Be it enacted by
the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That all that part of the territory of the United States included
within the following limits, to wit: bounded on the west by the State of
California, on the north by the Territory of Oregon, and on the east by the
summit of the Rocky Mountains, and on the south by the thirty-seventh parallel
of north latitude, be, and the same is hereby, created into a temporary
government, by the name of the Territory of Utah; and, when admitted as a
State, the said Territory, or any portion of the same, shall be received into
the Union, with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the
time of their admission: Provided, That nothing in this act contained
shall be construed to inhibit the government of the United States from dividing
said Territory into two or more Territories, in such manner and at such times
as Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any portion of
said Territory to any other State or Territory of the United States.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and
authority in and over said Territory of Utah shall be vested in a governor, who
shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of the United
States. The governor shall reside within said Territory, shall be
commander-in-chief of the militia thereof, shall perform the duties and receive
the emoluments of superintendent of Indian affairs, and shall approve all laws
passed by the legislative assembly before they shall take effect: he may grant
pardons for offences against the laws of said Territory, and reprieves for
offences against the laws of the United States, until the decision of the
President can be made known thereon; he shall commission all officers who shall
be appointed to office under the laws of the said Territory, and shall take
care that the laws be faithfully executed.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of
said Territory, who shall reside therein, and hold his office for four years,
unless sooner removed by the President of the United States: he shall record
and preserve all the laws and proceedings of the legislative assembly
hereinafter constituted, and all the acts and proceedings of the governor in
his executive department; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and one copy
of the executive proceedings, on or before the first day of December in each
year, to the President of the United States, and, at the same time, two copies
of the laws to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President
of the Senate, for the use of Congress. And in the case of the death, removal,
resignation, or other necessary absence of the governor from the Territory, the
secretary shall have, and he is hereby authorized and required to execute and
perform, all the powers and duties of the governor during such vacancy or
necessary absence, or until another governor shall be duly appointed to fill
such vacancy.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and
authority of said Territory shall be vested in the governor and a legislative
assembly. The legislative assembly shall consist of a Council and House of
Representatives. The Council shall consist of thirteen members, having the
qualifications of voters as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall
continue two years. The House of Representatives shall consist of twenty-six
members, possessing the same qualifications as prescribed for members of the
Council, and, whose term of service shall continue one year. An apportionment
shall be made, as nearly equal as practicable, among the several counties or
districts, for the election of the Council and House of Representatives, giving
to each section of the Territory representation in the ratio of its population,
Indians excepted, as nearly as may be. And the members of the Council and of
the House of Representatives shall reside in, and be inhabitants of, the
district for which they may be elected respectively. Previous to the first
election, the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants
of the several counties and districts of the Territory to be taken, and the
first election shall be held at such time and places, and be conducted in such
manner, as the governor shall appoint and direct; and he shall, at the same
time, declare the number of members of the Council and House of Representatives
to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under this act.
The number of persons authorized to be elected having the highest number of
votes in each of said Council districts for members of the Council, shall be
declared by the governor to be duly elected to the Council; and the person or
persons authorized to be elected having the highest number of votes for the
House of Representatives, equal to the number to which each county or district
shall be entitled, shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected members
or the House of Representatives: Provided, That in case of a tie between
two or more persons voted for, the governor shall order a new election to
supply the vacancy made by such a tie. And the persons thus elected to the
legislative assembly shall meet at such place, and on such day, as the governor
shall appoint; but thereafter, the time, place, and manner of holding and
conducting all elections by the people, and the apportioning the representation
in the several counties or districts to the Council and House of
Representatives, according to population, shall be prescribed by law, as well
as the day of the commencement of the regular sessions of the legislative
assembly: Provided That no one session shall exceed the term of forty days.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male
inhabitant above the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident or
said Territory at the time of the passage of this act, shall he entitled to
vote at the first election, and shall be eligible to any office within the said
Territory; but the qualifications of voters and of holding office, at all
subsequent elections, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the legislative
assembly: Provided, That the right of suffrage and of holding office
shall be exercised only by citizens of the United States, including those
recognized as citizens by the
treaty with the republic of Mexico, concluded February second, eighteen
hundred and forty-eight.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of said
Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation, consistent with
the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act; but no
law shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax
shall be imposed upon the property of the United States; nor shall the lands or
other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other
property of residents. All the laws passed by the legislative assembly and
governor shall be submit- ted to the Congress of the United States, and, if
disapproved, shall be null and of no effect.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That all township, district, and
county officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or
elected, as the case may be, in such manner as shall be provided by the
governor and legislative assembly of the territory of Utah. The governor shall
nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislative Council,
appoint all officers not herein otherwise provided for; and in the first
instance the governor alone may appoint all said officers, who shall hold their
offices until the end of the first session of the legislative assembly, and
shall layoff the necessary districts for members of the Council and House of
Representatives, and all other offices.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the legislative
assembly shall hold or be appointed to any office which shall have been
created, or the salary or emoluments of which shall have been increased while
he was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year
after the expiration of such term; and no person holding a commission or
appointment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member of
the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the government of said
Territory.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said
Territory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate Courts,
and in justices of the peace. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief
justice and two associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum,
and who shall hold a term at the seat of government of said Territory annually,
and they shall hold their offices during the period of four years. The said
Territory shall be divided into three judicial districts, and a District Court
shall be held in each of said districts by one of the justices of the Supreme
Court, at such time and place as may be prescribed by law; and the said judges
shall, after their appointments, respectively, reside in the districts which
shall be assigned them. The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided
for, both appellate and original, and that of the Probate Courts and of
justices of the peace, shall be as limited by law: Provided, That justices of
the peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter in controversy when the
title or boundaries of land may be in dispute, or where the debt or sum claimed
shall exceed one hundred dollars ; and the said Supreme and District Courts,
respectively, shall possess chancery as well as common law jurisdiction. Each
District Court, or the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also
be the register in chancery, and shall keep his office at the place where the
court may be held. Writs of error, bills of exception, and appeals shall be
allowed in all cases from the final decisions of said District Courts to the
Supreme Court, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; but in no
case removed to the Supreme Court shall trial by jury be allowed in said court.
The Supreme Court, or the justices thereof, shall appoint its own clerk, and
every clerk shall hold his office at the pleasure of the court for which he
shall have been appointed. Writs of error, and appeals from the final decisions
of said Supreme Court, shall be allowed, and may be taken to the Supreme Court
of the United States, in the same manner and under the same regulations as from
the Circuit Courts of the United States, where the value of the property or the
amount in controversy, to be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either
party, or other competent witness, shall exceed one thousand dollars, except
only that, in all cases involving title to slaves, the said writs of error or
appeals shall be allowed and decided by the said Supreme Court, without regard
to the value of the matter, property, or title in controversy; and except also,
that a writ of error or appeal shall also be allowed to the Supreme Court of
the United States, from the decisions of the said Supreme Court created by this
act or of any judge thereof or of the District Courts created by this act or of
any judge thereof, upon any writ of habeas corpus involving the question of
personal freedom; and each of the said District Courts shall have and exercise
the same jurisdiction in all cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the
United States as is vested in the Circuit and District Courts of the United
States; and the said Supreme and District Courts of the said Territory, and the
respective judges thereof shall and may grant writs of habeas corpus in all
cases in which the same are granted by the judges of the United States in the
District of Columbia; and the first six days of every term of said courts, or
so much thereof as shall be necessary. shall be appropriated to the trial of
causes arising under the said Constitution and laws; and writs of error and
appeal, in all such cases, shall be made to the Supreme Court of said
Territory, the same as in other cases. The said clerk shall receive in all such
cases the same fees which the clerks of the District Courts of Oregon Territory
now receive for similar services.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an
attorney for said Territory, who shall continue in office for four years,
unless sooner removed by the President, and who shall receive the same fees and
salary as the attorney of the United States for the present Territory of
Oregon. There shall also be a marshal for the Territory appointed, who shall
hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed by the President, and who
shall execute all processes issuing from the said courts, when exercising their
jurisdiction as Circuit and District Courts of the United States: he shall
perform the duties, be subject to the same regulation and penalties, and be
entitled to the same fees as the marshal of the District Court of the United
States for the present Territory of Oregon; and shall, in addition, be paid two
hundred dollars annually as a compensation for extra services.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief
justice and associate justices, attorney and marshal, shall be nominated, and,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed by the President of
