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THE
LEGISLATIVE MANUAL,
--OF THE--
STATE OF COLORADO,
--COMPRISING--
THE HISTORY OF COLORADO, ANNALS OF THE LEGISLATURE,
MANUAL OF CUSTOMS, PRECEDENTS AND FORMS, RULES
OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE, AND THE CONSTITUTIONS
OF THE UNITED STATES AND
THE STATE OF COLORADO.
--ALSO--
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF AMERICAN HISTORY, LISTS AND
TABLES FOR REFERENCE, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC.
_THOMAS B. CORBETT._
FIRST EDITION.
DENVER, COLORADO.
DENVER TIMES PUBLISHING HOUSE AND BINDERY.
1877.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1877,
BY THOMAS B. CORBETT,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
PREFACE.
The first edition of the COLORADO LEGISLATIVE MANUAL is herewith
presented. While designed for the use of the General Assembly, it cannot
fail to interest all classes--the lawyer, the merchant, the aspirant
after political honors, and even the young who are ripening into manhood
and soon to share its grave responsibilities. It contains information
which cannot be elsewhere acquired without a great expenditure of time
and patience, in the examination of records, the reconciliation of
numerous discrepancies, the supplement of omissions and the correction
of errors. The pre-State history is necessarily brief. Sketches of
prominent characters, and comments on events and the acts of individuals
are not introduced, for the reason that the period of the narrative
should be removed some distance from the present age to secure the
historian from undue prejudice and partiality. The settlement of
Colorado, now a flourishing State, began scarcely twenty years ago. A
sense of propriety, therefore, demands that only a plain, accurate and
truthful statement be made of what occurred in connection with that
settlement. In the preparation of the Legislative Annals, much labor and
care have been expended. The Annals are as complete and correct as it
was possible to make them, considering the removals of members from the
Territory, the inaccuracy of the records and the imperfection of the
journals. To the novice in legislation, the Manual of Customs,
Precedents and Forms will prove of great value. I have sought, and
indeed have spared no pains nor expense, to make this an improvement
upon all other Legislative Manuals yet published.
This Manual will be published _biennially_ with such changes as
circumstances may require, and such improvements as experience may
suggest. That I am anxious to receive the commendation of an
appreciative public, I do not deny, and hope that their fullest sympathy
with my effort in this direction will be freely accorded. It is a
satisfaction to know, and should beget a praiseworthy pride, that
Colorado is not behind any of the oldest, most populous and wealthy
States in the character, style and completeness of this publication.
It gives me great pleasure to confess, that from the inception to the
completion of this work, I have received much kind and cordial
assistance. My warmest thanks and acknowledgments are extended to Robert
Berry and William W. Webster, experienced legislators, for their good
offices and valuable help. The courtesies of Judge Amos Steck, whose
memory of facts, dates and persons deserves special mention, and the
kindness of O. J. Goldrick, editor and proprietor of the _Rocky Mountain
Herald_, are here gratefully acknowledged.
Trusting that this work will meet the expectations of the General
Assembly, and State at large, I respectfully submit it to their
judgment.
T. B. C.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF COLORADO-- PAGE.
History from early settlement to present time 33
Organic Act of Territory 44
Amendments to Organic Act 51
Enabling Act 63
Constitution of Colorado 68
President’s Proclamation 120
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES--
Analytical Table of Contents 13
Constitution 124
Amendments 136
MANUAL OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE--
Index 23
Manual of Parliamentary Practice 140
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES--
Members and officers of the Legislative Assemblies under
Territorial government 212
Members of the Constitutional Convention of 1865 225
Members of Legislative Assembly of 1865 226
Members of the Constitutional Convention of 1875-76 227
Members of the first State Legislature 228
Table showing the length of the several sessions of the
Legislature 230
TERRITORIAL AND STATE OFFICERS--
Territorial officers 231
Delegates to Congress 232
State officers 233
Judges of Supreme Court 233
United States Senators and Representative 233
Presidential Electors 234
Official vote for State officers 235
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT--
Manual of Customs, Precedents and Forms 236
Rules and Orders of Senate 254
Rules and Orders of House 261
Joint Rules of Senate and House 269
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 271
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT--
The Executive, Cabinet and Supreme Court 295
United States Army Organization 295
Members of the Forty-fourth Congress 296
Members of the Forty-fifth Congress 301
Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the United States 307
States and Territories of the Union, Capitals, Governors,
etc. 308
Diplomatic officers of the United States 312
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS 310
POST OFFICES IN COLORADO 313
COUNTIES OF COLORADO--
Area, population and valuation 316
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES--
Congressional Delegation 317
Executive officers 319
Senators 323
Representatives 332
HISTORY OF COLORADO.
CHAPTER I.
Cession of Louisiana Province and Territorial purchase from
Mexico--expedition of Coronado--United States expedition to examine
Louisiana Province--brief history of Kansas to 1861--first discovery of
Gold--trains of prospectors--first settlements in Colorado--early
attempts to organize a Territory and State--first representative to
Kansas Legislature--visit of Horace Greeley--Provisional Territorial
government organized--people’s courts and miners’ courts--condition of
affairs in 1860--pony express and other events of 1860--Territory of
Colorado organized.--Pages 33-43.
CHAPTER II.--ORGANIC ACT.
Boundaries--Governor, Secretary, their duties and term of
office--Legislature--suffrage--judicial power--election of
delegate--Surveyor-General to be appointed.
AMENDMENTS TO ORGANIC ACT.
To provide a temporary government--to regulate the elective
franchise--in regard to appropriations--compensation of members and
officers of legislature.--Pages 44-56.
CHAPTER III.
Provisional government ends--federal officers arrive--Territorial
government established--events of 1862--events of 1863--events of
1864--Indians punished by Col. Chivington--renewal of Indian hostilities
in 1865--attempt to organize a State--events of 1866--events of
1867--railroads and colonies--temporary division of Republican party in
Colorado--enabling act passed.--Pages 57-62.
CHAPTER IV.--ENABLING ACT.
Power to organize a State
government--boundaries--suffrage--Constitutional
Convention--Constitution to be submitted to the people and President to
admit the State by proclamation--lands and Salt Springs
appropriated--that five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of lands
by the United States be paid to the State. Amendment to the Enabling
Act--Constitutional Convention.--Pages 63-67.
CHAPTER V.--CONSTITUTION.
Preamble--bill of rights--distribution of powers--Executive
Department--Lieutenant-Governor--legislative department--judicial
department--suffrage and elections--State
institutions--education--revenue--officers--impeachments--counties--corporations--mining
and irrigation--militia--miscellaneous--future
amendments--schedule--ordinances. Constitution submitted to the
people--vote--the new State admitted. Proclamation of the
President--party conventions--election for State officers--General
Assembly meet--Governor’s message--general remarks.--Pages 67-123.
ANALYTICAL INDEX OF THE CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO.
A.
ART. SEC.
ACCUSED, right of 2 16
ACTIONS, to be continued as if no change in government.
Sched. 1
ADJOURNMENT, of Legislature 5 15
ALIENS, to possess and enjoy property same as citizens 2 27
AMENDMENTS to Constitution, how made 19 2
APPORTIONMENT of Senators and members of House 5 45
APPROPRIATIONS for charitable and other purposes not to be
made 5 34
not to be made unless assessment be made to meet 10 16
ARMS, right to keep and bear 2 13
ASSEMBLY GENERAL, number of members of 5 46
power to interfere with municipal functions, not to delegate 5 35
members of, when and how chosen 5 2
ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS, may be altered 5 47
State divided into, of Senators what 5 48
State divided into, of Representatives what 5 49
ATTAINDER, no bill of, to be passed 2 9
of treason, not to work corruption of blood 2 9
ATTORNEYS, suitors may prosecute and defend by, or in person 2 16
ATTORNEYS District, when and how chosen, and term of office 6 21
ATTORNEY General, when and how chosen, term of office 4 31
to be one of State Board of Land Commissioners 9 9
to be one of Board of Education 9 1
AUDITOR, not eligible for re-election 4 21
AYES and Noes, when to be entered on journal 5 13
on final passage of bill to be taken and entered on journal 5 22
for concurrence in an amendment, to be taken and entered on
journal 5 23
B.
BAIL, excessive shall not be required 2 20
all persons bailable, etc. 2 19
BILLS in Legislature, shall be printed 5 20
not to embrace more than one subject 5 21
shall be read on three different days 5 22
action of Governor on 4 11
introduced after a certain time, not to become laws 5 19
to be referred to committee and returned 5 20
giving extra compensation not to be passed 5 28
if vetoed, how proceed 4 11
when become laws without Governor’s signature 4 11
appropriating money, item or items of, Governor may
disapprove 4 12
BONDS, executed under Territorial government to Territory,
any county, etc., to remain valid Sched. 2
BOUNDARIES, of State 1 --
BRIBERY, persons convicted of, incapable of holding office 12 4
guilty of, civil officers or members of General Assembly,
who 12 6
C.
CENSUS of State, General Assembly to provide for 5 45
General Assembly to revise apportionment every five years 5 45
CHIEF Justice, one of judges of Supreme Court to be 6 8
CITIES, Legislature to provide for organization of 14 13
CITIZENS and Aliens equal as to possession and enjoyment of
property 2 27
CLERKS of District Courts, to be appointed in each county 6 19
CLERK of Supreme Court, to be appointed by court 6 9
COMMANDER-in-Chief, Governor to be 4 5
COMMISSIONERS Land, State Board of, who to constitute 9 9
duty in regard to State lands 9 10
COMPENSATION of members of Legislature 5 6
extra dis-allowed 5 6
of public officers not to be increased or diminished 5 30
CONGRESSIONAL Districts 5 44
CONSCIENCE, rights of 2 4
CONSTITUTION of Colorado--
oath to support, by whom to be taken 12 7, 8, 9
how to be amended 19 2
when to be submitted for ratification or rejection Ords. 2
who entitled to vote for or against Ords. 2
copy of, to be forwarded to President Ords. 6
CONTRACTS, State not to pass laws impairing obligations of 2 11
no member of Legislature or State officer to be interested
in certain 5 29
CONVICTION not to work corruption of blood 2 9
CORONERS, when and how chosen, term of office 14 8
CORPORATIONS, not to be created by special law except in
certain cases 15 2
charters may be altered, etc. 15 3
COUNTIES, removal of county seats, how effected, by whom 14 2
new, their liability 14 4
not divided, except by consent of qualified voters 14 3
COUNTY Board of Equalization, consists of, duties of 10 15
COUNTY Courts, judicial powers vested in 6 23
COUNTY Judges (probate), how elected and term of office 6 22
COUNTY Officers, how and when to be elected 14 6, 8
who eligible to be 14 10
in vacancies of, who to appoint 14 9
compensation of 14 15
CRIMES, no person to answer for, except by indictment,
except in certain cases 2 8
committed under Territory may be prosecuted under
State Sched. 2
CRIMINAL Courts, may be created 6 24
COURTS of Arbitration, law to provide for 18 3
D.
DEBTS, no imprisonment for 2 12
public, when, how and for what purpose contracted 11 3, 5
DECLARATION of rights 2 --
DEEDS, recorders of, how chosen and term of office 14 8
DEFAULTERS, ineligible to office 12 4
DEPOSITION, no person to be imprisoned longer than 2 17
DISTRIBUTION, of income of school fund 9 3
DISTRICT Attorneys, how chosen and term of office 6 15
DISTRICT Courts, jurisdiction thereof 6 11
DISTRICT Judges, how chosen 6 15
term of office 6 12
DISTRICTS, Assembly may be altered 5 47
Senate and House apportionment of 5 48, 49
DISTRICTS, Congressional, apportionment of 5 44
School to be established 9 15
DISTRICTS, Judicial, may be increased after 1880 6 14
DIVORCES, Legislature not to grant 5 25
DUELLING, persons engaged in not to hold office 12 12
E.
EDUCATION, how provided for 9 --
ELECTIONS, Governor may issue writs of 5 2
no power, civil or military to prevent 2 5
ELECTIONS for General Assembly, when and how held 5 2
for Executive officers, when held, how decided 4 3
for Judicial officers, when 6 15
shall be by ballot 7 8
persons confined in prison cannot vote 7 10
abuses of the elective franchise to be guarded against 7 11
in contested, no person to withhold testimony because
it may criminate himself 7 9
voters privileged from arrest during attendance at 7 5
general, when to be held 7 7
ELECTORS, Presidential, the General Assembly to provide for
elections of, by the people Sched. 20
ELECTORS, qualifications of 7 1
General Assembly may enact laws to qualify women as 7 2
General Assembly, may prescribe educational qualifications
for 7 3
EMBEZZLEMENT, persons convicted of incapable of holding office 12 4
EMINENT Domain, not to be abridged 15 8
ENACTING Clause, provisions concerning 5 18
ENUMERATION of inhabitants provided for 5 45
EQUALIZATION, State Board of, consists of, duty of 10 15
County Board of, consists of, duty of 10 15
ESCHEATS, to state from defect of heirs, to be part of school
fund 9 5
EXCESSIVE bail, not to be required 2 20
EXECUTIVE, power vested in Governor 4 2
EX POST FACTO law, not to be passed 2 11
F.
FEES, collected by State officers to be paid into State
Treasury 4 19
collected by county and precinct officers above salary
to be paid into treasury 14 15
FELONY, what construed to be 18 4
what use of school moneys deemed to be 10 13
conviction of, not to work forfeiture of estate 2 9
FINES, excessive and unusual punishment not to be imposed 2 20
FREEDOM of speech guaranteed to all persons 2 10
FISCAL YEAR, when begins 10 1
FORESTS, destruction of, to prevent 18 6
FUND, school, of the State to be inviolate 9 3
who custodian of 9 3
to whom to be distributed 9 3
all losses to be supplied by State 9 3
shall consist of what 9 5
FUNDS, school, county treasurer to collect and distribute 9 4
university, under control of regents 9 14
G.
GENERAL ELECTIONS, when to be held 7 7
GOVERNOR, term of office 4 1
when and how elected 4 3
who eligible to office of 4 4
to be commander in chief, his powers 4 5
appointments to be made by, what and when 4 6
may grant reprieves, etc. 4 7
when powers and duties devolve on Lieut.-Governor 4 13
his powers in approving bills 4 11
may remove certain officers 4 6
first elected, how long to hold office 4 1
GREAT SEAL, what called, by whom kept 4 18
H.
HABEAS Corpus, privilege not to be suspended 2 21
I.
IMPEACHMENTS, House of Representatives to have sole power of 13 1
IMPRISONMENT for debt not to be, except, etc. 2 12
INDICTMENTS, how to conclude 6 30
IRRIGATION, right to use unappropriated waters 16 6
right of way for conveying water to be granted 16 7
rates for use of water, county commissioners to establish 16 8
J.
JEOPARDY, no person to be twice put in 2 18
JOURNALS of Legislature to be published 5 13
JUDGES, election of, term of office, etc. 6 --
JUDICIAL power, where vested 6 1
JUDICIAL officers, in relation to impeachment of 13 2
JUDICIAL Districts, division of 6 13
limits may be altered 6 14
judge to be chosen from each 6 12
judges may hold court in other districts 6 12
JURY Grand, to consist of 2 23
General Assembly may change, etc. 2 23
JURY, right of trial by 2 23
JUSTICE, courts of, open to all, how administered 2 6
JUSTICE of the Peace, judicial powers vested in 6 25
L.
LAND, title in Territory to vest in State Sched. 3
no change of title Sched. 1
granted to State, how provided for 9 10
LANDS, school, proceeds to school fund 9 5
public, who control 9 9
university, granted to, under what control 9 10
of United States, not to be taxed Ords. 2 2
LAWS, how passed 5 --
local or special not to be passed 5 25
_ex-post facto_, not to be passed 2 11
style of 5 18
publication in Spanish and German 18 6
not to be enacted, except by bill 5 17
not to embrace but one subject 5 21
not in force until ninety days after passage 5 19
each on final passage has vote taken by ayes and noes 5 22
amendments, vote taken by ayes and noes 5 23
of Territory, when to expire, etc. Sched. 1
homestead and exemption, Legislature to pass 18 1
LEGISLATURE, number of members 5 46
powers and duties 5 --
who eligible to 5 4
session of, how limited 5 6
terms for which members are elected 5 3
vacancies in, to fill, writs of election issued by Governor 5 2
when meet, how often 5 7
members not to be appointed to civil offices 5 8
shall not pass bills giving extra compensation 5 28
local or special laws, shall not pass 5 25
compensation of members 5 6
when may borrow money 11 3
to propose amendments to Constitution 19 1
to revise Constitution, may recommend election of a
convention 19 1
number, duties, and compensation of officers to be
prescribed 5 27
power to enact laws, where vested 5 1
LIBEL, truth may be given in evidence 2 10
jury may determine law and fact 2 10
LIBERTY, without process of law no person to be deprived of 2 25
of speech and the press, relating to 2 10
LIQUORS, adulterated or drugged, sale to be prohibited 18 5
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, how and when elected 4 3
term of office 4 1
when to act as Governor 4 13
to be president of Senate 4 14
to have only casting vote 4 14
his compensation 4 19
first elected, how long to hold office 4 1
LOTTERIES, Legislature not to authorize 18 2
tickets of, sale to be prohibited 18 2
M.
MAJORITY of each House of Legislature to constitute a quorum 5 11
MEMBERS of Congress ineligible to Legislature 5 8
MEMBERS of Legislature, number of 5 46
how and when chosen 5 2
who eligible as 5 4
not to be elected or appointed civil officers 5 8
who ineligible as 12 4
not liable for words spoken in debate 5 16
compensation of 5 6
mileage of 5 6
MILITARY subordinate to civil power 2 22
MILITIA, of whom shall consist 17 1
organization, etc. 17 2
officers, appointed by whom, elected by whom 17 3
arms, etc., safe keeping, who provide for 17 4
duty not compulsory, etc., when 17 5
MINES, office of commissioner of, to be established 16 1
sanitary provisions to be made by law 16 2
teaching science of working, etc., provision may be made 16 4
exempt from taxation for ten years, except, etc. 10 3
O.
OATHS, of members of Legislature 12 7
of executive and judicial officers 12 9
of civil officers 12 8
OBLIGATIONS to State or any municipal corporation to be paid
in full 5 38
OFFICERS, State, first elected, how long to hold office 4 1
to exercise duties of office 12 1
elected to fill vacancy, when term expires 12 11
OFFICES, who disqualified from holding 12 4, 12
when may be declared vacant 12 10
ORDER, resolution, or vote, requiring concurrence of both
Houses 5 39
Governor to approve 5 39
P.
PARDONS, Governor may grant 4 7
PERSONS, every one entitled to speedy remedy by the laws 2 6
PETITION, right to 2 24
POLICE, magistrates for cities and towns 6 26
PRESIDENT of Senate, Lieutenant-Governor to be 4 14
his compensation 5 6
has only casting vote 4 14
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS, the General Assembly to provide for
election of by the people Sched. 20
PRESS, freedom of 2 10
PRIVILEGES, of members and officers of Legislature 5 16
PROCESS, style of 6 30
issued under authority of Territory to be valid. Sched. 2
of law, no person to be deprived of life, etc., without 2 25
PROPERTY, private, not to be taken for public use without
compensation 2 15
without process of law no person to be deprived of 2 25
of Territory to vest in State Sched. 3
private, not to be taken for debt of municipal corporations 10 14
of United States, not to be taxed Ords. 2 2
PROSECUTIONS, criminal, how carried on 6 30
PUNISHMENTS, cruel and unusual not to be inflicted 2 20
Q.
QUALIFICATIONS of voters at elections 7 1
of members of Legislature 5 4
of Governor 4 4
of judges of Supreme Court 6 10
of District judges 6 16
QUORUM, what shall constitute in each House 5 11
what shall constitute in Supreme Court 6 5
R.
RAILROADS, common carriers to be 15 4
consolidation of parallel or competing lines forbidden 15 5
discriminations between individuals not to be 15 6
street, not to be built without consent of local
authorities 15 11
RECOGNIZANCES, executed under Territorial government
to remain valid Sched. 2
RECORDER OF DEEDS, when and how chosen, and term of office 14 8
RELIGION, constitutional provisions relative to 2 4
no persons to be denied civil or political rights for
opinions concerning 2 4
RELIGIOUS, test not to be required as qualification for
teacher or student 9 8
societies, no appropriation to be made for support of 9 7
REMOVAL, from office in case of impeachment 13 2
of what officers may be made by Governor 4 6
REPEAL of acts of incorporation 15 3
REPRIEVES, Governor may grant 4 7
REVENUE, annual tax to be imposed for 10 2
RIGHTS of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
etc. 2 7
of the accused 2 16
enumerated in Constitution not to be construed to deny,
etc. 2 28
of the people to assemble and consult and to petition 2 24
of worship not to be infringed 2 4
to continue as if no change in government. Sched. 1
S.
SCHEDULE of Constitution 20
SCHOOLS, free public, Legislature to establish 9 2
to be uniform, and one or more in each district 9 2
no sectarian instruction to be allowed therein 9 8
text-books not to be prescribed by Legislature or State
Board of Education 9 16
control of instruction to be vested in Boards of Education 9 15
SCHOOL FUNDS, what to consist of 9 5
to remain inviolate and intact 9 3
how interest to be applied 9 3
county, how collected, how distributed 9 4
SCHOOL LANDS, of what to consist 9 5
who to sell 9 9
purchase money, of who custodian, etc. 9 3
SEAL of State, who to keep 4 18
SEARCHES and Seizures, constitutional provision relating
thereto 2 7
SEAT of government, how determined, and where till determined 8 2
SECRETARY of State, when and how chosen 4 3
his term of office 4 1
to be one of commissioners for sale of school lands, etc. 9 9
to be keeper of the Great Seal 4 18
SENATORS, divided into classes 5 5
SENATE districts, how formed and numbered 5 48
SHERIFF, when and how chosen and term of office 14 8
SLAVERY, not to exist in State 2 26
SOLDIERS, their eligibility to office and right to vote 7 4
SPEECH, liberty of 2 10
or debate of members of Legislature not to be questioned
in any other place 5 16
STATE OF COLORADO, boundaries 1
credit or faith thereof not to be loaned or pledged 11 1
not to impose tax on U. S. lands. Ords. 2 2
no donation or grant by, to any corporation, etc.,
except, etc. 11 2
not to contract debts except in certain cases 11 3
police powers not to be abridged 15 8
STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, consists of, duty of 10 15
STATE DEBT, when may be contracted 11 3
for what may be created 11 5
not to be created except by law 11 4
STATE TREASURER, when elected 4 3
term of office 4 1
duties 10 12
STATIONERY, etc., for use of State, to be let to lowest
bidder 5 29
STREAMS, natural, to be property of public 16 5
STYLE, of laws 5 18
of process and prosecutions 6 30
Superintendent of Public Instruction, how elected 4 3
ex-officio State Librarian 4 20
to be one of State Board of Land Commissioners 9 9
president of State Board of Education 9 1
Supreme Court, judicial power vested in 6 1
to have appellate jurisdiction only 6 2
its general powers 6 3
number of judges to constitute a quorum 6 5
judges electable 6 6
how elected 6 15
judges, term of office 6 7
judges, classified to be 6 8
who Chief Justice 6 8
clerk appointed by judges 6 9
two terms each year to be held at seat of government 6 4
qualifications for office of judge 6 10
oath of office to be filed with Secretary of State 12 9
T.
Taxation, for State purposes, rates of not to exceed six
mills. 10 11
rule of, to be uniform 10 3
rate of, when valuation amounts to $100,000,000 not to
exceed four mills. 10 11
rate of, when valuation amounts to $300,000,000 not to
exceed two mills. 10 11
what exempt from 10 4, 5
laws exempting from to be void 10 6
TAXES, not to be imposed for purposes of any county, etc.,
by the General Assembly 10 7
no county, city, etc., for State purposes, to be released
from 10 8
power to levy on corporations and corporate property not
to be relinquished or suspended 10 9
not to be imposed on lands or property of United States Ords. 2 2
all corporations subject to 10 10
TELEGRAPH, consolidation with competing lines forbidden 15 13
TERRITORIAL limits, same as State 1
TERRITORY OF COLORADO, property of to vest in State Sched. 3
officers of, how long to hold office Sched. 5 9, 10
TREASON, against State, what consists in 2 9
evidence necessary to convict 2 9
no person can be attainted of 2 9
TREASURER OF STATE. (See State Treasurer)
TREASURY, state, county, city, town, etc., no money to
be drawn from for religious societies or seminaries 9 7
TRIAL by Jury, right of 2 16, 23
TRUST funds not to be invested in bonds or stock of
private corporations 5 36
U.
UNITED STATES, no taxes to be imposed by State on lands
or property of Ords. 2 2
ordinance 2, irrevocable without consent of Ords. 2 3
UNIVERSITY, State, subject to control of State 8 5
regents of, how elected, term of office 9 12
regents of, a body corporate 9 12
regents of, classified by lot 9 12
president of, how elected 9 13
president of, ex officio member of board, voting only in
case of tie 9 13
president of, principal executive officer of 9 13
supervision of, by whom 9 14
funds of, under control of regents 9 14
V.
VACANCIES, office of County Commissioners filled by governor 14 9
any other county office filled by Board of County
Commissioners 14 9
when filled, term of office 12 11
in elective offices, to be filled by election 6 29
in judicial offices, when an unexpired term is less than
one year, filled by whom 6 29
in either House, to fill such, writs of election to be
issued by Governor 5 2
in certain offices, during recess of Senate, to be filled
by Governor 4 6
in the offices of Auditor of State, State Treasurer,
Secretary of State, Attorney-General, and
Superintendent of Public Instruction, to be filled
by appointment of Governor 4 6
in offices of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor 4 13, 14, 15
VENUE, power to change, vested where 5 37
VETO, of Governor, to pass a bill over 4 11
VOTING, to be by ballot 7 8
VOTERS, who qualified 7 1
during attendance at elections to be privileged from arrest 7 5
only qualified, to be elected or appointed to any civil
or military office 7 6
not qualified 7 10
W.
WITNESS against self in criminal cases, not compelled to be 2 18
WORSHIP, right not to be infringed 2 4
WRITS, style of 6 30
power of Supreme Court to issue 6 3
of Habeas Corpus, may issue from Supreme Court 6 3
of Certiorari, may issue from the Supreme Court 6 3
of Mandamus, may issue from the Supreme Court 6 3
quo warranto 6 3
injunction 6 3
of election to be issued by Governor 5 2
ANALYTICAL INDEX OF THE CONSTITUTION OF UNITED STATES.
A.
ART. SEC.
ACTS, records and judicial proceedings of each State
entitled to faith and credit in other States 4 1
AMENDMENTS to the Constitution, how made 5 1
which have been made (see page 136).
APPOINTMENTS to be made by the President 2 2
APPORTIONMENT of Representatives 1 2
APPROPRIATIONS by law 1 9
for army not to exceed two years 1 8
ARMIES, Congress to raise and support 1 8
ARMS, right of people to keep and bear (see page 136).
ARTS and sciences to be promoted 1 8
ASSEMBLE, people may (see page 136).
ATTAINDER, bill of, prohibited to Congress 1 9
prohibited to the States 1 10
of treason shall not work corruption of blood or forfeiture
except during the life of the person attained 3 3
B.
BAIL, excessive not required 3 3
BANKRUPTCY laws to be uniform 1 8
BILLS for raising revenue shall originate in the House
of Representatives 1 7
before they become laws shall be passed by both
houses and approved by the President, or if
disapproved, shall be passed by two-thirds of each
house 1 7
not returned in ten days, unless an adjournment intervenes,
shall be laws 1 7
BORROW money, Congress may 1 8
C.
CAPITATION tax, apportionment of 1 9
CENSUS, or enumeration, to be made every ten years 1 2
CITIZENS of each State shall be entitled to the privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several States 4 2
who are (14th amendment, sec. 1, p. 138).
CLAIMS, no prejudice to certain 4 3
of the United States, or of the several States, not to be
prejudiced by any construction of the Constitution 4 3
COASTING trade, regulations respecting 1 9
COINS, Congress to fix value of foreign 1 8
COMMERCE, Congress to regulate 1 8
regulations respecting to be equal and uniform 1 9
COMMISSIONS to be granted by the President 2 3
COMMON LAW recognized and established (7th amendment,
page 137).
CONGRESS vested with power 1 1
may alter the regulations of State Legislatures
concerning elections of Senators and Representatives,
except as to place of choosing Senators 1 4
shall assemble once every year 1 4
officers of government cannot be members of 1 6
may provide for cases of removal, death, etc., of President
and Vice-President 2 1
may determine the time of choosing electors of President
and Vice-President 2 1
may invest the appointment of inferior officers in the
President alone, in the courts of law, or the heads
of departments 2 2
may establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court 3 1
may declare the punishment of treason 3 3
may prescribe the manner of proving the acts and records of
each State 4 1
to assent to the formation of new states 4 3
may propose amendments to the Constitution or call a
convention 5 1
to lay and collect duties 1 8
to borrow money 1 8
to regulate commerce 1 8
to establish uniform laws of bankruptcy and naturalization 1 8
to coin money, to regulate the value of coin, and fix a
standard of weights and measures 1 8
to punish counterfeiting 1 8
to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court 1 8
to define and punish piracies, felonies on the high seas,
and offenses against the laws of nations 1 8
to establish post-offices and post-roads 1 8
to authorize patents to authors and inventors 1 8
to declare war, grant letters of marque, and make rules
concerning captures 1 8
to raise and support armies 1 8
to provide and maintain a navy 1 8
to make rules for the government of the army and navy 1 8
to call out the militia in certain cases 1 8
to organize, arm and discipline militia 1 8
to exercise exclusive legislation over seat of government 1 8
to pass laws necessary to carry the enumerated powers into
effect 1 8
to dispose of, and make rules concerning, the territory or
other property of the United States 4 3
President may convene and adjourn in certain cases 2 3
Constitution, how amended 5 1
laws and treaties declared to be the supreme law 6 1
rendered operative by the ratification of nine States 7 1
CONTRACT, no law impairing 1 10
CONVENTIONS for proposing amendments to the Constitution 5 1
COUNTERFEITING, Congress to provide for the punishment of 1 8
COURT, Supreme, its original and appellate jurisdiction 3 2
COURTS, inferior to the Supreme Court, may be ordained by
Congress 1 8
do do 3 1
CRIMES, persons accused of fleeing from justice, may be
demanded 4 2
how to be tried 3 2
CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS, proceedings in cases of 3 2
D.
