CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
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THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF 
 NORTH CAROLINIANA 
 
 Cp342.1 
 1929 
 
Educational Publication No. 144 Division op Publications No. 45 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 PUBLISHED by 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 Raleigh, N. C. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE 
 
 The various State Departments at Raleigh receive many calls for copies 
 of the Constitution of the State from teachers who desire to use them in 
 their school work. The office of the Secretary of State, which has hereto- 
 fore supplied this demand, has discontinued the service. 
 
 It is sometimes very difficult for a teacher to secure a copy of the 
 Constitution for use in connection with her work in civics, history, and 
 other subjects bearing on various phases of State activities. 
 
 I am, therefore, causing to be printed a limited supply of the Consti- 
 tution of the State for distribution to such teachers as may have a special 
 need for it in connection with their regular class work. 
 
 The public schools are now giving more attention to North Carolina 
 history and geography as well as to the industrial and economic develop- 
 ment of the State than in former years. By making this material avail- 
 able I hope the work in the general field of information about North Carolina 
 and its people will be stimulated to some extent. 
 
 q. ~T - CU-^l^. 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
 11-20-29— 10M. 
 
CONSTITUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 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 
 acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those bless- 
 ings to us and our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof and 
 for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Consti- 
 tution : 
 
 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 de- 
 fined and affirmed, we do declare: 
 
 Section 1. The equality and right's of men. That we hold it to be 
 self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their 
 Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, 
 the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of hap- 
 piness. 
 
 Sec. 2. Political power and government. 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. Internal government of the State. That the people of this State 
 have the inherent, sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal gov- 
 ernment and policies thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Consti- 
 tution and form of government whenever it may be necessary for their 
 safety and happiness; but every such right should be exercised in pur- 
 suance of the law, and consistently with the Constitution of the United 
 States. 
 
 Sec. 4. That there is no right to secede. That this State shall ever 
 remain a member of the American Union; that the people thereof are a 
 part of the American Nation; that there is no right on the part of the 
 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. Of allegiance to the United States Government. 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. 
 
4 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 Sec. 6. Public debt; bonds issued under ordinance of Convention of 
 1868, '68-69, '69-70, declared invalid; exception. The State shall never as- 
 sume 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; nor shall the 
 General Assembly assume or pay, or authorize the collection of any tax 
 to pay, either directly or indirectly, expressed or implied, any debt or 
 bond incurred, or issued, by authority of the Convention of the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, nor any debt or bond incurred or 
 issued by the Legislature of the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty-eight, either at its special session of the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-eight, or at its regular sessions of the years one thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty-eight and one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
 nine, and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine and one thousand 
 eight hundred and seventy, except the bonds issued to fund the interest on 
 the old debt of the State, unless the proposing to pay the same shall have 
 first been submitted to the people, and by them ratified by the vote of a, 
 majority of all the qualified voters of the State at a regular election held 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Sec. 7. Exclusive emoluments, etc. 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 judicial powers distinct. The 
 legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the government ought 
 to be forever separate and distinct from each other. 
 
 Sec. 9. Of the power of suspending laws. 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 Elections free. All elections ought to be free. 
 
 Sec. 11. In criminal prosecutions. 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 defense, and not be compelled to give evidence against him- 
 self, or to pay costs, jail fees, or necessary witness fees of the defense, 
 unless found guilty. 
 
 Sec. 12. Answers to criminal charges. No person shall be put to 
 answer any criminal charge except as hereinafter allowed, but by indict- 
 ment, presentment, or impeachment. 
 
 Sec. 13. Right of jury. 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. Excessive bail should not be required, nor 
 excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. 
 
 Sec. 15. General warrants. General warrants, whereby any officer 
 or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places, without evi- 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 5 
 
 dence of the act committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, 
 whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are 
 dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 Sec. 16. Imprisonment for debt. There shall be no imprisonment for 
 debt in this State, except in cases of fraud. 
 
 Sec. 17. No person taken, etc., but by law of the land. No person 
 ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privi- 
 leges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty, 
 or property but by the law of the land. 
 
 Sec. 18. Persons restrained of liberty. Every person restrained of. his 
 liberty is entitled to a remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and 
 to remove the same, if unlawful; and such remedy ought not to be denied 
 or delayed. 
 
 Sec. 19. Controversies at law respecting property. 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. Freedom of the press. The freedom of the press is one of the 
 great bulwarks of liberty, and therefore ought never to be restrained, but 
 every individual shall be held responsible for the abuse of the same. 
 
 Sec. 21. Habeas corpus. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus 
 shall not be suspended. 
 
 Sec. 22. Property qualification. As political rights and privileges are 
 not dependent upon, or modified by, property, therefore no property qualifi- 
 cation ought to affect the right to vote or hold office. 
 
 Sec. 23. Representation and taxation. The people of the 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. Militia and the right to bear arms. 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. Nothing herein contained shall justify the practice of 
 carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the Legislature from enacting penal 
 statutes against said practice. 
 
 Sec. 25. Right of the people to assemble together. 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 griev- 
 ances. But secret political societies are dangerous to the liberties of a free 
 people, and should not be tolerated. 
 
 Sec. 26. Religious liberty. All men have a natural and inalienable 
 right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own con- 
 sciences, and no human authority should, in any case whatever, control 
 or interfere with the rights of conscience. 
 
6 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 Sec. 27. Education. The people have the right to the privilege of edu- 
 cation, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right. 
 
 Sec. 28. Elections should be frequent. For redress of grievances, and 
 for amending and strengthening the laws, elections should be often held. 
 
