An Act
to authorize the people of Missouri Territory to form a constitution and State
government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an
equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit
slavery in certain Territories
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the inhabitants of that portion of the
Missouri Territory included within the boundaries hereinafter designated, be,
and they are hereby authorized to form for themselves a constitution and State
government, and to assume such name as they shall deem proper; and the said
State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with
the original States in all respects whatsoever.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said State shall consist
of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit:
Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six
degrees of north latitude; thence west along that parallel of latitude to the
Saint Francois River; thence up, and following the course of that river in the
middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six
degrees and thirty minutes; thence west, along the same, to a point where the
said parallel is intersected by a meridian-line passing through the middle of
the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River;
thence from the point aforesaid north, along the said meridian-line, to the
intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the
river Des Moines, making the said line to correspond with the Indian boundary-line;
thence east, from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along the said
parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of the
said river Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the main channel of
the said river Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the
Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of
Mississippi River; thence down, and following the course of the Mississippi
River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning: Provided,
The State shall ratify the boundaries aforesaid: And provided also, That
the said State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mississippi and
every other river bordering on the said State so far as the said rivers shall
form a common boundary to the said State and any other State or States, now or
hereafter to be formed and bounded by the same such rivers to be common to
both; and that the river Mississippi and the navigable, rivers and waters
leading into the same, shall be common highways,
7253 --VOL 3-07----21
2146 Missouri-1820
and forever free, as well to the inhabitants
of the said State as to other citizens of the United States, without any tax,
duty, impost, or toll therefor imposed by the said State.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That
all free white male citizens of the United States, who shall have arrived at
the age of twenty-one years, and have resided in said Territory three months
previous to the day of election, and all other persons qualified to vote for
representatives to the general assembly of the said Territory, shall be
qualified to be elected, and they are hereby qualified and authorized to vote
and choose representatives to form a convention, who shall be apportioned
amongst the several counties as follows:
From the county of Howard, five
representatives.
From the county of Cooper, three
representatives.
From the county of Montgomery, two
representatives.
From the county of Pike, one representative.
From the county of Lincoln, one
representative.
From the county of Saint, Charles, three
representatives.
From the county of Franklin, one
representative.
From the county of Saint, Louis, eight
representatives.
From the county of Jefferson, one
representative.
From the county of Washington, three
representatives.
From the county of Saint Genevieve, four
representatives.
From the county of Madison, one
representative.
From the county of Cape Girardeau, five
representatives.
From the county of New Madrid, two
representatives.
From the county of Wayne,
and that portion of the county of Lawrence, that falls within the boundaries
herein designated, one representative.
And the election for the
representatives aforesaid shall be holden on the first Monday and two
succeeding days of May next, throughout the several counties aforesaid in the
said Territory, and shall be in every respect held and conducted in the same
manner and under the same regulations as is prescribed by the laws of the said
Territory regulating elections therein for members of the general assembly,
except that the returns of the election in that portion of Lawrence County
included in the boundaries aforesaid shall be made to the county of Wayne, as
is provided in other cases under the laws of said Territory.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That
the members of the convention thus duly elected shall be, and they are hereby,
authorized to meet at the seat of government of said Territory, on the second
Monday of the month of June next; and the said convention, when so assembled,
shall have power and authority to adjourn to any other place in the said
Territory, which to them shall seem best for the convenient transaction of
their business; and which convention, when so met, shall first determine, by a
majority of the whole number elected, whether it be or be not expedient at that
time to form a constitution and State government for the people within the said
Territory, as included within the boundaries above designated; and, if it be
deemed expedient, the convention shall be, and hereby is, authorized to form a
constitution and State government; or, if it be deemed more expedient, the
said convention shall provide by ordinance for electing representatives to form
a constitution or frame of government; which said representatives shall be
chosen in such manner, and in such
Missouri-18202147
proportion, as they shall designate, and
shall meet at such time and place as shall be prescribed by the said ordinance;
and shall then form for the people of said Territory, within the boundaries
aforesaid, a constitution and State government: Provided, That the
same, whenever formed, shall be republican, and not, repugnant to the
Constitution of the United States; and that the legislature of said State shall
never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, nor
with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in
such soil to the bona-fide purchasers; and that no tax shall be imposed on
lands the property of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident
proprietors be taxed higher than residents.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That,
until the next general census shall be taken, the said State shall be entitled
to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United States.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That
the following propositions be, and the same are hereby, offered to the
convention of the said Territory of Missouri when formed, for their free
acceptance or rejection, which, if accepted by the convention, shall be
obligatory upon the United States:
First. That section numbered sixteen in every township, and when such section
has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, other lands, equivalent thereto and as
contiguous as may be, shall be granted to the State for the use of the
inhabitants of such township, for the use of schools.
Second. That all salt-springs, not exceeding twelve in number, with six
sections of land adjoining to each, shall be granted to the said State, for the
use of said State, the same to be selected by the legislature of the said
State, on or before the first day of January, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-five, and the same, when so selected, to be used under such
terms, conditions, and regulations as the legislature of said State shall
direct: Provided That no saltspring, the right whereof now is, or
hereafter shall be, confirmed or adjudged to any individual or individuals,
shall, by this section, be granted to said State: And provided also,
That the legislature shall never sell or lease the same, at any one time, for a
longer period than ten years, without the consent of Congress.
Third. That five per cent. of the net proceeds of the sale of lands lying
within the said Territory, or State, and which shall be sold by Congress, from
and after the first day of January next, after deducting all expenses incident
to the same, shall be reserved for making public roads and canals, of which
three-fifths shall be applied to those objects within the State, under the
direction of the legislature thereof; and the other two-fifths in defraying,
under the direction of Congress, the expenses to be incurred in making of a
road or roads, canal or canals, leading to the said State.
Fourth. That four entire sections of land be, and the same are hereby, granted
to the said State, for the purpose of fixing their seat of government thereon,
which said sections shall, under the direction of the legislature of said
State, be located, as near as may be, in one body, at any time, in such townships
and ranges as the legislature aforesaid may select, on any of the public lands
of the United States: Provided, That such locations shall be made prior
to the public sale of the lands of the United States surrounding such location.
2148 Missouri-1821
Fifth. That thirty-six sections, or one entire township, which shall be
designated by the President of the United States, together with the other lands
heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for the use of a
seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of said State, to be
appropriated solely for the use of such seminary by the said legislature: Provided,
That the five foregoing propositions herein offered are on the condition
that the convention of the said State shall provide, by an ordinance,
irrevocable without the consent of the United States, that every and each tract
of land sold by the United States, from and after the first day of January
next, shall remain exempt, from any tax laid by order or under the authority of
the State, whether for State, county, or township, or any other purpose
whatever, for the term of five years from and after the day of sale: And
further, That the bounty-lands granted, or hereafter to be granted, for
military services during the late war, shall, while they continue to be held by
the patentees, or their heirs, remain exempt as aforesaid from taxation for the
term of three years from and after the date of the patents respectively.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That
in case a constitution and State government shall be formed for the people of
the said Territory of Missouri, the said convention or representatives, as
soon thereafter as may be, shall cause a true and attested copy of such
constitution, or frame of State government, as shall be formed or provided, to
be transmitted to Congress.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That
in all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of
Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north
latitude, not included within the limits of the State contemplated by this act,
slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes,
whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby,
forever prohibited: Provided always, That any person escaping into the
same from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any State or Territory,
of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to
the person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid.
Approved, March 6, 1820.
RESOLUTION FOR THE ADMISSION OF MISSOURI-1821
[SIXTEENTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION]
Resolution providing for the admission or the state of
Missouri into the Union.
on a certain condition
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America, in, Congress assembled, That Missouri shall be admitted into this union on an equal footing
with the original states, in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition,
that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the
constitution submitted on the part of said state to Congress, shall never be
construed to authorize the passage of any law,and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any
citizen, of either of the states in this Union, shall be excluded from the
enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen
Missouri-18212149
is entitled under theconstitution of
the United States: Provided, That the legislature of the said state, by
a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said state to the said
fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United
States, on or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of
the said act; upon the receipt whereof, the President, by proclamation, shall
announce the fact; whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part
of Congress, the admission of the said state into this Union shall be
considered as complete.
Approved, March 2, 1821.
PROCLAMATION ADMITTING MISSOURI–1821 a
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas
the Congress of the United States, by joint resolution of the 2d day of March last, entitled
“Resolution providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union
on a certain condition," did determine and declare that Missouri should
be admitted into this Union on an equal footing with the original States in all
respects whatever upon the fundamental condition that the fourth clause of the
twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution submitted on the
part of said State to Congress shall never be construed to authorize the
passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by
which any citizen of either of the States of this Union shall be excluded from
the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is
entitled under the Constitution of the United States: Provided, That the
Legislature of said State, by a solemn public act shall declare the assent of
the said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the
President of the United States, on or before the first Monday in November next
an authentic copy of said act, upon the receipt whereof the President, by
proclamation, shall announce the fact, whereupon, and without any further proceeding
on the art of Congress, the admission of the said State into this Union shall
be considered as complete: " and
Whereas
by solemn public act of the assembly of said State of Missouri, passed on the
26th of June, in the present year entitled “A solemn public act declaring the
assent of this State to the fundamental condition contained in a resolution
passed by the Congress of the United States providing for the admission of the
State of Missouri into the Union, on a certain condition," an authentic
copy whereof has been communicated to me, it is solemnly and publicly enacted
and declared that that State has assented, and does assent, that the fourth
clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution of
said State “shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and
that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of
either of the United States shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the
privi-
a Messages and
Papers of the Presidents, James D.Richardson, 11. 95-96.
2150
Missouri-1820
leges and immunities to which such citizens are entitled
under the Constitution of the United States:”
Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United
States, in pursuance of the resolution of Congress aforesaid, have issued this
my proclamation announcing the fact that the said State of Missouri has
assented to the fundamental condition required by the resolution of Congress
aforesaid, whereupon the admission of the said State of Missouri into this
Union is declared to be complete.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United
States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my
hand.
Done at the city
of Washington the 10th of August, A. D., 1821,(SEAL)and of the
Independence of the said United States of America the forty-sixth.
JAMES
MONROE.
By
the President:
JOHN
QUINCY ADAMS,
Secretary
of State.
CONSTITUTION OF MISSOURI-1820 * a
We, the people of Missouri, inhabiting the
limits hereinafter designated, by our representatives in convention assembled
at Saint Louis, on Monday, the 12th day of June, 1820, do mutually agree to
form and establish a free and independent republic, by the name of the "
State of Missouri," and for the government thereof do ordain and establish
this constitution:
ARTICLE
OF BOUNDARIES
We do declare, establish, ratify, and confirm
the following as the permanent boundaries of said State, that is to say:
Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six
degrees of north latitude; thence west along the said parallel of latitude to
Saint Francois River; thence up and following the course of that river, in the
middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six
degrees and thirty minutes; thence west along the same to a point where the said
parallel is intersected by a meridian-line passing through the middle of the
mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River;
thence from the point aforesaid north, along the said meridian-line, to the
intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids, of
the river Des Moines, making the said line correspond with the Indian
boundary-line; thence east from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along
the said parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of
the said river Des Moines; thence down
*
Verified from "The Constitution and Amendments In the
Laws of Missouri, 1821-1864."
a This constitution was framed by
a convention which met at Saint Louis June 12, 1820, and completed its labors
July 19, 1820.
Missouri-18202151
and along the middle of the main channel of
the said river Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the
Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the
Mississippi River; thence down and following the course of the Mississippi
River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning.
ARTICLE II
OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS
The powers of government shall be divided
into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confided to a separate
magistracy; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly
belonging to one of those departments shall exercise any power properly
belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter
expressly directed or permitted.
ARTICLE III
OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER
SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be
vested in a general assembly, which shall consist of senate and of a house of
representatives.
SEC. 2. The house of representatives shall
consist of members to be chosen every second year, by the qualified electors of
the several counties. Each county shall have at least one representative; but
the whole number of representatives shall never exceed one hundred.
SEC. 3. No person shall be a member of the
house of representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four
years; who shall not be a free white male citizen of the United States; who
shall not have been an inhabitant of this State two years, and of the county
which he represents one year next before his election, if such county shall
have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or counties from
which the same shall have been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a
State or county tax.
SEC. 4. The general assembly at their first
session, and in the years one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two and one
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, respectively, and every fourth year
thereafter, shall cause an enumeration of the inhabitants of this State to be
made; and at the first session after such enumeration shall apportion the
number of representatives among the several counties, according to the number
of free white male inhabitants therein.
SEC. 5. The senators shall be chosen by the
qualified electors for the term of four years. No person shall be a senator who
shall not have attained to the age of thirty years; who shall not be a free
white male citizen of the United States; who shall not have been an inhabitant
of this State four years, and of the district which be may be chosen to
represent one year next before his election, if such district shall have been
so long established; but if not, then of the district or districts from which
the same shall have been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a State
or county tax.
