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aplicar en los juicios leyes posteriores al hecho que los motiva. Todos los juicios criminales ordinarios que no se deriven del derecho de acusación concedido á la Cámara de Diputados, se terminarán por jurados luego que se establezca en la República esta institución. Las demás atribuciones del Poder Judicial serán determinadas por las leyes.

ART. 119. La traición contra la Nación consistirá únicamente en tomar las armas contra ella ó en unirse á sus enemigos, prestándoles ayuda y socorro. El Congreso fijará por una ley especial la pena del delito; pero ella no pasará de la persona del delincuente, ni la infamia del reo se trasmitirá á sus parientes de cualquier grado.

ART. 120. Los miembros del Superior Tribunal de Justicia prestarán juramento en manos del Presidente de la República de desempeñar fielmente sus obligaciones, administrando justicia bien y legalmente y de conformidad á lo que prescribe la Constitución. En lo sucesivo lo prestarán ante el mismo Tribunal.

ART. 121. El Superior Tribunal dictará su reglamento interior y económico, nombrará y removerá á todos los empleados subalternos.

CAPÍTULO XV.

De la reforma de la Constitución. ART. 122. Ninguna reforma podrá hacerse á esta Constitución, total ni parcialmente, hasta pasados cinco años de su promulgación.

ART. 123. Declarada por el Congreso y con dos tercios de votos del total de sus miembros la necesidad de la reforma, se convocará una convención de ciudadanos, á quienes compete exclusivamente

plicable to any case if not enacted before the date of the facts out of which the case arose. All criminal cases arising out of crimes or offenses which the Chamber of Deputies has no authority to prosecute shall be tried by juries, as soon as this institution is established in the Republic. All the other pow ers and duties of the judicial authorities shall be specified by law.

ART. 119. Treason against the nation shall consist only in taking arms against it, or in joining its enemies and giving them assistance and support. Congress shall fix by a special law the punishment to be inflicted for this crime, but this punishment shall not go beyond the person of the guilty party, nor shall the infamy of the convicted traitor be transmitted to his relations in any degree.

ART. 120. The justices of the superior court shall promise under oath, to be administered by the President of the Republic, to faithfully fulfill their duties and administer justice lawfully and well and in conformity with the Constitution. In the future the oath shall be taken before the tribunal itself.

ART. 121. The superior court shall make rules and regulations. for its interior government, and appoint and remove all its subordinate employees.

CHAPTER XV.

Amendments to the Constitution.

ART. 122. No amendment shall be made to the present Constitution, in whole or in part, during the first five years immediately following its promulgation.

ART. 123. The necessity of the amendment having been declared by Congress by a vote of two-thirds of the total number of its members, a call for a convention, consisting of citizens, equal in num

la facultad de hacer reformas en la Constitución, y elegidos directamente por el pueblo, igual al número de Diputados y Senadores.

ART. 124. Para ser convencional se requiere tener veintiseis años de edad, ser ciudadano natural, exceptuando los Ministros, los Diputados y Senadores.

ART. 125. La Convención no podrá reformar más que los puntos señalados por el Congreso, si la reforma no ha sido declarada en su totalidad.

ADICIÓN.

ART. 126. La casa de Gobierno no podrá ser habitación particular del Presidente ni de ningún empleado público.

ART. 127. Aprobada y promulgada esta Constitución, la Convención presente se constituirá en cuerpo electoral para el fin de nombrar el primer Presidente constitucional.

ART. 128. La Convención Constituyente se declara en Congreso legislativo, cuyo carácter asumirá inmediatamente después del nombramiento del Gobierno constitucional, por el término de quince días, debiendo dejar al concluir este período una Comisión permanente con atribuciones que el mismo Cuerpo legislativo le demarcará.

ART. 129. La Convención Constituyente señalará al Gobierno provisorio el día en que debe ha cerse la jura de esta Constitución.

Dado en la sala de sesiones de la Convención Constituyente, en la ciudad de la Asunción, á los 24 días del mes de noviembre del año del Señor de 1870.

ber to the total number of deputies and senators, directly elected by the people, shall be issued. The power of making the amendment shall be exclusively vested in this body.

ART. 124. No one shall be a member of this convention who is not over twenty-six years of age and a native citizen. But members of the cabinet, deputies, and senators are disqualified.

ART. 125. The convention shall have power to amend only those provisions of the Constitution expressly set forth by Congress in the call, if the latter does not state that the Constitution is to be amended in its entirety.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.

ART. 126. The Executive mansion can not be used as the private residence of the President or of any other public functionary.

ART. 127. After the approval and promulgation of this Constitution, the present convention shall resolve itself into an electoral college, in order to elect the first constitutional President.

ART. 128. The present convention shall become a legislative Congress as soon as the constitutional Government is inaugurated. It shall remain in session in this capacity for fifteen days, at the expiration of which it shall adjourn, leaving in its place a permanent committee to which it shall grant such faculties as may be deemed

proper.

