Article 83 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1845 provided for the election of a Sheriff in each Parish of the State. This officer served a term of two years. His duties (set by legislative act in 1813 when the office was appointive) included the execution of all judgments and orders of the courts sitting in the Parish from which he was elected. A new act passed in 1847 defined the Sheriffs' duties relative to judicial sales (presumably this responsibility had been included in the general language of the 1813 act). The 1847 legislation charged the Sheriffs to carry out all court-ordered sales, except for succession proceedings, in which the representative of the succession was permitted to choose whether the sale would be conducted by the Sheriff or by an auctioneer. The act also set the amount of commission that could be charged for such sales.