of the whole number of members of each house respectively; nor shall any alteration take place until the bill so agreed to shall have been published six months previous to a new election of members to the general assembly. If, after such publication, the alteration proposed by the preceding general assembly shall be agreed to in the first session thereafter, by
two-thirds of the whole representation in each house of the general assembly, after the same shall have been read three times on three several days, in each house, then the said general assembly shall prescribe a mode by which the amendment or amendments may be submitted to the qualified voters of the house of commons throughout the State; and if, upon comparing the votes given in the whole State, it shall appear that a majority of the voters have approve d thereof, then, and not otherwise, the same bill become a part of the constitution.

Section 2.

The thirty-second section of the constitution shall be amended to read as follows: No person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Christian religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testament, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom or safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.

 Section 3.

 1. Capitation tax shall be equal throughout the State, upon all individuals subject to the same.

 2. All free males over the age of twenty-one years, and under the age of forty-five years, and all slaves over the age of twelve years, and under the age of fifty years, shall be subject to capitation tax, and no other person shall be subject to such tax: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall prevent exemptions of taxable polls, as heretofore prescribed by law, in cases of bodily infirmity.

 Section 4.

 No person who shall hold any office or place of trust or profit under the United States, or any department thereof, or under this State, or any other State government, shall hold or exercise any other office or place of trust or profit under the authority of this State, or be eligible to a seat in either house of the general assembly: Provided, that nothing here-in contained shall extend to officers in the militia or justices of the peace.

 Ratified in convention, this eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.
 NATHANIEL MACON, President.
 EDMUND B. FREEMAN, Secretary.
 JOSEPH D. WARD, Asst. Secty.
 

 AMENDMENT OF 1857

 Every free white man of the age of twenty-one years, being a native or naturalized citizen of the United States and who has been an inhabitant of the State for twelve months immediately preceding the day of any election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entitled to vote for a member of the senate for the district in which he resides.
 

AMENDMENTS OF 1861-62

I. AN ORDINANCE TO DISSOLVE THE UNION BETWEEN THE STATE OF NORTH
CAROLINA AND THE OTHER STATES UNITED WITH HER UNIXER THE COMPACT
OF GOVERNMENT ENTITLED THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, the people of the State of North Carolina in Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance adopted by the State of North Carolina, in the Convention of 1789, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified and adopted, and also, all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly, ratifying and adopting amendments to the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, rescinded and abrogated.

We do further declare and ordain, that the Union now subsisting between the State of North Carolina and the other States, under the title of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved, and that the State of North Carolina is in the full possession of exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and independent State.

Passed, 20th day of May 1861.

II. AN ORDINANCE DEFINING TREASON AGAINST THE STATE.

Be it ordained by this Convention, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same as follows:-

Treason against the State of North Carolina, shall consist only in levying War against her, or in adhering to her enemies; giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason, unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same over act, or on confession in open Court.

Read three times and passed 18th June 1861.

III. AN ORDINANCE TO RATIFY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.
 

We the people of North Carolina, in Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained,

That the State of North Carolina does hereby assent to and ratify
the Constitution for the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, adopted at Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, on the 8th day of February, A. D. 1861, by the Convention of Delegates from the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and that North Carolina will enter into the Federal Association of States upon the terms therein proposed when admitted by the Congress or any Competent authority of the Confederate States.

Done at Raleigh, the twentieth day of May 1861.

IV. AN ORDINANCE TO RATIFY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFEDERATE
STATES OF AMERICA.

Whereas, on the eleventh day of March, A. D. 1861, at Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, a Constitution was adopted, by a Congress of delegates from the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, united under the name of the Confederate States of America, which Constitution hath been ratified by each of the said states:

Now, therefore, this convention, having seen and considered the said Constitution, doth, in behalf of the people of the State of North Carolina, adopt and ratify the said Constitution and form of Government, the tenor of which appears in a schedule hereto annexed:

Read three times and passed, 6th June 1861.

V. AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE 4TH SECTION OF THE 4TH ARTICLE OF
THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

Be it Ordained by this Convention of the people, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That the fourth Section of the fourth Article of the amendments to the Constitution, proposed and ratified in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-five, be amended by striking out the word "United" and inserting in lieu thereof, the word "Confederate" before the word "States".

Read three times and passed, 20th June 1861.

VI. AN ORDINANCE IN RELATION TO TAXATION.

SECTION 1. Be it ordained, That the third Section of the fourth article of the amendments of the Constitution be and the same if hereby annulled.

SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That all free males over the age of twenty-one years and under the age of forty-five years shall be subject to a Capitation tax, not less than the tax laid on land of the value of three hundred dollars, and no other free person nor slave, shall be liable to such taxation; and also, land and slaves shall be taxed according to their value, and the tax on slaves shall be as much but not more than that on land, according to their respective values; but the tax on slaves may be laid on their general average value in the State or on their values in classes in respect to age, sex, and other distinctive properties, in the discretion of the General Assembly; and the value be assessed in such modes as may be prescribed by law: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the exemption from taxation of soldiers in the public service, or of free males or slaves in cases of bodily or mental infirmity, or of such real estate as hath hitherto been exempted by law.

Read three times and passed 25th June 1861.
VII. AN ORDINANCE TO SECURE TO CERTAIN OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS THE
RIGHT TO VOTE.

