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The following is the full text of the organic act which created the
Territory of Nebraska:
Be it enacted by the Senate and the
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 hereafter expressly exempted from the
operations of this act, towit: Beginning at a point on the Missouri
River where the fortieth parallel of north latitude crosses the
same, thence west on said parallel to the east boundary of the
territory of Utah on the summit of the Rocky mountains, thence on
said summit northward to the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude,
thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the
territory of Minnesota, thence southward on said boundary to the
Missouri river, thence down the main channel of said river to the
place of beginning, be and the same is hereby created into a
temporary government by the name of the Territory of 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 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 a
manner and at such a time 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 Nebraska until said tribe shall signify their
assent to the president of the United States to be included within
said territory of Nebraska, or to affect the authority of the
government of the United States to make any regulations respecting
any 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 been passed.
Section. 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 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 shall be
faithfully executed.
Section 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
semiannually on the first days of January and July of 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.
Section 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 qualification 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 a 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.
Section 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 described, 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.
Section 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 nonresidents 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 becomes 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 its 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.
Section 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.
Section 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 from 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.
Section 9. And be it further
enacted. That the judicial power of said territory shall be invested
in a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, and in justices
of the peace. The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and
two associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum,
and who shall hold a term at the seat of government of said
territory annually, and they shall hold their offices during the
period of four years, and until their successors shall be appointed
and qualified. The said territory shall be 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 shall 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 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 $100; and the said supreme and district courts,
respectively, shall possess chancery as well as common law
jurisdiction. Each district court, or the judge thereof, shall
appoint its clerk, who shall also be 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 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 $1,000; except only that in all cases involving title
to slaves, the said writs of error or appeals shall be allowed and
decided by the 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 12, 1793, and the "act to amend and supplementary
to the aforesaid act," approved September 18, 1850; 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 on 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.
Section 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 12, 1793, and the provisions of the act
entitled "an act to amend, and supplementary to, the aforesaid act,"
approved September 18, 1850, be, and the same are hereby declared to
extend to and be in full force within the limits of said territory
of Nebraska.
Section 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 as the attorney for the United States for the present
territory of Utah. There shall also be a marshal for the territory
appointed, who shall hold his office for four years, and until his
successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by
the president, and who shall execute all processes issuing from the
said courts when exercising their jurisdiction as circuit and
district courts of the United States; he shall perform the duties,
be subject to the same regulations and penalties, and be entitled to
the same fees, as the marshal of the district court of the United
States for the present territory of Utah; and shall, in addition, be
paid $200 annually as a compensation for extra service.
Section 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 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
afterward 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 $2,500. The chief justice
and associate justices shall each receive an annual salary of
$2,000. The secretary shall receive an annual salary of $2,000. 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 payments 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 $3 each,
per day, during their attendance at the sessions thereof, and $3
each for every twenty miles' travel in going to and returning from
the said sessions, estimated according to the nearest usually
traveled route, and an additional allowance of $3 shall be paid to
the presiding officer of each house for each day he shall so
preside. And a chief clerk, and assistant clerk, a sergeant-at-arms
and doorkeeper, may be chosen for each house; and the chief clerk
shall receive $4 per day, and the said other officers $3 per day,
during the session of the legislative assembly; but no other officer
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 laws, and other incidental expenses; and
the governor and secretary of the territory shall, in the
disbursement of all moneys entrusted to them, be governed solely by
the instructions of the secretary of the treasury of the United
States, and shall, semiannually, account to the said secretary for
the manner in which the aforesaid moneys shall have been expended;
and no expenditures shall be made by said legislative assembly for
objects not specially authorized by the acts of congress making the
appropriations, nor beyond I he sums thus appropriated for such
objects.
Section 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
the 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 he subject to be changed by the said governor and
legislative assembly.
Section 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 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
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 there of shall be given accordingly. That the
constitution and 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 6, 1820, which being
inconsistent with the principles of nonintervention by congress with
slavery in the states and territories, as recognized by the
legislation of 1850, 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 there from, but 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 6th March, 1820, either protecting,
establishing, prohibiting or abolishing slavery.
Section 15. 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
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, attorney
of said territory and such other persons, and under such
regulations, as shall be prescribed by law.
Section 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, sections number 16 to 36 in each
township in said territory sha