 Sec. 29. Recurrence to fundamental principles. A frequent recurrence 
 to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings 
 of liberty. 
 
 Sec. 30. Hereditary emoluments, etc. No hereditary emoluments, privi- 
 leges, or honors ought to be granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 Sec. 31. Perpetuities, etc. Perpetutities and monopolies are contrary 
 to the genius of a free State, and ought not to be allowed. 
 
 Sec. 32. Ex post facto laws. Retrospective laws, punishing acts com- 
 mitted before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared 
 criminal, are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty; where- 
 fore 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 prohibited. Slavery and involuntary servitude, 
 otherwise than for crime, whereof the parties shall have been duly con- 
 victed, shall be, and are hereby, forever prohibited within the State. 
 
 Sec. 34. State boundaries. The limits and boundaries of the State 
 shall be and remain as they now are. 
 
 Sec. 35. Courts shall be open. 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. Soldiers in time of peace. 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. Other rights of the people. 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. Two branches. 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. Time of assembling. The Senate and House of Representatives 
 shall meet biennially on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in 
 January next after their election; and, when assembled, shall be denomi- 
 nated the General Assembly. Neither house shall proceed upon public 
 business unless- a majority of all the members are actually present. 
 
 Sec. 3. Number of senators. The Senate shall be composed of fifty 
 Senators, biennially chosen by ballot. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 7 
 
 Sec. 4. Regulations in relation to districting the State for Senators. 
 The Senate Districts shall be so altered by the General Assembly, at the 
 first session after the return of every enumeration by order of Congress, 
 that each Senate District shall contain, as near 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 forma- 
 tion of a Senate District, unless such county shall be equitably entitled 
 to two or more Senators. 
 
 Sec. 5. Regulations in relation to apportionment of representatives. 
 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 apportion- 
 ment shall be made by the General Assembly at the respective times and 
 periods when the districts of the Senate are hereinbefore directed to be 
 laid off. 
 
 Sec. 6. Ratio of representation. In making the apportionment in the 
 House of Representatives, the ratio of representation shall 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 In- 
 dians not taxed shall not be included. To each county containing the said 
 ratio and not twice the said ratio there shall be assigned one Representa- 
 tive; to each county containing two 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 coun- 
 ties having the largest fractions. 
 
 Sec. 7. Qualifications for senators. Each member of the Senate shall 
 not be 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 was chosen one year immediately preceding his election. 
 
 Sec. 8. Qualifications for representatives. 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 pre- 
 ceding his election. \ 
 
 Sec. 9. Election of officers. In the election of all officers whose appoint- 
 ment shall be conferred upon the General Assembly by the Constitution, 
 the vote shall be viva voce. 
 
 Sec. 10. Powers in relation to divorce and alimony. 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. 11. Private laws in relation to names of persons, etc. The Gen- 
 eral Assembly shall not have power to pass any private law to alter the 
 
8 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 name of any person, or to legitimate any person not born in lawful wedlock, 
 or to restore to the rights of citizenship any person convicted of an in- 
 famous crime, but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the 
 same. 
 
 Sec. 12. Thirty days notice shall be given anterior to passage of private 
 laws. 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 a 
 law shall have been given, under such direction and in such manner as 
 shall be provided by law. 
 
 Sec. 13. Vacancies. 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. 14. Revenue. 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 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. 15. Entails. The General Assembly shall regulate entails in such 
 a manner as to prevent perpetuities. 
 
 Sec. 16. Journals. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
 which shall be printed and made public immediately after the adjournment 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 17. Protest. 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. 18. Officers of the House. The House of Representatives shall 
 choose their own Speaker and other officers. 
 
 Sec. 19. President of the Senate. The Lieutenant-Governor shall 
 preside in the Senate, but shall have no vote unless it may be equally 
 divided. 
 
 Sec. 20. Other senatorial officers. 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. 21. Style of the acts. The style of the acts shall be: "The General 
 Assembly of North Carolina do enact." 
 
 Sec. 22. Powers of the General Assembly. Each House shall be judge 
 of the qualifications and election 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. 23. Bills and resolutions to be read three times, etc. All bills and 
 resolutions of a legislative nature shall be read three times in each House 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 9 
 
 before they pass into laws, and shall be signed by the presiding officers of 
 both Houses. 
 
 Sec. 24. Oath of members. Each member of the General Assembly, 
 before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation that he will sup- 
 port 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. 25. Terms of office. The terms of office for Senators and members 
 of the House of Representatives shall commence at the time of their 
 election. 
 
 Sec. 26. Yeas and nays. 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. 27. Election for members of the General Assembly. The election 
 for members of the General Assembly shall be held for the respective dis- 
 tricts 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 Assembly 
 may change the time of holding the elections. 
 
 Sec. 28 Pay of members and officers of the General Assembly. The 
 members of the General Assembly for the term of their office shall 
 receive a salary for their services of six hundred dollars each. The 
 salaries of the presiding officers of the two houses shall be seven hundred 
 dollars each: Provided, that in addition to the salaries herein provided 
 for, should an extra session of the General Assembly be called, the mem- 
 bers shall receive eight dollars per day each, and the presiding officers 
 of the two houses ten dollars per day each, for every day of such extra 
 session not exceeding twenty days; and should an extra session continue 
 more than twenty days, the members and officers shall serve thereafter 
 without pay. 
 