2152 Missouri–1820
SEC. 6. The senate shall consist of not less
than fourteen nor more than thirty-three members; for the election of whom the
State shall be divided into convenient districts, which may be altered from
time to time, and new districts established, as public convenience may require,
and the senators shall be apportioned among the several districts according to
the member of free white male inhabitants in each: Provided, That when a
senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of
which such district consists shall not be entirely separated by any county
belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a
district.
SEC. 7. At the first session of the general
assembly, the senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two
classes. The seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of the second
year, and the seats of the second class at the end of the fourth year; so that
one-half of the senators shall be chosen every second year.
SEC. 8. After the first day of January, one
thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, all general elections shall commence on
the first Monday in August, and shall be held biennially; and the electors, in
all cases, except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be
privileged from arrest during their continuance at elections, and in going to
and returning from the same.
SEC. 9. The governor shall issue writs of
election to fill such vacancies as may occur in either house of the general
assembly.
SEC. 10. Every free white male citizen of the
United States, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who
shall have resided in this State one year before an election the last three
months whereof shall have been in the county or district in which lie offers to
vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector of all elective offices: Provided,
That no soldier, seaman, or mariner in the Regular Army or Navy of the
United States shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.
SEC. 11. No judge of any court of law or
equity, secretary of state, attorney-general, State auditor, State or county
treasurer, register, or recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff ,
coroner, member of Congress, nor other person holding any lucrative office under
the United States or this State, militia officers, justices of the peace, and
postmasters excepted, shall be eligible to either house of the general
assembly.
SEC. 12. No person who now is or hereafter
may be a collector or holder of public money, nor any assistant or deputy of
such collector or holder of public money, shall be eligible to either house of
the general assembly, nor to any office of profit or trust until he shall have
accounted for and paid all sums for which he may be accountable.
SEC. 13. No person while he continues to
exercise the functions of a bishop, priest, clergyman, or teacher of any
religious persuasion, denomination, society, or sect whatsoever, shall be
eligible to either house of the general assembly; nor shall he be appointed to
any office of profit within the State, the office of justice of the peace,
excepted.
SEC. 14. The general assembly shall have
power to exclude from every office of honor, trust, or profit, within the
State, and from the right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery,
perjury, or other infamous crime.
SEC. 15. Every person who shall be convicted
of having, directly or indirectly, given or offered any bribe to procure his
election or
Missouri–18202153
appointment, shall be disqualified for any
office of honor, trust, or profit under this State; and any, person who shall
give or offer any bribe to procure the election or appointment of any person,
shall, on conviction thereof, be disqualified for in elector, or for any office
of honor, trust, or profit under this State, for ten years after such conviction.
SEC. 16. No senator or representative shall,
during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil
office under this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of
which shall have been increased, during his continuance in office, except to
such offices as shall be filled by elections of the people.
SEC. 17. Each house shall appoint its own
officers, and shall judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its
own members. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business;
but a small number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance
of absent members in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may
provide.
SEC. 18. Each house may determine the rules
of its proceedings; punish its members for disorderly behavior; and with the
concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no
member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause.They shall each, from time to time, publish
a journal of their proceedings, except such parts as may, in their opinion,
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the
journal, at the desire of any two members.
SEC. 19. The doors of each house, and of
committee of the whole, shall be kept open, except in cases which may require
secrecy; and each house may punish, by fine or imprisonment, any person, not a
member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or
contemptuous behavior in their presence, during their session: Provided, That
such fine shall not exceed three hundred dollars, and such imprisonment shall
not exceed forty-eight hours for one offence.
SEC. 20. Neither house shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days at any one time, nor to
any other place than to that in which the two houses may be sitting.
SEC. 21. Bills may originate in either house,
and may be altered, amended, or rejected by the other; and every bill shall be
read on three different days in each house, unless two-thirds of the house
where the same is depending shall dispense with this rule; and every bill,
having passed both houses, shall be signed by the speaker of the house of
representatives and by the president of the senate.
SEC. 22. When any officer, civil or military,
shall be appointed by the joint or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the
separate vote of either house of the general assembly, the votes shall be
publicly given viva voce, and entered on the journals. The whole list of
members shall be called, and the names of absentees shall be noted and
published with the journal.
SEC. 23. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except of
treason,felony, or breach of the
peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general assembly,
and for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of
each session; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be
questioned in any other place.
2154 Missouri–1820
SEC. 24. The members of the general assembly
shall severally receive from the public treasury a compensation for their
services, which may, from time to time, be increased or diminished by law; but
no alteration, increasing, or tending to increase the compensation of members,
shall take effect during the session at which such alteration shall be made.
SEC. 25. The general assembly shall direct by
law in what, manner, and in what courts, suits may be brought against the
State.
SEC. 26. The general assembly shall not have
power to pass laws--
1. For the emancipation of slaves without the
consent of their owners; or without paying them, before such emancipation, a
full equivalent for such slaves so emancipated; and,
2.
To prevent bona-fide immigrants to this State, or actual settlers
therein, from bringing from any of the United States, or fromany of their Territories, such persons as
may there be deemed to be slaves, so long as any persons of the same
description are allowed to be held as slaves by the laws of this State.
They shall have power to
pass laws--
1. To prohibit the
introduction into this State of any slaves who may have committed any high
crime in any other State or Territory;
2. To prohibit the
introduction of any slave for the purpose of speculation, or as an article of
trade or merchandise;
3. To prohibit the
introduction of any slave, or the offspring of any slave, who heretofore may
have been, or who hereafter may be, imported from any foreign country into the
United States, or any Territory thereof, in contravention of any existing
statute of the United States; and,
4. To permit the owners of
slaves to emancipate them, saving the right of creditors, where the person so
emancipating will give security that the slave so emancipated shall not become
a public charge.
It shall be their duty, as
soon as may be, to pass such laws as may be necessary--
1. To prevent free negroes
and mulattoes from coming to and settling in this State, under any pretext
whatsoever; and,
2. To oblige the owners of
slaves to treat them with humanity, and to abstain from all injuries to them
extending to life or limb.
SEC. 27. In prosecutions
for crimes, slaves shall not be deprived of an impartial trial by jury and a
slave convicted of a capital offence shall suffer the same degree of
punishment, and no other, that would be inflicted on a free white person for a
like offence; and courts of justice, before whom slaves shall be tried, shall
assign them counsel for their defence.
SEC. 28. Any person who
shall maliciously deprive of life or dismember a slave, shall suffer such
punishment as would be inflicted for the like offence if it were committed on a
free white person.
SEC. 29. The governor, lieutenant-governor,
secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney-general, and all judges of the
courts of law and equity, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in
office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from
office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit
under this State. The party impeached, whether convicted or acquitted, shall,
nevertheless, be liable to be indicted, tried, and punished according to law.
Missouri–18202155
SEC. 30. The house of representatives shall
have the sole power of impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the
senate; and, when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or
affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence.When the governor shall be tried, the
presiding judge of the supreme court shall preside; and no person shall be
convicted without ht concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present.
SEC. 31. A State treasurer shall be
biennially appointed by joint vote of the two houses of the general assembly
who shall keep his office at the seat of government. No money shall be drawn
from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and an
accurate account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be
annually published.
SEC. 32. The appointment of all
officers, not otherwise directed by this constitution, shall be made in such
manner as may be prescribed by law; and all officers, both civil and military,
under the authority of this State, shall, before entering on the duties of their
respective offices, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of
the United States, and of this State, and to demean themselves faithfully in
office.
SEC. 33. The general assembly shall meet on
the third Monday in September next; on the first Monday in November, eighteen
hundred and twenty-one; on the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and
twenty-two, and thereafter the general assembly shall meet once in every two
years, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in November, unless a
different day shall be appointed by law.
SEC. 34. No county now established by law
shall ever be reduced, by the establishment of new counties, to less than
twenty miles square; not shall any county hereafter be established which shall
contain less than four hundred square miles.
SEC. 35. Within five years after the adoption
of this constitution all the statutelaws of a general nature, both
civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested, and promulgated, in such manner
as the general assembly shall direct, and a like revision, digest, and
promulgation shall be made at the expiration of every subsequent period often years.
SEC. 36. The style of the laws of this State
shall be, “Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Missouri.”
ARTICLE IV
OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER
SECTION 1. The supreme executive power shall
be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled " The governor of the
State of Missouri.”
SEC. 2. The governor shall
be at least thirty-five years of age, and a natural-born citizen of the United
States, or a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution of the United States,
or an inhabitant of that part of Louisiana now included in the State of
Missouri at the time of the cession thereof from France to the United States,
and shall have been a resident of the same for at least four years next before
his election.
2156Missouri–1820
SEC. 3. The governor shall hold his office
for four years, and until a successor be duly appointed and qualified. He shall
be elected in the manner following: At the time and place of voting for members
of the house of representatives, the qualified electors shall vote for a governor;
and when two or more persons have, in equal number of votes, and a higher
number than any person, the election shall be decided between them by a joint
vote of both houses of the general assembly, at their next session.
SEC.4. The governor shall be
ineligible for the next four years after the expiration of his term of service.
SEC. 5. The governor shall be
commander-in-chief of the militia and navy of the State, except when they shall
be called into the service of the United States; bu t he need not command in
person, unless advised so to do by a resolution of the general assembly.
SEC. 6. The governor shall have power to remit fines and
forfeitures; and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant reprieves and
pardons.
SEC. 7. The governor shall, from time to
time, give to the general assembly information relative to the state of the
government, and shall recommend to their consideration such measures as he
shall deem necessary and expedient. On extraordinary occasions he may convene
the general assembly by proclamation, and shall state to them the purposes for
which they are convened.
SEC. 8. The governor shall take care that the
laws be distributed and faithfully executed; and he shall be a conservator of
the peace throughout the State.
SEC. 9. When any office shall become vacant,
the governor shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy, who shall continue in
office until a successor be duly appointed and qualified according to law.
SEC. 10. Every bill which shall have been passed
by both houses of the general assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be
presented to the governor for his approbation. If he approve, he shall sign it;
if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall
have originated, and the house shall cause the objections to be entered at
large on its journals, and shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such
reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that house shall
agree to pass the same, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the
other house, by which it shall be in like manner reconsidered, and if approved
by a majority of all the members elected to that house, it shall become a law.
In all such cases the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas and nays; the
names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the
journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the
governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented
to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if the governor had
signed it; unless the general assembly, by its adjournment, shall prevent its
return, in which case it shall not become a law.
SEC. 11. Every resolution to which the
concurrence of the senate and house of representatives may be necessary, except
on cases of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor, and before the
same shall take effect shall be proceeded upon in the same manner as in the
case of a bill.
Missouri–18202157
SEC. 12. There shall be all auditor of public
accounts, whom the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate,
shall appoint. He shall continue in office four years, and shall perform such
duties as may be prescribed by law. His office shall be kept at the seat of
government.
SEC. 13. The governor shall, at stated times,
receive for his services all adequate salary, to be fixed by law, which shall
neither be increased nor diminished during his continuance in office, and which
shall never be less than two thousand dollars annually.
SEC. 14. There shall be a
lieutenant-governor, who shall be elected at the same time, in the same manner,
for the same term, and shall possess the same qualification as the governor.
The electors shall distinguish for whom they vote as governor and for whom as
lieutenant-governor.
SEC. 15. The lieutenant-governor shall, by
virtue of his office, be president of the senate. In committee of the whole, he
may debate on all questions; and, when there is an equal division he shall give
the casting vote in senate, and also in joint votes of both houses.
SEC. 16. When the office of governor shall
become vacant, by death, resignation, absence from the State, removal from
office, refusal to qualify, impeachment, or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor,
or, in case of like disability on his part, the president of the senate pro
tempore, or, if there be no president of the senate pro tempore, the
speaker of the house of representatives shall possess all the powers and
discharge all the duties of governor, and shall receive for his services the
like compensation, until such vacancy be filled, or the governor so absent or
impeached shall return or be acquitted.
SEC. 17. Whenever the office of governor
shall become vacant, by death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise,
the lieutenant-governor, or other person exercising the powers of governor for
the time being, shall, as soon as may be, cause all election to be held to fill
such vacancy, giving three months' previous notice thereof ; and the person
elected shall not thereby be rendered ineligible to the office of governor for
the next succeeding term. Nevertheless, if such vacancy shall happen within
eighteen months of the end of the term for which the late governor shall have
been elected, the same shall not be filled.
SEC. 18. The lieutenant-governor, or
president of the senate pro tempore, residing in the senate, shall
receive the same compensation as shall be allowed to the speaker of the house
of representatives.
