two commissioners to sit with the County Judge whilst transacting county business in any or all the counties, or may provide a separate board for transacting such business. § 13. The County Judge may grant preliminary injunctions, and such other writs as the Legislative Assembly may authorize him to grant, returnable to the Circuit Court, or otherwise, as may be provided by law; and may hear and decide questions arising upon habeas corpus, provided such decisions be not against the authority or proceedings of a court, or judge of equal or higher jurisdiction.

§ 14 The counties having less than ten thousand white inhabitants shall be reimbursed, wholly or in part, for the salary and expenses of the County Court, by fees, per centage, and other equitable taxation of the business done in said court and in the office of the County Clerk.

§ 15. A County Clerk shall be elected in each county for the term of two years, who shall keep all the public records, books, and papers of the county, record conveyances, and perform the duties of Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts, and such other duties as may be prescribed by law; but whenever the number of voters in the county shall exceed twelve hundred, the Legislative Assembly may authorize the election of one person as Clerk of the Circuit Court, one person as Clerk of the County Court, and one person Recorder of Conveyances.

§ 16. A Sheriff shall be elected in each county for the term of two years, who shall be the ministerial officer of the Circuit and County Courts, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

§ 17. There shall be elected by districts composed of one or more counties, a sufficient number of prosecuting attorneys, who shall be the law officers of the State, and of the counties within their respective districts, and shall perform such duties pertaining to the administration of law and general police as the Legislative Assembly may direct.

§ 18. The Legislative Assembly shall so provide that the most competent of the permanent citizens of the county shall be chosen for jurors; and out of the whole number in attendance at the court, seven shall be drawn by lot as grand jurors, five of whom must concur to find an indictment; but the Legislative Assembly may modify or abolish grand juries.

§ 19. Public officers shall not be impeached; but incompetency, corruption, malieasance, or delinquency in office may be tried in the same manner as criminal offenses, and judgment may be given of dismissal from office, and such further punishment as may have been prescribed by law.

§ 20. The Governor may remove from office a Judge of the Supreme Court, or prosecuting attorney, upon the joint resolution of the Legislative Assembly, in which two-thirds of the members elected to each House shall concur, for incompetency, corruption, malfeasance, or delinquency in office, or other sufficient cause, stated in such resolution.

21. Every Judge of the Supreme Court, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe, and transmit to the Secretary of State, the following oath: 'I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Oregon, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of a Judge of the Supreme and Circuit Courts of said State according to the best of my ability, and that I will not accept any other office except judicial offices during the term for which I have been elected."

ARTICLE VIII.

EDUCATION AND SCHOOL LANDS.

SECTION 1. The Governor shall be Superintendent of Public Instruction, and his powers and duties in that capacity shall be such as may be prescribed by law; but after the term of five years from the adoption of this Constitution, it shall be competent for the Legislative Assembly to provide by law for the election of a Superintendent, to provide for his compensation, and prescribe his powers and duties.

§ 2. The proceeds of all the lands which have been, or hereafter may be, granted to this State for educational purposes (excepting the lands heretofore granted to aid in the establishment of a university), all the moneys and clear proceeds of all property which may accrue to the State by escheat or forfeiture; all moneys which may be paid as exemption from military duty; the proceeds of all gifts, devises, and bequests made by any person to the State for common school purposes; the proceeds of all property granted to the State, when the purposes of such grant shall not be stated; all the proceeds of the five hundred thousand acres of land to which this State is entitled by the provision of an act of Congress, entitled "An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved the fourth of September,

1841; and also the five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of the public lands to which this State shall become entitled on her admission into the Union (if Congress shall assent to such appropriation of the two grants last mentioned), shall be set apart as a separate and irreducible fund, to be called the common school fund, the interest of which, together with all other revenues derived from the school lands mentioned in this section, shall be exclusively applied to the support and maintenance of common schools in each school-district, and purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus therefor.

§3. The Legislative Assembly shall provide by law for the establishment of a uniform and regular system of common schools.

§ 4. Provision shall be made by law for the distribution of the income of the common school fund among the several counties of this State, in proportion to the number of children resident therein between the ages of four and twenty years.

§ 5. The Governor, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer, shall constitute a board of Commissioners for the sale of school and university lands, and for the investment of the funds arising therefrom, and their powers and duties shall be such as may be prescribed by law; Provided, That no part of the university funds, or of the interest arising therefrom, shall be expended until the period of ten years from the adoption of this Constitution, unless the same shall be otherwise disposed of, by the consent of Congress, for common school purposes.

ARTICLE IX.

FINANCE.

SECTION 1. The Legislative Assembly shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, both real and personal, excepting such only for municipal, educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable purposes, as may be specially exempted by law.

§ 2. The Legislative Assembly shall provide for raising revenue sufficient to defray the expenses of the State for each fiscal year, and also a sufficient sum to pay the interest on the State debt, if there be any.

§ 3. No tax shall be levied, except in pursuance of law, and every law imposing a tax shall state distinctly the object of the same, to which only it shall be applied.

§ 4. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in pursuance of appropriations made by law.

§ 5. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be published with the laws of each regular session of the Legislative Assembly.