 Sec. 29. Limitations upon power of General Assembly to enact private 
 or special legislation. The General Assembly shall not pass any local, 
 private, or special act or resolution relating to the establishment of courts 
 inferior to the Superior Court; relating to the appointment of justices of 
 the peace; relating to health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances; 
 changing the names of cities, towns, and townships; authorizing the laying 
 out, opening, altering, maintaining, or discontinuing of highways, streets, 
 or alleys; relating to ferries or bridges; relating to non-navigable streams; 
 relating to cemeteries; relating to the pay of jurors; erecting new town- 
 ships, or changing township lines, or establishing or changing the lines of 
 school districts; remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures, or refunding 
 moneys legally paid into the public treasury; regulating labor, trade, min- 
 ing, or manufacturing; extending the time for the assessment or collection 
 of taxes or otherwise relieving any collector of taxes from the due per- 
 formance of his official duties or his sureties from liability; giving effect 
 to informal wills and deeds; nor shall the General Assembly enact any 
 such local, private, or special act by the partial repeal of a general law, 
 
10 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 but the General Assembly may at any time repeal local, private, or special 
 laws enacted by it. Any local, private, or special act or resolution passed 
 in violation of the provisions of this section shall be void. The General 
 Assembly shall have power to pass general laws regulating matters set 
 out in this section. 
 
 Sec. 30. The General Assembly shall not use nor authorize to be used 
 any part of the amount of any sinking fund for any purpose other than 
 the retirement of the bonds for which said sinking fund has been created. 
 
 ARTICLE III 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 
 
 Section 1. Officers of the Executive Department; terms of office. The 
 Executive Department shall consist of a Governor, in whom shall be vested 
 the supreme executive power of the State; a Lieutenant-Governor, a Secre- 
 tary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion, 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 
 the 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; Pro- 
 vided, that the officers first elected shall assume the duties of their office 
 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 day of January. 
 
 Sec. 2. Qualifications of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. 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. Returns of election. The returns of every election for officers 
 of the Executive Department shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat 
 of government by the returning officer, directed to the Secretary of State. 
 The return shall be canvassed and the result declared in such manner as 
 may be prescribed by law. Contested elections shall be determined by a. 
 joint ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly in such manner as 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 4. Oath of office for Governor. 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. Duties of Governor. The Governor shall reside at the seat 
 of government of this State, and he shall, from time to time, give the Gen- 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 11 
 
 eral Assembly information of the affairs of the State, and recommend to 
 their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient. 
 
 Sec. 6. Reprieves, commutations, and pardons. The Governor shall 
 have power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, after convic- 
 tion, for all offenses (except in cases of impeachment), upon such con- 
 ditions as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be pro- 
 vided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. He shall 
 biennially 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 therefor. 
 
 Sec. 7. Annual reports from officers of Executive Department and of 
 public institutions. 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 writ- 
 ing from the officers in the Executive Department upon any subject relat- 
 ing to the duties of their respective offices, and shall take care that the 
 laws be faithfully executed. 
 
 Sec. 8. Commander-in-Chief . 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. Extra sessions of General Assembly. The Governor shall 
 have power, on extraordinary occassions, 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. Officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for. 
 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 and whose appointments are not other- 
 wise provided for. 
 
 Sec. 11. Duties of the Lieutenant-Governor. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor 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 impeachment of Governor, or vacancy caused by 
 death or resignation. 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 disability 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 
 
12 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 Senators shall elect one of their own number President of their body; 
 and the powers, duties, and emoluments 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 are re- 
 moved, 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 the President of the Senate to administer the gov- 
 ernment, the Secretary of State shall convene the Senate, that they may 
 elect such President. 
 
 Sec. 13. Duties of other executive officers. The respective duties of 
 the Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, 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 of 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. Council of State. The Secretary of State, Auditor, Treas- 
 urer, 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 Execu- 
 tive Department. 
 
 Sec. 15. Compensation of executive officers. The officers mentioned 
 in this article shall, at stated periods, receive for their services a com- 
 pensation 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. Seal of State. 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," and signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 Sec. 17. Department of Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics. The 
 General Assembly shall establish a Department of Agriculture, Immigra- 
 tion, and Statistics, under such regulations as may best promote the agri- 
 cultural interests of the State, and shall enact laws for the adequate pro- 
 tection and encouragement of sheep husbandry. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 13 
 
 article iv 
 
 JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 
 
 Section 1. Abolishes the distinction between actions at law and suits 
 in equity, and feigned issues. 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 offense, for the punishment of the same, shall be 
 termed a criminal action. Feigned issues shall also be abolished, and 
 the facts at issue tried by order of court before a jury. 
 
 Sec. 2. Division of judicial powers. 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 such other 
 courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established by law. 
 
 Sec. 3. Trial court of impeachment. 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. 4. Impeachment. 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 Gov- 
 ernor is impeached, the Chief Justice shall preside. 
 
 Sec. 5. Treason against the State. Treason against the State shall 
 consist only in levying war against it, or adhering 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. 6. Supreme Court Justices. The Supreme Court shall consist 
 of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. 
 
 Sec. 7. Terms of the Supreme Court. The terms of the Supreme 
 Court shall be held in the city of Raleigh, as now, until otherwise pro- 
 vided by the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 8. Jurisdiction of Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall 
 have jurisdiction to review, upon appeal, any decision of the courts 
 below, upon any matter of law or legal inference. And the jurisdiction of 
 said court over "issues of fact" and "questions of fact" shall be the same 
 exercised by it before the adoption of the Constitution of one thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty-eight, and the court shall have the power to issue 
 any remedial writs necessary to give it a general supervision and control 
 over the proceedings of the inferior courts. 
 
