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SEC. 9. Members of the general assembly and other officers, both executive and judicial, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation, to wit: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the constitution of the Indian Territory, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge, to the best of my ability, the duties of the office of according to law. So help me God."

SEC. 10. The members of the general assembly shall be paid four dollars per day while in actual attendance thereon, and four dollars mileage for every twenty miles going to and returning therefrom on the most direct traveled route, to be certified by the presiding officer of each house: Provided, That no member shall be allowed per diem compensation for more than thirty days at any annual session.

SEC. 11. Members of the general assembly shall, in all cases except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general assembly, and in going to and returning from the same.

SEC. 12. No power of suspending the laws of this Territory shall be exercised unless by the general assembly or its authority. No retrospective law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed.

SEC. 13. Whenever the general assembly shall deem it necessary to provide means to support the government of the Indian Territory, it shall have power to do so; but no revenue shall be raised not actually necessary and in accordance with law, uniform in its operations throughout the Territory.

SEC. 14. All bills making appropriations shall originate in the house of representatives; but the senate may propose amendments or reject the same. All other bills may originate in either branch, subject to the concurrence or rejection of the other.

SEC. 15. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation, and shall be presided over by the chief justice, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

SEC. 16. The governor, and all civil officers, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit, under this Government; but the party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment according to law, as in other cases.

SEC. 17. The salaries of all officers created under this constitution, not otherwise provided, shall be regulated by law, but no increase or diminution shall be made in the same during the term for which said officers may have been elected or appointed.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION 1. The executive power of this Territory shall be vested in a governor, who shall be styled the Governor of the Indian Territory, and whose term of service shall be two years, and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified. He shall be elected by the qualified electors of each nation, on the first Wednesday in April, at the usual places of holding elections of the several nations. The returns of the election of governor shall be sealed up and directed to the secretary of the Territory, who shall open and publish them in the presence of the senate and house of representatives in joint session assembled. The person having the highest number of votes shall be declared governor by the president of the senate; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, then one of them shall be chosen by the majority of votes by joint ballot of both houses of the general assembly.

SEC. 2. The manner of conducting and determining contested elections shall be directed by law.

SEC. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years.

SEC. 4. Whenever the office of governor shall become vacant by death, resignation, removal from office or otherwise, the president of the senate shall exercise the office until another governor shall be duly qualified. In case of the death, resignation, removal from office, or other disqualification of the president of the senate so exercising the office of governor, the speaker of the house of representatives shall fill the office until the president of the senate shall have been chosen and qualified to act as governor. SEC. 5. The governor shall receive, at stated times, for his services, a compensation to be fixed by law, which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected; nor shall he receive, within that period, other emolument from the Indian Territory.

SEC. 6. The governor shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly information in writing of the state of the government, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he may deem expedient, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

SEC. 7. The governor, on extraordinary occasions, may, by proclamation, convene the

general assembly at the seat of government, to legislate upon such matters only as he may recommend.

SEC. 8. When vacancies occur in offices, the appointment of which is vested in the governor by and with the consent of the senate, he shall have power to fill such vacancies by commission, which shall expire at the end of the next session of the general assembly.

SEC. 9. The governor may grant pardons and respites, and remit fines for offenses against the laws of this Territory, and shall commission all officers who shall be appointed or elected to office under the laws of the Territory.

SEC. 10. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the general assembly shall be presented to the governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it may have originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members present shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; if approved by two-thirds of the members present of that house, it shall become a law; but in such case the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the general assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting.

SEC. 11. There shall be a secretary of said Territory, who shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, and who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law. He shall also act as treasurer of the Territory until otherwise provided. Before entering upon his duties as treasurer he shall give bond with such sureties as may be required by law. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but by warrant from the governor, and in consequence of appropriations made by law. There shall also be appointed in like manner one marshal, who shall have power to appoint such deputies as may be authorized. There shall likewise be appointed one attorney general and two district attorneys, whose duties and terms of office shall be defined by law.

SEC. 12. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the Indian Territory, and be sealed with the seal and signed by the governor and attested by the secretary of the Territory.

ARTICLE V.

SECTION 1. The judicial department of the Indian Territory shall be vested in a supreme court, three district courts, and such inferior courts as may be provided by law; but their jurisdiction shall not interfere with the civil and criminal jurisdiction retained to each separate nation by the treaties of 1866.

SEC. 2. The supreme court shall be composed of the three judges, who shall be appointed by the governor, with the approval of the senate, as district judges. Two of said judges shall form a quorum of the supreme court for the transaction of business. Their terms of office shall be six years, provided that the office of one of said judges shall be vacated in two years, of one in four years, and of one in six years, so that at the expiration of each two years one of said judges shall be appointed as aforesaid. The judge appointed for six years shall be the first chief justice of the supreme court, and upon the expiration of his term, the senior judge in office shall be thereafter the chief justice.