DEBTS, against the confederation to be valid 6 1
DUTIES to be laid by Congress, and to be uniform 1 8
further provisions respecting 1 9
cannot be laid by the States 1 10
on exports prohibited 1 9
on imports and exports imposed by States shall inure to
the treasury of the United States 1 1
E.
ELECTION of Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed
by the States 1 4
ELECTIONS, qualifications and returns of members of Congress
to be determined by each House 1 5
ELECTORS of President and Vice-President, how chosen, their
duties 2 1
altered (see 12th amendment, p. 137).
to vote the same day throughout the United States 2 1
no Senator or Representative, or public officer shall
serve as 2 1
ENUMERATION every ten years 1 2
EXECUTIVE power vested in the President. (See President). 2 1
EXPORTS not to be taxed 1 9
and imports, States prohibited from laying duties on 1 10
EX POST FACTO Law, none shall be passed 1 9
prohibited to States 1 10
F.
FINES, excessive, prohibited (8th amendment, p. 137).
FUGITIVES from justice to be delivered up 4 2
from service may be reclaimed 4 2
H.
HABEAS CORPUS, writ of, can only be suspended in cases of
rebellion or invasion 1 9
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. (See Representatives.)
I.
IMPEACHMENT to be brought by House of Representatives 1 2
tried by the Senate 1 3
judgment on 1 3
all civil officers liable to 2 4
IMPORTATION of slaves, not prohibited till 1808 1 9
J.
JUDGES shall hold their offices during good behavior 3 1
their compensation 3 1
JUDICIARY tribunals, inferior to Supreme Court, may be created 1 8
JUDICIAL power vested in Supreme Court and courts inferior 3 1
powers of the judiciary 3 2
restriction as to suit against a State (11th amendment,
page 137).
proceedings of each State are entitled to faith and credit
in every State 4 1
JURY trial secured, and shall be held in the State where the
crime shall have been committed 3
further regulated (6th amendment, p. 137).
secured in suits at common law where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars (7th
amendment, p. 137).
L.
LAW, what is declared the supreme 6 1
common, recognized and established (7th amendment, page 137).
LAWS, President to see them faithfully executed 2 3
LEGISLATIVE powers vested in Congress. (See Congress.)
LOANS, authority to make 1 8
M.
MARQUE and Reprisal, letters of 1 8
MILITIA to be called out 1 8
to be officered by the States 1 8
to be commanded by the President 2 2
their right to keep and bear arms secured (2d amendment,
p. 136).
MONEY shall be drawn from the treasury only by appropriation
laws 1 9
Congress to coin, and regulate value of 1 8
States cannot make 1 10
N.
NATURALIZATION, uniform rules of 1 8
NAVY, Congress to provide and govern 1 8
NOBILITY, titles of, shall not be granted by the United States 1 9
nor by the States 1 10
O.
OFFICERS, of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by
the House 1 2
of the Senate shall be chosen by the Senate 1 3
civil, may be removed by impeachment 2 4
ORDER of one house requiring the concurrence of the other 1 7
OATH of the President 2 1
of the public officers 6 1
P.
PARDONS, President may grant 2 2
PATENTS to be granted to inventors 1 8
PETITIONS, right of (1st amendment, p. 136).
PERSONS held to service or labor, their importation or
migration into the United States may be prohibited
after 1808 1 9
escaping from one State to another shall be delivered up
to those entitled to service 4
PIRACY, Congress to prescribe punishment for 1 8
POST-OFFICES and Post-roads, establishment of 1 8
POWERS not delegated to Congress nor prohibited to the States
are reserved (10th amendment, p. 137).
legislative. (See Congress.)
executive. (See President.)
judicial. (See Judicial.)
PRESENTS from foreign powers to public officers prohibited 1 9
PRESS, freedom of (1st amendment, p. 136).
PRESIDENT of the U. S. vested with the executive power 2 1
shall be chosen for four years 2 1
PRESIDENT of the U. S., how elected 2 1
same (12th amendment, p. 137).
qualifications for 2 1
who shall act in case of vacancy 2 2
compensation of 2 1
shall take an oath of office 2 1
may be removed by impeachment 2 4
commander of army, navy and militia 2 2
may require the written opinions of the heads of departments 2 2
may reprieve and pardon 2 2
may make treaties with consent of the Senate 2 2
may appoint to office with consent of the Senate 2 2
shall fill vacancies happening during the recess of the
Senate 2 2
shall give information to Congress and recommend measures 2 3
may convene both houses or either house 2 3
may adjourn them in case of disagreement 2 3
shall receive ambassadors and public ministers 2 3
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed 2 3
shall commission all officers 2 3
PRIVILEGES and immunities of members of Congress 1 6
of citizens. (See Citizens; also Rights.)
PROPERTY, Congress to provide for care of public 4 3
shall not be taken for public use without just compensation
(5th amendment, p. 136).
PUBLIC DEBT, not to be questioned (14th amendment, sec. 4,
page 139).
PUNISHMENT, cruel and unusual prohibited (8th amendment,
page 137).
Q.
QUORUM for business, what shall be 1 5
of States in choosing a President by House of Representatives 2 1
QUARTERED, no soldier to be quartered on a citizen (3rd
amendment, p. 136).
R.
RECEIPTS and expenditures, accounts of to be published 1 9
RECORDS, how to be authenticated 4 1
RELIGION, no law to be made, free exercise of (1st amendment,
p. 136).
RELIGIOUS test not required 6 --
REPRIEVES granted by the President 2 2
REPRESENTATIVES, House of, composed of members chosen every
second year 1 2
qualification of voters 1 2
qualification of members 1 2
apportionment of 1 2
REPRESENTATIVES, vacancies, how supplied 1 2
shall choose their officers 1 2
shall have power of impeachment 1 2
shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its
members 1 5
what shall be a quorum 1 5
any number may adjourn and compel the attendance of absentees 1 5
may determine the rules of proceeding 1 5
may punish or expel a member 1 5
shall keep a journal and publish the same 1 5
shall not adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
place, without the consent of the Senate 1 5
one-fifth may require the yeas and nays 1 5
shall originate bills for raising revenue 1 7
compensation to be ascertained by law 1 6
privileged from arrests, except in certain cases 1 6
shall not be questioned for speech or debate in the House 1 6
shall not be appointed to office 1 6
shall not serve as electors of President 2 1
and direct taxes apportioned according to numbers 1 2
how apportioned (14th amendment, sec. 2, p. 139).
REPRESENTATION of a State, vacancies in, supplied until a new
election by executive authority 1 2
RESOLUTION, order, or vote, requiring the concurrence of
both houses to undergo the formalities of bills 1 7
REVENUE bills to originate in the House of Representatives 1 7
RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN DECLARED TO BE--
privileges of citizens of the several States 4 2
liberty of conscience in matters of religion
(1st amendment, p. 136).
freedom of speech and of the press (1st amendment, page 136).
to assemble and petition (1st amendment, p. 136).
to keep and bear arms (2d amendment, p. 136).
to be secure from the quartering of soldiers (3d amendment,
p. 136).
to be exempt from unreasonable searches and seizures (4th
amendment, p. 136).
to be free from answering for a crime unless on presentment
or indictment of a jury (5th amendment, page 136).
not to be twice jeopardized for the same offence (5th
amendment, p. 136).
not to be compelled to be a witness against himself
(5th amendment, p. 136).
not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
course of law (5th amendment, p. 136).
private property not to be taken for public use (5th
amendment, p. 137).
RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN DECLARED TO BE--
in criminal prosecution shall enjoy the right of speedy trial
by jury, with all the means necessary for his defence
(6th amendment, p. 137).
in civil cases trial to be by jury, and shall only be
re-examined according to common law (6th amendment,
p. 137).
excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel nor unusual punishment inflicted
(8th amendment, p. 137).
enumeration of certain rights shall not operate against
retained rights (9th amendment, p. 137).
RULES, each house shall determine its own 1 8
S.
SEARCHES and SEIZURES, security against (4th amend., p. 136).
SEAT of government, exclusive legislation 1 5
SENATE, composed of two Senators from each State 1 3
how chosen, classed, and terms of service 1 3
SENATE, qualifications of Senators 1 3
Vice-President to be President of the 1 3
shall choose their officers 1 3
shall be the judge of the election and qualification of
its members 1 5
what number shall be a quorum 1 5
any number may adjourn and compel the attendance of absentees 1 5
may determine its rules 1 5
may punish or expel a member 1 5
shall keep a journal and publish the same, except parts
requiring secrecy 1 5
shall not adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
place, without the consent of the other House 1 5
one-fifth may require the Yeas and Nays 1 5
may propose amendments to bills for raising revenue 1 7
shall try impeachments 1 3
effect of their judgment on impeachment 1 3
compensation to be ascertained by law 1 6
privileged from arrest 1 6
not questioned for any speech or debate 1 6
shall not be appointed to office 1 6
SENATOR shall not be elector 2 1
SENATORS and Representatives, elections of, how prescribed 1 4
SLAVES, their importation may be prohibited after 1808 1 9
escaping from one State to another, may be reclaimed 4 2
SLAVERY and involuntary servitude abolished, except for
crime (13th amendment, p. 138).
SOLDIERS not quartered on citizens (3d amendment, p. 136).
SPEAKER, how chosen 1 2
SPEECH, freedom of (1st amendment, p. 136).
STATES, PROHIBITED FROM--
entering into a treaty, alliance, or confederation 1 10
granting letters of marque 1 10
coining money 1 10
emitting bills of credit 1 10
making anything a tender but gold and silver coin 1 10
passing bills of attainder, ex-post facto laws, or laws
impairing contracts 1 10
granting titles of nobility 1 10
laying duties on imports and exports 1 10
laying duties on tonnage 1 10
keeping troops or ships of war in time of peace 1 10
entering into any agreement or contract with another State
or foreign power 1 10
engaging in war 1 10
STATES, new, may be admitted into the Union 4 3
may be formed within the jurisdiction of others, or by the
junction of two or more, with the consent of Congress
and the Legislatures concerned 4 3
STATE JUDGES bound to consider treaties, the Constitution, and
laws under it, as supreme 6 --
STATE, every, guaranteed a Republican form of government,
protected by the United States 4 4
SUPREME COURT. (See Court and Judiciary.)
SUITS at Common Law, proceedings in (7th amend., p. 137).
T.
TAX, direct, according to representation 1 2
shall be laid only in proportion to census 1 9
TAX on exports prohibited 1 9
TENDER, what shall be legal 1 10
TERRITORY, or public property, Congress may make rules
concerning 4 3
TEST, religious, shall not be required 6 --
TITLES. (See Nobility.)
TITLE from foreign State prohibited 1 9
TREASON defined 3 3
TREASON, two witnesses or confession necessary for conviction 3 3
punishment of may be prescribed by Congress 3 3
TREASURY, money drawn from only by appropriation 1 9
TREATIES, how made 2 2
the supreme law 6 --
States cannot make 1 10
V.
VACANCIES happening during the recess may be filled
temporarily by the President 2 2
VACANCIES, in representation in Congress, how filled 1 2
VETO of the President, effect of and proceedings on 1 7
VICE-PRESIDENT of the United States to be President
of the Senate 1 3
how elected 2 1
amendment (see p. 137).
shall in certain cases discharge the duties of President 2 1
may be removed by impeachment 2 4
VOTE of one House requiring the concurrence of the other 1 7
right not to be denied on account of race (15th amendment,
p. 139).
W.
WAR, Congress to declare 1 8
WARRANTS for searches and seizures, when and how they shall
issue (4th amendment, p. 136).
WITNESS in criminal cases, no one compelled to be against
himself (5th amendment, p. 136).
WEIGHTS and Measures, standard of 1 8
Y.
YEAS and Nays entered on journal 1 5
INDEX TO
MANUAL OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE.
A. PAGE.
ABSENCE, not allowed without leave, 150
provision in case of, 150
ADDRESS, how presented, 152
ADHERE, question discussed, 196
effect of a vote to, 196
should be two conferences before vote to, 197
ADJOURNMENT, motion for cannot be amended, 203
rules and regulations in respect to, 203
a question is removed by, 186
of the session, all unfinished business fall, 204
of the session, modes and manner discussed, 204, 205
to be declared by the Speaker, 204
for more than three days by concurrent votes, 203
provision for disagreement respecting, 203
effect of, on business pending, 204
AMENDMENT TO BILLS--See also BILLS, 182
proceedings in relation to, 182
now to be reported, 170
fail on recommitment, 170
in the third degree not admissable, 179, 197
discussion of the nature and coherence of, 184
Speaker cannot refuse to receive because inconsistent, 182
may totally change the subject, 182
if House refuse to strike out a paragraph it cannot be amended, 183
a new bill may be engrafted on another, 182
mode of proceeding on amendments between the Houses, 196
made in Committee of the Whole, falls on reference, 172
proposed, inconsistent with one adopted may be put, 182
may be amended prior to adoption, but not after, 190
(proposed) by striking out, and lost, the paragraph proposed
to be stricken out cannot be amended, 183
not identical or equivalent to one lost, may be proposed, 183
by insertion, how far liable for further amendment, 183
APPORTIONMENT of representatives, table of, 148
APPROPRIATION, made by resolution, 165
ARREST, definition of privilege from, 141, 146
terminates with the session, 142
ASSAULTS AND AFFRAYS in the House, how settled, 161
AYES AND NOES, how questions are determined by, 191, 192
no member to vote if not present, 192
B.
BILLS, engrossed, must not be looked into, 158
to be fairly written, or Speaker may refuse them, 166
amendment fall, if recommitted, 170
a particular clause may be recommitted, 170
amendments, how proceeded with, 171
amendments fail if referred to committee, 172
proceedings on second reading, 173
time for attacking or opposing, 173
what constitutes possession, 182
one bill may be engrafted on another, 182
one House may pass with blanks and be filled in the other, 183
on third reading, forms observed, 188
on third reading, may be committed, 189
on third reading, amended by riders, 189
on third reading, blanks filled, 189
cannot be altered after passage, 190
new, concerning their introduction, 166
to receive three readings, etc., 165
how brought in on notice and leave, 166
forms in introducing, 166
not amended at first reading, 166
proceedings on the second reading, 166
how and to whom committed, 167
shall be read twice before commitment, 167
not to be referred to avowed opponents, 167
referred, may be delivered to any of the committee, 167
amendments between the Houses, mode of proceedings, 196, 197
by whom to be taken from House to House, 200
may be specially commended to notice of other House, 200
rejected, course to be pursued, 200
if one House neglects a bill, the other may remind of it, 200
how to be enrolled, signed, and presented to the President, 201
amendments cannot be receded from or insisted on, by the
amending House, with a further amendment, 196
amendment to an amendment has precedence over a motion
to agree or disagree, 196
amendments to amendments, how far admissable, 197
proceedings upon in Committee of the Whole, etc., 171
titles, when made, 193
reconsideration, when and how the question may be moved, 194, 195
reconsideration, effect of a vote for, 194
(rejected) relating to their being brought in during the
same session, 194
BILLS, originating in one House, rejected in the other, may
be renewed in the rejecting House, 195
expedient for remedying omissions in, 195
mode of proceeding, when founded on facts requiring an
explanation, 195
effect of a vote to insist or adhere, 196
conference upon, at what stages, and by whom asked, 197, 198
papers relating to, to be left with the conferees of the
House acceding to the conference, 199
enrolling, 201
proceeding when disapproved, 201
not returned in ten days, to be laws, unless an adjournment
intervene, 201
BLANKS, longest time, largest sum first put, 184
bill may be passed with, and filled in other House, 185
may be filled in engrossed bills, 189
construction of the rule of filling, 184
BREACH OF PEACE, mode of proceeding on charge of, 146
BRIBERY (Randall & Witney’s case) breach of privilege, 143
BUSINESS, order of in Senate, 187
a settled order in its arrangement useful, 186
C.
CALL OF THE HOUSE, proceedings in case of, 150
CHALLENGE, breach of privilege, 141
CHAIRMAN, of committee elected, 152
of Committee of the Whole, may be elected, 153
CHANGE OF VOTE, right to, 192
CLERK, puts the question before election of Speaker, 151
to read standing, 173
numbers the sections, 185
may correct his errors, 200
COMMITTEE, cannot inquire concerning their members, 152
must not sit when the House is in session, 152
may elect chairman, 152
manner of proceeding in, 152
members of the House may be present at their sittings, 168
cannot reconsider or alter their own votes, 169
how they report amendments, 170
cannot sit in recess after Congress has expired, 204
a member elect, though not returned, may be appointed on, 145
standing, 152
forms and proceedings in, 152, 168
COMMITTEE, joint, how they act, 153
who shall compose, 167
how appointed in Senate, 167
time and place of meeting, 167
majority of to constitute a quorum, 168
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, great matters usually referred to, 153
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, their power over a bill, 168
have entire control over a report committed, 171
dissolved by a report, 154
how revived, 155
may be discharged from instructions, 195
when they may sit during recess, 201
effect of a reference to, when a bill has been amended in
Committee of the Whole, 172
may elect their chairman, 152
Speaker may resume chair if in great disorder, 154
manner of doing business, in Senate, 171
proceedings in, 153, 171
irregularly dissolved, 154
cannot adjourn, 154
report proceedings, 171
subjects which have passed through may be referred to
special committee, 172
particulars which attach to, 172
COMMUNICATIONS, confidential, to be kept secret, 205
COMMON FAME, a ground for proceeding, 155
CONFERENCES, common to have two before vote to adhere, 196
cannot alter anything upon which the House have agreed, 189
discussions of the nature and occasion of, 189
report of, cannot be amended or altered, 189
papers left with conferees of House agreeing to, 199
when, by which House, and what stages to be asked, 198
CO-EXISTING QUESTIONS, discussed, 180
COUNSEL, may be heard on private bills and law points, 156
COUNT OF THE HOUSE, may be called, 190
(See DIVISION OF THE HOUSE.)
COVERED, when members are not to be, 182
D.
DEBATE, no one to speak impertinently, superfluously or tediously, 159
not cut off till both sides of the question are put, 186
forms and proprieties to be observed, 158
the Speaker not allowed to engage in, except on points of order, 159
proceedings of the House not to be censured, 159
personalities to be prohibited, 160
motives not to be arraigned, 160
violation of order in, to be suppressed by the Speaker, 160
disorderly words not noticed until the member has finished, 161
DEBATE, disorderly words, when taken down, 161
proceedings of the House not to be noticed in, 159
members concerned or implicated by the subject of, ought to
withdraw, 162
DECORUM, points. (See DEBATE.), 158
DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS, breach of privilege, 143
DISORDER in Committee of the Whole, Speaker to resume the
chair, if great, 154
DISORDER, members creating, proceedings, 160
DISORDERLY WORDS, how and when taken down, 161
DIVISION of the House, practice in ascertaining, 190
of questions discussed, 185
DOORS, rule respecting their being closed, 163
ought not to be shut, to be kept by persons appointed, 163
DUEL, challenge to, breach of privilege, 141
E.
ELECTIONS, time, place, and manner of holding, 146
of members to be judged by each House, 147
ENGROSSED BILLS, not to be looked into, 158
ERRORS, cannot be corrected in Committee of the Whole, 153
various modes of correcting, 153
clerk may correct his own, 200
EQUIVALENT QUESTIONS, discussed, 187
F.
FELONY, mode of proceeding on charge of, 145
G.
GALLERY, clearing of, 163
Committee of the Whole cannot punish for disorder in, 172
H.
HATS, when to be taken off, 162
HOUSE, division of, how ascertained, 192, 193
of Representatives. (See REPRESENTATIVES.)
I.
IMPEACHMENT, sketch of the law respecting, 208
INQUIRY, or accusation, common fame a ground for, 155
INSIST, questions discussed, 187
effect of vote to, 188
J.
JOURNAL, shall be kept by each House, 202
of each House to be published, 202
shall show every vote, 202
to contain a brief statement of every petition, paper,
etc., presented, 202
titles of bills and parts affected by amendments to be
inserted on, 202
what question to be entered on, 202
a record in law, 203
subject to examination, 203
JOURNAL, directions as to making up, 202
either House may notice and inspect journal of the other, 203
how it may be amended, 203
K.
KING, not to be spoken of irreverently, etc., 162
L.
LARGEST SUM, question first put, 179
LIE ON THE TABLE, call up any time matters that, 176
LONGEST TIME, question first put, 179
M.
MAJORITY, decides on general questions, 193
MEMBERS and officers of one House not amenable to the other, 162
must vote when the question is put, 192
not to vote unless present when the question is put, 192
MEMORIAL. (See PETITION.)
MESSAGES, cannot be received in committee, 199, 200
nature of, 200
Executive to be made to both Houses at the same time, 201
to be received, 199
forms in receiving, 200
errors in delivery may be corrected, 200
bills not acted on the subject of, 200
MINORITY, protected by adherence to rules, 140
MISTAKES. (See ERRORS.)
MOTION, not to be put or debated until seconded, 164
to be put in writing if desired, 165
to be read for information, 163
to adjourn not in order when a member has the floor, 165
privilege, what shall be, 175
removed from before House by adjournment, etc., 176
(See QUESTIONS.)
N.
NEWSPAPER PUBLICATIONS, breach of privilege, 143
O.
OFFICERS, of either House, forms of nomination or election, 151
of one House not amenable to the other, 162
ONSLOW, MR., his opinion of importance of rules, 140
ORDER, violated by Speaker, by not putting question, 145
“instances make” order, 158
respecting papers. (See PAPERS), 158
in debate. (See DEBATE), 158
Questions of may be adjourned, 163
decisions of Speaker, on points of, may be controlled, 163
a member may insist on the execution of a subsisting, 163
Committee of the Whole cannot punish breach of, 172
ORDER, if points arise while question is putting, Speaker to
decide promptly, 193
of business, propriety of, 156
for the Senate, 156
of the day, how and when to be called up, 163
of the day, may be discharged at any time, 163
cannot be moved while member is speaking, 165
take precedence on all questions, 165
of the House, determined with the session, 164
question of, to supercede a question depending, 179
and resolution, distinction between, 165
special, rule upon the subject of, 176
OPPOSITION TO BILLS, proper time to make, 173, 190
P.
PAPERS AND JOURNALS, not to be removed from the clerk’s table, 158
rules respecting their preservation, 158
reading of, how far they may be called for, 174
referred, usually read by title, 174
to be left with conferees of the House, according to conference 199
PARLIAMENT, each House may adjourn independently of the other, 203
PETITION AND REMONSTRANCE, distinction, 164
to be presented by a member, its form, etc., 164
to be subscribed or written by petitioner, 164
must go to committee through the House, 152
question as to receiving, 164
POSTPONE indefinitely, effect of a question to, 176
beyond session, effect of, 176
PREAMBLE, last considered, 169
PRESIDENT of the Senate, provided by the Constitution, 151
may appoint chairman, 151
_pro tem._, to be chosen in the absence of the Vice-President, 151
at what time his office shall determine, 151
of the United States, forms in presenting bills to, 201
PREVIOUS QUESTION, its intention and effect, 180
can an amendment be moved to P. Q., 179
cannot be put in committee, 179
effect of, 176, 177
discussed, 176, 177
PRIORITY AND PRECEDENCE, OF MOTIONS, discussions of, 175, 178
PRIVILEGE of Parliament has gradually increased, 141
of Members of Parliament, 141, 148
of Senators and Representatives, 142
of Senators, constructive extent, 142
of the two Houses, cases of the alleged breach of, 143
of Members, commence by virtue of election, 145
of Members, must be ascertained at the peril of the party
violating, 145
of Members, the privilege of the House, 145
PRIVILEGE, a Member cannot waive breach of, 145
is violated by Speaker not putting a question which is in order, 145
of one House in relation to the other, or in relation to a
co-ordinate branch of the Government, 146
breach of, party summoned or sent for, 141
breach of, by Members, punishable by House only, 146
breach of, by King or executive, 146
Member of one House cannot be summoned by the other, 156
neither House can exercise authority over members or officers
of the other, 162
of a Member, where he is charged or interested, etc., 162
questions of, take precedence of all, 175
PRIVILEGED QUESTIONS. (See QUESTIONS.)
Q.
QUALIFICATION of Senators, 147
QUARREL, in committee must be settled in House, 161
Members must declare they will not prosecute, 161
question of privilege arising from, has precedence, 175
QUESTIONS, general rule for putting, 175
the propriety of certain, considered, 175, 176
removed from before the House by adjournment, 186
may be debated between the count of affirmative and
negative 186, 188
manner of putting, 188
must not speak or move about while putting, 193
must decide peremptorily if any difficulty arise, 193
one House cannot question the other, 200
QUESTIONS, PRIVILEGED, what shall be, 175
in filling blanks, 179
in reference to committees, 179
in amending amendments, and agree or disagree, 196
motions to amend have precedence over motions to strike out, 184
QUESTIONS OF ORDER (incidental), how far it shall supercede any
other, 180
QUESTIONS, DIVISION OF, how made, 185
what are divisible, 186
when divided, each point open to debate and amendment, 186
QUESTIONS, CO-EXISTING, what suspends, and what removes from
the House an existing question, 186, 187
QUESTIONS, EQUIVALENT, what is considered, 187
determined by ayes and noes, 192
to be resumed in status quo, when suspended by the want of
a quorum, 165
QUESTION, PREVIOUS. (See PREVIOUS QUESTION.)
QUORUM, only shall do business, 149
what number shall be a, 149
how attendance of, may be compelled, 149
QUORUM, any member may desire a count for the purpose of
ascertaining, 149
not present suspend the question, 149
R.
RANDALL AND WHITNEY, reference to case, breach of privilege, 143
READING OF PAPERS, right to require, 174
question on, first put, 180
READING A SPEECH, is not a right, 174
READING A REPORT of one House not of right in other House, 174
RECEDE, questions discussed, 196
effect of a vote to, 196
RECOMMITMENT, effect of, 170, 194
RECONSIDERATION of bills, orders, instructions, etc., 194
questions requiring two-thirds, by whom may be moved, 194
REMONSTRANCE AND PETITION, distinction, 164
REPORT of Committee, how to proceed in House, 170
of one House not to be read in the other, 174
REPRESENTATIVES, apportionment of, since 1787, 148
qualifications of, 147
REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, of whom composed, 147
shall choose their Speaker and other officers, 151
powers of in reference to rules and conduct of its members, 158
RESOLUTION AND ORDER, distinction, 165
to pay money, in order, 165
when to be presented for approval, 202
RIDERS, amend engrossed bills by, 189
RULES and orders of each House, to what cases they shall apply, 156
S.
SECTIONS, numbered by the Clerk, 185
SENATE, of whom composed and how classed, 147
the Vice-President to be the President, 151
shall choose their officers, etc., 151
power of, in relation to rules and the conduct of members, 158
equal division, determined by vote of the Vice-President, 193
adjournment of (see ADJOURNMENT), 203
session of, what constitutes, 205
SESSION, what constitutes, 204, 205
SPEAKER, manner of choosing, 151
absence of, from sickness, another chosen, 151
violates order by not putting question, 145
Clerk puts question, before election of, 151
may be removed at will of House, 152
not to speak unless to order, 159
reads sitting, rises to put question, 173
cannot refuse an amendment, inconsistent, 182
SPEAKER to decide points of order that arise in putting
questions, promptly, may ask advice of old members, 193
SPECIAL ORDERS. (See ORDERS.)
SPEECH, cannot read of right, 174
STRIKE OUT, paragraph may be perfected before question to, 183
STRIKE OUT AND INSERT, discussed, 183, 184
SUM, largest first put, 179
T.
TELLERS, to count sides of questions, 191
their errors rectified, 191
TIME, longest first put, 179
TITLE, on the back, 193
when to be made or amended, 193
TRANSPOSING of sections, rules respecting, 185
TREASON, mode of proceeding on charge of, 145
TREATIES, may be made by the President and Senate, 205
shall be kept secret until injunction removed, 205
are legislative acts, 205
extent of power to make, 206
may be rescinded by an act of the Legislature, 206
paper to be communicated with, 207
ratified by nominal call, 207
read for information the day received, 207
read for consideration on subsequent day, 207
proceedings upon, 207
reconsideration of votes upon, may be moved by one of the
side prevailing, 207
V.
VOTE, every member must, 192
must not vote if not present, 192
change of, 193
W.
WARM WORDS, or quarrel, adjustment of, 161
WHITNEY AND RANDALL, bribery case, reference to, 143
WITHDRAW, members cannot when question is putting, 192
motions, rule of Parliament, 179
WITNESSES, how summoned, examined, etc., 155
Y.
YEAS AND NAYS, may be required by one-fifth, 192
to be taken alphabetically, 192
all present shall vote unless excused, 192
when called and decision announced, no member allowed to vote, 192
how questions are determined by, 192
no member to vote unless present, 192
HISTORY OF COLORADO.
CHAPTER I.
On April 3d of the year 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of
France, for the sum of $16,000,000, ceded to the United States, then
under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, all that vast territory
entitled the Province of Louisiana. The province extended from the
possessions of New Spain on the south, to the boundary line of the
British possessions on the north, and had the magnificent Mississippi
river on the one side, and the great Pacific Ocean on the other. At the
close of the Mexican war, in 1848, by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
for the sum of $15,000,000, all New Mexico and Upper California--a
region extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and containing
about 500,000 square miles--was ceded to the United States. This immense
domain, thus acquired by purchase from France and Mexico, has been
occupied by an intelligent and enterprising population, and divided into
states and territories, each an empire in its dimensions, and has been
cultivated, developed, and embellished by all the arts and inventions of
the most progressed civilization. One portion of this domain is
Colorado, destined by her position, resources and climate to enjoy an
immortal precedence among the States of our great Republic.