 Sec. 9. Claims against the State. The Supreme Court shall have 
 original jurisdiction to hear claims against the State, but its decisions 
 
14 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 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. 10. Judicial districts for Superior Courts. The State shall be 
 divided into nine judicial districts, for each of which a judge shall be 
 chosen; and there shall be held a Superior Court in each county at least 
 twice in each year, to continue for such time in each county as may be 
 prescribed by law. But the General Assembly may reduce or increase the 
 number of districts. 
 
 Sec. 11. Residences of judges, rotation in judicial districts, and 
 special terms. Every judge of the Superior Court shall reside in the 
 district for which he is elected. The judges shall preside in the courts 
 of the different districts successively, but no judge shall hold the courts 
 in the same district oftener than once in four years; but in case of the 
 protracted illness of the judge assigned to preside in any district, or of 
 any other unavoidable accident to him, by reason of which he shall be 
 unable to preside, the Governor may require any judge to hold one or 
 more specified terms in said district, in lieu of the judge assigned to hold 
 the courts of the said district; and the General Assembly may by general 
 laws provide for the selection of special or emergency judges to hold the 
 Superior Courts of any county, or district, when the judge assigned 
 thereto, by reason of sickness, disability, or other cause, is unable to 
 attend and hold said court, and when no other judge is available to hold 
 the same. Such special or emergency judges shall have the power and 
 authority of regular judges of the Superior Courts, in the courts which 
 they are so appointed to hold; and the General Assembly shall provide 
 for their reasonable compensation. 
 
 Sec. 12. Jurisdiction of courts inferior to Supreme Court. The Gen- 
 eral Assembly shall have no power to deprive the Judicial Department 
 of any power or jurisdiction which rightfully pertains to it as a co- 
 ordinate department of the government; but the General Assembly shall 
 allot and distribute that portion of this power and jurisdiction which 
 does not pertain to the Supreme Court among the other courts prescribed 
 in this Constitution or which may be established by law, in, such manner 
 as it may deem best; provide also a proper system of appeals; and regu- 
 late by law, when necessary, the methods of proceeding in the exercise 
 of their powers of all the courts below the Supreme Court, so far as 
 the same may be done without conflict with other provisions of this 
 Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 13. In case of waiver of trial by jury. In all issues of fact, 
 joined in any court, the parties may waive the right to have the same 
 determined by a jury; in which case the finding of the judge upon the 
 facts shall have the force and effect of a verdict by a jury. 
 
 Sec. 14. Special courts in cities. 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. 15. Clerk of the Supreme Court. The clerk of the Supreme 
 Court shall be appointed by the Court, and shall hold his office for eight 
 years. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 15 
 
 Sec. 16. Election of Superior Court clerk. 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 mem- 
 bers of the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 17. Term of office. Clerks of the Superior Courts shall hold 
 their offices for four years. 
 
 Sec. 18. Fees, salaries, and emoluments. 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. 19. What lavjs are, and shall be, in force. The laws of North 
 Carolina, not repugnant to this Constitution or the Constitution and laws 
 of the United States, shall be in force until lawfully altered. 
 
 Sec. 20. Disposition of actions at law and suits in equity, pending 
 when this Constitution shall go into effect, etc. 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 the adoption . by the General Assembly of the rules of 
 practice and procedure herein provided for, shall be heard and deter- 
 mined according to the practice now in use, unless otherwise provided for 
 by said rules. 
 
 Sec. 21. Election, terms of office, etc., of Justices of the Supreme and 
 Judges of the Superior Courts. 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, elected at 
 the first election under this amendment, shall be elected in like manner 
 as is provided for Justices of the Supreme Court, and shall hold their 
 offices for eight years. The General Assembly may, from time to time, 
 provide by law that the judges of the Superior Courts, chosen at suc- 
 ceeding elections, 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. 22. Transaction of business in the Superior Courts. The Superior 
 Courts shall be, at all times, open for the transaction of all business 
 within their jurisdiction, except the trial of issues of fact requiring 
 a jury. 
 
 Sec. 23. Solicitors for each judicial district. 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 Superior Courts, and advise the officers of justice 
 in his district. 
 
 Sec. 24. Sheriffs and coroners. In each county a sheriff and coroner 
 shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for mem- 
 bers 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 
 
16 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 the voters thereof, who shall hold his office for two years. When there 
 is no coroner in a 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 of 
 the county may appoint to such office for the unexpired term. 
 
 Sec. 25. Vacancies. All vacancies occurring in the offices provided 
 for by this article of the Constitution shall be filled by the appointments 
 of the Governor, unless otherwise provided for, and the appointees shall 
 hold their places until the next regular election for members of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, when elections shall be held to fill such offices. If any 
 person, elected or appointed to any of said offices, shall neglect and fail 
 to qualify, such offices shall be appointed to, held and filled as provided 
 in case of vacancies occurring therein. All incumbents of said offices 
 shall hold until their successors are qualified. 
 
 Sec. 26. Terms of office of first officers. The officers elected at the 
 first electon held under this Constitution shall hold their offices for the 
 terms prescribed for them, respectively, next ensuing after the next regu- 
 lar 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. 27. Jurisdiction of justices of the peace. The several justices 
 of the peace shall have jurisdiction, under such regulations as the Gen- 
 eral Assembly shall prescribe, of 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 thirty days. 
 And the General Assembly may give to the justices of the peace juris- 
 diction of other civil actions wherein the value of the property in con- 
 troversy does not exceed fifty dollars. 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 the judgment shall be rendered in any civil action may 
 appeal to the Superior Court from the same. In all cases of a criminal 
 nature the party against whom the judgment 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 proceedings, and 
 file same with the clerk of the Superior Court for his county. 
 