SEC. 19. The returns of all elections of
governor and lieutenant-governor shall be made to the secretary of state, in
such manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 20. Contested elections of governor and
lieutenant-governor shall be decided by joint vote of both houses of the
general assembly, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 21. There shall be a secretary of state,
whom the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall
appoint.He shall hold his office four
years, unless sooner removed on impeachment.He shall keep a register of all the official acts an proceedings of the
governor, and, when necessary, shall attest them; and he shall lay the same,
together with all papers relative thereto, before either
2158 Missouri–1820
house of the general assembly, whenever required so to do;
and shall perform such other duties as may be enjoined on him by law.
SEC. 22. The secretary of state shall,
as soon as may be, procure a seal of state, with such emblems and devices as
shall be directed by law, which shall not be subject to change.It shall be called “The Great Seal of the State of
Missouri;” shall be kept by the secretary of state; and all official
acts of the governor, his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be thereby
authenticated.
SEC. 23. There shall be appointed in each county a sheriff
and a coroner, who, until the general assembly shall otherwise provide, shall
be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and place of electing
representatives. They shall serve for two years, and until a successor be duly
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed for misdemeanor in office, and
shall be ineligible four years in any period of eight years. The sheriff and
coroner shall each give security for the faithful discharge of the duties of
his office in such manner as shall be proscribed by law. Whenever a county
shall be hereafter established, the, governor hall appoint a sheriff and
coroner therein, who shall each continue in office until the next succeeding
general election, and until a successor shall be duly qualified.
SEC. 24. When vacancies happen in the
office of sheriff or coroner, they shall be filled by appointment of the
governor; and the persons so appointed shall continue in office until
successors shall be duly qualified, and shall not be thereby rendered
ineligible for the next succeeding term.
SEC. 25. In all elections of sheriff
and coroner, when two or more persons have an equal number of votes, and a
higher number than any other person, the circuit courts of the counties
respectively shall give the casting vote; and all contested elections for the
said offices be decided by the circuit courts respectively, in such manner as
the general assembly may by law prescribe.
ARTICLE V
OF THE JUDICIAL POWER
SECTION 1. The judicial
power, as to matters of law and equity, shall be vested in a supreme court, in
a chancellor, in circuit courts, and in such inferior tribunals as the general
assembly may from time to time ordain and establish.
SEC. 2. The supreme court,
except in cases otherwise directed by this constitution, shall have appellate
jurisdiction only, which shall be coextensive with the State, under the
restrictions and limitations in this constitution provided.
SEC. 3. The supreme court
shall have a general superintending control over all inferior courts of law.
It shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto,
certiorari, and other original remedial writs, and to hear and determine
the same.
SEC. 4. The supreme court
shall consist of three judges, any two of whom shall be a quorum; and the said
judges shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State.
SEC. 5. The State shall be
divided into convenient districts, not to exceed four; in each of which the
supreme court shall hold two sessions annually, at such place as the general
assembly shall appoint;
Missouri–18202159
and, when sitting in either district, it
shall exercise jurisdiction over causes originating in that district only: Provided,
however, That the general assembly may, at any time hereafter, direct by
law that the said court shall be held at one place only.
SEC. 6. The circuit court shall have
jurisdiction over all criminal cases which shall not be otherwise provided for
by law; and exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil cases which shall not
be cognizable before justices of the peace, until otherwise directed by that
general assembly.It shall hold its
terms in such place in each county as may be by law directed.
SEC. 7. The State shall be divided into
convenient circuits, for each of which a judge shall be appointed, who, after
his appointment, shall reside, and be a conservator of the peace, within the
circuit for which he shall be appointed.
SEC. 8. The circuit court shall exercise a
superintending control over all such inferior tribunals as the general assembly
may establish, and over justices of the peace in each county in their
respective circuits.
SEC. 9. The jurisdiction of the court of
chancery shall be coextensive with the State, and the times and places of
holding its sessions shall be regulated in the same manner as those of the
supreme court.
SEC. 10. The court of chancery shall have
original and appellate jurisdiction in all matters of equity, and a general
control over executors, administrators, guardians, and minors, subject to
appeal, in all cases, to the supreme court, under such limitations as the
general assembly may by law provide.
SEC. 11. Until the general assembly shall
deem it expedient to establish inferior courts of chancery, the circuit courts
shall have jurisdiction in matters of equity, subject to appeal to the court of
chancery, in such manner and under such restrictions as shall be prescribed by
law.
SEC. 12. Inferior tribunals shall be
established in each county for the transaction of all county business, for
appointing guardians, for grantingletters-testamentary and of
administration, and for settling the accounts of executors, administrators, and
guardians.
SEC. 13. The governor shall nominate and, by
and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint the judges of the
superior court, the judges of the circuit courts, and the chancellor, each of
whom shall hold his office during good behavior, and shall receive for his
services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during his continuance
in office, and which shall not be less than two thousand dollars annually.
SEC. 14. No person shall be appointed a judge
of the supreme court, nor of a circuit court, nor chancellor, before he shall
have attained to the age of thirty years, nor shall any person continue to
exercise the duties of any of said offices after he shall have attained to the
age of sixty-five years.
SEC. 15. The courts respectively shall
appoint their clerks, who shall hold their offices during good behavior.For any misdemeanor in office they shall be
liable to be tried and removed by the supreme court, in such manner as the
general assembly shall by law provide.
SEC. 16. Any judge of the supreme court, or
of the circuit court, or the chancellor, may be removed from office on the
address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly to the governor
for that
2160 Missouri–1820
purpose, but each house shall state, on its
respective journal the cause for which it shall wish the removal of such judge
or chancellor, and give him notice thereof, and he shall have the right to be
heard in his defence in such manner as the general assembly shall by law
direct; but no judge or chancellor shall be removed in this manner for any
cause for which he might have been impeached.
SEC. 17. In each county there shall be
appointed as many justices of the peace as the public good may be thought to
require. Their powers and duties and their duration in office shall be
regulated by law.
SEC. 18. An attorney-general shall be
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. He
shall remain in office four years, and shall perform such duties as shall be
required of him by law.
SEC. 19. All writs and process shall run and
all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name of the “State of Missouri;”
all writs shall be tested by the clerk of the court from which they shall be
issued, and all indictments, shall conclude, “againstthe peace and
dignity of the State.”
ARTICLE VI
OF EDUCATION
SECTION 1. Schools and the means of education
shall forever be encouraged in this State; and the general assembly shall take
measures to preserve from waste or damage such lands as have been, or hereafter
may be, granted by the United States for the use of schools within each
township in this State, and shall apply the funds which may arise from such
lands in strict conformity to the object of the grant. One school or more shall
be established in each township as soon as practicable and necessary, where the
poor shall be taught gratis.
SEC. 2. The general assembly shall take
measures for the improvement of such lands, as have been, or hereafter may be,
granted by the United States to this State for the support of a seminary of
learning, and the funds accruing from such lands, by rent or lease, or in any
other manner, or which may be obtained from any other source, for the purposes
aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund to support a university for
the promotion of literature and of the arts and sciences, and it shall be the
duty of the general assembly, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for
the improvement of such lands, and for the improvement and permanent security
of the funds and endowments of such institution.
ARTICLE VI I
OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT
Internal improvement shall forever be
encouraged by the government of this State, and it shall be the duty of
the general assembly, as soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascertaining
the most proper objects of improvement, in relation both to roads and navigable
waters; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law for a systematic and
economical application of the funds appropriated to those objects.
Missouri-18202161
ARTICLE VIII
OF BANKS
The general assembly may incorporate one
banking company, and no more, to be in operation at the same time.
The bank to be incorporated may have any
number of branches not to exceed five, to be established by law, and not more
than one branch shall be established at any one session of the general
assembly. The capital stock of the bank to be incorporated shall never exceed
five millions of dollars, at least one-half of which shall be reserved for the
use of the State.
ARTICLE IX
OF THE MILITIA
SECTION 1. Field-officers and
company-officers shall be elected by the persons subject to militia duty within
their respective commands. Brigadiers-general shall be elected by the
field-officers of their respective brigades, and majors-general by the
brigadiers and field-officers of their respective divisions, until otherwise
directed by law.
SEC. 2. General and field officers shall
appoint their officers of the staff.
SEC. 3. The governor shall appoint an
adjutant-general, and all other militia officers whose appointments are not
otherwise provided for in this constitution.
ARTICLE X
OF MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. The general assembly of this State
shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil of the United
States, nor with any regulation Congress may find necessary for securing the
title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers.No tax shall be imposed on lands the
property of the United States, nor shall lands belonging to persons residing
out of the limits of this State ever be taxed higher that the lands belonging
to persons residing within the State.
SEC. 2. The State shall have concurrent
jurisdiction on the river Mississippi, and on every other river bordering on
the said State, so far as the said river shall form a common boundary to the
said State and any other State or States, now or hereafter to be formed, and
bounded by the same; and the said river Mississippi, and the navigable rivers
and waters leading into the same, whether bordering on or within this State,
shall be common highways, and forever free to the citizens of this State and of
the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor imposed by
the State.
ARTICLE XI
OF THE PERMANENT SEAT OF GOVERNMENT
SECTION 1. The general assembly, at their
first session, shall appoint five commissioners for the purpose of selecting a
place for the permanent seat of government, whose duty it shall be to select
four sections
7253–VOL 3—07-----22
2162 Missouri-1820
of the land of the United States which shall not have been
exposed to public sale.
SEC. 2. If the commissioners believe the four sections of
land, so by them to be selected, be not a suitable and proper situation for the
permanent seat of government, they shall select such other place as they may
deem most proper for that purpose, and report the same to the general assembly
at the time of making their report provided for in the first section of this
article: Provided, That no place shall be selected which is not situated
on the bank of the Missouri River, and within forty miles of the mouth of the
river Osage.
SEC. 3. If the general assembly determine that the four
sections of land which may be selected by authority of the first section of
this article be a suitable and proper place for the permanent seat of government,
the said commissioners shall lay out a town thereon, under the direction of the
general assembly; but if the general assembly deem it most expedient to fix the
permanent seat of government at the place to be selected by authority of the
second section of this article, they shall so determine, and in that event
shall authorize the said commissioners to purchase any quantity of land, not
exceeding six hundred and forty acres, which may be necessary for the purpose
aforesaid; and the place so selected shall be the permanent seat of government
of this State from and after the first day of October, one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-six.
SEC. 4. The general assembly, in selecting the
above-mentioned commissioners, shall choose one from each extreme part of the
State, and one from the centre, and it shall require the concurrence of at
least three of the commissioners to decide upon any part of the duties assigned
to them.
ARTICLE XII
MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
The general assembly may at any time propose
such amendments to this constitution as two-thirds of each house shall deem
expedient, which shall be published in all the newspapers published in this
State three several times, at least twelve months before the next general
election; and if, at the first session of the general assembly after such
general election, two-thirds of each house shall, by yeas and nays, ratify such
proposed amendments, they shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts
of this constitution: Provided, That such proposed amendments shall be
read on three several days, in each house, as well when the same are proposed
as when they are finally ratified.
ARTICLE
XIII
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
That the general, great, and essential
principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we
declare-
a SECTION 1. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the
people.
SEC. 2. That the people of this State have
the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government
and police
a "
Section " in this Declaration is omitted in the original.
Missouri–18202163
thereof, and of altering and abolishing their
constitution and form of government whenever it may be necessary to their
safety and happiness.
SEC. 3. That the people have the right
peaceably to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those vested with
the powers of government for redress of grievances by petition or remonstrance,
and that their right to bear arms in defence of themselves and of the State
cannot be questioned.
SEC. 4. That all men have a natural and
indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their
own consciences; that no man can be compelled to erect, support, or attend any
place of worship, or to maintain any minister of the gospel or teacher of
religion; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of
conscience; that no person can ever be hurt molested, or restrained in his
religious profession or sentiments, if he do not disturb others in their
religious worship.
SEC. 5. That no person, on account of his
religious opinions, can be rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit
under this State; that no preference can ever be given by law to any sect or
mode of worship; and that no religious corporation can ever be established in
this State.
SEC. 6. That all elections shall be free and
equal.
SEC. 7. That courts of justice ought to be
open to every person, and certain remedy afforded for every injury to person,
property, or character; and that right and justice ought to be administered
without sale, denial, or delay; and that no private property ought to be taken
or applied to public use without just compensation.
SEC. 8. That the right of trial by jury shall
remain inviolate.
SEC. 9. That in all criminal prosecutions,
the accused has the right to be heard by himself and his counsel;. to demand
the nature and cause of accusation; to have compulsory process for witnesses in
his favor; to meet the witnesses against him face to face; and, in prosecutions
on presentment or indictment, to a speedy trial, by an impartial jury of the
vicinage; that the accused cannot be compelled to give evidence against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by the judgment of
his peers, or the law of the land.
SEC. 10. That no person, after having been
once acquitted by a jury, can, for the same offence, be again put in jeopardy
of life or limb; but if in any criminal prosecution the jury be divided in
opinion at the end of the term, the court before which the trial shall be had
may, in its discretion, discharge the jury, and commit or bail the accused for
trial at the next term or such court.