Before the year 1858 very little was known of Colorado. It is recorded,
with some apparent truth, that a large force of Spaniards and Indian
allies, led by Coronado, a Spanish military captain, having for their
object the discovery of gold, had, about the middle of the sixteenth
century, penetrated to this section of the Rocky Mountains. The
expedition, after incredible hardships, returned without the golden
treasures, for which they had ventured so far and suffered so much.
Soon after the transfer of the Louisiana province, and the establishment
of the United States authority therein, it was determined at Washington
to ascertain the nature of the country, the sources of its large rivers
and the general character of the climate. Accordingly, in the summer of
1806, a small expedition was equipped, and dispatched under the command
of Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, who, for his skillful services, was, on
his return, promoted to the rank of major. On the 15th of November,
Major Pike and his small company beheld the prominent and stately
mountain which, in honor of the commander, was named Pike’s Peak. Major
Pike, in his diary, thus refers to this peak: “This mountain was so
remarkable as to be known to all the savage nations for hundreds of
miles around, and to be spoken of with admiration by the Spaniards of
New Mexico, and was the bounds of their travels north-west.” Directing
his march with the course of the mountains, Major Pike continued his
explorations. Failing to discover the object of his search--the source
of the Red River--he retraced his steps, and proceeded in a
south-westerly direction. Determined to find the head-waters of that
important stream, and unconquered by the fearful severities of winter in
the midst of the mountains, the little party of explorers pursued their
way. Their discoveries were, however, brought to a close by an untoward
event--the capture of the whole party by the Spaniards, who held a
military post in the San Juan country. This arrest would hardly have
occurred had the boundaries between New Spain and Louisiana been
definitely known.
In the year 1819 another and larger expedition was prepared, and ordered
to explore this section of the Rocky Mountains. The party engaged in
this enterprise had advanced a considerable distance into the Indian
country without molestation, when its further progress was checked by
the loss of their horses, which had been stolen by the Pawnee Indians.
This mischance detained the expedition for a whole year. In June, 1820,
Col. S. H. Long, the commander, all losses having been repaired, resumed
his march. Early in the summer they reached the South Platte, and
followed its course until the mountains came in sight. The massive giant
peak, which stood out boldly and grandly before them, was, in honor of
Col. Long, called Long’s Peak. Col. Long made a careful examination of
the mountains from Long’s Peak to Pike’s Peak, and of the plains lying
along their base.
A very full exploration of the Rocky Mountains was made, in 1832, by
Captain Bonneville, who commanded a party fitted out by the American Fur
Company.
The most effective expedition hitherto equipped by the Government, for
purposes of exploration, was commanded by Col. Fremont, and set out in
1842. Upon his arrival at the South Platte, he sent the larger portion
of his force to Fort Laramie, a post of the American Fur Company. With
the rest of his command he advanced to Fort St. Vrain, an Indian trading
post, situated seventeen miles east from Long’s Peak, and one hundred
miles north from Pike’s Peak. From this point he journeyed northward,
exploring the country beyond the limits of Colorado.
Another band of explorers, conducted by Col. Fremont, camped at Fort St.
Vrain in July, 1843. This party made accurate surveys of the regions
known as north and south of the Divide--an elevated ridge, separating
the Arkansas and Platte valleys; crossed and re-crossed the range,
ascertained many valuable facts, and mapped out the main geographical
features of Colorado. But, so far, none of these explorers, nor any of
the white inhabitants, mostly occupied in trading, trapping and hunting,
had made any discovery of the vast mineral wealth now known to exist in
this portion of the Sierra Madre mountains.
As the limits of Kansas formerly embraced a large part of what now
constitutes Colorado, a brief summary of the early history of Kansas is
essential. The territory of Kansas was organized on the thirtieth day of
May, 1854. Then began her pupilage under the guardianship of Congress.
In theory, the relation of a territory to the national government is
that of a child to its parent. It is supposed to be under discipline and
training, by which it will, in due time, be fitted to discharge the high
and important duties incident to statehood. Kansas, it seems, was an
unruly ward, and caused much trouble and anxiety to her guardian. In the
Organic Act of the territory it was prescribed that the Constitution and
all the laws of the United States should be in full force and effect,
except the Missouri Compromise Act of 1820, which was declared to be
inoperative and void in that territory. The Missouri Compromise, thus
partially rescinded, opened the way for a pro-slavery and an
anti-slavery agitation. Anti-slavery colonies from New England, and
pro-slavery colonies from the Southern States, came to settle in the new
territory of Kansas. Confusion, riot, and bloodshed soon followed. This
unhappy state of affairs continued until the adoption of a State
constitution prohibiting slavery. This important event occurred December
6th, 1859. From that time peace and order reigned. On January 29th,
1861, an Act for the admission of Kansas into the Union as a state,
passed both Houses of Congress. On February 26th, 1861, Congress divided
the new state, and organized the western portion into a territory
bearing the name of Colorado.
We have seen that Kansas became a territory in 1854. From that year
until 1858 no one authorized to represent the territory of Kansas
appeared within the present limits of Colorado. The inhabitants before
this time, beside the employees of the American Fur Company and a few
independent trappers, hunters, and Indian traders, consisted of a
scattered population of Pueblos and Mexicans, mostly engaged in stock
raising in the vicinity of the Raton Mountains, and the roving tribes of
savages. The Indian traders, among whom were Lieutenant Lupton and Vigil
St. Vrain in the north, and Colonels Boone and Bent in the south, had
erected small forts to shield them from the savages. The junction of the
Fontaine qui Bouille with the Arkansas was a favorite winter rendezvous
for the trappers and hunters, among whom was the famous Kit Carson. In
1854, the Ute Indians massacred, in one night, all who had assembled at
this resort. Hitherto the protection of Kansas power and law had never
been invoked, nor had the needs of the scanty and motley population
occupied the attention of the Kansas government. In 1852 a party of
Cherokee Indians, on their way from Georgia to California, discovered
gold on the banks of a small stream tributary to the South Platte. On
their return journey they showed the gold and reported the place of
discovery. Exciting rumors of gold found in large quantities in the
Rocky Mountains, inflamed thousands with the desire to reach and possess
the open treasures. The first train of prospectors, led by W. Green
Russell, Esq., started from Georgia. As they passed through Missouri and
Kansas, the gold fever influenced many to leave home and competency for
the distant plains and mountains teeming with riches. The Georgians took
up their position where Denver now stands, and thoroughly prospected
Cherry Creek from its mouth to its source, but as their labors were
poorly rewarded, they gave the Platte, of which Cherry Creek is a
tributary, a fair trial for six or seven miles south. Much disappointed,
they set out for the North Platte and Green River regions, but faring
worse, returned to their first location, and were made happy by larger
returns for their labor. The first Kansas party built their camp fires
near the present site of Pueblo. As the news of gold discoveries sped
across the continent, a strong tide of emigration set in to the Pike’s
Peak country. Strings of wagons and troops of men, in constant
succession, kept crossing the great plains, anxious as they toiled on,
to catch a glimpse of the blue outlines of the mountains, where fortune
stood waiting to enrich the hardy adventurers. From all parts, and
embracing all characters, poured in the earnest crowd, all animated by a
common hope of attaining sudden wealth.
J. W. Denver, after whom Denver, the present capital of Colorado, was
called, was then governor of Kansas territory. But neither he, nor his
successor Medary, nor even Robinson, elected State governor December
6th, 1859, could give scarcely any attention to occurrences in the
distant Pike’s Peak gold regions. Their thoughts and time were almost
entirely engrossed by political events at home.
On the banks of the Platte, near the present Younker ranch, some of the
Kansas company, who had camped on the Arkansas, with others, began to
erect a number of log cabins. These were soon completed, and the name of
Montana City was applied to the settlement. In these cabins a large
party of prospectors spent the winter. On the 24th of September, a party
of nine selected the east side of Cherry Creek, near its mouth, for a
town site, and agreed to lay out 640 acres for that purpose. The
peculiar and pious name of St. Charles was given to it, but no steps
were taken to survey and plot the town or put up buildings, unless a few
logs crossed together, with an old wagon cover for a roof, might be
designated a house. Another company chose the west side of Cherry Creek
for a town site, and in the latter part of October proceeded to
construct some log cabins. These, and a number of others used as stores,
were built, and the town called Auraria, from a small mining town in
Georgia. The prospects of this new enterprise soon became encouraging,
while Montana City in time lost its inhabitants, and its tenements went
to ruin. A town company, composed mainly of Kansas citizens, on November
17th, 1858, took possession of the deserted St. Charles town site. Steps
for the erection of cabins were immediately taken in order to secure the
right of pre-emption. By New Year’s Day Denver had twenty and Auraria
forty cabins. Up to this time the settlements contained only three white
women. In the fall of 1859, a warm rivalry existed between Auraria and
Denver. This was manifested in every issue, and continued until the
consolidation of Denver and Auraria in 1860. The first inhabitants of
Boulder came to that section October 17, 1858. In the summer of 1859
settlements were made in South Park. In the autumn months of 1859
Mountain City, Boulder, Russellville, Colorado City, Golden and Arapahoe
became large settlements.
As the population increased, protection of life and property was felt as
the special need. Animated, therefore, by a common desire to establish
security, prevent and punish crime, the new settlers called a public
meeting. The meeting was held November 6, 1858, in the settlement of
Auraria, containing at that time about 200 inhabitants. The assembly,
though composed of immigrants from different states, acted as citizens
of Kansas territory. Out of the Pike’s Peak country, as that part of the
Rocky Mountains, and the plains around their base, were called, they
formed a county, defined its limits, and named it Arapahoe, from a
neighboring tribe of Indians. They also declared Auraria to be the
county seat. They then proceeded to elect a delegate to Congress and a
representative to the Kansas Legislature. H. J. Graham was chosen
delegate, and A. J. Smith representative. This action of the assembly
manifested a rare spirit of enterprise in politics. They declare a
district of Kansas to be a county, and depute one of their number to the
legislature with credentials of his election, and petitions that the
county be established, and their representative be received. At the same
time a delegate is dispatched to Congress with instructions to have the
county converted into a territory. The delegate of _Kansas_ Territory
would be duly recognized and admitted to a seat in Congress. But to the
delegate of Arapahoe county no such recognition or position would be
tendered. His labors would be confined to the advocacy of the petitions
and claims of the people he represented before committees, or with
individual members of the House or Senate. Nevertheless, Mr. Graham
hurried to Washington, impelled by the delusive hope that his mission
would be successful, and that he would enjoy the honors and emoluments
of territorial delegate. The people of Arapahoe county were 700 miles
distant from Leavenworth, the capital of Kansas, without railroads or
telegraphs, and with immense uninhabited plains lying between them and
the territorial authorities. They, therefore, naturally desired to have
the territory of Kansas divided, and the western part organized into a
new territory. This arrangement, if consummated, would place the country
on a stable footing. Peace and order would be maintained, the general
prosperity promoted, while Congress and the nation would be directly
acquainted with the growth, prospects and necessities of the country.
Mr. Graham exerted himself to prevail on Congress to respect the
petition of his constituents, but his efforts proved unsuccessful. Their
representative, A. J. Smith, succeeded in his mission, had Arapahoe
county confirmed, but was not admitted as a member of the Kansas
legislature.
During the winter of 1858 the population was only slightly increased.
The settlements were governed by local laws, devised and adopted by the
people, and these laws were executed by a Probate judge and other
officers, of the people’s appointment. The first election of Arapahoe
county officers, under Kansas laws, was held March 28, 1859. Over 700
votes were polled, of which 231 were credited to Auraria and 144 to
Denver. The spring months brought a great increase to the mining
population. From authentic sources it has been computed that, during the
summer, the Pike’s Peak gold regions contained 20,000 souls. An
established and accessible government became indispensable. The subject
pressed itself more and more urgently on the public mind. Their first
attempt, in 1858, to impress Congress favorably with the necessities of
their situation, had proved abortive. But a profound sense of their
needs moved them to renew their efforts to prevail on Congress to
consummate a partition of the territory of Kansas, and to establish a
separate government in this distant but populous region. A mass meeting
was called, to convene in Auraria, April 11th, 1859. In the resolutions
adopted, it was expressed as the unanimous sentiment of the meeting,
that a separate and distinct government was not only important but
necessary. By these resolutions, also, the several precincts of Arapahoe
county were requested to choose delegates, to meet in joint convention
on the fourth day after the meeting, April 15th, to consider the
question of organizing a new state or territory. On the day appointed
the delegates met. In order to save time and determine quickly, they
pursued an eminently judicious course. They resolved on one subject of
debate, and only one: “The formation of a new and independent state of
the Union.” It must be remembered that Kansas, at this time, was only a
territory, though pressing her claims for recognition and admission as a
State. Thus early, and prematurely, as facts subsequently proved, did
the people, who crowded into this new country, seek for the honors and
privileges of statehood. While these delegates were in session, or
shortly after, the _Rocky Mountain News_, the pioneer journal of
Colorado, issued its first edition, April 23d, 1859. This Auraria
convention, as a summing up of their labors, ordered a general election
of delegates on the second Monday in May, to meet on the first Monday in
June. At the time designated fifty delegates assembled. As in the April
convention, only one subject, it seems, engaged their deliberations--the
attainment of statehood. The work of drafting a constitution was
entrusted to eight committees, in order to economize time and secure a
complete instrument. The committees were requested to report, and submit
their labors to a fuller convention, which was enjoined to meet on the
first Monday in August. In the interval the several committees prepared
their work. When the convention, which consisted of one hundred and
sixty-seven delegates, met, the committees presented their reports. A
constitution was completed, and arrangements made for its acceptance or
rejection by the votes of the people. Though some members of the
convention were sanguine of success, the majority thought that the
result would be adverse, and sought to provide against such a
contingency. The day set for voting on the constitution and movement for
a state, was the first Monday in September. The convention therefore
resolved that should the constitution be rejected, a delegate to
Congress should be elected on the first Monday in October. The delegate
would represent Jefferson Territory--the name given by the convention to
Arapahoe county, or Pike’s Peak gold regions. On September 4th the votes
far or against the constitution were cast, and resulted in 2,007
against, and 649 for, that instrument. A short time (about ten days)
before the October election, it was proposed, at a mass meeting held in
Auraria, that on the day a delegate to Congress was elected, delegates
should be chosen to form a Provisional Territorial Government. The
proposition was adopted. Accordingly, on the first Monday in October
this double election took place.
The governor of Kansas, in 1859, had issued a proclamation that Arapahoe
county be established, and that a representative be elected. The
Arapahoe county election for Kansas officials was therefore also held.
Captain Richard Sopris was elected representative, and was the first
member from Arapahoe county admitted to a seat in the Kansas
legislature. An event, worthy of relation, is the arrival of the
Leavenworth and Pike’s Peak express, May 17th, 1859. This assured direct
communication with the capital of Kansas, and thence with all the
States. It was a day of congratulations, and one to be remembered.
Another noticeable matter of record is the visit of Horace Greeley,
editor of the _N. Y. Tribune_, who witnessed, with extraordinary
interest the operations of gold mining. A letter, to which he attached
his own signature, was published June 6th, 1859. This letter set forth
in strong language the large returns of the mines and placer diggings.
As a consequence, another immigration that fall largely increased the
population.
At the October election above mentioned, B. D. Williams was chosen
delegate to Congress. He was the exponent of the August convention, and
entrusted with the mission to memorialize Congress to separate the
Pike’s Peak region from Kansas, and organize it into a territory under
the name of Jefferson. The other delegates chosen were instructed to
form a Provisional Government. Eighty-six delegates met in convention.
They entered upon their duties with great earnestness. A new
constitution, called the “Organic Act of the Territory of Jefferson,”
was framed and adopted. Other important measures received their
approval. The territory was divided into legislative districts. A full
state ticket was nominated, and an election ordered for the fourth
Monday of October, the same month in which they had been elected, had
convened, had acted. The election took place; 2,000 votes were cast in
twenty-seven precincts. The Provisional Government was adopted, a full
corps of legislators chosen, and, indeed, all but one of the entire
ticket elected. The purpose of the parties who had determined on a
Provisional Government ran swift to its fulfillment. The legislature
thus suddenly and questionably brought into existence, met and began
their session. The message of the governor, R. W. Steele, was received
with the usual formalities, and the session was passed in diligent
legislative labors. Many general and special laws were enacted; nine
counties were organized; a poll-tax of one dollar was imposed, and a
committee appointed to report full civil and criminal codes to an
adjourned session, January 23d, 1860. In each of the nine newly
organized counties the governor appointed a Probate Judge, to hold
office until the regular county election on the first Monday in January,
1860. The legislature met pursuant to adjournment, and for the remainder
of the session devoted their attention to the report of the committee.
Full civil and criminal codes were finally adopted. An _imperium in
imperio_ was now fairly established. Right in the midst of the Kansas
Government stood the Provisional Government. The first resistance to the
authority of the latter, and protest against its legality, arose from
the Arapahoe county officials, who were elected according to Kansas
territorial law, and were, therefore, beyond a doubt, legal. Besides
this, a remonstrance against the per capita tax, signed by seven hundred
miners, was sent down from the mountains. In the valley, therefore, the
Kansas and the Provisional governments held divided sway; and in the
mountains the Miners’ Courts and the Provisional Government contended
for the mastery. Golden was the only settlement that wholly submitted to
the Provisional Government. In truth, the authority of the Kansas
officials was never fairly recognized, and they soon ceased to have even
a nominal existence.
From 1858 to some time in 1861, two kinds of courts existed in the
Pike’s Peak region, whose decisions were final. These were called the
People’s Courts and the Miners’ Courts. The People’s Courts were
improvised assemblies of the people, who convened to adjudicate criminal
cases, such as murders, homicides, and other felonies. They were usually
presided over by a probate judge or justice of the peace. The extreme
penalties were hanging, lashes on the bare back, and banishment. The
Miners’ Courts were differently organized. Pursuant to a general call,
all occupying a mining district met together. They fixed the limits of
their district, adopted a miners’ code, defined the duties of officers,
and elected them for the ensuing year. A president, judge, sheriff,
collector, surveyor, and recorder, who was _ex officio_ treasurer and
secretary of the district, composed the officers of the court, who were
all responsible to the superior tribunal, the Miners’ Meeting. These
courts settled all claims and offences in mining districts. When a case
was not settled in the courts, it was carried to the Miners’ Meeting.
There was no appeal from their decision. The courts organized under the
Provisional Government were respected by the people, and their decisions
accepted with general satisfaction. In Denver and some other places the
People’s Courts alone were recognized.
The year 1860 witnessed great activity in mining throughout the
mountains. April 3d, 1860, Denver and Auraria, by mutual agreement of
the citizens, were consolidated. During this year the celebrated
Consolidated Ditch, constructed for mining uses, was completed. In the
fall of 1860 Edward M. McCook was elected representative to the Kansas
legislature. It is certain that no bills were passed for the benefit of
his constituents, who formed a very small minority of the people, and it
is a matter of doubt whether he received more than his mileage. On New
Year’s Day, 1860, Denver had two hundred and Auraria four hundred
houses, with a combined settled population of one thousand. At the close
of 1860 it was estimated that sixty thousand people, chiefly transient,
were in the Pike’s Peak country, and the population in and around
Denver, four thousand.
The Pony Express, which started simultaneously from St. Joseph,
Missouri, and Sacramento, California, April 9th, 1860, and which was
conceived and made a success by the bold enterprise of W. H. Russell,
Esq., was an event of unusual consequence to the whole nation. Telegrams
from New York, by this conveyance, were delivered in San Francisco in
eight days and four hours, and letters from San Francisco reached St.
Joseph, Missouri, in eight days and nine hours. The great Pacific Mail
Steamship Company had, for about ten years, held the contract for the
transportation of the U. S. mails. This service realized a million
dollars annually. By this line the transit of the mails took
twenty-three days. But this achievement of the pony express, reducing
the time to eight days and nine hours, induced the government to change
the route for the Pacific mails. The contract was given to Butterfield,
who sub-contracted to W. H. Russell, through whom the Pike’s Peak gold
regions soon had ample mail facilities. On May 1st, 1860, began the
publication of the _Rocky Mountain Herald_, daily edition, whose racy
columns drew an encouraging patronage. In August, 1860, the first mail
service was extended to the mountains. During this year, considering the
number of lawless and reckless men congregated in this new country,
comparatively few crimes were committed. The criminals guilty of murder
were tried by a People’s Court, sentenced, and hanged. During the summer
months Denver was overrun by a crew of desperadoes and robbers, who, if
resisted, did not hesitate to use any violence. They assailed the office
of the Denver _News_, and forcibly, with intent to kill, abducted the
editor for his unsparing condemnation of their outrages. But the career
of one of them was ingloriously terminated, being shot down by the
citizens, and the fate of others speedily determined by the People’s
Courts. The rest hurried away to other parts, where justice did not
follow the offender so surely and so swiftly. In the mountains crimes,
at first frequent, soon almost disappeared, owing to the vigilance and
prompt action of the Miners’ Courts. At Washington the Congressional
delegate indefatigably pressed the petitions of the people, and urged
the necessity of immediately organising a territory. Thus 1860 passed.
The next year, so full of great events, brought the desired relief. On
the 26th of February, 1861, a bill passed Congress designating the
boundaries of the new territory of Colorado, which embraced portions of
Kansas, Nebraska, and Utah, and providing for its political organization
and administration. The news of this important event was received with
great demonstrations of joy.
CHAPTER II.
ORGANIC ACT.
AN ACT TO PROVIDE A TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT FOR THE TERRITORY OF COLORADO.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That all that part of the
territory of the United States included within the following limits,
viz: commencing on the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, where
the twenty-fifth meridian of longitude west from Washington crosses the
same; thence north on said meridian to the forty-first parallel of north
latitude; thence along said parallel west to the thirty-second meridian
of longitude west from Washington; thence south on said meridian to the
northern line of New Mexico; thence along the thirty-seventh parallel of
north latitude to the place of beginning; be and the same is hereby
erected into a temporary government by the name of the Territory of
Colorado: _Provided_, 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 territory 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 boundaries, and constitute no part of the
territory of Colorado, until said tribe shall signify their assent to
the President of the United States to be included within the said
Territory, or to affect the authority of the government 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 for the government to make, if this act had never
passed: _Provided further_, 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 attaching
any portion thereof to any other Territory or State.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the executive power and
authority in and over said Territory of Colorado shall be vested in a
Governor, who shall hold his office 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,
shall be Commander-in-Chief of the militia thereof, shall perform the
duties and receive the emoluments of Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
and shall approve all laws passed by the Legislative Assembly before
they shall take effect; he may grant pardons for offenses against the
laws of said Territory, and reprieves for offenses 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 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 four
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
proceedings of the Governor, in his executive department; he shall
transmit one copy of the laws and one copy of the executive proceedings
on or before the first day of December in each year, to the President of
the United States, and, at the same time, two copies of the laws to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
for the use of Congress. And in case of the death, removal, or
resignation, or other necessary absence of the Governor from the
Territory, the Secretary shall have, and is hereby authorized and
required to execute and perform, all the powers and duties of the
Governor during such vacancy or necessary absence, or until another
Governor shall be duly appointed to fill such vacancy.
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 equally 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 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 a manner as the Governor may
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 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 and representation in the
several counties or districts to the Council and House of
Representatives, according to the population, shall be prescribed by
law, as well as the day of the commencement of the regular session of
the Legislative Assembly; _Provided_, That no 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 citizen
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, including those recognized as citizens by the treaty with the
Republic of Mexico, concluded February two, eighteen hundred and
forty-eight, and the treaty negotiated with the same country on the
thirtieth of December, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, 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.
SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That the legislative power of the
Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation
consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the provisions
of this act; but no laws 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 Assembly, appoint all officers not herein otherwise provided
for; and in the first instance the Governor alone may appoint 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 appointment 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 shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate
Courts, and 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; 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 Judges shall, after their
appointments, respectively, reside in the districts 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
the Justices of the Peace, shall be as limited by law: _Provided_, That
Justices of the Peace and Probate Courts shall not have jurisdiction of
any matter in controversy where 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 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 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 Oregon received for similar services.
SEC. 10. _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
Territory of Oregon. 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 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 Territory of Oregon, and shall, in addition, be paid two hundred
dollars annually as a compensation for extra services.
SEC. 11. _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
certificate 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 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 prescribed by law. The Governor shall receive
an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars as Governor, and one
thousand dollars as Superintendent of Indian Affairs; the Chief Justice
and Associate Justices shall receive an annual salary of eighteen
hundred dollars. 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 three dollars each per day during their
attendance at the session thereof, and three dollars for every twenty
miles travel in going to and returning from the said sessions, estimated
according to the nearest usually traveled route. There shall be
appropriated annually the sum of one thousand dollars, to be expended 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 Secretary 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 Colorado 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 government for said Territory at such
place as they may deem eligible, which place, however, shall thereafter
be subject to be changed by the said Governor and Legislative Assembly.
SEC. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That a delegate to the House of
Representatives 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 the 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 town in said Territory
and 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 Colorado 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
is hereby authorized to appoint a Surveyor General for Colorado, 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 allowances for clerk hire, office
rent, fuel, and incidental expenses, shall be the same as those of the
Surveyor General of New Mexico, 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.
Approved February 28th, 1861.
AMENDMENTS TO THE ORGANIC ACT.
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED “AN ACT TO PROVIDE A TEMPORARY
GOVERNMENT FOR THE TERRITORY OF COLORADO.”
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the second section of the
act to which this act is an amendment, be altered so as to read as
follows: The executive power and authority in and over said Territory of
Colorado, 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, shall be
commander-in-chief of the militia thereof, shall perform the duties, and
shall receive the emoluments of Superintendent of Indian Affairs; he may
grant pardons for offences against the laws of said Territory, and
reprieves for offenses against the laws of the United States, until the
decision of the President shall be made known thereon; he shall
commission all officers who shall be appointed to office under the laws
of said Territory, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That every bill which shall have
passed the Legislative Assembly shall, before it become a law, be
presented 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 originated, 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 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
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, prevents its return, in
which case it shall not be law.
SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That section nine of the act to
which this act is amendatory be altered so as to read as follows:
Section 9. _And be it further enacted_, That the judicial power of said
Territory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate
Courts, and 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. 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 appointments, respectively reside in the districts which shall be
assigned them. The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided
for, both appellate and original, 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 when the debt or sum claimed shall exceed
three hundred dollars; and the said Probate Court shall not have
jurisdiction in any matter in controversy, when the debt or sum claimed
shall exceed the sum of two thousand dollars; and said Supreme and
District Courts shall have authority for redress of all wrongs committed
against the constitution and laws of the United States; and the said
Supreme, District, and Probate Courts respectively, shall possess
chancery, as well as common law jurisdiction, and authority for the
redress of all wrongs committed against the laws of said 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
from the final decisions of said District and Probate Courts to the
Supreme Court, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law; but
in no case remove 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, when 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 said Supreme and 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 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 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
Districts Courts of Oregon Territory received for similar services.
SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the provisions of sections
one and two of this act shall be applicable to the Territory of Dakota,
and shall have like effect as in the Territory of Colorado.
Approved March 2, 1863.
AN ACT AMENDATORY OF THE ORGANIC ACT OF COLORADO TERRITORY.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That hereafter the sessions of
the Legislative Assembly of Colorado Territory shall be biennial.
Members of the Council shall be elected for the term of four years, and
members of the House for the term of two years, and shall receive the
sum of six dollars per day instead of three dollars heretofore allowed,
and shall also receive the same mileage now allowed by law.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That each house shall have
authority to elect, in addition to the officers now allowed by law, an
enrolling clerk, who shall receive five dollars per day. The chief clerk
shall receive six dollars per day, and the other officers elected by
said Legislature shall receive five dollars per day each.
SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the members of the Legislative
Assembly elected at the general election of said Territory in the year
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall compose the first Legislature
under this act, and said Legislature shall meet at the time now fixed by
law for the meeting of the Legislative Assembly of Colorado Territory.
Approved March 30th, 1867.
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN THE TERRITORIES OF THE
UNITED STATES.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That from and after the
passage of this act, there shall be no denial of the elective franchise
in any of the territories of the United States, now, or hereafter to be
organized, to any citizen thereof, on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude; and all acts or parts of acts, either
of Congress or the Legislative Assemblies of said Territories,
inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby declared null
and void.
SCHUYLER COLFAX,
_Speaker of the House of Representatives._
LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER,
_President of the Senate, pro tempore._
Endorsed by the President: Received on the 14th January, 1867.
[NOTE BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT.--The foregoing act having been
presented to the President of the United States for his
approval, and not having been returned by him to the House of
Congress, in which it originated, within the time prescribed by
the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without
his approval.]
AN ACT AMENDATORY OF “AN ACT TO PROVIDE A TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT
FOR THE TERRITORY OF MONTANA.” APPROVED MAY 26th, 1864.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the Legislative
Assemblies of the several Territories of the United States shall not,
after the passage of this act, grant private charters or especial
privileges, but they may, by general incorporation acts, permit persons
to associate themselves together as bodies corporate for mining,
manufacturing, and other industrial pursuits.
SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That from and after the first day
of April next the salary of each of the judges of the several Supreme
Courts, in each of the organized Territories (except Montana and Idaho),
shall be two thousand five hundred dollars.
SEC. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That all acts and parts of acts
inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved March 2d, 1867.
AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, AND
JUDICIAL EXPENSES OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDING THE
THIRTIETH OF JUNE, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, * * * * * * That hereafter the
members of both branches of the Legislative Assemblies of the several
Territories shall be chosen for the term of two years, and the sessions
of the Legislative Assemblies shall be biennial; and each Territorial
Legislature shall, at its first session after the passage of this act,
make provision by law for carrying this act into effect.
Approved March 3d, 1869.
AN ACT REGULATING THE COMPENSATION OF THE MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES OF THE SEVERAL TERRITORIES OF THE
UNITED STATES, AND LIMITING THE DURATION OF THE SESSIONS OF SAID
ASSEMBLIES.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the sessions of the
Legislative Assemblies of the several Territories of the United States
shall be limited to forty days duration.