.SEC. 3. The supreme court shall meet at the capital, commencing on the first Mondays in June and December in each year. The supreme court shall be a court of appellate jurisdiction from the district courts, and original jurisdiction in such cases as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 4. The supreme and district judges shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus and other process necessary to the exercise of their appellate or original jurisdiction.

SEC. 5. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all cases, civil and criminal, arising from the trade or intercourse between the several nations, and all cases arising under the legislation of this government as may be prescribed by law. SEC. 6. Writs of error, bills of exceptions, and appeals may be allowed from the final decisions of the district courts in such cases as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 7. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to divide the Indian Territory into three districts, which shall be as nearly equal in territory and population as may be practicable, assign one of the three judges to each district, and provide for the holding of terms of the district court in each, at such times and places as may be deemed expedient.

SEC. 8. No person shall be appointed a judge of any of the courts until he shall

have attained to the age of thirty years, and be a person of good character and suitable qualifications.

SEC. 9. No judge shall sit on a trial of any cause in which he may be interested, or in which he is connected to either of the parties by affinity or consanguinity, except by consent of the parties; and in case of disqualification of any judge, the vacancy shall be filled as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 10. All writs and other process shall run in the name of the Indian Territory, and bear test and be signed by the clerk issuing the same.

SEC. 11. Indictments shall conclude, "Against the peace and dignity of the Indian Territory."

SEC. 12. Each court shall appoint its own clerk, whose duty and compensation shall be fixed by law.

ARTICLE VI.

SEC. 1. The general assembly may propose such amendments to this constitution as three-fourths of each branch may deem expedient; and the governor shall issue a proclamation directing all civil officers of the Territory to promulgate the same as extensively as possible within their respective districts, at least six months previous to the annual sessions of the national councils of the nations parties hereto; and if threefourths of such national councils, at such next annual sessions, shall ratify such proposed amendment, they shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this constitution.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare:

SEC. 1. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit; and they shall have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government as may be lawfully provided for.

SEC. 2. The free exercise of religious worship, and serving God without distinction of creed, shall forever be enjoyed within the limits of this Territory: Provided, That the liberty of conscience shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace, safety, and good morals of this Territory.

SEC. 3. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust in this Territory.

SEC. 4. Every citizen shall be at liberty to speak, write, or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of this privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press.

SEC. 5. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from all unreasonable searches, seizures, and intrusions; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall be issued without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without good cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

SEC. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a speedy trial by an impartial jury of the district wherein the crime shall have been committed; the right of demanding the nature and cause of the accusation; of having the witnesses to testify in his presence; of having compulsory process to procure witnesses in his favor; of having the right to be heard by himself and counsel; of not being compelled to testify against himself, nor to be held to answer to any criminal charge but on information or indictment by a grand jury.

SEC. 7. All prisoners shall be bailable before conviction, by sufficient surety, except for a capital offense where the proof is evident or the presumption great.

SEC. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted; and all courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him in his person, reputation, or property, shall have remedy as the law directs.

SEC. 9. No person, for the same offense, shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, and the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

SEC. 10. No person shall be imprisoned for debt.

SEC. 11. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble for their common good, to instruct their representatives and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.

SEC. 12. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless the public safety should require it.

SEC. 13. All power not herein expressly granted by the nations parties to this constitution, are reserved by them respectively, according to the provisions of their several treaties with the United States.

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SCHEDULE TO THE CONSTITUTION.

In order to organize the government of the Indian Territory, and secure practical operation for the same, it is hereby ordained—and the provisions of this schedule shall be of the same binding force as the constitution, of which it is a part-that it shall be the duty of the secretary of this general council to transmit a duly authenticated copy of this constitution to the executive authority of each nation represented in the general council, and to ask the acceptance and ratification of the same by the councils or people of the respective nations. Upon receiving from such authority notification of its acceptance and ratification by national councils, representing two-thirds of the population of the nations represented in the general council, it shall be his duty to promulgate such fact, and to call a session of the general council from the nations ratifying this constitution, at such place as the present session may designate for its next meeting. It shall be the duty of the general council, when so assembled, to adopt such measures as may be necessary to secure the election of a governor and members of the general assembly, and to fix the time of the first meeting of the said assembly, whose duty it shall be to perfect the organization of the government of the Indian Territory, under the provisions of the foregoing constitution: Provided, That this constitution shall be obligatory and binding only upon such nations and tribes as may hereafter duly approve and adopt the same. ENOCH HOAG,

G. W. GREYSON,

Secretary.

Superintendent of Indian Affairs, President.

REPORT ON POPULATION AND EDUCATION.

OKMULGEE, M. N., December 17, A. D. 1870.

Your committee, to whom was referred, by resolution of the general council of September 30, 1870, the subject of the populations and educational interests of the several nations represented in the general council, report as follows:

The committee have no means of ascertaining the exact population of the several nations, and therefore are compelled to give it approximately from the information they have been able to obtain; and in their opinion it will exceed the figures given below.

