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Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
The Kansas-Nebraska Act annulled the
Missouri
Compromise of 1820.
Here is the link to
Charles Sumner's
The Crime Against Kansas
speech, delivered in the Senate
of the Unites States - May 19, 1856.
Here is a helpful map (huge):
1777-1865 United
States Slavery and Emancipation
And here follows the transcript of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
An Act to Organize
the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas.
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, except such portions
thereof as are hereinafter expressly exempted
from the operations of this act, to wit:
beginning at a point in the Missouri River where
the fortieth parallel of north latitude crosses
the same; then west on said parallel to the east
boundary of the Territory of Utah, the summit of
the Rocky Mountains; thence on said summit
northwest to the forty-ninth parallel of north
latitude; thence east on said parallel to the
western boundary of the territory of Minnesota;
thence southward on said boundary to the
Missouri River; thence down the main channel of
said river to the place of beginning, be, and
the same is hereby, created into a temporary
government by the name of the Territory
Nebraska; and when admitted as a State or
States, the said Territory or any portion of the
same, shall be received into the Union with
without slavery, as their constitution may
prescribe at the time of the admission:
Provided, That nothing in this act contained
shall be construed to inhibit the government of
the United States from dividing said Territory
into two or more Territories, in such manner and
at such tin as Congress shall deem convenient
and proper, or from attaching a portion of said
Territory to any other State or Territory of the
United States: Provided further, That nothing in
this act contained shall construed to impair the
rights of person or property now pertaining the
Indians in said Territory' so long as such
rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty
between the United States and such Indians, or
include any territory which, by treaty with any
Indian tribe, is not, without the consent of
said tribe, to be included within the
territorial line or jurisdiction of any State or
Territory; but all such territory shall excepted
out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of
the Territory of Nebraska, until said tribe
shall signify their assent to the President of
the United States to be included within the said
Territory of Nebraska. or to affect the
authority of the government of the United States
make any regulations respecting such Indians,
their lands, property, or other rights, by
treaty, law, or otherwise, which it would have
been competent to the government to make if this
act had never passed.
SEC. 2. And Be it further enacted, That the
executive power and authority in and over said
Territory of Nebraska shall be vested in a
Governor who shall hold his office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President of the United States. The
Governor shall reside within said Territory, and
shall be commander-in-chief of the militia
thereof. He may grant pardons and respites for
offences against the laws of said Territory, and
reprieves for offences against the laws of the
United States, until the decision of the
President can be made known thereon; he shall
commission all officers who shall be appointed
to office under the laws of the aid Territory,
and shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.
SEC. 3. And Be it further enacted, That there
shall be a Secretary of said Territory, who
shall reside therein, and hold his office for
five years, unless sooner removed by the
President of the United States; he shall record
and preserve all the laws and proceedings of the
Legislative Assembly hereinafter constituted,
and all the acts and proceedings of the Governor
in his executive department; he shall transmit
one copy of the laws and journals of the
Legislative Assembly within thirty days after
the end of each session, and one copy of the
executive proceedings and official
correspondence semi-annually, on the first days
of January and July in each year to the
President of the United States, and two copies
of the laws to the President of the Senate and
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
to be deposited in the libraries of Congress,
and in or case of the death, removal,
resignation, or absence of the Governor from the
Territory, the Secretary shall be, and he is
hereby, authorized and required to execute and
perform all the powers and duties of the
Governor during such vacancy or absence, or
until another Governor shall be duly appointed
and qualified 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
thirteen members, having the qualifications of
voters, as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of
service shall continue two years. The House of
Representatives shall, at its first session,
consist of twenty-six members, possessing the
same qualifications as prescribed for members of
the Council, and whose term of service shall
continue one year. The number of representatives
may be increased by the Legislative Assembly,
from time to time, in proportion to the increase
of qualified voters: Provided, That the whole
number shall never exceed thirty-nine. An
apportionment shall be made, as nearly equal as
practicable, among the several counties or
districts, for the election of the council and
representatives, giving to each section of the
Territory representation in the ratio of its
qualified voters as nearly as may be. And the
members of the Council and of the House of
Representatives shall reside in, and be
inhabitants of, the district or county, or
counties for which they may be elected,
respectively. Previous to the first election,
the Governor shall cause a census, or
enumeration of the inhabitants and qualified
voters of the several counties and districts of
the Territory, to be taken by such persons and
in such mode as the Governor shall designate and
appoint; and the persons so appointed shall
receive a reasonable compensation therefor. And
the first election shall be held at such time
and places, and be conducted in such manner,
both as to the persons who shall superintend
such election and the returns thereof, as the
Governor shall appoint and direct; and he shall
at the same time declare the number of members
of the Council and House of Representatives to
which each of the counties or districts shall be
entitled under this act. The persons having the
highest number of legal votes in each of said
council districts for members of the Council,
shall be declared by the Governor to be duly
elected to the Council; and the persons having
the highest number of legal votes for the House