SEC. 2. That the members of each branch of said Legislatures shall
receive a compensation of six dollars per day during the sessions herein
provided for, and they shall receive such mileage as now provided by
law; _Provided_, That the President of the Council, and Speaker of the
House of Representatives shall each receive a compensation of ten
dollars per day, and that the additional officers of each branch of said
Legislative Assemblies shall consist of one Chief Clerk, who shall
receive a compensation of eight dollars per day, and of one Assistant
Clerk, one Enrolling Clerk, one Engrossing Clerk, one Sergeant-at-arms,
one Doorkeeper, one Messenger, and one Watchman, who shall each receive
a compensation of five dollars per day during the sessions.
SEC. 3. That from and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and
seventy-three, the annual salaries of the Governors of the several
Territories of the United States shall be three thousand five hundred
dollars, and the salaries of the Secretaries of said Territories shall
be two thousand five hundred dollars each.
SEC. 4. That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the District
of Columbia; _Provided_, That no law of any Territorial Legislature
shall be made or enforced by which any officer of a Territory herein
provided for, or the officers or members of any Territorial Legislature
shall be paid any compensation other than that provided by the laws of
the United States.
Approved January 23, 1873.
CHAPTER III.
In 1861 the Kansas officials had disappeared. The Provisional government
continued to exercise its partially acknowledged authority until the
arrival of the United States appointees for the new Territory. These
arrived on the 29th of May. The Federal officers, who then came, with
their sealed commissions, were: William Gilpin, Governor; Lewis Ledyard
Weld, Secretary; B. F. Hall, Chief Justice; S. N. Pettis, and Charles
Lee Armor, Associate Justices; Copeland Townsend, Marshal; James E.
Dalliba, Attorney General; F. M. Case, Surveyor General. The Provisional
government now ceased. Its laws had been published, but not enforced,
and its officers had the honor, but not the pay, of the positions they
held.
Governor Gilpin was welcomed with undisguised pleasure. His greeting was
a perfect ovation. The people now felt a new sense of security, for the
strong arm of the General Government was in their midst. The Governor at
once proceeded with commendable energy to discharge the functions of his
high office. His first duty was to see the settlements of the Territory,
and ascertain the character, condition and wants of the people. This
visitation was accomplished with great celerity. Wherever the Governor
went, the joy and hospitality of the people knew no bounds. Everywhere
he was welcomed with bouquets, balls, congratulations. On his return to
Denver, in accordance with his prescribed duty, a census was ordered.
The returns exhibited a population of 25,329. The proportion of men to
women was nearly five to one. The Governor, qualified July 8th, and was
now in the full exercise of his authority. The other co-ordinate branch
of Federal Government had now to be established. This was the United
States Supreme Court. On July 10th, the Governor assigned the judges to
their districts, and the Supreme Court immediately organized. On July
11th, he issued a proclamation, in which the Territory was declared to
be one Congressional District, and the Congressional District to be
divided into nine Council, and thirteen Representative Districts, and in
which the election of a delegate to Congress, and of Legislative
Assembly were ordered. The election was duly held on the 19th of
August--Hiram P. Bennet was elected delegate to Congress. The
Legislature of the Territory of Colorado convened on the 9th of
September. They adopted full civil, and criminal codes. They recognized
the miners as authority in mining legislation, acknowledged the legality
of their courts, adopted their laws, confirmed their decisions, and
arranged for the transfer of cases to the regular courts, so that no
jarring, nor inconvenience was experienced. Great praise is due to this
legislative body for the laws they enacted, and though some have been
found faulty, and others repealed, yet they have effectually served the
needs of the Territory. When the rebellion had been in progress for
several months, Gov. Gilpin issued a call for volunteers. Recruits
quickly responded to the call, and the first regiment of Colorado
infantry, under Col. John P. Slough, soon took the field. This infantry
was transformed into a cavalry regiment, and did good service in
repelling the Texan invasion early in 1862. During this year immigration
received a strong impetus. It was computed that the daily arrivals,
averaging one hundred, added in a short time ten thousand to the
population as returned by the census. The city of Denver, including
Auraria and Highland, was again incorporated in November, 1861. Among
the industries, placer mining was most successfully prosecuted,
California gulch alone yielding one million dollars.
In April, 1862, Dr. John Evans superseded Governor William Gilpin. The
levy of the second regiment of Colorado cavalry was made this year, and
the troops ordered to Missouri. In 1863 they were consolidated with the
third regiment raised in Colorado. This body of cavalry did effective
service in Missouri, and in 1864 won considerable renown in the
movements executed against Price in his last invasion. They took a
prominent part in four battles, to wit: Mine Creek, Oct. 22; Westport,
Oct. 23; Charlot, Oct. 25; Newtonia, Nov. 4. The quantity of gold
obtained by gulch mining this year exceeded any previous yield. H. P.
Bennet was re-elected delegate to Congress in September.
In the year 1863 began in the East the stupendous speculation in gold
mines. The spirit of speculation had infected all classes of people, and
financial schemes were quickly devised to draw millions from the public.
Among these Colorado mines prominently figured. On the 19th of April
Denver lost, by a severe conflagration, a sum estimated at a quarter of
a million dollars. A branch telegraph line was completed from Julesburg
to Denver in October, whereby telegraphic communication with the world
was established. On the 7th of October a treaty was concluded with the
Tabeguache band of Utah Indians, by which the Indian title to all of the
settled portions of the mountains of Colorado, and most of the San Luis
valley, was extinguished.
The year 1864 was the gloomy period of the rebellion. Speculation
became a mania. Stock companies of the most gigantic character were
organized on the basis of Colorado gold mines. It need hardly be said
that thousands lost large sums by reckless investments in gold mining
stocks. In the spring the Indians of the plains, composed of Sioux,
Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, combined to carry on a bloody and
exterminating war against the whites. They attacked the coaches;
murdered, scalped, and mutilated the passengers. Exposed dwellings were
surrounded and the inmates massacred. Emboldened by little or no
resistance, they admitted no pause to their savage butcheries. This
thoroughly roused the people to punish the hostile fiends. Twelve
hundred men, under the command of Col. J. M. Chivington, hurried forward
to meet the merciless savages, and arrest their work of horrors. They
found and suddenly assailed a large troop of Cheyennes, about seven
hundred in number, and with hearts steeled against mercy, dealt swift
retribution, sparing neither age nor sex, until nearly all were
destroyed. This stunning blow checked the Indian outrages. A temporary
quiet ensued, and the roads were again animated with coaches and wagon
trains. Much credit is due to Captain Tyler, who, with his brave
company, opened and protected the line of communication with the States.
On May 19th, a more disastrous calamity befell Denver than the fire of
the preceding year. An appalling flood swept down Cherry Creek,
overwhelming large buildings, and sweeping them and their contents down
its destructive current. Twenty persons perished in the ruthless waters.
The damages were computed to be a million dollars. Near the close of the
Thirty-eighth Congress, a bill was passed, in response to a petition of
the Colorado Legislature, enabling the territory to organize a State
government and enter the Union. Under its provisions a convention met in
Denver July 4th, 1864, and framed a constitution. This was rejected by
the people on the second Tuesday of October. In the fall of 1864, A. A.
Bradford was elected delegate to Congress.
In 1865 the Indians renewed hostilities, apparently determined to force
back immigration. All intercourse with the East was interrupted for a
time. Business was paralyzed. Lonely ranches were invaded, and their
occupants fiendishly massacred. This second outbreak of the Indians was
effectually checked by United States troops. In the spring of this year
all parties concurred in another attempt to organize a state. A
convention met in Denver in August, and framed a constitution, which was
adopted by a majority of 155. A State legislature, and the complement of
State officers, were elected November 14th. Ex-Governor William Gilpin
was chosen State Governor. Ex-Governor John Evans and Jerome B. Chaffee
were chosen senators by the legislature. Application for the admission
of Colorado as a state was made during each session of the Thirty-ninth
Congress. A strong disinclination to grant the application was
manifested. An exigency, however, arose, which changed their
disposition. The President, Andrew Johnson, had been impeached. The
success of the impeachment was involved in doubt. To secure two senators
and a representative, an enabling act was passed to admit the new state.
The President, as might be expected, vetoed the bill. Governor John
Evans was superseded by Alexander Cummings, who qualified October 19th.
In 1866 a reaction followed the prostration of trade and industry
consequent upon the Indian outrages of the preceding year. An unwonted
stimulus pervaded the territory. Mining pursuits were followed with
fresh vigor. In Denver and other places building was carried on with
unparalleled activity. Money became plentiful, and many laid the
foundations of large fortunes. George M. Chilcott was elected delegate.
Up to this time the bullion deposited in the mint amounted to 12,401,372
dollars, said to be less than half of the real yield.
On May 27th, 1867, A. C. Hunt superseded Governor Cummings. The struggle
for statehood ended with the winter of 1867-8, when it was found
impossible to pass the bill over the veto. In the fall the Denver Board
of Trade was organized, which principally labored to initiate the
enterprise of building a railroad to join the Union Pacific road at
Cheyenne. Near the close of the year the Union Pacific road reached
Cheyenne. The Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company was
incorporated November 18th, 1867. During this year the various interests
of Colorado were ably represented at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
The first gold medal was awarded to the minerals of Colorado. The French
Government, moved by Colorado’s display at the Exposition, appointed an
Imperial Commissioner, who visited the territory and reported his
observations therein for the benefit of capital and science in France.
The Kiowas and Comanches, the Cheyennes and Arapahoes were removed to
reservations bordering on Colorado and Kansas, where their southern
boundary lines meet. By their treaties they stipulate to withdraw
opposition to immigrants, settlers, and lines of railroad.
In 1868 A. A. Bradford was again elected delegate to Congress.
On June 15th, 1869, Edward M. McCook superseded Governor A. C. Hunt.
The Denver Pacific Railway Company had been formed in 1867. Its
principal object, as stated in the articles of incorporation, was to
build a railroad and telegraph line to Cheyenne, and there connect with
the Union Pacific road. After some delay the funds were secured, the
construction of the road hastened, and on the 23d day of June, 1870, the
first train arrived in Denver. On the 15th day of August, the Kansas
Pacific Railway, 640 miles in length, was completed. In September,
seventeen miles of the Colorado Central were finished. The connection of
Golden with Denver was thereby effected. During this year successful
efforts were made to plant colonies in choice sections of the Territory.
The Meeker-Greeley colony was organized in New York in the winter of
1869-70, and located in the spring. It now has a population of 2,000,
happy and prosperous, and distinguished by prohibition laws and devotion
to temperance. The town site of the colony is a delta formed by the
Cache-a-la-Poudre and South Platte rivers. The Chicago-Colorado colony
is largely composed of Western men, and is animated by a liberal
progressive spirit. The location of the colony is in every way most
desirable. The energy and enterprise of the colonists excite great
admiration. They have already a beautiful town, and a large extent of
country under cultivation. The German colony may also be mentioned. It
occupied Wet Mountain Valley, which lies in Pueblo and Fremont counties.
Thus, by rapid transit, the Territory was brought into close
communication with the States, and began to fill up with thousands, who,
independently, or in co-operative association, settled for the purposes
of agriculture. No sign so cheering as a settlement of a country by
intelligent, enterprising farmers. Hardy, industrious miners had already
crowded into the mountains, and skillful, energetic farmers now
collected on the plains, intent to reap from them rich and abundant
harvests. In the fall, Jerome B. Chaffee was elected delegate to
Congress.
This year, 1871, dates the settlement of the Colorado Springs colony,
distinguished for its rapid and prosperous growth. Situated seventy-five
miles south from Denver, it became the temporary terminus of the Denver
and Rio Grande railway, which was completed to that point during this
year. The railroad has since passed on to Pueblo, and thence to La Veta,
with branches to El Moro, and Canon City.
In 1872, Jerome B. Chaffee was re-elected delegate to Congress.
In 1873, a large immigration into the San Juan region commenced, owing
to reports of rich mineral discoveries. S. H. Elbert superseded Gov. E.
M. McCook. Following the custom of those removed from office, the
ex-Governor proceeded to Washington to confer with the federal
authorities, and in January, 1874, was re-appointed in place of Gov.
Elbert. Severe and bitter editorials filled the columns of the press
devoted to the fallen regime. A temporary division of the Republican
party ensued. A lively contest for political supremacy followed and
continued until the usual period for an election to Congress, when the
two sides of the party marshaled themselves, the one to rebuke and the
other to sustain the administration. The malcontents not only turned the
election against the Republican nominee, H. P. H. Bromwell, but gave a
large and unprecedented majority to the Democratic nominee, Thomas M.
Patterson. This change in the popular vote deeply touched the
administration, and it was determined, in order to reconcile the
disaffected, to remove the obnoxious appointments, and fill the federal
offices with men not implicated in the controversy.
During the year 1874, the South Park railroad was finished to Morrison.
John L. Routt, the successor to Gov. McCook, qualified on March 29th,
1875. He set to work without delay to unite the discordant factions and
succeeded. The people in general were now fully persuaded that the time
had come for demanding the privileges of Statehood. The Republican
delegate, Jerome B. Chaffee, had during the winter of 1874-5, drawn up
an Enabling Act with much skill, and by persistent effort and untiring
zeal, had, in the face of strong opposition, effected the passage of the
bill. Before its passage the Act was amended so as to postpone the date
of admission to July 4th, 1876.
CHAPTER IV.
An Act to amend the Act entitled “An Act to enable the people of
Colorado to form a constitution and State government, and for
the admission of said State into the Union on an equal footing
with the original States,” approved March 3, 1875.
ENABLING ACT.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the inhabitants of the
Territory of Colorado included in the boundaries hereinafter designated
be, and they are hereby, authorized to form for themselves, out of said
Territory, a State government, with the name of the State of Colorado;
which State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon an equal
footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, as
hereinafter provided.
SEC. 2. That the said State of Colorado shall consist of all the
territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: Commencing
on the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude where the twenty-fifth
meridian of longitude west from Washington crosses the same; thence
north on said meridian, to the forty-first parallel of north latitude;
thence along said parallel west to the thirty-second meridian of
longitude west from Washington; thence south on said meridian, to the
thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude; thence along said
thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, to the place of beginning.
SEC. 3. That all persons qualified by law to vote for representatives to
the general assembly of said Territory, at the date of the passage of
this act, shall be qualified to be elected, and they are hereby
authorized to vote for and choose representatives to form a convention
under such rules and regulations as the governor of said Territory, the
chief justice, and the United States attorney thereof may prescribe; and
also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such constitution as
may be formed by said convention, under such rules and regulations as
said convention may prescribe; and the aforesaid representatives to form
the aforesaid convention shall be apportioned among the several counties
in said Territory in proportion to the vote polled in each of said
counties at the last general election as near as may be; and said
apportionment shall be made for said Territory by the governor, United
States district attorney, and chief justice thereof, or any two of them;
and the governor of said Territory shall, by proclamation, order an
election of the representatives aforesaid to be held throughout the
Territory at such time as shall be fixed by the governor, chief justice,
and United States attorney, or any two of them, which proclamation shall
be issued within ninety days next after the first day of September,
eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and at least thirty days prior to the
time of said election; and such election shall be conducted in the same
manner as is prescribed by the laws of said Territory regulating
elections therein for members of the house of representatives; and the
number of members to said convention shall be the same as now
constitutes both branches of the legislature of the aforesaid Territory.
SEC. 4. That the members of the convention thus elected shall meet at
the capital of said Territory, on a day to be fixed by said governor,
chief justice, and United States attorney, not more than sixty days
subsequent to the day of election, which time of meeting shall be
contained in the aforesaid proclamation mentioned in the third section
of this act, and, after organization, shall declare, on behalf of the
people of said Territory, that they adopt the Constitution of the United
States; whereupon the said convention shall be, and is hereby,
authorized to form a constitution and State government for said
Territory: _Provided_, That the constitution shall be republican in
form, and make no distinction in civil or political rights on account of
race or color, except Indians not taxed, and not be repugnant to the
Constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration
of Independence: _And provided further_, That said convention shall
provide, by an ordinance irrevocable without the consent of the United
States and the people of said State, first, that perfect toleration of
religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of said State
shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her
mode of religious worship; secondly, that the people inhabiting said
Territory do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and
title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said Territory,
and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition
of the United States, and that the lands belonging to citizens of the
United States residing without the said State shall never be taxed
higher than the lands belonging to residents thereof, and that no taxes
shall be imposed by the State on lands or property therein belonging to,
or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States.
SEC. 5. That in case the constitution and State government shall be
formed for the people of said Territory of Colorado, in compliance with
the provisions of this act, said convention forming the same shall
provide, by ordinance, for submitting said constitution to the people of
said State for their ratification or rejection, at an election, to be
held at such time, in the month of July, eighteen hundred and
seventy-six, and at such places and under such regulations as may be
prescribed by said convention, at which election the lawful voters of
said new State shall vote directly for or against the proposed
constitution; and the returns of said election shall be made to the
acting governor of the Territory, who, with the chief justice and United
States attorney of said Territory, or any two of them, shall canvass the
same; and if a majority of legal votes shall be cast for said
constitution in said proposed State, the said acting governor shall
certify the same to the President of the United States, together with a
copy of said constitution and ordinances; whereupon it shall be the duty
of the President of the United States to issue his proclamation
declaring the State admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States, without any further action whatever on the part of
Congress.
SEC. 6. That until the next general census said State shall be entitled
to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United
States, which Representative, together with the governor and State and
other officers provided for in said constitution, shall be elected on a
day subsequent to the adoption of the constitution, and to be fixed by
said constitutional convention; and until said State officers are
elected and qualified under the provisions of the constitution, the
territorial officers shall continue to discharge the duties of their
respective offices.
SEC. 7. That sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every township,
and where such sections have been sold or otherwise disposed of by any
act of Congress, other lands, equivalent thereto, in legal subdivisions
of not more than one quarter-section, and as contiguous as may be, are
hereby granted to said State for the support of common schools.
SEC. 8. That, provided the State of Colorado shall be admitted into the
Union in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this act, fifty
entire sections of the unappropriated public lands within said State, to
be selected and located by direction of the legislature thereof, and
with the approval of the President, on or before the first day of
January, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, shall be, and are hereby,
granted, in legal subdivisions of not less than one quarter-section, to
said State for the purpose of erecting public buildings at the capital
of said State for legislative and judicial purposes, in such manner as
the legislature shall prescribe.
SEC. 9. That fifty other entire sections of land as aforesaid, to be
selected and located and with the approval as aforesaid, in legal
subdivisions as aforesaid, shall be, and they are hereby, granted to
said State for the purpose of erecting a suitable building for a
penitentiary or State prison in the manner aforesaid.
SEC. 10. That seventy-two other sections of land shall be set apart and
reserved for the use and support of a State university, to be selected
and approved in manner as aforesaid, and to be appropriated and applied
as the legislature of said State may prescribe for the purpose named,
and for no other purpose.
SEC. 11. That all salt-springs within said State, not exceeding twelve
in number, with six sections of land adjoining, and as contiguous as may
be to each, shall be granted to said State for its use, the said land to
be selected by the governor of said State within two years after the
admission of the State, and when so selected to be used and disposed of
on such terms, conditions, and regulations as the legislature shall
direct: _Provided_, That no salt-springs or lands the right whereof is
now vested in any individual or individuals, or which hereafter shall be
confirmed or adjudged to any individual or individuals, shall by this
act be granted to said State.
SEC. 12. That five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of
agricultural public lands lying within said State which shall be sold by
the United States subsequent to the admission of said State into the
Union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be
paid to the said State for the purpose of making such internal
improvements within said State as the legislature thereof may direct:
_Provided_, That this section shall not apply to any lands disposed of
under the homestead laws of the United States, or to any lands now or
hereafter reserved for public or other uses.
SEC. 13. That any balance of the appropriations for the legislative
expenses of said Territory of Colorado remaining unexpended shall be
applied to and used for defraying the expenses of said convention, and
for the payment of the members thereof, under the same rules and
regulations and rates as are now provided by law for the payment of the
territorial legislature.
SEC. 14. That the two sections of land in each township herein granted
for the support of common schools shall be disposed of only at public
sale and at a price not less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre,
the proceeds to constitute a permanent school fund, the interest of
which to be expended in the support of common schools.
SEC. 15. That all mineral lands shall be excepted from the operation and
grants of this act.
Approved March 3, 1875.
An Act to amend the Act entitled “An Act to enable the people of
Colorado to form a constitution and State government, and for
the admission of said State into the Union on an equal footing
with the original States,” approved March 3, 1875.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That so much of section three
of the act entitled “An act to enable the people of Colorado to form a
constitution and State government, and for the admission of the said
State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States”
approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, as reads “and
also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such constitution as
may be formed by said convention” be amended so as to read as follows:
“And all who are qualified voters of said Territory under the laws
thereof at such time as the constitution to be framed shall be submitted
to the people for ratification or rejection shall be entitled to vote
upon the question of such ratification or rejection.”
SEC. 2. That section thirteen of said act be amended by adding at the
end of said section thirteen the following: “And if the balance of said
legislative appropriations does not amount to the sum of twenty thousand
dollars, then there shall be, and there hereby is, appropriated, out of
any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum sufficient,
with the said unexpended appropriations, to make the sum of twenty
thousand dollars, which shall be used for the purposes aforesaid:
_Provided_, That any money hereby appropriated not necessary for such
purposes shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.”
Approved March 3, 1876.
* * * * *
Under this Act delegates to frame a constitution were duly elected. They
met in convention in December, 1875, and continued their session to
March 13th, 1876, when the convention adjourned _sine die_.
CHAPTER V.
CONSTITUTION.
PREAMBLE.
We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme
Ruler of the Universe, in order to form a more independent and perfect
government; establish justice; insure 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 “State of Colorado.”
ARTICLE I.
BOUNDARIES.
The boundaries of the State of Colorado shall be as follows: Commencing
on the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, where the twenty-fifth
meridian of longitude west from Washington crosses the same; thence
north on said meridian to the forty-first parallel of north latitude;
thence along said parallel west to the thirty-second meridian of
longitude west from Washington; thence south on said meridian to the
thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude; thence along said
thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude to the place of beginning.
ARTICLE II.
BILL OF RIGHTS.
In order to assert our rights, acknowledge our duties, and proclaim the
principles upon which our government is founded, we declare:
SECTION 1. That all political power is vested in and derived from the
people; that all government, of right, originates from the people, is
founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of
the whole.
SEC. 2. That the people of this State have the sole and exclusive right
of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign and independent State; and
to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government whenever
they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness, provided such
change be not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States.
SEC. 3. That all persons have certain natural, essential and inalienable
rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending
their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting
property; and of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.
SEC. 4. That the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination, shall forever hereafter be guaranteed;
and no person shall be denied any civil or political right, privilege,
or capacity, on account of his opinions concerning religion; but the
liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be construed to dispense
with oaths or affirmations, excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify
practices inconsistent with the good order, peace, or safety of the
State. No person shall be required to attend or support any ministry or
place of worship, religious sect, or denomination against his consent.
Nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination
or mode of worship.
SEC. 5. That all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil
or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of
the right of suffrage.
SEC. 6. That courts of justice shall be open to every person, and a
speedy remedy afforded for every injury to person, property, or
character; and that right and justice should be administered without
sale, denial, or delay.
SEC. 7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, papers, homes
and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no warrant to
search any place or seize any person or thing shall issue without
describing the place to be searched, or the person or thing to be
seized, as near as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath
or affirmation, reduced to writing.
SEC. 8. That, until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, for a
felony, be proceeded against criminally, otherwise than by indictment,
except in cases arising in the land and naval forces, or in the militia
when in actual service in time of war or public danger. In all other
cases offenses shall be prosecuted criminally by indictment or
information.
SEC. 9. That treason against the State can consist only in levying war
against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort;
that no person can be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of
two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his confession in open court;
that no person can be attainted of treason or felony by the General
Assembly; that no conviction can work corruption of blood or forfeiture
of estate; that the estates of such persons as may destroy their own
lives shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death.
SEC. 10. That no law shall be passed impairing the freedom of speech;
that every person shall be free to speak, write or publish whatever he
will on any subject, being responsible for all abuse of that liberty;
and that all suits and prosecutions for libel, the truth thereof may be
given in evidence, and the jury, under the direction of the court, shall
determine the law and the fact.
SEC. 11. That no _ex post facto_ law, nor law impairing the obligation
of contracts, or retrospective in its operation, or making any
irrevocable grant of special privileges, franchises, or immunities,
shall be passed by the General Assembly.
SEC. 12. That no person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless upon
refusal to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in
such manner as shall be prescribed by law, or in cases of tort or where
there is a strong presumption of fraud.
SEC. 13. That the right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of
his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto
legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein
contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying
concealed weapons.
SEC. 14. That private property shall not be taken for private use unless
by consent of the owner, except for private ways of necessity, and
except for reservoirs, drains, flumes or ditches on or across the lands
of others, for agricultural, mining, milling, domestic or sanitary
purposes.
SEC. 15. That private property shall not be taken or damaged, for public
or private use, without just compensation. Such compensation shall be
ascertained by a board of commissioners, of not less than three
freeholders, or by a jury when required by the owner of the property, in
such manner as may be prescribed by law, and until the same shall be
paid to the owner, or into court for the owner, the property shall not
be needlessly disturbed, or the proprietary rights of the owner therein
divested; and whenever an attempt is made to take private property for a
use alleged to be public, the question whether the contemplated use be
really public, shall be a judicial question, and determined as such
without regard to any legislative assertion that the use is public.
SEC. 16. That in criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right
to appear and defend in person and by counsel; to demand the nature and
cause of the accusation; to meet the witnesses against him face to face;
to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and
a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in
which the offense is alleged to have been committed.
SEC. 17. That no person shall be imprisoned for the purpose of securing
his testimony in any case longer than may be necessary in order to take
his deposition. If he can give security he shall be discharged; if he
cannot give security, his deposition shall be taken by some Judge of the
Supreme, District, or County Court, at the earliest time he can attend,
at some convenient place by him appointed for that purpose, of which
time and place the accused and the attorney prosecuting for the people,
shall have reasonable notice. The accused shall have the right to appear
in person and by counsel. If he have no counsel, the Judge shall assign
him one in that behalf only. On the completion of such examination the
witness shall be discharged on his own recognizance, entered in before
said Judge, but such deposition shall not be used if, in the opinion of
the Court the personal attendance of the witness might be procured by
the prosecution, or is procured by the accused. No exception shall be
taken to such deposition as to matters of form.
SEC. 18. That no person shall be compelled to testify against himself in
a criminal case, nor shall any person be twice put in jeopardy for the
same offense. If the jury disagree, or if the judgment be arrested after
verdict, or if the judgment be reversed for error in law, the accused
shall not be deemed to have been in jeopardy.
SEC. 19. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,
except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the
presumption great.
SEC. 20. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
SEC. 21. That the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall never
be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public
safety may require it.
SEC. 22. That the military shall always be in strict subordination to
the civil power; that no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered
in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war except
in the manner prescribed by law.
SEC. 23. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate in criminal
cases; but a jury in civil cases in all courts, or in criminal cases in
courts not of record, may consist of less than twelve men, as may be
prescribed by law. Hereafter a Grand Jury shall consist of twelve men,
any nine of whom concurring may find an indictment: _Provided_, the
General Assembly may change, regulate or abolish the grand jury system.
SEC. 24. That the people have the right peaceably to assemble for the
common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of
government for redress of grievances, by petition or remonstrance.
SEC. 25. That no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law.
SEC. 26. That there shall never be in this State either slavery or
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted.
SEC. 27. Aliens, who are, or who may hereafter become, _bona fide_
residents of this State, may acquire, inherit, possess, enjoy and
dispose of property real and personal, as native born citizens.
SEC. 28. The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights shall
not be construed to deny, impair, or disparage others retained by the
people.
ARTICLE III.
DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.
The powers of the government of this State are divided into three
distinct departments--the Legislative, Executive and Judicial--and no
person, or collection of persons, charged with the exercise of powers
properly belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any power
properly belonging to either of the others, except as in this
Constitution expressly directed or permitted.
ARTICLE IV.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
SECTION 1. The Executive Department shall consist of a Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, State
Treasurer, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction,
each of whom shall hold his office for the term of two years, beginning
on the second Tuesday of January next after his election: _Provided_,
That the terms of office of those chosen at the first election held
under this Constitution, shall begin on the day appointed for the first
meeting of the General Assembly. The officers of the Executive
Department, excepting the Lieutenant Governor, shall, during their term
of offices, reside at the seat of government, where they shall keep the
public records books and papers. They shall perform such duties as are
prescribed by this Constitution or by law.
SEC. 2. The supreme executive power of the State shall be vested in the
Governor, who shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
SEC. 3. The officers named in section one of this article, shall be
chosen on the day of the general election, by the qualified electors of
the State. The returns of every election for said officers shall be
sealed up and transmitted to the Secretary of State, directed to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall immediately, upon the
organization of the House, and before proceeding to other business open
and publish the same in the presence of a majority of the members of
both Houses of the General Assembly, who shall for that purpose assemble
in the House of Representatives. The person having the highest number of
votes for either of said offices shall be declared duly elected, but if
two or more have an equal and the highest number of votes for the same
office, one of them shall be chosen thereto by the two Houses on joint
ballot. Contested elections for the said offices shall be determined by
the two Houses on joint ballot, in such manner as may be prescribed by
law.
SEC. 4. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, or Superintendent of Public Instruction, unless he
shall have attained the age of thirty years, nor to the office of
Auditor of State, Secretary of State, or State Treasurer, unless he
shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, nor to the office of
Attorney General unless he shall have attained the age of twenty-five
years, and be a licensed attorney of the Supreme Court of the State, or
of the Territory of Colorado, in good standing. At the first election,
under this Constitution, any person being a qualified elector at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, and having the qualifications
above herein prescribed for any one of said officers shall be eligible
thereto; but thereafter no person shall be eligible to any one of said
offices, unless, in addition to the qualifications above prescribed
therefor, he shall be a citizen of the United States and have resided
within the limits of the State two years next preceding his election.
