Kansas weekly herald., 1855-07-14

!" provided by the ordinance OF CongfeS
passed July 13, 1857, for the Govern
"ment of the Territory of the U. State
/" north of the river Ohio: and the inhab
"itants shall enjoy all and singular, tn,
4 f" rights, privileges and advantages granted
and secured to the people by the said or
Z" dinance," and the same powers were
Iconferred and duties erjoined upon its Off
cers as had been exercised by the officers
of the Northwestern Territory under the
said ordinance.
BY the act of 26th March, 1904, annex
ing the District of Louisiana to Indiana
Territory, power was given to the Govern.
or and Judges "to make all laws which
ls'they may deem conducive to the good
ls government of the inhabitants thereof >
and it was also further provided, ''that the
"Judges shall possess the same jurisdic-
ton they possess in the Indiana Terrific
"ry." This arrangement, however, was
of short duration; for in less than a year
the Territory of Louisiana was erected by
la law which took effect on the fourth day
of July following Congress then vest
ed the entire legislative power in the Gov
erner and Judges, securing trial by Jury
in all criminal prosecutions and in all civil
cases involving over one hundred dollars,
if demanded, and saving all laws previous
| ly in force in the district and not inconsist-
ent with the act OF Congress.
| The act of 1912, changing the name of
the Territory to Missouri, and taking eff
feet on the first Monday of December fol-
lowing, provided for more efficient and
thorough organization and was much more
L. Al
Legislative power In general assembly,
but taking care to provide that the people
should ''always be entitled to judicial pro-
ceedings according to the course of the COM
mon law, and the laws and usages in force
in the Territory-and that the laws and
regulations in force in the Territory of
Louisiana at the date of the act, and not in
consistent Herewith, should continue in
force until changed by the Legislative As
sembly."
The act Of Congress organizing the Ter
ritory of Kansas does not alter the Con-
gressional Legislation as left on the first
Monday of December, 1912, and its re-
suits through the Territorial Legislature,
except that it .repeals all former laws rec
ognizing or prohibiting slavery, and ap-
plies all laws of the U. States not locally
inapplicable, by which we are to under
stand all US. Statutes enacted for other
localities which are capable of being trans
planted and adapted to our Territory.
The legislatures of the Territories of Lou
isiana and Missouri enacted, of course,
many general laws, and among them is a
statute of January 19, 1916, adopting for
the Territory of Missouri the common law
and the English statutes in aid thereof, pri-
or to the fourth year of James the first,
with some qualifications.
From this summary, the length of which
has been unavoidable, it appears that the
laws of the q. States not inapplicable to
our locality-the laws of the Territory of
Indiana made between the 26th March,
1904, and the Sd March, 1906, enacted for
the District of Louisiana-the laws of the
Territory of Louisiana-the laws of the
Territory of Missouri-the common law,
and the law of the Province of Louisiana
at the time of the cession, except so far as
the later have superseded the former, still
remain IN force in the Territory of Kansas.
AS the common law to considerable ex-
tent was adopted for the Territory by Con-
gress as late as 1912, and by the Missouri
Legislature as late as 1916, and as it is
perhaps the most complete and comprehen-
kive system In the world, it has without
doubt, superseded and supplied great
amount of the law previously existing. In
this mass of conflicting Legislation howev-
er, it will impose upon your courts much
embarrassment and trouble to decide the
questions OF implied repeal which will con-
tinually arise, and | would therefore call
your attention to the necessity of curing
this evil by some Legislation which will de-
clare distinctly which of fthesez previous laws
are In force and which are not.
There are many specific subjects of le-
glslation, some of which are expressly re-
ferred to you by the Bill organizing our
Territory, and others spring from the ne
cessities of our community. Prominent
among them is the question whether we
shall build our Government upon the basis
of free or of slave labor. Claiming as we
do the same capacity for self-government
as our fellow citizens of the States, with a
far greater, if not an exclusive interest In
the institutions and laws which are to exist
among US, compelled alone TO bear their
burdens, and entitled alone to claim their
benefits, wisdom, justice and fairness would
dictate that those laws and institutions inside
of the constitution of the United States
should be moulded by ourselves, stimulated
by the absorbing interest we must feel In
them, rather than by the representatives or
citizens of other States who are no more
competent to the task than we-whe have
no stake with us intheir results, and who
would most Indignantly repel any offer of
reciprocity from US in assisting to manage
their affairs. The provision of our Terri
torial Organic Act secures US this right and
is founded IN the true doctrines of republi-
canism. 1t may be exercised in various
degrees and in various ways, and wheney-