SECTION 1. Be it ordained by this convention and it is hereby ordained by authority of the same, That all officers and soldiers in the service of the State or of the Confederate States, who are of the age of twenty-one years and who are citizens of this State, or who, if within the State, shall be absent from their respective counties, at elections hereafter to be held, if the exigencies of the times shall permit, shall be entitled to vote for Sheriffs, Clerks of the County and Superior Courts, our members of the General Assembly for their respective Counties; and shall, also, be entitled to vote for Governor, Electors for President and Vice President of the Confederate States, and for members of the Confederate Congress for their respective districts.

SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That three freeholders of the respective Companies, under the direction of the Commanding Officers of the regiments, to which they belong, shall open polls on Thursday before the day appointed for holding elections in this State, and said elections shall be conducted in all respects according to the laws of this State. The three freeholders aforesaid, shall prepare a fair copy of the votes polled, and shall transmit the same with the list of voters to the Sheriffs of their respective counties; and where Officers and Soldiers in the same Companies, shall vote in different Counties
or different Congressional districts the said free holders shall specify accordingly, and make returns to the Sheriffs of the different Counties above referred to.

SEC. 3. Be it further ordained, That the Sheriffs of the respective Counties of this State shall count the votes of the said officers and soldiers, if received within seven days after the elections; and they shall not declare the result of the said elections until the seven days above mentioned, shall have expired.

SEC. 4. Be it further ordained that this ordinance shall be in force from and after the day of its ratification; provided this ordinance shall be in force during the existence of the present war with the United States, and no longer.

 Read three times and passed, June 15th 1861.

 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND AN ORDINANCE ENTITLED"AN ORDINANCE TO SE CURE TO CERTAIN OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

 SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That the proper returning officers of every County in this State shall include in their returns the votes of officers and soldiers given in any election in which they may be entitled to vote by Law, if received within twenty days after they are cast, and the said returning officers shall not make up their returns and declare the result of said elections until the expiration of twenty days as aforesaid.

 SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That the proper returning officer of every County shall, within eight days after the period fixed for comparing the returns, transmit to the seat of government and deliver to the proper officer a statement of votes given in his county for Governor, which statement shall be made in the manner and form now required by law.

 SEC. 3. Be it further ordained, That the Governor be directed to make known by proclamation the provisions of the ordinance securing to officers and soldiers the right to vote.  Passed and ratified in open Convention the 8 day of May A. D. 1862.

 VIII. AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR AMENDING THE FORTY-SIXTH SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, IN REGARD TO TAKING THE YEAS AND NAYS IN EITHER HOUSE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

 Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same; That the forty-sixth section of the Constitution of this State be so amended as to insert, after the word "seconded" in the fourth line of said section, the words "by one-fifth of the members present."

 Read three times and ratified in open Convention, the sixth day of December A. D.  1861.

 IX. AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE SECOND SECTION OF THE FOURTH
ARTICLE OF THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

 Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That the second section of the fourth article of the amendments to the Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

"No person who shall deny the being of God, or the divine authority of both the Old and New Testiments, or who shall hold religious opinions incompatible with the freedom or safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department of this State."

Read three times and ratified in open Convention, the sixth day of December A. D. 1861.

 X. AN ORDINANCE IN RELATION TO ELECTORS OF THE SENATE.

 Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That every free white man, of the age of twenty one years, being a native or naturalized citizen of the Confederate States, who has been an inhabitant of the state for twelve months, and of the district in which he proposes to vote six months next before the day of any election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entitled to vote for a member of the Senate for the district in which he resides.

Passed and ratified in open Convention on the 10th day of May A. D. 1862.

 XI. AN ORDIANCE CONCERNING THE ELECTION OF GOVERNOR.

 Whereas, By the construction which, in practice, has been given to the constitution of the State, the Speaker of the Senate, in case of a vacancy in the office of the Governor, shall exercise the powers of Governor by virtue of his office as Speaker, and without vacating the same, which said office of Speaker must cease and determine with that of the incumbent as a Senator, upon the election of his successor in the next section, a vacancy will take place in the office of Governor from and after the day of the next election on the first Thursday in August next until the first day of January, A. D. 1863, against which it is the duty of this Convention to provide, Therefore,

 SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same; That the person who shall be elected Governor of this State at the next regular election on the first Thursday in August next, as now provided for by Law, shall also fill the office and discharge the duties of Governor of this State from the second Monday of September until his successor shall be qualified.

 SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That the proper returning officers of every county shall, as soon as the result of the election is known in his county, transmit to the Secretary of State a statement of the votes taken in his county for Governor, which statement shall be made up from the poll books of his county, as is now prescribed by law.

  SEC. 3. Be it further ordained, That the Secretary of State, the Treasurer and Comptroller, shall, on the fourth Thursday in August next, in the presence of the Governor, proceed to examine said returns, and ascertain and declare what person shall have received the greatest number of votes, where upon the Governor shall issue his proclamation, declaring such person duly elected Governor of this State from the second Monday of September, A. D. 1862, until his successor shall be qualified.

