USA > North Dakota > Early history of North Dakota: essential outlines of American history > Part 33
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SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and authority of said Territory shall be vested in the governor and a legislative assembly. The legislative assembly shall consist of a council and house of representatives. The council shall consist of nine members, which may be increased to thirteen, having the qualifications of voters as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two years. The house of representatives shall consist of thirteen members, which may be increased to twenty-six, possessing the same qualifications as prescribed for members of the council, and whose term of service shall continue one year. An apportionment shall be made, as nearly equal as practicable, among the several counties or districts for the election of the council and house of representatives, giving to each section of the Territory representation in the ratio of its population, (Indians excepted) 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 for which they may be elected, respectively. Previous to the first election, the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the several counties and districts of the Territory to be taken; and 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 he shall, at the same time, declare the number of the members of the council and house of representatives to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under this act. The number of persons authorized to be elected, having the highest number of 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 person or persons authorized to be elected having the greatest number of votes for the house of representatives, equal to the number to which each county or district shall be entitled, shall be declared by the governor to be elected members of the house of representatives: Provided, That in case of a
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tie between two or more persons voted for, the governor shall order a new election, to supply the vacancy made by such tie. 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 represen- tation in the several counties or districts to the council and house of repre- sentatives, according to the population, shall be prescribed by law, as well as the day of the commencement of the regular sessions of the legislative assembly : Provided, That no one session shall exceed the term of forty days, except the first, which may be extended to sixty days, but no longer.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male inhabitant of the United States above the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of said Territory at the time of the passage of this act, 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 declared on oath their intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the Terri- tory 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 property of residents; nor shall any law be passed impairing the rights of private property ; nor shall any discrimination be made in taxing different kinds of property ; but all property subject to taxation shall be in proportion to the value of the property taxed.
SEC. 7. 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. 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 governor 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 necessary districts for members of the council and house of representatives, and all other officers.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the legislative assembly 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; and no person holding a commission or appoint- ment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member of the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the government of said Territory.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said Territory
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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 asso- ciate 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. 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 time and place as may be prescribed by law ; and the said judges shall, after their appoint- ments, respectively, reside in the districts which shall be assigned them. The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided for, both appellate and origi- nal, and that of the probate courts and of the 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 said supreme and district courts, respectively, shall possess chancery as well as common-law jurisdiction, and authority for redress of all wrongs committed against the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the Territory, affecting persons or property. Each district court, or the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also be the register in chancery, 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 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 of the property, or the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party, or other competent witness, shall exceed one thousand dollars; and each of the said district courts shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction, in all cases arising under the Consti- tution 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 grantable 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 appeals 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 Nebraska Territory now receive for similar services.
SEC. IO. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an attorney for said Territory, who shall continue in office for four years, 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 Ne-
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braska. There shall also be a marshal for the Territory appointed, who shall hold his office for four years, 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 Nebraska, and shall, in addition, be paid two hundred dollars annually as a compensation for extra services.
SEC. IT. 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 aforesaid shall, before they act as such, respectively take an oath or affirmation before the district judge, or some justice of the peace in the limits of said Territory 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 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 commis- sioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation shall be certified and trans- mitted 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 man[n]er and form as may be prescribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of $1,500.00 as governor, and $1,000.00 as superintendent of Indian affairs; the chief justice and associate justices shall each receive an annual salary of $1,800.00; the secretary shall receive an annual salary of $1,800.00. The said salaries shall be paid quarter-yearly at the Treasury of the United States. The members of the legislative assembly shall be entitled to receive $3.00 each per day during their attendance at the session thereof, and $3.00 for every twenty miles' travel in going to and return- ing from the said sessions, estimated according to the nearest usually traveled route. There shall be appropriated annually the sum of $1,000.00, to be ex- pended by the governor, to defray the contingent expenses of the Territory. 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 secre- tary of the Territory shall annually account to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States for the manner in which the aforesaid sum shall have been expended.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota 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
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session, or as soon thereafter as they shall deem expedient, the governor and legislative assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the seat of government for said Territory at such place as they may deem eligible; which place, how- ever, shall thereafter be subject to be changed by the said governor and legis- lative assembly.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the House of Rep- resentatives of the United States, to serve during each Congress 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. 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 elections shall be prescribed by law. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected, and a certificate thereof shall be given accordingly.
SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That when the land in said Territory shall be surveyed, under the direction of the government of the United States, preparatory to bringing the 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 the States hereafter to be erected out of the same.
SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That temporarily, and 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 proclamation to be issued by him; but the legislative assembly, at their first or any subsequent session, may organize, alter, or 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. 16. And be it further enacted, That the Constitution and all laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory of Dakota as elsewhere within the United States.
SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be, and he is hereby. authorized to appoint a surveyor-general for Dakota, who shall locate his office at such place as the Secretary of the Interior shall from time to time direct, and whose duties, powers, obligations, responsibilities, compensation, and allow- ances for clerk hire, office rent, fuel, and incidental expenses shall be the same as those of the surveyor-general of Nebraska and Kansas, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and such instructions as he may from time to time deem it advisable to give him.
SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That so much of the public lands of the United States in the Territory of Dakota, west of its eastern boundary and east and north of the Niobrara, or Running Water River, be formed into a land district, to be called the Yancton district, at such time as the President may
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direct, the land office for which shall be located at such point as the President may direct, and shall be removed from time to time to other points within said district whenever, in his opinion, it may be expedient.
SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a regis- ter and receiver for said district, who shall respectively be required to reside at the site of said office, and who shall have the same powers, perform the same duties, and be entitled to the same compensation, as are or may be prescribed by law in relation to other land-offices of the United States.
SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the river in said Territory here- tofore known as the "River aux Jacques," or "James River," shall hereafter be called the Dakota River.
SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That, until Congress shall otherwise direct, that portion of the Territories of Utah and Washington between the forty-first and forty-third degrees of north latitude, and east of the thirty-third meridian of longitude west from Washington, shall be, and is hereby, incorpo- rated into and made a part of the Territory of Nebraska.
APPROVED, March 2, 1861.
Attest: WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
PART III
Vol. I-18
CHAPTER XIX
DAKOTA ORGANIZED
THE GOVERNOR AND TERRITORIAL OFFICERS-CENSUS AND POPULATION-LEGISLA- TIVE APPORTIONMENT-ELECTION PRECINCTS AND JUDGES OF ELECTION-THE JUDICIAL DISTRICTS AND ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES-RESULTS OF ELECTIONS- DELEGATE TO CONGRESS-MEMBERS OF FIRST LEGISLATURE-THE FIRST LEGIS- LATIVE ASSEMBLY-THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE-LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL- OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION-THE PUBLIC PRINTER-A WESTERN WIFE.
In April, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed the following officers for the Territory of Dakota: Governor, William Jayne of Springfield, Ill .; secretary, John Hutchinson of Minnesota ; chief justice, Philemon Bliss of Ohio; associate justices, Lorenzo Parsons Williston of Pennsylvania and Joseph L. Williams of Tennessee; district attorney, William E. Gleason of Maryland; United States marshal, William E. Shaffer of Missouri; surveyor-general, George D. Hill of Michigan. Hon. Newton Edmunds of Ypsilanti, Mich., who was appointed chief clerk in the surveyor-general's office, arrived in June, 1861, and gave the required notice that under the direction of the commissioner of the general land office, the surveyor-general's office was directed to receive preëmption declaratory statements of settlers until the opening of the local land offices, and that such statements would be received as soon as the townships were platted.
The governor and United States marshal also arrived in June. The first official act of the governor was to appoint persons to take a census; those so appointed were Henry D. Betts, Wilmot W. Brookings, Andrew J. Harlan, Obed Foote, George M. Pinney and John D. Morse, who were designated census agents, as given under "Territory Proclaimed," in Chapter XIV.
Brookings was assigned to the Sioux Falls District, Harlan to the Brule Creek settlements, Foote to the Missouri River settlements, embracing Yankton, Pinney to the Missouri River settlements, embracing Choteau Creek, Morse to the Niobrara region, and Betts to the Red River.