of Representatives, shall be declared by the
Governor to be duly elected members of said
house: Provided, That in case two or more
persons voted for shall have an equal number of
votes, and in case a vacancy shall otherwise
occur in either branch of the Legislative
Assembly, the Governor shall order a new
election; and the persons thus elected to the
Legislative Assembly shall meet at such place
and on such day as the Governor shall appoint;
but thereafter, the time, place, and manner of
holding and conducting all elections by the
people, and the apportioning the representation
in the several counties or districts to the
Council and House of Representatives, according
to the number of qualified voters, shall be
prescribed by law, as well as the day of the
commencement of the regular sessions of the
Legislative Assembly: Provided, That no session
in any one year shall exceed the term of forty
days, except the first session, which may
continue sixty days.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every
free white male inhabitant above the age of
twenty-one years who shall be an actual resident
of said Territory, and shall possess the
qualifications hereinafter prescribed, shall be
entitled to vote at the first election, and
shall be eligible to any office within the said
Territory; but the qualifications of voters, and
of holding office, at all subsequent elections,
shall be such as shall be prescribed by the
Legislative Assembly: Provided, That the right
of suffrage and of holding office shall be
exercised only by citizens of the United States
and those who shall have declared on oath their
intention to become such, and shall have taken
an oath to support the Constitution of the
United States and the provisions of this act:
And provided further, That no officer, soldier,
seaman, or marine, or other person in the army
or navy of the United States, or attached to
troops in the service of the United States,
shall be allowed to vote or hold office in said
Territory, by reason of being on service
therein.
SEC. 6. And Be it further enacted, That the
legislative power of the 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
law shall be passed interfering with the primary
disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed
upon the property of the United States; nor
shall the lands or other property of
non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or
other property of residents. Every bill which
shall have passed the Council and House of
Representatives of the said Territory 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 a law.
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 of
Nebraska. The Governor shall nominate, and, by
and with the advice and consent of the
Legislative Council, appoint all officers not
herein otherwise provided for; and in the first
instance the Governor alone may appoint all said
officers, who shall hold their offices until the
end of the first session of the Legislative
Assembly; and shall lay off the necessary
districts for members of the Council and House
of Representatives, and all other officers.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no
member of the Legislative Assembly shall hold,
or be appointed to, any office which shall have
been created, or the salary or emoluments of
which shall have been increased, while he was a
member, during the term for which he was
elected, and for one year after the expiration
of such term; but this restriction shall not be
applicable to members of the first Legislative
Assembly; and no person holding a commission or
appointment under the United States, except
Postmasters, shall be a member of the
Legislative Assembly, or 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 in Justices of the Peace. The
Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice
and two associate justices, any two of whom
shall constitute a quorum, and who shall hold a
term at the seat of government of said Territory
annually, and they shall hold their offices
during the period of four years, and until their
successor shall be appointed and qualified. The
said Territory shall be divided into three
judicial districts, and a district court shall
be held in each of said districts by one of the
justices of the Supreme Court, at such times and
places as may be prescribed by of 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 that of the probate
courts and of justices of the peace, shall be as
limited by law: Provided, That justices of the
peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter
in controversy when the title or boundaries of
land may be in dispute, or where the debt or sum
claimed shall exceed one hundred dollars; and
the said supreme and districts courts,
respectively, shall possess chancery as well as
common law jurisdiction. Each District Court, or
the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who
shall also be the register in 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;
except only that in all cases involving title to
slaves, the said writs of error, or appeals
shall be allowed and decided by the said Supreme
Court, without regard to the value of the
matter, property, or title in controversy; and
except also that a writ of error or appeal shall
also be allowed to the Supreme Court of the
United States, from the decision of the said
Supreme Court created by this act, or of any
judge thereof, or of the district courts created
by this act, or of any judge thereof, upon any
writ of habeas corpus, involving the question of
personal freedom: Provided, that nothing herein
contained shall be construed to apply to or
affect the provisions to the " act respecting
fugitives from justice, and persons escaping
from the service of their masters," approved
February twelfth, seventeen hundred and
ninety-three, and the " act to amend and
supplementary to the aforesaid act," approved
September eighteen, eighteen hundred and fifty;
and each of the said district courts shall have
and exercise the same jurisdiction in all cases
arising under the Constitution and Laws of the
United States as is vested in the Circuit and
District Courts of the United States; and the
said Supreme and District Courts of the said
Territory, and the respective judges thereof,
shall and may grant writs of habeas corpus in
all cases in which the same are granted by the
judges of the United States in the District of
Columbia; and the first six days of every term
of said courts, or so much thereof as shall be
necessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of
causes arising under the said constitution and
laws, and writs of error and appeal in all such
cases shall be made to the Supreme Court of said
Territory, the same as in other cases. The said
clerk shall receive in all such cases the same
fees which the clerks of the district courts of
Utah Territory now receive for similar services.
