USA > Ohio > A history of the state of Ohio, natural and civil > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
367
APPENDIX.
exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.
The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district, such laws of the original states, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress, from time to time, which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the general assembly therein, unless disapprov- ed of by Congress; but afterwards, the legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
The governor for the time being, shall be commander-in- chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general officers. All general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the origanization of the general assembly, the governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers, in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same. Af- ter the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the con- tinuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made, shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal and civil, the gov- ernor, shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject, how- ever to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the Legislature.
So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the Gov- ernor, they shall receive authority, with time and place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships, to repre-
368
APPENDIX.
sent them in the general assembly : provided, that for every five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one representative, and so on progressively with the number of free male inhabit- ants, shall the right of representation increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five, after which the number and proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the Legislature : provided, that no person be eligible or qualified to act as a representative, unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years, and in either case shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land within the same; pro- vided also, that a free-hold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the states, and being resident in the district, or the like free-hold and two years residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
The representative thus elected, shall serve for the term of two years, and in case of death of a representative or removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
The general assembly, or legislature shall consist of the governor, legislative council, and a house of representatives .. The legislative council shall consist of five members, to con- tinue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress, any three of whom to be a quorum, and the members of the council, shall be nominated and appointed in the following man- ner, to wit: as soon as representatives shall be elected, the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet to- gether, and, when met, they shall nominate ten persons, resi- dents in the district, and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to congress; five of whom congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid; and whenever a vacancy shall happen in council, by death or removal from office, the house of representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each va-
369
APPENDIX.
cancy, and return their names to congress, one of whom, con- gress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term; and every five years, four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of council, the said house shall nominate ten persons qualified as aforesaid, and re- turn their names to congress, five of whom congress shall ap- point and commission to serve as members of council five years, unless sooner removed. And the governor, legislative council, and house of representatives, shall have authority to make laws in all cases for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the coun- cil, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill or legislative act whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. . The governor shall have power to convene, pro- rogue, and dissolve the general assembly, when in his opin- ion it shall be expedient.
The Governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other officers as congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office-the governor before the president of congress, and all other offi- cers before the governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the council and house, assembled in one room, shall have authority by joint ballot to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in congress, with the right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary govern- ment.
And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these repub- lics, their laws and constitutions, are erected, to fix and es- tablish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory; to provide also for the establishment of states, and permanent government therein, and for their ad- mission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing
47
370
APPENDIX.
with the original states, at as early periods as may be consis- tent with the general interest :
It is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority afore- said, that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original states and the people and states in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable, un- less by common consent, to wit:
ARTICLE I. No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments in the said territory.
ARTICLE II. The inhabitants of said territory shall always be entitled to the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury ; of a proportionate representation of the peo- ple in the legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law; all persons shall be bailable unless for capital offences, where the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great; all fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land; and should the public exi- gencies make it necessary, for the common preservation to take- any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same; and in the just preservation of rights and property, it is understood and de- clared that no law ought ever to be made, or have force in said territory, that shall in any manner whatever, interferc with or affect private contracts or engagements, bonafide, and without fraud previously formed.
ARTICLE III. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being ne- cessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encoura- ged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights and liberty, they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless in. just and lawful wars, authorized by congress; but laws found- ed in justice and humanity, shall, from time to time, be made,
371
APPENDIX.
for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
ARTICLE IV. The said territory, and the states which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this confed- eracy of the United States of America, subject to the articles of confederation, and to such alteration therein, as shall be constitutionally made; and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory, shall be sub- ject to pay a part of the federal debts contracted, and a pro- portional part of the expenses of the government to be ap- portioned on them, by congress, according to the same com- mon rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shal! be made on the other states; and the taxes for paying their proportion, shall be laid and levied, by the authority and di- rection of the legislatures of the districts, or new states, as in the original states, within the time agreed upon by the Uni- ted States in congress assembled. The legislatures of those districts or new states, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in congress assem- bled, nor with any regulations congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places be- tween the same shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory, as to the citi- zens of the United States, and those of any other states that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, im- post, or duty therefor.
ARTICLE V. There shall be formed in said territory, not less than three, nor more than five states, and the boundaries as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of session and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to wit: The western state in said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, and Wabash rivers; a direct line
372
APPENDIX.
drawn, from the Wabash and Post Vincents due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Missis- sippi. The middle state shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash, from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. The eastern state shall be bounded by the last men- tioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said ter- ritorial line; provided, however, and it is further understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three states shall be subject so far to be altered, that if congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one or two states in that part of the territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or ex- treme of lake Michigan: and whenever any of the states shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such states shall be admitted by its delegates, into the congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatsoever; and shall be at liberty to form a per- manent constitution and state government: Provided, the con- stitution and government so to be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles: and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the confederacy, such admission shall be had at an earlier pe- riod, and when there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the state than sixty thousand.
