3XT 
 
 THE 
 
 WUTION OP THI 1ITED STATES: 
 
 WITH ALL THE 
 
 ACTS OF CONGRESS 
 
 INCLUDING THE 
 
 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS BILL. 
 
 D. M. DEWEY: 
 
 AROADB HALL, ROCHESTER, N. Y 
 1854, 
 
 CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 ACTS OF CONGRESS, 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 SLAVERY, 
 
 EMBRACING, THE CONSTITUTION-, THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT 
 
 OF 1793, THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE ACT OF 1820, 
 
 THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW OF 1850, 
 
 T.HF, 
 
 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS BILL, 
 
 CAREFULLY COMPILED. 
 
 ROCHESTER: 
 PUBLISHED BY D. M. DEWEY, 
 
 ARCADE HALL. 
 
* 
 
 Published from Acts of Congress, as issued in the United States Laws: 
 Carefully arranged by D. M. DEWEY, Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 PRINTED BY LEE, MAXX <fc CO. 
 STEREOTYPED BY J, W. BROWX, ROCHESTER. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 WE, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
 union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common 
 defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
 ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the 
 United States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Of the Legislature. 
 
 SECTION L 
 
 1. All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of 
 the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Represen 
 tatives. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen 
 every second year by the people of the several states; and the electors in 
 each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most nu 
 merous branch of the state legislature . 
 
 2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the 
 age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
 and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he 
 shall be chosen. 
 
 3. representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
 
 M98539 
 
2 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 states which may be included within this union, according to their respective 
 numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
 persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding 
 Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration 
 shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of 
 the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such 
 manner as they shall by law direct The number of representatives shall 
 not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least 
 one representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of 
 New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three; Massachusetts eight; 
 Rhode* Isld hfL and Pj fyvdeyce Plantations one; Connecticut five; New 
 York six .; *ififew*J$riiey*&Uj Pennsylvania eight; Delaware one; Mary- 
 land s^x^FcVj/wiacrten^ Norih Carolina five; South Carolina five; and 
 
 4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the exec 
 utive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill up such vacancies. 
 
 5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speakers and other 
 officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators 
 from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years, and each sen 
 ator shall have one vote. 
 
 2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
 election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The 
 seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
 second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth, and of the 
 third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen 
 every second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, 
 during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may 
 make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which 
 shall then fill such vacancies. 
 
 3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
 thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
 shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be 
 chosen. 
 
 4. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the 
 Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 
 
 5. The Senate shah 1 choose their other officers, and also a president pro- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 6 
 
 tern pore, in the absence of the V ice-President, or when he shall exercise the 
 office of President of the United States. 
 
 G. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
 silting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
 President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and 
 no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
 members present. 
 
 7. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not be extended further than 
 to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
 honor, trust, or profit, under the United States; but the party convicted shall, 
 nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punish- 
 meut according to law. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and 
 representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; 
 but the Congress may at any time by law, make or alter such regulations 
 except as to the place of choosing senators. 
 
 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet- 
 ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint 
 a different day. 
 
 SECTION v. 
 
 1. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifica 
 tions of its own members ; and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum 
 to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
 be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner 
 and under such penalties as each House may provide. 
 
 2. Each House may determine the rule of its proceedings, punish its mem 
 bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a 
 member. 
 
 3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
 time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require 
 secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any 
 question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those piesent, be entered on the 
 journal, 
 
 4. Neither House during the session of Congress shall, without the con 
 sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 
 
4 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their 
 services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United 
 States. They shall in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the 
 peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their 
 respective Houses, and in going to, or returning from the same; and for any 
 speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other 
 place. 
 
 2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
 elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
 States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
 been increased, during such time ; and no person holding any office under the 
 United States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in 
 office. 
 
 SECTION vii. 
 
 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Represen 
 tatives : but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other 
 bills. 
 
 2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
 the senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the 
 United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not, be shall return it 
 with his objections, to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall 
 enter the objection at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, 
 after such reconsideration, two- thirds of that House shall t agree to pass the 
 bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by 
 which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that 
 House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses 
 shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting 
 for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House re 
 spectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten 
 days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same 
 shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by 
 their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 3. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
 and House of Representatives may _be necessary, (except a question of ad 
 journment,) shall be presented to the President of the United States ; and 
 before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disap- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 
 
 proved by him, sliall be re-passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
 Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case 
 of a bill. 
 
 SECTION VIIL 
 
 The Congress shad have power 
 
 1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts 
 and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United 
 States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the 
 United States: 
 
 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States: 
 
 3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
 states, and with the Indian tribes : v 
 
 4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
 subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States: 
 
 5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
 the standard of weights and measures : 
 
 6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securites and cur 
 rent coin of the United States : 
 
 7. To establish post-offices and post-roads : 
 
 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limi 
 ted times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective wri 
 tings and discoveries: 
 
 I 
 
 9. To constitute tribunals inferior to tne Supreme Court: 
 
 1 . To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
 seas, and offences against the law of nations : 
 
 1 1 . To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
 concerning captures on land and water: 
 
 12. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that 
 use shall be for a longer term than two years: 
 
 13. To provide and maintain a navy: 
 
 14. To mak3 rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
 naval forces: 
 
 15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
 Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions : 
 
 16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
 governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
 
6 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
 officers and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline 
 prescribed by Congress. 
 
 17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such 
 district (not exceeding ten miles square,) as may, by cession of particular 
 States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of 
 the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased, by 
 the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the 
 erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful build 
 ings: and, 
 
 18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
 execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitu 
 tion in the government of the United States, or any department or officer 
 thereof. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now 
 existing shah 1 think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress 
 prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty 
 may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
 person. 
 
 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless 
 when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 
 
 3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law, shall be passed. 
 
 4 . No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
 the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 
 
 5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No 
 preference will be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the 
 ports of one state over another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from one state 
 be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another . 
 
 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of ap 
 propriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the re 
 ceipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to 
 time. 
 
 7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States, and no per 
 son holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the con 
 sent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind 
 whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state , 
 
 ft 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 7 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 1 . No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant let 
 ters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make any- 
 ihing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill 
 of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts ; 
 or grant any title of nobility , 
 
 2 . No state, shall without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or 
 duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
 executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts 
 laid by any state on imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury 
 of the United States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
 control of Congress, No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay 
 any duty on tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into 
 any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or en 
 gage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will 
 not admit of delay. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 Of the Executive, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1 . The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United 
 States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years 
 and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected 
 as follows : 
 
 2. Each state shall appoint, m suck manner as the legislature thereof may 
 direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and rep 
 resentatives to which the state may be entitled in Congress; but no senator 
 or representative, or person holding any office of trust or profit under the 
 United States, shall be appointed an elector, 
 
 3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for 
 two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
 state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted 
 for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and cer 
 tify, and transmit sealed to the seat of government of the United States, 
 directed to the President of the Senate. The President "of the^Senate 
 shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all 
 the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted . The person having the 
 
8 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a major 
 ity of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be more than 
 one who have such a majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the 
 House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them 
 for President; and if no person have a majority, then, from the five highest 
 on the list, the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But 
 in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states; the representa 
 tion from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall con 
 sist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority 
 of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice 
 of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the elec 
 tors, shall be Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who 
 have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice 
 President. 
 
 4 . The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and 
 the day on which they shall give their votes, which shall be the same through 
 out the United States. 
 
 5. No person except a natural bora citizen, or a citizen of the United 
 States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
 the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office 
 who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been four 
 teen years a resident within the United States . 
 
 6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
 resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office 
 the same shall devolve on the Vice President; and the Congress may by law 
 provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the 
 President or Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as Presi 
 dent; and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed or 
 a President shall be elected. 
 
 7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compen 
 sation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for 
 which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period 
 any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 
 
 8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow 
 ing oath or affimation : 
 
 * I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office 
 of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- 
 . serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 
 
CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES. Q 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 1, The President shall be commander-in- chief of the army and navy of 
 the United States and of the militia of the several states, when called in 
 to the actual service of the United States ; he may require the opinion in 
 writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any 
 subject relating io the duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have 
 power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against <Jie United States, 
 except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 2 , He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen 
 ate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur : and 
 he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 shall appoint ambassadors, and other public ministers and consuls, judges of the 
 Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appoint 
 ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
 law , But the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior 
 officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, 
 or in the heads of departments. 
 
