Constitution of the State of Kansas - Kansas Secretary of ...

1 Constitution of the State of Kansas ordinance . 1 to OF RIGHTS. 1 to 1 to 16. 1 to 30. 1 to 20. 1 to 5. 1 to 8. 1 to 7. INSTITUTIONS AND WELFARE. 1 to 6. 1 to 4. AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. 1 to OF THE LEGISLATURE. 1 to AND TAXATION. 1 to 1 to 1 to AMENDMENT AND REVISION. 1, 1 to 1 to OF AMENDMENTS AND PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE Kansas OF GRANT FROMCONGRESS; ordinance ; PREAMBLEORDINANCEWHEREAS, The government of the United States isthe proprietor of a large portion of the landsincluded in the limits of the State of Kansas asdefined by this Constitution ; and,WHEREAS, The State of Kansas will possess theright to tax said lands for purposes ofgovernment, and for other purposes.

2 Now,therefore,Be it ordained by the people of Kansas :That the right of the State of Kansas to tax suchlands is relinquished forever, and the State ofKansas will not interfere with the title of theUnited States to such lands, nor with anyregulation of congress in relation thereto, nor taxnonresidents higher than residents: Providedalways, That the following conditions be agreed toby congress: 1. School sections. Sections numbered six-teen and thirty-six in each township in the State ,including Indian reservations and trust lands, shallbe granted to the State for the exclusive use ofcommon schools; and when either of said sections,or any part thereof, has been disposed of, otherlands of equal value, as nearly contiguous theretoas possible, shall be substituted therefor.

3 2. University lands. That seventy-two sec-tions of land shall be granted to the State for theerection and maintenance of a State university. 3. Lands for public buildings. That thirty-six sections shall be granted to the State for theerection of public buildings. 4. Lands for benevolent institutions. Thatseventy-two sections shall be granted to the statefor the erection and maintenance of charitable andbenevolent 5. Salt springs and mines. That all saltsprings, not exceeding twelve in number, with sixsections of land adjacent to each, together with allmines, with the lands necessary for their full use,shall be granted to the State for works of publicimprovement. 6. Proceeds to schools.

4 That five per-centum of the proceeds of the public lands in Kan-sas, disposed of after the admission of the stateinto the union, shall be paid to the State for a fund,the income of which shall be used for the supportof common schools. 7. School lands. That the five hundredthousand acres of land to which the State isentitled under the act of congress entitled "An actto appropriate the proceeds of the sales of publiclands and grant preemption rights," approvedSeptember 4th, 1841, shall be granted to the statefor the support of common schools. 8. Selection of lands. That the lands here-inbefore mentioned shall be selected in such man-ner as may be prescribed by law; such selectionsto be subject to the approval of the commissionerof the general land office of the United , the people of Kansas , grateful to AlmightyGod for our civil and religious privileges, in orderto insure the full enjoyment of our rights asAmerican citizens, do ordain and establish thisconstitution of the State of Kansas , with thefollowing boundaries, to wit: Beginning at a pointon the western boundary of the State of Missouri,where the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitudecrosses the same.

5 Thence running west on saidparallel to the twenty-fifth meridian of longitudewest from Washington; thence north on saidmeridian to the fortieth parallel of north latitude;thence east on said parallel to the westernboundary of the State of Missouri; thence southwith the western boundary of said State to theplace of OF RIGHTS rights. All men are possessed ofequal and inalienable natural rights, among whichare life, liberty, and the pursuit of : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, power; privileges. All politicalpower is inherent in the people, and all freegovernments are founded on their authority, andare instituted for their equal protection and special privileges or immunities shall ever begranted by the legislature, which may not bealtered, revoked or repealed by the same body;and this power shall be exercised by no othertribunal or : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct.

6 4, 1859; L. 1861, 3. Right of peaceable assembly; people have the right to assemble, in a peace-able manner, to consult for their common good, toinstruct their representatives, and to petition thegovernment, or any department thereof, for theredress of : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, right to bear arms; person has the right to keep and bear arms forthe defense of self, family, home and State , forlawful hunting and recreational use, and for anyother lawful purpose; but standing armies, in timeof peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not betolerated, and the military shall be in strict subor-dination to the civil : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct.

7 4, 1859; L. 1861, ; L. 2009, ch. 152, 1; Nov. 2, 2010. l by jury. The right of trial by juryshall be : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 6. Slavery prohibited; servitude for con-viction of crime. There shall be no slavery in thisstate; and no involuntary servitude, except for thepunishment of crime, whereof the party shall havebeen duly : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 7. Religious liberty; property qualifica-tion for public office. The right to worship Godaccording to the dictates of conscience shall neverbe infringed; nor shall any person be compelled toattend or support any form of worship; nor shallany control of or interference with the rights ofconscience be permitted, nor any preference begiven by law to any religious establishment ormode of worship.

8 No religious test or propertyqualification shall be required for any office ofpublic trust, nor for any vote at any election, norshall any person be incompetent to testify onaccount of religious : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 8. Habeas corpus. The right to the writ ofhabeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless thepublic safety requires it in case of invasion : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 9. Bail; fines; cruel and unusual punish-ment. All persons shall be bailable by sufficientsureties except for capital offenses, where proof isevident or the presumption great.

9 Excessive bailshall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,nor cruel or unusual punishment : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 10. Trial; defense of accused; witnessagainst self; double jeopardy. In all prosecutions,the accused shall be allowed to appear and defendin person, or by counsel; to demand the nature andcause of the accusation against him; to meet thewitness face to face, and to have compulsory pro-cess to compel the attendance of the witnesses inhis behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impar-tial jury of the county or district in which theoffense is alleged to have been committed. No per-son shall be a witness against himself, or be twiceput in jeopardy for the same : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct.

10 4, 1859; L. 1861, 11. Liberty of press and speech; liberty of the press shall be inviolate; and allpersons may freely speak, write or publish theirsentiments on all subjects, being responsible forthe abuse of such rights; and in all civil or criminalactions for libel, the truth may be given in evid-ence to the jury, and if it shall appear that thealleged libelous matter was published for justifi-able ends, the accused party shall be : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct. 4, 1859; L. 1861, 12. No forfeiture of estate for crimes. Noconviction within the State shall work a forfeitureof : Adopted by convention, July 29,1859; ratified by electors, Oct.