§ 6. Whenever the expenses of any fiscal year shall exceed the income, the Legislative Assembly shall provide for levying a tax for the ensuing fiscal year, sufficient, with other sources of income, to pay the deficiency, as well as the estimated expense of the ensuing fiscal year.

§ 7. Laws making appropriations for the salaries of public officers, and other current expenses of the State, shall contain provisions upon no other subject.

§ 8. All stationery required for the use of the State shall be furnished by the lowest responsible bidder, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; but no State officer or member of the Legislative Assembly shall be interested in any bid or contract for furnishing such stationery.

ARTICLE X.

MILITIA.

SECTION 1. The militia of this State shall consist of all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such persons as now are, or herereafter may be, exempted by the laws of the United States, or of this State.

§ 2. Persons whose religious tenets or conscientious scruples forbid them to bear arms, shall not be compelled to do so in time of peace, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service.

§ 3. The Governor shall appoint the Adjutant-General and the other chief officers of the general staff and his own staff, and all officers of the line shall be elected by the persons subject to military duty in their respective districts.

§ 4. The majors-general, brigadiers-general, colonels, or commandants of regiments, battalions, or squadrons, shall severally appoint their staff officers, and the Governor shall commission all officers of the line and staff ranking as such.

§ 5. The Legislative Assembly shall fix by law the method of dividing the militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions and companies, and make all other needful

rules and regulations in such manner as they may deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the Constitution of this State, and shall fix the rank of all staff officers.

ARTICLE XI.

CORPORATIONS AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

SECTION 1. The Legislative Assembly shall not have the power to establish or incorporate any bank, or banking company, or moneyed institution whatever; nor shall any bank, company, or institution exist in the State, with the privilege of making, issuing, or putting in circulation any bill, check, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the paper of any bank, company, or person, to circulate as money.

§ 2. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special laws, except for municipal purposes. All laws passed pursuant to this section may be altered, amended, or repealed, but not so as to impair or destroy any vested corporate rights.

3. The stock-holders of all corporations and joint-stock companies shall be liable for the indebtedness of said corporation to the amount of their stock subscribed and unpaid, and no more.

§ 4. No person's property shall be taken by any corporation under authority of law, without compensation being first made, or secured, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

§ 5. Acts of the Legislative Assembly, incorporating towns and cities, shall restrict their powers of taxation, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit. § 6. The State shall not subscribe to, or be interested in, the stock of any company, association, or corporation.

§ 7. The Legislative Assembly shall not, in any manner, create any debt or liabilities, which shall singly, or in the aggregate, with previous debts or liabilities, exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, except in case of war, or to repel invasion, or suppress insurrection; and every contract of indebtedness entered into, or assumed by, or on behalf of the State, when all its liabilities and debts amount to said sum, shall be void and of no effect.

§ 8. The State shall never assume the debts of any county, town, city, or other corporation whatever, unless such debts shall have been created to repeì invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in war.

§ 9. No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, by vote of its citizens or otherwise, shall become a stockholder in any joint-stock company, corporation, or association whatever, or raise money for, or loan its credit to, or in aid of any such company, corporation, or association.

§ 10. No county shall create any debts or liabilities which shall singly, or in the aggregate, exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, except to suppress insurrection or repel invasion; but the debts of any county at the time this Constitution takes effect shall be disregarded in estimating the sum to which such county is limited.

ARTICLE XII.

STATE PRINTER.

SECTION 1. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at the times and places of choosing members of the Legislative Assembly, a State Printer, who shall hold his office for the term of four years.

He shall perform all the public printing for the State which may be provided by law. The rates to be paid to him for such printing shall be fixed by law, and shall neither be increased nor diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected. He shall give such security for the performance of his duties as the Legislative Assembly may provide.

ARTICLE XIII.

SALARIES.

SECTION 1. The Governor shall receive an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars. The Secretary of State shall receive an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars. The Treasurer of State shall receive an annual salary of eight hundred dollars. The Judges of the Supreme Court shall each receive an annual salary of two thousand dollars. They shall receive no fees or perquisites whatever for the performance of any duties connected with their respective offices; and the compensation of officers, if not fixed by this Constitution, shall be provided by law.

ARTICLE XIV.

SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.

SECTION 1. The Legislative Assembly shall not have power to establish a permanent seat of gevernment for this State; but at the first regular session after the adoption of this Constitution the Legislative Assembly shall provide by law for the submission to the electors of this State, at the next general election thereafter, the matter of the selection of a place for a permanent seat of government; and no place shall ever be the seat of government under such law which shall not receive a majority of all the votes cast on the matter of such election. *

§ 2. No tax shall be levied, or money of the State expended, or debt contracted for the erection of a State House prior to the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five.

§3. The seat of government, when established as provided in section one, shall not be removed for the term of twenty years from the time of such establishment, nor in any other manner than as provided in the first section of this article; Provided, That all public institutions of the State hereafter provided for by the Legislative Assembly shall be located at the seat of government.

ARTICLE XIV.

MISCELLANEOUS.

SECTION 1. All officers, except members of the Legislative Assembly, shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified.