 3 , The President shall have power to fill Tip all vacancies that may happen 
 during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire 
 at the end of their next session . 
 
 SECTION III, 
 
 1. He shall, from time to time, give to Congress information of the state 
 of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall 
 judge necessary and expedient : he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
 both houses, or either of them ; and in case of disagreement between them, 
 with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time 
 \s he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public min 
 isters; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall com 
 mission all the officers of tho United States. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 1. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, 
 shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, 
 bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors , 
 
10 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 Of the Judiciary. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme 
 Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time order 
 and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall 
 hold their offices during good behavior ; and shall, at stated times, receive for 
 their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their 
 continuance in office. 
 
 SECTION n. 
 
 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising un 
 der this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or 
 which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, 
 other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maratime 
 jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party ; to 
 controversies between two or more states ; between a state and citizens of an 
 other state ; between citizens of different states : between citizens of the same 
 state claiming lands under grants of different states ; and between a state, or 
 the citizens thereof and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 
 
 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, 
 and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have 
 original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
 Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such ex 
 ceptions, and under such regulations as congress shall make. 
 
 3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, 
 and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been 
 committed ; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at 
 such place or places as Congress may by law have directed. 
 
 SECTION. III. 
 
 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war 
 against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort 
 No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two wit 
 nesses to the same, overt act, or confession in open court. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 
 
 2. Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason ; but 
 no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except 
 during the life of the person attained. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 Miscellaneous. 
 
 SECTION 1. 
 
 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, re 
 cords and judicial proceedings of every other state. And Congress may, by 
 general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceed 
 ings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to ah 1 the privileges and im 
 munities of citizens in the several states. 
 
 2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
 shall flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the 
 executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be re 
 moved to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. 
 
 3. N"o person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws there 
 of, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation there 
 in, be discharged from such service or labor ; but shall be delivered up on 
 claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 
 
 SECTION in. 
 
 1. New states may be admitted by Congress into this union; but no new 
 state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor 
 any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states 
 without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of 
 Congress. 
 
 2. Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and 
 regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United 
 States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice 
 any claims of the United States or of any particular state. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 1. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a repub 
 lican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion ; 
 
12 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and, on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legisla 
 ture cannot be convened,) against domestic violence. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Of Amendments. 
 * 
 
 1. Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, 
 shall propose amendments to this Constitution; or, on the application of the 
 legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for pro 
 posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and pur 
 poses, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 
 fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the 
 one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress ; pro 
 vided, that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect the first and fourth claus 
 es in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no state, without its con 
 sent shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 Miscellaneous. 
 
 1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption 
 of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this 
 Constitution, as under the confederation. 
 
 2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
 made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made, un 
 der the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; 
 and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Con 
 stitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of 
 the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of 
 the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirma 
 tion to support this Constitution ? but no religious test shall ever be required 
 as a qualification to any office, or public trust, under the United States. 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 13 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 Of the Ratification. 
 
 1. The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for 
 the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the 
 same. 
 
 Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the states present, the 
 seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States 
 of America the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have herein subscribed 
 our names. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 President, and Deputy from Virginia, and others. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Art. 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
 or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably .to assemble, and to 
 petition the govennment for a redress of grievances. 
 
 Art. 2. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
 state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 
 
 Art. 3. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house with 
 out the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be 
 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 Art. 4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
 and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; 
 2 
 
14 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or 
 affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the per 
 sons or things to be seized. 
 
 Art. 5. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise in 
 famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except 
 in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual 
 service in time of war, or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for 
 the same offence to be put twice in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be 
 compelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself ; nor be de. 
 prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall pri 
 vate property be taken for public use without just compensation. 
 
 Art. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right of a 
 speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein 
 the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously 
 ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the ac 
 cusation : to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compul 
 sory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and to have the assistance of 
 counsel for his defense. 
 
 Art. 7. In suits of common law, where the value in controversy shall ex 
 ceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ; and no fact 
 tried by jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
 States than according to the rules of the common law. 
 
 Art . 8 . Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
 nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted . 
 
 Art. 9 . The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
 construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people . 
 
 Art, 1 0. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu 
 tion, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, 
 or to the people. 
 
 Art. 11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
 to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one 
 of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of 
 another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 
 
 Art. 12. 1. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote 
 by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not 
 be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves : they shall name in their 
 ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
 voted for as Vice President; and they shall make distinct l; *~ " 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 15 
 
 voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of 
 the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and trans 
 mit sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the 
 President of the Senate ; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence 
 of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
 and the votes shall then be counted ; the person having the greatest number 
 of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority 
 of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have such a 
 majority, then from the persons having the highest number, not exceeding 
 three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
 shall choose immediately by ballot the President. But in choosing the Presi 
 dent, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state 
 having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or 
 members of two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
 necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose 
 a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them before the 
 fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as Presi 
 dent, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. 
 
 2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President 
 shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole num 
 ber of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
 two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President ; 
 a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of 
 senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.* 
 
 3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall 
 be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States. 
 
FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW OF 1793. 
 
 SECOND CONGRESS. SESSION 2, CHAPTER. 7, 1793. 
 
 STATUTE 2, FEBRUARY 12, 1793. 
 
 CHAP. VII. AN ACT respecting fugitives from justice, and persons 
 
 escaping from the service of their masters. 
 
 SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever the execu 
 tive authority of any state in the Union, or of either of the territories, north 
 west or south of the river Ohio, shall demand any person, as a fugitive from 
 justice, of the executive authority of any such state or territory to which such 
 person shall have fled, and shall, moreover, produce the copy of an indict 
 ment found, or an affidavit made before a magistrate of any state or territory 
 as aforesaid, charging the person so demanded with having committed treason, 
 felony, or other crime, certified as authentic by the governor or chief magis 
 trate of the state or territory from whence the person so charged fled, it shall 
 be the duty of the executive authority of the state or territory to which such 
 person shall have fled, to cause him or her to be arrested and secured, and 
 notice of the arrest to be given to the executive authority making such de 
 mand, or to the agent of such authority appointed to receive the fugitive, and 
 to cause the fugitive to be delivered to such agent when he shall appear. 
 But if no such agent shall appear within six months from the time of the ar 
 rest, the prisoner may be discharged. And all costs or expenses incurred in 
 the apprehending, securing, and transmitting such fugitive to the state or ter 
 ritory making such demand, shall be paid by such state or territory. 
 
 SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any agent appointed as aforesaid, 
 who shall receive the fugitive into his custory, shall be empowered to transport 
 him or her to the state or territory from which he or she shall have fled. And, 
 if any person or persons shall by force set at liberty, or rescue the fugitive from 
 such agent while transporting as aforesaid, the person or persons so offending, 
 shall, on conviction, be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, and be im 
 prisoned not exceeding one year. 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 17 
 
 SEC. 3. And be it also enacted, That when a person held to labor in any 
 of the United States, or in either of the territories on the northwest or south 
 of the river Ohio, under the laws thereof, shall escape into any other of the 
 said states or territory, the person to whom such labor or service may be due, 
 his agent or attorney is hereby empowered to seize or arrest such fugitive from 
 labor, and to take him or her before any judge of the Circuit or District 
 Courts of the United States, residing or being within the state, or before any 
 magistrate of a county, city or town corporate, wherein such seizure or arrest 
 shall be made, and upon proof to the satisfaction of such judge or magistrate, 
 either by oral testimony or affidavit taken before, and certified by, a magistrate 
 of any such state or territory, that the person so seized or arrested, doth, under 
 the laws of the state or territory from which he or she fled, owe services or 
 labor to the person claiming him or her, it shall be the duty of such judge or 
 magistrate to give a certificate thereof to such claimant, his agent or attorney 
 which shall be sufficient warrant for removing the said fugitive from labor, to 
 the state or territory from which he or she fled. 
 
 SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowing 
 ly and willingly obstruct or hinder such claimant, his agent or attorney, in so 
 seizing or arresting such fugitive from labor, or shall rescue such fugitive from 
 such claimant, his agent or attorney, when so arrested pursuant to the authority 
 herein given or declared ; or shall harbor or conceal such person after notice 
 that he or she was a fugitive from labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of the 
 said offences, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars. Which penal 
 ty may be recovered by and for the benefit of such claimant, by action of 
 debt, in any court proper to try the same ; saving, moreover, to the person 
 claiming such labor or service, his right of action for or on account of the said 
 injuries, or either of them. 
 
 Approved February 12, 1793. 
 
MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 
 SIXTEENTH CONGRESS. SESS. 1, CHAP. 22, 1820. 
 
 STATUTE 1, MARCH 6, 1820 
 
 CHAP. XXII. AN ACT to authorize the people of the Missouri territory 
 to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such 
 State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to 
 prohibit slavery in certain territories. 
 
 (All the previous sections of this Act relate entirely to the formation of the 
 Missouri Territory in the usual form of territorial bills the 8th section 
 only relating to the slavery question.) 
 
 SEC . VIII. And be it further enacted, That in all that territory ceded by 
 France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north 
 of thirty-six degrees, and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within 
 the limits of the state contemplated by their act, slavery and involuntary servi 
 tude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall 
 have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited. Pro 
 vided always that any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or 
 service is lawfully claimed, in any state or territory of the United States, such 
 fugitire may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his 
 or her labor or service as aforesaid. 
 Approved March 6, 1820. 
 
FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW OF 1850. 
 THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS SESS. I, CHAP. 60, 1850. 
 
 SEPT. 18, 1850. 
 
 CHAP. LX. AN ACT to amend, and supplementary to, the Act entitled, 
 " An Act respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons escaping from, 
 the Service of their Masters," approved February twelfth, one thousand 
 seven hundred and ninety-three. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States of America in congress assembled, That the persons who have been, or 
 may hereafter be, appointed Commissioners, in Virtue of any Act of Con 
 gress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and who, in consequence 
 of such appointment, are authorized to exercise the powers that any justice 
 of the peace, or other magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise 
 in respect to offenders for any crime or offence against the United States, by 
 arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same under and by virtue of the thirty- 
 third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September, seventeen hun 
 dred and eighty-nine, entitled " An Act to establish the judicial courts of the 
 United States," shall be, and are hereby, authorized and required to exercise 
 and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. 
 
 SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Superior Court of each or 
 ganized Territory of the United States shall have the same power to appoint 
 commissioners to take acknowledgments of bail and affidavits, and to take 
 depositions of witnesses in civil causes, which is now possessed by the Circuit 
 Court of the United States; and all commissioners who shall hereafter be 
 appointed for such purposes by the Superior Court of any organized Terri 
 tory of the United States, shall possess all the powers, and exercise all the 
 duties, conferred by law upon the commissioners appointed by the Circuit 
 Courts of the United States for similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise 
 and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. 
 
 SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Circuit Courts of the Uni 
 ted States, and the Superior Courts of each organized Territory of the Uni- 
 
20 FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. 
 
 ted States, shall from time to time enlarge the number of Commissioners 
 with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and 
 to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this Act. 
 
 SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioners above named 
 .shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the Curcuit and District 
 Courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within 
 the several States, and the judges of the Superior Courts of the Territories 
 severally and collectively, in term-time and vacation ; and shall grant certifi 
 cates to such claimants upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority t > 
 take and remove such fugitives from service or labor, under the restrictions 
 herein contained, to the State or Territory from which such persons may have 
 escaped or fled. 
 
 SRC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all mar 
 shals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts 
 issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed ; and should 
 any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant, or other process, 
 when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he 
 shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to 
 the use of sucli claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the Circuit or 
 District Court for the district of such marshal; and after arrest of such fugi- 
 live, by such marshal or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody, under 
 the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the 
 assent of such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be li.ible, on his official 
 bond, to be prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the 
 service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory, or District whence he es- 
 scaped; and the better to enable said commissioners, when thus appointed, to ex. 
 eaute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the requirements of 
 the Constitution of the United States, and of this act, they are hereby au 
 thorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in wri 
 ting under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, 
 to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in 
 the lawful performance of their respective duties; with authority to such com 
 missioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to execute process as afore 
 said, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders, or posse comitatus of 
 the proper county, when necessary to insure a faithful observance of the clause 
 of the Constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this act; 
 and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist Jn the prompt 
 and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required, 
 as aforesaid, for that purpose ; and said warrants shall run, and be executed 
 by said officers, anywhere in the State within which they are issued. 
 
FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. 
 
 21 
 
 SEC. 6, And be it further enacted, That when a person held to Service or 
 labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore or 
 shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United 
 States, the person or persons to whom such service or labor may be 
 due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorized by 
 power of attorney, in writing acknowledged and certified tinder the seal of 
 some legal officer or Court of the State or Territory in which the same may 
 be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring 
 a warrant from some one of the Courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, 
 of the proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive 
 from service or labor, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive where the same 
 can be clone without process, and by taking, or causing such person to be taken 
 forthwith before such Court, Judge or Commissioner, whose duty it shall be, 
 to hear and determine the case of such claimant in a summary manner ; and 
 upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit, in writing, to 
 be taken, and certified by such Conrt, Judge, or Commissioner, or by other 
 satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by some Court, Magistrate, 
 Justice of the Peace, or other legal officer authorized to administer an oath 
 and take depositions under the laws of the State or Territory from which such 
 person owing service or labor may have escaped, with a certificate of such 
 magistracy, or other authority as aforesaid, with the seal of the proper Court 
 or officer thereto attached, which seal shall be sufficient to establish the com. 
 potency of the proof, and with proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the 
 person whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the per 
 son so arrested does in fact owe service or labor to the person or persons 
 claiming him or her, in the State or Territory from which such fugitive may 
 have escaped as aforesaid, and that said person escaped, to make out and de 
 liver to such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, a certificate setting forth 
 the substantial facts as to the service or labor due from such fugitive to the 
 claimant, and of his or her escape from the State or Territory in which such 
 service or labor was due to the State or Territory ia which he or she was ar 
 rested, with authority to such claimant, or his, or her agent, or attorney, to 
 use such reasonable force and restraint as may be necessary, under the circum 
 stances of the case, to take and remove such fugitive person back to the State 
 or Territory whence he or she may have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial 
 or hearing under this Act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be ad 
 mitted in evidence ; and the certificates in this and the first (fourth) section 
 mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of the person or persons in whose 
 favor granted, to remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which 
 ho eacaped, and shall prevent all molestation of such person or persons b^ 
 
22 FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. 
 
 any process issued by any Court, Judge, Magistrate or other person whom 
 soever. 
 
 SEC. V. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly 
 and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent or attorney, 
 or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her or them, from arresting 
 such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as afore 
 said, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such fugitive from service or labor 
 from the custody of such claimant, his, or her agent, or attorney, or other per. 
 son or pereons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the 
 authority herein given, and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist such person so 
 owing service or labor as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from such 
 claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or persons legally authorized 
 as aforesaid ; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive so as to prevent the dis 
 covery and arrest of such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that 
 such pei-son was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall, for either 
 of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and 
 imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before 
 the District Court of the United States, for the district in which such offence 
 may have been committed, or before the proper Court of Criminal jurisdic 
 tion, if committed within any one of the organized territories of the United 
 States, and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the 
 party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of One thousand dollars, for 
 each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt in any of 
 the District or Territorial Courts aforesaid, within whose jurisdiction the said 
 offence may have been committed. 
 
 SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the Marshals, their deputies, and 
 the clerks of the said District and Territorial Courts, shall be paid for their 
 services the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services in other 
 cases; and where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, 
 and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or 
 where such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody for the want 
 of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in the whole by 
 euch claimant, his agent or attorney; and in all cases where the proceedings 
 are before a Commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of Ten dollars in full 
 for his services in each case, upon the delivery of the eaid certificate to the 
 claimant, his or her agent or attorney; or a fee of five dollars in cases where 
 the proof shall not, in the opinion of such Commissioner, warrant such certifi 
 cate and delivery, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and exami 
 nation to be paid in either case, by the claimant, his or her agent, or attorney. 
 
FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW." 23 
 
 The person or persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by such 
 Commissioner for the arrest and detention of fugitives from service or labor as 
 aforesaid, shall also be entitled to a fee of five dollars each, for each person 
 he or they may arrest and take before any such Commissioner, as aforesaid, 
 at the instance and request of such claimant, with such other fees as may be 
 deemed reasonable by such Commissioners for such other additional services 
 as may be nece ssarily performed by him or them ; such as attending at the 
 examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, and providing him with food 
 and lodging during his detention and until the final determination of such 
 Commissioner ; and, in general, for performing such other duties as may be 
 required by such claimant, his or her attorney, or agent, or Commissioner in 
 the premises. Such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually 
 charged by the officei-s of the courts of justice within the proper district or 
 county, as near as may be practicable, and paid by such claimants, their agents 
 or attorneys, whether such supposed fugitives from service or labor be ordered 
 to be delivered to such claimants by the final determination of such Commis 
 sioner or not. 
 
 SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That, upon affidavit made by the 
 claimant of such fugitive, his agent or attorney, after such certificate has been 
 issued that he has reason to apprehend that such fugitive will be rescued by 
 force from his or her possession before he can be taken beyond the limits of 
 the State in which the arrest is made,^it shall be the duty of the officer ma 
 king the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him to 
 the State whence he fled, and there to deliver him to said claimant, his agent 
 or attorney. And to this end, the officer aforesaid is hereby authorized and 
 required to employ so many persons as he may deem necessary to oveicomo 
 such force, and to retain them in his service so long as circumstances may re 
 quire. The said officer and his assistants while so employed to receive tho 
 same compensation, and to be allowed the same expenses as are now allowed 
 by law lor transportation of criminals, to be certified by the judge of the 
 district within which the arrest is made, and paid out of the treasury of the 
 United States. 
 
 SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That when any person held to ser 
 vice or labor in any State or Territory, or in the District of Columbia, shall 
 escape therefrom, the party to whom such service or labor may be due, his 
 her, or their agent or attorney, may apply to any court of record therein, 01 
 judge thereof in vacation, and make satisfactory proof to such court, or judge 
 in vacation, of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service 
 or labor to such party. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be mado 
 
24 FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. 
 
 of the matters so proved, and alsD a general description of the person so esca 
 ping with such convenient certainty as may be ; and a transcript of such re 
 cord authenticated by the attestation of the clerk and of the seal of the said 
 court, being produced in any other State, Territory or district in which the 
 person so escaping may be found, and being exhibited to any judge, commis 
 sioner, or other officer authorized by the law of the United States to cause 
 persons escaping from service or labor to be delivered up, shall be held an .1 
 taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of the escape, and tluij, 
 the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such recor 
 mentioned. And upon the production by the said party of other and further 
 evidence if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is con 
 tained in the said record of the identity of the person escaping, he or she 
 shall be delivered up to the claimant. And the said court, commissioner, 
 judge, or other person authorized by this act to grant certificates to claimants 
 of fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences 
 aforesaid, grant to such claimant a certificate of his right to take any such 
 person identified and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid, which 
 shall authorize such claimant to seize or arrest and transport such person to 
 *he State or Territory from which he escaped : Provided, That nothing herein 
 .-untamed shall be construed as requiring the production of a transcript of 
 aich record as evidence as aforesaid. But in its absence the claim shall be 
 heard and determined upon other satisfactory proofs, competent in law. 
 Approved September 18, 1850. 
 
A BILL 
 
 TO ORGANIZE THE TERRITORIES OF NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert : 
 
 That all that part of the territory of the United States included within the 
 following limits, except such portions thereof as are hereinafter expressly ex 
 empted from the operations of this act, to wit : beginnirg at a point in the 
 Missouri river where the fortieth parallel of north latitude crosses the same : 
 thence west on said parallel to the east boundary of the territory of Utab 
 on the summit of the Rocky Mountains; thence on said summit northward* 
 to the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude ; thence east on said parallel to 
 the western boundary of the Territory of Minnesota ; thence southward on 
 said boundary to the Missouri river ; thence down the main channel of said 
 river to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, created into a tem 
 porary government by the name of the Territory of Nebraska ; and when ad 
 mitted as a state or states, the said territory, or any portion of the same, shall 
 be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may 
 prescribe at the time of their admission : Provided, That nothing in this act 
 contained shall be construed to inhibit the government of the United States 
 from dividing said territory into two or more territories, in such manner and 
 and at such times as Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or from at 
 taching any portion of said territory to any other state or territory of the 
 United States: Provided further, That nothing in this act contained shall 
 be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the 
 Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished 
 by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any ter 
 ritory which, by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not, without the consent of 
 said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any 
 state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the bounda 
 ries, and constitute no part of the territory of Nebraska, until said tribe shall 
 signify their assent to the President of the United States to be included with 
 in the said territory of Nebraska, or to affect the authority of the government 
 
26 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 of the United States to make any regulations respecting such Indians, their 
 lands, property or other rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it would 
 have been competent to the government to make if this act had never 
 passed, 
 
 SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and authority 
 in and over said territory of Nebraska shall be vested in a governor, who 
 shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be appointed 
 and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States. 
 The governor shall reside within said territory, and shall be commander-in- 
 chief of the militia thereof. He may grant pardons and respites for offences 
 against the laws of said territory, and reprieves for offences against the laws 
 of the United States, until the decision of the President can be made known 
 thereon ; he shall commission all officers who shall be appointed to office under 
 the laws of the said territory, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
 executed. 
 
 SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of said 
 territory, who shall reside therein, and hold his office for five years, unless 
 sooner removed by the President of the United States ; he shall record and 
 preserve all the laws and proceedings of the legislative assembly hereinafter 
 constituted, and all the acts and jft-oceedings of the governor in his executive 
 department ; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and journals of the leg 
 islative assembly within thirty days after the end of each session, and one 
 copy of the executive proceedings and official correspondence semi-annually 
 on the first days of January and July in each year, to the President of the 
 United States, and two copies of the laws to the President of the Senate and 
 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be deposited in the libra 
 ries of Congress ; and, in case of the death, removal, resignation, or absence 
 of the governor from the territory, the secretary shall be, and he is herebyi 
 authorized and required to execute and perform all the powers and duties of 
 the governor during such vacancy or absence, or until another governor shall 
 be duly appointed and qualified to fill such vacancy. 
 
 SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and author 
 ity of said territory shall be vested in the governor and a legislative assembly. 
 The legislative assembly shall consist of a council and house of representa 
 tives. The council shall consist of thirteen members, having the qualifications 
 of voters, as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two 
 years. The house of representatives shall, at its first session, consist of twen 
 ty-six members, possessing the same qualifications as prescribed for members 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 27 
 
 of the council, and whose term of service shall continue one year. The num 
 ber of representatives may be increased by the legislative assembly, from time 
 to time, in proportion to the increase of qualified voters : Provided, That the 
 whole number shall never exceed thirty-nine; an apportionment shall be made 
 as nearly equal as practicable, among the several counties or districts, for the 
 election of the council and representatives, giving to each section of the ter 
 ritory representation in the ratio of its qualified voters as nearly as may be. 
 And the members of the council and of the house of representatives shall re 
 side in, and be inhabitants of, the district or county, or counties, for which 
 they may be elected, respectively. Previous to the first election, the governor 
 shall cause a census, or enumeration of the inhabitants and qualified voters of 
 the several counties and districts of the territory, to be taken by such per 
 sons and in such mode as the governor shall designate and appoint; and the 
 persons so appointed shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor. And 
 the first election shall be held at such time and places, and be conducted in such 
 manner, both as to the persons who shall superintend such election and the 
 returns thereof, as the governor shall appoint and direct ; and he shall at the 
 same time declare the number of members of the council and house of rep 
 resentatives to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under 
 this act. The persons having the highest number of legal votes in each of 
 said council districts for membere of the council, shall be declared by the gov 
 ernor to be duly elected to the council ; and the persons having the highest 
 number of legal votes for the house of representatives, shall be declared by 
 the governor to be duly elected members of said house: Provided, That in 
 case two or more persons voted for shall have an equal number of votes, and 
 in case a vacancy shall otherwise occur in either branch of the legislative as 
 sembly, the governor shall order a new election; and the persons thus elejt- 
 ed to the legislative assembly shall meet at stich place and on such day as the 
 governor shall appoint ; but thereafter, the time, place, and manner of holding 
 and conducting all elections by the people, and the apportioning the representa 
 tion in the several counties or districts to the council and house of representa 
 tives, according to the number of qualified voters, shall be prescribed by law 
 as well as the day of the commencement of the regular sessions of the legis 
 lative assembly: Provided, That no session in any one year shall exceed the 
 term of forty days, except the first session, which may continue sixty days. 
 
 SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male inhabitant 
 above the age of twenty-one years who shall be an actual resident of said 
 territory, and shall possess the qualifications hereinafter prescribed, shall be 
 entitled to vote at the first election, and shall be eligible to any office within 
 
28 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 the said territory ; but the qualifications of voters, and of holding office, at 
 all subsequent elections, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the legislative 
 assembly : Provided, That the right of suffrage and of holding office shall 
 be exercised only by citizens of the United States and those who shall have 
 declared on oath their intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath 
 to support the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this 
 act : And provided further, That no officer, soldier, seaman or marine, or 
 other person in the army or navy of the United States, or attached to troops 
 in the service of the United States, shall be allowed to vote or hold office 
 in said territory, by reason of being on service therein. 
 
 SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the ter 
 ritory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the 
 Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act; but no law 
 shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil ; no tax shall 
 be imposed upon the property of the United States ; nor shall the lands or 
 other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other prop 
 erty of residents. Every bill which shall have passed the council and house 
 of representatives of the said territory shall, before it become a law, be pre 
 sented to the governor of the territory ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but 
 if not, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it origina 
 ted, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to 
 reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall 
 agree to pass the billet shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
 other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by 
 two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
 votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, to be entered on 
 the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by 
 the governor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been 
 presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed 
 it, unless the assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it 
 shall not be a law. 
 
 SEC. V. And be it further enacted, That all township, district, and county 
 officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or elected, as 
 the case may be, in such manner as shall be provided by the governor and 
 legislative assembly of the territory of Nebraska. The governor shall nomi 
 nate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, ap 
 point all officers not herein otherwise provided for; and in the first instance 
 the governor alone may appoint all said officers, who shall hold their offices 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 29 
 
 until the end of the first session of the legislative assembly ; and shall lay 
 off the necessaary districts for members of the council and house of representa 
 tives, and all other officers. 
 
 SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the legislative as 
 sembly shall hold, or be appointed to, any office which shall have been created 
 or the salary or emoluments of which shall have been increased, while he 
 was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year 
 after the expiration of such term; but this restriction shall not be applicable 
 to members of the first legislative assembly ; and no person holding a com 
 mission or appointment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be 
 a member of the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the gov 
 ernment of said territory. 
 
 SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said territo 
 ry shall be vested in a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, and in 
 justices of the peace. The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and 
 two associate justices any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and who 
 shall hold a term at the seat of government of said territory annually, and 
 they shall hold their offices during the period of four years, and until their 
 successors shall be appointed and qualified. The said territory shall be di 
 vided into three judicial districts, and a district court shall be held in each of 
 said districts by one of the justices of the supreme court, at such times and 
 places as may be prescribed by law ; and the said judges shall, after their ap. 
 pointments, respectively, reside in the district which shall be assigned them. 
 The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided for, both appellate and, 
 original, and that of the probate courts and of justices of the peace, shall be- 
 as limited by law : Provided, That justices of the peace shall not have juris 
 diction of any matter in controversy when the title or boundaries of land may 
 be in dispute, or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred 
 dollars ; and the said supreme and district courts, respectively, shall possess 
 chancery as well as common law jurisdiction. Each district court, or the 
 judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also be the register in chance 
 ry, and shall keep his office at the place where the court may be held. Writs 
 of error, bills of exception, and appeals, shall be allowed in all cases from the 
 final decision of said district courts to the supreme court, under such regula 
 tions as may be prescribed by law ; but in no case removed to the supreme 
 court shall trial by jury be allowed in said court. The supreme court, or 
 the justices thereof, shall appoint its own clerk, and every clerk shall hold his 
 office at the pleasure of the court for which he shall have been appointed. 
 Writs of error, and appeals from the final decision of said supreme court> shall 
 3 
 
30 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS, 
 
 be allowed, and may be taken to the Supreme court of the United States, in 
 the same manner and under the same regulations as from the circuit courts of 
 the United States, where the value of the property, or the amount in contro 
 versy, to be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party, or other 
 competent witness, shall exceed one thousand dollars; except only that in all 
 cases involving title to slaves, the said writs of error or appeals shall be allowed 
 and decided by the said supreme court, without regard to the value of the 
 matter, property, or title in controversy: and except also that a writ of error o i 
 appeal shall also be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States, fixuu 
 the decision of the said supreme court created by this act^ or of my judge 
 thereof, or of the district courts created by this act, or of any judgo there of 
 upon any writ of habeas corpus, involving the question of personal freedom! : 
 Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to or 
 affect the provisions of the " act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons 
 escaping from the service of their masters," approved February twelfth, seven 
 teen hundred and ninety -three, and the " act to amend and supplementary 
 to the aforesaid act," approved September eighteen, eighteen hundred and 
 fifty ; and each of the said district courts shall have and exercise the same 
 jurisdiction in all cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United 
 States as is vested in the circuit and district courts of the United States ; and 
 the said supreme and district courts of the said territory, and the respective 
 judges thereof, shall and may grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases in 
 which -the same are granted by the judges of the United States in the district 
 of Columbia; and the first six days of every term of said courts, or so much 
 thereof as shall be necessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of causes arising 
 under the said Constitution and laws, and writs of error and appeal in all such 
 cases shall be made to the supreme court of said territory, the same as in other 
 cases. The said clerk shall receive in all such cases the same fees which the 
 clerks of the district courts of Utah Territory now receive for similar services. 
 
 SEC. 10, And be it further enacted, That the provisions of an act entitled 
 * An act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the ser 
 vice of their masters," approved February twelve, seventeen hundred and 
 ninety-three, and the provisions of the act entitled " An act to amend, and 
 supplementary to, the aforesaid act," approved September eighteen, eighteen 
 hundred and fifty, be, and the same are hereby, declared to extend to and be 
 in full force within the limits of said territory of Nebraska. 
 
 SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an at 
 torney for said territory, who shall continue in office for four years, and until 
 his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 81 
 
 President, and who shall receive the same fees and salary as the attorney of 
 the United States for the present territory of Utah. There shall also be a 
 marshal for the territory appointed, who shall hold his office for four years, and 
 until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by 
 the President, and who shall execute all processes issuing from the said courts 
 when exercising their jurisdiction as circuit and district courts of the United 
 States; he shall perform the duties, be subject to the same regulations and 
 penalties, and be entitled to the same fees as the marshal of the district court 
 of the United States for the present territory of Utah, and shall, in addition 
 be paid two hundred dollars annually as a compensation for extra services. 
 SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief 
 justice, and associate justices, attorney, and marshal, shall be nominated, and, 
 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed by the Presiden 
 of the United States. The governor and secretary to be appointed as aforo 
 siid, shall, before they act as such, respectively take an oath or affirmation be 
 fore the district judge or some justice of the peace in the limits of said ter 
 ritory, duly authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws now 
 in force therein, or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, to support the Constitution of the 
 United States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices, 
 which said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by the person by whom 
 the same shall have been taken ; and such certificates shall be received and 
 recorded by the said secretary among the executive proceedings ; and the 
 chief justice and associate justices, and all other civil officers in said territory* 
 before they act as such, shall take a like oath or affirmation before the said 
 governor or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the territory 
 who may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation* 
 shall be certified and transmitted by the person taking the same to the secre 
 tary, to be by him recorded as aforesaid; and, afterwards, the like oath or 
 affirmation shall be taken, certified, and recorded, in such manner and form 
 as may be prescribed by law . The governor shall receive an annual salary of- 
 two thousand five hundred dollars. The chief justice and associate justices- 
 shall each receive an annual salary of two thousand dollars. The secretary 
 shall receive an annual salary of two thousand dollars. The said salaries shall 
 be paid quarter-yearly, from the dates of the respective appointments, at tha 
 treasury of the United States; but no such payment shall be made until said 
 officers shall have entered upon the duties of their respective appointments. 
 The members of the legislative assembly shall be entitled to receive three 
 dollars each per day during their attendance at the sessions thereof, and three 
 
