Kansas weekly herald., 1855-07-14
THE GOVERNORS MESSAGE.

Il
| Having been duly notified that your re
spective bodies have organized for the per
formance of your official functions, / here
with submit to you the usual Executive com
munication relative TO subjects of Legislation
which universal and long continued usage
bin analogous cases would seem to demand
although no'express requirement of it is t.
be found in the act of Congress which ha.
| brought us into official existence and pre-
| scIibed our several duties.
The position which we occupy and the
solemn trust that is confded to us for origi.
mating the laws and institutions, and mould.
ing the destinies of a new Republic in the
very geographical centre of our vast and
magnificent Confederation cannot but i'm.
press us with deep and solemn sense ol
the heavy responsibility which we have as
sumed, and admonish us to lay aside all
selfish and equiyocal motives, to discard all
uwvorthy ends, and in the spirit of justice
and charity to each other, with pure hearts,
tempered feelings and sober judgments to
address ourselves to our task, and so per-
form it in the fear and reverence of that
God who oversees our work, that the Star
we expect to add to the National Banner
shall be dimned by no taint or tarnish of
dishonor, and that when viewed from the
trying and scrutinizing stand point of the
future we shall be subject to no reproach
save that which springs from the inevitable
fallibility of just and upright men.
In the business Of Legislation, the very
first necessity is the ascertainment of the
existing law; as it is impossible to deter
mine what we need in that respect, until
we ascertain what we already possess. 1t
will be found, l think, upon slight investi-
CATION, that we are already provided with
an ample and valuable store of laws, for
the redress of civil wrongs, and the punish
ment of criminal offences, which will ma
terially diminish your labors.
The present Territory of Kansas has been
at various periods since the treaty of April
Both, 1903, with the French Republic, a
portion Of the District of Louisiana, of the
Territory of Louisiana, the Territory of In
diana, and the Territory of Missouri and
it becomes necessary to take brief review
of the Legislation of Congress relating to it.,
during each of these periods. Immediate
ly after the acquisition of the Territory Of
Louisiana by the treaty before mentioned,
provision was made, by act OF Congress,
passed 31st Oct, 1903, for its temporary
government; which continued the civil,
military, and judicial powers then existing,
until the expiration of the first session of
the eighth Congress. On the 26th of
March, 1904, being the day before the
close of said session, the said Territory was
divided into the Territory of Orleans, and
the District of Louisiana and the SD
parallel of North latitude from the Missis-
sippi River west, was designated as the
boundary line between the two-thus in
Guiding the present Territory of Kansas in
the northern division and by the same
act, this portion, by the name of the Dis
trict of Louisiana, was subjected to the gov
ernmeLA of the Territory of Indiana, and be-
came part of it. The Territory of Indiana
had been portion of the old Northwest
ern Territory, which was first organized
by the ordinance of July 13, 1857. This
ordinance was subsequently, adapted to the
provisions of the constitution of the United
States. by act of Congress of Aug. z, 1889;
and, by act of Congress, passed May 4,
1900, a portion of this Northwestern Ter
ritory was organized as the Territory of
Indiana, to which, as already stated, the
District of Louisiana was annexed. On
the Sd of March, 1905, the District of Lou
isiana was again severed from the Terrific.
ry of Indiana, and organized by the name
of the Territory of Louisiana, and on Il e
4th day of June, 1712, was converted into
the Territory of Missouri, with considera-
BILE modification of the rules for its govern
ment.
1t will thus be seen, as have stated,
that the country composing our Territory,
has been successlvely subjected to the
French code, existing at the acquisition of
Louisiana, by the treaty of Paris-to the
laws of Indiana, derived from the North
western Territory, as well as those enacted
for Indiana after its severance-to the laws
Of the Territory of Louisiana, and the laws
of the Territory of Missouri. The sever
ance of portion of the latter Territory, and
its erection into the State of Missouri, in
the year 1921, did not, In my opinion, at
all effect the laws in force outside of the
bounds of the State, which remained as
valid after that event as they were before.
Under the ordinance of 1852, amended
in 1889, it was provided that certain leg
islative power should be vested in the Gov
ernor and Judges who were directed to
adopt and publish such laws. criminal and
civil, of the original States, as they might
consider necessary, which were to remain
IN force unless altered by the Legislature.
1t was also provided by authority of Con-
gress, among other things, that the inhab-
itants should always be entitled to the
benefit of the writ of habeas corpus and
" of the 'Trlal by Jury, of proportionate
representation of the people in the Leg
" islature, and of judicial proceedings ac-
/" cording to the course of the common
+" law"
By the act of May z, 1900, erecting the
Territory of Indiana, a Government was