Download as PDF
ENABLING ACT
AN ACT to provide for the division of Dakota into two States and to enable
the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington
to form constitutions and State governments and to be admitted into the
Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to make donations of public lands to such States.
(Approved February 22, 1889.) [25 U.S. Statutes at Large, c 180 p 676.]
[President’s proclamation declaring Washington a state: 26 St. at Large,
Proclamations, p 10, Nov. 11, 1889.]
respectively shall be seventy-five; and all persons resident in
said proposed States, who are qualified voters of said Territories as herein provided, shall be entitled to vote upon the election of delegates, and under such rules and regulations as said
conventions may prescribe, not in conflict with this act, upon
the ratification or rejection of the constitutions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That
the inhabitants of all that part of the area of the United States
now constituting the Territories of Dakota, Montana, and
Washington, as at present described, may become the States
of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington,
respectively, as hereinafter provided.
SEC. 4. That the delegates to the conventions elected as
provided for in this act shall meet at the seat of government of
each of said Territories, except the delegates elected in South
Dakota, who shall meet at the city of Sioux Falls, on the
fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and,
after organization, shall declare, on behalf of the people of
said proposed States, that they adopt the Constitution of the
United States; whereupon the said conventions shall be, and
are hereby, authorized to form constitutions and States governments for said proposed states, respectively. The constitutions shall be republican in form, and make no distinction in
civil or political rights on account of race or color, except as
to Indians not taxed, and not be repugnant to the Constitution
of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of
Independence. And said conventions shall provide, by ordinances irrevocable without the consent of the United States
and the people of said States:
First. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall
be secured and that no inhabitant of said States shall ever be
molested in person or property on account of his or her mode
of religious worship.
Second. That the people inhabiting said proposed States
do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and
title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the
boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits
owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes; and that until
the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United
States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition
of the United States, and said Indian lands shall remain under
the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the
United States; that the lands belonging to citizens of the
United States residing without the said States shall never be
taxed at a higher rate than the lands belonging to residents
thereof; that no taxes shall be imposed by the States on lands
or property therein belonging to or which may hereafter be
purchased by the United States or reserved for its use. But
nothing herein, or in the ordinances herein provided for, shall
preclude the said States from taxing as other lands are taxed
any lands owned or held by any Indian who has severed his
tribal relations, and has obtained from the United States or
from any person a title thereto by patent or other grant, save
and except such lands as have been or may be granted to any
Indian or Indians under any act of Congress containing a provision exempting the lands thus granted from taxation; but
said ordinances shall provide that all such lands shall be
exempt from taxation by said States so long and to such
extent as such act of Congress may prescribe.
SEC. 2. The area comprising the Territory of Dakota
shall, for the purposes of this act, be divided on the line of the
seventh standard parallel produced due west to the western
boundary of said Territory; and the delegates elected as hereinafter provided to the constitutional convention in districts
north of said parallel shall assemble in convention, at the time
prescribed in this act, at the city of Bismarck; and the delegates elected in districts south of said parallel shall, at the
same time, assemble in convention at the city of Sioux Falls.
SEC. 3. That all persons who are qualified by the laws of
said Territories to vote for representatives to the legislative
assemblies thereof, are hereby authorized to vote for and
choose delegates to form conventions in said proposed
States; and the qualifications for delegates to such conventions shall be such as by the laws of said Territories respectively persons are required to possess to be eligible to the legislative assemblies thereof; and the aforesaid delegates to
form said conventions shall be apportioned within the limits
of the proposed States, in such districts as may be established
as herein provided, in proportion to the population in each of
said counties and districts, as near as may be, to be ascertained at the time of making said apportionments by the persons hereinafter authorized to make the same, from the best
information obtainable, in each of which districts three delegates shall be elected, but no elector shall vote for more than
two persons for delegates to such conventions; that said
apportionments shall be made by the governor, the chief-justice, and the secretary of said Territories; and the governors
of said Territories shall, by proclamation, order an election of
the delegates aforesaid in each of said proposed States, to be
held on the Tuesday after the second Monday in May, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, which proclamation shall be
issued on the fifteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and
eighty-nine; and such election shall be conducted, the returns
made, the result ascertained, and the certificates to persons
elected to such convention issued in the same manner as is
prescribed by the laws of the said Territories regulating elections therein for Delegates to Congress; and the number of
votes cast for delegates in each precinct shall also be
returned. The number of delegates to said conventions
(2008 Ed.)
