Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-05-09

A certified copy of the act OF the last
legislature providing for constitutional
convention for south Dakota is in our
hands and from Its pages we CLEAN i'm.
portant points fer the information of
our readers The act recites that
For the purpose of enabling the peo-
pie of that part of Dakota south of the
46th parallel to- organize and form a
state government and make application
for admission INTO the union, a
delegate convention is hereby call
ed, to meet at the city of
Sioux Falls, county of Minuehaha and
territory of Dakota, on the 8th day of
September, A. d. 1885, at twelve o'clock
meIedian. for the purpose Of framing q
constitution republican in form and per.
forming all other things essential to the
preparation OF the territory for making
application to the general govern
ment for the admission of such part of
Dakota into the union of states.
An election for choosing the delegates
who are to compose this convention
is appointed in the act
to be held on the SOth
of next June. County clerks are r. quir-
ed to issue election notices IN the usual
manner, at least twenty days before the
30th of June, and the various county
boards are required to establish voting
precincts, appoint polling places, desig-
nate judges. etc., to canvass the votes,
and finally county clerks must issue GER
tificates of election. The number of
persons allowed by the apportionmentin in
each county who receive the highest
number of votes will be entitled to such
certificates.
After the convention has been duly
organized it shall proceed to
draft constitution for the south half oi
Dakota, define the boundaries of the pro.
posed state and provide for the submis.
sion of the constitution to vote of the
people for ratification or rejection. AT
the election held for such purpose
there shall be chosen state
officers, members of congress,
members of the state legislature
and all other officers provided for by the
convention. Power ie given the conven.
tion to provide means for holding the
election and for assembling the legisla.
ture and otherwise carrying into effect
the purposes of tho constitution. Here
Is inserted in the act proviso which
says
That the expenses of all special elec-
tions under the provisions of this act
| and of any ordinance OF said constitu.
tion shall be paid by each county in
said territory respectively.
The members of the convention are to
receive per diem of $3.50 each. and five
cents for each mile travelled in
going to or returning from the
convention. The manner in which
the expenses of the convention
are finally to be met is designated in a
clause in the act which says:
It is hereby made the duty of the
several boards OF county commissioners
of the counties named herein, or repre-
sented in said convention, to cause to be
levied and collected, in the same man.
ner as other taxes are levied and
collected, o special tax sufficient
to pay all of said expenses, which tax
shall be apportioned among the SAID
counties in proportion to their assessed
valuation; and when said tax is collected
in each of said counties, the came shall
be paid by said counties, into the terri
torial treasury.
The counties named in the act as par.
ticipants in the constitutional gathering
are oil the organized counties lying
south of the 46th parallel of latitude. In
case the territory is divided, or the south
half becomes state before the tax REIN.
bursing the territory is collected the
treasurer of the south half shall pay tc
the treasurer of the north half just
proportion Of the money drawn from the
general treasury in payment Of conven
tion expenses. The act appropriatet
from the territorial treasury sum suf
ficient to defray the expenses of the con
vention, not to exceed $4,000.
These are the main points in the Law
providing for constitutional conven
ton for so nth Dakota.
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