SEC. 4. Be it further ordained, That the person so declared and proclaimed Governor, as aforesaid, shall, on the second Monday of September, A. D. 1862, appear before some Judge of the Supreme Court, or someone of the Judges of the Superior Courts of Law, and take and subscribe the oath now prescribed by law for qualification of Governor of this State, and shall immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties of his office; which oath is taken and subscribed shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

SEC. 5. Be it further ordained, That His Excellency, Henry T. Clark, shall continue to hold the office and discharge the duties of Governor of this State from the first Thursday in August until the second Monday in September next or until his successor shall be qualified, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he has heretofore done, and shall receive the usual salary, in proportion to his extended term of service.

Passed and ratified in open Convention on the 2nd day of May A.
D. 1862.

XII. AN ORDINANCE TO ALLOW CERTAIN PERSONS TO VOTE FOR GOVERNOR IN ANY OTHER THAN THE COIJNTIES IN WHICH THEY RESIDE.

SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That any citizen of this State who shall be entitled to vote for Governor in the county wherein he is domiciled, shall be entitled to vote  for Governor in any county in this State.

SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That it shall or may be lawful for the Sheriffs of the counties in this State in the possession of or under the control of the enemy to compare the poles of their respective counties for Governor and members of the Legislature, at any place in this State they may think proper.

SEC. 3. Be it further ordained, That this ordinance shall be and continue in force for and during the present war, and no longer, unless sooner repealed or modified by the General Assembly.

Passed and ratified in open Convention on the 12th day of May A.D. 1862.

AN ORDINANCE DECLARING WHAT ORDINANCES OF THIS CONVENTION SHALL HAVE PERMANENT OPERATION.

SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Delegates of the people of North Carolina in Convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That the following ordinances passed by this Convention shall be of permanent operation and be irrepealable by the General Assembly namely:

I. An Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of North Carolina and the other States united with her under the compact of government entitled "the Constitution of the United States."

II. An Ordinance defining treason against the State.

III. An Ordinance to ratify the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America.

IV. An Ordinance to ratify the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

V. An Ordinance to amend the fourth section of the fourth Article of the amendments to the Constitution.

VI. An Ordinance in relation to taxation

VII. An Ordinance to secure to certain officers and soldiers the right to vote.

VIII. An Ordinance in relation to taking the yeas and nays in the General Assembly.

IX. An Ordinance to amend the second section of the fourth Article of the amendments to the Constitution.

X. An Ordinance in relation to elections of the Senate.

XI. An Ordinance concerning the election of Governor.

XII. An Ordinance to allow certain persons to vote for Governor in any other County than that in which they reside.

 SEC. 2. Be it further ordained, That all other ordinances and resolutions passed by this convention at any of its sessions, shall have the force and effect only of acts of the ordinary Legislature, and may be repealed or modified at the pleasure of the General Assembly, in the same manner and to the same extent that public statutes are liable to repeal or modification.

 Passed and ratified in open Convention on the 13th day of May A.D. 1862.

Footnote # 11

Congressman McFadden: "I hope that is the case, but I may say to the gentleman that during the sessions of this Economic Conference in London there is another meeting taking place in London.  We were advised by reports from London last Sunday of the arrival of George L. Harrison, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and we were advised that accompanying him was Mr. Crane, the Deputy Governor, and James P. Warburg, of the Kuhn- Loeb banking family, of New York and Hamburg, Germany, and also Mr. O. M. W. Sprague, recently in the pay of Great Britain as chief economic and financial adviser of Mr. Norman, Governor of the Bank Of England, and now supposed to represent our Treasury.  These men landed in England and rushed to the Bank of England for private conference, taking their luggage with them, before even going to their hotel.  We know this conference has been taking place for the past 3 days behind closed doors in the Bank of England with these gentlemen meeting with heads of the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements, of Basel, Switzerland, and the head of the Bank France, Mr. Maret. They are discussing war debts; they are discussing stabilization of exchanges and the Federal Reserve System, I may say to the Members of the House.
     The Federal reserve System, headed by George L. Harrison, is our premier, who is dealing with debts behind the closed doors of the Bank of England; and the United States Treasury is there is there, represented by O. M. W. Sprague, who until the last 10 days was the representative of the Bank of England, and by Mr. James P. Warburg, who is the son of the principal author of the federal Reserve Act.  Many things are being settled behind the closed doors of the Bank of England by this group.  No doubt this group were pleased to hear that yesterday the Congress passed amendments to the Federal Reserve Act and that the President signed the bill which turns over to the Federal Reserve System the complete total financial resources of money and credit in the United States.  Apparently the domination and control of the international banking group is being strengthened....
     We are being led by the international Jews operating through Great Britain and the Bank of England, and it is the purpose of those who are directing and cooperating that debts be reduced to 10 percent or canceled entirely....
     Then there is James P. Warburg, who was called in by the President and who has sat in on all of the conferences here in Washington participated in by the foreign representatives recently, and he is the financial adviser at the Economic Conference and at the conferences in the Bank of England to which I have referred.  Mr. Warburg, you undoubtedly know, is the head of the international Jewish financial group who were largely responsible for the loaning abroad of the vast billions of dollars by the people of the United States and which loans are now frozen.  We must not overlook the fact, however, that J. P. Morgan & Co. were close seconds in these transactions, and in connection with this I wish to point out that George L. Harrison, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is closely identified with the Morgan House in all of the undertakings internationally in which the Federal Reserve banks participated. Congressional Record, June 14, 1934