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 17]
Enabling Act
Third. That the debts and liabilities of said Territories
shall be assumed and paid by said States, respectively.
Fourth. That provision shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of systems of public schools, which
shall be open to all the children of said States, and free from
sectarian control.
SEC. 5. That the convention which shall assemble at Bismarck shall form a constitution and State government for a
State to be known as North Dakota, and the convention which
shall assemble at Sioux Falls shall form a constitution and
State government for a State to be known as South Dakota:
Provided, That at the election for delegates to the constitutional convention in South Dakota, as hereinbefore provided,
each elector may have written or printed on his ballot the
words "For the Sioux Falls constitution," or the words
"Against the Sioux Falls constitution," and the votes on this
question shall be returned and canvassed in the same manner
as for the election provided for in section three of this act; and
if a majority of all votes cast on this question shall be "for the
Sioux Falls constitution" it shall be the duty of the convention
which may assemble at Sioux Falls, as herein provided, to
resubmit to the people of South Dakota, for ratification or
rejection at the election hereinafter provided for in this act,
the constitution framed at Sioux Falls and adopted November
third, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and also the articles
and propositions separately submitted at the election, including the question of locating the temporary seat of government, with such changes only as relate to the name and
boundary of the proposed State, to the re-apportionment of
the judicial and legislative districts, and such amendments as
may be necessary in order to comply with the provisions of
this act; and if a majority of the votes cast on the ratification
or rejection of the constitution shall be for the constitution
irrespective of the articles separately submitted, the State of
South Dakota shall be admitted as a State in the Union under
said constitution as hereinafter provided; but the archives,
records, and books of the Territory of Dakota shall remain at
Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, until an agreement in
reference thereto is reached by said States. But if at the election for delegates to the constitutional convention in South
Dakota a majority of all the votes cast at that election shall be
"against the Sioux Falls constitution", then and in that event
it shall be the duty of the convention which will assemble at
the city of Sioux Falls on the fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, to proceed to form a constitution and
State government as provided in this act the same as if that
question had not been submitted to a vote of the people of
South Dakota.
SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the constitutional conventions of North Dakota and South Dakota to appoint a joint
commission, to be composed of not less than three members
of each convention, whose duty it shall be to assemble at Bismarck, the present seat of government of said Territory, and
agree upon an equitable division of all property belonging to
the Territory of Dakota, the disposition of all public records,
and also adjust and agree upon the amount of the debts and
liabilities of the Territory, which shall be assumed and paid
by each of the proposed States of North Dakota and South
Dakota; and the agreement reached respecting the Territorial
debts and liabilities shall be incorporated in the respective
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 18]
constitutions, and each of said States shall obligate itself to
pay its proportion of such debts and liabilities the same as if
they had been created by such States respectively.
SEC. 7. If the constitutions formed for both North
Dakota and South Dakota shall be rejected by the people at
the elections for the ratification or rejection of their respective constitutions as provided for in this act, the Territorial
government of Dakota shall continue in existence the same as
if this act had not been passed. But if the constitution formed
for either North Dakota or South Dakota shall be rejected by
the people, that part of the Territory so rejecting its proposed
constitution shall continue under the Territorial government
of the present Territory of Dakota, but shall, after the State
adopting its constitution is admitted into the Union, be called
by the name of the Territory of North Dakota or South
Dakota, as the case may be: Provided, That if either of the
proposed States provided for in this act shall reject the constitution which may be submitted for ratification or rejection at
the election provided therefor, the governor of the Territory
in which such proposed constitution was rejected shall issue
his proclamation reconvening the delegates elected to the
convention which formed such rejected constitution, fixing
the time and place at which said delegates shall assemble; and
when so assembled they shall proceed to form another constitution or to amend the rejected constitution, and shall submit
such new constitution or amended constitution to the people
of the proposed State for ratification or rejection, at such time
as said convention may determine; and all the provisions of
this act, so far as applicable, shall apply to such convention so
reassembled and to the constitution which may be formed, its
ratification or rejection, and to the admission of the proposed
State.