SEC. 5. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces
of the State, except when they shall be called into actual service of
the United States. He shall have power to call out the militia to
execute the laws, suppress insurrection, or repel invasion.
SEC. 6. The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the consent of the
Senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established by this
Constitution, or which may be created by law, and whose appointment or
election is not otherwise provided for, and may remove any such officer
for incompetency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. If during
the recess of the Senate a vacancy occur in any such office, the
Governor shall appoint some fit person to discharge the duties thereof
until the next meeting of the Senate, when he shall nominate some person
to fill such office. If the office of Auditor of State, State Treasurer,
Secretary of State, Attorney General, or Superintendent of Public
Instruction, shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, it
shall be the duty of the Governor to fill the same by appointment, and
the appointee shall hold his office until his successor shall be elected
and qualified in such manner as may be provided by law. The Senate in
deliberating upon executive nominations may sit with closed doors, but
in acting upon nominations they shall sit with open doors, and the vote
shall be taken by ayes and noes, which shall be entered upon the
journal.
SEC. 7. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations
and pardons after conviction, for all offenses except treason, and
except in case of impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be
prescribed by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons, but he
shall in every case, where he may exercise this power, send to the
General Assembly, at its first session thereafter, a transcript of the
petition, all proceedings, and the reasons for his action.
SEC. 8. The Governor may require information in writing from the
officers of the Executive Department upon any subject relating to the
duties of their respective offices, which information shall be given
upon oath whenever so required; he may also require information in
writing at any time, under oath, from all officers and managers of State
institutions, upon any subject relating to the condition, management and
expenses of their respective offices and institutions. The Governor
shall, at the commencement of each session, and from time to time, by
message, give to the General Assembly information of the condition of
the State, and shall recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient.
He shall also send to the General Assembly a statement, with vouchers,
of the expenditures of all moneys belonging to the State, and paid out
by him. He shall, also, at the commencement of each session, present
estimates of the amount of money required to be raised by taxation for
all purposes of the State.
SEC. 9. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the
General Assembly, by proclamation, stating therein the purpose for which
it is assembled; but at such special session no business shall be
transacted other than that specially named in the proclamation. He may,
by proclamation, convene the Senate in extraordinary session for the
transaction of executive business.
SEC. 10. The Governor, in case of a disagreement between the two Houses
as to the time of adjournment, may, upon the same being certified to him
by the House last moving adjournment, adjourn the General Assembly to a
day not later than the first day of the next regular session.
SEC. 11. Every bill passed by the General Assembly shall, before it
becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall
sign it, and thereupon it shall become a law; but if he do not approve,
he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it
originated, which House shall enter the objections at large upon its
journal, and proceed to reconsider the bill. If then two-thirds of the
members elected agree to pass the same, 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 the members elected to
that House, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the objections of the
Governor. In all such cases the vote of each House shall be determined
by ayes and noes, to be entered upon the journal. If any bill shall not
be returned by the Governor within ten days 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 General Assembly shall, by their adjournment,
prevent its return, in which case it shall be filed, with his
objections, in the office of the Secretary of State, within thirty days
after such adjournment, or else become a law.
SEC. 12. The Governor shall have power to disapprove of any item or
items of any bill making appropriations of money, embracing distinct
items, and part or parts of the bill approved shall be law, and the item
or items disapproved shall be void, unless enacted in manner following:
If the General Assembly be in session, he shall transmit to the House,
in which the bill originated, a copy of the item or items thereof
disapproved, together with his objections thereto, and the items
objected to shall be separately reconsidered, and each item shall then
take the same course as is prescribed for the passage of bills over the
Executive veto.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
SEC. 13. In case of the death, impeachment, or conviction of felony or
infamous misdemeanor, failure to qualify, resignation, absence from the
State, or other disability of the Governor, the powers, duties and
emoluments of the office, for the residue of the term, or until the
disability be removed, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor.
SEC. 14. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the Senate, and
shall vote only when the Senate is equally divided. In case of the
absence, impeachment or disqualification from any cause of the
Lieutenant Governor, or when he shall hold the office of Governor, then
the President _pro tem._ of the Senate shall perform the duties of the
Lieutenant Governor, until the vacancy is filled or the disability
removed.
SEC. 15. In case of the failure to qualify in his office, death,
resignation, absence from the State, impeachment, conviction of felony,
or infamous misdemeanor, or disqualification from any cause, of both the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the duties of the Governor shall
devolve on the President of the Senate _pro tem._, until such
disqualification of either the Governor or Lieutenant Governor be
removed, or the vacancy be filled; and if the President of the Senate,
for any of the above named causes, shall become incapable of performing
the duties of Governor, the same shall devolve upon the Speaker of the
House.
SEC. 16. An account shall be kept by the officers of the Executive
Department, and of all public institutions of the State, of all moneys
received by them severally from all sources, and for every service
performed, and of all moneys disbursed by them severally, and a
semi-annual report thereof shall be made to the Governor, under oath.
SEC. 17. The officers of the Executive Department, and of all public
institutions of the State, shall, at least twenty days preceding each
regular session of the General Assembly, make full and complete report
of their actions to the Governor, who shall transmit the same to the
General Assembly.
SEC. 18. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the
Secretary of State, and shall be called the “Great Seal of the State of
Colorado.” The seal of the Territory of Colorado, as now used, shall be
the seal of the State until otherwise provided by law.
SEC. 19. The officers named in section one of this article, shall
receive for their services a salary to be established by law, which
shall not be increased or diminished during their official terms. It
shall be the duty of all such officers to collect in advance all fees
prescribed by law for services rendered by them severally, and pay the
same into the State treasury.
SEC. 20. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be _ex officio_
State Librarian.
SEC. 21. Neither the State Treasurer nor State Auditor shall be eligible
for re-election as his own immediate successor.
ARTICLE V.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the General
Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives,
both to be elected by the people.
SEC. 2. An election for members of the General Assembly shall be held on
the first Tuesday in October, in the years of our Lord 1876 and 1878,
and in each alternate year thereafter, on such day, at such places in
each county as now are, or hereafter may be, provided by law. The first
election for members of the General Assembly under the State
organization shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the laws of
Colorado Territory regulating elections for members of the Legislative
Assembly thereof. When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor, or
person exercising the powers of Governor, shall issue writs of election
to fill such vacancies.
SEC. 3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, except as
hereinafter provided, and Representatives for the term of two years.
SEC. 4. No person shall be a Representative or Senator who shall not
have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not be a citizen
of the United States, who shall not for at least twelve months next
preceding his election have resided within the Territory included in the
limits of the county or district in which he shall be chosen:
_Provided_, That any person who at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution was a qualified elector under the Territorial laws, shall
be eligible to the first General Assembly.
SEC. 5. The Senators, at their first session, shall be divided into two
classes. Those elected in districts designated by even numbers shall
constitute one class; those elected in districts designated by odd
numbers shall constitute the other class, except that Senators elected
in each of the districts having more than one Senator shall be equally
divided between the two classes. The Senators of one class shall hold
for two years; those of the other class shall hold for four years--to be
decided by lot between the two classes, so that one-half of the
Senators, as near as practicable, may be biennially chosen forever
thereafter.
SEC. 6. Each member for the first General Assembly, as a compensation
for his services, shall receive four dollars for each day’s attendance,
and fifteen cents for each mile necessarily traveled in going to and
returning from the seat of government; and shall receive no other
compensation, perquisite or allowance whatsoever. No session of the
General Assembly, after the first, shall exceed forty days. After the
first session, the compensation of the members of the General Assembly
shall be as provided by law: _Provided_, That no General Assembly shall
fix its own compensation.
SEC. 7. The General Assembly shall meet at 12 o’clock, noon, on the
first Wednesday in November, A. D. 1876; and at 12 o’clock, noon, on the
first Wednesday in January, A. D. 1879; and at 12 o’clock, noon, on the
first Wednesday in January of each alternate year forever thereafter,
and at other times when convened by the Governor. The term of service of
the members thereof shall begin on the first Wednesday of November next
after their election, until otherwise provided by law.
SEC. 8. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he
shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this
State; and no member of Congress, or other person holding any office
(except of attorney-at-law, notary public, or in the militia) under the
United States, or this State, shall be a member of either House during
his continuance in office.
SEC. 9. No member of either House shall, during the term for which he
may have been elected, receive any increase of salary or mileage, under
any law passed during such term.
SEC. 10. The Senate shall, at the beginning and close of each regular
session, and at such other times as may be necessary, elect one of its
members President _pro tempore_. The House of Representatives shall
elect one of its members as Speaker. Each House shall choose its other
officers, and shall judge of the election and qualification of its
members.
SEC. 11. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum, but a
smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of
absent members.
SEC. 12. Each House shall have power to determine the rules of its
proceedings and punish its members or other persons for contempt or
disorderly behavior in its presence; to enforce obedience to its
process; to protect its members against violence, or offers of bribes,
or private solicitation, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, to
expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause, and shall have
all other powers necessary for the Legislature of a free State. A
member, expelled for corruption, shall not thereafter be eligible to
either House of the same General Assembly, and punishment for contempt
or disorderly behavior shall not bar an indictment for the same offense.
SEC. 13. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and may, in
its discretion, from time to time, publish the same, except such parts
as require secrecy, and the ayes and noes on any question shall, at the
desire of any two members, be entered on the journal.
SEC. 14. The sessions of each House, and of the committees of the whole,
shall be open, unless when the business is such as ought to be kept
secret.
SEC. 15. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn
for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the
two Houses shall be sitting.
SEC. 16. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except
treason, felony, violation of their oath of office, and breach or surety
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the
sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from
the same; and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be
questioned in any other place.
SEC. 17. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so
altered or amended on its passage through either House as to change its
original purpose.
SEC. 18. The style of the laws of this State shall be: “_Be it enacted
by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado._”
SEC. 19. No act of the General Assembly shall take effect until ninety
days after its passage, unless in case of emergency (which shall be
expressed in the preamble or body of the act) the General Assembly
shall, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House,
otherwise direct. No bill, except the general appropriation for the
expenses of the government only, introduced in either House of the
General Assembly after the first twenty-five days of the session, shall
become a law.
SEC. 20. No bill shall be considered or become a law unless referred to
a committee, returned therefrom, and printed for the use of the members.
SEC. 21. No bill, except general appropriation bills, shall be passed
containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in
its title; but if any subject shall be embraced in any act which shall
not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much
thereof as shall not be so expressed.
SEC. 22. Every bill shall be read at length on three different days in
each House; all substantial amendments made thereto shall be printed for
the use of the members, before the final vote is taken on the bill; and
no bill shall become a law except by vote of a majority of all the
members elected to each House, nor unless on its final passage the vote
be taken by ayes and noes, and the names of those voting be entered on
the journal.
SEC. 23. No amendment to any bill by one House shall be concurred in by
the other, nor shall the report of any committee of conference be
adopted in either House, except by a vote of a majority of the members
elected thereto, taken by ayes and noes, and the names of those voting
recorded upon the journal thereof.
SEC. 24. No law shall be revived, or amended, or the provisions thereof
extended or conferred by reference to its title only, but so much
thereof as is revived, amended, extended or conferred, shall be
re-enacted and published at length.
SEC. 25. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws in
any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: for granting
divorces; laying out, opening, altering or working roads or highways;
vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public grounds; locating
or changing county seats; regulating county or township affairs;
regulating the practice in courts of justice; regulating the
jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates and
constables; changing the rules of evidence in any trial or inquiry;
providing for changes of venue in civil or criminal cases; declaring any
person of age; for limitation of civil actions or giving effect to
informal or invalid deeds; summoning or impaneling grand or petit
juries; providing for the management of common schools; regulating the
rate of interest on money; the opening or conducting of any election, or
designating the place of voting; the sale or mortgage of real estate
belonging to minors or others under disability; the protection of game
or fish; chartering or licensing ferries or toll bridges; remitting
fines, penalties, or forfeitures; creating, increasing, or decreasing
fees, per centage, or allowances of public officers; changing the law of
descent; granting to any corporation, association, or individual the
right to lay down railroad tracks; granting to any corporation,
association, or individual any special or exclusive privilege, immunity,
or franchise whatever. In all other cases, where a general law can be
made applicable, no special law shall be enacted.
SEC. 26. The presiding officer of each House shall, in the presence of
the House over which he presides, sign all bills and joint resolutions
passed by the General Assembly, after their titles shall have been
publicly read, immediately before signing; and the fact of signing shall
be entered on the journal.
SEC. 27. The General Assembly shall prescribe by law the number, duties
and compensation of the officers and employes of each House; and no
payment shall be made from the State Treasury, or be in any way
authorized to any person, except to an acting officer or employe elected
or appointed in pursuance of law.
SEC. 28. No bill shall be passed giving any extra compensation to any
public officer, servant or employe, agent or contractor, after services
shall have been rendered or contract made, nor providing for the payment
of any claim made against the State without previous authority of law.
SEC. 29. All stationery, printing, paper and fuel used in the
legislative and other departments of government, shall be furnished; and
the printing, and binding, and distributing of the laws, journals,
department reports, and other printing and binding; and the repairing
and furnishing the halls and rooms used for the meeting of the General
Assembly and its committees, shall be performed under contract, to be
given to the lowest responsible bidder, below such maximum price and
under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. No member or officer
of any department of the government shall be in any way interested in
any such contract; and all such contracts shall be subject to the
approval of the Governor and State Treasurer.
SEC. 30. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no law shall
extend the term of any public officer, or increase or diminish his
salary or emoluments after his election or appointment: _Provided_, This
shall not be construed to forbid the General Assembly to fix the salary
or emoluments of those first elected or appointed under this
Constitution.
SEC. 31. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose amendments, as in case of
other bills.
SEC. 32. The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing but
appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the Executive, Legislative
and Judicial Departments of the State, interest on the public debt, and
for public schools. All other appropriations shall be made by separate
bills, each embracing but one subject.
SEC. 33. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except upon
appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer
in pursuance thereof.
SEC. 34. No appropriation shall be made for charitable, industrial,
educational or benevolent purposes, to any person, corporation, or
community not under the absolute control of the State, nor to any
denominational or sectarian institution or association.
SEC. 35. The General Assembly shall not delegate to any special
commission, private corporation or association, any power to make,
supervise or interfere with any municipal improvement, money, property
or effects, whether held in trust or otherwise, or to levy taxes, or to
perform any municipal function whatever.
SEC. 36. No act of the General Assembly shall authorize the investment
of trust funds by executors, administrators, guardians, or other
trustees, in the bonds or stock of any private corporation.
SEC. 37. The power to change the venue in civil and criminal cases shall
be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such a manner as shall be
provided by law.
SEC. 38. No obligation or liability of any person, association or
corporation, held or owned by the State, or any municipal corporation
therein, shall ever be exchanged, transferred, remitted, released or
postponed, or in any way diminished by the General Assembly, nor shall
such liability or obligation be extinguished except by payment thereof
into the proper treasury.
SEC. 39. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrence of
both Houses may be necessary, except on the question of adjournment, or
relating solely to the transaction of business of the two Houses, shall
be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take effect, be
approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be re-passed by two-thirds
of both Houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in
case of a bill.
SEC. 40. If any person elected to either House of the General Assembly
shall offer or promise to give his vote or influence in favor of or
against any measure or proposition, pending or proposed to be introduced
into the General Assembly, in consideration or upon condition that any
other person elected to the same General Assembly will give or will
promise or assent to give his vote or influence in favor of or against
any other measure or proposition, pending or proposed to be introduced
in such General Assembly, the person making such offer or promise, shall
be deemed guilty of solicitation of bribery. If any member of the
General Assembly shall give his vote or influence for or against any
measure or proposition pending in such General Assembly, or offer,
promise or assent so to do, upon condition that any other member will
give or will promise or assent to give his vote or influence in favor of
or against any other measure or proposition pending or proposed to be
introduced in such General Assembly, or in consideration that any other
member hath given his vote or influence for or against any other measure
or proposition in such General Assembly, he shall be deemed guilty of
bribery, and any member of the General Assembly, or person elected
thereto, who shall be guilty of either of such offenses shall be
expelled, and shall not be thereafter eligible to the same General
Assembly; and, on the conviction thereof in the civil courts, shall be
liable to such further penalty as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 41. Any person who shall directly or indirectly offer, give or
promise any money or thing of value, testimonial, privilege or personal
advantage to any executive or judicial officer or member of the General
Assembly to influence him in the performance of any of his public or
official duties, shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and be punished in
such manner as shall be provided by law.
SEC. 42. The offense of corrupt solicitation of members of the General
Assembly, or of public officers of the State, or of any municipal
division thereof, and any occupation or practice of solicitation of such
members or officers to influence their official action, shall be defined
by law, and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment.
SEC. 43. A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure
or bill proposed or pending before the General Assembly, shall disclose
the fact to the House of which he is a member, and shall not vote
thereon.
CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT.
SEC. 44. One Representative in the Congress of the United States shall
be elected from the State at large at the first election under this
Constitution, and thereafter at such times and places and in such manner
as may be prescribed by law. When a new apportionment shall be made by
Congress, the General Assembly shall divide the State into Congressional
Districts accordingly.
SEC. 45. The General Assembly shall provide by law for an enumeration of
the inhabitants of the State in the year of our Lord 1885, and every
tenth year thereafter; and at the session next following such
enumeration, and also at the session next following an enumeration made
by the authority of the United States, shall revise and adjust the
apportionment for Senators and Representatives on the basis of such
enumeration, according to ratios to be fixed by law.
SEC. 46. The Senate shall consist of twenty-six, and the House of
Representatives forty-nine members, which number shall not be increased
until the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, after
which time the General Assembly may increase the number of Senators and
Representatives, preserving, as near as may be, the present proportion
as to the number in each House: _Provided_, That the aggregate number of
Senators and Representatives shall never exceed one hundred.
SEC. 47. Senatorial and Representative Districts may be altered from
time to time, as public convenience may require. When a Senatorial or
Representative District shall be composed of two or more counties, they
shall be contiguous, and the district as compact as may be. No county
shall be divided in the formation of a Senatorial or Representative
District.
SEC. 48. Until the State shall be divided into Senatorial Districts, in
accordance with the provisions of this article, said districts shall be
constituted and numbered as follows:
The county of Weld shall constitute the first district, and be entitled
to one Senator.
The county of Larimer shall constitute the second district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Boulder shall constitute the third district, and be
entitled to two Senators.
The county of Gilpin shall constitute the fourth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The counties of Gilpin, Summit and Grand shall constitute the fifth
district, and be entitled to one Senator.
The county of Clear Creek shall constitute the sixth district, and be
entitled to two Senators.
The county of Jefferson shall constitute the seventh district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Arapahoe shall constitute the eighth district, and be
entitled to four Senators.
The counties of Elbert and Bent shall constitute the ninth district, and
be entitled to one Senator.
The county of El Paso shall constitute the tenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Douglas shall constitute the eleventh district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Park shall constitute the twelfth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The counties of Lake and Saguache shall constitute the thirteenth
district, and be entitled to one Senator.
The county of Fremont shall constitute the fourteenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Pueblo shall constitute the fifteenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Huerfano shall constitute the sixteenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Las Animas shall constitute the seventeenth district, and
be entitled to two Senators.
The county of Costilla shall constitute the eighteenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The county of Conejos shall constitute the nineteenth district, and be
entitled to one Senator.
The counties of Rio Grande, Hinsdale, La Plata and San Juan shall
constitute the twentieth district, and be entitled to one Senator.
SEC. 49. Until an apportionment of Representatives be made in accordance
with the provisions of this article, they shall be divided among the
several counties of the State in the following manner: The county of
Arapahoe shall have seven; the counties of Boulder and Clear Creek,
each, four; the counties of Gilpin and Las Animas, each, three; the
counties of El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Jefferson, Pueblo and Weld,
each, two; the counties of Bent, Costilla, Conejos, Douglas, Elbert,
Grand, Hinsdale, Larimer, La Plata, Lake, Park, Rio Grande, Summit,
Saguache and San Juan, each, one; and the counties of Costilla and
Conejos, jointly, one.
ARTICLE VI.
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.
SECTION 1. The judicial powers of the State, as to matters of law and
equity, except as in this Constitution otherwise provided, shall be
vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, County Courts, Justices of
the Peace, and such other courts as may be created by law for cities and
incorporated towns.
SUPREME COURT.
SEC. 2. The Supreme Court, except as otherwise provided in this
Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be
co-extensive with the State, and shall have a general superintending
control over all inferior courts, under such regulations and limitations
as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 3. It shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus,
quo warranto, certiorari, injunction, and other original and remedial
writs, with authority to hear and determine the same.
SEC. 4. At least two terms of the Supreme Court shall be held each year
at the seat of government.
SEC. 5. The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, a majority of
whom shall be necessary to form a quorum or pronounce a decision.
SEC. 6. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by electors of
the State at large, as hereinafter provided.
SEC. 7. The term of office of the Judges of the Supreme Court, except as
in this article otherwise provided, shall be nine years.
SEC. 8. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall, immediately after the
first election under this Constitution, be classified by lot, so that
one shall hold his office for the term of three years, one for the term
of six years, and one for the term of nine years. The lot shall be drawn
by the Judges, who shall for that purpose assemble at the seat of
government, and they shall cause the result thereof to be certified to
the Secretary of the Territory, and filed in his office. The Judge
having the shortest term to serve, not holding his office by appointment
or election to fill a vacancy, shall be the Chief Justice, and shall
preside at all terms of the Supreme Court, and, in case of his absence,
the Judge having in like manner the next shortest term to serve shall
preside in his stead.
SEC. 9. There shall be a Clerk of the Supreme Court, who shall be
appointed by the Judges thereof, and shall hold his office during the
pleasure of said Judges, and whose duties and emoluments shall be as
prescribed by law and by the rules of the Supreme Court.
SEC. 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of Judge of the
Supreme Court unless he be learned in the law; be at least thirty years
of age, and a citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall have
resided in this State or Territory at least two years next preceding his
election.
DISTRICT COURTS.
SEC. 11. The District Courts shall have original jurisdiction of all
causes, both at law and in equity, and such appellate jurisdiction as
may be conferred by law. They shall have original jurisdiction to
determine all controversies upon relation of any person on behalf of the
people, concerning the rights, duties and liabilities of railroad,
telegraph or toll-road companies or corporations.
SEC. 12. The State shall be divided into judicial districts, in each of
which there shall be elected by the electors thereof, one Judge of the
District Court therein, whose term of office shall be six years. The
Judges of the District Courts may hold courts for each other, and shall
do so when required by law.
SEC. 13. Until otherwise provided by law, said districts shall be four
in number, and constituted as follows, viz.:
_First District_--The counties of Boulder, Jefferson, Gilpin, Clear
Creek, Summit and Grand.
_Second District_--The counties of Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Weld and
Larimer.
_Third District_--The counties of Park, El Paso, Fremont, Pueblo, Bent,
Las Animas and Huerfano.
_Fourth District_--The counties of Costilla, Conejos, Rio Grande, San
Juan, La Plata, Hinsdale, Saguache and Lake.
SEC. 14. The General Assembly may, after the year 1880 (whenever
two-thirds of the members of each House shall concur therein), but not
oftener than once in six years, increase the number of the judicial
districts and the judges thereof; such districts shall be formed of
compact territory, and bounded by county lines, but such increase or
change in the boundaries of a district shall not work the removal of any
Judge from his office during the term for which he shall have been
elected or appointed.
SEC. 15. The Judges of the District Court first elected shall be chosen
at the first general election. The General Assembly may provide that,
after the year 1878, the election of the Judges of the Supreme, District
and County Courts, and the District Attorneys, or any of them, shall be
on a different day from that on which an election is held for any other
purpose, and for that purpose may extend or abridge the term of office
of any such officers then holding, but not in any case more than six
months. Until otherwise provided by law, such officers shall be elected
at the time of holding the general elections. The terms of office of all
Judges of the District Court elected in the several districts throughout
the State, shall expire on the same day; and the terms of office of the
District Attorneys elected in the several districts throughout the State
shall, in like manner, expire on the same day.
SEC. 16. No person shall be eligible to the office of District Judge
unless he be learned in the law, be at least thirty years old, and a
citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall have resided in the
State or Territory at least two years next preceding his election, nor
unless he shall, at the time of his election, be an elector within the
judicial district for which he is elected: _Provided_, That at the first
election, any person of the requisite age and learning, and who is an
elector of the Territory of Colorado, under the laws thereof, at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the
office of Judge of the District Court of the judicial district within
which he is an elector.
SEC. 17. The time of holding courts within the said districts shall be
as provided by law, but at least one term of the District Court shall be
held annually in each county, except in such counties as may be
attached, for judicial purposes, to another county wherein such courts
are so held. This shall not be construed to prevent the holding of
special terms, under such regulations as may be provided by law.
SEC. 18. The Judges of the Supreme and District Courts shall each
receive such salary as may be provided by law, and no such Judge shall
receive any other compensation, perquisite or emolument for or on
account of his office, in any form whatever, nor act as attorney or
counselor at law.
SEC. 19. There shall be a Clerk of the District Court in each county
wherein a term is held, who shall be appointed by the Judge of the
district, to hold his office during the pleasure of the Judge. His
duties and compensation shall be as provided by law, and regulated by
the rules of the court.
SEC. 20. Until the General Assembly shall provide by law for fixing the
terms of the courts aforesaid, the Judges of the Supreme and District
Courts, respectively, shall fix the terms thereof.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
SEC. 21. There shall be elected, by the qualified electors of each
judicial district, at each regular election for Judges of the Supreme
Court, a District Attorney for such district, whose term of office shall
be three years, and whose duties and compensations shall be as provided
by law. No person shall be eligible to the office of District Attorney
who shall not, at the time of his election, be at least twenty-five
years of age, and possess all the other qualifications for Judges of
District Courts, as prescribed in this article.
COUNTY COURTS.
SEC. 22. There shall be elected, at the general election in each
organized county in the year 1877, and every three years thereafter,
except as otherwise provided in this article, a County Judge, who shall
be Judge of the County Court of said County, whose term of office shall
be three years, and whose compensation shall be as may be provided by
law.
SEC. 23. County Courts shall be courts of record, and shall have
original jurisdiction in all matters of probate, settlement of estates
of deceased persons, appointment of guardians, conservators and
administrators, and settlement of their accounts, and such other civil
and criminal jurisdiction as may be conferred by law: _Provided_, Such
courts shall not have jurisdiction in any case where the debt, damage,
or claim or value of property involved shall exceed two thousand
dollars, except in cases relating to the estates of deceased persons.
Appeals may be taken from County to District Courts, or to the Supreme
Court, in such cases and in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
Writs of error shall lie from the Supreme Court to every final judgment
of the County Court. No appeal shall lie to the District Court from any
judgment given upon an appeal from a Justice of the Peace.
CRIMINAL COURT.
SEC. 24. The General Assembly shall have power to create and establish a
Criminal Court in each county having a population exceeding fifteen
thousand, which court may have concurrent jurisdiction with the District
Courts in all criminal cases not capital; the terms of such courts to be
as provided by law.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
SEC. 25. Justices of the Peace shall have such jurisdiction as may be
conferred by law; but they shall not have jurisdiction of any case
wherein the value of the property, or the amount in controversy, exceeds
the sum of three hundred dollars, nor where the boundaries or title to
real property shall be called in question.
POLICE MAGISTRATES.
SEC. 26. The General Assembly shall have power to provide for creating
such police magistrates for cities and towns as may be deemed from time
to time necessary or expedient, who shall have jurisdiction of all cases
arising under the ordinances of such cities and towns respectively.
MISCELLANEOUS.
SEC. 27. The judges of courts of record inferior to the Supreme Court,
shall, on or before the first day in July in each year, report in
writing, to the judges of the Supreme Court, such defects and omissions
in the laws as their knowledge and experience may suggest, and the
Judges of the Supreme Court shall, on or before the first day of
December of each year, report in writing to the Governor, to be by him
transmitted to the General Assembly, together with his message, such
defects and omissions in the Constitution and laws as they may find to
exist, together with appropriate bills for curing the same.
SEC. 28. All laws relating to courts shall be general and of uniform
operation throughout the State; and the organization, jurisdiction,
powers, proceedings and practice of all the courts of the same class or
grade, so far as regulated by law, and the force and effect of the
proceedings, judgments and decrees of such courts severally, shall be
uniform.
SEC. 29. All Officers provided for in this article, excepting Judges of
the Supreme Court, shall respectively reside in the district, county,
precinct, city or town for which they may be elected or appointed.
Vacancies in elective offices shall be filled by election, but when the
unexpired term does not exceed one year, the vacancy shall be filled by
appointment, as follows: Of Judges of the Supreme and District Courts,
by the Governor; of District Attorneys, by the Judge of the Court of
which the office appertains; and of all other judicial officers by the
Board of County Commissioners of the county where the vacancy occurs.
SEC. 30. All process shall run in the name of “The People of the State
of Colorado;” all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by
the authority of “The People of the State of Colorado,” and conclude,
“against the peace and dignity of the same.”
ARTICLE VII.
SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS.
SECTION 1. Every male person over the age of twenty-one years,
possessing the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at
all elections:
_First_--He shall be a citizen of the United States, or not being a
citizen of the United States, he shall have declared his intention,
according to law, to become such citizen, not less than four months
before he offers to vote.
_Second_--He shall have resided in the State six months immediately
preceding the election at which he offers to vote, and in the county,
city, town, ward or precinct, such time as may be prescribed by law:
_Provided_, That no person shall be denied the right to vote at any
school district election, nor to hold any school district office, on
account of sex.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall, at the first session thereof, and
may at any subsequent session, enact laws to extend the right of
suffrage to women of lawful age, and otherwise qualified according to
the provisions of this article. No such enactment shall be of effect
until submitted to the vote of the qualified electors at a general
election, nor unless the same be approved by a majority of those voting
thereon.
SEC. 3. The General Assembly may prescribe, by law, an educational
qualification for electors, but no such law shall take effect prior to
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, and no
qualified elector shall be thereby disqualified.
