614    CONSTITUTION OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

28. The Senate shall be the first branch of the Legislature, and the
Senators shall be chosen in the following manner: namely, every
male inhabitant of each town and parish with town privileges, and
places unincorporated, in this State, of twenty-one years of age and
upward, excepting paupers and persons excused from paying taxes at
their own request, shall have a right, at the annual or other meetings
of the inhabitants of said towns and parishes, to he duly warned and
holden annually forever in the month of March, to vote in the town or
parish wherein he dwells, for the senator in the district whereof he is a
member.

29. Provided nevertheless, That no person shall be capable of being
elected a senator who is not of the Protestant religion [and seized of a
freehold estate in his own right of the value of two hundred pounds, ly-
ing within the State]* who is not of the age of thirty years, and who shall
not have been an inhabitant of this State for seven years, immediately
preceding his election, and at the time thereof he shall be an inhabitant
of the district for which he shall be chosen.

30. And every person qualified as the constitution provides, shall be
considered an inhabitant, for the purpose of electing and being elected
into any office or place within this State, in the town, parish and plan-
tation where he dwelleth and hath his home.

31. And the inhabitants of plantations and places unincorporated, qual-
ified as this constitution provides, who are or shall be required to assess
taxes upon themselves toward the support of government, or shall be
taxed therefor, shall have the same privilage of voting for senators in the
plantations and places wherein they reside, as the inhabitants of the res-
pective towns and parishes aforesaid have. And the meetings of such
plantations and places for that purpose shall be holden annually in the
month of March, at such places respectively therein as the assessors
thereof shall direct; which assessors shall have like authority for noti-
fying the electors, collecting and returning the votes as the selectmen
and town-clerks have in their several towns by this constitution.

32. The meetings for the choice of Governor, G'ouncil, and Senators,
shall be warned by warrant from the selectmen, and governed by a
moderator, who shall in the presence of the selectmen (whose duty it
shall be to attend), in open meeting, receive the votes of all the inhabi-
tants of such towns and parishes present, and qualified to vote for sena-
tors; and shall in said meetings, in presence of the said selectmen and
of the tovvn-clerk in said meetings, sort and count the said votes, and
make a public declaratian thereof, with the name of every person voted
for, and the number of votes for each person; and the town-clerk shall
make a fair record of the same at large, in the town book, and shall
make out a fair attested copy thereof, to be by him sealed up and direct-
ed to the Secretary of the State, with a superscription expressing the
purport thereof; and the said town-clerk slntll cause such attested copy
to he delivered to the sheriff of the county in which said town or parish
shall lie, thirty days at least before the first Wednesday of June, or to
the Secretary of the State at least twenty days before the said first
Wednesday of .Tune; and the sheriff of each county, 01* his deputy, shall
deliver all such certificates by him received into the Secretary’s office,
at least twenty days before the first Wednesday of June.

33. And that there may he a due meeting of senators on the first
Wednesday of June annually, the Governor, and a majority of the
Council for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the re-
turned copies of such records, and fourteen days before the first
Wednesday of June, he shall issue his summons to such persons as ap-
pear to be chosen senators by a majority of votes, to attend and take

I

* See Amendments.