SEC. 10. And Be it further enacted, That the
provisions of an act entitled "An act respecting
fugitives from justice, and persons escaping
from the service of their masters," approved
February twelve, seventeen hundred and
ninety-three, and the provisions of the act
entitled " An act to amend, and supplementary
to, the aforesaid act," approved September
eighteen, eighteen hundred and fifty, be, and
the same are hereby, declared to extend to and
be in full force within the limits of said
Territory of Nebraska.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there
shall be appointed an Attorney for said
Territory, who shall continue in office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President, and who shall receive the same
fees and salary I as the Attorney of the United
States for the present Territory of Utah. There
shall also be a Marshal for the Territory
appointed, who shall hold his office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President, and who shall execute all
processes issuing from the said courts when
exercising their jurisdiction as Circuit and
District Courts of the United States; he shall
perform the duties, be subject to the same
regulation and penalties, and be entitled to the
same fees, as the Marshal of the District Court
of the United States for the present Territory
of Utah, and shall, in addition, be paid two
hundred dollars annually as a compensation for
extra services.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the
Governor, Secretary, Chief Justice, and
Associate Justices, Attorney and Marshal, shall
be nominated, and, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, appointed by the
President of the United States. The Governor and
a Secretary to be appointed as aforesaid, shall,
before they act as such, respectively take an
oath or affirmation before the District Judge or
some Justice of the Peace in the limits of said
Territory, duly authorized to administer oaths
and affirmations by the laws now in force
therein, or before the Chief Justice, or some
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, to support the Constitution of
the United States, and faithfully to discharge
the duties of their respective offices, which
said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by
the person by whom the same shall have been
taken; and such certificates shall be received
and recorded by the said Secretary among the
Executive proceedings; and the Chief Justice and
Associate Justices, and all other civil officers
in said Territory, before they act as such,
shall take a like oath or affirmation before the
said Governor or Secretary, or some Judge or
Justice of the Peace of the Territory, who may
be duly commissioned and qualified, which said
oath or affirmation shall be certified and
transmitted by the person taking the same to the
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 two
thousand five hundred dollars. The Chief Justice
and Associate Justices shall each receive an
annual salary of two thousand dollars. The
Secretary shall receive an annual salary of two
thousand dollars. The said salaries shall be
paid quarter-yearly, from the dates of the
respective appointments, at the Treasury of the
United States; but no such payment shall be made
until said officers shall have entered upon the
duties of their respective appointments. The
members of the Legislative Assembly shall be
entitled to receive three dollars each per day
during their attendance at the sessions thereof,
and three dollars each for every twenty miles'
travel in going to and returning from the said
sessions, estimated according to the nearest
usually travelled route; and an additional
allowance of three dollars shall be paid to the
presiding officer of each house for each day he
shall so preside. And a chief clerk, one
assistant clerk, a sergeant-at-arms, and
doorkeeper, may be chosen for each house; and
the chief clerk shall receive four dollars per
day, and the said other officers three dollars
per day, during the session of the Legislative
Assembly; but no other officers shall be paid by
the United States: Provided, That there shall be
but one session of the legislature annually,
unless, on an extraordinary occasion, the
Governor shall think proper to call the
legislature together. There shall be
appropriated, annually, the usual sum, to be
expended by the Governor, to defray the
contingent expenses of the Territory, including
the salary of a clerk of the Executive
Department; and there shall also be
appropriated, annually, a sufficient sum, to be
expended by the Secretary of the Territory, and
upon an estimate to be made by the Secretary of
the Treasury of the United States, to defray the
expenses of the Legislative Assembly, the
printing of the laws, and other incidental
expenses; and the Governor and Secretary of the
Territory shall, in the disbursement of all
moneys intrusted to them, be governed solely by
the instructions of the Secretary of the
