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The executive power of the governor of the Indiana territory was extended. to and exercised in the district of Louisiana. The legislative power was vested in the governor and judges of said territory. While the executive and legislative power was vested in the officers of a territory organized by congress the government of the north-west territory, ceded to the general government by the State of Virginia, the act did not contemplate that the laws of the territory should extend over the district, except as laws made for it.

On the 3d of March, 1805, “An act further providing for the government of the district of Louisiana," was approved.* It provided that the district should thereafter be known as the "territory of Louisiana," and created a separate territorial government, vesting the legislative power in a governor, and three judges, and the judicial power in three judges and inferior magistrates.

SEC. 13. The said district of Louisiana shall be divided into districts by the governor, under the direction of the President, as the convenience of the settlements shall require, subject to such alterations hereafter as experience may prove more convenient. The inhabitants of each district, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, shall be formed into a militia, with proper officers, according to their numbers, to be appointed by the governor, except the commanding officer who shall be appointed by the President; and who, whether a captain, a major or a colonel, shall be the commanding officer of the district, and as such, shall, under the governor, have command of the regular officers and troops in his district, as well as of the militia, for which he shall have a brevet commission giving him such command, and the pay and emoluments of an officer of the same grade in the regular army; he shall be specially charged with the employment of the military and militia of his district in cases of sudden invasion or insurrection, and until the order of the governor can be received, and at all times with the duty of ordering a military parol, aided by militia if necessary, to arrest unauthorized settlers in any part of his district, and to commit such offenders to jail to be dealt with according to law.

SEC. 13. The laws in force in the said district of Louisiana, at the commencement of this act, and not inconsistent with any of the provisions thereof, shall continue in force until altered, modified or repealed by the governor and judges of the Indiana territory as aforesaid. Approved March 26, 1804.

* AN ACT FURTHER PROVIDING FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.

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 country ceded by France to the United States, under the general name of Louisiana, which by an act of the last session of congress was erected into a separate district, to be called the district of Louisiana, shall henceforth be known and designated by the name and title of the territory of Louisiana, the government whereof shall be organized and administered as follows:

The executive power shall be vested in a governor, who shall reside in said territory, and hold his office during the term of three years, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States; he shall be commander-in-chief of the militia of the said territory, superintendent ex officio of Indian affairs, and shall appoint and commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general officers; shall have power to grant pardons for offenses against the same, and reprieves for those against the United States, until the decision of the. President thereon shall be known.

SEC. 2. There shall be a secretary, whose commission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner revoked by the President of the United States, who shall reside in said territory, and whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the governor, to record and preserve all the papers and proceedings of the executive, and all the acts of the governor and of the legislative body, and transmit authentic copies of the same every six months to the President of the United States. In case of a vacancy of the office of governor, the government of the said territory shall be exercised by the secretary.

SEC. 3. The legislative power shall be vested in the governor and three judges, or a majority of them, who shall have power to establish inferior courts in the said territory, and prescribe their jurisdiction and duties, and to make all laws which they may deem conducive to the good government of the inhabitants thereof; provided, however, that no law shall be valid which is inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, or which shall lay any person under restraint or disability on account of his religious opinions, profession or worship, in all of which he shall be free to maintain his own, and not burdened with those of another; and provided also, that in all criminal prosecutions, the trial shall be by twelve good and lawful men of the vicinage, and in all civil cases of the value of one hundred dollars, the trial

"An act providing for the government of the territory of Missouri," was approved June 4, 1812. It provided that the territory of Louisiana should thereafter be known as the "territory of Missouri." It vested the executive power in a governor; the legislative power in a general assembly, consisting of the governor, a legislative council and a house of representatives; and the judicial power in a superior court, and in inferior courts and justices of the

peace.

This act was amended April 29, 1816.

The territories north-west of the Ohio river were ceded by the State of Virginia to the Confederation in 1804. Congress, on the 13th of July, 1787, enacted the celebrated "ordinance for the government of the territory north-west of the Ohio river." At the time of its enactment the territory embraced in the State of Iowa was not within the jurisdiction of the United States. The subsequent legislation of congress, however, extended its provisions to this territory.

After the adoption of the constitution of the United States, additional provisions were enacted by congress, and approved August 7th, 1789, to adapt the provisions of the ordinance to the constitution.