SEC. 11. That all persons shall be bailable
by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident
or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can
not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public
safety may require it.
SEC. 12. That excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
SEC. 13. That the people ought to be secure in their persons, papers,
houses, and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no warrant to
search any place, or to seize any person or thing, can issue without describing
the place to be searched, or the person or
2164 Missouri–1820
SEC. 14. That no person can, for an
indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally, by information, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual
service, in time of war or public danger, or by leave of the court, for
oppression or misdemeanor in office.
SEC. 15. That treason against the State can
consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving
them aid and comfort ; that no person can be convicted of treason unless on the
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his own confession in
open court; that no person can be attainted of treason or felony by the general
assembly; that no conviction can work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of
estate; that the estates of such persons as may destroy their own lives shall
descend or vest as in cases of natural death; and when any person shall be
killed by casualty, there ought to be no forfeiture by reason thereof.
SEC. 16. That the free communication of
thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and that every
person may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for
the abuse of that liberty; that in all prosecutions for libels the truth
thereof may be given in evidence, and the jury may determine the law and the
facts, under the direction of the court.
SEC. 17. That no ex post facto law, nor
law impairing the obligation of contracts, or retrospective in its operations,
can be passed; nor can the person of a debtor be imprisoned for debt after he
shall have surrendered his property for the benefit of his creditors in such
manner as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 18. That no person who is religiously
scrupulous of bearing arms can be compelled to do so, but may be compelled to
pay an equivalent for military service, in such manner as shall be prescribed
by law; and that no priest, preacher of the gospel, or teacher of any religious
persuasion or sect, regularly ordained as such, be subject to militia duty, or
compelled to bear arms.
SEC. 19. That all property, subject to
taxation in this State, shall be taxed in proportion to its value.
SEC. 20. That no title of nobility,
hereditary emolument, privilege, or distinction shall be granted nor any office
created, the duration of which shall be longer than the good behavior of the
officer appointed to fill the same.
SEC. 21. That emigration from this State can
not be prohibited.
SEC. 22. That the military is, and in all
cases and at all times shall be, in strictsubordination to the civil
power; that no soldier can, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner nor in time of war but in such manner as may be
prescribed by law; nor can any appropriation for the support of an army be made
for a longer period than two years.
SCHEDULE
SECTION 1. That no inconvenience may arise
from the change ofgovernment, we declare, that all writs, actions,
prosecutions, judgments, claims, and contracts of individuals and of
bodies-corporate shall continue as if no change had taken place; and all
process which may,before the third Monday in September next, be issued
under
Missouri–18202165
the authority of the Territory of Missouri
shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State.
SEC. 2. All laws now in force in the
Territory of Missouri, which are not repugnant to this constitution, shall
remain in force until they expire by their own limitations, or be altered or
repealed by the general assembly.
SEC. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures,
and escheats, accruing to the Territory of Missouri, shall accrue to the use of
the State.
SEC. 4. All recognizances heretofore taken,
or which may be taken before the third Monday in September next, shall remain
valid, and shall pass over to and may be prosecuted in the name of the State,
and all bonds executed to the governor of the Territory, or to any other
officer or court, in his official capacity, shall pass over to the governor, or
other proper State authority, and to their successors in office, for the uses
therein respectively, expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly.
All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen, or which may
arise before the third Monday in September next, and which shall then be depending,
shall be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. All
actions at law which now are, or which, on the third Monday in September next,
may be depending in any of the courts of record in the Territory of Missouri
may be commenced in or transferred to any court of record of the State which
shall have jurisdiction of the subject-matter thereof; and all suits in equity
may, in like manner, be commenced in or transferred to the court of chancery.
SEC. 5. All officers, civil and military, now
holding commissions under the authority of the United States, or of the
Territory of Missouri, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective
offices until they shall be superseded under the authority of the State; and
all such officers holding commissions under the authority of the Territory of
Missouri shall receive the same compensation which they hitherto received, in
proportion to the time they shall be so employed.
SEC. 6. The first meeting of the general
assembly shall be at Saint Louis, with power to adjourn to any other place; and
the general assembly, at the first session thereof, shall fix the seat of
government until the first day of October, eighteen hundred and twenty-six; and
the first session of the general assembly shall have power to fix the
compensation of the members thereof; anything in the constitution to the
contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 7. Until the first enumeration shall be
made, as directed in this constitution, the county of Howard shall be entitled
to eight representatives, the county of Cooper to four representatives the
county of Montgomery to two representatives, the county of Lincoln to one
representative, the county of Pike to two representatives, the county of Saint
Charles to three representatives, the county of Saint Louis to six
representatives, the county of Franklin to two representatives, the county of
Jefferson to one representative, the county of Washington to two
representatives, the county of Saint Genevieve to four representatives, the
county of Cape Girardeau to four representatives, the county of New Madrid to
two representatives, the county of Madison to one representative, the county of
Wayne to one representative, and that part of the county of Saint Lawrence,
situated within this State, shall attach to and form part of the county
2166
Missouri-1820
of Wayne until otherwise provided by law, and the sheriff of
the county of Wayne shall appoint the judges of the first election, and the
place of holding the same, in the part thus attached; and any person who shall
have resided within the limits of this State five months previous to the
adoption of this constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as
prescribed in the third section of the third article thereof, shall be eligible
to the house of representatives, anything in this constitution to the contrary
notwithstanding.
SEC. 8. For the first election of senators, the State shall
be divided into districts, and the apportionment shall be as follows, that is
to say, the counties of Howard and Cooper shall compose one district and elect
four senators, the counties of Montgomery and Franklin shall compose one
district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Charles shall compose one
district and elect one senator, the counties of Lincoln and Pike shall compose
one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Louis shall compose one
district and elect two senators, the counties of Washington and Jefferson shall
compose one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Genevieve shall
compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Madison and Wayne
shall compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Cape
Girardeau and New Madrid shall compose one district and elect two senators; and
in all cases where a senatorial district consists of more than one county, it
shall be the duty of the clerk of the county second named in that district to
certify the returns of the senatorial election within their proper county to
the clerk of the county first named, within five days after he shall have
received the same; and any person who shall have resided within the limits of
this State five months previous to the adoption of this constitution, and who
shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the fifth section of the third
article thereof, shall be eligible to the senate of this State, anything in
this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 9. The president of the convention shall issue writs of
election to the sheriffs of the several counties, or in case of vacancy to the
coroners, requiring them to cause all election to be held on the fourth Monday
in August next, for a governor, a lieutenant-governor, a Representative in the
Congress of the United States, for the residue of the Sixteenth Congress, a
Representative for the Seventeenth Congress, senators and representatives for
the general assembly, sheriffs and coroners, and the returns of all township
elections, held in pursuance thereof, shall be made to the clerks of the
proper county within five days after the day of election; and any person who
shall reside within the limits of this State at the time of the adoption of
this constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the
tenth section of the third article thereof, shall be deemed a qualified
elector, anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 10. The elections shall be conducted according to the
existing laws of the Missouri Territory. The clerks of the circuit courts of
the several counties shall certify the returns of the election of governor and
lieutenant-governor, and transmit the same to the speaker of the bouse of
representatives, at the temporary seat of government, in such time that they
may be received on the third Monday ofSeptember next. As soon as the
general assembly shall be organized,
Missouri–18202167
the speaker of the house of representatives,
and the president pro tempore of the senate, shall, in the presence of
both houses, examine the returns, and declare who are duly elected to fill
those offices; and if any two or more persons shall have an equal number of
votes, and a higher number than any other person, the general assembly shall
determine the election in the manner hereinbefore provided; and the returns of
the election for member of Congress shall be made to the secretary of the State
within thirty days after the day of election.
SEC. 11. The oaths of office, herein directed
to be taken may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace, until the
general assembly shall otherwise direct.
SEC. 12. Until a seal of
the State be provided, the governor may use his private seal.
W.M.
G. PETTUS, Secretary.
DAVID
BARTON, President.
ORDINANCE
An Ordinance
declaring the assent of the people of the State of Missouri, by their
representatives in convention assembled, to certain conditions and provisions
in the act of Congress on the sixth of March, one thousand eight hundred and
twenty, entitled "An act to authorize the people of Missouri
Territory to
form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State
into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,
and to
prohibit slavery in certain Territories
Whereas the act of Congress of the United
States of America, approved March the sixth one thousand eight hundred and
twenty, entitled "An act to authorize the people of Missouri Territory to
form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State
into the Union, on an equal footing with the original
States, and to prohibit slavery in certain
Territories," contains certain requisitions and provisions, and, among
other things, has offered to this convention, when formed, for and in behalf of
the people inhabiting this State, for their free acceptance or rejection, the
five following propositions, and which, if accepted by this convention in
behalf of the people as aforesaid, are to be obligatory on the United States,
viz:
" 1st. That section numbered sixteen in
every township, and when such section has been sold or otherwise disposed of,
other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted
to the State, for the use of the inhabitants of such township, for the use of
schools.
" 2d. That all salt-springs, not
exceeding twelve in number, with six sections of land adjoining to each, shall
be granted to the said State for the use of the said State, the same to be
selected by the legislature of said State, on or before the first day of
January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five; and the same,
when so selected, to be used under such terms, conditions, and regulations as
the legislature of said State shall direct: Provided, That no
salt-spring, the right whereof now is, or hereafter shall be, confirmed or
adjudged to any individual or individuals shall by this section be granted to
said State: And provided also, That the legislature
2168
Missouri–1820
shall never sell nor lease the same, at any
one time, for longer period than ten years, without the consent of Congress.
" 3d. That 5 per cent. of the net
proceeds of the sale of lands lying within said Territory or State, and which
shall be sold by Congress, from and after the first day of January next, after
deducting all expense incident to the same, shall be reserved for making
public roads and canals, of which three-fifths shall be applied to those objects
within the State, under the direction of the legislature thereof, and the other
two-fifths in defraying, under the direction of Congress, the expenses to be
incurred in making of a road or roads, canal or canals, leading to the said
State.
“ 4th. That four entire sections of land be,
and the same are hereby, granted to the said State, for the purpose of fixing
their seat of government thereon; which said sections shall, under the
direction of the legislature of said State, be located, as near as may be, in
one body, at any time, in such. townships and ranges as the legislature
aforesaid may select, on any of the public lands of the United States: Provided,
That such location shall be made prior to the public sale of the lands of
the United States surrounding such location.
" 5th. That thirty-six sections, or one
entire township, which shall be designated by the President of the United
States, together with the other lands heretofore reserved for that purpose,
shall be reserved for the use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the
legislature of said State, to be appropriated, solely for the use of such
seminary, by the legislature: "
Now, this convention, for and in behalf of
the people inhabiting this State, and by the authority of the said people, do
accept the five before-recited propositions, offered by the act of Congress
under which they are assembled; and, in pursuance of the conditions,
requisitions, and other provisions in the before-recited act of Congress
contained, this convention, for and in behalf of the people inhabiting this
State, do ordain, agree, and declare that every and each tract of land sold by
the United States, from and after the first day of January next, shall remain
exempt from any tax laid by order or under the authority of the State, whether
for State, county, or township, or any other purpose whatever, for the term of
five years from and after the respective days of sale thereof. And that the
bounty-lands granted, or hereafter to be granted, for military services, during
the late war, shall, while they continue to be held by the patentees or their
heirs, remain exempt, as aforesaid, from taxation, for the term of three years
from and after the date of the patents, respectively; Provided,
nevertheless, That if the Congress of the United States shall consent to
repeal and revoke the following clause in the fifth proposition of the sixth
section of the act of Congress before recited, and in these words, viz: "
That every and each tract of land sold by the United States, from and after the
first day of January next, shall remain exempt from any tax, laid by order or
under the authority of the State, whether for State, county, or township, or
any other purpose whatever, for the term of five years from and after the day
of sale, and further'”–that this convention, for and in behalf of the people of
the State of Missouri, do hereby ordain, consent, and agree that the same be so
revoked and repealed; without which consent of the Congress as aforesaid, the
said clause
Missouri–18202169
to remain in full force and operation as
first above provided for in this ordinance; and this convention doth hereby
request the Congress of the United States so to modify their third proposition
that the whole amount of 5 per cent. on the sale of public lands therein
offered may be applied to the construction of roads and canals, and the
promotion of education within this State, under the direction of the
legislature thereof. And this convention, for and in behalf of the people
inhabiting this State, and by the authority of the said people, do further
ordain, agree, and declare that this ordinance shall be irrevocable without the
consent of the United States.
Done in convention, at Saint Louis, in the
State of Missouri, this nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and twenty, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the forty-fifth.
By order of the convention:
DAVID
BARTON, President.
WM.
