county court of which he is clerk, the
governor with the advice of the council
may appoint and commission a fit and
proper person to such vacant office re-
spectively, to hold the same until the
meeting of the next general court or
county court, as the case may be.
48. That the governor for the time
being, with the advice and consent of
the council, may appoint the chancellor,
and all judges and justices, the attorney
general, naval officers, officers in the
regular land and sea service, officers of
the militia, registers of the land office,
surveyors, and all other civil officers of
government (assessors, constables and
overseers of the roads only excepted),
and may also suspend or remove any civil
officer who has not a commission during
good behaviour, and may suspend any
militia officer for one month, and may
also suspend or remove any regular
officer in the land or sea service; and
the governor may remove or suspend any
militia officer in pursuance of the judg-
ment of a court martial.
49. That all civil officers, of the ap-
pointment of the governor and council,
who do not hold commissions during
good behaviour, shall be appointed an-
nually in the third week of November,
but if any of them shall be reappointed,
they may continue to act without any
new commission or qualification; and
every officer though not reappointed
shall continue to act until the person
who shall be appointed and commis-
sioned in his stead shall be qualified.
50. That the governor, every member
of the council, and every judge and jus-
tice, before they act as such, shall respec-
tively take an oath, "that he will not,
through favour, affection, or partiality,
vote for any person to office, and that
he will vote for such person as in his
judgment and conscience he believes
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most fit and best qualified for the office,
and that he has not made, nor will
make, any promise or engagement to
give his vote or interest in favour of any
person."
51. That there be two registers of the
land office, one upon the western, and
one upon the eastern shore; that short
extracts of the grants and certificates of
the land on the western and eastern
shores respectively be made in separate
books, at the public expence, and de-
posited in the offices of the said regis-
ters, in such manner as shall hereafter
be provided by the general assembly.
52. That every chancellor, judge, reg-
ister of wills, commissioner of the loan
office, attorney general, sheriff, treasurer,
naval officer, register of the land office,
register of the chancery court, and every
clerk of the common law courts, sur-
veyor, and auditor of public accounts,
before he acts as such, shall take an oath
"that he will not directly or indirectly
receive any fee or reward for doing his
office of but what
is or shall be allowed by law, nor will
directly or indirectly receive the profits
or any part of the profits of any office
held by any other person, and that he
does not hold the same office in trust or
for the benefit of any other person,"
53. That if any governor, chancellor,
judge, register of wills, attorney general,
register of the land office, commissioner
of the loan office, register of the chan-
cery court, or any clerk of the common
law courts, treasurer, naval officer,
sheriff, surveyor, or auditor of public
accounts, shall receive directly or in-
directly, at any time, the profits or any
part of the profits of any office, held by
any other person, during his acting in
the office to which he is appointed, his
election, appointment and commission,
on conviction in a court of law, by the
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