Treasury of the United States, and shall,
semi-annually, account to the said Secretary for
the manner in which the aforesaid moneys shall
have been expended; and no expenditure shall be
made by said Legislative Assembly for objects
not specially authorized by the acts of
Congress, making the appropriations, nor beyond
the sums thus appropriated for such objects.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of
Nebraska shall hold its first session at such
time and place in said Territory as the Governor
thereof shall appoint and direct; and at said
first session, or as soon thereafter as they
shall deem expedient, the Governor and
Legislative Assembly shall proceed to locate and
establish the seat of 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. 14. And be it further enacted, That a
delegate to the House of Representatives of the
United States, to serve for the term of two
years, who shall be a citizen of the United
States, may be elected by the voters qualified
to elect members of the Legislative Assembly,
who shall be entitled to the same rights and
privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the
delegates from the several other Territories of
the United States to the said House of
Representatives, but the delegate first elected
shall hold his seat only during the term of the
Congress to which he shall be elected. The first
election shall be held at such time and places,
and be conducted in such manner, as the Governor
shall appoint and direct; and at all subsequent
elections the times, places, and manner of
holding the elections, shall be prescribed by
law. The person having the greatest number of
votes shall be declared by the Governor to be
duly elected; and a certificate thereof shall be
given accordingly. That the Constitution, and
all Laws of the United States which are not
locally inapplicable, shall have the same force
and effect within the said Territory of Nebraska
as elsewhere within the United States, except
the eighth section of the act preparatory to the
admission of Missouri into the Union approved
March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which,
being inconsistent with the principle of
non-intervention by Congress with slaves in the
States and Territories, as recognized by the
legislation of eighteen hundred and fifty,
commonly called the Compromise Measures, is
hereby declared inoperative and void; it being
the true intent and meaning of this act not to
legislate slavery into any Territory or State,
nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the
people thereof perfectly free to form an
regulate their domestic institutions in their
own way, subject only to the Constitution of the
United States: Provided, That nothing herein
contained shall be construed to revive or put in
force any law or regulation which may have
existed prior to the act of sixth March,
eighteen hundred and twenty, either protecting,
establishing, prohibiting, or abolishing
slavery.
SEC. 15. And Be it further enacted, That there
shall hereafter be appropriated, as has been
customary for the Territorial governments,
sufficient amount, to be expended under the
direction of the said Governor of the Territory
of Nebraska, not exceeding the sums heretofore
appropriated for similar objects, for the
erection of suitable public buildings at the
seat of government, and for the purchase of a
library, to be kept at the seat of government
for the use of the Governor, Legislative
Assembly, Judges of the Supreme Court,
Secretary, Marshal, and Attorney of said
Territory, and such other persons, and under
such regulations as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That when
the lands in the said Territory shall be
surveyed under the direction of the government
of the United States, preparatory to bringing
the same into market, section; numbered sixteen
and thirty-six in each township in said
Territory shall be, and the same are hereby,
reserved for the purpose of being applied to
schools in said Territory, and in the States and
Territories hereafter to be erected out of the
same.
SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That, until
otherwise provided by law, the Governor of said
Territory may define the Judicial Districts of
said Territory, and assign the judges who may be
appointed for said Territory to the several
districts; and also appoint the times and places
for holding courts in the several counties or
subdivisions in each of said Judicial Districts
by 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. 18. And be it further enacted, That all
officers to be appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
for the Territory of Nebraska, who, by virtue of
the provisions of any law now existing, or which
may be enacted during the present Congress, are
required to give security for moneys that may be
intrusted with them for disbursement, shall give
such security, at such time and place, and in
such manner, as the Secretary of the Treasury
may prescribe.
SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That all
that part of the Territory of the United States
included within the following limits, except
such portions thereof as are hereinafter
expressly exempted from the operations of this
act, to wit, beginning at a point on the western
boundary of the State of Missouri, where the
thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude
crosses the same; thence west on said parallel
to the eastern boundary of New Mexico; thence
north on said boundary to latitude thirty-eight;
thence following said boundary westward to the
east boundary of the Territory of Utah, on the
summit of the Rocky Mountains; thence northward
on said summit to the fortieth parallel of
latitude, thence east on said parallel to the
western boundary of the State of Missouri;
thence south with the western boundary of said
State to the place of beginning, be, and the
same is hereby, created into a temporary
government by the name of the Territory of
Kansas; and when admitted as a State or States,
the said Territory, or any portion of the same,
shall be received into the Union with or without
slavery, as their Constitution may prescribe at
the time of their admission: Provided, That
nothing in this act contained shall be construed
to inhibit the government of the United States
from dividing said Territory into two or more
Territories, in such manner and at such times as
Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or
from attaching any portion of said Territory to
any other State or Territory of the United
States: Provided further, That nothing in this
act contained shall be construed to impair the
rights of person or property now pertaining to
the Indians in said Territory, so long as such
rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty
between the United States and such Indians, or
to include any 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 Kansas, until said
tribe shall signify their assent to the
President of the United States to be included
within the said Territory of Kansas, or to
affect the authority of the government of the
United States to make any regulation respecting
such Indians, their lands, property, or other
rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it
would have been competent to the government to
make if this act had never passed.
SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the
executive power and authority in and over said
Territory of Kansas shall be vested in a
Governor, who shall hold his office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President of the United States. The
Governor shall reside within said Territory, and
shall be commander-in-chief of the militia
thereof. He may grant pardons and respites for
offences against the laws of said Territory, and
reprieves for offences against the laws of the
United States, until the decision of the
President can be made known thereon; he shall
commission all officers who shall be appointed
to office under the laws of the said Territory,
and shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.
SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That there
shall be a Secretary of said Territory, who
shall reside therein, and hold his office for
five years, 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 journals of the
Legislative Assembly within thirty days after
the end of each session, and one copy of the
executive proceedings and official
correspondence semi-annually, on the first days
of January and July in each year, to the
President of the United States, and two copies
of the laws to the President of the Senate and
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
to be deposited in the libraries of Congress;
and, in case of the death, removal, resignation,
or absence of the Governor from the Territory,
the Secretary shall be, and he is hereby,
authorized and required to execute and perform
all the powers and duties of the Governor during
such vacancy or absence, or until another
Governor shall be duly appointed and qualified
to fill such vacancy.
SEC. 22. 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
thirteen members, having the qualifications of
voters, as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of
service shall continue two years. The House of
Representatives shall, at its first session,
consist of twenty-six members possessing the
same qualifications as prescribed for members of
the Council, and whose term of service shall
continue one year. The number of representatives
may be increased by the Legislative Assembly,
from time to time, in proportion to the increase
of qualified voters: Provided, That the whole
number shall never exceed thirty-nine. An
apportionment shall be made, as nearly equal as
practicable, among the several counties or
districts, for the election of the Council and
Representatives, giving to each section of the
Territory representation in the ratio of its
qualified voters as nearly as may be. And the
members of the Council and of the House of
Representatives shall reside in, and be
inhabitants of, the district or county, or
counties, for which they may be elected,
respectively. Previous to the first election,
the Governor shall cause a census, or
enumeration of the inhabitants and qualified
voters of the several counties and districts of
the Territory, to be taken by such persons and
in such mode as the Governor shall designate and
appoint; and the persons so appointed shall
receive a reasonable compensation therefor. And
the first election shall be held at such time
and places, and be conducted in such manner,
both as to the persons who shall superintend
such election and the returns thereof, as the
Governor shall appoint and direct; and he shall
at the same time declare the number of members
of the Council and House of Representatives to
which each of the counties or districts shall be
entitled under this act. The persons having the
highest number of legal votes in each of said
Council Districts for members of the Council,
shall be declared by the Governor to be duly
elected to the Council; and the persons having
the highest number of legal votes for the House
of Representatives, shall be declared by the
Governor to be duly elected members of said
house: Provided, That in case two or more
persons voted for shall have an equal number of
votes, and in case a vacancy shall otherwise
occur in either branch of the Legislative
Assembly, the Governor shall order a new
election; and the persons thus elected to the
Legislative Assembly shall meet at such place
and on such day as the Governor shall appoint;
but thereafter, the time, place, and manner of
holding and conducting all elections by the
people, and the apportioning the representation
in the several counties or districts to the
Council and House of Representatives, according
to the number of qualified voters, shall be
prescribed by law, as well as the day of the
commencement of the regular sessions of the
Legislative Assembly: Provided, That no session
in any one year shall exceed the term of forty
days, except the first session, which may
continue sixty days.
SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That every
free white male inhabitant above the age of
twenty-one years, who shall be an actual
resident of said Territory, and shall possess
the qualifications hereinafter prescribed, shall
be entitled to vote at the first election, and
shall be eligible to any office within the said
Territory; but the qualifications of voters, and
of holding office, at all subsequent elections,
shall be such as shall be prescribed by the
Legislative Assembly: Provided, That the right
of suffrage and of holding office shall be
exercised only by citizens of the United States,
and those who shall have declared, on oath,
their intention to become such, and shall have
taken an oath to support the Constitution of the
United States and the provisions of this act:
And, provided further, That no officer, soldier,
seaman, or marine, or other person in the army
or navy of the United States, or attached to
troops in the service of the United States,
shall be allowed to vote or hold office in said
Territory by reason of being on service therein.
SEC. 24. 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
law shall be passed interfering with the primary
disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed
upon the property of the United States; nor
shall the lands or other property of
non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or
other properly of residents. Every bill which
shall have passed the Council and House of
Representatives of the said Territory shall,
before it become a law, be 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, prevent its return, in which case
it shall not be a law.
SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That all
township, district, and; county officers, not
herein otherwise provided for, shall be
appointed or elected as the case may be, in such
manner as shall be provided by the Governor and
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Kansas.
The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative
Council, appoint all officers not herein
otherwise provided for; and, in the first
instance, the Governor alone may appoint all
said officers, who shall hold their offices
until the end of the first session of the
Legislative Assembly; and shall lay off the
necessary districts for members of the Council
and House of Representatives, and all other
officers.
SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That no
member of the Legislative Assembly shall hold,
or be appointed to, any office which shall have
been created, or the salary or emoluments of
which shall have been increased, while he was a
member, during the term for which he was
elected, and for one year after the expiration
of such term; but this restriction shall not be
applicable to members of the first Legislative
Assembly; and no person holding a 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. 27. And be it further enacted, That the
judicial power of said Territory shall be vested
in a supreme court, district courts, probate
courts, and in justices of the peace. The
Supreme Court shall Consist of chief justice and
two associate justices, any two of whom shall
constitute a quorum, and who shall hold a term
at the seat of government of said Territory
annually; and they shall hold their offices
during the period of four years, and until their
successors shall be appointed and qualified. The
said Territory shall be divided into three
judicial districts, and a district court shall
be held in each of said districts by one of the
justices of the Supreme Court, at such times and
places as may be prescribed by law; and the said
judges shall, after their appointments,
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 justices of the peace, shall be as
limited by law: Provided, That justices of the
peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter
in controversy when the title or boundaries of
land may be in dispute, or where the debt or sum
claimed shall exceed one hundred dollars; and
the said supreme and district courts,
respectively, shall possess chancery as well as
common law jurisdiction. Said 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;
except only that in all cases involving title to
slaves, the said writ of error or appeals shall
be allowed and decided by said supreme court,
without regard to the value of the matter,
property, or title in controversy; and except
also that a writ of error or appeal shall also
be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United
States, from the decision of the said supreme
court created by this act, or of any judge
thereof, or of the district courts created by
this act, or of any judge thereof, upon any writ
of habeas corpus, involving the question of
personal freedom: Provided, That nothing herein
contained shall be construed to apply to or
affect the provisions of the "act respecting
fugitives from justice, and persons escaping
from the service of their masters," approved
February twelfth, - seventeen hundred and
ninety-three, and the act to amend and
supplementary to the aforesaid act," approved
September eighteenth, eighteen hundred and
fifty; and each of the said district courts
shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction in
all cases arising under the Constitution and
laws of the United States as is vested in the
Circuit and District Courts of the United
States; and the said supreme and district courts
of the said Territory, and the respective judges
thereof, shall and may grant writs of habeas
corpus in all cases in which the same are
granted by the judges of the United States in
the District of Columbia; and the first six days
of every term of said courts, or so much thereof
as may be necessary, shall be appropriated to
the trial of causes arising under the said
Constitution and laws, and writs of error and
appeal in all such cases shall-be made to the
Supreme Court of said Territory, the same as in
other cases. The said clerk shall receive the
same fees in all such cases, which the clerks of
the district courts of Utah Territory now
receive for similar services.
SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That the
provisions of the act entitled "An act
respecting fugitives from justice, and persons
escaping from, the service of their masters,"
approved February twelfth, seventeen hundred and
ninety-three, and the provisions of the act
entitled "An act to amend, and supplementary to,
the aforesaid act," approved September
eighteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty, be, and
the same are hereby, declared to extend to and
be in full force within the limits of the said
Territory of Kansas.
SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That there
shall be appointed an attorney for said
Territory, who shall continue in office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President, and who shall receive the same
fees and salary as the Attorney of the United
States for the present Territory of Utah. There
shall also be a marshal for the Territory
appointed, who shall hold his office for four
years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
by the President, and who shall execute all
processes issuing from the said courts where
exercising their jurisdiction as Circuit and
District Courts of the United States; he shall
perform the duties, be subject to the same
regulations and penalties, and be entitled to
the same fees, as the Marshal of the District
Court of the United States for the present
Territory of Utah, and shall, in addition, be
paid two hundred dollars annually as a
compensation for extra services.
SEC. 30. And be it further enacted, That the
Governor, Secretary, Chief Justice, and
Associate Justices, Attorney, and Marshal, shall
be nominated, and, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, appointed by the
President of the United States. The Governor and
Secretary to be appointed as aforesaid shall,
before they act as such, respectively take an
oath or affirmation before the district judge or
some justice of the peace in the limits of said
Territory, duly authorized to administer oaths
and affirmations by the laws now in force
therein, or before the Chief Justice or some
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, to support the Constitution of
the United States, and faithfully to discharge
the duties of their respective offices, which
said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by
the person by whom the same shall have been
taken; and such certificates shall be received
and recorded by the said secretary among the
executive proceedings; and the Chief Justice and
Associate Justices, and all other civil officers
in said Territory, before they act as such,
shall take a like oath or affirmation before the
said Governor or Secretary, or some Judge or
Justice of the Peace of the Territory who may be
duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath
or affirmation shall be certified and
transmitted by the person taking the same to the
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 two
thousand five hundred dollars. The Chief Justice
and Associate Justices shall receive As an
annual salary of two thousand dollars. The
Secretary shall receive an annual salary of two
thousand dollars. The said salaries shall be
paid quarter-yearly, from the dates of the
respective appointments, at the Treasury of the
United States; but no such payment shall be made
until said officers shall have entered upon the
duties of their respective appointments. The
members of the Legislative Assembly shall be
entitled to receive three dollars each per day
during their attendance at the sessions thereof,
and three dollars each for every twenty miles'
travel in going to and returning from the said
sessions, estimated according to the nearest
usually travelled route; and an additional
allowance of three dollars shall be paid to the
presiding officer of each house for each day he
shall so preside. And a chief clerk, one
assistant clerk, a sergeant at-arms, and
door-keeper, may be chosen for each house; and
the chief clerk shall receive four dollars per
day, and the said other officers three dollars
per day, during the session of the Legislative
Assembly; but no to other officers shall be paid
by the United States: Provided, That there shall
be but one session of the Legislature annually,
unless, on an extraordinary occasion, the
Governor shall think proper to call the
Legislature together. There shall be
appropriated, annually, the usual sum, to be
expended by the Governor, to defray the
contingent expenses of the Territory, including
the salary of a clerk of the Executive
Department and there shall also be appropriated,
annually, a sufficient sum, to be expended by
the Secretary of the Territory, and upon an
estimate to be made by the Secretary of the
Treasury of the United States, to defray the
expenses of the Legislative Assembly, the
printing of the laws, and other incidental
expenses; and the Governor and Secretary of the
Territory shall, in the disbursement of all
moneys intrusted to them, be governed solely by
the instructions of the secretary of the
Treasury of the United States, and shall,
semi-annually, account to the said secretary for
lit the manner in which the aforesaid moneys
shall have been expended; and no expenditure
shall be made by said Legislative Assembly for
objects not specially authorized by the acts of
Congress making the appropriations, nor beyond
the sums thus appropriated for such objects.