G. PETTUS, Secretary.
AMENDMENTS
TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 1820 a
(Ratified 1822)
ARTICLE I. SECTION 1. The office of
chancellor is hereby abolished, and the supreme courts and circuit courts shall
exercise chancery jurisdiction, in such manner and under such restrictions as
shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. The judicial power, as to matters of
law and equity, shall be vested in a supreme court in circuit courts, and in
such inferior tribunals as the general assembly may, from time to time, ordain
and establish: Provided, The general assembly may establish a court or
courts of chancery, and, from time to time, prescribe the jurisdiction, powers,
and duties thereof.
SEC. 3. The judges of the supreme court, and
the judges of the circuit courts, and chancellor shall, at stated times,
receive a compensation for their services, to be fixed by law.
SEC. 4. No person holding an office of profit
under the United States, and commissioned by the President, shall, during his
continuance in such office, be eligible, appointed to, hold, or exercise any
office of profit under this State.
SEC. 5. So much of the thirteenth section of
the fourth article of the constitution of this State as provides that the
compensation of the governor shall never be less than two thousand dollars
annually, shall be repealed.
SEC. 6. So much of the thirteenth section of
the fifth article of the constitution of this State as provides that the
compensation of the judges of the supreme and circuit courts, and chancellor,
shall never be less than two thousand dollars annually, shall be repealed.
SEC. 7. The offices of the judges of the
supreme court, and of the judges of the circuit courts, shall expire at the end
of the first session
a
The amendments to the constitution of 1820, adopted prior
to, and in 1861, were framed by the legislature, in accordance with Article
XII.The others were framed by aState convention which met February 28,
1861, and, after repeated adjournments, completed its labors July 1, 1863.
2170
Missouri–1820
of the next general assembly of this State,
or as soon as their successors are, respectively, elected and qualified.
(Ratified
1834--35)
ART. II. SECTION 1. That
the offices of the several judges of the circuit courts within this State shall
be vacated on the 1st day of January, 1836.
SEC. 2. That so much of
the fifteenth section of the fifth article of the constitution of this State as
provides that the courts, respectively, shall appoint their clerks, and that
they shall hold their offices during good behavior, shall be, and the same is
hereby, abolished.
SEC. 3. That the offices
of the clerks of the several courts within this State shall be vacated on the
first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six; and the clerks
of the circuit and county courts of the respective counties shall be elected by
the qualified electors of their respective counties, and shall hold their
offices for the term of six years, and until their successors are duly elected,
commissioned, and qualified.
SEC.
4. That the boundary of the State be so altered and extended as to include all
that tract of land lying on the north side of the Missouri River, and west of
the present boundary of this State, so that the same shall be bounded on the
south by the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River, and on the north
by the present northern boundary-line of the State, as established by the
constitution, when the same is continued in a right line to the west, or to
include so much of said tract of land as Congress may assent.
(Ratified
1848–49)
ART. III. The house of
representatives shall consist of members to be chosen every second year, by the
qualified electors of the several counties, apportioned in the following
manner, to wit: The ratio of representation shall be ascertained at each apportioning
session of the legislature by dividing the whole, number of permanent free
white inhabitants of the State by the number of one hundred and forty; each
county having said ratio, or less, shall be entitled to one representative;
each county having said ratio and a fraction over equal to three-fourths, shall
be entitled to two representatives; each county having three times said ratio,
shall be entitled to three representatives; each county having four times said
ratio and a fraction over equal toone-half, shall be entitled to four
representatives; each county having six times said ratio, shall be entitled to
five representatives; each county having eight times said ratio, shall be
entitled to six representatives; each county having ten times said ratio,
shall be entitled to seven representatives; each county having thirteen times
said ratio, shall be entitled to eight representatives; each county having
fifteen times said ratio, shall be entitled to nine representatives; each
county having eighteen times said ratio shall be entitled to ten representatives;
each county having twenty-two times said ratio, shallbe entitled to
eleven representatives; each county having twenty-four times said ratio, shall
be entitled to twelve representatives; any county having more than twenty-four
times said ratio, shall be represented in the same proportion. And the general
assembly which shall meet in
Missouri–1820 2171
the year eighteen hundred and forty-eight,
and every fourth year thereafter, shall apportion the number of representatives
among the several counties as herein directed. And the members of the general
assembly shall receive, as compensation for their services, not to exceed
three dollars per day for the first sixty days; and after that time not to
exceed one dollar per day for the remainder of the session, except at a
revising session, they may receive a compensation not to exceed three dollars
per day for the first one hundred days, and one dollar per day for the
remainder of the session; but the general assembly may allow a greater
compensation to the presiding officer of each house. No county now established
by law shall ever be reduced, by the establishment of new counties, to less
than twenty miles square, nor to less than five hundred square miles, nor below
the ratio of representation then required; nor shall any county be hereafter
established containing less than five hundred square miles; nor shall any
county hereafter established be entitled to separate representation, unless the
number of permanent free white inhabitants therein shall at the time be equal
to three-fourths of the ratio of representation then being, but may be
organized with-a smaller number for all other purposes, civil and military. The
second, fourth, twenty-fourth, and thirty-fourth, sections of the third article
of the constitution are hereby abolished.
ART. IV. The thirteenth section of the fifth
article of the constitution is hereby abolished, and the following is adopted
in lieu thereof :
"The governor shall nominate and, by and
with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint the judges of the supreme
court and the judges of the circuit courts.
“Each judge of the supreme court shall be
appointed for the term of twelve years, and each judge of the circuit courts
shall be appointed for the term of eight years; and every appointment to fill a
vacancy shall be for the residue of the term only; but in all cases the judge
shall continue in office until a successor shall be appointed and qualified.The judges of the supreme and circuit courts
shall be eligible to reappointment.The
offices of the several supreme and circuit judges shall be vacated on the first
day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine.” a
ART. V. If there be a vacancy in the office
of judge of any circuit, or if he be sick, absent, or from any cause unable to
hold any term of court of any county of his circuit, such term of court may be
held by a judge of any other circuit; and, at the request of the judge of any
circuit, any term of court in his circuit may be held by the judge of any other
circuit.
(Ratified 1850-51)
ART. VI. SECTION 1. That hereafter the judges
of the supreme court shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State;
and each shall hold his office for the term of six years only, but may continue
in office until his successor shall be elected and qualified; and if any
vacancy shall happen in the office of any judge of the supreme court by death,
resignation, removal out of the State, or by any other
a This articlewas abolished by the adoption of Articles VI and VII of amendments.
2172
Missouri–1820
disqualification, the governor shall, upon being satisfied that a vacancy
exists, issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy; but every election to
fill a vacancy shall be for the residue of the term only.The general assembly shall provide by law
for the election of said judges by the qualified voters in the State; and in
case of a tie, or a contested election, between the candidates, the same shall
be determined in the manner to be prescribed by law; and the general assembly
shall also provide for an election to fill any vacancy which shall occur at any
time within twelve months preceding a general election for said judges. The
first general election for supreme-court judges shall be on the first Monday
in August A. D. 1851, and on the first Monday in August every six years
thereafter. If a vacancy shall occur in the office of a supreme-court judge, less
than twelve months before a general election for said judges, such vacancy
shall be filled by an appointment by the governor; and the judge so appointed
shall hold his office only until the next general election for said judges.
SEC. 2. The offices of the several
supreme-court judges shall be vacated on the first Monday in August, A. D.
1851; and all parts of the original constitution, or of any amendment thereto,
inconsistent with or repugnant to this amendment are hereby abolished;
ART. VII That so much of the thirteenth
section of the fifth article of the constitution of this State, ratified at the
present session of the general assembly, as provides that the governor shall
nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint the judges
of the circuit courts, and that each judge of the circuit courts shall be
appointed for the term of eight years, and that every appointment to fill a
vacancy of such judge shall be for the residue of the term only, is hereby
abolished; and hereafter each judge of the circuit courts shall be elected by
the qualified electors of their respective circuits, and shall be elected for
the term of six years, but may continue in office until his successor shall be
elected and qualified; and if any vacancy shall happen in the office of any
circuit judge, by death, resignation, removal out of his circuit, or by any
other disqualification, the governor shall, upon being satisfied that a vacancy
exists, issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy: Provided, That
said vacancy shall happen at least six months before the next general election
for said judge; but if such vacancy shall happen within six months of the
general election aforesaid, the governor shall appoint a judge for such
circuit; but every such election or appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for
the residue of the term only. And the general assembly shall provide by law for
the election of said judges in their respective circuits; and in case of a tie
or contested election between the candidates, the same shall be determined in
the manner to be prescribed by law. And the general assembly shall provide by
law for the election of said judges in their respective circuits, to fill any
vacancy which shall occur at any time at least sixmonths before a general
election for said judges. The first generalelection for circuit judges
shall be on the first Monday in August, A. D. 1851, and on the first Monday in
August every six years thereafter. No judicial circuit shall be altered or
changed at any session of the general assembly next preceding the "general
election for said judges. The offices of the several circuit judges shall be
vacated on the first Monday in August, A. D. 1851.
Missouri-18202173
ART. VIII. SECTION 1. That the twenty-first
section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the State of Missouri be,
and the same is hereby, abolished.
SEC. 2. There shall be a secretary of state,
who shall be elected by the qualified voters of this State, at such time and in
such manner as shall be provided by law. He shall hold his office for four
years, unless sooner removed by an impeachment. He shall keep a register of the
official acts of the governor, and, when necessary, shall attest them, and he
shall lay the same, together with all papers relating thereto, before either
house of the general assembly, whenever required so to do, and shall perform
such other duties as may be enjoined on him by law.
SEC. 3. The eighteenth section of the fifth
article of the constitution of the State of Missouri is hereby abolished.
SEC. 4. There shall be an attorney-general,
who shall be elected by the qualified voters of this State, at such times and
in such manner as shall be provided by law. He shall remain in office four
years, and shall perform such duties as shall be required of him by law.
SEC. 5. The twelfth section of the fourth
article of the constitution of this State is hereby abolished.
SEC. 6. There shall be an auditor of public
accounts, who shall be elected by the qualified voters of this State, at such
times and in such manner as shall be provided by law. He shall remain in office
four years, and shall perform such duties as shall be required of him by law.
His office shall be kept at the seat of government.
SEC. 7. The thirty-first section of the third
article of the constitution of this State is hereby abolished.
SEC. 8. A State treasurer shall be elected by
the qualified voters of this State, at such times and in such manner as shall
be provided by law, who shall continue in office for four years, and who shall
keep his office at the seat of government. No money shall be drawn from the
treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and an accurate
account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall annually be
published.
SEC. 9. There shall be a register of lands
elected by the qualified voters of this State, at such time and in such manner
as shall be provided by law. He shall hold his office for four years, shall
keep his office at the seat of government, and shall perform such duties as
shall be required of him by law.
(Ratified
1852-53)
ART. IX. The legislature shall have no power to grant
divorces but may authorize the courts of justice to grant them, for such causes
as may be specified by law: Provided, That such laws be general and
uniform in their operation throughout the State.
(Ratified
1854-55)
ART. X. That all that territory now known as the county of
Schuyler is hereby declared to constitute a constitutional county, and, as
such, shall be entitled to all the privileges, civil and political, which now
belong to any county within the State of Missouri.
Article eight of the constitution of the State of Missouri,
respecting banks, be, and the same is hereby, abolished, and the following
substituted in lieu thereof:
2174a
Missouri–1861–1863
"ART. VIII. The general assembly shall
have power to establish such bank or banks as may be deemed necessary for the
interests of the State; but every bank so established shall be based upon a
specie capital, and made liable to redeem its issues in gold or silver: Provided,
That the number of banks chartered shall never exceed ten, and the
aggregate amount of capital shall never exceed twenty millions of
dollars."
(Ratified
1859)
The public debt of this State, created by the
issue of bonds or other State securities, or by incurring any State liability
whatever, for the prosecution of internal improvements, or for any other
purpose, shall never exceed the sum of thirty millions of dollars; and the
legislature shall have no power to create any State liability beyond this
amount, except to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection or civil war.
(Ratified
1861)
The general assembly shall have power to
establish a county, consisting of all that territory lying within the
following limits, which shall possess and enjoy all the powers and privileges
of any county now established, anything in the third article of amendments to
the constitution to the contrary notwithstanding; namely, the territory lying
between the northern boundary of Gentry County proper and the northern boundary
of the State of Missouri, and between the former western boundary of said State
and the line dividing ranges twenty-nine and thirty west of the fifth principal
meridian
ORDINANCES OF THE CONVENTION OF MISSOURI-1861-‘63* a
AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION OF 1820
The people of the
State of
Missouri, by their delegates in convention
assembled, do ordain as follows:
First. That the
offices of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and members of
the general assembly be, and the same are hereby, vacated.
*
Journal and Proceedings of the Missouri State Convention Held at Jefferson City
and St. Louis, March, 1861. St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., Printers and
Binders, 1861. pp. 65. pp. 269.
Also,
Journal of the Missouri State convention Held at Jefferson City, July, 1861.
St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders, 1861. pp. 136.