On the 8th of May, 1792, an additional act was passed, conferring upon the

shall be by jury if either of the parties require it. And the governor shall publish throughout the said territory, all the laws which may be made as aforesaid, and shall, from time to time, report the same to the President of the United States, to be laid before congress, which, if disapproved of by congress, shall thenceforth cease and be of no effect.

SEC. 4. There shall be appointed three judges, who shall hold their office for the term of four years, who, or any two of them, shall hold annually two courts within the said district, at such place as will be most convenient to the inhabitants thereof in general; shall possess the same jurisdiction which is possessed by the judges of the Indiana territory, and shall continue in session until all the business depending before them shall be disposed of.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That for the more convenient distribution of justice, the prevention of crimes and injuries, and execution of process, criminal and civil, the governor shall proceed from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out those parts of the territory in which the Indian title shall have been extinguished, into districts, subject to such alteration as may be found necessary; and he shall appoint thereto such magistrates and other civil officers as he may deem necessary, whose several powers and authorities shall be regulated and defined by law.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary and judge, to be appointed by virtue of this act, shall respectively receive the same compensation for their services as are by law established for similar offices in the Indiana territory, to be paid quarter-yearly out of the treasury of the United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, judges, justices of the peace, and all other officers, civil or military, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States, and for the faithful discharge of the duties of their office; the governor before the President of the United States, or before a judge of the supreme or district court of the United States, or before such other person as the President of the United States shall authorize to administer the same; the secretary and judges before the governor, and all other officers before such person as the governor shall direct.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary and judges, to be appointed by virtue of this act, and all the additional officers authorized thereby, or by the act for erecting Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof, shall be appointed by the President of the United States, in the recess of the senate, but shall be nominated at their next meeting for their advice and consent.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the laws and regulations in force in the said district at the commencement of this act, and not inconsistent with the provisions thereof, shall con tinue in force until altered, modified or repealed by the legislature.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That so much of an act, entitled "An act erecting Louis iana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof," as is repugnant to this act, shall, from and after the fourth day of July next, be repealed, on which said fourth day of July this act shall commence and have full force. Approved March 3, 1805.

governor and the judges the power to repeal their own acts, subjecting the secretaries to the control of the laws, authorizing one judge of the supreme or superior court to hold a court, and providing seals for public officers.

On the 7th of May, 1800, an act was approved, the purpose of which was "to divide the territory of the United States, north-west of the Ohio, into two separate governments." It established within said territory a government in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of 1787 for the territory north-west of the Ohio river, securing to the inhabitants all the rights, privileges and advantages granted and secured to the people by said ordinance; imposing the same duties upon and granting to the officers the same compensation and emoluments as provided therein; and making substantially the same provisions as to the general assembly.

By the act of the 6th of March, 1820, the inhabitants of the territory embraced in the present State of Missouri were authorized to form for themselves a constitution and State government. The only provision made in the act for that portion of the Missouri territory not within the proposed limits is in the last section of the act, and is in these words:

"In all the 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 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 service as aforesaid."

No organized territorial government existed in the Missouri or northwest territory until that portion now in the State of Iowa and Minnesota were incorporated into the territory of Iowa in 1836. The Indian title was not extinguished to the lands, and no population demanded the protection of local government.

The territory of Michigan was established by the "Act to divide the Indiana territory into two separate governments," approved January 11, 1805. Thẹ new territory embraced all that portion of the Indiana territory lying "north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States." It provided for the new territory a government in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of 1787, and the act of the 7th of May, 1789, securing to the people the rights secured by those acts, and imposing upon the officers the same duties and giving them the same compensation allowed to the officers of the Indiana territory.

The act of April 18, 1818, "to enable the people of Illinois territory to form a constitution and State government" made the line of forty-two degrees and thirty minutes from the middle of Lake Michigan to the middle of the

Mississippi river the northern boundary of the State; provided, that all that part of the territory of the United States "lying north of the State of Indiana and which was included in the former Indiana territory, together with that part of the Illinois territory which is situated north of, and not included within, the boundaries prescribed by this act, to the State thereby authorized to be formed, shall be and hereby is attached to and made a part of Michigan territory," and secured to all the inhabitants therein "the same privileges and immunities with the other citizens of Michigan territory."