 Sec. 28. Vacancies in office of justice's. 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. 29. Vacancies in office of Superior Court clerk. 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. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 17 
 
 Sec. 30. Officers of other courts inferior to Supreme Court. In case 
 the General Assembly shall establish other courts inferior to the Supreme 
 Court, the presiding officers and clerks thereof shall be elected in such 
 manner as the General Assembly may from time to time prescribe, and 
 they shall hold their offices for a term not exceeding eight years. 
 
 Sec. 31. Removal of judges of the various courts for inability. Any 
 judge of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior Courts, and the presiding 
 offiers of such courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established 
 by law, may be removed from office for mental or physical inability, 
 upon a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of both Houses of the General 
 Assembly. The judge or presiding officer against whom the General 
 Assembly may be about to proceed shall receive notice thereof, accom- 
 panied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least twenty 
 days before the day on which either House of the General Assembly shall 
 act thereon. 
 
 Sec. 32. Removal of clerks of the various courts for inability. Any 
 clerk of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior Courts, or of such courts 
 inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established by law, may be 
 removed from office for mental or physical inability; the clerk of the 
 Supreme Court by the judges of said court, the clerks of the Superior 
 Courts by the judge riding the district, and the clerks of such courts 
 inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established by law by the pre- 
 siding officers of said courts. The clerk against whom proceedings are 
 instituted shall receive notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the 
 causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the day appointed 
 to act thereon, and the clerk shall be entitled to an appeal to the next 
 term of the Superior Court, and thence to the Supreme Court, as pro- 
 vided in other cases of appeals. 
 
 Sec. 33. Amendments not to vacate existing offices. The amendments 
 made to the Constitution of North Carolina by this Convention shall not 
 have the effect to vacate any office or term of office now existing under 
 the Constitution of the State, and filled, or held by virtue of any election 
 or appointment under the said Constitution and the laws of the State 
 made in pursuance thereof. 
 
 ARTICLE V 
 
 REVENUE AND TAXATION 
 
 Section 1. Cavitation tax; exemptions. The General Assembly may 
 levy a capitation tax on every male inhabitant of the State over twenty- 
 one and under fifty years of age, which said tax shall not exceed two 
 dollars, and cities and towns may levy a capitation tax which shall not 
 exceed one dollar. No other capitation tax shall be levied. The com- 
 missioners of the several counties and of the cities and towns may exempt 
 from the capitation tax any special cases on account of poverty or 
 infirmity. 
 
 Sec. 2. Application of proceeds of State and county capitation tax. 
 The proceeds of the State and county capitation tax shall be applied to 
 
18 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 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. Taxation shall be by uniform rule and ad valorem; exemp- 
 tions. Laws shall be passed taxing, by a uniform rule, all moneys, credits, 
 investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock companies, or otherwise; and also, 
 all real and personal property, according to its true value in money: Pro- 
 vided, notes, mortgages, and all other evidences of indebtedness, or any 
 renewal thereof, given in good faith to build, repair, or purchase a home, 
 when said loan does not exceed eight thousand dollars ($8,000), and said 
 notes and mortgages and other evidences of indebtedness, or any renewal 
 thereof, shall be made to run for not less than one nor more than thirty- 
 three years, shall be exempt from taxation of every kind for fifty per 
 cent of the value of the notes and mortgages: Provided, the holder of 
 said note or notes must reside in the county where the land lies and 
 there list it for taxation: Provided, further, that when said notes and 
 mortgages are held and taxed in the county where the home is situated, 
 then the owner of the home shall be exempt from taxation of every kind 
 for fifty per cent of the value of said notes and mortgages. The word 
 "home" is defined to mean lands, whether consisting of a building lot or 
 larger tract, together with all the buildings and outbuildings which the 
 owner in good faith intends to use as a dwelling place for himself or 
 herself, which shall be conclusively established by the actual use and 
 occupancy of such premises as a dwelling place of the purchaser or 
 owner for a period of three months. The General Assembly may also tax 
 trades, professions, franchises, and incomes: Provided, the rate of tax on 
 income shall not in any case exceed six per cent (6%), and there shall be 
 allowed the following exemptions, to be deducted from the amount of annual 
 incomes, to-wit: for married man with a wife living with him, or to a 
 widow or widower having minor child or children, natural or adopted, 
 not less than $2,000; to all other persons not less than $1,000, and there 
 may be allowed other deductions (not including living expenses) so that 
 only net incomes are taxed. 
 
 Sec. 4. Restrictions upon the increase of the public debt except in 
 certain contingencies. Except for refunding of valid bonded debt, and 
 except to supply a casual deficit, or for suppressing invasions or insur- 
 rections, the General Assembly shall have no power to contract any new 
 debt or pecuniary obligation in behalf of the State to an amount exceed- 
 ing in the aggregate, including the then existing debt recognized by the 
 State, and deducting sinking funds then on hand, and the par value of 
 the stock in the Carolina Railroad Company and the Atlantic and North 
 Carolina Railroad Company owned by the State, seven and one-half per 
 cent of the assessed valuation of taxable property within the State as 
 last fixed for taxation. 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 railroads 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 sub- 
 mitted to a direct vote of the people of the State, and be approved by a 
 majority of those who shall vote thereon. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 19 
 
 Sec. 5. Property exempt from taxation. Property belonging to the 
 State, or to municipal corporations, shall be exempt from taxation. The 
 General Assembly may exempt cemeteries and property held for educa- 
 tional, scientific, literary, charitable, or religious purposes; also wearing 
 apparel, arms for muster, household and kitchen furniture, the mechanical 
 and agricultural implements of mechanics and farmers; libraries and 
 scientific instruments, or any other personal property, to a value not 
 exceeding three hundred dollars. 
 