     At that time a man named Jacob Schiff came to this country as the agent of certain foreign money lenders.  His mission was to get control of American railroads.  This man was a Jew.  He was the son of a rabbi.  He was born in one of the Rothschilds's houses in Frankfort, Germany.  He was a small fellow with a pleasant face and, if I remember correctly, his eyes were blue.  At an early age he set out from Frankfort to seek his fortune and went to Hamburg, Germany.  At Hamburg he entered the Warburg banking establishment.  The Warburgs of Hamburg are bankers of long standing, with branches in Amsterdam and Sweden.....
     Sometime before Schiff's arrival there was a firm of Jewish peddlers or merchants in Lafayette, Ind., by the name of Kuhn & Loeb.  I think they were there about 1850.  Probably they made money out of the new settlers who passed through Indiana on their way to the Northwest.  This firm of Jews had finally moved to New York and had set themselves up as private bankers and had grown rich.  Jacob Schiff married Teresa Loeb and became the head of Kuhn, Loeb & Co.  Schiff made a great deal of money here for himself and for the Jewish money lenders of London.  he began to give orders to Presidents almost as a matter of course.  He appears to have been a man who would stop at nothing to gain his own ends. I do not blame him for being a Jew.  I blame him for being a trouble maker.
     Russia had a powerful enemy in this man, Jacob Schiff.  The people of the United States were to believe that this enmity of his was caused by wrongs done to Russian Jews.  I look elsewhere for the motives which animated him.
     In the 1890's Schiff was the agent in this country of Ernest Cassell and other London money lenders.  These money lenders were looking forward to a war between England and Russia and were making preparations for propaganda designed to support England in the United States.  This country was then a debtor nation, paying a high yearly tribute to Schiff and his principals.  Schiff accordingly took it upon himself to create a prejudice in the United States against Russia.  He did this by presenting the supposed wrongs of the Russian Jews to the American public.  Unpleasant tales began to appear in print.  School children in this country were told the Jewish children were crippled for life by Russian soldiers wielding the knout.  By unfair means a wedge was driven between Russia and the United States.
     One of Schiff's schemes was a sort of wholesale importation of Russian Jews into the United States.  He drew up divers and sundry regulations for the temporary transplantation of these Jewish emigrants.  He would not, he said, have them enter this country through the port of New York, because they might like New York too well to leave it for the outposts he had selected for them.  He said it would be best to have them come in at New Orleans and to have them stay there 2 weeks, "so that they could pick up a few words of English and get a little money" before setting off for what he called the "American hinterland."  How they were to get the money he did not say.
     Aided by Schiff and his associates, many Russian Jews came
to this country about that time and were naturalized here.  A number of these naturalized Jews then returned to Russia.  Upon their return to that country, they immediately claimed exemption there from the regulations of domicile imposed on Jews; that is, they claimed the right to live on purely Russian soil because they were American citizens, or "Yankee" Jews.  Disorders occurred and were exploited in the American press.  Riots and bombings and assassinations, for which somebody furnished money, took place.  The perpetrators of these outrages appear to have been shielded by powerful financial interests.  While this was going on in Russia, a shameless campaign of lying was conducted here, and large sums of money were spent to make the general American public believe that the Jews in Russia were a simple and guileless folk ground down by the Russians and needing the protection of the great benefactor, of all the world--Uncle Sam.  In other words, we were deceived.  We were so deceived that we allowed them to come in here and to take the bread out of the mouths of our own American citizens.
     I come now to the time when war was declared between Russia and Japan.  This was bought about by a skillful use of Japan so that England would not have to fight Russia in India.  It was cheaper and more convenient for England to have Japan fight Russia than to do it herself.  As was to be expected, Schiff and his London associates financed Japan.  They drew immense quantities of money out of the United States for that purpose.  The bankgound for the loans they floated in this country had been skillfully prepared.  The "sob stuff", of which Schiff was a master, had sunk into the hearts of sympathetic Americans.  The loads were a great success.  Millions of American dollars were sent to Japan by Schiff and his London associates.  England's stranglehold on India was made secure.  Russia was prevented form entering the Khyber Pass and falling on India from the northwest.
Japan at the same time was built up and became a great world power, and as such is now facing us in the Pacific.  All this was accomplished by control of the organs of American publicity, releases to the effect that Russian Jews and "Yankee" Jews were being persecuted in Russia, and by the selling of Japanese war bonds to American citizens.
     While the Russo-Japanese War was in progress President Theodore Roosevelt offered to act as peacemaker, and a conference between representatives of the belligerents was arranged to take place at Portsmouth, N.H.
     When the Portsmouth Conference took place, Jacob Schiff attended it and used such influence as he had with Theodore Roosevelt to win favors for Japan at the expense of Russia.  His main object, then as always, was humiliation of Russians, whose only crime was that they were Russians and not Jews.  He endeavored to humiliate the Russians, but Count Witte, the Russian plenipotentiary, did not allow him to succeed in this attempt.  Schiff's power and the power of his organized propaganda were well understood by Count Witte, however.  Consequently he was not surprised when President Roosevelt, who was often deceived, twice asked him to have Russia treat Russian Jews who had become naturalized in the United States and who had thereafter returned to live in Russia with special consideration; that is, not as Jews but as Americans.  Witte carried home a letter from Roosevelt embodying this plea.
     Mr. Speaker, the restrictions upon Jews in Russia at that time may or may not have been onerous.  But onerous or not, before the Russians had time to change them, Schiff had the 80-year-old-treaty of friendship and good will between Russia and the United States denounced.  Speaking of this matter, Count Witte says in his autobiography: "The Russians lost the friendship of the American people."
     Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that those people--the real Russians--ever lost the true friendship of the American people.  They were done away with to suit the ambitions of those who intend to be the financial masters of the world, and some of us were deceived into thinking that in some mysterious way they, themselves, were to blame.  The chasm that suddenly opened between ourselves and our old friends and well-wishers in Russia was a chasm created by Schiff the vindictive in his inhuman greed, and he created it in the name of the Jewish religion....
     Mr. Speaker, the people of the United States should not permit financial interests or any other special interests to dictate the foreign policy of the United States Government.  But in this connection history is now repeating itself.  You have heard, no doubt, of the so-called persecutions of Jews in Germany.
     Mr. Speaker, there is no real persecution of Jews in Germany.  Hitler and the Warburgs, the Mendelssohns and the Rothschilds, appear to be on the best of terms.  There is no real persecution of the Jews in Germany, but there has been a pretended persecution of them because there are 200,000 unwanted Communistic Jews in Germany, largely Galician Jews who entered Germany after the World War, and Germany is very anxious to get rid of those particular Communistic Jews.  The Germans wish to preserve the purity of their own blond racial stock.  They are willing to keep rich Jews like  Max Warburg and Franz Mendelssohns, whose families have lived in Germany so long that they have acquired some German national characteristics.  But the Germans are not willing to keep the Galician Jews, the Upstarts.  So a great show is put on, largely by German Jews themselves, in the hope that Uncle Sam will prove himself to be as foolish as he was before and that we will allow those Galician and Communistic Jews to come in here.  That is why Miss Perking has been placed in charge of the Department of Labor.  She is there to lower the immigration bars.  It is thought that, being a woman, she may disarm criticism.  She is and old hand with the international Jewish bankers.  If she were not, she would not be here in a Jewish-controlled administration.
     When the so-called "anti-Semitic campaign" designed for American consumption was launched in Germany, France was alarmed because she feared the Galician Jews might be dumped on French soil.  French newspapers published articles concerning the menace, but now that France has been shown that the purpose of the anti-Semitic campaign is to dump the 200,000 communistic Jews on the United States she is worried no longer.  "Ah", she says, "1'Oncle Sam, he is to be the goat.  Very good."
     Mr. Speaker, I regard it as a pity that there are Americans who love to fawn upon the money Jews and to flatter them.  Some of these unfortunates are under obligations to Jewish money changers and dare not cross them....
     You have witnessed the unlawful seizure by Franklin D. Roosevelt of gold reserves and other values belonging to the people of the United States, the destruction of banks, the attempted whitewashing of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks, the corruption of which he admitted in his campaign harangues; and you may have noticed that what was confiscated is not in the hands of the present constitutional Government but in the hands of the international bankers who are the nucleus of the new government Roosevelt is seeking to establish here.  Roosevelt's actions are not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States.  They are in accordance with the plans of the Third International.
     At one time Trotzky was a favorite with Jacob Schiff.  During the war Trotzky edited Novy Mir and conducted mass meetings in New York.  When he left the United States to return to Russia, he is said upon good authority to have traveled on Schiff's money and under Schiff's protection.  He was captured by the British at Halifax and immediately, on advice from a highly placed personage, set free.  Shortly after his arrival in Russia he was informed that he had credit in Sweden at the Swedish branch of the bank owned by Max Warburg, of Hamburg.  This credit helped to finance the seizure of the Russian revolution by the international Jewish bankers.  It assisted them in subverting it to their own ends.  At the present time the Soviet Union is in debt.
     From the date of  Trotzky's return to Russia the course of Russian history has, indeed, been greatly affected by the operations of international bankers.  They have acted through German and English institutions and have kept Russia in bondage to themselves.  Their relatives in Germany have drawn immense sums of money from the United States and have in turn financed their agents in Russia at a handsome profit.
     The Soviet Government has been given United States Treasury funds by the Federal Reserve  banks acting through the Chase Bank and the Guaranty Trust Co. and other banks in New York City.  England, no less than Germany, has drown money from us through the Federal Reserve banks and has re-lent it at high rates of interest to the Soviet Government or has used it to finance her sales to Soviet Russia and her engineering works within the Russian boundaries.  The Dnieperstroy Dam was built with fundsunlawfully taken from the United States Treasury by the corrupt and dishonest Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve
banks....
     Mr. Speaker, an immense amount of United States money has been used abroad in preparations for war and in the acquisition and the manufacture of war supplies.  Germany is said to be part owner of a large poison-gas factory at Troitsk on Russian soil.  China is almost completely Sovietized, and in the Asiatic interior huge stocks of munitions are said to be stored awaiting the day when the war lords of the United States will ship United States troops to Asia.  Mr. Speaker, the United States should look before it leaps into another war, especially a war in Asia.  It should decide whether it is worth while to join hands with Russia and China in a war against Japan.  For myself, I say and I have said it often that the United States should remember George Washington's advice.  It should mind its own business and stay home.  It should not permit the Jewish international bankers to drive it into another war so that they and their Gentile fronts and sycophants by way of Louis McHenry Howe, the graftmaster, may reap rich profits on everything an army needs from toilet kits to airplanes, submarined, tanks gas masks, poison gas, ammunition, bayonets, guns, and other paraphernalia and instruments of destruction.
Congressional Record, June 15, 1934