Journal
of the Missouri State Convention Held at the City of St. Louis, October, 1861.
St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders, 1861. pp. 111.
Journal
of the Missouri State Convention, held in Jefferson City, June 1862. St. Louis:
George Knapp and Co., Printers and Binders. 1862. pp. 32.
Proceedings
of the Missouri State Convention, held in Jefferson City, June 1862. St. Louis:
George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders. 1862. pp. 253.
Journal
of the Missouri State Convention Held in Jefferson City, June, 1863. St. Louis:
George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders. 1863. pp. 54. Appendix, pp. 16.
Proceedings
of the State Convention held in Jefferson City June, 1863. St Louis: George
Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders, 1863. pp. 380.
a
These ordinances were passed by a regularly-convened State
convention which assembled at Jefferson City February 28, 1861, and adjourned
March 22, 1861; reassembled July 22, 1861, and adjournedJuly 31; reassembled October 10, 1861, and
adjourned October 18; reassembled June 2, 1862, and adjourned June 14;
reassembled June 15, 1863, and adjourned sine die July
1, 1863.
Missouri-1861-18632175
Second. A governor,
lieutenant-governor, and secretary of state shall be appointed by this
convention to discharge the duties and exercise the powers which pertain to
their respective offices by the existing laws of the State, and to continue in
office until the first Monday of November, 1861, and until their successors are
elected and qualified, or until the qualified voters, as hereinafter provided,
disapprove the action of this convention.
Third. On the first
Monday of November, 1861, a governor, lieutenant-governor, and secretary of
state, and members of the general assembly, shall be elected by the qualified
voters of this State, to hold their offices during the term for which the
present incumbents of said offices were elected.
Fourth. The elections
provided to be held by this ordinance on the first Monday of November, 1861,
shall be conducted in the same manner in all respects as is now provided by
the election laws of this State now in force, and shall be held by the
qualified voters of the State, at the same place in the election precincts now
established by law where the elections were held for delegates to this
convention on the 18th day of February last; and in case any clerk shall fail
to make out the proper poll-books, or in case any sheriff shall fail to deliver
the same to the judges of election, then the clerks of the election may proceed
to make out such poll-books.
Fifth. In case the
clerks of the several courts, whose duty it is as now provided by law to
certify and send tip to the secretary of state an abstract of the votes given
at such election, or in case there should be a failure to receive such returns
at the seat of government within twenty days after the first Monday of
November, 1861, the secretary of state shall dispatch a messenger to the county
not returned, with directions to bring up the poll-books authorized to be
retained by the judges of election, and the secretary of state, in the presence
of the governor, shall proceed to cast up the votes given at such election, and
shall thereupon proceed to issue commissions to the candidates having the
highest number of votes.
Sixth. Be it further ordained, That the returns of the election for governor,
lieutenant-governor, and secretary of state, provided for by this ordinance,
shall be made to the office of the secretary of state as now provided by law;
and the secretary of state, within forty days after the first Monday of
November, 1861, or sooner if the returns shall have been made, shall, in the
presence of the governor, proceed to cast up the votes given at said election
for governor, lieutenant-governor, and secretary of state; and shall give to
the persons having the highest, number of votes for these offices respectively
certificates of their election; and the persons so elected shall immediately
thereafter be qualified and enter upon the discharge of the duties of their
respective offices.
Adopted, July 30, 1861.
CONCERNING THE ARROGATION OF CERTAIN LAWS.
Whereas the general assembly of the State of Missouri did,
in secret session, contrary to the known wishes of their constituents, in violation
of the constitution and the dearest rights and interests of the people, and forthe purpose of dissolving the political relations of this State to the
Government of the United States, and subverting the
2176 Missouri-1861-1863
institutions of this State, enact certain odious laws
hereinafter enumerated: Therefore,
First. Be it ordained by the people of Missouri, in
convention assembled, That an act
entitled "An act to provide for the organization, government, and
support, of the military forces of the State of Missouri," approved May
14, 1861; also, an act to create a military fund for the State, entitled
"An act to raise money to arm the State, repel invasion, and protect the
lives and property of the people of Missouri,” approved May 11, 1861; also, an act entitled “An act to authorize the appointment of
one major-general for the Missouri militia,” approved May 15, 1861; also, a “Joint resolution to suspend the
apportionment of the State school-money for the year 1861,” approved May 11, 1861; also, an act
entitled “An act to perpetuate friendly relations with the Indian
tribes,”approved May 11, 1861; be, and the same are hereby, repealed
and declared of no effect or validity whatever.
Second. That all
commissions issued or appointments made under the authority of the
above-recited acts, or any of them, be, and the same are hereby, annulled; and
all soldiers an other persons serving or employed under any of said acts are
hereby disbanded and discharged from such service or employment.
Third. And be it further ordained, That for the purpose of providing for the organization of
the militia of the State, the following act, to wit an act entitled "An
act to govern and regulate the volunteer militia of the State, " approved
December 31, 1859, be, and the same is hereby, revived and declared to be in
full force and effect.
Adopted, July 30,1861.
SUBMITTING THE ACTION OF THE CONVENTION TO THE PEOPLE
Be it ordained by the people of Missouri, in convention
assembled That at the election provided to be
held on the first Monday of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, for the
election of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and members of
the general assembly, the several clerks of the county courts, or, in case
said clerks shall fail, then the clerks of the election, in making the poll-books
for the election, shall provide two columns, one headed "For the action of
the convention,” and the other "Against the action of the convention;
" and if a majority of the legal votes given upon the action of the
convention be for the same, then the officers elected shall hold their offices
as provided by the ordinance for their election; but if a majority of the votes
cast as aforesaid be against the action of the convention, then said election
shall be null and void, and the persons so chosen shall not enter upon the
discharge of the duties of their offices, the officers chosen by this
convention shall go out of office, and the ordinance of this convention
providing for the abrogation of certain acts of the legislature shall thereafter
be of no force or effect whatever. The returns of the votes so cast on the
action of the convention shall be made to the office of secretary of state in
the same manner as is provided by ordinance. of this convention in regard to
the offices of governor, lieutenant-governor, and secretary of state, and the
votes shall be cast up by the same officer; and when the result
Missouri-1861-18632177
thereof
shall be ascertained, the governor appointed by this convention shall, by
public proclamation, announce the same, which proclamation shall be filed in
the office of secretary of state.
Adopted, July 30, 1861.
CHANGING THE TIME OF HOLDING THE ELECTIONS
Whereas this convention did, during its session at Jefferson
City, on the 30th day of July, A. D. 1861,adopt an ordinance providing
for the election of certain State officers, and also an ordinance providing for
submitting its action to the people of the State of Missouri, and appointing a
time therefor; and whereas it is manifest that, by reason of the disturbed
condition of the State, it will be impossible, at the time so appointed, to
elicit a fair expression of the popular will: Therefore,
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
conventionassembled, as follows, to
wit:
First. That so much
of an ordinance entitled "An ordinance providing for certain amendments
to the constitution," (adopted on the 30th day of July, A. D. 1861,) as
provides for the election of a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of
state, and members of the general assembly, on the first Monday of November, A.
D. 1861,and so much of an ordinance entitled "An ordinance for
submitting the action of this convention to a vote of the people of
Missouri," (adopted on the same day,) as provides for submitting the
action of this convention to a vote of the people on the first Monday of November,
A. D. 1861,be, and the same are hereby, so modified that said elections
shall not be held on the day therein named, but instead thereof shall be held
on the first Monday of August, A. D. 1862.
Second. Said
elections, and all other elections held previous thereto, shall in all other
respects be held, and the returns thereof made, as provided in the ordinances
heretofore adopted by this convention.
Third. The governor,
lieutenant-governor, and secretary of state heretofore appointed by this
convention, shall discharge the duties and exercise the powers which pertain to
their respective offices, and continue in office until the first Monday of
August, A. D. 1862, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified,
or until the qualified voters of the State shall disapprove the action of this
convention.
Adopted, October 12, 1861.
ABOLISHING
CERTAIN OFFICES, REDUCING SALARIES, AND TESTING THE LOYALTY OF CIVIL OFFICERS,
AND OFFERING AMNESTY TO CERTAIN PERSONS ON CERTAIN CONDITIONS
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
First. That the
board of public works be, and is hereby, abolished, and the offices and pay of
the members of said board shall cease and determine from and after the passage
of this ordinance.
Second. That the
office of State superintendent of common schools be, and is hereby, abolished,
and the pay of said officer shall cease and determine from and after the
passage of this ordinance, and the
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3-07----23
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duties pertaining to said office shall be discharged by the
secretary of state.
Third. The offices
of county-school commissioner be, and is hereby, abolished in all the counties
of this State, Saint Louis County excepted, and the pay of said officers shall
cease and determine from and after the passage of this ordinance; and the
clerks of the respective county courts shall discharge all the duties of
common-school commissioner in their respective counties, except visiting and
lecturing in the schools, and that the fees of said clerks respectively, for
services herein contemplated, shall in no case exceed the sum of fifty dollars
per annum.
Fourth. That the
offices of State geologist and assistant State geologist be, and are hereby,
abolished, and the pay of said officers shall cease and determine from and
after the passage of this ordinance.
Fifth. That the
salaries of all civil officers in this State, so far as the same are paid out
of the State treasury, or made a burden on the county treasuries by State
legislation, be, and are hereby, reduced twenty per cent. during the year
ending 30th September, 1862; and said percentage shall be deducted from the
amount of said salaries, and withheld from said officers from and after the
passage of this ordinance, until the said thirtieth day of September, A. D.
1862.
Sixth. That each
civil officer in this State shall, within sixty days after the passage of this
ordinance, take and subscribe an oath to support the Constitution of the
United States and this State; that he will not take up arms against the
Government of the United States nor the provisional government of this State,
nor give aid or comfort to the enemies of either during the present civil war;
that said oath, duly subscribed and sworn to, shall, within the sixty days
aforesaid, be filed by county officers in the clerk's office of their respective
counties; and all other officers shall, within the time aforesaid, file said
oath, sworn to and subscribed as aforesaid, in the office of the secretary of
state. And the offices of all persons failing to file said oath, as herein
provided, are hereby declared vacant; and the secretary of state and respective
county clerks shall, immediately after the expiration of the sixty days
aforesaid, certify, under the seal of their respective offices, any vacancy
that may exist under the operations of this ordinance to the proper authorities
under existing laws, and such authorities shall fill said offices by
appointment for the residue of the term. And any civil officer who shall
falsely take said oath, or wilfully violate the same, shall be deemed and
adjudged guilty of perjury, and punished accordingly.
Seventh. The
respective county-court clerks in this State shall take and subscribe the oath
provided in this ordinance, and file the same in the office of the secretary of
state within the sixty days aforesaid; and if any county-court clerk shall fail
to file said oath, duly subscribed and sworn to as aforesaid, his office is
hereby declared vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled by the authorities
under existing laws; and in such case the other county officers of such county
shall comply with the requirements of this ordinance within twenty days after
said vacancy shall be filled under the provisions of this ordinance.
Eighth. Any person
whatsoever who may take and subscribe the oath provided by this ordinance, and
file the same in the office of the secretary of state, or any county clerk's
office in this State, within ten
Missouri-1861-18632179
days after receiving notice of the passage of this
ordinance, being within sixty days of the passage. thereof, shall be exempt
from arrest or punishment for offences previously committed by taking up arms
against the provisional government of this State, or giving aid or comfort to its
enemies in the present civil war, subject to the penalties of perjury as
provided in this ordinance; and it shall be the duty of the secretary of state
and respective county clerks to make out and deliver to persons filing such
oath a certificate of the fact under their respective seals of office, which
certificate shall be prima-facie evidence in all courts, and to all
persons, that the person named therein has complied with and claims the benefit
of this ordinance. And the governor of this State is hereby directed to furnish
a copy of this ordinance to the President of the United States immediately, and
request him, in the name of the people of Missouri, by proclamation, to exempt
all persons taking said oath under this ordinance from all penalties they may
have incurred by taking up arms against the United States, or giving aid or
comfort to its enemies in the present civil war.
Adopted, October 16, 1861.
RESPECTING
CERTAIN RECORDS AND OTHER PROPERTY
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled:
That it shall be the duty of the board of public works, of
the commissioner of common schools, and of the geologist and assistant geologist
of the State, to transfer and deliver the records, papers, and other property
of their respective offices to the secretary of state, who shall preserve an
inventory thereof in his office and grant proper receipts therefor. The
county-school commissioners shall in like manner deliver the records, papers,
and other property of their respective offices to the clerks of their
respective counties, who shall in like manner issue to them receipts for the
same.
Adopted, October 16, 1861.
PROVIDING
FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE MILITIA
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, asfollows,
to wit:
First. All
able-bodied free white male inhabitants of this State, between the ages of
eighteen and forty-five years, shall be liable to military duty under this
ordinance, and when enrolled shall constitute and be known and designated as
the "Missouri State Militia."