ARTICLE VI. There shall be neither slavery nor involunta- ry servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in punish- ment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly con- victed: Provided, always, that any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully re- claimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid.
Be it ordained, by the authority aforesaid, that the resolu- tions of the 23d of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this
373
APPENDIX.
ordinance, be and the same are hereby repealed and declared null and void.
REMARKS ON THE PRECEDING ACT OF CONGRESS.
In March, 1784, Virginia ceded to the United States the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and stipulated that the citizens thereof should "have their possession and title con- firmed to them, and be protected in their rights and liberties." Soon after the session was made, Congress referred the sub- ject to a committee, consisting of Jefferson of Virginia, Chase of Maryland, and Howell, of Rhode Island. This committee reported an ordinance of fundamental law for the government of the Territory, and of the States to be formed out of it; one provision of which was, "That after the year 1800 of the Christian era, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the States, otherwise than in punishment of -crimes, whereof the party shall have been convicted to have been personally guilty."-A motion was made to strike out this clause: "And on the question, shall the words moved to be struck out, stand?" the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Howell:
New Hampshire, Mr Foster, ay. Blanchard, ay. 1 ay.
Massachusetts
Mr. Gerry, ay. 1
Patridge, ay.5 ay.
Rhode Island
Mr. Ellery, ay. } Howell, ay.) ay.
Connecticut
Mr. Sherman, ay. Wadsworth, ay.S ay. New York
ay.
New Jersey, .
Pennsylvania
. Mr. De Witt, ay. Paine, ay. . Mr. Dick, ay. (1.) Mifflin, ay. Montgomery, ay. Hardy, ay.
ay.
Maryland
Mr. M'Henry, no.
Stone, no. no.
(1) To entitle a State to a vote, she must have at least two members pre- sent.
F2
374
APPENDIX.
Virginia . Mr. Jefferson, no.
Hardy, no. no.
Mercer, no.
North Carolina . . Mr. Spaight, no.
Williamson ay. div.
South Carolina . . Mr. Read, no. Beresford, no. no.
So the question was lost, and the words were struck out. " (2.) " March 16, 1785, a motion was made by Mr. King, and seconded by Mr. Ellery, that the following proposition be com- mitted:
" That there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- tude in any of the States described in the resolve of con- gress of the 23d of April, 1784, otherwise than in the punish- ment of crimes whereof the party shall have been personally guilty: and that this regulation shall be an article of compact, and remain a fundamental principle of the Constitutions be- tween the thirteen original states, and each of the states describ- ed in the said resolve of the 23d April, 1784."
On the question of commitment, New Hampshire, Massachu- setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania and Maryland, voted in the affirmative: Virginia, (3) North Carolina and South Carolina in the negative. So it was resolved in the affirmative.
On the 7th of July, 1786, Congress resolved that the stipula- tion contained in the cession of Virginia, respecting the division into separate States of the territory northwest of the Ohio river, would be attended with great inconvenience, and recommend- ed Virginia to revise and alter the terms of cession, which was afterwards done.
September 29, 1786, Congress took into consideration an ordinance for the government of the Western Territory report- ed by a committee consisting of Johnson of Connecticut, Pick- ney, of South Carolina, Smith, of New York, Dane, of Massa- chusetts, and McHenry, of Maryland: and, after considering
(2) Seven, or a majority of the whole number of States, (thirteen,) were wanted to carry a. question.
(3) Grayson voted in the affirmative; Hardy and Lee in the negative.
375
APPENDIX.
it from time to time, it was recommended to a committee con- sisting of Carrington and R. H. Lee, of Virginia, Dane, of Mas- sachusetts, Kean, of South Carolina, and Smith, of New York, whose report was read the first time, July 11, 1787. This ordinance is similar, in its leading and fundamental provisions, to that reported in 1784 by the committee of which Mr Jeffer- son (4) was chairman, and, like that, contained a prohibition of slavery in the following words: "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory; other- wise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." On the 13th of July, 1787, this ordinance was adopted by Congress, with the concurrence not only of every State, but every individual member of every State present, except one, Mr. Yates of New York.
On the 27th of December, 1788, Virginia passed a resolution offering to cede, and on the 3d of December, 1789, passed an act in which she " forever ceded and relinquished to Congress and Government of the United States, in full and absolute right and exclusive jurisdiction as well of soil as of persons residing or to reside therein, pursuant to the tenor and effect of the 8th section of the first article of the Constitution of the Govern- ment of the United States," a tract of country not exceeding ten miles square, for the permanent seat of Government of the United States. The cession of Maryland, for similar purpose, was made December 23, 1789, and is absolute and without restriction or limitation.