     Congressman McFadden: "The Congress of the United States must immediately throw the searchlight of investigation into this dark corner, or we are going to be swamped with political influences that are manufactured in foreign countries and that will lead us to the surrender of our heritage of  living, just as has been done on former occasions.  Just as we did, for example, when we entered into the Jay Treaty with England, which was ratified on June 24, 1795, whereby we needlessly surrendered our right to the freedom of the seas.  We fought the War of 1812 to regain this right, but the same political influences prevented even a discussion of this subject at the treaty which terminated that war.  President Wilson vowed to regain the freedom of the seas at the Treaty of Versailles; but did we regain it?  Is the Jay Treaty still in force?"....
     "I stand here and say to you that I have studied these records, and not only did we adopt this monetary policy without debate, not only did we adopt it without consideration but we adopted it without even knowledge of what we were doing!  It was a piece of legislative trickery; it was a piece of work in the committee that was silent and secretive.  Even members of the committee did not know what was being done, according to their own declarations.  The President and Members of the House did not know they were acting on such a measure.  But, as I have said before, the shadow of the hand of England rests over this
enactment." Congressional Record, January 8, 1934

     Congressman Young: "Old Hickory was a great soldier.  His victory at New Orleans is one of the most remarkable battles in history.  The English army outnumbered Jackson's forces.  The American losses were 13.  In half an hour the English had lost 2,600 men, including their commander, Sir Edward Pakenham, a brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington."
 Congressional Record, January 8, 1934

     Congressman Fiesinger: "You will recall the gentleman spoke about Professor Sprague, who was in the Treasury Department as adviser to the Treasury after he came as adviser for the Bank of England.  He was also monetary adviser to the Economic Conference in London.".....

     Congressman Fiesinger: "I was just going to remark that very thing, that the power to "coin and fix the value of money" is solely within the power of the Congress of the United States and it cannot be delegated to anybody else in the world."
     Congressman McFadden: "Will the gentleman yield further?"
     Congressman Fiesinger: " I do."
     Congressman McFadden: "What does the gentleman say in regard
to the delegation of that power to the Federal Reserve System?"....
     Congressman Fiesinger: "I say it is illegal.  I say it is unconstitutional, as far as it affects the value of basic money.  Power to control credits may be in a different class."
     Congressman McFadden: "The gentleman recognizes that that was done, does he not?"
     Congressman Fiesinger: "Well, I think I recognize that fact; but it may be that Congress intended to delegate banking and credit control and not the control of the basic money values."
     Congressman McFadden: " The Federal Reserve System has the power to issue Federal Reserve notes, which circulate as money?"
     Congressman Fiesinger: "It has.  Of  course, they are promises to pay.  They are credits or I O U's of the bank."
     Congressman McFadden: "And that power was delegated by Congress in the Federal Reserve Act."
     Congressman Fiesinger: "Yes, sir; with the intent to regulate the volume of credit."
     Congressman McFadden: "And is being pursued by them, which gives the Federal Reserve System control over the money and credit in the United States."....
Congressman Mott: "What does the gentleman say about the delegation by Congress to the President to fix the value of money, under the farm bill?"
     Congressman Fiesinger: "I think it was illegal, and the President did not want it.  It was forced upon him.  He never asked to have the amendment attached to the farm bill.  It was forced upon him, and he is exercising the power because he was forced to exercise it; a power that he never wanted, and I say it is all illegal and unconstitutional."....
     Congressman McFadden: "If the gentleman has been familiar with the activities of Dr. Sprague over the history of the
Federal Reserve System, he well knows that Dr. Sprague has been in all of the conferences, practically, between the Bank of England, officers of the Federal Reserve bank in New York and other central banks, which have had for their purpose the dealing with national and international price levels.  That was one of the functions that he was exercising as expert adviser of the Bank of England."
     Congressman Fiesinger: " Now, I understand that Dr. Sprague at the London conference was willing to peg the dollar to the British pound at $3.50, and, if he had done that, the price levels in America would have been in the control of the Bank of England, and it would have been so low it would have wrecked our national economy."
     Congressman Lamneck: "Will the gentleman please insert at this point what Dr. Sprague said about who should control the price level?"
     Congressman Fiesinger: "I may say-I did not expect to answer that question, but Dr. Sprague, in a conference he had, stated he believed that the value of gold should be controlled by the British, because they were more competent, from banking experience, so to do."
Congressional Record, January 8, 1934
Congressman McFadden: "Why should the United States be buying
gold and paying $35 and ounce for it?  Why Should the United States be making Great Britain a present of $14.33 and ounce on the hundreds of millions of dollars of British gold that is being shipped to the United States through this process be favoring four London gold brokers?  Why should the United States set a price of $35 and pay Great Britain an increase of $14.33 on ever ounce of gold?  This is interesting when you consider that three fourths of all the gold produced in the world is produced in the British Empire.  Did we do this because Great Britain demanded it?  Is it possible that this $14.33 profit to Great Britain on every ounce of gold shipped into the United States is for settlement of a debt that the United States owes to Great Britain?
Congressional Record, February 20, 1934
Congressman McFadden: " I am quoting from the President's message to Congress on this very measure. I quote: "That the title of all gold be in the Government.  The total stock will serve as a permanent and fixed metallic reserve which will change in amount only as far as necessary for the settlement of international balances or as may be required by future agreement among nations of the world for a redistribution of the world stock of monetary gold."....
Congressman McFadden: "I say again what I have repeatedly said, that there is a definite plan for the redistribution of the gold of this country and of the world's gold.  The plan has been known ever since the establishment of the Bank for International Settlements that through that medium, or one similar to it, eventually the redistribution of gold would take place."
Congressional Record, January 20, 1934