§ 2. When the duration of any office is not provided for by this Constitution, it may be declared by law; and if not so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the appointment. But the Legislative Assembly shall not create any office the tenure of which shall be longer than four years.

§3. Every person elected or appointed to any office under this Constitution shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, and also an oath of office.

§ 4. Lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets for any purpose whatever, are prohibited, and the Legislative Assembly shall prevent the same by penal laws.

5. The property and pecuniary rights of every married woman, at the time of marriage, or afterwards, acquired by gift, devise, or inheritance, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of the husband, and laws shall be passed providing for the registration of the wife's separate property.

§ 6. No county shall be reduced to an area less than four hundred square miles; nor shall any new county be established in this State containing a less area, nor unless such new county shall contain a population of at least twelve hundred inhabitants.

§ 7. No State officer, or member of the Legislative Assembly, shall, directly or indirectly, receive a fee, or be engaged as counsel, agent, or attorney in the prosecution of any claim against this State.

§ 8. No Chinaman, not a resident of this State at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall ever hold any real estate or mining claim, or work any mining claim therein.

The Legislative Assembly shall provide by law in the most effective manner for carrying out the above provision.

ARTICLE XVI.

BOUNDARIES.

SECTION 1. In order that the boundaries of the State may be known and established, it is hereby ordained and declared that the State of Oregon shall be bounded as follows, to wit. Beginning one marine league at sea due west from the point where the fortysecond parallel of north latitude intersects the same; thence northerly, at the same distance from the line of the coast, lying west and opposite the State, including all islands within the jurisdiction of the United States, to a point due west and opposite the middle of the north ship channel of the Columbia river; thence easterly, to and up the middle channel of said river, and, where it is divided by islands, up the middle of the widest channel thereof, and in like manner up the middle of the main channel of Snake river, to the mouth of the Owyhee river; thence due south, to the parallel of latitude forty-two degrees north; thence west, along said parallel, to the place of beginning, including

* By act of October 19, 1860, the location of the seat of government was submitted to the people at an election in June, 1862, and annually thereafter at the general election, until some place should receive a majority of votes. In 1862 no choice was made; in 1864, Salem received 6,108 votes, Portland 3,864, Eugene, 1,588, and all other places 577. It appearing that Salem had received 79 majority of the whole vote cast, this place was declared the permanent seat of government.

jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases upon the Columbia river and Snake river, concurrently with States and Territories of which those rivers form a boundary in common with this State. But the Congress of the United States, in providing for the admission of this State into the Union, may make the said northern boundary conform to the act creating the Territory of Washington.

ARTICLE XVII.

AMENDMENTS.

SECTION 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either branch of the Legislative Assembly, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two Houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall, with the yeas and nays thereon, be entered on their journals, and referred to the Legislative Assembly to be chosen at the next general election; and if, in the Legislative Assembly so next chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each House, then it shall be the duty of the Legislative Assembly to submit such amendment or amendments to the electors of the State, and cause the same to be published without delay at least four consecutive weeks in the several newspapers published in this State; and if a majority of said electors shall ratify the same, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this Constitution.

§ 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors shall vote for, or against, each of such amendments, separately; and while an amendment or amendments, which shall have been agreed upon by one Legislative Assembly, shall be awaiting the action of a Legislative Assembly, or of the electors, no additional amendment or amendments shall be proposed.

ARTICLE XVIII.

SCHEDULE.

SECTION 1. For the purpose of taking the vote of the electors of the State for the acceptance or rejection of this Constitution, an election shall be held on the second Monday of November, in the year 1857, to be conducted according to existing laws regulating the election of Delegate in Congress, so far as applicable, except as herein otherwise provided.

§ 2. Each elector who offers to vote upon this Constitution shall be asked by the judges of election this question:

Do you vote for the Constitution-yes or no?

And also this question:

Do you vote for free negroes in Oregon-yes or no?

And in the poll-books shall be columns headed, respectively, Constitution, yes," Constitution, no;" "Slavery, yes;" "Slavery, no;" "Free negroes, yes;" "Free negroes, no." And the names of electors shall be entered in the poll-books, together with their answers to the said questions under their appropriate heads. The abstracts of the votes transmitted to the Secretary of the Territory shall be publicly opened, and canvassed by the Governor and Secretary, or by either of them, in the absence of the other; and the Governor, or, in his absence, the Secretary, shall forthwith issue his proclamation, and publish the same in the several newspapers printed in this State, declaring the result of the said election upon each of said questions.

§ 3. If a majority of all the votes given for and against the Constitution shall be given for the Constitution, then this Constitution shall be deemed to be approved and accepted by the electors of the State, and shall take effect accordingly; and if a majority of such votes shall be given against the Constitution, then this Constitution shall be deemed to be rejected by the electors of the State, and shall be void.

§ 4. If this Constitution shall be accepted by the electors, and a majority of all the votes given for and against slavery shall be given for slavery, then the following section shall be added to the bill of rights, and shall be part of this Constitution:

"Persons lawfully held as slaves in any State, territory, or district of the United States, under the laws thereof, may be brought into this State, and such slaves, and their descendants, may be held as slaves within this State, and shall not be emancipated without the consent of their owners."