 Sec. 6. Taxes levied for counties. The total of the State and county 
 tax on property shall not exceed fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars 
 value of property, except when the county property tax is levied for a 
 special purpose and with the special approval of the General Assembly, 
 which may be done by special or general act: Provided, this limitation 
 shall not apply to taxes levied for the maintenance of public schools of 
 the State for the term required by article nine, section three, of the 
 Constitution: Provided, further, the State tax shall not exceed five cents 
 on the one hundred dollars value of property. 
 
 Sec. 7. Acts levying taxes shall state objects, etc. 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. Who may vote. Every male person born in the United 
 States, and every male person who has been naturalized, twenty-one years 
 of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this article, shall be 
 entitled to vote at any election by the people in the State, except as herein 
 otherwise provided. 
 
 Sec. 2. Qualifications of voters. He shall reside in the State of North 
 Carolina for one year, and in the precinct, ward, or other election district, 
 in which he offers to vote four months next preceding election: Provided, 
 that removal from one precinct, ward, or other election district to another 
 in the same county shall not operate to deprive any person of the right 
 to vote in the precinct, ward, or other election district from which he has 
 removed until four months after such removal. No person who has been 
 convicted, or who has confessed his guilt in open court upon indictment, 
 of any crime the punishment of which now is, or may hereafter be, im- 
 prisonment in the State's Prison, shall be permitted to vote, unless the 
 said person shall be first restored to citizenship in the manner prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 Sec. 3. Voters to be registered. Every person offering to vote shall 
 be at the time a legally registered voter as herein prescribed and in the 
 manner hereafter provided by law, and the General Assembly of North 
 Carolina shall enact general registration laws to carry into effect the 
 provisions of this article. 
 
 Sec. 4. Qualification for registration. Every person presenting him- 
 self for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the 
 Constitution in the English language. But no male person who was, on 
 
20 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 January_l, JLSJIZ^jOX, at any time prior thereto, entitled to vote under the 
 la~wlTof any State in the United States wherein he then resided, and no 
 lineal descendant of any such person, shall be denied the right to register 
 and vote at any election in this State by reason of his failure to possess 
 the educational qualifications herein prescribed: Provided, he shall have 
 registered in accordance with the terms of this section prior to December 
 1, 1908. The General Assembly shall provide for the registration of all 
 persons entitled to vote without the educational qualifications herein pre- 
 scribed, and shall, on or before November 1, 1908, provide for the making 
 of a permanent record of such registration; and all persons so registered 
 shall forever thereafter have the right to vote in all elections by the 
 people in this State, unless disqualified under section 2 of this article. 
 
 Sec. 5. Indivisible plan; legislative intent. That this amendment to 
 the Constitution is presented and adopted as one indivisible plan for the 
 regulation of the suffrage, with the intent and purpose to so connect 
 the different parts, and to make them so dependent upon each other, that 
 the whole shall stand or fall together. 
 
 Sec. 6. Elections by people and General Assembly. All elections by 
 the people shall be by ballot, and all elections by the General Assembly 
 shall be viva voce. 
 
 Sec. 7. Eligibility to office; official oath. Every voter in North Caro- 
 lina, except as in this article disqualified, shall be eligible to office, but 
 before entering upon the duties of the 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 therewith, and 
 
 that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office as . 
 
 So help me, God." 
 
 Sec. 8. Disqualification for office. 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 or 
 confessed their guilt on indictment pending, and whether sentenced or 
 not, or under judgment suspended, of any treason or felony, or of any 
 other crime for which the punishment may be imprisonment in the peni- 
 tentiary, since becoming citizens of the United States, or of corruption 
 or malpractice in office, unless such person shall be restored to the rights 
 of citizenship in a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 9. When this chapter operative. That this amendment to the 
 Constitution shall go into effect on the first day of July, nineteen hundred 
 and two, if a majority of votes cast at the next general election shall 
 be cast in favor of this suffrage amendment. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 21 
 
 ARTICLE VII 
 
 MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 
 
 Section 1. County officers. 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. Duty of county commissioners. It shall be the duty of the 
 commissioners to exercise 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. Counties to be divided into districts. 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 name 
 of the said districts, and to report the same to the General Assembly 
 before the first day of January, 1869. 
 
 Sec. 4. Townships have corporate powers. 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. Officers of townships. In each township there shall be bien- 
 nially 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 townships, 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 town- 
 ships 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. Trustees shall assess property. The township board of trustees 
 shall assess the taxable property of their townships and make returns 
 to the county commissioners for revision, as may be prescribed by law. 
 The clerk shall be, ex officio, treasurer of the township. 
 
 Sec. 7. No debt or loan except by a majority of voters. 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 the majority of the qualified voters therein. 
 
 Sec. 8. No money drawn except by law. No money shall be drawn 
 from any county or township treasury except by authority of law. 
 
 Sec. 9. Taxes to be ad valorem. 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. 
 
22 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 Sec. 10. When officers enter on duty. 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. Governor to appoint justices. 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. Charters to remain in force until legally changed. 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. Debts in aid of the rebellion not to be paid. No county, city, 
 town, or other municipal corporation shall assume to 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 of or support of 
 the rebellion. 
 