Congressman McFadden: "The gentleman, of course, is aware of the
fact that the Council of the Federation of Churches of Christ is an offshoot of the Carnegie Foundation which is operating in this country as a British-propaganda organization, tied up with all of the other subversive organizations which are trying to hold down proper preparedness in the United States. [Applause]
Congressional Record, January 30, 1934

Congressman Weideman: "So the paramount issue of today is this: Shall the Government of the United States be run for the benefit of the international bankers or shall the citizens of the United States be given the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"?  Shall we replace the Statue of Liberty with the golden statue erected to the god of greed?  Shall we forget that the only time our Saviour used force was when he drove the money changers from the temple?  Let us reestablish the principle that we all believe in:  That all men are entitled to a right to work, to own their own homes, to reap a just reward for their labors, and to enjoy nature's sunshine as God intended.  We owe it to our children that we shall not depart and leave them in a condition of bondage and slavery to organized greed and gold.".....

     Congressman Lemke: "....This nation is bankrupt; every State in this Union is bankrupt; the people of the United States, as a whole, are bankrupt.  The public and private debts of this Nation, which are evidenced by bonds, mortgages, notes, or other written instruments about to about $250,000,000,000, and it is estimated that there is about $50,000,000,000 of which there is no record, making in all about $300,000,000,000 of public and private debts.  The total physical cash value of all the property in the United States is now estimated at about $70,000,000,000.  That is more than it would bring if sold at public auction.  In this we do not include debts or the evidence of debts, such as bonds, mortgages, and so fourth.  These are not physical property.  They will have to be paid out of the physical property.  How are we going to pay $300,000,000,000 with only $70,000,000,000?" Congressional Record, March 3, 1934

     Congressman McFadden: "In view of what the gentleman has just said,  recall that Theodore Roosevelt, the year that he passed on, made a statement to the effect that Felix Frankfurter is the most dangerous man in the United States to our form of government."
Congressional Record, March 13, 1934

