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stead, or the erection of improvements thereon: Provided further, That the yearly products of said homestead shall not be exempt from attachment, levy or sale, for the payment of obligations contracted in the production of the same. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly at their first session to enforce the provisions of this Section by suitable legislation.

SECTION 33. All taxes upon property, real or personal, shall be laid upon the actual value of the property taxed, as the same shall be ascertained by an assessment made for the purpose of laying such tax.

ARTICLE III.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The Supreme Executive authority of this State shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled "The Governor of the State of South Carolina.”

SECTION 2. The Governor shall be elected by the electors duly qualified to vote for members of the House of Representatives, and shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor shall be chosen and qualified, and shall be re-eligible. He shall be elected at the first general election held under this Constitution for members of the General Assembly, and at each general election thereafter, and shall be installed during the first session of the said General Assembly after his election, on such day as shall be provided for by law. The other State officers elect shall, at the same time, enter upon the performance of their duties.

SECTION 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who denies the existence of the Supreme Being; or who at the time of such election has not attained the age of thirty years, and who, except at the first election under this Constitution, shall not have been a citizen of the United States and a citizen and resident of this State for two years next preceding the day of election. No person while Governor shall hold any other office or commission (except in the militia) under this State, or any other power, at one and the same time.

SECTION 4. The returns of every election of Governor shall be sealed up by the managers of elections in their respective counties, and transmitted, by mail, to the seat of Government, directed to the Secretary of State, who shall deliver them to the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the next ensuing session of the General Assembly, and a duplicate of said returns shall be filed with the Clerks of the Courts of said Counties, whose duty it shall be to forward to the Secretary of State a certified copy thereof, upon

being notified that the returns previously forwarded-by mail have not been received at his office. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, after the expiration of seven days from the day upon which the votes have been counted, if the returns thereof from any County have not been received, to notify the Clerk of the Court of said County, and order a copy of the returns filed in his office to be forwarded forthwith. The Secretary of State shall deliver the returns to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, at the next ensuing session of the General Assembly; and during the first week of the session, or as soon as the General Assembly shall have organized by the election of the presiding officers of the two Houses, the Speaker shall open and publish them in the presence of both Houses. The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor; but if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, the General Assembly shall, during the same session, in the House of Representatives choose one of them Governor viva voce. Contested elections for Governor shall be determined by the General Assembly in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SECTION 5. A Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen at the same time, in the same manner, continue in office for the same period, and be possessed of the same qualifications as the Governor, and shall ex-officio be President of the Senate.

SECTION 6. The Lieutenant Governor, while presiding in the Senate, shall have no vote, unless the Senate be equally divided. SECTION 7. The Senate shall choose a President pro tempore, to act in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, or when he shall exercise the office of Governor.

SECTION 8. A member of the Senate, or of the House of Representatives, being chosen and acting as Governor or Lieutenant Governor, shall thereupon vacate his seat, and another person shall be elected in his stead.

SECTION 9. In case of the removal of the Governor from his office, or his death, resignation, removal from the State, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Lieutenant Governor, and the General Assembly, at its first session, after the ratification of this Constitution, shall, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, declaring what officer shall then act as Governor, and such officer shall act accordingly, until such disability shall have been removed, or a Governor shall have been elected.

SECTION 10. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia of the State, except when they shall be called into the actual service of the United States.

SECTION 11. He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardon

after conviction, (except in cases of impeachment,) in such manner, on such terms, and under such restrictions as he shall think proper; and he shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, unless otherwise directed by law. It shall be his duty to report to the General Assembly, at the next regular session thereafter, all pardons granted by him, with a full statement of each case, and the reasons moving him thereunto.

SECTION 12. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, in mercy.

SECTION 13. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which they shall have been elected.

SECTION 14. All Officers in the Executive Department shall, when required by the Governor, give him information in writing upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SECTION 15. The Governor shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the condition of the State, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary or expedient.

SECTION 16. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly; and should either House remain without a quorum for five days, or in case of disagreement between the two Houses with respect to the time of adjournment, may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; not beyond the time of the annual session then next ensuing.