 Sec. 14. Powers of General Assembly over municipal corporations. 
 The General Assembly shall have full power by statute to modify, change, 
 or abrogate any and all of the provisions of this article, and substitute 
 others in their place, except sections seven, nine, and thirteen. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII 
 
 CORPORATIONS OTHER THAN MUNICIPAL 
 
 Section 1. Corporations under general laws. No corporation shall be 
 created, nor shall its charter be extended, altered, or amended by special 
 act, except corporations for charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory 
 purposes that are to be and remain under the patronage and control of 
 the State; but the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for 
 the chartering and organization of all corporations, and for amending, 
 extending, and forfeiture of all charters, except those above permitted by 
 special act. All such general laws and special acts may be altered from 
 time to time or repealed; and the General Assembly may at any time 
 by special act repeal the charter of any corporation. 
 
 Sec. 2. Debts of corporations, how secured. Dues from corporations 
 shall be secured by such individual liabilities of the corporations, and 
 other means, as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 3. What corporations shall include. 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 cor- 
 porations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all corpora- 
 tions shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, in all 
 courts in like cases as natural persons. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 23 
 
 Sec. 4. Legislature to provide for organizing cities, toxvns, etc. It 
 shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide by general laws 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 assessment and in 
 contracting debts by such municipal corporations. 
 
 ARTICLE IX 
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 Section 1. Education shall be encouraged. Religion, morality, and 
 knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of man- 
 kind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. 
 
 Sec. 2. General Assembly shall provide for schools; separation of the 
 races. 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 chil- 
 dren of the State between the ages of six and twenty-one years. And 
 the children of the white race and the children of the colored race shall 
 be taught in separate public schools; but there shall be no discrimination 
 in favor of, or to the prejudice of, either race. 
 
 Sec. 3. Counties to be divided into districts. 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 six months in every year; 
 and if the commissioners of any county shall fail to comply with the 
 aforesaid requirements of this section, they shall be liable to indictment. 
 
 Sec. 4. What property devoted to educational purposes. The pro- 
 ceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the 
 United States to this State, and not otherwise appropriated by this State 
 or the United States; also all moneys, stocks, bonds, and other property 
 now belonging to any State fund for purposes of education, also the net 
 proceeds of all sales of the swamp lands belonging to the State, and all 
 other grants, gifts, or devises that have been or hereafter may be made to 
 the State, and not otherwise appropriated by the State or by the terms 
 of the grant, gift, or devise, shall be paid into the State Treasury, and, 
 together with so much of the ordinary revenue of the State as may be 
 by law set apart for that purpose, shall be faithfully appropriated for 
 establishing and maintaining in this State a system of free public schools, 
 and for no other uses or purposes whatsoever. 
 
 Sec. 5. County school fund; proviso. All moneys, stocks, bonds, and 
 other property belonging to a county school fund; also the net proceeds 
 from the sale of estrays; also the clear proceeds of all penalties and for- 
 feitures and of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach 
 of the penal or military laws of the State; and all moneys which shall 
 be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, 
 shall belong to and remain in the several counties, and shall be faithfully 
 appropriated for establishing and maintaining free public schools in the 
 several counties of this State: Provided, that the amount collected in 
 
24 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 each county shall be annually, reported to the Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction. 
 
 Sec. 6. Election of trustees, and provisions for maintenance, of the 
 University. The General Assembly shall have power to provide for the 
 election of trustees of the University of North Carolina, in whom, when 
 chosen, shall be vested all the privileges, rights, franchises, and endow- 
 ments thereof in any wise granted to or conferred upon the trustees of 
 said University; and the General Assembly may make such provisions, 
 laws, and regulations from time to time as may be necessary and expe- 
 dient for the maintenance and management of said University. 
 
 Sec. 7. Benefits of the University. The General Assembly shall pro- 
 vide that the benefits of the University, as far as practicable, be ex- 
 tended 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 here- 
 after accrue, from escheats, unclaimed dividends, or distributive shares 
 of the estates of deceased persons, shall be appropriated to the use of the 
 University. 
 
 Sec. 8. Board of Education. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion, and Attorney-General shall constitute a State Board of Education. 
 
 Sec. 9. President and secretary. The Governor shall be president and 
 the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be secretary of the Board 
 of Education. 
 
 Sec. 10. Powers of the board. 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, they shall not be reenacted 
 by the board. 
 
 Sec. 11. First session of the board. 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. 12. Quorum. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum 
 for the transaction of business. 
 
 Sec. 13. Expenses. The contingent expenses of the board shall be 
 provided by the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 14. Agricultural department. 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. 15. Children must attend school. 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. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 25 
 
 article x 
 
 HOMESTEADS AND EXEMPTIONS 
 
 Section 1. Exemptions of personal property. 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 collec- 
 tion of any debt. 
 
 Sec. 2. Homestead. Every homestead, and the dwellings and build- 
 ings 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 dwellings and build- 
 ings used thereon, owned and occupied by any resident of this State, and 
 not exceeding the value of one thousand dollars, shall be exempt 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 obliga- 
 tions contracted for the purchase of said premises. 
 
 Sec 3. Homestead exemption from debt. 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 of them. 
 
 Sec. 4. Laborer's lien. The provisions of sections 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. Benefit of widow. 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 inure to her benefit dur- 
 ing her widowhood, unless she be the owner of a homested in her own 
 right. 
 
 Sec. 6. Property of married women secured to them. The real and 
 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, and 
 bequeathed, and, with the written assent of her husband, conveyed by 
 her as if she were unmarried. 
 
 Sec. 7. Husband may insure his life for the benefit of wife and chil- 
 dren. 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 to 
 the guardian, if under age, for her or their own use, free from all the 
 claims of the representatives of her husband, or any of his creditors. 
 
 Sec. 8. How deed for homested may be made. 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 homested shall be valid without the voluntary signature 
 and assent of his wife, signified on her private examination according 
 to law. 
 