SEC. 8. That the constitutional convention which may
assemble in South Dakota shall provide by ordinance for
resubmitting the Sioux Falls constitution of eighteen hundred
and eighty-five, after having amended the same as provided
in section five of this act, to the people of South Dakota for
ratification or rejection at an election to be held therein on the
first Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine;
but if said constitutional convention is authorized and
required to form a new constitution for South Dakota it shall
provide for submitting the same in like manner to the people
of South Dakota for ratification or rejection at an election to
be held in said proposed State on the said first Tuesday in
October. And the constitutional conventions which may
assemble in North Dakota, Montana, and Washington shall
provide in like manner for submitting the constitutions
formed by them to the people of said proposed States, respectively, for ratification or rejection at elections to be held in
said proposed States on the said first Tuesday in October. At
the elections provided for in this section the qualified voters
of said proposed States shall vote directly for or against the
proposed constitutions, and for or against any articles or
propositions separately submitted. The returns of said elections shall be made to the secretary of each of said Territories,
who with the governor and chief-justice thereof, or any two
of them, shall canvass the same; and if a majority of the legal
votes cast shall be for the constitution the governor shall certify the result to the President of the United States, together
with a statement of the votes cast thereon and upon separate
(2008 Ed.)
Enabling Act
articles or propositions, and a copy of said constitution, articles, propositions, and ordinances. And if the constitutions
and governments of said proposed States are republican in
form, and if all the provisions of this act have been complied
with in the formation thereof, it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to issue his proclamation announcing the result of the election in each, and thereupon the proposed States which have adopted constitutions and formed
State governments as herein provided shall be deemed admitted by Congress into the Union under and by virtue of this act
on an equal footing with the original States from and after the
date of said proclamation.
SEC. 9. That until the next general census, or until otherwise provided by law, said States shall be entitled to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United
States, except South Dakota, which shall be entitled to two;
and the Representatives to the fifty-first Congress, together
with the governors and other officers provided for in said
constitutions, may be elected on the same day of the election
for the ratification or rejection of the constitutions; and until
said State officers are elected and qualified under the provisions of each constitution and the States, respectively, are
admitted into the Union, the Territorial officers shall continue
to discharge the duties of their respective offices in each of
said Territories.
SEC. 10. That upon the admission of each of said States
into the Union sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in
every township of said proposed States, and where such sections, or any parts thereof, have been sold or otherwise disposed of by or under the authority of any act of Congress,
other lands equivalent thereto, in legal subdivisions of not
less than one-quarter section, and as contiguous as may be to
the section in lieu of which the same is taken, are hereby
granted to said States for the support of common schools,
such indemnity lands to be selected within said States in such
manner as the legislature may provide, with the approval of
the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the sixteenth
and thirty-sixth sections embraced in permanent reservations
for national purposes shall not, at any time, be subject to the
grants nor to the indemnity provisions of this act, nor shall
any lands embraced in Indian, military, or other reservations
of any character be subject to the grants or to the indemnity
provisions of this act until the reservation shall have been
extinguished and such lands be restored to, and become a part
of, the public domain.
SEC. 11. That all lands herein granted for educational
purposes shall be disposed of only at public sale, and at a
price not less than ten dollars per acre, the proceeds to constitute a permanent school fund, the interest of which only shall
be expended in the support of said schools. But said lands
may, under such regulations as the legislatures shall prescribe, be leased for periods of not more than five years, in
quantities not exceeding one section to any one person or
company; and such land shall not be subject to pre-emption,
homestead entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the
United States, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, but shall be
reserved for school purposes only.