ART. 129. The convention shall appoint the day on which the provisional Government shall cause this Constitution to be sworn to.

Given at the hall of sessions of the Constitutional Convention in the city of Asuncion, on the 24th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1870.

REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA.

HISTORICAL NOTES.

On the 6th of August, 1825, the Provinces comprised in the territory which the Spaniards called Alto Perú (Upper Peru), belonging until 1776 to the viceroyalty of Peru, and divided thereafter between the same viceroyalty and that of Buenos Ayres, declared their independence from Spain and decided to form a separate Republic under the name of Bolivia.

This name was chosen in honor of SIMON BOLIVAR, the liberator of South America, in recognition of his services to the cause of liberty and as a symbol of admiration for his virtues and for his genius.

In addition to this compliment, the Bolivian people bestowed upon the illustrious leader the marked distinction of calling him, first of all, to occupy the Presidential chair of their Nation, and of entrusting to him the preparation of the political Constitution under which they were going to live.

Early in 1826 the necessities of the times caused the liberator to leave Bolivia and go to Peru, and his place was then filled by MARSHALL SUCRE, the hero of Ayacucho, whose wise administration terminated in 1828.

On the 25th of May, 1826, BOLIVAR sent from Lima to the constitutional convention, which met at Chuquisaca on the same day, the draft of the Constitution he had been requested to prepare. This draft was accompanied by a message in which he stated the sentiments of profound gratitude that he, "a simple soldier, born among slaves, who had never seen more than captives in chains and companions in arms to break those chains," was bound to feel for the extreme kindness and generosity shown to him by the Bolivian people. This expression was accompanied by an explanation of the reasons why he omitted from his draft certain provisions not unusual in instruments of this nature and inserted others in their stead.

The constitutional convention considered at once the liberator's draft and adopted it with very few amendments. The most important of the latter consisted in the insertion of an article, which BOLIVAR had omitted on purpose, relating to religion. BOLIVAR's idea was that nothing on this subject should be contained in the Constitution. But the convention ruled that the Roman Catholic religion should be made the religion of the Republic, and this was done. The Constitution, as amended, was promulgated on the 19th of November, 1826, and remained in existence as the fundamental law of the Republic until 1831, when it was repealed.

The most essential features of this remarkable instrument, the text of which as framed by BOLIVAR will be found, together with BOLIVAR'S

message of transmittal, in Appendix 12, can be briefly summarized as follows: The sovereign power originally vested in the people was manifested or exercised through four different channels, called respectively, electoral, legislative, executive, and judicial.

All the electoral powers granted by the Constitution were vested in the citizens, but no one was a citizen of the Bolivian Republic who, in addition to his Bolivian nationality by birth or naturalization, did not know how to read and write, and was not engaged in some useful occupation, industrial business, or the practice of some art or profession. Those depending upon others in the capacity of domestic servants were not considered citizens. The right to vote was limited to the choice of "electors" (one for every ten voters) in each Province, who were to serve for four years. This provincial “electoral body” should meet at the chief town of the Province.

The legislative powers granted by the Constitution were vested in three chambers, to be named, respectively, the Chamber of Tribunes, the Chamber of Senators, and the Chamber of Censors. Each chamber consisted of thirty members. The functions of the tribunes were practically the same as generally belong in other Congresses to the members of the House of Representatives. Their term of office was four years. The Senators served for eight years, and did more, or less, the same work as all the Senators in the countries constitutionally governed. The Censors served for life, and were entrusted primarily with the duty to watch over the faithful compliance by the Government with the Constitution, the laws, and the public treaties. The power of impeachment belonged to them.

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The executive power was vested in the "President of the Republic,' who served for life, and was assisted by the Vice-President in the capacity of President of the Cabinet, and by three secretaries of state-one for foreign relations and home government, another for financial matters, and another for war and navy.

The judicial power was vested in a supreme court of justice, and in various circuit and district courts. Justices of the peace were to be established in every town, and it was their chief duty to secure "conciliation," if possible, between the conflicting claims and interests of the parties to a suit, and prevent litigation.

This Constitution was superseded by another promulgated in 1831, and amended three years thereafter. Both of them provided that the legislative body should consist of not more than two chambers.

On the 28th of October, 1836, another Constitution was promulgated. It has been followed by the Constitutions of 1843, 1851, 1861, 1868, 1871, 1878, and 1880. The latter is still in force.

LIST OF IMPORTANT BOOKS TO BE CONSULTED IN REFERENCE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF BOLIVIA.

AROSEMENA, JUSTO. Estudios constitucionales sobre los Gobiernos de la América latina. Paris, 1878.

CORTÉS, M. J. Ensayo sobre la Historia de Bolivia. Sucre, 1861.

SANJINÉS, JENARO. Las Constituciones políticas de Bolivia. Estudio histórico y comparativo. La Paz, 1906.

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