SECTION 17. He shall commission all officers of the State.

SECTION 18. There shall be a Seal of the State, for which the General Assembly, at its first session, shall provide, and which shall be used by the Governor officially, and shall be called "The Great Seal of the State of South Carolina."

SECTION 19. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name and by the authority of the State of South Carolina, sealed with the Great Seal, signed by the Governor and countersigned by the Secretary of State.

SECTION 20. The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take and subscribe the oath of office as prescribed in Article two, section thirty of this Constitution.

SECTION 21. The Governor shall reside at the capital of the State; but during the sittings of the General Assembly he shall reside where its sessions are held, except in case of contagion.

SECTION 22. Every bill or joint resolution which shall have passed the General Assembly, except on a question of adjournment, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor, and, it

he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall return it, with his objections to the House in which it shall have originated; which shall enter the objections at large on its journals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass it, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall be reconsidered, and, if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall have the same effect as if it had been signed by the Governor; but, in all such cases the vote of both Houses shall be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill or joint resolution, shall be entered on the journals of both Houses respectively. If a bill or joint resolution shall not be returned by the Governor within three days after it shall have been presented to him, Sundays excepted, it shall have the same force and effect, as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not have such force and effect unless returned within two days after their next meeting.

SECTION 23. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, a Comptroller-General, a Treasurer, and a Secretary of State, who shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years, and whose duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE IV.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in two Circuit Courts, to wit: A Court of Common Pleas, having civil jurisdiction, and a Court of General Sessions, with criminal jurisdiction only; in Probate Courts, and in Justices of the Peace. The General Assembly may also establish such municipal and other inferior Courts as may be deemed necessary. SECTION 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, two of whom shall constitute a quorum. They shall be elected by a joint vote of the General Assembly for the term of six years, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified. They shall be so classified that one of the Justices shall go out of office every two years.

SECTION 3. The Chief Justice elected under this Constitution shall continue in office for six years, and the General Assembly immediately after the said election shall determine which of the two Associate Justices elect shall serve for the term of two years and which for the term of four years; and having so determined the same, it shall be the duty of the Governor to commission them accordingly.

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SECTION 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only in cases of Chancery, and shall constitute a Court for the correction of errors at law, under such regulations as the General Assembly may by law prescribe; Provided, The said Court shall always have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other original and remedial writs as may be necessary to give it a general supervisory control over all other Courts in the State.

SECTION 5. The Supreme Court shall be held at least once in each year, at the seat of Government, and at such other place or places in the State as the General Assembly may direct.

SECTION 6. No Judge shall preside on the trial of any cause in the event of which he may be interested, or where either of the parties shall be connected with him by affinity or consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by law, or in which he may have been counsel, or have presided in any inferior Court, except by consent of all the parties. In case all or any of the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be thus disqualified from presiding in any cause or causes, the Court or the Judges thereof shall certify the same to the Governor of the State, and he shall immediately commission, specially, the requisite number of men learned in the law for the trial and determination thereof. The same course shall be pursued in the Circuit and inferior Courts as is prescribed in this section for cases of the Supreme Court.

SECTION 7. There shall be appointed by the Judges of the Supreme Court a reporter and clerk of said Court, who shall hold their offices for two years, and whose duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law.

SECTION 8. When a judgment or decree is reversed or affirméd by the Supreme Court, every point made and distinctly stated in writing in the cause, and fairly arising upon the record of the case, shall be considered and decided; and the reasons therefor shall be concisely and briefly stated in writing, and preserved with the records of the case.

SECTION 9. The Judges of the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for their services, to be fixed by law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. They shall not be allowed any fees or perquisites of office, nor shall they hold any other office of trust or profit under this State, the United States, or any other power.

SECTION 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of Judge of the Supreme Court or Circuit Courts who is not at the time of his election a citizen of the United States, and has not attained the age of thirty years, and been a resident of this State for five years next preceding his election, or from the adoption of this Constitution. SECTION 11. All vacancies in the Supreme Court or other inferior 3