     Congressman McFadden: "...It is right in line with the plan which is now being worked out in England.  I want to point out to the House that there is a concerted movement not only in England but in the United States.  In the United States this movement is in charge of certain men now engaged in writing legislation in Department of Agriculture.  I refer to Mr. Tugwell, Mr. Mordecai Ezekiel, and Mr. Frank, and their immediate associates, some of whom are in other departments and some of whom are outside; and I may even go so far as to say that they are aided and abetted in this matter apparently by the Secretary of Agriculture.  Their action in this matter is also assisted and aided through the agency of the Foreign Policy Association of the United States, which  is directly connected with the Fabian Society, or a branch of it, in England, which at the present time is attempting to take over the control of agriculture and its operation in England, as well as the industries therein located.  I call your especial attention to the recent article, America Must Choose, by Secretary of Agriculture Wallace, a syndicated article put out under the auspices of the Foreign Policy Association of New York and copyrighted by them.  This article is quite in keeping with the plan of the British offspring of the Fabian group.
     One of the stalwarts against the move in England is Stanley Baldwin.  Mr. Baldwin issued a statement which was printed in the United States recently.  It was a statement made over the radio, and, if I have time, I will read it to you, because he is standing today against the movement in England that I am speaking against now, and that movement is evidenced by this legislation and any other kind of legislation following, which have for their purpose the regimenting of all production in the United States, leading up to an absolute dictatorship.
     The quotation I refer to from Mr. Baldwin is as follows: "Our freedom did not drop down like manna from heaven.  It has been fought for from the beginning of our history and the blood of men has been shed to obtain it.  It is the result of centuries of resistance to the power of the executive and it has brought us equal justice, trial by jury, freedom of worship, and freedom of religious and political opinion.
     Democracy is far the most difficult form of government because it requires for perfect functioning the participation of everybody.  Democracy wants constant guarding, and for us to turn to a dictatorship would be and act of consummate cowardice, of surrender, of confession that our strength and courage alike had gone.
     It is quite true the wheels of our state coach may be creaking in heavy ground, but are you sure the wheels of the coach are not creaking in Moscow, Berlin, and Vienna, and even in the United States?
     The whole tendency of a dictatorship is to squeeze out the competent and independent man and create a hierarchy accustomed to obeying.  Chaos often results when the original dictator goes.
     The rise of communism or fascism--both alike believe in force as a means of establishing their dictatorship--would kill everything that had been grown by our people for the last 800 or 1,000 years."
     The plan in England to which I am referring is the "political economic plan", drawn up by Israel Moses Schiff, the director of a chain-store enterprise in England called Marks & Spencer.  This enterprise declared a dividend of 40 percent for 1933, and was enabled to do so by the fact that it has until now handled almost exclusively all imports from Soviet Russia, which has enabled this house to undersell competitors.....
     The political economic plan is in operation in the British Government by the means of a tariff advisory board.  This organization has gathered all data and statistics obtained by governmental and private organization in administrative, industrial, trade, social, educational, agricultural, and other circles.  Air-force statistics are in their hands, as well as those of the law and medical professions.  this organization or group have had access to all archives of the British Government, just as the "brain trust" here in the United States have had access to archives of our Government departments.
     Through the tariff advisory board, which was created in February of 1933, and headed by Sir George May, the control of industry and trade is being firmly established in the British Empire.  This tariff advisory board works in direct connection with the Treasury, and together with it devises the tariff policy.
     In this bill and the tariff bill which follows it is proposed to set up just such a board, under the direction of the President, as the tariff advisory board of England.
     The tariff board in England has been granted the powers of a law court and can exact under oath that all information concerning industry and trade be given it.  Iron and steel, as also cotton and industrials, in England have been ordered by the tariff advisory board to prepare and submit plans for the reorganization of their industries and warned that should they fail to do so, a plan for complete reconstruction would be imposed upon them.  May I suggest to you the similarity of this plan with the N.R.A., and also suggest to you that the tariff advisory board in England has been granted default powers and can, therefore, impose its plan.
     The tariff board is composed, in addition to Sir George May, of Sir Sidney Chapman, professor of economics and statistics, and Sir George Allen Powell, of the British Food Board and Food Council.  And it is a well-known fact that this particular political economic group has close connection with the Foreign Policy Association in New York.
     I wish to quote from a letter from a correspondent of mine abroad, as follows: "It appears that the alleged "brain trust" is supposed to greatly influence the present United States policy.  Neither you nor I are particularly interested in what takes place in England, but what should interest us both, it seems to me, is that there is a strong possibility that certain members of the "brain trust" around our President are undoubtedly in touch with this British organization and possibly are working to introduce a similar plan in the United States.
     I understand the "brain trust" is largely composed of Professor Frankfurter, Professor Moley, Professor Tugwell, Adolph Berle, William C. Bullitt and the mysterious Mordecai Ezekiel.  I think there is no doubt that these men all belong to this particular organization with distinct Bolshevik tendencies.  So it is quite possible that should this political economic plan be developed in the United States, if this alleged "brain trust" has really a serious influence over the judgement of our President, this plan may be attempted in our country."
     Need I point out to you, who have been observing the activities of the so-called "brain trust" in the writing and sending to the Congress of legislation, that this legislation has for its purpose the virtual setting up in the United States of a plan similar to that which is being worked out in England.
     I am assured by serious people who are in a position to know that this organization practically controls the British Government, and it is the opinion of those who do know that this highly organized and well-financed movement is intended to practically Sovietize the English-speaking race.
     I wish to quote again from my correspondent, as follows: Some 2 months ago when Lsrael Moses Sieff, the present head of this organization, was urged to show more activity by the members of his committee, he said, "Let us go slowly for a while and wait until we see how our plan carries out in America.""
Congressional Record, March 15, 1934

Congressman Patman: "....A Federal Reserve bank has a great privilege.  It has the right to issue a blanket mortgage on all the property of all the people of this country.  It is called a Federal Reserve note.  For that privilege section 16 of the act provides that when the Government prints a Federal Reserve note and guarantees to pay that note and delivers it to a Federal Reserve bank, that Federal Reserve bank shall pay--it seems to be mandatory--the rate of interest that is set by the Federal Reserve Board.  The law has never been put into effect.  The Federal Reserve Board sets the zero rate.  Instead of charging an interest rate which the law says they shall charge, they set no rate at all.
     Therefore, for the use of this great Government credit, these blanket mortgages that are issued against all the property of all the people of this Nation and against the incomes of all the people of this Nation, they do not pay one penny.  Not one penny of the stack of the Federal Reserve banks is owned by the Government or the people, but it is owned by private banks exclusively.  They do not pay one penny for the use of that great privilege, to the people or to the Government."  Congressional
Record, April 9, 1934

Congressman McFadden: "....Whereas the lobbying activities of the said British Ambassador, Sir Ronald lindsay, carried on in the halls of the Capitol, at the British Embassy, in the houses of citizens of the United States, in the offices of predatory international bankers, on shipboard, on the trains, and elsewhere, have for their purpose the taking from the United States Treasury of assets which it is the sworn duty of this Government to protect by every means within its power, not  stopping short of war, if need be; and whereas the said Linday's lobbying activities likewise have for their purpose the defeat of measures enacted into law by the Government of the United States to insure the repayment of moneys advanced to Great Britain on her written promise to repay them; and whereas the lobbying activities of Sir Ronald Lindsay likewise have  for their object the overthrow of the Government of the United States and its reorganization as a part of the British Empire:....
Congressional Record, June 14, 1934