SEC. 4. For the purpose of voting and eligibility to office, no person
shall be deemed to have gained a residence by reason of his presence, or
lost it by reason of his absence, while in the civil or military service
of the State, or of the United States, nor while a student at any
institution of learning, nor while kept at public expense in any
poor-house or other asylum, nor while confined in public prison.
SEC. 5. Voters shall in all cases, except treason, felony or breach of
the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at
elections, and in going to and returning therefrom.
SEC. 6. No person except a qualified elector shall be elected or
appointed to any civil or military office in the State.
SEC. 7. The general election shall be held on the first Tuesday of
October, in the years of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy-six,
eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and eighteen hundred and
seventy-eight, and annually thereafter on such day as may be prescribed
by law.
SEC. 8. All elections by the people shall be by ballot; every ballot
voted shall be numbered in the order in which it shall be received, and
the number be recorded by the election officers on the list of voters
opposite the name of the voter who presents the ballot. The election
officers shall be sworn or affirmed not to enquire or disclose how any
elector shall have voted. In all cases of contested elections, the
ballots cast may be counted, compared with the list of voters, and
examined under such safeguards and regulations as may be prescribed by
law.
SEC. 9. In trials of contested elections, and for offenses arising under
the election law, no person shall be permitted to withhold his testimony
on the ground that it may criminate himself, or subject him to public
infamy; but such testimony shall not be used against him in any judicial
proceedings, except for perjury in giving such testimony.
SEC. 10. No person while confined in any public prison shall be entitled
to vote; but every such person who was a qualified elector prior to such
imprisonment, and who is released therefrom by virtue of a pardon, or by
virtue of having served out his full term of imprisonment, shall,
without further action, be invested with all the rights of citizenship,
except as otherwise provided in this Constitution.
SEC. 11. The General Assembly shall pass laws to secure the purity of
elections, and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.
SEC. 12. The General Assembly shall, by general law, designate the
courts and judges by whom the several classes of election contests, not
herein provided for, shall be tried, and regulate the manner of trial,
and all matters incident thereto; but no such law shall apply to any
contest arising out of an election held before its passage.
ARTICLE VIII.
STATE INSTITUTIONS.
SECTION 1. Educational, reformatory, and penal institutions, and those
for the benefit of the insane, blind, deaf and mute, and such other
institutions as the public good may require, shall be established and
supported by the State, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to change or to locate
the seat of government of the State, but shall at its first session
subsequent to the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
eighty, provide by law for submitting the question of the permanent
location of the seat of government to the qualified electors of the
State, at the general election then next ensuing, and a majority of all
the votes upon said question cast at said election, shall be necessary
to determine the location thereof. Said General Assembly shall also
provide that in case there shall be no choice of location at said
election, the question of choice between the two places for which the
highest number of votes shall have been cast, shall be submitted in like
manner to the qualified electors of the State, at the next general
election: _Provided_, That until the seat of government shall have been
permanently located as herein provided, the temporary location thereof
shall remain at the city of Denver.
SEC. 3. When the seat of government shall have been located as herein
provided, the location thereof shall not thereafter be changed, except
by a vote of two-thirds of all the qualified electors of the State
voting on that question, at a general election, at which the question of
location of the seat of government shall have been submitted by the
General Assembly.
SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall make no appropriation or expenditures
for capitol buildings or grounds, until the seat of government shall
have been permanently located, as herein provided.
SEC. 5. The following Territorial institutions, to wit: The University
at Boulder, the Agricultural College at Fort Collins, the School of
Mines at Golden, the Institute for the education of Mutes at Colorado
Springs, shall, upon the adoption of this Constitution, become
institutions of the State of Colorado, and the management thereof
subject to the control of the State, under such laws and regulations as
the General Assembly shall provide; and the location of said
institutions, as well as all gifts, grants, and appropriations of money
and property, real and personal, heretofore made to said several
institutions, are hereby confirmed to the use and benefit of the same
respectively: _Provided_, This section shall not apply to any
institution, the property, real or personal, of which is now vested in
the trustees thereof, until such property be transferred by proper
conveyance, together with the control thereof, to the officers provided
for the management of said institution by this Constitution or by law.
ARTICLE IX.
EDUCATION.
SECTION 1. The general supervision of the public schools of the State
shall be vested in a Board of Education, whose powers and duties shall
be prescribed by law; the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
Secretary of State, and Attorney General, shall constitute the Board, of
which the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be President.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall, as soon as practicable, provide for
the establishment and maintenance of a thorough and uniform system of
free public schools throughout the State, wherein all residents of the
State between the ages of six and twenty-one years may be educated
gratuitously. One or more public schools shall be maintained in each
school district within the State, at least three months in each year;
any school district failing to have such school shall not be entitled to
receive any portion of the school fund for that year.
SEC. 3. The public school fund of the State shall forever remain
inviolate and intact; the interest thereon, only, shall be expended in
the maintenance of the schools of the State, and shall be distributed
amongst the several counties and school districts of the State, in such
manner as may be prescribed by law. No part of this fund, principal or
interest, shall ever be transferred to any other fund, or used or
appropriated except as herein provided. The State Treasurer shall be the
custodian of this fund, and the same shall be securely and profitably
invested as may be by law directed. The State shall supply all losses
thereof that may in any manner occur.
SEC. 4. Each County Treasurer shall collect all school funds belonging
to his county, and the several school districts therein, and disburse
the same to the proper districts upon warrants drawn by the County
Superintendent, or by the proper district authorities, as may be
provided by law.
SEC. 5. The public school fund of the State shall consist of the
proceeds of such lands as have heretofore been, or may hereafter be,
granted to the State by the General Government for educational
purposes; all estates that may escheat to the State; also all other
grants, gifts, or devises that may be made to this State for educational
purpose.
SEC. 6. There shall be a County Superintendent of Schools in each
county, whose term of office shall be two years, and whose duties,
qualifications and compensation shall be prescribed by law. He shall be
_ex officio_ Commissioner of Lands within his county, and shall
discharge the duties of said office under the direction of the State
Board of Land Commissioners, as directed by law.
SEC. 7. Neither the General Assembly, nor any county, city, town,
township, school district or other public corporation, shall ever make
any appropriation, or pay from any public fund or moneys whatever,
anything in aid of any church or sectarian society, or for any sectarian
purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, academy, seminary,
college, university, or other literary or scientific institution,
controlled by any church or sectarian denomination whatsoever; nor shall
any grant or donation of land, money, or other personal property, ever
be made by the State, or any such public corporation, to any church or
for any sectarian purpose.
SEC. 8. No religious test or qualification shall ever be required of any
person as a condition of admission into any public educational
institution of the State, either as teacher or student; and no teacher
or student of any such institution shall ever be required to attend, or
participate in, any religious service whatever. No sectarian tenets or
doctrines shall ever be taught in the public schools, nor shall any
distinction or classification of pupils be made on account of race or
color.
SEC. 9. The Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Secretary of
State and Attorney General shall constitute the State Board of Land
Commissioners, who shall have the direction, control, and disposition of
the public lands of the State, under such regulations as may be
prescribed by law.
SEC. 10. It shall be the duty of the State Board of Land Commissioners
to provide for the location, protection, sale or other disposition of
all the lands heretofore, or which may hereafter be, granted to the
State by the general government, under such regulations as may be
prescribed by law; and in such manner as will secure the maximum
possible amount therefor. No law shall ever be passed by the General
Assembly granting any privileges to persons who may have settled upon
any such public lands subsequent to the survey thereof by the general
government, by which the amount to be derived by the sale, or other
disposition of such lands, shall be diminished, directly or indirectly.
The General Assembly shall, at the earliest practicable period, provide
by law that the several grants of land made by Congress to the State
shall be judiciously located and carefully preserved and held in trust,
subject to disposal, for the use and benefit of the respective objects
for which said grants of land were made, and the General Assembly shall
provide for the sale of said lands from time to time; and for the
faithful application of the proceeds thereof in accordance with the
terms of said grants.
SEC. 11. The General Assembly may require, by law, that every child of
sufficient mental and physical ability, shall attend the public school
during the period between the ages of six and eighteen years, for a time
equivalent to three years, unless educated by other means.
SEC. 12. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State,
at the first general election under this Constitution, six Regents of
the University, who shall immediately after their election be so
classified, by lot, that two shall hold their office for the term of two
years, two for four years, and two for six years; and every two years
after the first election there shall be elected two Regents of the
University, whose term of office shall be six years. The Regents thus
elected, and their successors, shall constitute a body corporate, to be
known by the name and style of “The Regents of the University of
Colorado.”
SEC. 13. The Regents of the University shall, at their first meeting, or
as soon thereafter as practicable, elect a President of the University,
who shall hold his office until removed by the Board of Regents for
cause; he shall be _ex officio_ a member of the Board, with the
privilege of speaking, but not voting, except in cases of a tie; he
shall preside at the meetings of the Board, and be the principal
executive officer of the University, and a member of the faculty
thereof.
SEC. 14. The Board of Regents shall have the general supervision of the
University, and the exclusive control and direction of all funds of, and
appropriations to, the University.
SEC. 15. The General Assembly shall, by law, provide for organization of
school districts of convenient size, in each of which shall be
established a Board of Education, to consist of three or more directors,
to be elected by the qualified electors of the district. Said directors
shall have control of instruction in the public schools of their
respective districts.
SEC. 16. Neither the General Assembly nor the State Board of Education
shall have power to prescribe text books to be used in the public
schools.
ARTICLE X.
REVENUE.
SECTION 1. The fiscal year shall commence on the first day of October in
each year, unless otherwise provided by law.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall provide by law for an annual tax
sufficient, with other resources, to defray the estimated expenses of
the State government for each fiscal year.
SEC. 3. All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects
within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and
shall be levied and collected under general laws, which shall prescribe
such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all
property, real and personal: _Provided_, That mines and mining claims
bearing gold, silver, and other precious metals (except the net proceeds
and surface improvements thereof), shall be exempt from taxation for the
period of ten years from the date of the adoption of this Constitution,
and thereafter may be taxed as provided by law. Ditches, canals, and
flumes owned and used by individuals or corporations for irrigating
lands owned by such individuals or corporations, or the individual
members thereof, shall not be separately taxed, so long as they shall be
owned and used exclusively for such purpose.
SEC. 4. The property, real and personal, of the State, counties, cities,
towns and other municipal corporations, and public libraries shall be
exempt from taxation.
SEC. 5. Lots, with the buildings thereon, if said buildings are used
solely and exclusively for religious worship, for schools, or for
strictly charitable purposes, also cemeteries not used or held for
private or corporate profit, shall be exempt from taxation, unless
otherwise provided by general law.
SEC. 6. All laws exempting from taxation property other than that
hereinbefore mentioned, shall be void.
SEC. 7. The General Assembly shall not impose taxes for the purposes of
any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, but may, by law,
vest in the corporate authorities thereof respectively the power to
assess and collect taxes for all purposes of such corporation.
SEC. 8. No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, the
inhabitants thereof, nor the property therein, shall be released or
discharged from their or its proportionate share of taxes to be levied
for State purposes.
SEC. 9. The power to tax corporations and corporate property, real and
personal, shall never be relinquished or suspended.
SEC. 10. All corporations in this State, or doing business therein,
shall be subject to taxation for State, county, school, municipal, and
other purposes, on the real and personal property owned or used by them
within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax.
SEC. 11. The rate of taxation on property, for State purposes, shall
never exceed six mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the
taxable property within the State shall amount to one hundred million
dollars, the rate shall not exceed four mills on each dollar of
valuation; and whenever the taxable property within the State shall
amount to three hundred million dollars, the rate shall never thereafter
exceed two mills on each dollar of valuation, unless a proposition to
increase such rate, specifying the rate proposed, and the time during
which the same shall be levied, be first submitted to a vote of such of
the qualified electors of the State as, in the year next preceding such
election, shall have paid a property tax assessed to them within the
State, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor
thereof, in such manner as may be provided by law.
SEC. 12. The Treasurer shall keep a separate account of each fund in his
hands; and shall, at the end of each quarter of the fiscal year, report
to the Governor in writing, under oath, the amount of all moneys in his
hands to the credit of every such fund, and the place where the same are
kept or deposited, and the number and amount of every warrant received,
and the number and amount of every warrant paid therefrom during the
quarter. Swearing falsely to any such report shall be deemed perjury.
The Governor shall cause every such report to be immediately published
in at least one newspaper printed at the seat of government, and
otherwise as the General Assembly may require. The General Assembly may
provide by law further regulations for the safe-keeping and management
of the public funds in the hands of the Treasurer; but, notwithstanding
any such regulation, the Treasurer and his sureties shall in all cases
be held responsible therefor.
SEC. 13. The making of profit, directly or indirectly, out of State,
county, city, town or school district money, or using the same for any
purpose not authorized by law, by any public officer, shall be deemed a
felony, and shall be punished as provided by law.
SEC. 14. Private property shall not be taken or sold for the payment of
the corporate debt of municipal corporations.
SEC. 15. There shall be a State Board of Equalization, consisting of
the Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, and
Attorney General; also, in each county of this State, a County Board of
Equalization, consisting of the Board of County Commissioners of said
county. The duty of the State Board of Equalization shall be to adjust
and equalize the valuation of real and personal property among the
several counties of the State. The duty of the County Board of
Equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real and
personal property within their respective counties. Each board shall
also perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 16. No appropriation shall be made, nor any expenditure authorized
by the General Assembly, whereby the expenditure of the State, during
any fiscal year, shall exceed the total tax then provided for by law and
applicable for such appropriation or expenditure, unless the General
Assembly making such appropriation shall provide for levying a
sufficient tax, not exceeding the rates allowed in section eleven of
this article, to pay such appropriation or expenditure within such
fiscal year. This provision shall not apply to appropriations or
expenditures to suppress insurrection, defend the State, or assist in
defending the United States in time of war.
ARTICLE XI.
PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS.
SECTION 1. Neither the State, nor any county, city, town, township, or
school district, shall lend or pledge the credit or faith thereof,
directly or indirectly, in any manner to, or in aid of, any person,
company, or corporation, public or private, for any amount or for any
purpose whatever, or become responsible for any debt, contract or
liability of any person, company or corporation, public or private, in
or out of the State.
SEC. 2. Neither the State nor any county, city, town, township, or
school district shall make any donation or grant to, or in aid of, or
become a subscriber to, or shareholder in, any corporation or company,
or a joint owner with any person, company, or corporation, public or
private, in or out of the State, except as to such ownership as may
accrue to the State by escheat, or by forfeiture, by operation or
provision of law; and except as to such ownership as may accrue to the
State, or to any county, city, town, township, or school district, or to
either or any of them, jointly with any person, company, or corporation,
by forfeiture or sale of real estate for non-payment of taxes, or by
donation or devise for public use, or by purchase by or on behalf of any
or either of them, jointly with any or either of them, under execution
in cases of fines, penalties, or forfeiture of recognizance, breach of
condition of official bond, or of bond to secure public moneys, or the
performance of any contract in which they, or any of them, may be
jointly or severally interested.
SEC. 3. The State shall not contract any debt by loan in any form,
except to provide for casual deficiencies of revenue, erect public
buildings for use of the State, suppress insurrection, defend the State,
or, in time of war, assist in defending the United States; and the
amount of debt contracted in any one year to provide for deficiencies of
the revenue shall not exceed one-fourth of a mill on each dollar of
valuation of taxable property within the State, and the aggregate amount
of such debt shall not at any time exceed three-fourths of a mill on
each dollar of said valuation until the valuation shall equal one
hundred millions of dollars, and thereafter such debt shall not exceed
one hundred thousand dollars, and the debt incurred in any one year for
erection of public buildings shall not exceed one-half mill on each
dollar of said valuation, and the aggregate amount of such debt shall
never at any time exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars (except as
provided in section five of this article), and in all cases the
valuation in this section mentioned shall be that of the assessment last
preceding the creation of said debt.
SEC. 4. In no case shall any debt above mentioned in this article be
created except by a law which shall be irrepealable until the
indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully paid or
discharged; such law shall specify the purposes to which the funds so
raised shall be applied, and provide for the levy of a tax sufficient to
pay the interest on, and extinguish the principal of, such debt, within
the time limited by such law for the payment thereof, which in the case
of debts contracted for the erection of public buildings and supplying
deficiencies of revenue, shall not be less than ten nor more than
fifteen years, and the funds arising from the collection of any such tax
shall not be applied to any other purpose than that provided in the law
levying the same; and when the debt thereby created shall be paid or
discharged, such tax shall cease, and the balance, if any, to the credit
of the fund, shall immediately be placed to the credit of the general
fund of the State.
SEC. 5. A debt for the purpose of erecting public buildings may be
created by law, as provided for in section four of this article, not
exceeding in the aggregate three mills on each dollar of said valuation:
_Provided_, That before going into effect, such law shall be ratified by
the vote of a majority of such qualified electors of the State as shall
vote thereon at a general election, under such regulations as the
General Assembly may prescribe.
SEC. 6. No county shall contract any debt by loan in any form, except
for the purpose of erecting necessary public buildings, making or
repairing public roads and bridges; and such indebtedness contracted in
any one year shall not exceed the rates upon the taxable property in
such county, following, to wit: Counties in which the assessed valuation
of taxable properly shall exceed five millions of dollars, one dollar
and fifty cents on each thousand dollars thereof. Counties in which such
valuation shall be less than five millions of dollars, three dollars on
each thousand dollars thereof. And the aggregate amount of indebtedness
of any county for all purposes, exclusive of debts contracted before the
adoption of this Constitution, shall not at any time exceed twice the
amount above herein limited, unless when in manner provided by law, the
question of incurring such debt shall, at a general election, be
submitted to such of the qualified electors of such county as in the
year last preceding such election shall have paid a tax upon property
assessed to them in such county, and a majority of those voting thereon
shall vote in favor of incurring the debt, but the bonds, if any be
issued therefor, shall not run less than ten years, and the aggregate
amount of debt so contracted shall not at any time exceed twice the rate
upon the valuation last herein mentioned: _Provided_, That this section
shall not apply to counties having a valuation of less than one million
of dollars.
SEC. 7. No debt by loan in any form shall be contracted by any school
district for the purpose of erecting and furnishing school buildings, or
purchasing grounds, unless the proposition to create such debt shall
first be submitted to such qualified electors of the districts as shall
have paid a school tax therein, in the year next preceding such
election, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor of
incurring such debt.
SEC. 8. No city or town shall contract any debt by loan in any form,
except by means of an ordinance, which shall be irrepealable until the
indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully paid or
discharged; specifying the purposes to which the funds to be raised
shall be applied, and providing for the levy of a tax, not exceeding
twelve mills on each dollar of valuation of taxable property within such
city or town, sufficient to pay the annual interest, and extinguish the
principal of such debt within fifteen, but not less than ten years from
the creation thereof; and such tax when collected shall be applied only
to the purposes in such ordinance specified, until the indebtedness
shall be paid or discharged. But no such debt shall be created unless
the question of incurring the same shall, at a regular election for
councilmen, aldermen, or officers of such city or town, be submitted to
a vote of such qualified electors thereof as shall, in the year next
preceding, have paid a property tax therein, and a majority of those
voting on the question, by ballot deposited in a separate ballot-box,
shall vote in favor of creating such debt; but the aggregate amount of
debt so created, together with the debt existing at the time of such
election, shall not at any time exceed three per cent. of the valuation
last aforesaid. Debts contracted for supplying water to such city or
town are excepted from the operation of this section. The valuation in
this section mentioned shall be in all cases that of the assessment next
preceding the last assessment before the adoption of such ordinance.
SEC. 9. Nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to
either impair or add to the obligation of any debt heretofore contracted
by any county, city, town, or school district, in accordance with the
laws of Colorado Territory, or prevent the contracting of any debt, or
the issuing of bonds therefor, in accordance with said laws, upon any
proposition for that purpose which may have been, according to said
laws, submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of any county, city,
town, or school district before the day on which this Constitution takes
effect.
ARTICLE XII.
OFFICERS.
SECTION 1. Every person holding any civil office under the State or any
municipality therein, shall, unless removed according to law, exercise
the duties of such office until his successor is duly qualified; but
this shall not apply to members of the General Assembly, nor to members
of any board or assembly, two or more of whom are elected at the same
time; the General Assembly may by law provide for suspending any officer
in his functions, pending impeachment or prosecution for misconduct in
office.
SEC. 2. No person shall hold any office or employment of trust or
profit, under the laws of the State or any ordinance of any municipality
therein, without devoting his personal attention to the duties of the
same.
SEC. 3. No person who is now or hereafter may become a collector or
receiver of public money, or the deputy or assistant of such collector
or receiver, and who shall have become a defaulter in his office, shall
be eligible to or assume the duties of any office of trust or profit in
this State, under the laws thereof, or of any municipality therein,
until he shall have accounted for and paid over all public money for
which he may be accountable.
SEC. 4. No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public moneys,
bribery, perjury, solicitation of bribery, or subornation of perjury,
shall be eligible to the General Assembly, or capable of holding any
office of trust or profit in this State.
SEC. 5. The District Court of each county shall, at each term thereof,
specially give in charge to the grand jury, if there be one, the laws
regulating the accountability of the County Treasurer, and shall appoint
a committee of such grand jury, or of other reputable persons, not
exceeding five, to investigate the official accounts and affairs of the
Treasurer of such county, and report to the Court the condition thereof.
The Judge of the District Court may appoint a like committee in vacation
at any time, but not oftener than once in every three months. The
District Court of the county wherein the seat of government may be,
shall have the like power to appoint committees to investigate the
official accounts and affairs of the State Treasurer and the Auditor of
State.
SEC. 6. Any civil officer or member of the General Assembly who shall
solicit, demand or receive, or consent to receive, directly or
indirectly, for himself or for another, from any company, corporation or
person, any money, office, appointment, employment, testimonial, reward,
thing of value or enjoyment, or of personal advantage or promise
thereof, for his vote, official influence or action, or for withholding
the same, or with an understanding that his official influence or action
shall be in any way influenced thereby, or who shall solicit or demand
any such money or advantage, matter or thing aforesaid for another, as
the consideration of his vote, official influence or action, or for
withholding the same, or shall give or withhold his vote, official
influence or action, in consideration of the payment or promise of such
money, advantage, matter or thing to another, shall be held guilty of
bribery, or solicitation of bribery, as the case may be, within the
meaning of the Constitution, and shall incur the disabilities provided
thereby for such offense, and such additional punishment as is or shall
be prescribed by law.
SEC. 7. Every member of the General Assembly shall, before he enters
upon his official duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the
Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado, and to
faithfully perform the duties of his office according to the best of his
ability. This oath or affirmation shall be administered in the hall of
the House to which the member shall have been elected.
SEC. 8. Every civil officer, except members of the General Assembly and
such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before he
enters upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe an oath or
affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of the
State of Colorado, and to faithfully perform the duties of the office
upon which he shall be about to enter.
SEC. 9. Officers of the Executive Department and Judges of the Supreme
and District Courts, and District Attorneys, shall file their oaths of
office with the Secretary of State; every other officer shall file his
oath of office with the County Clerk of the county wherein he shall have
been elected.
SEC. 10. If any person elected or appointed to any office shall refuse
or neglect to qualify therein within the time prescribed by law, such
office shall be deemed vacant.
SEC. 11. The term of office of any officer elected to fill a vacancy
shall terminate at the expiration of the term during which the vacancy
occurred.
SEC. 12. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist in the
same as a second, or send, accept or knowingly carry a challenge
therefor, or agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall hold
any office in the State.
ARTICLE XIII.
IMPEACHMENTS.
SECTION 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of
impeachment. The concurrence of a majority of all the members shall be
necessary to an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the
Senate, and when sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be upon
oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. When
the Governor or Lieutenant Governor is on trial, the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court shall preside. No person shall be convicted without a
concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators elected.
SEC. 2. The Governor and other State and Judicial Officers, except
County Judges and Justices of the Peace, shall be liable to impeachment
for high crimes or misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office, but judgment
in such cases shall only extend to removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the
State. The party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, nevertheless,
be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to
law.
SEC. 3. All officers not liable to impeachment shall be subject to
removal for misconduct or malfeasance in office, in such manner as may
be provided by law.
ARTICLE XIV.
COUNTIES.
SECTION 1. The several counties of the Territory of Colorado, as they
now exist, are hereby declared to be counties of the State.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to remove the county
seat of any county, but the removal of county seats shall be provided
for by general law, and no county seat shall be removed unless a
majority of the qualified electors of the county, voting on the
proposition at a general election, vote therefor; and no such
proposition shall be submitted oftener than once in four years, and no
person shall vote on such proposition who shall not have resided in the
county six months, and in the election precinct ninety days next
preceding such election.
SEC. 3. No part of the territory of any county shall be stricken off and
added to an adjoining county, without first submitting the question to
the qualified voters of the county from which the territory is proposed
to be stricken off; nor unless a majority of all the qualified voters of
said county voting on the question shall vote therefor.
SEC. 4. In all cases of the establishment of any new county, the new
county shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all then existing
liabilities of the county or counties from which such new county shall
be formed.
SEC. 5. When any part of the county is stricken off and attached to
another county, the part stricken off shall be held to pay its ratable
proportion of all then existing liabilities of the county from which it
is taken.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
SEC. 6. In each county there shall be elected for the term of three
years, three County Commissioners, who shall hold sessions for the
transaction of county business as provided by law; any two of whom shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. One of said
commissioners shall be elected on the first Tuesday of October, eighteen
hundred and seventy-six, and every year thereafter one such officer
shall be elected in each county, at the general election, for the term
of three years: _Provided_, That when the population of any county shall
exceed ten thousand, the Board of County Commissioners may consist of
five members, who shall be elected as provided by law, any three of
whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SEC. 7. The compensation of all county and precinct officers shall be as
provided by law.
SEC. 8. There shall be elected in each county, on the first Tuesday of
October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, and
every alternate year forever thereafter, one County Clerk, who shall be
_ex-officio_ Recorder of Deeds and Clerk of the Board of County
Commissioners; one Sheriff, one Coroner, one Treasurer, who shall be
collector of taxes; one County Superintendent of Schools, one County
Surveyor, and one County Assessor.
SEC. 9. In case of a vacancy occurring in the office of County
Commissioner, the Governor shall fill the same by appointment; and in
the case of a vacancy in any other county office, or in any precinct
office, the Board of County Commissioners shall fill the same by
appointment; and the person appointed shall hold the office until the
next general election, or until the vacancy be filled by election
according to law.
SEC. 10. No person shall be eligible to any county office unless he be a
qualified elector; nor unless he shall have resided in the county one
year preceding his election.
SEC. 11. There shall, at the first election at which county officers are
chosen, and annually thereafter, be elected in each precinct one Justice
of the Peace and one Constable, who shall each hold his office for the
term of two years: _Provided_, That in precincts containing five
thousand or more inhabitants, the number of justices and constables may
be increased as provided by law.
SEC. 12. The General Assembly shall provide for the election or
appointment of such other county, township, precinct and municipal
officers as public convenience may require; and their terms of office
shall be as prescribed by law, not in any case to exceed two years.
SEC. 13. The General Assembly shall provide, by general laws, for the
organization and classification of cities and towns. The number of such
classes shall not exceed four, and the powers of each class shall be
defined by general laws, so that all municipal corporations of the same
class shall possess the same powers, and be subject to the same
restrictions.
SEC. 14. The General Assembly shall also make provision, by general law,
whereby any city, town or village, incorporated by any special or local
law, may elect to become subject to and be governed by the general law
relating to such corporations.
SEC. 15. For the purpose of providing for and regulating the
compensation of county and precinct officers, the General Assembly
shall, by law, classify the several counties of the State according to
population, and shall grade and fix the compensation of the officers
within the respective classes according to the population thereof. Such
law shall establish scales of fees to be charged and collected by such
of the county and precinct officers as may be designated therein, for
services to be performed by them respectively; and where salaries are
provided, the same shall be payable only out of the fees actually
collected in all cases where fees are prescribed. All fees, perquisites
and emoluments, above the amount of such salaries, shall be paid into
the county treasury.
ARTICLE XV.
CORPORATIONS.
SECTION 1. All existing charters or grants of special or exclusive
privileges, under which the corporators or grantees shall not have
organized and commenced business in good faith at the time of the
adoption of this Constitution, shall thereafter have no validity.
SEC. 2. No charter of incorporations shall be granted, extended, changed
or amended by special law, except for such municipal, charitable,
educational, penal or reformatory corporations as are or may be under
the control of the State; but the General Assembly shall provide by
general laws for the organization of corporations hereafter to be
created.
SEC. 3. The General Assembly shall have the power to alter, revoke or
annul any charter of incorporation now existing and revocable at the
adoption of this Constitution, or any that may hereafter be created,
whenever in their opinion it may be injurious to the citizens of the
State, in such manner, however, that no injustice shall be done to the
corporators.
SEC. 4. All railroads shall be public highways, and all railroad
companies shall be common carriers. Any association or corporation
organized for the purpose, shall have the right to construct and operate
a railroad between any designated points within this State, and to
connect at the State line with railroads of other States and
Territories. Every railroad company shall have the right with its road
to intersect, connect with or cross any other railroad.
SEC. 5. No railroad corporation or the lessees or managers thereof,
shall consolidate its stock, property or franchises with any other
railroad corporation owning or having under its control a parallel or
competing line.
SEC. 6. All individuals, associations and corporations shall have equal
rights to have persons and property transported over any railroad in
this State, and no undue or unreasonable discrimination shall be made in
charges or in facilities for transportation of freight or passengers
within the State, and no railroad company, nor any lessee, manager or
employe thereof, shall give any preference to individuals, associations,
or corporations in furnishing cars or motive power.
SEC. 7. No railroad or other transportation company in existence, at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall have the benefit of any
future legislation without first filing in the office of the Secretary
of State an acceptance of the provisions of this Constitution in binding
form.