Reviser’s note: Section 11 has at various times been amended by Congress as follows:
(2008 Ed.)
(1) August 11, 1921:
AN ACT To amend an Act approved February 22, 1889, entitled "An
Act to provide for the division of Dakota into two States and to enable the
people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to form
constitutions and State governments, and to be admitted into the Union on an
equal footing with the original States, and to make donations of public lands
to such States."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That section 11 of the Act entitled
"An Act to provide for the division of Dakota into two States and to enable
the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to
form constitutions and State governments, and to be admitted into the Union
on an equal footing with the original States, and to make donations of public
lands to such States," approved February 22, 1889, be, and the same hereby
is, amended by adding the following: Provided, however, That the State
may, upon such terms as it may prescribe, grant such easements or rights in
such lands as may be acquired in, to, or over the lands of private properties
through proceedings in eminent domain: And provided further, That any of
such granted lands found, after title thereto has vested in the State, to be mineral in character, may be leased for a period not longer than twenty years
upon such terms and conditions as the legislature may prescribe. [42 U.S.
Statutes at Large, c 61 p 158. Approved, August 11, 1921.]
(2) May 7, 1932:
AN ACT To amend section 11 of the Act approved February 22, 1889
(25 Stat. 676), relating to the admission into the Union of the States of North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That section 11 of the Act
approved February 22, 1889 (25 Stat. 676), be, and the same is hereby,
amended to read as follows:
"That all lands granted by this Act shall be disposed of only at public
sale after advertising - tillable lands capable of producing agricultural crops
for not less than $10 per acre and lands principally valuable for grazing purposes for not less than $5 per acre. Any of the said lands may be exchanged
for other lands, public or private, of equal value and as near as may be of
equal area, but if any of the said lands are exchanged with the United States
such exchange shall be limited to surveyed, nonmineral, unreserved public
lands of the United States within the State.
"The said lands may be leased under such regulations as the legislature
may prescribe; but leases for grazing and agricultural purposes shall not be
for a term longer than five years; mineral leases, including leases for exploration for oil and gas and the extraction thereof, for a term not longer than
twenty years; and leases for development of hydroelectric power for a term
not longer than fifty years.
"The State may also, upon such terms as it may prescribe, grant such
easements or rights in any of the lands granted by this Act, as may be
acquired in privately owned lands through proceedings in eminent domain:
Provided, however, That none of such lands, nor any estate or interest
therein, shall ever be disposed of except in pursuance of general laws providing for such disposition, nor unless the full market value of the estate or interest disposed of, to be ascertained in such manner as may be provided by law,
has been paid or safely secured to the State.
"With the exception of the lands granted for public buildings, the proceeds from the sale and other permanent disposition of any of the said lands
and from every part thereof, shall constitute permanent funds for the support
and maintenance of the public schools and the various State institutions for
which the lands have been granted. Rentals on leased lands, interest on
deferred payments on lands sold, interest on funds arising from these lands,
and all other actual income, shall be available for the maintenance and support of such schools and institutions. Any State may, however, in its discretion, add a portion of the annual income to the permanent funds.
"The lands hereby granted shall not be subject to preemption, homestead entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the United States
whether surveyed or unsurveyed, but shall be reserved for the purposes for
which they have been granted."
SEC. 2. Anything in the said Act approved February 22, 1889, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed. [47 U.S. Statutes
at Large c 172 p 150. Approved, May 7, 1932.]
