The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-01-30
OUR HELENA LETTER.
Law Relating to Capital and
Buildings

Law Relating to Capital and
/ Buildings
Militia Law OF the State o1
Montana.
Special Correspondence Of the MINER.
HELENA, Jan. 26, 1884.
This was q busy day for the Con
vention. General File No. was
taken up and considered in Commit
tee of the Whole. Several amend.
ments were made to the report, one
being that there should be five coun-
ty. commissioners in each county,
and that the provision in reference to
the population be stricken out. The
provision for electing one commits.
sioner every two years was changed
81 as, to provide to elect two every
two years.
Galway introduced the following
preamble, which was read and re-
feTed to the Committee on Preamble
and Bill of Rights:
We, the people of Montana, being
desiroqs Of abolishing our present
colonial system Of government, and
assuming among the States OF the
Union that just aud equal station to
which we, as loyal people, are enti-
tied under the constitution of the
United States Of America, renew our
patriotic fealty to that constitution
and invoking its protection and guar.
antees in order to enforce equal taxa
tion, form q more perfect govern
ment, establish justice, ensure tran
guilty, provide for the common de-
Tense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and our prosperity, do Or
dain and establish this constitution
for the State of Montana.
The convention went into COM
mittee of the whole to consider
General File No 2. relative to State
Institutions, with Waterbury in the
chair. -2.
Section 1, providing that the edu-
cational, reformatory and penal In,
stitutions,and those for the benefit of
the insane, blind, deaf and mute,
aud such other Institutions ~ the
public good may require, shall be
established and supported by the
State, in such manner as may be
prescribed by law, was adopted with
out amendment.
Section 2 was also adopted, with
out amendment. It is follows: The
Legislature shall have no power to
change or to locate the sea- of gov
ernment Of the State, but shall,
after its first session, after the adop-
ton of this Constitution, provide by
law for submitting the question of
the permanent location of the seat of
government to the qualified electors
Of the State, at the general election
then next ensuing; and Al
majority of all votes upon
said question cast at said election,
shall be necessary to determine the
location thereof Said Legislature
shall also provide that in case there
shall be no choice at said election,
the question of choice between the
two places for which the highest
Of votes shall have been cast,
shall be submitted in like manner to |
the electors of the State, at the next
general election. Provided, that un-
til the seat of government shall have
been permanently located, as herein
provided, the temporary location
shall remain at the city of
Helena.
Section was amended to read az
follows, and was adopted In that |
form:
Whep the seat of government shall
have been located, as herein pro-
vided, the location thereof shall not
thereafter be changed, except by a
vote of the majority of all the quail
led electors of the State voting on
that question at general election,
It which the question of the loca-
ion of the seat of government shall
nave been submitted by the Legis-
ative Assembly, but no proposition
,hall be submitted to the peop,o
,ftener than once in four years.
Section 4. In relation to tn Legis-
atuFe making an appropriation for
capital buildings and
grounds was amended to
o d as follows
The Legislature shall make no ap-
or expenditures for capi-
al buildings or grounds until the seat
IT government shall have been per-
located as herein provided,
Ind no such appropriation shall be
made prior to the year 1900, unless
uch proposed approp 'iation shall
rave first been submitted at q gener-
j election t" the qualified electors of
he State aud their approval thereof
,e given by majority Of all electors
1otIng at such election.
The next section, in relation to a
3tate university, 8 ate asvlu~', and
3tate penitentiary was amended so
hat the Legislature shall MAKE pro-
Fi>ion for establishing the same as
. soon as practicable; that no more
han one of the aforesaid institutions
hall be located in any one county
f the State. and none Of them In the
ounty in which the capitol shalll
10 located.