SEC. 8. The right of eminent domain shall never be abridged, nor so
construed as to prevent the General Assembly from taking the property
and franchises of incorporated companies and subjecting them to public
use, the same as the property of individuals; and the police powers of
the State shall never be abridged, or so construed as to permit
corporations to conduct their business in such manner as to infringe the
equal rights of individuals, or the general well-being of the State.
SEC. 9. No corporation shall issue stocks or bonds, except for labor
done, services performed, or money or property actually received, and
all fictitious increase of stock or indebtedness shall be void. The
stock of corporations shall not be increased except in pursuance of
general law, nor without the consent of the persons holding a majority
of the stock, first obtained at a meeting held after at least thirty
days’ notice given in pursuance of law.
SEC. 10. No foreign corporation shall do any business in this State
without having one or more known places of business, and an authorized
agent or agents in the same, upon whom process may be served.
SEC. 11. No street railroad shall be constructed within any city, town,
or incorporated village, without the consent of the local authorities
having the control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied by
such street railroad.
SEC. 12. The General Assembly shall pass no law for the benefit of a
railroad or other corporation, or any individual, or association of
individuals, retrospective in its operation, or which imposes on the
people of any county or municipal subdivision of the State, a new
liability in respect to transactions or considerations already past.
SEC. 13. Any association or corporation, or the lessees or managers
thereof, organized for the purpose, or any individual, shall have the
right to construct and maintain lines of telegraph within this State,
and to connect the same with other lines, and the General Assembly
shall, by general law of uniform operation, provide reasonable
regulations to give full effect to this section. No telegraph company
shall consolidate with, or hold a controlling interest in, the stock or
bonds of any other telegraph company owning or having the control of a
competing line, or acquire, by purchase or otherwise, any other
competing line of telegraph.
SEC. 14. If any railroad, telegraph, express, or other corporation
organized under any of the laws of this State, shall consolidate, by
sale or otherwise, with any railroad, telegraph, express, or other
corporation organized under any laws of any other State or Territory, or
of the United States, the same shall not thereby become a foreign
corporation, but the courts of this State shall retain jurisdiction over
that part of the corporate property within the limits of the State in
all matters which may arise, as if said consolidation had not taken
place.
SEC. 15. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or corporation to
require of its servants or employes, as a condition of their employment
or otherwise, any contract or agreement whereby such person, company or
corporation shall be released or discharged from liability or
responsibility on account of personal injuries received by such servants
or employes while in the service of such person, company or corporation,
by reason of the negligence of such person, company or corporation, or
the agents or employes thereof, and such contracts shall be absolutely
null and void.
ARTICLE XVI.
MINING AND IRRIGATION.
MINING.
SECTION 1. There shall be established and maintained the office of
Commissioner of Mines, the duties and salary of which shall be
prescribed by law. When said office shall be established, the Governor
shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint thereto a
person known to be competent, whose term of office shall be four years.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the proper
ventilation of mines, the construction of escapement shafts, and such
other appliances as may be necessary to protect the health and secure
the safety of the workmen therein, and shall prohibit the employment in
the mines of children under twelve years of age.
SEC. 3. The General Assembly may make such regulations, from time to
time, as may be necessary for the proper and equitable drainage of
mines.
SEC. 4. The General Assembly may provide that the science of mining and
metallurgy be taught in one or more of the institutions of learning
under the patronage of the State.
IRRIGATION.
SEC. 5. The water of every natural stream, not heretofore appropriated,
within the State of Colorado, is hereby declared to be the property of
the public, and the same is dedicated to the use of the people of the
State, subject to appropriation as hereinafter provided.
SEC. 6. The right to divert the unappropriated waters of any natural
stream to beneficial uses shall never be denied. Priority of
appropriation shall give the better right as between those using the
water for the same purpose; but when the waters of any natural stream
are not sufficient for the service of all those desiring the use of the
same, those using the water for domestic purposes shall have the
preference over those claiming for any other purpose, and those using
the water for agricultural purposes shall have preference over those
using the same for manufacturing purposes.
SEC. 7. All persons and corporations shall have the right of way across
public, private, and corporate lands for the construction of ditches,
canals and flumes, for the purpose of conveying water for domestic
purposes, for the irrigation of agricultural lands, and for mining and
manufacturing purposes, and for drainage, upon payment of just
compensation.
SEC. 8. The General Assembly shall provide by law that the Board of
County Commissioners, in their respective counties, shall have power,
when application is made to them by either party interested, to
establish reasonable maximum rates to be charged for the use of water,
whether furnished by individuals or corporations.
ARTICLE XVII.
MILITIA.
SECTION 1. The militia of the State shall consist of all able-bodied
male residents of the State, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five
years; except such persons as may be exempted by the laws of the United
States, or of the State.
SEC. 2. The organization, equipment and discipline of the militia shall
conform, as nearly as practicable, to the regulations for the government
of the armies of the United States.
SEC. 3. The Governor shall appoint all general, field and staff
officers, and commission them. Each company shall elect its own
officers, who shall be commissioned by the Governor; but if any company
shall fail to elect such officers within the time prescribed by law,
they may be appointed by the Governor.
SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall provide for the safe-keeping of the
public arms, military records, relics and banners of the State.
SEC. 5. No person having conscientious scruples against bearing arms
shall be compelled to do militia duty in time of peace: _Provided_, such
person shall pay an equivalent for such exemption.
ARTICLE XVIII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
SECTION 1. The General Assembly shall pass liberal homestead and
exemption laws.
SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to authorize lotteries
or gift enterprises for any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the
sale of lottery or gift enterprise tickets in this State.
SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass such laws
as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to
be appointed by mutual agreement of the parties to any controversy, who
may choose that mode of adjustment. The powers and duties of such
arbitrators shall be as prescribed by law.
SEC. 4. The term felony, wherever it may occur in this Constitution, or
the laws of the State, shall be construed to mean any criminal offense
punishable by death or imprisonment in the penitentiary, and none other.
SEC. 5. The General Assembly shall prohibit by law the importation into
this State, for the purpose of sale, of any spurious, poisonous, or
drugged spirituous liquors, or spirituous liquors adulterated with any
poisonous or deleterious substance, mixture or compound; and shall
prohibit the compounding or manufacture within this State, except for
chemical or mechanical purposes, of any of said liquors, whether they be
denominated spirituous, vinous, malt or otherwise; and shall also
prohibit the sale of any such liquors to be used as a beverage, and any
violation of either of said prohibitions shall be punished by fine and
imprisonment. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the
condemnation and destruction of all spurious, poisonous, or drugged
liquors herein prohibited.
SEC. 6. The General Assembly shall enact laws in order to prevent the
destruction of, and to keep in good preservation, the forests upon the
lands of the State, or upon lands of the public domain, the control of
which shall be conferred by Congress upon the State.
SEC. 7. The General Assembly may provide that the increase in the value
of private lands, caused by the planting of hedges, orchards, and
forests thereon, shall not, for a limited time, to be fixed by law, be
taken into account in assessing such lands for taxation.
SEC. 8. The General Assembly shall provide for the publication of the
laws passed at each session thereof; and, until the year 1900, they
shall cause to be published in Spanish and German, a sufficient number
of copies of said laws to supply that portion of the inhabitants of the
State who speak those languages, and who may be unable to read and
understand the English language.
ARTICLE XIX.
FUTURE AMENDMENTS.
SECTION 1. The General Assembly may, at any time, by a vote of
two-thirds of the members elected to each house, recommend to the
electors of the State, to vote at the next general election, for or
against a Convention to revise, alter and amend this Constitution; and
if a majority of those voting on the question shall declare in favor of
such Convention, the General Assembly shall, at its next session,
provide for the calling thereof. The number of members of the Convention
shall be twice that of the Senate, and they shall be elected in the same
manner, at the same places, and in the same districts. The General
Assembly shall, in the act calling the Convention, designate the day,
hour and place of its meeting; fix the pay of its members and officers,
and provide for the payment of the same, together with the necessary
expenses of the Convention. Before proceeding the members shall take an
oath to support the Constitution of the United States and of the State
of Colorado, and to faithfully discharge their duties as members of the
Convention. The qualifications of members shall be the same as of
members of the Senate, and vacancies occurring shall be filled in the
manner provided for filling vacancies in the General Assembly. Said
Convention shall meet within three months after such election, and
prepare such revisions, alterations or amendments to the Constitution as
may be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted to the electors for
their ratification or rejection at an election appointed by the
Convention for that purpose, not less than two nor more than six months
after the adjournment thereof; and unless so submitted and approved by a
majority of the electors voting at the election, no such revision,
alteration or amendment shall take effect.
SEC. 2. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed
in either House of the General Assembly, and if the same shall be voted
for by two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, such
proposed amendments, together with the ayes and noes of each House
thereon, shall be entered in full on their respective journals; and the
Secretary of State shall cause the said amendment or amendments to be
published in full in at least one newspaper in each county (if such
there be), for three months previous to the next general election for
members to the General Assembly; and at said election the said amendment
or amendments shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the State
for their approval or rejection, and such as are approved by a majority
of those voting thereon, shall become part of this Constitution; but the
General Assembly shall have no power to propose amendments to more than
one article of this Constitution at the same session.
SCHEDULE.
That no inconvenience may arise by reason of the change in the form of
government, it is hereby ordained and declared:
SECTION 1. That all laws in force at the adoption of this Constitution
shall, so far as not inconsistent therewith, remain of the same force as
if this Constitution had not been adopted until they expire by their own
limitation, or are altered or repealed by the General Assembly; and all
rights, actions, prosecutions, claims and contracts of the Territory of
Colorado, counties, individuals or bodies corporate (not inconsistent
therewith), shall continue as if the form of government had not been
changed and this Constitution adopted.
SEC. 2. That all recognizances, obligations and all other instruments
entered into or executed before the admission of the State, to the
Territory of Colorado, or to any county, school district, or other
municipality therein, or any officer thereof, and all fines, taxes,
penalties, and forfeitures due or owing to the Territory of Colorado, or
any such county, school district or municipality, or officer, and all
writs, prosecutions, actions and causes of action, except as herein
otherwise provided, shall continue and remain unaffected by the change
of the form of government. All indictments which shall have been found,
or may hereafter be found, and all informations which shall have been
filed, or may hereafter be filed, for any crime or offense committed
before this Constitution takes effect, may be proceeded upon as if no
change had taken place, except as otherwise provided in the
Constitution.
SEC. 3. That all property, real and personal, and all moneys, credits,
claims, and choses in action, belonging to the Territory of Colorado,
at the adoption of this Constitution, shall be vested in and become the
property of the State of Colorado.
SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws to carry into
effect the provisions of the Constitution.
SEC. 5. Whenever any two of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the
State, elected or appointed under the provisions of this Constitution,
shall have qualified in their office the causes theretofore pending in
the Supreme Court of the Territory, and the papers, records and
proceedings of said court, and the seal and other property pertaining
thereto, shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of the Supreme
Court of the State; and, until so superceded, the Supreme Court of the
Territory, and the Judges thereof, shall continue with like powers and
jurisdiction as if this Constitution had not been adopted. Whenever the
Judge of the District Court of any district, elected or appointed under
the provisions of this Constitution, shall have qualified in his office,
the several causes theretofore pending in the District Court of the
Territory, within any county in such district, and the records, papers,
and proceedings of said District Court, and the seal and other property
pertaining thereto, shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of
the District Court of the State for such county, and until the district
courts of the Territory shall be superceded in manner aforesaid, the
said district courts and the Judges thereof shall continue with the same
jurisdiction and powers to be exercised in the same judicial districts
respectively as heretofore constituted under the laws of the Territory.
SEC. 6. The terms of office of the several Judges of the Supreme and
District Courts and the District Attorneys of the several judicial
districts first elected under this Constitution, shall commence from the
day of filing their respective oaths of office in the office of the
Secretary of State.
SEC. 7. Until otherwise provided by law, the seals now in use in the
Supreme and District Courts of this Territory are hereby declared to be
the seals of the Supreme and District Courts respectively of the State.
SEC. 8. Whenever this Constitution shall go into effect, the books,
records, papers and proceedings of the Probate Court in each county, and
all causes and matters of administration pending therein, shall pass
into the jurisdiction and possession of the County Court of the same
county, and the said County Court shall proceed to final decree or
judgment, order or other determination, in the said several matters and
causes as the said Probate Court might have done if this Constitution
had not been adopted. And until the election of the County Judges
provided for in this Constitution, the Probate Judges shall act as
Judges of the County Courts within their respective counties, and the
seal of the Probate Court in each county shall be the seal of the County
Court therein until the said court shall have procured a proper seal.
SEC. 9. The terms “Probate Court” or “Probate Judge,” whenever occurring
in the statutes of Colorado Territory, shall, after the adoption of this
Constitution, be held to apply to the County Court or County Judge; and
all laws specially applicable to the Probate Court in any county, shall
be construed to apply to and be in force as to the County Court in the
same county, until repealed.
SEC. 10. All county and precinct officers who may be in office at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall hold their respective
offices for the full time for which they may have been elected, and
until such time as their successors may be elected and qualified, in
accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, and the official
bonds of all such officers shall continue in full force and effect as
though this Constitution had not been adopted.
SEC. 11. All county offices that may become vacant during the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, by the expiration of the term of
the persons elected to said offices, shall be filled at the general
election on the first Tuesday in October, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six, and, except County Commissioners, the persons
so elected shall hold their respective offices for the term of one year.
SEC. 12. The provisions of this Constitution shall be in force from the
day on which the President of the United States shall issue his
proclamation declaring the State of Colorado admitted into the Union;
and the Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, and Superintendent of
Public Instruction of the Territory of Colorado shall continue to
discharge the duties of their respective offices after the admission of
the State into the Union, until the qualification of the officers
elected or appointed under the State government; and said officers, for
the time they may serve, shall receive the same compensation as the
State officers shall by law be paid for like services.
SEC. 13. In case of a contest of election between candidates, at the
first general election under this Constitution, for Judges of the
Supreme, District, or County Courts, or District Attorneys, the evidence
shall be taken in the manner prescribed by Territorial law; and the
testimony so taken shall be certified to the Secretary of State, and
said officer, together with the Governor and Attorney General, shall
review the testimony and determine who is entitled to the certificate of
election.
SEC. 14. The votes at the first general election under this Constitution
for the several offices provided for in this Constitution who are to be
elected at the first election, shall be canvassed in the manner
prescribed by the Territorial law for canvassing votes for like
officers. The votes cast for the Judges of the Supreme and District
Courts and District Attorneys shall be canvassed by the county
canvassing board in the manner prescribed by the Territorial law for
canvassing the votes for members of the General Assembly; and the County
Clerk shall transmit the abstract of votes to the Secretary of the
Territory, acting as Secretary of State, under the same regulations as
are prescribed by law for sending the abstracts of votes for Territorial
officers; and the aforesaid acting Secretary of State, Auditor,
Treasurer, or any two of them, in the presence of the Governor, shall
proceed to canvass the votes, under the regulations of sections
thirty-five and thirty-six of chapter twenty-eight of the Revised
Statutes of Colorado Territory.
SEC. 15. Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall be
chosen by the qualified electors of the several senatorial and
representative districts as established in this Constitution, until such
districts shall be changed by law, and thereafter by the qualified
electors of the several districts as the same shall be established by
law.
SEC. 16. The votes cast for Representatives in Congress at the first
election held under this Constitution, shall be canvassed, and the
result determined in the manner provided by the laws of the Territory
for the canvass of votes for Delegate in Congress.
SEC. 17. The provision of the Constitution that no bill, except the
general appropriation bill, introduced in either House after the first
twenty-five days of the session shall become a law, shall not apply to
the first session of the General Assembly; but no bill, introduced in
either House at the first session of the General Assembly after the
first fifty days thereof, shall become a law.
SEC. 18. A copy of the abstracts of the votes cast at the first general
election held under this Constitution, shall, by the County Clerks of
the several counties, be returned to the Secretary of the Territory
immediately after the canvass of said votes in their several counties;
and the Secretary, Auditor, and Treasurer of the Territory, or any two
of them, shall, on the twenty-fifth day after the election, meet at the
seat of government and proceed to canvass the votes cast for members of
the General Assembly, and determine the result thereof.
SEC. 19. The General Assembly shall, at their first session, immediately
after the organization of the two Houses, and after the canvass of the
votes for the officers of the Executive Department, and before
proceeding to other business, provide, by act or joint resolution, for
the appointment, by said General Assembly, of electors in the electoral
college; and such joint resolution, or the bill for such enactment, may
be passed without being printed or referred to any committee, or read on
more than one day in either House, and shall take effect immediately
after the concurrence of the two Houses therein, and the approval of the
Governor thereto shall not be necessary.
SEC. 20. The General Assembly shall provide that after the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, the electors of the electoral
college shall be chosen by direct vote of the people.
SEC. 21. The General Assembly shall have power, at their first session,
to provide for the payment of the expenses of this Convention, if any
there be then remaining unpaid.
SEC. 22. All recognizances, bail bonds, official bonds, and other
obligations or undertakings which have been, or at any time before the
admission of the State, shall be made or entered into and expressed to
be payable to the people of the Territory of Colorado, shall continue in
full force, notwithstanding the change in the form of government; and
any breach thereof, whenever occurring, may, after the admission of the
State, be prosecuted in the name of the people of the State.
_Done in Convention_, at the City of Denver, Colorado, this
fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six, and of the Independence of the
United States the one hundredth.
_In Witness Whereof_, We have hereunto subscribed our names.
J. C. WILSON, _President_.
H. P. H. BROMWELL,
CASIMIRO BARELA,
GEORGE BOYLES,
W. E. BECK,
BYRON L. CARR,
W. M. CLARK,
A. D. COOPER,
H. R. CROSBY,
WM. H. CUSHMAN,
ROBERT DOUGLAS,
L. C. ELLSWORTH,
C. P. ELDER,
F. J. EBERT,
W. B. FELTON,
J. M. GARCIA,
DANIEL HURD,
JOHN S. HOUGH,
LAFAYETTE HEAD,
WM. H. JAMES,
WM. R. KENNEDY,
WM. L. LEE,
ALVIN MARSH,
WM. H. MEYER,
S. J. PLUMB,
GEO. E. PEASE,
ROBERT A. QUILLIAN,
A. K. YOUNT,
WILBUR F. STONE,
W. C. STOVER,
H. C. THATCHER,
AGAPETA VIGIL,
W. W. WEBSTER,
G. G. WHITE,
E. T. WELLS,
P. P. WILCOX,
J. S. WHEELER,
J. W. WIDDERFIELD,
LEWIS C. ROCKWELL,
Attest:
W. W. COULSON, _Secretary_.
HERBERT STANLEY, _1st Assistant Secretary_.
H. A. TERPENNING, _2d Assistant Secretary_.
ORDINANCES.
In conformity with the requirements of an Act of the Congress of the
United States, entitled “An Act to enable the people of Colorado to form
a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of said State
into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,” approved
March 3, A. D. 1875, on behalf and by the authority of the people of the
Territory of Colorado, this Convention assembled in pursuance of said
Enabling Act, at the city of Denver, the capital of said Territory, on
the twentieth day of December, A. D. 1875, does ordain and declare:
_First_--That an election shall be held throughout the Territory of
Colorado, on the first day of July, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six, for ratification or rejection of the
Constitution framed and adopted by the Convention.
_Second_--At said election the Constitution framed and adopted by this
Convention, shall be submitted to the people of the Territory for their
ratification or rejection, and all persons who are then qualified
electors under the laws of the Territory, shall be qualified to vote
upon the ratification or rejection thereof.
_Third_--Said election shall be held at the several places in the
several wards and precincts throughout the Territory, appointed for the
holding of elections under the laws of the Territory, and shall be
conducted in the manner prescribed by the laws of said Territory
regulating elections. The judges of elections, appointed under the laws
of the Territory, in each of said wards and precincts, shall act as the
judges of said election, and vacancies in the board of judges of any
ward or precinct shall be filled, and clerks of election shall be
appointed, in the manner prescribed by said laws: _Provided_, That no
law requiring a registration of voters shall apply to said election, and
any qualified elector may at said election vote at any ward or precinct
in the Territory. Whenever any person shall present himself to vote at
said election, and either of the judges shall suspect that such person
is not a qualified elector of the Territory, or if his vote shall be
challenged by any elector who has previously voted at the said election,
then before the ballot of such person shall be received, he shall take
and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: “You do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that you are a resident of ---- county, in the Territory of
Colorado; that you have resided in this Territory six months immediately
preceding this election; that you have, to the best of your knowledge
and belief, attained the age of twenty-one years, and have not voted at
this election.”
_Fourth_--Each elector voting at said election shall deposit in the
ballot-box a ticket, whereon shall be printed or written the words “For
the Constitution,” or the words, “Against the Constitution,” or other
equivalent words.
_Fifth_--The acting Governor of the Territory shall, within thirty days
after the adjournment of this Convention, issue his proclamation for
said election, to be held in conformity with the provisions of this
ordinance; and the Secretary of the Territory shall, on or before the
fifteenth day of May, A. D. 1876, make out and transmit to the sheriff
of each county a notice in writing of said election, together with a
copy of this ordinance.
_Sixth_--The votes cast at said election for the adoption or rejection
of the Constitution, shall be canvassed in the manner prescribed by the
laws of the Territory of Colorado for canvassing the votes at general
elections; and the returns of said election shall be made to the acting
Governor of the Territory, who, with the Chief Justice and the United
States Attorney of said Territory, or any two of them, shall canvass the
same, and if a majority of the legal votes cast shall be for the
Constitution, the acting Governor shall certify the same to the
President of the United States, together with a copy of said
Constitution and the Ordinances adopted by this Convention.
* * * * *
In conformity with the requirements of an Act of the Congress of the
United States, entitled “An Act to enable the People of Colorado to form
a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of said
State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,”
approved March 3d, A. D. 1875, on behalf and by the authority of the
People of the Territory of Colorado, this Convention, assembled in
pursuance of said Enabling Act, at the city of Denver, the capital of
said Territory, on the 20th day of December, A. D. 1875, does ordain and
declare:
_First_--That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be
secured, and no inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in
person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship.
_Second_--That the people inhabiting the Territory of Colorado, by their
representatives in said Convention assembled, do agree and declare that
they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public
lands lying within said Territory, and that the same shall be and remain
at the sole and entire disposal of the United States; that the lands
belonging to citizens of the United States residing without said State,
shall never be taxed higher than the lands belonging to residents
thereof; and that no taxes shall be imposed by the State on lands or
property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by,
the United States.
_Third_--That this Ordinance shall be irrevocable without the consent of
the United States and the people of the State of Colorado.
* * * * *
BE IT REMEMBERED, That in the Convention of the Representatives of the
People of the Territory of Colorado, chosen in pursuance of the Act of
Congress of the United States, entitled “An Act to enable the People of
Colorado to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the
admission of the said State into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States,” approved March 3d, A. D. 1875, and assembled at the
seat of government of said Territory, in pursuance of said Act, on the
twentieth day of December, A. D. 1875, after the organization of said
Convention, and before proceeding to other business, it was, on the 22d
day of December, A. D. 1875.
_Resolved_--That in pursuance of the Enabling Act, and in behalf of the
People of Colorado, we in convention assembled, do adopt the
Constitution of the United States.
* * * * *
The constitution was submitted to the people and adopted July 1st, 1876,
by a large majority. The votes returned stood 15,443 for, and 4,039
against the constitution. This constitution is an admirable production,
and reflects great credit on those who framed it. Though not perfect, it
contains the excellencies of all the State constitutions so far
promulgated, and largely conforms in spirit to the liberality and
intelligence of the people for whom it was prepared. President Grant,
empowered by Congress, on July 4th, 1876, just one century since the
declaration of independence, admitted the new State into the Union by
proclamation. Hence Colorado’s title--“The Centennial State.” (The honor
of first applying this title to Colorado is due to Capt. R. W. Woodbury,
editor and proprietor of the _Denver Times_.)
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT ADMITTING THE STATE OF COLORADO INTO
THE UNION.
WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States did, by an act approved on
the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five,
authorize the inhabitants of the Territory of Colorado to form for
themselves, out of said Territory, a State Government, with the name of
the State of Colorado, and for the admission of such State into the
Union on an equal footing with the original states upon certain
conditions in said act specified; and,
WHEREAS, It was provided by said Act of Congress that the Convention
elected by the people of said Territory to frame a State Constitution,
should, when assembled for that purpose, and after organization, declare
on behalf of the people that they adopt the Constitution of the United
States, and should also provide by an ordinance, irrevocable without the
consent of the United States and the people of said State, that perfect
toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and that no
inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in person or property on
account of his or her mode of religious worship, and that the people
inhabiting said Territory do agree and declare that they forever
disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying
within said Territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole
and entire disposition of the United States, and that lands belonging to
citizens of the United States residing without the said State, shall
never be taxed higher than lands belonging to residents thereof, and
that no taxes shall be imposed by the State on lands or property therein
belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States;
and,
WHEREAS, It was further provided by said Act that the Constitution thus
formed for the people of the Territory of Colorado should, by an
ordinance of the Convention forming the same, be submitted to the people
of said Territory for ratification or rejection at an election to be
held in the month of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, at which
election the lawful voters of said new State should vote directly for or
against the proposed Constitution, and the returns of said election
should be made to the acting Governor of the Territory, who, with the
Chief Justice and United States attorney of said Territory, or any two
of them, should canvass the same, and if a majority of legal votes
should be cast for said Constitution in said proposed State, the said
acting Governor should certify the same to the President of the United
States, together with a copy of said Constitution and Ordinances;
whereupon it should be the duty of the President of the United States to
issue his proclamation declaring the State admitted into the Union on an
equal footing with the original states without any further action
whatever on the part of Congress; and
WHEREAS, It has been certified to me by the acting Governor of said
Territory of Colorado, that within the time prescribed by said Act of
Congress a Constitution for said proposed State has been adopted, and
the same ratified by a majority of the legal voters of said proposed new
State, in accordance with the conditions prescribed by said Act of
Congress; and
WHEREAS, A duly authenticated copy of said Constitution, and of the
declaration and ordinances required by said Act of Congress has been
received by me:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of
America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress
aforesaid, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions
imposed by Congress on the State of Colorado, to entitle that State to
admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted, and that the
admission of said State into the Union is now complete.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and have caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
[Illustration]
Done at the city of Washington this first day of August, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, and of the
independence of the United States of America the one hundred and first.
U. S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
Secretary of State.
In the spring of this year the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad
was completed to Pueblo.
The Republican State Convention met at Pueblo August 23d, and the
Democratic State Convention at Manitou, August 29th. Full state tickets
were nominated by each convention. Both parties entered upon the
campaign not only sanguine, but confident of success. Up to the day of
election the most strenuous efforts were put forth to insure victory.
On the third day of October, as directed by the Constitution, the
election was held. The vote polled was nearly 30,000. The entire
Republican state ticket for the executive and judicial departments was
elected. John L. Routt was chosen Governor; Lafayette Head,
Lieutenant-Governor; William M. Clark, Secretary of State; D. C.
Crawford, Auditor; George C. Corning, Treasurer; A. J. Sampson, Attorney
General; Joseph C. Shattuck, Superintendent Public Instruction. The
Legislature, in both House and Senate, had a Republican majority. In the
Senate, nineteen Republicans and seven Democrats; in the House,
thirty-one Republicans and eighteen Democrats. James B. Belford was
elected Representative for the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses.
The Territorial Secretary had ordered an election for representative for
the Forty-fourth Congress to be held October 3d, and afterwards an
election for the Forty-fifth Congress to be held November 7th. On the
third of October the people voted for a representative for both
Congresses. The State Canvassing Board received and counted the returns.
The Secretary recalled his order for an election November 7th, but an
election was held, and Thomas M. Patterson received almost the entire
vote. This vote the Canvassing Board refused to count. The next Congress
will decide the contest.
At noon on November 1st the General Assembly convened. On November 3d
the executive officers were duly inaugurated. Judge Brazee administered
the oaths of office. The Governor then delivered his inaugural message
to the General Assembly. This message of the first governor of the State
of Colorado is a sensible and well-written document. Its statements are
accurate and clear, and its suggestions thoroughly practical. He thus
addresses the General Assembly: “The people, by their choice, have
signified their faith in your wisdom, integrity, and patriotism, and I
feel assured that their confidence will not have been misplaced. Upon
you, Senators and Representatives, rests the responsibility of making
our laws, and I trust that in your legislation you will have a single
eye to the promotion of the general welfare. In this object it will be
my greatest pleasure and chief aim to co-operate.” In this message it is
stated that the present export of gold and silver bullion and ores
amounts to nearly $8,000,000 annually, with a prospect of an increase to
$10,000,000 in the near future. The total value of real and personal
property in Colorado, in 1876, is estimated to be about $100,000,000. Up
to 1877 the bullion deposited in the Denver mint amounted to almost
$70,000,000 in value. The population of Colorado in 1870 was about
40,000, in 1876, 135,000. In the early part of the session the General
Assembly chose two Senators--Jerome B. Chaffee and Henry M. Teller; and
three Presidential Electors--Herman Beckurts, W. L. Hadley, and Otto
Mears. After a protracted session, the General Assembly adjourned _sine
die_, March 20, 1877.
Colorado, on account of its altitude, is quite near that great ocean of
positive electricity which envelops the earth about a mile from its
surface. It is one of the great electrodes of the globe. All that ascend
her high peaks are charged with this subtle element. To this, in a
measure, is to be attributed that peculiar bracing and life-inspiring
atmosphere for which Colorado is renowned. This atmosphere is dry, pure
and clear, and nearly always pervaded with sunshine. The climate
therefore possesses great restorative properties, and cannot fail to be
a prominent resort for invalids. But besides this, in magnificent and
varied scenery Colorado is not excelled by any other land, and in rich
resources is unequalled. In Colorado large sums have been expended in
imposing school structures, and teachers are liberally remunerated. A
spirit of religious toleration that is truly gratifying prevails
throughout the State. All creeds are represented, and, in general, well
supported. Towns spring into existence and grow with magic speed; mines
are developed with much energy; farms show thrift and prosperity; new
railroads are projected; the lines of those already built are extending;
manufactures increase, though slow in their establishment; and,
notwithstanding an occasional exodus, the population steadily advances.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
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 of the United States of America.
