Volume 172, Page 566 View pdf image (33K) |
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566 MARYLAND MANUAL [Dec. Rights 4] Art. 4. That the People of this State have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, as a free, sovereign and independent State. Art. 5. That the Inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the Common Law of England, and the trial by Jury, ac- cording to the course of that Law, and to the benefit of such of the English statutes as existed on the Fourth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six; and which, by experi- ence, have been found applicable to their local and other circumstances, and have been introduced, used and prac- ticed by the Courts of Law or Equity; and also of all Acts of Assembly in force on the first day of June, eighteen hun- dred and sixty-seven; except such as may have since ex- pired, or may be inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution; subject, nevertheless, to the revision of, and amendment or repeal by, the Legislature of this State. And the Inhabitants of Maryland are also entitled to all proper- ty derived to them from, or under the Charter granted by His Majesty Charles the First to Caecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore. Art. 6. That all persons invested with the Legislative or Executive powers of Government are the Trustees of the Public, and, as such, accountable for their conduct: Where- fore, whenever the ends of Government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the People may, and of right ought, to reform the old, or establish a new Government; the doctrine of non-resistence against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind. 1 Art. 7. That the right of the People to participate in the Legislature is the best security of liberty and the foun- dation of all free Government; for this purpose elections ought to be free and frequent; and every white male citi- zen having the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution, ought to have the right of suffrage. Art. 8. That the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of Government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other; and no person exercising the functions of one of said Departments shall assume or dis- charge the duties of any other. Art. 9. That no power of suspending Laws or the exe- cution of Laws, unless by, or derived from the Legislature, ought to be exercised, or allowed. 'The words "white" and "male" are now ineffective, under the 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. |
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Volume 172, Page 566 View pdf image (33K) |
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