The territory of Wisconsin was created by the act of April 20, 1830, to take effect on the 4th day of July in the same year. Its boundaries were described as follows: "On the east by a line drawn from the north-east corner of Illinois through the middle of Lake Michigan, to a point in the middle of said lake and opposite the main channel of Green bay, and through said channel and Green bay to the mouth of the Menominee river; thence through the middle of the main channel of said river to that head of said river nearest to the Lake of the Desert; thence in a direct line to the middle of said lake; thence through the middle of the main channel of the Montreal river to its mouth; thence with a direct line across Lake Superior to where the territorial line of the United States touches said lake, north-west; thence on the north with said territorial line to the White Earth river; on the west by a line from the said boundary line following down the middle of the main channel of the White Earth river and down the middle of the main channel of the Missouri to a point due west from the north-west corner of the State of Missouri, and on the south from said point due east to the north-west corner of the State of Missouri; thence with the boundaries of the States of Missouri and Illinois as already fixed by act of congress."

It was expressly provided by the twelfth section of the act "that the inhabitants of said territory shall be entitled to and enjoy, all and singular, the rights, privileges and advantages granted and secured to the people of the territory of the United States north-west of the river Ohio by the articles of the compact contained in the ordinance for the government of said territory, passed on the 13th day of July, 1787, and shall be subject to the conditions and restrictions and prohibitions in said articles of compact imposed upon the people of said territory: that the inhabitants shall also be entitled to all rights, privileges and immunities heretofore granted and secured to the territory of Michigan, and to its inhabitants, and the existing laws of the territory of Michigan shall be extended over said territory."

By the act of June 12, 1836, to take effect on the 3d of July in said year, all that part of the territory of Wisconsin lying west of the Mississippi river and west of a line drawn due north from the head waters or sources of the Mississippi to the territorial line, was organized as a territorial government by the name of Iowa. The rights, privileges and immunities granted to the people of the territory of Wisconsin are secured to the people of the territory of lowa. The territory was organized under the act of congress, and the first session of the territorial legislature was convened in the city of Burlington in the month of December, 1838. Annual sessions, and occasionally an extra

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session, convened until the adoption of the constitution and the organization of the State government. In 1843 Revised Statutes were enacted, and printed in a book generally known as the "Blue Book."

The territorial legislature of 1844 provided for a vote to ascertain the opinion of the people of the territory upon the subject of the formation of a State constitution; and also for a constitutional convention.*

The legislature of 1845 submitted the constitution to the people.†

The legislature of 1846 provided for a second convention for the formation of a constitution,‡ and for a submission of its draft of a constitution to the people of the State. The convention assembled at Iowa City, and completed its labor on the 18th day of May, 1846. The constitution framed was submitted to the people and ratified by a majority of the electors voting, and became the fundamental law of the State.

The first session of the first general assembly of the State convened at Iowa City on the 30th day of November, 1846.

The next general revision of the statutes was made pursuant to an act, approved January 25, 1848, § appointing Charles Mason, of the county of Des Moines, William G. Woodward, of the county of Muscatine, and Stephen Hempstead, of the county of Dubuque, a committee to draft, revise and prepare a code of laws for the State of Iowa. They were charged with the duty of preparing a complete and perfect code of laws, as nearly as may be, of a general nature only. The commissioners thus appointed submitted to the general assembly "an act for revising and consolidating the general Statutes of Iowa," which was enacted and approved by the governor on the 5th day of February, 1851. It took effect on the 1st day of July, 1851, and has since been designated as the Code of 1851.

The next revision of the statutes was under joint resolution and act of the seventh general assembly, session of 1858, appointing Wm. Smith, of Linn county, Winslow T. Barker, of Dubuque county, and Charles Ben. Darwin, of Des Moines county, commissioners to draft and report "a code of civil and criminal procedure, and also to report such changes as may be necessary to harmonize existing laws and adapt them to the new constitution; and to revise and codify the general laws of the State so far as practicable and report the same

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This commission made a report to the eighth general assembly in January, 1860, presenting a code of civil practice, designed as a substitute for part third of the Code of 1851. It became law with a few changes and constitutes that portion of the Revision known as part third. The commission also presented at the same session a code of criminal practice, designed to supersede and stand for all of titles 24 and 25 of the Code of 1851, except chapter 187, concerning the government of the penitentiary, which subject was not included in the new criminal code. The act with little change became law, and constitutes the Code of Criminal Practice found therein.

At the same session the commission also presented a revision of the laws of the State, which was adopted, and which, together with the code of civil and *Laws 1844, chap. 9. † Laws 1845, chap. 13. Laws 1846, chap. 37. § Code of 1851, page 470.

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