one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, which have not since expired, or been repealed or altered; and such acts of the Legislature of this State as are now in force, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such alterations as the Legislature sball make concerning the same. But all such parts of the common law, and such of the said acts, or parts thereof, as are repugnant to this Constitution, are hereby abrogated; and the Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, shall appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to reduce into a written and systematic code the whole body of the law of this State, or so much and such parts thereof as to the said commissioners shall seem practicable and expedient. And the said commissioners shall specify such alterations and amendments therein as they shall deem proper, and they shall at all times make reports of their proceedings to the Legislature, when called upon to do so; and the Legislature shall pass laws regulating the tenure of office, the filling of vacancies therein, and the compensation of the said commissioners, and shall also provide for the publication of the said code, prior to its being presented to the Legislature for adoption.

SEC. 18. All grants of land within this State, made by the king of Great Britain, or persons acting under his authority, after the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, shall be null and void; but nothing contained in this Constitution shall affect any grants of land within this State, made by the authority of the said king or his predecessors, or shall annul any charters to bodies politic and corporate, by him or them made, before that day; or shall affect any such grants or charters since made by this State, or by persons acting under its authority; or shall impair the

obligation of any debts contracted by the State, or indi viduals, or bodies corporate, or any other rights of prop erty, or any suits, actions, rights of action, or other pro ceedings in courts of justice.

ARTICLE II.

* SECTION 1. Every male citizen of the age of twentyone years who shall have been a citizen for ten days and an inhabitant of this State one year next preceding an election, and for the last four months a resident of the county and for the last thirty days a resident of the election district in which he may offer his vote, shall be entitled to vote at such election in the election district of which he shall at the time be a resident, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elective by the people, and upon all questions which may be submitted to the vote of the people, provided that in time of war no elector in the actual military service of the State, or of the United States, in the army or navy thereof, shall be deprived of his vote by reason of his absence from such election district; and the Legislature shall have power to provide the manner in which and the time and place at which such absent electors may vote, and for the return and canvass of their votes in the election districts in which they respectively reside.

*SEC. 2. No person who shall receive, expect or offer to receive, or pay, offer or promise to pay, contribute, offer or promise to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compen. sation or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at an election, or who shall make any promise to influence the giving or withholding any such vote, or who shall make or become directly or indirectly interested in any

* As amended by vote of the people, Nov. 3, 1874.

bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, shall vote at such election; and upon challenge for such cause, the person so challenged, before the officers authorized for that purpose shall receive his vote, shall swear or affirm before such officers that he has not received or offered, does not expect to receive, has not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compensation or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at such election, and has not made any promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such vote, nor made or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of such election. The Legislature, at the session thereof next after the adoption of this section, shall, and from time to time thereafter may, enact laws excluding from the right of suffrage all persons convicted of bribery or of any infamous crime.

SEC. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence, by reason of his presence or absence, while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged in the naviga tion of the waters of this State, or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any alms-house, or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison:

SEC. 4. Laws shall be made for ascertaining by proper proofs the citizens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established.

SEC. 5. All elections by the citizens shall be by ballot, except for such town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen.

ARTICLE III.

SECTION 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly.

SEC. 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-two members, and the Senators shall be chosen for two years. The Assembly shall consist of one hundred and twentyeight members, who shall be annually elected.

SEC. 3. The State shall be divided into thirty-two districts, to be called Senate districts, each of which shall choose one Senator. The districts shall be numbered from one to thirty-two inclusive.*

District number One (1) shall consist of the counties of Suffolk, Richmond and Queens.

District number Two (2) shall consist of the county of Kings.

District number Three (3), number Four (4), number Five (5), and number Six (6) shall consist of the city and county of New York. And the board of supervis ors of said city and county shall, on or before the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fortyseven, divide the said city and county into the number of Senate districts, to which it is entitled, as near as may be of an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens and persons of color not taxed, and consisting of convenient and contiguous territory; and no Assembly district shall be divided in the formation of a Senate district. The board of supervisors, when they shall have completed such division, shall cause certificates thereof, stating the number and boundaries of each district and the population thereof, to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, and of the clerk of said city and county.

For existing Senate districts, see chapter 805, Laws of 1866.

District number Seven (7) shall consist of the counties of Westchester, Putnam and Rockland.

District number Eight (8) shall consist of the counties of Dutchess and Columbia.

District number Nine (9) shall consist of the counties of Orange and Sullivan.

District number Ten (10) shall consist of the counties of Ulster and Greene.

District number Eleven (11) shall consist of the counties of Albany and Schenectady.

District number Twelve (12) shall consist of the county of Rensselaer.

District number Thirteen (13) shall consist of the counties of Washington and Saratoga.

District number Fourteen (14) shall consist of the counties of Warren, Essex and Clinton.

District number Fifteen (15) shall consist of the counties of St. Lawrence and Franklin.

District number Sixteen (16) shall consist of the coun. ties of Herkimer, Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery. District number Seventeen (17) shall consist of the counties of Schoharie and Delaware.

District number Eighteen (18) shall consist of the counties of Otsego and Chenango.

District number Nineteen (19) shall consist of the county of Oneida.

District number Twenty (20) shall consist of the counties of Madison and Oswego.

District number Twenty-one (21) shall consist of the counties of Jefferson and Lewis.

District number Twenty-two (22) shall consist of the county of Onondaga.

District number Twenty-three (23) shall consist of the counties of Cortland, Broome and Tioga.

District number Twenty-four (24) shall consist of the counties of Cayuga and Wayne.