within and for said Territory of Oregon, by act of Congress, entitled "An Act to establish the territorial government of Oregon," approved August fourteen, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, wherein the venue in said cases, suits at law, or in chancery, or criminal proceedings, shall be included within the limits herein before declared and established for the said Territory of Washington; then, and in that case, said actions so pending in the Supreme or Circuit Courts of the Territory of Oregon shall be, by the clerks of said courts, duly certified to the proper courts of said Territory of Washington; and thereupon said causes shall, in all things concerning the same, be proceeded on, and judgments, verdicts, decrees, and sentences rendered thereon, in the same manner as if the said Territory had not been divided. All bonds, recognizances, and obligations of every kind whatsoever, valid, under the existing laws, within the limits of said Territory of Oregon, shall be held valid under this act, and all crimes and misdemeanors against the laws now in force within the said limits of the Territory of Washington may be prosecuted, tried, and punished in the courts established by this act, and all penalties, forfeitures, actions, and causes of action, may be recovered and enforced, under this act, before the Supreme and Circuit Courts established by this act as aforesaid: Provided, That no right of action whatever shall ac- of action crue against any person for any act done in pursuance of stricted. any law heretofore passed by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Oregon, and which may be declared contrary to the Constitution or laws of the United States. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That all justices of the peace, constables, sheriffs, and other judicial and ministerial officers, who shall be in office within the limits of said Territory of Washington when this act shall take effect, shall be and they are hereby authorized and required to continue to exercise and perform the duties of their respective offices, as officers of said Territory, until they or others shall be duly elected or appointed, and qualified, to fill their places in the manner herein directed, or until their offices shall be abolished.

Certain rights

re

Certain exist

ing officers to retain their offices, pointed.

till others are ap

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the sum of five Library. thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended, by and under the direction of the Governor of Washington, in 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.

dicial districts.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That until otherwise Courts and juprovided for 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

Certain officers to give bonds.

Sections 16 and 36 in each town

ed for schools.

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 expedient and proper.

SEC. 19. 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 Washington, who, by virtue of the provisions of any law of Congress now existing, or which may be enacted during the present session of 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. 20. And be it further enacted, That when the lands ship to be reserv-in said Territory shall be surveyed under the direction of the Government of the United States, preparatory to bringing the same into market or otherwise disposing thereof, 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 comOther sections mon schools in said Territory. And in all cases where said to be located in sections sixteen and thirty-six, or either or any of them, when actually shall be occupied by actual settlers prior to survey thereof, the County Commissioners of the counties in which said sections so occupied as aforesaid are situated, be, and they are hereby, authorized to locate other lands to an equal amount in sections, or fractional sections, as the case may be, within their respective counties, in lieu of said sections. so occupied as aforesaid.

lieu thereof

settled on.

jurisdiction over

Columbia, where

Concurrent SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That the Territory offences on the of Oregon and the Territory of Washington shall have it is a boundary. concurrent jurisdiction over all offences committed on the Columbia River, where said river forms a common boundary between said Territories.

APPROVED, March 2, 1853.

CHAP. LIX.—An Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas.

May 30, 1854.

government for

lished.

Boundary.

with or without

to divide said

of it to a State

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Temporary all that part of the territory of the United States included Territory of Newithin the following limits, except such portions thereof braska estabas 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; 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 fortyninth parallel of north latitude; thence east on said parallel Admitted as a to the western boundary of the territory of Minnesota; State or States thence southward on said boundary to the Missouri River; slavery. Power thence down the main channel of said river to the place Territory, or to of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, created into a attach portion temporary government by the name of the Territory of or Territory, reNebraska; and when admitted as a State or States, the said served. 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, Proviso. 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 con- Rights of Indians in said Tertained shall be construed to impair the rights of person or ritory not improperty 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

paired.

retain their pres

United States Territory; but all such territory shall be excepted out of ent authority the boundaries, and constitute no part of the Territory of

over said

ans.

The executive power vested in

powers, duties,

and

ments.

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 to 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 a governor, his power and authority in and over said Territory of Nebraska term of office, shall be vested in a Governor, who shall hold his office for emolu-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.

Secretary-his powers and duties.

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 In case of deposited in the libraries of Congress; and in case of the tion, removal or death, removal, resignation, or absence of the Governor absence of gov- from the Territory, the Secretary shall be, and he is hereby, tary to act as 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.

death, resigna

ernor, the secre

governor.

Legislative power-how

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative vested. Legisla-power and authority of said Territory shall be vested in tive Assembly to the Governor and a Legislative Assembly. The Legislacil and House of tive Assembly shall consist of a Council and House of Representatives. Representatives. The Council shall consist of thirteen

consist of a Coun

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 ses

councillors and

councillors and

of representa

taken: when

conducted, and

elected.

sion, consist of twenty-six members, possessing the same Number of qualifications as prescribed for members of the Council, representatives. 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 of number shall never exceed thirty-nine. An apportion- representatives ment shall be made, as nearly equal as practicable, among limited. the several counties or districts, for the election of the council and representatives, giving to each section of the Apportionment Territory representation in the ratio of its qualified voters tion. 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 Census to be election, the Governor shall cause a census, or enumera- and how. tion 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 How the first shall be held at such time and places, and be conducted in election shall be such manner, both as to the persons who shall superintend who declared 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 Proviso: in 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, Subsequent place, and manner of holding and conducting all elections determined by 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 terms of sessions exceed the term of forty days, except the first session, which may continue sixty days.

case of vacancy or no choice.

the Assembly.

Proviso, as to

of Legislative As

of voters.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white Qualifications 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