Second. When the
Missouri State militia shall be called into the actual service of the State,
the officers and men shall be subject to the same rules and regulations and
articles of war that govern the armies of the United States.
ORGANIZATION
Third. The
commander-in-chief shall have power to call troops into actual service by
volunteer enlistments, according to such regulations as he may prescribe.
Fourth. Troops shall
be mustered into service by the inspector-general or his assistants, in such
manner as may be prescribed by the
2180 Missouri-1861-1863
commander-in-chief, and on entering the service all officers
and men shall take the following oath, to be administered by the inspecting
officer:
" You, each
and every one of you, do solemnly swear that, you will honestly and faithfully
serve the State of Missouri against all her enemies, and that you will do your
utmost to sustain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of this
State, against all violence of whatsoever kind or description; and you do
further swear that you will well and truly execute and obey the lawful orders
of all officers properly placed over you, whilst on duty: So help you God.”
Fifth. The State militia of Missouri shell be organized by companies
into battalions, regiments, and brigades, in the manner prescribed in the
Rules and Regulations for the Government of the United States Army, and when in
actual service of the State shall receive the same pay and emoluments as the
United States Army: and any company, battalion, or regiment mustered into the
service of the State may, at their option, at any time be mustered into the
service of the United States.
Sixth. Companies of infantry shall not contain less than sixty-four
men, (including non-commissioned officers,) nor more than one hundred.
Companies of cavalry shall contain not
less than fifty men, (including non-commissioned officers,) nor more than
eighty.
Companies of artillery shall not
contain less than fifty nor more than one hundred men.
Seventh. The commissioned officers of a company of infantry cavalry,
or artillery shall be one captain, one first and one second lieutenant, who
shall be elected by the members of the company after being mustered into
service; and any vacancy in such offices shall be filled by election in like
manner.
Eighth. Captains of companies shall appoint the non-commissioned
officers of their own companies.
REGIMENTS
Ninth. A regiment
shall consist of not less than eight nor more than ten companies; the
field-officers of which shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel,
and one major.
BRIGADES
Tenth. A brigade shall consist of not less than two nor more than
five regiments, to be commanded by a brigadier-general.
STAFF
Eleventh. The governor
shall nominate and, by and with the advice of the senate, appoint the following
chiefs of staff department: one adjutant-general, one inspector-general, one
quartermaster-general, one commissary-general, one surgeon-general, one
paymaster general–all with the rank of colonel of cavalry–each of whom shall perform the duties
of his office in accordance with the rules and
Missouri-1861-18632181
regulations of the United States Army, or such other rules
and regulations as may be prescribed by the commander-in-chief.
Twelfth. The
quartermaster-general and the commissary-general shall, on receiving their
appointments, execute and deliver to the State their bonds, each in the sum of
twenty thousand dollars, with sureties, to be approved by the governor, for the
faithful performance of their duties, and the governor shall require of all
disbursing officers a bond in such amounts and with such securities as he may
deem necessary for the faithful discharge of their duties.
Thirteenth. The
commander- in -chief may also appoint and commission such number of
aides-de-camp as may be necessary for the requirements of the service, with the
rank of colonel.
Fourteenth. The
commander-in-chief shall also, without the concurrence of the senate, appoint
and commission such other staff officers as may be necessary for the
requirements of the service, and shall designate their rank in their respective
commissions; and such officers shall perform such duties as are prescribed by
the rules and regulations of the Army of the United States, or such as may be
prescribed by the commander-in-chief.
OFFICERS
Fifteenth. The governor
shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint
one major-general, and the necessary number of brigadier-generals, colonels,
lieutenant-colonels and majors of the line.
Sixteenth. Whenever, during the recess of the senate, it shall be
necessary to appoint to any military office of the line above the rank of
captain, the governor may appoint to such office, subject to the confirmation
of the senate at their next session thereafter.
Seventeenth. The major-general commanding may nominate to the governor
for commission one assistant adjutant-general, two aides-de-camp with the rank
of lieutenant-colonel; and the commander-in-chief may detail for duty on the
staff of the major-general commanding such other staff-officers as the
necessities of the service may require.
Eighteenth. Brigadier-generals, when in actual command, may nominate to
the governor for commission one acting assistant adjutant-general, one
aide-de-camp with the rank of major; and the commander-in-chief may detail
such other staff-officers for duty with the brigade as the necessities of the
service may require.
Nineteenth. Colonels of regiments, when in actual command, shall
nominate to the governor for commission one adjutant with the rank of captain;
and the commander-in-chief may detail such other staff-officers for regimental
duty as the service requires. The colonel of each regiment shall select from
his command well-instructed and good soldiers to fill the posts of
sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant, commissary-sergeant, and color
sergeants, who will constitute the non-commissioned staff of the regiment, and
be appointed by warrant given under the hand of the colonel.
Twentieth. Persons holding civil offices under this State, or civil
military offices under the United States, may hold offices under this
ordinance; and no civil office under this State shall be vacated by the
acceptance of a military office under the United States.
2182Missouri-1861-1863
UNIFORM
Twenty-first. The
commander-in-chief shall prescribe the uniformto be worn by the Missouri militia.
Twenty-second. All
officers, when on duty, shall wear the uniform of their rank.
COURT-MARTIAL
Twenty-third. Courts-martial
shall be constituted, and shall proceed in all cases in the same manner as is
provided by law or regulation for the Army of the United States.
Twenty-fourth. Allcontractors for supplies for the State militia shall be subject to trial by
court-martial for any fraud practised in respect to such supplies, and shall,
on conviction thereof, be punished with death or other punishment, at
discretion of the court.
Twenty-fifth. Any
officer of the State militia who shall be convicted by a court-martial of
wilfully defrauding the State in any matter of which he has official charge, or
of conniving at any fraud practised upon the State by others, shall suffer
death, or such other punishment as the court may inflict.
Twenty-sixth. The
commander-in-chief shall have power to prescribe such rules and regulations
for the government of the Missouri State militia as he may deem necessary.
Twenty-seventh. He may
vacate the commission of any officer whom he may judge unfit for the service,
and he shall have power to appoint military boards to report upon the
qualifications of any officer commissioned or to be commissioned.
Twenty-eighth. The
articles of war shall be published with this ordinance, with the verbal changes
necessary to conform them to forces organized and serving under the authority
of the State.
Twenty-ninth. Headquarters
of the Missouri State militia shall be in Saint Louis until removed by the
commander-in-chief.
Thirtieth. No period of
residence is required to admit persons to service in the Missouri State
militia.
Thirty-first. Allbodies of troops heretofore organized and mustered into the service of the
State under the provision of an ordinance entitled "An ordinance
concerning the repeal and abrogation of certain laws, and for other
purposes," heretofore adopted by this convention, shall be continued in
the service as [if] organized under this act: Provided, however, That
the governor may remove any officer now acting in the militia, in accordance
with the provisions of the twenty-seventh section of this act; and may at any
time vacate the commissions of such officers as are not authorized by this
ordinance: And provided also, That all commissions now issued to third
lieutenants of companies under the said recited act are hereby vacated; and it
shall be the duty of the commander-in-chief to authorize some member of the
staff department, or some other agent whom he may appoint for that purpose, to
proceed to such place in the State as may be necessary, and examine into the
expenses incurred in the preliminary assembling and organization of companies,
the procurement of arms, the furnishing of supplies, and other necessary-
expenses incurred in and aboutthe organization of troops under the
governor's proclamation of the 24th of August last, and said agent or officer
shall adjust such claims as may be prescribed to him, allowing such as may be
deemed just,
Missouri-1861-18632183
and rejecting
those found to be unjust. He shall report his proceeding to the governor, who,
if he approve the same, shall so certify to the proper officer, who shall cause
the claims or account so allowed to be paid; but such preliminary examination
shall be unnecessary in any case where the governor shall have such personal
knowledge in regard to any such claims as to justify him in certifying it to
the proper officer as hereinbefore provided.
Thirty-second. So
much of the act to govern and regulate the volunteer militia of the State,
approved as aforesaid by this convention, as conflicts with the provisions of
this ordinance is hereby repealed; but all legal acts done and proceedings
properly had for the organization and support of the militia under and by
virtue of said act shall be valid and binding as if authorized by this
ordinance.
Thirty-third. This
ordinance may be altered, modified, or repealed by the general assembly of this
State, in the same manner and with like effect as the ordinary legislation of
the State may be altered, amended, or repealed.
Adopted, October 17, 1861.
AMENDING “ AN ORDINANCE ABOLISHING CERTAIN
OFFICES, REDUCING SALARIES, AND TESTING THE LOYALTY OF CIVIL OFFICERS IN THIS
STATE”
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri in convention assembled:
SECTION 1. That the seventh section of
an ordinance entitled "An ordinance providing for abolishing certain
offices, reducing salaries, and testing the loyalty of civil officers in this
State," adopted by this convention at its session in Saint Louis, in October,
1861, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.
SEC. 2. That all appointments to fill
vacancies created by the provisions of the sixth section of said ordinance are
hereby declared valid from the time said appointments were made, anything in
said seventh section to the contrary notwithstanding.
Adopted June 7, 1862.
REPEALING
CERTAIN ORDINANCES SUBMITTING THE ACTION OF THE
CONVENTION
TO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
That all ordinances and parts of ordinances heretofore
passed by this convention, submitting its action to a vote of the people of the
State, be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
Adopted June 7, 1862.
DEFINING
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS AND CIVIL OFFICERS IN THIS
STATE
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
SECTION 1. No person shall vote at any election to be
hereafter held in this State, under or in pursuance of the constitution and
laws
2184 Missouri
-1861–1863
thereof, whether State, County, township, or municipal, who
shall not, in addition to possessing the qualifications already prescribed for
electors, previously take an oath in form as follows, namely: "I,
________, do solemnly swear [or
affirm, as the case may be] that I will support, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of
Missouri against enemies and opposers, whether domestic or foreign; that I will
bear true faith, loyalty, and allegiance to the United States, and will not,
directly or indirectly, give aid and comfort, or countenance, to the enemies or
opposers thereof, or of the provisional government of the State of Missouri,
any ordinance, law, or resolution of any State convention or legislature, or of
any order or organization, secret or otherwise, to the contrary
notwithstanding; and that I do this with a full and honest determination,
pledge, and purpose faithfully to keep and perform the same, without any mental
reservation or evasion whatever. And I do further solemnly swear [or affirm]
that I have not, since the 17th day of December, A. D. 1861, wilfully taken up
arms, or levied war against the United States, or against the provisional
government of the State of Missouri: So help me God."
SEC. 2. Before any person shall be elected or appointed to
any civil office within this State, under the constitution and the laws
thereof, whether State, county, township, municipal or other civil office, he
shall take and subscribe an oath in form as follows: " I, A. B., do, on
oath, [or affirmation,] declare that I have not, during the present rebellion,
wilfully taken up arms, or levied war against the United States, nor against
the provisional government of the State of Missouri, nor have wilfully adhered
to the enemies of either, whether domestic or foreign, by giving them aid and
comfort, but have always in good faith opposed the same. And further, that I
will support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and of
the State of Missouri against all enemies and opposers, whether domestic or
foreign, any ordinance, law, or resolution of any State convention or
legislature, or of any order or organization, secret or otherwise, to the
contrary notwithstanding, and that I do this with an honest purpose, pledge,
and determination faithfully to perform the same, without any mental
reservation or evasion whatever;” which oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of
state by all candidates for the office of the clerk of the county court, [or
other officer charged with equivalent duties,] in the counties wherein they
respectively reside, at least five days before the day of election; and no vote
shall be cast up for, or certificate of election granted to, any candidate who
fails to file such oath, as required by this ordinance.
SEC. 3. Anyperson who shall falsely take, or, having
taken, shall thereupon wilfully violate any oath prescribed by this ordinance,
shall, upon conviction thereof, by any court of competent jurisdiction, be
adjudged guilty of the crime of perjury, and shall be punished therefor in
accordance with existing laws. And it shall be the duty of the judges of all
courts having criminal jurisdiction under the laws of this State specially to
charge the grand juries in the counties in which such courts shall be held
respectively, and of all grand juries in the performance of their duties under
the laws of this State speci-
Missouri-1861-18632185
ally to inquire concerning the commission of any act of
perjury mentioned or made punishable by this or any other ordinance adopted by
this convention.