26 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 article xi 
 
 PUNISHMENTS, PENAL INSTITUTIONS, AND PUBLIC CHARITIES 
 
 Section 1. Punishments; convict labor; proviso. The following pun- 
 ishments only shall be known to the laws of this State, viz. : death, im- 
 prisonment with or without hard labor, fines, removal from office, and 
 disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under 
 this State. The foregoing provision for imprisonment with hard labor 
 shall be construed to authorize the employment of such convict labor on 
 public works or highways, or other labor for public benefit, and the farm- 
 ing out thereof, where and in such manner as may be provided by law; 
 but no convict shall be farmed out who has been sentenced on a charge 
 of murder, manslaughter, rape, attempt to commit rape, or arson; Pro- 
 vided, that no convict whose labor may be farmed out shall be punished 
 for any failure of duty as a laborer, except by a responsible officer of the 
 State; but the convicts so farmed out shall be at all times under the 
 supervision and control, as to their government and discipline, of the 
 penitentiary board or some officer of this State. 
 
 Sec. 2. Death punishment. The object of punishment being not only 
 to satisfy justice, but also to reform the offender, and thus prevent crime, 
 murder, arson, burglary, and rape, and these only, may be punishable 
 with death, if the General Assembly shall so enact. 
 
 Sec. 3. Penitentiary. The General Assembly shall, at its first meet- 
 ing, make provision for the erection and conduct of a State's Prison or 
 penitentiary at some central and accessible point within the State. 
 
 Sec. 4. Houses of correction. 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. Houses of refuge. A house or houses of refuge may be estab- 
 lished whenever the public interests may require it, for the correction and 
 instruction of other classes of offenders. 
 
 Sec. 6. The sexes to be separated. It shall be required, by competent 
 legislation, that the structure and superintendence of penal institutions 
 of the State, 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. Provision for the poor and orphans. Beneficent provisions 
 for the poor, the unfortunate, and orphan being one of the first duties 
 of a civilized and 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 entrusted 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. Orphan houses. 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. 
 
Constitution of North Carolina 27 
 
 Sec. 9. Inebriates and idiots. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, 
 as soon as practicable, to devise means for the education of idiots and 
 inebriates. 
 
 Sec. 10. Deaf-mutes, blind, and insane. The General Assembly may 
 provide that the indigent deaf-mute, blind, and insane of the State shall 
 be cared for at the charge of the State. 
 
 Sec. 11. Self-supporting. It shall be steadily kept in view by the 
 Legislature and the Board of Public Charities that all penal and chari- 
 table institutions should be made as nearly self-supporting as is consistent 
 with the purposes of their creation. 
 
 ARTICLE XII 
 
 MILITIA 
 
 Section 1. Who are liable to militia duty. All able-bodied male citi- 
 zens 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. Organizing, etc. The General Assembly shall provide for the 
 organizing, arming, equipping, and discipline of the militia, and for pay- 
 ing the same, when called into active service. 
 
 Sec. 3. Governor commander-in-chief. The Governor shall be com- 
 mander-in-chief, and shall have power to call out the militia to execute 
 the law, suppress riots or insurrections, and to repel invasion. 
 
 Sec. 4. Exemptions. The General Assembly shall have power to make 
 such 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. Convention, how called. No convention of the people of 
 this State shall ever be called by the General Assembly, unless by the 
 concurrence of two-thirds of all of the members of each House of the 
 General Assembly, and except the proposition, Convention or No Con- 
 vention, be first submitted to the qualified voters of the whole State, at 
 the next general election, in a manner to be prescribed by law. And 
 should a majority of the votes cast be in favor of said convention, it 
 shall assemble on such day as may be prescribed by the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 2. Hoiv the Constitution may be altered. No part of the Con- 
 stitution of this State shall be altered unless a bill to alter the same 
 shall have been agreed to by three-fifths of each House of the General 
 Assembly. And the amendment or amendments so agreed to shall be 
 submitted at the next general election to the qualified voters of the whole 
 State, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. And in the event 
 of their adoption by a majority of the votes cast, such amendment or 
 amendments shall become a part of the Constitution of this State. 
 
28 
 
 Constitution of North Carolina 
 
 ARTICLE XIV 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Section 1. Indictments. All indictments which shall have been found, 
 or may hereafter be found, for any crime or offense committed before 
 this Constitution takes effect, may be proceeded upon in the proper courts, 
 but no punishment shall be inflicted which is forbidden by this Consti- 
 tution. 
 
 Sec. 2. Penalty for fighting duel. No person who shall hereafter 
 fight a duel, or assist in the same as a second, or send, accept, or know- 
 ingly carry a challenge therefor, or agree to go out of the State to fight 
 a duel, shall hold any office in this State. 
 
 Sec. 3. Drawing money. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury 
 but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and an accurate 
 account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be 
 annually published. 
 
 Sec. 4. Mechanic's lien. 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. Governor to make appointments. In the absence of any con- 
 trary provision, all officers of 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. Seat of government. The seat of government in this State 
 shall remain at the city of Raleigh. 
 
 Sec. 7. Holding office. 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 under any other state or 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 herein contained shall extend to officers 
 in the militia, justices of the peace, commissioners of public charities, or 
 commissioners for special purposes. 
 
 Sec. 8. Intermarriage of whites and negroes prohibited. All mar- 
 riages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person 
 and a person of negro descent to the third generation, inclusive, are 
 hereby forever prohibited. 
 
■JJXHSE ° F NC - AT CH APEL HILL 
 
 00034037088 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
 Form No. A-368, Rev. 8/95 
 

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