This statement of facts shows,-1st, That Virginia ceded to the United States an extensive territory, separated from her only by a river, and bordering on her for about one thousand miles, Kentucky being then a part of Virginia. 2d, That Con- gress had, after having had the subject under consideration for more than three years, abolished slavery in it by the extraordinary concurrence of all its members who voted, except
(4) To Mr. Jefferson is therefore justly due the credit of the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory, and not Mr. Dane, as claimed for himby his New England friends.
376
APPENDIX.
one. 3d, That the measure originated with Thomas Jefferson, the favorite son of Virginia and of the nation, and who was assisted by Chase, a prominent son and distinguished jurist of Maryland. And 4th, That with the knowledge of these facts, and immediately after their occurrence, Virginia and Maryland ceded the district of Columbia to the United States, without restriction as to the prohibition of slavery, or indeed without imposing as many restrictions as Virginia did when she ceded the northwest territory.
Seeing, then, what Congress had done in atsushing slavery in what had been a part of Virginia, and in which territory there were a considerable number of slaves, how can it be said that Virginia and Maryland would not have ceded the district of Columbia, if they had supposed Congress would ever abolish slavery in it? or that the doing so now, at the expiration of near half a century, can be conceived to violate any implied faith to those two states?
I will only add, in conclusion, what a strange contrast the ' proceedings of 1787 present to those of 1837! Then the aboli- tion of slavery in an extensive territory, bordering on the slave- holding states, met with no opposition. No fears were then en- tertained that such an act would endanger the Union, or tend to disturb the quiet of any portion of it. It was not then de- nounced as the first step of Congress to abolish slavery in the slaveholding states. No; slavery was then considered by all as an evil; now it is pronounced by some a blessing. What strange perversion! What strange delusion! Especially in this enlightened and liberal age, when there is abroad an ameli- orating spirit, more powerful in its effects in the moral and poli- tical world than the steam-engine is in the mechanical.
377
APPENDIX.
No. II.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
WE, the people of the Eastern Division of the Territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio, having the right of admission into the General Government, as a mem- ber of the Union, consistent with the Constitution of the United States, the ordinance of Congress of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the law of Congress, entitled "An Act to enable the people of the Eastern Divis- ion of the Territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio, 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 for other purposes; in order to establish justice, promote the welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the following Constitution or form of Government; and do mutually agree with each other to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the name of the State of Ohio.
ARTICLE I.
SEC. 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Sen- ate and House of Representatives, both to be elected by the people.
SEC. 2. Withinone year after the first meeting of the Gen- eral Assembly, and within every subsequent term of four years, an enumeration of all the white male inhabitants above twen- ty-one years of age, shall be made in such manner as shall be directed by law. The number of representatives shall, at the several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the legislature and apportioned among the several counties, according to the number of white male inhabitants above twen- ty-one years of age in each, and shall never be less than twen- 48 F2*
378
APPENDIX.
ty-four nor greater than thirty-six, until the number of white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age shall be twen- ty-two thousand; and after that event, at such ratio that the whole number of representatives shall never be less than thir- ty-six, nor exceed seventy-two.
SEC. 3. The Representatives shall be chosen annually, by the citizens of each county respectively, on the second Tues- day of October.
SEC. 4. No person shall be a representative, who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and be a citizen of the United States and an inhabitant of this state; shall also have resided within the limits of the county in which he shall be chosen, one year next preceding his election, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this state; and shall have paid a state or county tax.
SEC. 5. The senators shall be chosen biennially, by the qualified voters for representatives; and on their being con- vened in consequence of the first election, they shall be divi- ded, by lot, from their respective counties or districts, as near as can be, into two classes; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, and of the second class at the expiration of the second year; so that one half thereof, as near as possible, may be annu- ally chosen forever thereafter.
SEC. 6. The number of senators shall, at the several pe- riods of making the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the legislature, and apportioned among the several counties or districts, to be established by law, according to the number of white male inhabitants of the age of twenty-one years in each, and shall never be less than one-third, nor more than one half of the number of representatives.
SEC. 7. No person shall be a senator who has not arrived at the age of thirty years, and . is a citizen of the United States; shall have resided two years in the county or district immediately preceding the election, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States, or of this state; and shall, moreover, have paid a state or county tax.
379
APPENDIX.
SEC. 8. The senate and house of representatives, when assembled, shall each choose a speaker and its other officers, be judges of the qualifications and elections of its members, and sit upon its own adjournments: two thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller num- ber may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.