32 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 dollars each for every twenty miles travel in going to and returning from the 
 said sessions, estimated according to the nearest usually travelled route; and 
 an additional allowance of three dollars shall be paid to the presiding officer 
 of each house for each day he shall so preside . And a chief clerk, one as 
 sistant clerk, a sergeant-at-arms, and door-keeper,may be chosen for each house; 
 and the chief clerk shall receive four dollars per day, and the said other offi 
 cers three dollars per day, during the session of the legislative assembly ; but 
 no other officers shall be paid by the United States : Provided, That there 
 shall be but one session of the legislature annually, unless, on an extraordina 
 ry occasion, the governor shall think proper to call the legislature together. 
 There shall be appropriated, annually, the usual sum, ,to be expended by the 
 governor, to defray the contingent expenses of the territory, including the 
 salary of a clerk of the executive department ; and there shall also be appro 
 priated, annually, a sufficient sum, to be expended by the secretary of the 
 territory, and upon an estimate to be made by the secretary of the treasury 
 of the. United States, to defray the expenses of the legislative assembly, the 
 printing of the laws, and other incidental expenses ; and the governor and 
 secretary of the territory shall, in the disbursement of all moneys intrusted 
 to them, be governed solely by the instructions of the secretary of the treasu 
 ry of the United States, and shall, semi-annually, account to the said secre 
 tary for the manner in which the aforesaid moneys shall have been expended ; 
 and no expenditure shall be made by said legislative assembly for objects not 
 specially authorized by the acts of Congress making the appropriations, nor 
 beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects, 
 
 SE C. 13. And be it further enacted, That the legislative assembly of the 
 territory of Nebraska shall hold its first session at such time and place in said 
 territory as the governor thereof shall appoint and direct; and at said first 
 session, or as soon thereafter as they shall deem expedient, the governor and 
 legislative assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the seat of govern 
 ment for said territory at such place as they may deem eligible ; w r hich place, 
 however, shall thereafter be subject to be changed by the said governor and 
 legislative assembly. 
 
 SEC. 14 . And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the House of Rep 
 resentatives of the United States,to serve for the term of two years, who shall be 
 a citizen of the United States, may be elected by the voters qualified to elect 
 members of the legislative assembly, who shall be entitled to the same rights 
 and privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the delegates from the several 
 other territories of the United States to the said House of Representatives, 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 33 
 
 but the delegate first elected shall hold his seat only during the term of the 
 Congress to which he shall be elected. The first election shall be held at 
 such time and places, and be conducted in such manner, as the governor 
 shall appoint and direct; and at all subsequent elections the times, places, 
 and manner of holding the elections, shall be prescribed by law. The per 
 son having the greatest number of votes shall be declared by the governor 
 to be duly elected, and a certificate thereof shall be given accordingly. That 
 the Constitution, and all the laws of the United States which are not locally 
 inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said territory 
 of Nebraska as elsewhere within the United States, except the eighth section 
 of the act preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the Union, approv 
 ed March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which, being inconsistent with 
 the principle of non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the states and 
 territories, as recognized by the legislation of eighteen hundred and fifty, 
 commonly called the compromise measures, is hereby declared inoperative 
 and void; it being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slave 
 ry into any territory or state, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the 
 people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions 
 in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States : 
 Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to revive or put 
 in force any law or regulation which may have existed prior to the act of sixth 
 March, eighteen hundred and twenty, either protecting, establishing, pro 
 hibiting, or abolishing slavery. 
 
 SEC, 15. And be it further enacted, That there shall hereafter be appro 
 priated, as has been customary for the territorial governments, a sufficient 
 amount, to be -expended under the direction of the said governor of the ter 
 ritory of Nebraska, not exceeding the sums heretofore appropriated for similar 
 objects, for the erection of suitable public buildings at the seat of govern 
 ment, and for the purchase of a library, to be kept at the seat of government 
 for the use of the governor, legislative assembly, judges of the supreme court 
 secretary, marshal, and attorney of said territory, and such other persons, and 
 under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in the said ter 
 ritory shall be surveyed under the direction of the government of the United 
 States, preparatory to bringing same into market, sections numbered sixteen 
 and thirty-six, in each township in said territory shall be, and the same are 
 hereby, reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools in said territory, 
 and in the states and territories hereafter to be erected out of the same. 
 
34 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 SEC, 17. And be it further enacted, That, until otherwise provided by 
 law, the governor of said territory may define the judicial districts of said 
 territory, and assign the judges who may be appointed for said territory to 
 the several districts ; and also appoint the times and places for holding courts 
 in the several counties or subdivisions in each of said judicial districts by pro 
 clamation, to be issued by him ; but the legislative assembly, at their first 
 or any subsequent session, may organize, alter, or modify such judicial dis- 
 ricts, and assign the judges, and alter the times and places of holding the 
 courts, as to them shall seem proper and convenient. 
 
 SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That all officers to be appointed by 
 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the ter 
 ritory of Nebraska, who, by virtue of the provisions of any law now existing, 
 or which may be enacted during the present Congress, are required to give 
 security for moneys that may be intrusted with them for disbursements, shall 
 give such security, at such time and palce, and in such manner as the secretary 
 of the treasury may prescribe. 
 
 SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That all that part of the territory of 
 the United States included within the following limits, except such portions 
 thereof as are hereinafter expressly exempted from the operations of this act, 
 to wit: beginning at a point on the western boundary of the state of Missouri, 
 where the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude crosses the same ; thence 
 west on said parallel to the eastern boundary of New Mexico; thence north 
 on said boundary to latitude thirty-eight; thence following said boundary 
 westward to the east boundary of the territory of Utah, on the summit of 
 the Rocky Mountains; thence northward on said summit to the fortieth par 
 allel of latitude ; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the 
 state of Missouri ; thence south with the western boundary of said state to 
 the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, created into a temporary 
 government by the name of the Territory of Kansas; and when admitted 
 as a state or states, the said territory, or any portion of the same, shall be 
 received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may 
 prescribe at the time of their admission : Provided, That nothing in this act 
 contained shall be construed to inhibit the government of the United States 
 from dividing said territory into two or more territories, in such manner and 
 at such times as Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or from attach 
 ing any portion of said territory to any other state or territory of the United 
 States: Provided further, That nothing in this act contained shall be so 
 construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the 
 Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 35 
 
 by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any 
 erritory which, by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not, without the consent 
 of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any 
 state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the bounda 
 ries, and constitute no part of the territory of Kansas, until said tribe shall 
 signify their assent to the President of the United States to be included 
 within the said territory of Kansas, or to affect the authority of the govern 
 ment of the United States to make any regulation respecting such Indians, 
 their lands, property, or other rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it 
 would have been competent to the government to make if this act had never 
 passed. 
 
 SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and au 
 thority in and over said territory of Kansas shall be vested in a governor 
 who shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be ap 
 pointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of the United 
 States. The governor shall reside within said territory, and shall be com- 
 raander-in-chief of the militia thereof. He may grant pardons and respites 
 for oftences against the laws of said territory, and reprieves for offences against 
 the laws of the United States, until the decision of the President can be 
 made known thereon ; he shall commission all officers who shall be appoint 
 ed to office under the laws of said territory, and shall take care that the laws 
 be faithfully executed. 
 
 SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of 
 said territory, who shall reside therein, and hold his office for five years, un 
 less sooner removed by the President of the United States; he shall record 
 and preserve all the laws and proceedings of the legislative assembly herein 
 after constituted, and all the acts and proceedings of the governor in his ex 
 ecutive department; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and journals of 
 the legislative assembly within thirty days after the end of each session, and 
 one copy of the executive proceedings and official correspondence semi-annu- 
 ally, on the first days of January and July in each year, to the President of 
 the United States, and two copies of the laws to the President of the Senate 
 and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be deposited in the 
 libraries of Congress; and, in case of the death, removal, resignation, or ab 
 sence of the governor from the territory, the secretary shall be, and he is 
 hereby, authorized and required to execute and perform all the powers and 
 duties of the governor during such vacancy or absence, or until another gov 
 nor shall be duly appointed and qualified to fill such vacancy. 
 