The population, as returned by these agents, was 2,376, of which the number of whites in the Red River District was 51 males and 28 females, 264 mixed- blood males and 260 mixed-blood females, a total of 603; but as heretofore stated, this census as to the Red River country was not accepted as correct, as the greater portion of the people were then absent on their annual buffalo hunt. The United States census of the previous year showed a population for this region of 1,606, and the census of 1850, 1,135 (correct number, 1,116). The number returned by Maj. Samuel Woods in 1849 for the Pembina region
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showed 177 families, 511 males and 515 females, white and half-blood families, a total of 1,026. They had 600 carts, 300 oxen, 300 work horses, 150 horses for the chase, 1,500 horned cattle, a few hogs and no sheep (31st Congress, Ist Session, H. Docs. 42 and 51). The census agents of 1861 gave the distribution of the population of the several districts as follows: Red River, 603; Brule Creek, 47; Point on the Big Sioux, 104; Elk Point, 61; Vermilion, 265; Bottom and Clay Creek, 210; Sioux Falls, 60; Yankton, 287; Bon Homme, 163; Pease and Hamilton settlements, 181; Fort Randall, 210; Yankton Agency, 76; Ponca Agency and vicinity, 129-total, 2,376. In South Dakota there were 25 mixed- bloods on the Big Sioux, 5 at Elk Point, 7 at Vermilion, 9 at Yankton, 128 at the Pease and Hamilton settlements, 47 at Yankton Agency, and 34 at the Ponca Agency, a total of 255; added to the 603 reported at Pembina, gave a mixed- blood population of 858 out of the total of 2,376. To this should be added at least 1,000 more, mostly mixed-bloods, not reported in the Pembina District.
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS AND APPORTIONMENT OF MEMBERS
July 29, 1861, the governor issued his proclamation dividing the territory into Council and Representative districts and apportioning the members to the several districts.
First Council District-That portion of Dakota lying between the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers, bounded on the west by the range line between ranges 50 and 51, and that portion lying west of the Red River, including the settlements at Pembina and St. Joseph, two councilmen.
Second District-All that portion bounded by the Vermilion River on the west and on the east by the range line dividing ranges 50 and 51, two councilmen.
Third District-All that portion bounded by the Vermilion River on the east and on the west by the range line dividing ranges 53 and 54, one councilman.
Fourth District-All that portion bounded on the east by the range line dividing ranges 53 and 54, and on the west by the range line dividing ranges 57 and 58, two councilmen.
Fifth District-All that portion bounded on the east by the range line dividing ranges 57 and 58 and on the west by Choteau Creek, one councilman.
Sixth District-All that portion bounded on the east by Choteau Creek and on the west by a line west of and including the Hamilton and Pease settlements and all that portion of Dakota Territory situated between the Missouri River and the Niobrara River, one councilman.
The territory was divided into eight representative districts. To the first, two representatives; to the second, one; to the third (the Pembina country), one; to the fourth, two; to the fifth, two; to the sixth, two; to the seventh, two; to the eighth, one.
FIRST ELECTION ORDERED
An election was ordered for September 16, 1861, for the election of members of the Legislature and a delegate to Congress; and election precincts were estab- lished as follows:
First Representative District-At the house of Thomas Maloney ; judges of
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election, James Summers, William Mathews and Thomas Maloney; and at the hotel of Eli Wixon at Elk Point, judges, Sherman Clyde, William Frisbie and K. P. Romme.
Second District-At the house of William Amida; judges, George P. Wal- dron, Berne C. Fowler and John Keltz.
Third District-At the house of Charles LeMay, Pembina; judges, James McFetridge, Hugh Donaldson and Charles LeMay. Also at the house of Bap- tiste Shorette (Charrette) at St. Joseph; judges, Baptiste Shorette, Charles Bot- tineau, Antoine Zangran.
Fourth District-At the house of James McHenry; judges, A. J. Harlan, Ole Anderson and A. Eckles.
Fifth District-At the house of Bligh E. Wood ; judges, Ole Oleson, Bligh E. Wood and Ole Bottolfson.
Sixth District (Yankton)-At the house of Frost, Todd & Co .; judges, Moses K. Armstrong, Frank Chapell and J. S. Presho.
Seventh District-At Herrick's Hotel, Bon Homme; judges, Daniel Gifford, George M. Pinney and George Falkenberg.
Eighth District-At the house of F. O. Pease; judges, J. V. Hamilton, Ben- jamin Estes and Joseph Ellis. And also at Gregory's store; judges, Charles Young, James Tufts and Thomas Small.
Any free white male inhabitant of the United States, residing in the territory March 2, 1861, when the organic act was passed, and in the precinct at the date of this proclamation (July 29, 1861), who was a citizen of the United States or had declared his intentions to become such, was entitled to vote upon subscribing to an oath of allegiance.
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