ARTICLE I.
SECTION I.
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
Representatives.
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 numerous 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 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 Island
and Providence Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New
Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six;
Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia,
three.
4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 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 Senator 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 year; 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 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 shall choose their other officers, and also a President
_pro tempore_, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall
exercise the office of President of the United States.
6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
sitting 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 cases of impeachment, shall not extend 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 punishment, 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 places of choosing Senators.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting 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
qualifications 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 rules of its proceedings, punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and with a 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 present, be
entered on the journal.
4. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to other
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.
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
and 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
Representatives; 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 becomes a law, be presented to the
President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if
not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it
shall have originated, who shall enter the objections, at large, on
their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such
reconsideration, two-thirds of the 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; and the names of
persons voting for and against the bill, shall be entered on the journal
of each House respectively. 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 on a
question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the
United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
SECTION VIII.
The Congress shall have power,
1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises; to pay the
debts and provide for the common defense 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:
4. To establish an 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 securities and
current 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
limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries:
9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court. To define and
punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses
against the law of nations:
10. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
concerning captures on land and water:
11. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that
use shall be for a longer term than two years:
12. To provide and maintain a navy:
13. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and
naval forces:
14. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions:
15. 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
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:
16. 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 buildings: and
17. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
constitution in the government of the United States, or in any
department or officer thereof.
SECTION IX.
1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now
existing shall 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 such person.
2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when, in cases 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 shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to
the ports of one State over those of 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
appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the
receipts 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
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without
the consent of Congress, accept any present, emolument, office, or
title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
SECTION X.
1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation;
grant letters of marque or reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit;
make anything 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 the 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 the Congress. No State shall, without the
consent of Congress, lay any duty of 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 engage in war, unless actually
invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
ARTICLE II.
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, in such manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress;
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an 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 certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
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
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such
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
representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist 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 electors, shall be the 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 day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
5. No person, except a natural born 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 fourteen 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 and Vice-President,
declaring what officer shall then act as President, 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
compensation, which shall neither be increased or 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 enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the
following oath or affirmation:
9. “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, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United
States.”
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
into 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 to the duties of their respective
offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for
offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, 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, other public ministers and
consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the
United States, whose appointments 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 up 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 the 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 as he shall think proper. He shall receive
ambassadors and other public ministers. He shall take care that the laws
be faithfully executed; and shall commission all the officers of the
United States.
SECTION IV.
1. The President and 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.
ARTICLE III.
SECTION I.
1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from
time to time, ordain and establish.
2. 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 II.
1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity,
arising under 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 maritime 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 another 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 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 exceptions, and under such regulations, as
the Congress shall make.
3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by
a jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crime
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the
trial shall be at such place or places as the 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 witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in
open court.
2. The 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 attainted.
ARTICLE IV.
SECTION I.
1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the
Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts,
records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
SECTION II.
1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and
immunities 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 removed to the State having jurisdiction of the
crime.
3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or
regulation therein, 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 III.
1. New States may be admitted by the 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 the Congress.
2. The 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
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against
invasion; and on application of the legislature or of the executive
(when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.
ARTICLE V.
1. The 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 proposing amendments, which, in either case,
shall be valid to all intents and purposes, 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 the Congress:
_Provided_, 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 clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that
no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage
in the Senate.
ARTICLE VI.
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, under 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 constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.
3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of
the several legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both
of the United States and of the several States shall be bound, by oath
or affirmation, 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.
ARTICLE VII.
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 hereunto subscribed our names.
GEO. WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT, _and Deputy from Virginia_.
_New Hampshire_:
JOHN LANGDON,
NICHOLAS GILMAN.
_Connecticut_:
WM. SAMUEL JOHNSON,
ROGER SHERMAN.
_New York_:
ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
_New Jersey_:
WILLIAM LIVINGSTON,
DAVID BREARLEY,
WILLIAM PATTERSON,
JONATHAN DAYTON.
_Pennsylvania_:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
THOMAS MIFFLIN,
ROBERT MORRIS,
GEORGE CLYMER,
THOMAS FITZSIMONS,
JARED INGERSOLL,
JAMES WILSON,
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.
_Delaware_:
GEO. REED,
GUNNING BEDFORD, JR.
_Massachusetts_:
NATHANIEL GORHAM,
RUFUS KING,
JOHN DICKINSON,
RICHARD BASSET,
JACOB BROOM.
_Maryland_:
JAMES MCHENRY,
DANIEL OF ST. THOMAS JENIFER,
DANIEL CARROLL.
_Virginia_:
JOHN BLAIR,
JAMES MADISON, JR.
_North Carolina_:
WILLIAM BLOUNT,
RICHARD DOBBS SPAIGHT,
HUGH WILLIAMSON.
_South Carolina_:
JOHN RUTLEDGE,
C. COTESWORTH PINCKNEY,
CHARLES PINCKNEY,
PIERCE BUTLER.
_Georgia_:
WILLIAM FEW,
ABRAHAM BALDWIN.
Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, _Secretary_.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I.
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 government for a redress of grievances.
ARTICLE II.
1. 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.
ARTICLE III.
1. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
ARTICLE IV.
1. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
ARTICLE V.
1. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
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 offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness
against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use
without just compensation.
ARTICLE VI.
1. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to 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 accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor;
and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
ARTICLE VII.
1. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no
fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the
United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
ARTICLE VIII.
1. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
ARTICLE IX.
1. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
ARTICLE X.
1. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
ARTICLE XI.
1. 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 any foreign State.
ARTICLE XII.
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 as 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 lists
of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
shall sign and certify, 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 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 majority, then from
the persons having the highest numbers, 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
President, 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 from 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 President, as in the
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
number 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.
ARTICLE XIII.
1. Neither slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
ARTICLE XIV.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of
persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right
to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and
Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the
executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States,
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other
crime, the basis of Representatives therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the
whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such
disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or
pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of
any slave, but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held
illegal and void.
5. That Congress have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
ARTICLE XV.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
MANUAL OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE.
NOTE.--The rules and practices peculiar to the Senate are
printed between brackets [ ]. Those of PARLIAMENT are not so
distinguished.
IMPORTANCE OF RULES.
SECTION I.
IMPORTANCE OF ADHERING TO RULES.
Mr. Onslow, the ablest among the Speakers of the House of Commons, used
to say, “It was a maxim he had often heard when he was a young man, from
old and experienced Members, that nothing tended more to throw power
into the hands of the administration, and those who acted with the
majority of the House of Commons, than a neglect of, or departure from,
the rules of proceeding: that these forms, as instituted by our
ancestors, operated as a check and control on the actions of the
majority, and that they were, in many instances, a shelter and
protection to the minority, against the attempts of power.” So far the
maxim is certainly true, and it is founded in good sense, that as it is
always in the power of the majority, by their numbers, to stop any
improper measures proposed on the part of their opponents, the only
weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against similar
attempts from those in power, are the forms and rules of proceeding
which have been adopted as they were found necessary, from time to time,
and are become the law of the House; by a strict adherence to which, the
weaker party can only be protected from those irregularities and abuses
which these forms were intended to check, and which the wantonness of
power is but too often apt to suggest to large and successful
majorities. 2 _Hats._, 171, 172.
And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not, is
really not of so great importance. It is much more material that there
should be a rule to go by, than what that rule is; that there may be a
uniformity of proceeding in business, not subject to the caprice of the
Speaker, or captiousness of the members. It is very material that order,
decency, and regularity, be preserved in a dignified public body. _2
Hats._, 149.
SECTION II.
LEGISLATIVE.
[All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of
the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives. _Constitution of the United States, Art. 1, Sec. 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. _Constitution of the United States, Art. 1, Sec. 6._]
[For the powers of Congress, see the following Articles and Sections of
the Constitution of the United States: I., 4, 7, 8, 9; II., 1, 2; III.,
3; IV., 1, 3, 5, and all the amendments.]
SECTION III.
PRIVILEGE.
The privileges of Members of Parliament, from small and obscure
beginnings, have been advancing for centuries with a firm and never
yielding pace. Claims seem to have been brought forward from time to
time, and repeated, till some example of their admission enabled them to
build law on that example. We can only, therefore, state the points of
progression at which they now are. It is now acknowledged: 1st. That
they are at all times exempted from question elsewhere for anything said
in their own House; that during the time of privilege, 2d. Neither a
Member himself, his[1] wife, nor his servants, (familaries sui,) for any
matter of their own, may be[2] arrested on mesne process, in any civil
suit: 3d. Nor be detained under execution, though levied before time of
privilege: 4th. Nor impleaded, cited, or subpœnaed in any court: 5th.
Nor summoned as a witness or juror: 6th. Nor may their lands or goods be
distrained: 7th. Nor their persons assaulted, or characters traduced.
And the period of time covered by privilege, before and after the
session, with the practice of short prorogations under the connivance of
the Crown, amounts in fact to a perpetual protection against the course
of justice. In one instance, indeed, it has been relaxed by the 10 G. 3,
c. 50, which permits judiciary proceedings to go on against them. That
these privileges must be continually progressive, seems to result from
their rejecting all definition of them; the doctrine being that “their
dignity and independence are preserved by keeping their privileges
indefinite; and that ‘the maxims upon which they proceed, together with
the method of proceeding, rest entirely in their own breast, and are not
defined and ascertained by any particular stated laws.’” 1 _Blackst._,
163, 164.
[It was probably from this view of the encroaching character of
privilege that the framers of our Constitution, in their care to provide
that the law shall bind equally on all, and especially that those who
make them shall not exempt themselves from their operation, have only
privileged “Senators and Representatives” themselves from the single act
of “arrest in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace,
during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and
in going to and returning from the same, and from being questioned in
any other place for any speech or debate in either House.” _Const. U.
S., Art. 1, Sec. 6._ Under the general authority “to make all laws
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers given them,”
_Const. U. S., Art. 2, Sec. 8_, they may provide by law the details
which may be necessary for giving full effect to the enjoyment of this
privilege. No such law being as yet made, it seems to stand at present
on the following ground: 1. The act of arrest is void, ab initio.[3] 2.
The member arrested may be discharged on motion, 1 _Bl._ 166; 3 _Stra._,
990; or by habeas corpus under the Federal or State authority, as the
case may be; or by a writ of privilege out of the Chancery, 2 _Stra._,
989, in those States which have adopted that part of the laws of
England. _Orders of the House of Commons, 1550, February 20._ 3. The
arrest being unlawful, is a trespass for which the officers and others
concerned are liable to action and indictment in the ordinary courts of
justice, as in other cases of unauthorized arrest. 4. The court before
which the process is returnable is bound to act as in other cases of
unauthorized proceeding, and liable also, as in other similar cases, to
have their proceedings stayed or corrected by the superior courts.]
[The time necessary for going to, and returning from, Congress, not
being defined, it will, of course, be judged of in every particular case
by those who will have to decide the case.] While privilege was
understood in England to extend, as it does here, only to exemption from
arrest, eundo, moranda, et redeundo, the House of Commons themselves
decided that “a convenient time was to be understood.” (1580) 1 _Hats._,
99, 100. Nor is the law so strict in point of time as to require the
party to set out immediately on his return, but allows him time to
settle his private affairs, and to prepare for his journey; and does not
even scan his road very nicely, nor forfeit his protection for a little
deviation from that which is most direct; some necessity perhaps
constraining him to it. 2 _Stra._, 986, 987.
This privilege from arrest, privileges of course against all process,
the disobedience to which is punishable by an attachment of the person;
as a subpœna ad respondendum, or, testificandum, or a summons on a jury;
and with reason, because a member has superior duty to perform in
another place. [When a representative is withdrawn from his seat by
summons, the 40,000 people whom he represents lose their voice in debate
and vote, as they do on his voluntary absence; when a senator is
withdrawn by summons, his State loses half its voice in debate and vote,
as it does on his voluntary absence. The enormous disparity of evil
admits no comparison.]
[So far there will probably be no difference of opinion as to the
privileges of the two Houses of Congress; but in the following cases it
is otherwise. In December, 1795, the House of Representatives committed
two persons of the name of Randall and Whitney, for attempting to
corrupt the integrity of certain members, which they considered as a
contempt and breach of the privileges of the House; and the facts being
proved, Whitney was detained in confinement a fortnight, and Randall
three weeks, and was reprimanded by the Speaker. In March, 1796, the
House of Representatives voted a challenge given to a member of their
House to be a breach of the privileges of the House; but satisfactory
apologies and acknowledgments being made, no further proceeding was had.
The editor of the _Aurora_ having, in his paper of February 19, 1800,
inserted some paragraphs defamatory of the Senate, and failed in his
appearance, he was ordered to be committed. In debating the legality of
this order, it was insisted, in support of it, that every man, by the
law of nature, and every body of men, possesses the right of
self-defence; that all public functionaries are essentially invested
with the powers of self-preservation; that they have an inherent right
to do all acts necessary to keep themselves in a condition to discharge
the trusts confided to them; that whenever authorities are given, the
means of carrying them into execution are given by necessary
implication; that thus we see the British Parliament exercise the right
of punishing contempts; all the State Legislatures exercise the same
power, and every court does the same; that, if we have it not, we sit at
the mercy of every intruder who may enter our doors or gallery, and, by
noise and tumult, render proceeding in business impracticable; that if
our tranquility is to be perpetually disturbed by newspaper defamation,
it will not be possible to exercise our functions with the requisite
coolness and deliberation; and that we must, therefore, have a power to
punish these disturbers of our peace and proceedings. To this it was
answered, that the Parliament and courts of England have cognizance of
contempts by the express provisions of their law; that the State
Legislatures have equal authority, because their powers are plenary;
they represent their constituents completely, and possess all their
powers, except such as their Constitutions have expressly denied them;
that the courts of the several States have the same powers by the laws
of their States, and those of the Federal Government by the same State
laws adopted in each State, by a law of Congress; that none of these
bodies, therefore, derive those powers from natural or necessary right,
but from express law; that Congress have no such natural or necessary
power, nor any powers but such as are given them by the Constitution;
that that has given them, directly, exemption from personal arrest,
exemption from question elsewhere for what is said in their House, and
power over their own members and proceedings; for these no further law
is necessary, the Constitution being the law; that, moreover, by that
article of the Constitution which authorizes them “to make all laws
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by
the Constitution in them,” they may provide by law for an undisturbed
exercise of their functions, e. g., for the punishment of contempts, of
affrays or tumult in their presence, &c.; but, till the law be made, it
does not exist; and does not exist, from their own neglect; that in the
mean time, however, they are not unprotected, the ordinary magistrates
and courts of law being open and competent to punish all unjustifiable
disturbances or defamations, and even their own sergeant, who may
appoint deputies _ad libitum_ to aid him, 3 _Grey_, 59, 147, 255, is
equal to small disturbances; that in requiring a previous law, the
Constitution had regard to the inviolability of the citizen, as well as
of the member; as, should one House, in the regular form of a bill, aim
at too broad privileges, it may be checked by the other, and both by the
President; and also as, the law being promulgated, the citizen will know
how to avoid offense. But if one branch may assume its own privileges
without control; if it may do it on the spur of the occasion, conceal
the law in its own breast, and after the fact committed, make its
sentence both the law and the judgment on that fact; if the offense is
to be kept undefined, and to be declared only _ex re nata_, and
according to the passion of the moment, and there be no limitation
either in the manner or measure of the punishment, the condition of the
citizen will be perilous indeed. Which of these doctrines is to prevail
time will decide. Where there is no fixed law, the judgment on any
particular case, is the law of that single case only, and dies with it.
When a new and even similar case arises, the judgment which is to make,
and at the same time apply, the law, is open to question and
consideration, as are all new laws. Perhaps Congress, in the meantime,
in their care for the safety of the citizen as well as that for their
own protection, may declare by law what is necessary and proper to
enable them to carry into execution the powers vested in them, and
thereby hang up a rule for the inspection of all, which may direct the
conduct of the citizen, and at the same time test the judgments they
shall themselves pronounce in their own case.]
Privilege from arrest takes place by force of the election; and before a
return be made a member elected may be named of a committee, and is to
every extent a member, except that he cannot vote until he is sworn.
_Memor._, 107, 108. _D’Ewes_, 642, _col._ 2; 643, _col._ 1. _Pet.
Miscel. Parl._, 119. _Lex. Parl. c._ 23. 2 _Hats._, 22, 62.
Every man must, at his peril, take notice who are members of either
House returned of record. _Lex. Parl._, 23; 4 _Inst._, 24.
On complaint of a breach of privilege, the party may either be summoned
or sent for in custody of the sergeant. _Grey_, 88, 95.
The privilege of a member is the privilege of the House. If the member
waive it without leave, it is a ground for punishing him, but cannot in
effect waive the privilege of the House. 3 _Grey_, 140, 222.
For any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned
in any other place. _Const. U. S., I_, 6,; _S. P. protest of the Commons
to James I._, 1621; 2 _Rapin_, No. 54, pp. 211, 212. But this is
restrained to things done in the House in a parliamentary course. _1
Rush._, 663. For he is not to have privilege contra morem
parliamentarum, to exceed the bounds and limits of his place and duty.
_Com. p._
If an offense be committed by a member of the House, of which the House
has cognizance, it is an infringement of their right for any person or
court to take notice of it, till the House has punished the offender, or
referred him to a due course. _Lex. Parl._, 63.
Privilege is in the power of the House, and is a restraint to
proceedings of inferior courts, but not of the House itself. 2 _Nalson_,
450; 2 _Grey_, 399. For whatever is spoken in the House is subject to
the censure of the House; and offenses of this kind have been severely
punished by calling the person to the bar to make submission, committing
him to the tower, expelling the House, etc. _Scob._, 72; _L. Parl., c._
22.
It is a breach of order for the Speaker to refuse to put a question
which is in order. 2 _Hats._, 175-6; 5 _Grey_, 133.
And even in cases of treason, felony, and breach of the peace, to which
privilege does not extend as to substance, yet in Parliament a member
is privileged as to the mode of proceeding. The case is first to be laid
before the House, that it may judge of the fact and of the grounds of
the accusation, and how far forth the manner of the trial may concern
their privilege; otherwise it would be in the power of other branches of
the government, and even of every private man, under pretenses of
treason, etc., to take any man from his service in the House, and so as
many, one after another, as would make the House what he pleaseth. _Dec.
of the Com. on the King’s declaring Sir John Hotham a traitor._ 4
_Rushw._, 586. So, when a member stood indicted for felony, it was
adjudged that he ought to remain of the House till conviction; for it
may be any man’s case, who is guiltless, to be accused and indicted of
felony, or the like crime. _23 El._, 1580; _D’Ewes, 283, col._ 1; _Lex.
Parl._, 133.
When it is found necessary for the public service to put a member under
arrest, or when, on any public inquiry, matter comes out which may lead
to affect the person of a member, it is the practice immediately to
acquaint the House, that they may know the reasons for such a
proceeding, and take such steps as they think proper. 2 _Hats._, 259. Of
which see many examples. _Ib._, 256, 257, 258. But the communication is
subsequent to the arrest. 1 _Blackst._, 167.
It is highly expedient, says Hatsel, for the due preservation of the
privileges of the separate branches of the Legislature, that neither
should encroach on the other, or interfere in any matter depending
before them, so as to preclude, or even influence that freedom of
debate, which is essential to a free council. They are therefore not to
take notice of any bills or other matters depending, or of votes that
have been given, or of speeches which have been held, by the members of
either of the other branches of the Legislature, until the same have
been communicated to them in the usual parliamentary manner. 2 _Hats._,
252. 4 _Inst._, 15. _Seld. Jud._, 53. Thus the king’s taking notice of
the bill for suppressing soldiers, depending before the House; his
proposing a provisional clause for a bill before it was presented to him
by the two Houses; his expressing displeasure against some persons for
matters moved in parliament during the debate and preparation of a bill,
were breaches of privilege; 2 _Nalson_, 347; and in 1783, December 17,
it was declared a breach of fundamental privileges, etc., to report any
opinion or pretended opinion of the king on any bill or proceeding
depending in either House of Parliament, with a view to influence the
votes of the members. 2 _Hats._, 251, 6.
SECTION IV.
ELECTIONS.
[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 places of choosing senators. _Const._ I.,
4.]
[Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and
qualifications of its own members. _Const._ I., 5.]
SECTION V.
QUALIFICATIONS.
[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
Senator shall have one vote.]
[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 end of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of
the fourth year; 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 the State, any Executive thereof may make temporary
appointments, until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall
then fill such vacancies.]
[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. _Const._ I., 3.]
[The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every
second year by the people of the several States; and the electors of
each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the
most numerous branch of the State Legislature.]
[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.]
[Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several
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.
_Constitution of the United States_, I., 2.]
The provisional apportionments of Representatives made in the
Constitution in 1787, and afterwards by Congress, were as follows:
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| STATES. |1787[4] |1790[5] |1800[6] |1810[7] |1820[8] |
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|[14] Maine | | | | | 7|
| | | | | | |
| New Hampshire| 3| 4| 5| 6| 6|
| | | | | | |
| Massachusetts| 8| 14| 17| 20| 13|
| | | | | | |
| Rhode Island | 1| 2| 2| 2| 2|
| | | | | | |
| Connecticut | 5| 7| 7| 7| 6|
| | | | | | |
| Vermont | | 2| 4| 6| 5|
| | | | | | |
| New York | 6| 10| 17| 27| 34|
| | | | | | |
| New Jersey | 4| 5| 6| 6| 6|
| | | | | | |
| Pennsylvania | 8| 13| 18| 23| 26|
| | | | | | |
| Delaware | 1| 1| 1| 2| 1|
| | | | | | |
| Maryland | 6| 8| 9| 9| 9|
| | | | | | |
|[15] Virginia | 10| 19| 22| 28| 22|
| | | | | | |
| North | 5| 10| 12| 13| 13|
| Carolina | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| South | 5| 6| 8| 9| 9|
| Carolina | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| Georgia | 3| 2| 4| 6| 7|
| | | | | | |
| Kentucky | | 2| 6| 10| 12|
| | | | | | |
|[16] Tennessee | | | 3| 6| 9|
| | | | | | |
|[17] Ohio | | | | 6| 14|
| | | | | | |
|[18] Louisiana | | | | | 3|
| | | | | | |
|[19] Indiana | | | | | 3|
| | | | | | |
|[20] Mississippi | | | | | 1|
| | | | | | |
|[21] Illinois | | | | | 1
| | | | | | |
|[22] Alabama | | | | | 3|
| | | | | | |
|[23] Missouri | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[24] Michigan | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[25] Arkansas | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[26] Florida | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[27] Iowa | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[28] Texas | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[29] Wisconsin | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[30] California | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[31] Minnesota | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[32] Oregon | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[33] Kansas | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[34] West Virginia| | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[35] Nevada | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[36] Nebraska | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|[37] Colorado | | | | | |
| +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| | 65| 105| 141| 186| 212|
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| STATES. |1830[9] |1840[10] |1850[11] |1860[12] |1870[13]|
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|[14] Maine | 8| 7| 6| 5| 5|
| | | | | | |
| New Hampshire| 5| 4| 3| 3| 3|
| | | | | | |
| Massachusetts| 12| 10| 11| 10| 11|
| | | | | | |
| Rhode Island | 2| 2| 2| 2| 2|
| | | | | | |
| Connecticut | 6| 4| 4| 4| 4|
| | | | | | |
| Vermont | 5| 4| 3| 3| 3|
| | | | | | |
| New York | 40| 34| 33| 31| 33|
| | | | | | |
| New Jersey | 6| 5| 4| 5| 7|
| | | | | | |
| Pennsylvania | 28| 34| 25| 24| 27|
| | | | | | |
| Delaware | 1| 1| 1| 1| 1|
| | | | | | |
| Maryland | 8| 6| 6| 5| 6|
| | | | | | |
|[15] Virginia | 21| 15| 13| 8| 9|
| | | | | | |
| North | 13| 9| 8| 7| 8|
| Carolina | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| South | 9| 7| 6| 4| 5|
| Carolina | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| Georgia | 9| 18| 8| 7| 9|
| | | | | | |
| Kentucky | 13| 10| 10| 9| 10|
| | | | | | |
|[16] Tennessee | 13| 11| 10| 8| 10|
| | | | | | |
|[17] Ohio | 19| 21| 21| 19| 20|
| | | | | | |
|[18] Louisiana | 3| 4| 4| 5| 6|
| | | | | | |
|[19] Indiana | 7| 10| 11| 11| 13|
| | | | | | |
|[20] Mississippi | 2| 4| 5| 5| 6|
| | | | | | |
|[21] Illinois | 3| 7| 9| 14| 19|
| | | | | | |
|[22] Alabama | 5| 7| 7| 6| 8|
| | | | | | |
|[23] Missouri | 2| 5| 7| 9| 13|
| | | | | | |
|[24] Michigan | | 3| 4| 6| 9|
| | | | | | |
|[25] Arkansas | | 1| 2| 3| 4|
| | | | | | |
|[26] Florida | | | 1| 1| 2|
| | | | | | |
|[27] Iowa | | | 2| 6| 9|
| | | | | | |
|[28] Texas | | | 2| 4| 6|
| | | | | | |
|[29] Wisconsin | | | 3| 6| 8|
| | | | | | |
|[30] California | | | 2| 3| 4|
| | | | | | |
|[31] Minnesota | | | 2| 2| 3|
| | | | | | |
|[32] Oregon | | | 1| 1| 1|
| | | | | | |
|[33] Kansas | | | | 1| 3|
| | | | | | |
|[34] West Virginia| | | | 3| 3|
| | | | | | |
|[35] Nevada | | | | 1| 1|
| | | | | | |
|[36] Nebraska | | | | 1| 1|
| | | | | | |
|[37] Colorado | | | | | |
| +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| | 241| 243| 236| 243| 292|
+------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
[When vacancies happen in the representation from any State the
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies. _Const. U. S., Art. I, Sec. 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. _Const._ I, 6.]
SECTION VI.
QUORUM.
[A majority of each House 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. _Const._ I, 5.]
[In general, the chair is not to be taken till a quorum for business is
present; unless, after due waiting, such a quorum be despaired of, when
the chair may be taken and the House adjourned. And whenever, during
business, it is observed that a quorum is not present, any member may
call for the House to be counted; and being found deficient, business is
suspended. 2 _Hats._, 125, 126.]
[The President having taken the chair, and a quorum being present, the
journal of the preceding day shall be read, to the end that any mistake
may be corrected that shall have been made in the entries. _Rules of the
Senate._]
SECTION VII.
CALL OF THE HOUSE.
On a call of the House, each person rises up as he is called and
answereth; the absentees are then only noted, but no excuse to be made
till the House be fully called a second time, and if still absent,
excuses are to be heard. _Ord. House of Commons_, 92.
They rise that their persons may be recognized; the voice in such a
crowd, being an insufficient verification of their presence. But in so
small a body as the Senate of the United States, the trouble of rising
cannot be necessary.
SECTION VIII.
ABSENCE.
[No member shall absent himself from the service of the Senate without
leave of the Senate first obtained. And in case a less number than a
quorum of the Senate shall convene, they are hereby authorized to send
the Sergeant-at-Arms, or any other person or persons by them authorized,
for any or all absent members, as the majority of such members present
shall agree, at the expense of such absent members, respectively,
unless such excuse for non-attendance shall be made as the Senate, when
a quorum is convened, shall judge sufficient; and in that case the
expense shall be paid out of the contingent fund. And this rule shall
apply as well to the first convention of the Senate, at the legal time
of meeting, as to each day of the session, after the hour is arrived to
which the Senate stood adjourned. _Rule 8._]
SECTION XI.
SPEAKER.
[The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.
_Constitution_, I, 3.]
[The Senate shall choose their officers, and also a President pro
tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
the office of President of the United States. _Ib._]
[The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other
officers. _Const._, I, 2.]
When but one person is proposed, and no objection made, it has not been
usual in Parliament to put any question to the House; but without a
question the members proposing him conduct him to the chair. But if
there be objection, or another proposed, a question is put by the clerk.
2 _Hats._, 168. As are also questions of adjournment. 6 _Grey_, 406.
Where the House debated and exchanged messages and answers with the king
for a week, without a Speaker, till they were prorogued. They have done
it de die in diem for fourteen days. 1 _Chand._, 331, 335.
[In the Senate, a President pro tempore in the absence of the
Vice-President is proposed and chosen by ballot. His office is
understood to be determined on the Vice-President’s appearing and taking
the chair, or at the meeting of the Senate after the first recess.]
Where the Speaker has been ill, other Speakers pro tempore have been
appointed. Instances of this are 1 _H._, 4. Sir John Cheyney, and for
Sir Wm. Sturton, and in _15 H._, 6. Sir John Tyrrell, in 1656, January
27; 1658, March 9; 1659, January 13.
Sir Job Charlton ill, Seymour chosen, }
1673, February 18. }
Seymour being ill, Sir Robert Sawyer } Not merely pro tempore,
chosen, 1678, April 15. } 1 _Chand._, 169, 276, 277.
Sawyer being ill, Seymour chosen. }
Thorpe in execution, a new Speaker chosen, _31 H._ VI. 3 _Grey_, 11; and
March 14, 1694, Sir John Trevor chosen. There have been no later
instances. 2 _Hats._, 161; 4 _Inst._; 8 _E. Parl._, 263.
A Speaker may be removed at the will of the House, and a Speaker pro
tempore appointed.[38] 2 _Grey_, 186; 5 _Grey_, 134.
SECTION X.
ADDRESS.
[The President shall, from time to time, give to the Congress
information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
_Const._, II, 3.]
A joint address of both Houses of Parliament is read by the Speaker of
the House of Lords. It may be attended by both Houses in a body, or by a
committee from each House, or by the two Speakers only. An address of
the House of Commons only, may be presented by the whole House, or by
the Speaker, 9 _Grey_, 473; 1 _Chand._, 298, 301; or by such particular
members as are of the privy council. 2 _Hats._, 278.