The advancement in education has been seriously retarded by the late war. It closed, during its continuance, all the schools, and having destroyed nearly all the property of the country, the first efforts of the people after its close were directed to rebuilding and gaining a subsistence. In consequence, a large number of the youths have grown up without the advantages of education. In this respect its injurious effects will be long felt. Your committee, however, are happy to state that the nations are now giving this important subject their earnest attention, as will be seen from the following:

THE CHOCTAWS.

Since the close of the late war the Choctaws have been able to establish and maintain only neighborhood schools, but are supporting about twenty Choctaw youths, males and females, attending schools in the States. An act of the Choctaw council in 1870 authorizes the reopening of two boarding-schools-one for males and one for females. The amount annually expended in supporting these schools is about $33,000. There are three schools in each county, making forty-eight in the nation. The teachers are allowed $2 per month for each pupil in attendance. The number of pupils attending school is 1,460. The population of the Choctaw Nation is between 16,000 and 17,000.

CHEROKEES.

The population of the Cherokee Nation at the present time cannot be accurately reported. The national council, during its session last year, passed a law by which a large number of those recently arrived from North Carolina and other States are required to substantiate their rights before the supreme court, now in session for that purpose, previous to their enrollment as bona fide citizens.

The census of the Cherokee Nation, taken previous to November 1 of the present year, shows the population to be about 17,000, including those cited before the supreme court, as stated above, as to whose rights there is no doubt.

The school and orphan funds consist of the interest accruing on moneys invested in State and United States stock.

For school fund

For orphan fund..

$596, 140 75 219,774 00

Bearing interest at from 5 to 7 per cent. Interest about $43,000. The Cherokees have in operation forty-eight district schools, three of which are for colored children, supported out of this fund, besides a few private schools in neighborhoods situated inconvenient to public schools. The public schools are under the supervision of a superintendent who is a native, and whose duties are defined by law. A large number-perhaps three-fourths-of the teachers are natives, and paid out of the school fund $400 each per scholastic year of ten months. Total number of scholars attending school is 1,928. The orphans attending schools are boarded and clothed out of the orphan fund, which is only applied to those who are indigent and destitute. There is also one mission school under control of the Moravian Board. Previous to the war there were in successful operation two high schools, or seminaries-one male and one female. The buildings are now undergoing thorough repairs for the purpose of putting them in operation again. Each will accommodate about 100 students, together with the necessary teachers and servants.

MUSKOGEES.

The population of the Muskogee Nation is about 13,000, inclusive of freedmen. The Muskogees have now in successful operation twenty-two public schools located in different parts of the country, and under the supervision of a superintendent of public instruction, who is a native. These schools are taught by one teacher each, with a salary of $400 for scholastic year of ten months. The last national council created nine additional schools, which are now being put in operation. In addition to these schools there is one boarding school in successful operation, accommodating 80 pupils, and one building under way, which will be completed by spring, and will accommodate as many. These boarding schools are supported by the nation, except the salaries of the superintendent and necessary teachers, which are paid by the boards of the Methodist and Presbyterian denominations, under whose control they are. course of instruction pursued in the public and boarding schools is as follows: Commencing with the alphabet and its combinations into syllables, and extending through the various elementary branches, as reading, spelling, writing, geography, grammar, and arithmetic. Six of the public schools are appropriated for the exclusive use of the freedmen of the Muskogee Nation.

Annual school fund from treaty stipulations

The

School fund contingent on the will of the President..
School fund from national appropriations, annually.

$10,000

1,000

13,758

24,758

Total school fund expended.....

The average number of children in attendance at school at the close of the scholastic year ending June 30, 1870, was about 700.

SEMINOLES.

The population of the Seminole Nation is about two thousand five hundred. By an act of the council there has been established four neighborhood schools, which are now in successful operation, taught by efficient teachers, who receive an annual salary of $600 each. The whole number of pupils in attendance at school is 225, the average daily attendance at each being about 40.

In addition to the neighborhood schools there is now in process of construction a mission building, superintended by the Rev. J. R. Ramsey, of the Presbyterian denomination. The building will soon be completed and be sufficient to accommodate more than 50 pupils. By treaty stipulation the Seminoles have, and use for the support of the neighborhood schools, $2,500, being the interest on $50,000 held in trust by the United States.

CHICKASAWS.

The population of the Chickasaw Nation is between five and six thousand. They have eleven neighborhood schools. The whole number of pupils in attendance is 440. In addition to these they have 60 pupils attending schools in the States, the expense being paid by the nation at the rate of $350 each.

Amount appropriated September last for support of neighborhood schools
For supporting pupils in attendance at schools in the States ..

Total school fund

$29,000

21,000

50,000

The teachers of the public schools are allowed out of the school fund $3 per month for each pupil.

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