the United States. The governor and secretary to be appointed as aforesaid
shall, before they act as such. respectively, take an oath or affirmation,
before the district judge, or some justice of the peace in the limits of said
Territory, duly authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws now
in force there-in or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States, to support the Constitution of the United
States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices;
which said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by the person by whom the
same shall have been taken, and such certificates shall be received and
recorded by the said secretary among the executive proceedings; and the chief
justice and associate justices, and all other civil officers in said Territory,
before they act as such, shall take a like oath or affirmation, before the said
governor or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the Territory
who may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation
shall be certified and transmitted, by the person taking the same, to the
secretary, to be by him recorded as aforesaid; and afterwards, the like oath or
affirmation shall be taken, certified, and recorded, in such manner and form as
may he prescribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of
fifteen hundred dollars as governor, and one thousand dollars as superintendent
of Indian affairs. The chief justice and associate justices shall each receive
an annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars. The secretary shall receive an
annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars. The said salaries shall be paid
quarter- yearly, at the treasury of the United States. The members of the
legislative assembly shall be entitled to receive three dollars each per day
during their attendance at the sessions thereof, and three dollars each for
twenty miles' travel, in going to and returning from the said sessions,
estimated according to the nearest usually travelled route. There shall be
appropriated annually the sum of one thousand dollars, to be expended by the
governor, to defray the contingent expenses of the Territory. There shall also
be appropriated, annually, a sufficient sum, to be expended by the secretary of
the Territory, and upon an estimate to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury
of the United States, to defray the expenses of the legislative assembly, the
printing of the laws, and other incidental expenses; and the secretary of the
Territory shall annually account to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United
States for the manner in which the aforesaid sum shall have been expended.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the legislative assembly of
the Territory of Utah shall hold its first session at such time and place in
said Territory as the governor thereof shall appoint and direct; and at said
first session, or as soon thereafter as they shall deem expedient, the governor
and legislative assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the seat of
government for said Territory at such place as they may deem eligible; which
place, however, shall thereafter be, subject to be changed by the said governor
and legislative assembly. And the sum of twenty thousand dollars, out of any
money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, is hereby appropriated and
granted to said Territory of Utah to be applied by the governor and legislative
assembly to the erection of suitable public buildings at the seat of
government.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the House of
Representatives of the United States, to serve during each Congress of the
United States, may be elected by the voters qualified to elect members of the
legislative assembly, who shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges
as are exercised and enjoyed by the delegates from the several other
Territories of the United States to the said House of Representatives. The
first election shall be held at such time and places, and be conducted in such
manner, as the governor shall appoint and direct; and at all subsequent
elections, the times, places, and manner of holding the elections shall be
prescribed by law. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be
declared by the governor to be duly elected, and a certificate thereof shall be
given accordingly: Provided, That said delegate shall receive no higher
sum for mileage than is allowed by law to the delegate from Oregon.
SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the sum or five thousand
dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any moneys in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended by and under the direction
of the said governor of the territory of Utah, in the purchase of a library, to
be kept at the seat of government for the use of the governor, legislative
assembly, judges of the Supreme Court, secretary, marshal, and attorney of said
Territory, and such other persons, and under such regulations, as shall be
prescribed by law.
SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in the said
Territory shall be surveyed under the direction of the government of the United
States preparatory to bringing the same into market, sections numbered sixteen
and thirty-six in each township in said Territory shall be, and the same are
hereby, reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools in said Territory,
and in the States and Territories hereafter to be erected out of the same.
SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That temporarily, and until
otherwise provided by law, the governor of said Territory may define the
judicial districts of said Territory, and assign the judges who maybe appointed
for said Territory to the several districts, and also appoint the times and
places for holding courts in the several counties or subdivisions in each of
said judicial districts, by proclamation to be issued by him; but the
legislative assembly, at their first or any subsequent session, may organize,
alter, or modify such judicial districts, and assign the judges, and alter the
times and places of holding the courts, as to them shall seem proper and
convenient.
SEC.17. And be it further enacted, That the Constitution and laws of
the United States are hereby extended over and declared to be in force in said
Territory of Utah, so far as the same, or any provision thereof, may be
applicable.
APPROVED, September 9, 1850.
SOURCE: The Compiled
Laws of the Territory of Utah: Containing All the General Laws Now in Force,
1876, p. 28-34
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