SEC. 4. The courts of this State shall require all jurymen
and attorneys to take and subscribe the following oath: " I, ____ ____, do
solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will support, protect,
and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the
State of Missouri, against all enemies and opposers, whether domestic or
foreign; that I will bear true faith, loyalty, and allegiance to the United
States, and will not, directly or indirectly, adhere to the enemies or opposers
thereof, or of the provisional government of the State of Missouri, by giving
them aid and comfort, any ordinance, law, or resolution of any State convention
or legislature, or of any order or organization, secret or otherwise, to the
contrary notwithstanding; and that I do this with a full and honest
determination, pledge, and purpose to keep and perform the same, without any
mental reservation or evasion whatever: So help me God." The same oath
shall also be taken and subscribed by the president, professors, and curators
of the University of the State of Missouri, by all bank officers, common-school
teachers who are paid in whole or in part out of funds provided by law, and
common-school trustees, by all officers of all incorporated companies of this
State, and by all licensed or ordained preachers of the gospel before
performing the ceremony of marriage in this State, and filed in any county
clerk's office in this State; and every licensed or ordained preacher of the
gospel who shall perform the ceremony of marriage in this State before taking
said oath, and every other person aforesaid assuming to assuming to discharge
of the duties pertaining to his avocation under the laws of the State, without
complying with the provisions of this section, shall be liable to prosecution
in any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, by indictment, and upon conviction
shall be punished for each offence by a fine not less than ten nor more than
two hundred dollars. This section shall take effect ninety days from the
passage of this ordinance.
SEC. 5. That judges and clerks of all elections held under
the laws of this State, shall, in addition to taking the oath required by existing
laws, take the further oath that they will not record, nor permit to be
recorded, the name of any voter who has not first taken the oath required to be
taken by the first section of this ordinance.
SEC. 6. The general assembly of this State may at any time
repeal this ordinance, or any part thereof.
Adopted June 10, 1862.
CONTINUING
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT IN OFFICE
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri,
in convention assembled:
That the governor, lieutenant-governor, and secretary of
state heretofore appointed by this convention, shall continue in office until
the first Monday in August, A. D. 1864, and until their successors are duly
elected and qualified, and shall discharge the duties and exercise the
privileges which pertain to their respective offices.
Adopted, June 11, 1862.
2186Missouri–1861–1863
ENABLING
CITIZENS OF MISS0URI IN THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE
UNITED
STATES OR THE STATE TO VOTE
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri in convention assembled, as follows, to wit:
SECTION 1. That the commanding officer of any company of
Missouri volunteers, or militia in the service of the United States or of the
State of Missouri, any of the members of which are qualified voters under the
laws of this State, shall, on the day of the next general election, and at
every subsequent election held under the laws of this State during the present
war, cause an election to be held by the members of such company for officers
to be elected at such election.
SEC. 2. The commanders of such
companies shall cause a sufficient number of poll-books to be made out for each
company, properly laid off into blanks; with the necessary heading and
certificates attached, and cause them to be delivered to the judges of election
on or before the day of such election.
SEC. 3. Three good, discreet, and
disinterested persons, members of such company, being qualified voters under
the laws of this State, shall be appointed judges of such elections by such
commanding officers, who shall administer the following oath to such judges
before they enter on their duties: " I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that
I will impartially discharge the duties of judge of the present election,
according to law and the best of my abilities: So help me God."
SEC. 4. Said judges shall appoint two
clerks, who, before entering on the duties of their appointment, shall take an
oath or affirmation, to be administered by one of the persons so appointed as
judges of the election, that they will faithfully record the names of all the
voters, and distinctly carry out, in lines and columns, the name of the person
for whom each voter votes.
SEC. 5. At the close of each election
the judges shall certify, under their hands, the number of votes given for each
candidate, which shall be attested by their clerks, and transmit the same,
together with one of the poll-books, by one of their clerks, or by mail, to the
clerk of the county court in which the voters are entitled to vote, without
delay.
SEC. 6. Poll-books shall be opened for
each county from which there are members in such company entitled to vote, and
at such election only such persons shall be allowed to vote as could vote
under existing laws if in their proper precincts, which vote shall be takenand
sent to their proper county, as provided in this ordinance.
SEC. 7. When more than one company
votes at the same post or station, or belonging to the same battalion,
regiment, or division of the Army, the judges of said elections may cause one
messenger to carry the poll-books to the different counties.
SEC. 8. Any one of the judges of
election under this ordinance is authorized to administer oaths to test the
qualifications of voters and to prevent frauds.
SEC. 9. Each clerk of the county court
shall, in not less than fifteen nor more than twenty days after the election,
take to his assistance two justices of the peace of his county, or two justices
of the county court, and examine and cast up the votes given for each
candidate, including the votes received by virtue of this ordinance, and give
to those having the highest number of votes a certificate of election.
Missouri-1861-18632187
SEC.
10. The votes given at such company elections shall be given viva voce,
or by tickets handed to the judges, and shall in both cases be cried in an
audible voice by one of the judges of the election, or by some person appointed
by such judges for that purpose, and noted by the clerks in the presence and
hearing of the voters.
SEC. 11. Judges
and clerks of said company elections failing or neglecting to discharge any
duty required by this ordinance, or the laws now in force, shall be subject to
the penalties prescribed by law, and may be prosecuted in the county to which
such returns are required to be made.
SEC. 12. Every
person not being a qualified voter according to the constitution and laws of
the State, who shall vote at any election under this ordinance, or any person
who shall, at the same election, vote more than once, either at the same or
different places of voting, shall, upon conviction, be adjudged guilty of a
misdemeanor, and be punished by fine not exceeding fifty dollars, nor less than
twenty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding three
months, and shall be liable to indictment and conviction in any county to which
such poll-books, or any of them, shall be returned.
SEC. 13. All
persons voting under this ordinance shall be required to take the oath
prescribed by the ordinance of this convention, testing the loyalty of the
voter.
SEC. 14. The
election returns of votes cast at the different precincts in the counties shall
be made to county clerks, in all respects according to the statute laws now in
force, except as provided in this ordinance; and all acts required to be done
under existing laws within a given time after examining and casting up the
books, shall be done within the time required by existing laws, after the time
fixed for examining and casting up the poll-books under the ninth section of
this ordinance.
SEC. 15. Any
officer, or other person, in the service or employment of the United States or
the State of Missouri, being a qualified voter under the constitution and laws
of this State, may vote at any election held under the provisions of this
ordinance, subject to the restrictions and limitations provided by this
ordinance.
SEC. 16. This
ordinance shall 6e in force from and after its passage and is subject to repeal
at any time by the general assembly of this State.
Adopted, June 12, 1862.
RELATING
TO VOTING IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows,to
wit:
SECTION 1. In any county where there is a county court, or
where such court fails to appoint judges of election, and in counties where
there is no county clerk, or such clerk fails to cause poll-books to be
delivered to the judges of election before the day of the election, any person
may prepare the poll-books for any or all of the townships in such county, and
a majority of the qualified voters present at the time and place of opening the
polls, which shall be at the same place, as near as may be, as the elections
were authorized to be for members of this convention, shall choose judges of
the election; and in case no officer is present authorized to administer the
oath of office to such
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judges, one of the persons so chosen may administer the oath
required by law to such judges, one of whom, after being so sworn, shall
administer the oath to the judge by whom he was so sworn.
SEC. 2.Such judges
of election shall appoint two clerks, and shall have all the powers and perform
all the duties of judges of election under existing laws, and shall return the
poll-books to the county seat in the time and manner required by the next
section.
SEC. 3. On the first Saturday after the election, one of the
judges of election from each township in such county shall repair to the county
seat, and organize a board composed of such judges, and said board, when so
organized, shall proceed to cast up the votes given in such election, certify
the same, and grant certificates of election, and in all respects shall have
the same powers and perform the same duties that the county clerk and two
justices of the county court or justices of the peace are required to perform,
or that the county clerk is required to perform, under existing laws governing
elections.
SEC. 4. Such election shall be as valid to all intents and
purposes as though it had been done by the ordinary officers under existing
laws.
SEC. 5. Such judges of election shall retain the poll-books
of such election until there is a county clerk qualified to act in such county.
Such poll-books shall be filed in the county clerk's office, and the clerk's
receipt taken for the same.
SEC. 6. The secretary of state shall cause the ordinances
passed at this session of the convention, in relation to voters and elections,
to be published in pamphlet form and distributed without delay to the county
clerks of the different counties, and in counties where there is no clerk, to
members of this convention, or other citizens, in such numbers as he may deem
sufficient.
SEC. 7. If in
any county no election shall be held for sheriff, coroner, county-court
justices, and other township and county officers, the vacancies so caused, with
the exception of members of the general assembly, shall be filled by the proper
authorities, under existing laws; but in all cases of failure by the proper
authorities to appoint persons to fill such vacancies within twenty days after
the vacancy occurs, then the governor shall appoint officers to fill such
vacancies as have not been filled by the proper authorities; and all officers
appointed to fill vacancies as aforesaid shall hold their said offices for the
same time as if they had been elected under existing laws.
SEC. 8. In counties where there are no county clerks, any
candidate may file the oath required by ordinance with the board of judges
herein provided for, and said board shall cast up and certify the vote or each
candidate that complies with this section the same as if said oath had been
filed in the time and manner required by the ordinance heretofore passed; and
said affidavits shall be filed, together with the poll-books, in the county
clerk's office.
SEC. 9. Judges and clerks of
election under this ordinance shall perform all the duties and be subject to
all the penalties prescribed by existing laws.
SEC. 10. This ordinance shall be in force from and after its
passage, and may be repealed at any time by the general assembly of this State.
Adopted, June 13, 1862.
Missouri-1861-18632189
AMENDING
THE THIRD ARTICLE OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
The eighth section of the third article of the constitution
is hereby abolished, and the following adopted in lien thereof:
After the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two, all general elections shall commence [take place] on the Tuesday
next after the first Monday in November, and shall be held biennially; and the
electors in all cases, except of [for] treason, felony, or breach of the peace,
shall be privileged from arrest during their continuance at elections, and in
going to and returning from the same.
Adopted, June 13, 1862.
REQUIRING
STATE SENATORS TO BE DIVIDED INTO CLASSES
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
That at the next session of the general assembly, the State
senators shall be divided by lot into classes, as provided in the seventh
section of the third article of the constitution, and every election to fill a
vacancy in the senate shall be for the residue of the term only.
Adopted, June 13, 1862.
CHANGING
THE TIME OFHOLDING ELECTIONS FOR
JUDGES
Be it ordained by the people of Missouri, in convention
assembled, as follows:
SECTION 1. That so much of the sixth and seventh articles of
the amendments to the constitution of this State, ratified at the session of
the legislature of 1850 and 1851, as provides that the elections of supreme and
circuit court judges shall be held on the first Monday in August, A. D.
eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and on the first Monday in August every six
years thereafter, is hereby abolished.
SEC. 2. The first general election for supreme and circuit
court judges hereafter to be held under said amendments to the Constitution
shall be on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, A. D. eighteen
hundred and sixty-three, and on the first Tuesday next after the first Monday
in November every six years thereafter, any law, constitution, or ordinance of
this convention to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 3. Whatever
election of judges or clerks of courts and other office ow be fixed by law, or
by order of any court, for the of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-three,
shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November, eighteen
hundred and sixty-three.
Adopted, June 26, 1863.
PROVIDING
FOR SUPPLYING THE VACANCY EXISTING IN THE OFFICE OF
JUDGE
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention assembled, as follows:
The governor shall appoint a judge for the fourteenth
judicial circuit, to supply the vacancy now existing, which judge shall hold
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Missouri-1861-1863
his office until Tuesday after the first Monday of November,
A. D. eighteenhundred and sixty-three, and until his successor is duly
elected and qualified.
Adopted, June 27, 1863.
PROVIDING
FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Missouri, in
convention, assembled:
SECTION 1. The first and second clauses of the twenty-sixth
section of the third article of the constitution are hereby abrogated.
SEC. 2. That slavery and involuntary servitude, except for
the punishment of crime, shall cease to exist in Missouri on the fourth day of
July, eighteen hundred and seventy; and all slaves within the State at that day
are hereby declared to be free: Provided, however, That all persons
emancipated by this ordinance shall remain under the control and be subject to
the authority of their late owners, representatives, and assigns, as servants,
during the followingto wit: those over
forty years of age, for and during their lives; those under twelve years of
age, until they arrive at the age of twenty-three years; and those of all other
ages, until the fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-six. The
persons, or their legal representatives, who, up to the moment of
emancipation, were the owners of the slaves thereby freed, shall, during the
period for which the services of such freedmen are reserved to them, have the
same authority and control over the said freedmen, for the purpose of securing
the possession and services of the same, that are now held absolutely by the master
in respect of his slaves: Provided, however, That after the said fourth
day of July, eighteen hundred and seventy, no person so held to service shall
be sold to a non-resident of or removed from the State of Missouri, by the
authority of his late owner or his legal representatives.
SEC. 3. That all slaves hereafter brought into this State,
and not now belonging to citizens of this State, shall thereupon be free.
SEC. 4. All slaves removed by consent of their owners to any
seceded State after the passage by such State of an act or ordinance of secession,
and hereafter brought into this State by their owners, shall thereupon be free.
SEC. 5. The general assembly shall have no power to pass
laws to emancipate slaves without the consent of their owners.
SEC. 6. After the passage of this ordinance, no slaves in
this State shall be subject to State, county, or municipal taxes.