36 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and au 
 thority of said territory shall be vested in the governor and a legislative as 
 sembly. The legislative assembly shall consist of a council and house of 
 representatives. The council shall consist of thirteen members, having the 
 qualifications of voters, as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall 
 continue two years. The house of representatives shall, at its first session, 
 consist of twenty-six members, possessing the same qualifications as prescrib 
 ed for members of the council, and whose term of service shall continue one 
 year. The number of representatives may be increased by the legislative as 
 sembly, from time to time, in proportion to the increase of qualified voters : 
 Provided, That the whole number shall never exceed thirty-nine. An ap 
 portionment shall be made, as nearly equal as practicable, among the several 
 counties or districts, for the election of the council and representatives, giving 
 to each section of the territory representation in the ratio of its qualified voters 
 as nearly as may be. And the members of the council and of the house of 
 representatives shall reside in, and be inhabitants of, the district or county, or 
 counties, for which they may be elected, respectively. Previous to the first 
 election, the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants 
 and qualified voters of the several counties and districts of the territory, to be 
 taken by such persons and in such mode as the governor shall designate and 
 appoint ; and the persons so appointed shall receive a reasonable compensation 
 therefor. And the first election shall be held at such time and places, and 
 be conducted in such manner, both as to the persons who shall superintend 
 such election and the returns thereof, as the governor shall appoint and di 
 rect; and he shall at the same time declare the number of members of the 
 council and house of representatives to which each of the counties or districts 
 shall be entitled under this act. The persons having the highest number of 
 legal votes in each of said council districts for members of the council, shall 
 be declared by the governor to be duly elected to the council : and the per 
 sons having the highest number of legal votes for the house of representa 
 tives, shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected members of said 
 house : Provided, That in case two or more persons voted for shall have an 
 equal number of votes, and in case a vacancy shall otherwise occur in either 
 branch of the legislative assembly, the governor shall order a new election ; 
 and the persons thus elected to the legislative assembly shall meet at such place 
 and on such day as the governor shall appoint; but thereafter, the time, place, 
 and manner of holding and conducting all elections by the people, and the 
 apportioning the representation in the several counties or districts to the coun- 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 37 
 
 cil and bouse of representatives, according to the number of qualified voters, 
 shall be prescribed by law, as well as the day of the commencement of the 
 regular sessions of the legislative assembly : Provided, That no session in 
 any one year shall exceed the term of forty days, except the first session, which 
 may continue sixty days. 
 
 SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That every free white male inhabitant 
 above the age of twenty-one years, who shall be an actual resident of said 
 Territory, and shall possess the qualifications hereinafter prescribed, shall be 
 entitled to vote at the first election, and shall be eligible to any office within 
 the said Territory ; but the qualifications of voters, and of holding office, at 
 all subsequent elections, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the legislative 
 assembly : Provided, That the right of suffrage and of holding office shall be 
 exercised only by citizens of the United States, and those who shall have de 
 clared on oath their intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath 
 to support the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act. 
 And provided further, That no officer, soldier, seaman, marine, or other person 
 in the army or navy of the United States, or attached to troops in the service 
 of the United States, shall be allowed to vote or hold office in said Territory 
 by reason of being on service therein. 
 
 SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the Ter 
 ritory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the 
 Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act; but no law 
 shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall 
 be imposed upon the property of the United States ; nor shall the lands or 
 other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other prop 
 erty of residents. Every bill which shall have passed the council and house 
 of representatives of the said Territory, shall, before it become a law, be pre 
 sented to the governor of the Territory ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but 
 if not, he shall return it with his objectons to the house in which it originated 
 who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon 
 sider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree 
 to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house* 
 by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of 
 that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
 houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, to be entered on the journal 
 of each house, respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the gover 
 nor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to 
 him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
 assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a 
 law. 
 
3g NEBRASKA AND KANSAS, 
 
 SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That all township, district, and county 
 officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or elected, as the 
 case may be, in such manner as shall be provided by the governor and legis 
 lative assembly of the Territory of Kansas. The governor shall nominate) 
 and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, appoint 
 all officers not herein otherwise provided for; and in the first instance the gov 
 ernor alone may appoint all said officers, who shall hold their offices until the 
 end of the first session of the legislative assembly ; and shall lay off the ne 
 cessary districts for members of the council and house of representatives, and 
 all other officers. 
 
 SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That no member of the legislative 
 assembly shall hold, or be appointed to, any office which shall have been crea 
 ted, or the salary or emoluments of which shall have been increased, while he 
 was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year 
 after the expiration of such term ; but this restriction shall not be applicable 
 to members of the first legislative assembly 5 and no person holding a com 
 mission or appointment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be 
 a, member of the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the gov 
 ernment of said Territory. 
 
 SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said 
 Territory shall be vested in a Supreme court, district courts, probate courts, 
 and in justices of the peace. The supreme court shall consist of a chief 
 justice and two associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quo 
 rum, and who shall hold a term at the seat of government of said 
 territory annually ; and they shall hold their offices during the period of 
 four years, and until their successors shall be appointed and qualified. 
 The said Territory shall be divided into three judicial districts, and a 
 district court shall be held in each of said districts by one of the 
 justices of the supreme court, at such times and places as may be 
 prescribed by law; and the said judges shall, after their appointments, respect 
 ively, reside in the districts which shall be assigned them. The jurisdiction 
 of the several courts herein provided for, bo.lh appellate and original, and 
 that of the probate courts and of justices of the peace, shall be as limited by 
 law : Provided, That justices of the peace shall not have jurisdiction of any 
 matter in controversy when the title or boundaries of land may be in dispute 
 or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred dollars; and the 
 gaid supreme and district courts, respectively, shall possess chancery as well as 
 common law jurisdiction. Each district court or the judge thereof, shall ap 
 point its clerk, who shall also be the register in chancery, and shall keep his 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 39 
 
 office at the place where the court may be held. Writs of error, bills of ex 
 ception, and appeals, shall be allowed in all cases from the final decisions of 
 said district courts to the supreme court, under such regulations as may be 
 prescribed by law ; but in no case removed to the supreme court shall trial by 
 jury be allowed in said court The supreme court, or the justices thereof, 
 shall appoint its own clerk, and every clerk shall hold his office at the pleasure 
 of the court for which he shall have been appointed. Writs of error, and 
 appeals from the final decisions of said supreme court, shall be allowed, and 
 may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, in the same manner 
 and under the same regulations as from the circuit courts of the United 
 States, where the value cf the property, or the amount in controversy, to be 
 ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party, or other competent wit 
 ness, shall exceed one thousand dollars , except only that in all cases involving 
 title to slaves, the said writs of error or appeals shall be allowed and decided 
 by the said supreme court, without regard to the value of the matter, property ? 
 or title in controversy ; and except also that a writ of error or appeal shall also 
 be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States, from the decision of 
 the said supreme court created by this act. or of any judge thereof, or of the 
 district courts created by this act, or of any judge thereof, upon any writ of 
 habeas corpus, involving the question of personal freedom : Provided, That 
 nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to or affect the provisions 
 of the " act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the 
 service of their masters," approved February twelfth, seventeen hundred and 
 ninety -three,- and the "act to amend and supplementary to the aforesaid act," 
 approved September eighteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty ; and each of the 
 sai 1 district courts shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction in all cases 
 arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States as is vested in 
 ilie circuit and district courts of the United States; and the said supreme and 
 d strict courts of the said Territory, and the respective judges thereof, shall 
 and may grant wiits of habeas corpus in all cases in which the same are gran 
 ted by the judges of the United States in the District of Columbia; and the 
 first six days of every term of said courts, or so much thereof as shall be ne 
 cessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of causes arising under the said Con 
 stitution and laws, and writs of error and appeal in all such cases shall be 
 made to the supreme court of said Territory, the same as in other cases. The 
 said clerk shall receive in all such cases the same fees which the clerks of the 
 district courts of Utah Territory now receive for similar services. 
 
 SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the act entitled 
 " An act respecting fugitives from justice and persons escaping from the ser- 
 
40 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 vice of their masters," approved February twelfth, seventeen hundred and 
 ninety-three, and the provisions of the act entitled " An act to amend, and 
 supplementary to, the aforesaid act," approved September eighteenth, eight 
 een hundred and fifty, be, and the same are hereby, declared to extend to and 
 be in full force within the limits of the said Territory of Kansas. 
 
 SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an attor 
 ney for said Territory, who shall continue in office for four years, and until 
 his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by" the 
 President, and who shall receive the same fees and salary as the attorney of 
 the United States for the present Territory of Utah. There shall also be a 
 marshal for the Territory appointed, who shall hold his office for four years? 
 and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed 
 by the President, and who shall execute ah 1 processes issuing from the said 
 courts when exercising their jurisdiction as circuit and district courts of the 
 United States; he shall perform the duties, be subject to the same regulations 
 and penalties, and be entitled to the same fees, as the marshal of the district 
 court of the United States for the present Territory of Utah, and shall, in 
 addition, be paid two hundred dollars annually as a compensation for extra 
 services. 
 
 SEC. 30. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief 
 justice, and associate justices, attorney, and marshal shall be nominated, and. 
 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed by the President 
 of the United States. The governor and secretary to be appointed as afore 
 said shall, before they act as such, respectively take an oath or affirmation be 
 fore the district judge or some justice of the peace in the limits of said Terri 
 tory, duly authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws now 
 in force therein, or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, to support the Constitution of the Uni 
 ted States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices, 
 which said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by the person by whom the 
 same shall have been taken ; and such certificates shall be received and recor 
 ded by the said secretary among the executive proceedings; and the chief 
 justice and associate justices, and all other civil officers in said Territory, be 
 fore they act as such, shall take a like oath or affirmation before the said gov 
 ernor or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the Territory who 
 may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation shall 
 be certified and transmitted by the person taking the same to the secretary, to 
 be by him recorded as aforesaid ; and, afterwards, the like oath or affirmation 
 shall be taken, certified, and recorded, in such manner and form as may be pre 
 scribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of two thousand 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 4j 
 
 five hundred dollars. The chief justice and associate justices shall receive an 
 annual salary of two thousand dollars. The secretary shall receive an annual 
 salary of two thousand dollars. The said salaries shall be paid quarter-yearly, 
 from the dates of the respective appointments, at the Treasury of the United 
 States; but no such payment shall be made until said officers shall have en 
 tered upon the duties of their respective appointments. The members of the 
 legislative assembly shall be entitled to receive three dollars each per day du 
 ring their attendance at the sessions thereof, and three dollars each for every 
 twenty miles travel in going to and returning from the said sessions, estimated 
 according to the nearest usually traveled route ; and an additional allowance 
 of three dollars shall be paid to the presiding officer of each house for each 
 day he shall so preside. And a chief clerk, one assistant clerk, a sergeant-at- 
 arms, and door-keeper, may be chosen for each house; and the chief clerk 
 shall receive four dollars per day, and the said other officers three dollars per 
 day, during the session of the legislative assembly ; but no other officers shall 
 be paid by the United States : Provided : That there shall be but one session 
 of the legislature annually, unless, on an extraordinary occasion, the governor 
 shall think proper to call the legislature together. There shall be appropria 
 ted, annually, the usual sum, to be expended by the governor, to defray the 
 contingent expenses of the Territory, including the salary of a clerk of the ex 
 ecutive department; and there shall also be appropriated, annually, a sufficient 
 sum, to be expended by the secretary of the Territory, and upon an estimate 
 to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, to defray 
 the expenses of the legislative assembly, the printing of the laws, and other 
 incidental expenses; and the governor and secretary of the Territory shall, in 
 the disbursement of all moneys intrusted to them, be governed solely by the 
 instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and shall, 
 semi-annually, account to the said Secretary for the manner in which the 
 aforesaid moneys shall have been expended; and no expenditure shall be made 
 by said legislative assembly for objects not specially anthorized by the acts of 
 Congress making the appropriations, nor beyond the sums thus appropriated 
 for such objects. 
 
 SEC. 31. And be it further enacted, That the seat of government of said 
 Territory is hereby located temporarily at Fort Leavenworth ; and that such 
 portions of the public buildings as may not be actually used and needed for 
 military purposes may be occupied and used, under the direction of the gov 
 ernor and legislative assembly, for such public purposes as may be required 
 under the provisions of this act 
 
 SEC . 32. And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the House of Rep- 
 
42 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 
 
 resentatives of the United States, to serve for the term of two years, who 
 shall be a citizen of the United States, may be elected by the voters qualified 
 to elect members of the legislative assembly, who shall be entitled to the 
 same rights and privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the delegates from 
 the several other Territories of the United States to the said House of Representa 
 tives, but the delegate first elected shall hold his seat only during the term of 
 the Congress to which he shall be elected. The first election shall be held 
 at such time and places, and be conducted in such manner, as the governor 
 shall appoint and direct; and at all subsequent elections, the times, places, and 
 manner of holding the elections shall be prescribed by law. The person hav 
 ing the greatest number of votes shall be declared by the governor to be duly 
 elected, and a certificate thereof shall be given accordingly. That the Con 
 stitution, and all laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable, 
 shall have* the same force and effect within the said Territory of Kansas as 
 elsewhere within the United States, except the eighth section of the act pre 
 paratory to the admission of Missouri into the Union, approved March sixth, 
 eighteen hundred and twenty, which being inconsistent with the principle of 
 non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the States and Territories, as 
 recognised by the legislation of eighteen hundred and fifty, commonly called 
 the compromise measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being 
 the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any Terri 
 tory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof per 
 fectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, 
 subject only to the Constitution of the United States: Provided, That nothing 
 herein contained shall be construed to revive or put in force any law or regu 
 lation which may have existed prior to the act of sixth of March, eighteen 
 hundred and twenty, either protecting, establishing, prohibiting, or abolishing 
 slavery. 
 
 SEC. 33. And be it further enacted, That there shall hereafter be appro 
 priated, as has been customary for the territoral governments, a sufficient 
 amount, to be expended under the direction of the said governor of the Ter 
 ritory of Kansas, not exceeding the sums heretofore appropriated for similar 
 objects, for the erection of suitable public buildings at the seat of government, 
 and for the purchase of a library, to be kept at the seat of government for 
 the use of the governor, legislative assembly, judges of the supreme court, 
 secretary, marshal, and attorney of said Territory, and such other persons, and 
 under such regulations, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 SEC. 34. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in the said Ter 
 ritory shall be surveyed under the direction of the government of the United 
 
NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 43 
 
 States, preparatory to bringing the same into market, sections numbered six 
 teen and thirty-six in each township in said Territory shall be, and the same 
 are hereby, reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools in said Ter 
 ritory, and in the States and Territories hereafter to be erected out of the 
 same. 
 
 SEC. 35. And be it further enacted, That, until otherwise provided by 
 law, the governor of said Territory may define the judicial districts of said 
 Territory, and assign the judges who may be appointed for said Territory to 
 the several districts ; and also appoint the times and places for holding courts 
 in the several counties or subdivisions in each of said judicial districts by pro 
 clamation, to be issued by him; but the legislative assembly, at their first or 
 any subsequent session, may organize, alter, cr modify such judicial districts 
 and assign the judges, and alter the times and places of holding the courts, as 
 to them shall seem proper and convenient. 
 
 SEC. 36. And be it further enacted, That all officers to be appointed by the 
 President,, by, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the Territory 
 of Kansas, who, by virtue of the provisions of any law now existing, or which 
 may be enacted during the present Congress, are required to give security for 
 moneys that may be entrusted with them for disbursement, shall give such 
 security, at such time and place, and in such manner, as the Secretary of the 
 Treasury may prescribe. 
 
 SEC. 37. And be it further enacted, That all treaties, laws, and other en 
 gagements made by the government of the United States with the Indian 
 tribes inhabiting the territories embraced within this act, shall be faithfully 
 and rigidly observed, notwithstanding anything contained in this act; and 
 that the existing agencies and superintendencies of said Indians be continued 
 with the same powers and duties which are now prescribed by law, except 
 that the President of the United States may, at his discretion, change the lo 
 cation of the office of superintendent. 
 
 Passed the House of Representatives, May 22, 1854. 
 Attest: 
 
 JOHN W. FORNEY, 
 Clerk, House of Representatives. 
 
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