SEC. 31. And be it further enacted, That the
seat of government of said Territory is hereby
located temporarily at Fort Leavenworth; and
that such portions of the public buildings as
may not be actually used and needed for military
purposes, may be occupied and used, under the
direction of the Governor and Legislative
Assembly, for such public purposes as may be
required under the provisions of this act.
SEC. 32. And be it further enacted, That a
delegate to the House of Representatives of the
United States, to serve for the term of two
years, who shall be a citizen of the United
States, may be elected by the voters qualified
to elect members of the Legislative Assembly,
who shall be entitled to the same rights and
privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the
delegates from the several other Territories of
the United States to the said House of
Representatives, but the delegate first elected
shall hold his seat only during the term of the
Congress to which he shall be elected. The first
election shall be held at such time and places,
and be conducted in such manner, as the Governor
shall appoint and direct; and at all subsequent
elections, the times, places, and manner of
holding the elections shall be prescribed by
law. The person having the greatest number of
votes shall be declared by the Governor to be
duly elected, and a certificate thereof shall be
given accordingly. That the Constitution, and
all laws of the United States which are not
locally inapplicable, shall have the same force
and effect within the said Territory of Kansas
as elsewhere within the United States, except
the eighth section of the act preparatory to the
admission of Missouri into the Union, approved
March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which,
being inconsistent with the principle of
non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the
States and Territories, as recognized by the
legislation of eighteen hundred and fifty,
commonly called the Compromise Measures, is
hereby declared inoperative and void; it being
the true intent and meaning of this act not to
legislate slavery into any Territory or State,
nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the
people thereof perfectly free to form and
regulate their domestic institutions in their
own way, subject only to the Constitution of the
United States: Provided, That nothing herein
contained shall be construed to revive or put in
force any law or regulation which may have
existed prior to the act of sixth of March,
eighteen hundred and twenty, either protecting,
establishing, prohibiting, or abolishing
slavery.
SEC. 33. And be it further enacted; That there
shall hereafter be appropriated, as has been
customary for the territorial governments, a
sufficient amount, to be expended under the
direction of the said Governor of the Territory
of Kansas, not exceeding the sums heretofore
appropriated for similar objects, for the
erection of suitable public buildings at the
seat of government, and for the purchase of a
library, to be kept at the seat of government
for the use of the Governor, Legislative
Assembly, Judges of the Supreme Court,
Secretary, Marshal, and Attorney of said
Territory, and such other persons, and under
such regulations, as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 34. And be it further enacted, That when
the lands in the said Territory shall be
surveyed under the direction of the government
of the United States, preparatory to bringing
the same into market, sections numbered sixteen
and thirty-six in each township in said
Territory shall be, and the same are hereby,
reserved for the purpose of being applied to
schools in said Territory, and in the States and
Territories hereafter to be erected out of the
same.
SEC. 35. And be it further enacted, That, until
otherwise provided by law, the Governor of said
Territory may define the Judicial Districts of
said Territory, and assign the judges who may be
appointed for said Territory to the several
districts; and also appoint the times and places
forholding 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. 36. And be it further enacted, That all
officers to be appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
for the Territory of Kansas, who, by virtue of
the provisions of any law now existing, or which
may be enacted during the present Congress, are
required to give security for moneys that may be
intrusted with them for disbursement, shall give
such security, at such time and place, and in
such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury may
prescribe.
SEC. 37. And be it further enacted, That all
treaties, laws, and other, engagements made by
the government of the United States with the
Indian tribes inhabiting the territories
embraced within this act, shall be faithfully
and rigidly observed, notwithstanding any thing
contained in this act; and that the existing
agencies and superintendencies of said Indians
be continued with the same powers and duties
which are now prescribed by law, except that the
President of the United States may, at his
discretion, change the location of the office of
superintendent.
Approved, May 30, 1854
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