is binding upon the said people, according to an authentic copy hereto annexed, in the words following.1

'Done in Convention, this 26th day of June, 1788.'"

NEW YORK. We, the Delegates of the People of the State of New York, duly elected, and met in Convention, having maturely considered the Constitution for the United States of America, agreed to on the 17th day of September, in the year 1787, by the Convention then assembled at Philadelphia, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (a copy whereof precedes these presents), and having, also, seriously and deliberately considered the present situation of the United States,-Do declare and make known:

"That all power is originally vested in, and consequently derived from the people, and that Government is instituted by them for their common interest, protection, and security.

"That the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are essential rights, which every Government ought to respect and preserve.

'That the powers of Government may be re-assumed by the people, whensoever it shall become necessary to their happiness; that every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by the said Constitution clearly delegated to the Congress of the United States, or the departments of the Government thereof, remains to the people of the several States, or to their respective State Governments, to whom they may have granted the same; and that those clauses, in the said Constitution, which declare that Congress shall not have or exercise certain powers, do not imply that Congress is entitled to any powers not given by the said Constitution; but such clauses are to be construed either as exceptions to certain specified powers, or as inserted merely for greater caution.

"That the people have an equal, natural, and unalienable right, freely and peaceably, to exercise their religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that no religious sect, or society, ought to be favored or established by law in preference to others.

1 Here follows a copy of the instrument. Elliot's Debates, 1, 327.

2 85. l.

"That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well regulated militia, including the body of the people capable of bearing arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free State.

"That the militia should not be subject to martial law, except in time of war, rebellion or insurrection.

"That standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in cases of necessity, and that at all times the military should be under strict subordination to the civil power.

'That, in time of peace, no soldier ought to be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, and in time of war only by the civil magistrate, in such manner as the laws may direct.

'That no person ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, or be exiled, or deprived of his privileges, franchises, life, liberty, or property, but by due process of law.

"That no person ought to be put twice in jeopardy of life or limb, for one and the same offence; nor, unless in case of impeachment, be punished more than once for the same offence. That every person restrained of his liberty is entitled to an inquiry into the lawfulness of such restraint, and to a removal thereof if unlawful; and that such inquiry, or removal, ought not to be denied or delayed, except when, on account of public danger, the Congress shall suspend the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.

"That (except in the government of the land and naval forces, and of the militia, when in actual service, and in cases of impeachment) a presentment, or indictment, by a grand jury, ought to be observed, as a necessary preliminary to the trial of all crimes cognizable by the judiciary of the United States; and such trial should be speedy, public, and by an impartial jury of the county where the crime was committed; and that no person can be found guilty without the unanimous consent of such jury. But

in cases of crimes not committed within any county of any of the United States, and in cases of crimes not committed within any county in which a general insurrection may prevail, or which may be in the possession of a foreign enemy, the inquiry and trial may be in such county as the Congress shall by law direct; which county, in the two cases last mentioned, should be as near as conveniently may be to that county in which the crime may have been committed ;--and that, in all criminal prosecutions, the accused ought to be informed of the cause and nature of the accusation, to be confronted with his accusers and the witnesses against him, to have the means of producing his witnesses, and the assistance of counsel for his defence; and should not be compelled to give evidence against himself.

"That the trial by jury, in the extent that it obtains by the common law of England, is one of the greatest securities to the rights of a free people, and ought to remain inviolate.

"That every freeman has a right to be secure from alı unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his papers, or his property; and, therefore, that all warrants to search suspected places, or seize any freeman, his papers, or property, without information upon oath, or affirmation of sufficient cause, are grievous and oppressive; and that all general warrants (or such in which the place or person suspected are not particularly designated) are dangerous, and ought not to be granted.

"That the people have a right peaceably to assemble together, to consult for their common good, or to instruct their representatives, and that every person has a right to petition, or apply to the Legislature, for redress of griev

ances.

"That the freedom of the press ought not to be violated, or restrained.

"That there should be, once in four years, an election of the President and Vice President, so that no officer, who may be appointed by the Congress, to act as President, in case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability, of the

President and Vice President, can in any case continue to act beyond the termination of the period for which the last President and Vice President were elected.

"That nothing contained in the said Constitution is to be construed to prevent the Legislature of any State from passing laws at its discretion, from time to time, to divide such State into convenient districts, and to apportion its Representatives to and amongst such districts.

"That the prohibition contained in the said Constitution, against ex post facto laws, extends only to laws concerning crimes.

'That all appeals in causes determinable according to the course of the common law, ought to be by writ of error, and not otherwise.

'That the judicial power of the United States, in cases in which a State may be a party, does not extend to criminal prosecutions, or authorize any suit by any person against a State.

"That the judicial power of the United States, as to controversies between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants from different States, is not to be construed to extend to any other controversies between them, except those which relate to such lands, so claimed, under grants of different States.

'That the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States, or of any other court to be instituted by the Congress, is not in any case to be increased, enlarged, or extended, by any fiction, collusion, or mere suggestion; and that no treaty is to be construed so to operate as to alter the Constitution of any State.

'Under these impressions, and declaring that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged, or violated, and that the explanations aforesaid, are consistent with the said Constitution, and in confidence that the amendments, which shall have been proposed to the said Constitution, will receive an early and mature consideration; We, the said Delegates, in the name and in the behalf of the people of the State of New York, do, by these presents, assent to, and ratify the said Constitution. In full confidence, neverthe

less, that, until a Convention shall be called and convened, for proposing amendments to the said Constitution, the militia of this State will not be continued in service out of this State for a longer term than six weeks, without the consent of the Legislature thereof; that the Congress will not make or alter any regulation in this State, respecting the times, places and manner, of holding elections for Senators or Representatives, unless the Legislature of this State shall neglect or refuse to make laws or regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance, be incapable of making the same; and that in those cases, such power will only be exercised until the Legislature of this State shall make provision in the premises; that no excise will be imposed on any article of the growth, production, or manufacture of the United States, or any of them, within this State, ardent spirits excepted; and that Congress will not lay direct taxes within this State, but when the moneys arising from the impost and excise shall be insufficient for the public exigencies, nor then, until the Congress shall first have made a requisition upon this State, to assess, levy, and pay, the amount of such requisition, made agreeably to the census fixed in the said Constitution, in such way and manner as the Legislature of this State shall judge best; but that, in such case, if the State shall neglect or refuse to pay its proportion, pursuant to such requisition, then the Congress may assess and levy this State's proportion, together with interest, at the rate of six per centum per annum, from the time at which the same was required to be paid.

'Done, in Convention, at Poughkeepsie, in the county of Duchess, in the State of New York, the 26th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1788.'1

NORTH CAROLINA.-'In Convention :

'Whereas, The General Convention, which met in Philadelphia, in pursuance of a recommendation of Congress, did recommend to the citizens of the United States a Con

2 Elliot's Debates, Vol. 1, pp. 327-329.

¿ 85. m.