(3) June 25, 1938:
AN ACT To increase the period for which leases may be made for
grazing and agricultural purposes of public lands donated to the States of
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 19]
Enabling Act
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington by the Act of February 22, 1889, as amended.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of the second paragraph of section 11 of the Act relating to the admission into the Union of the
States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, approved
February 22, 1889, as amended, as reads "but leases for grazing and agricultural purposes shall not be for a term longer than five years", is amended to
read as follows: "but leases for grazing and agricultural purposes shall not
be for a term longer than ten years". [52 U.S. Statutes at Large c 700 p 1198.
Approved, June 25, 1938.]
(4) April 13, 1948:
AN ACT To authorize the States of Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota, and Washington to lease their State lands for production of minerals,
including leases for exploration for oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons and the
extraction thereof, for such terms of years and on such conditions as may be
from time to time provided by the legislatures of the respective States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled: That the second paragraph of section 11 of the Act relating to the admission into the Union of the States of
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, approved February
22, 1889, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "Except as otherwise
provided herein, the said lands may be leased under such regulations as the
legislature may prescribe. Leases for the production of minerals, including
leases for exploration for oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons and the extraction
thereof, shall be for such term of years and on such conditions as may be
from time to time provided by the legislatures of the respective States; leases
for grazing and agricultural purposes shall be for a term not longer than ten
years; and leases for development of hydroelectric power shall be for a term
not longer than fifty years." [62 U.S. Statutes at Large c 183 p 170.
Approved April 13, 1948.]
(5) June 28, 1952:
AN ACT To authorize each of the States of North Dakota, South
Dakota, and Washington to pool moneys derived from lands granted to it for
public schools and various State institutions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the fourth paragraph of section 11 of the Act relating to the admission into the Union of the States of
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, approved February
22, 1889, as amended (47 Stat. 151), is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following: "Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section,
each of the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington may pool
the moneys received by it from oil and gas and other mineral leasing of said
lands. The moneys so pooled shall be apportioned among the public schools
and the various State institutions in such manner that the public schools and
each of such institutions shall receive an amount which bears the same ratio
to the total amount apportioned as the number of acres (including any that
may have been disposed of) granted for such public schools or for such institutions bears to the total number of acres (including any that may have been
disposed of) granted by this Act. Not less than 50 per centum of each such
amount shall be covered into the appropriate permanent fund." [66 U.S.
Statutes at Large c 480 p 283. Approved June 28, 1952.]
(6) May 31, 1962:
AN ACT To amend the Act admitting the State of Washington into the
Union in order to authorize the use of funds from the disposition of certain
lands for the construction of State charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory institutions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled "An Act to
provide for the division of Dakota into two States and to enable the people of
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to form constitutions and State governments and to be admitted into the Union on an equal
footing with the original States and to make donations of public lands to such
States", approved February 22, 1889 (25 Stat. 676, as amended), is amended
by inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence in the fourth
paragraph of section 11 a comma and the following: "except that proceeds
from the sale and other permanent disposition of the two hundred thousand
acres granted to the State of Washington for State charitable, educational,
penal, and reformatory institutions may be used by such State for the construction of any such institution". [Public Law 87-473. 76 U.S. Statutes at
Large p 91. Approved May 31, 1962.]
(7) June 30, 1967:
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 20]
AN ACT To authorize the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to use the income from certain lands for the construction of facilities for State charitable, educational, penal, and reformatory
institutions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the second sentence of the
fourth paragraph of section 11 of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the
division of Dakota into two States and to enable the people of North Dakota,
South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to form constitutions and State
governments and to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States, and to make donations of public lands to such States",
approved February 22, 1889 (25 Stat. 676), as amended, is amended to read
as follows: "Rentals on leased land, proceeds from the sale of timber and
other crops, interest on deferred payments on land sold, interest on funds
arising from these lands, and all other actual income, shall be available for
the acquisition and construction of facilities, including the retirement of
bonds authorized by law for such purposes, and for the maintenance and support of such schools and institutions." [Public Law 90-41. 81 U.S. Statutes
at Large p 106. Approved June 30, 1967.]
(8) October 16, 1970:
AN ACT To amend section 11 of the Act approved February 22, 1889
(25 Stat. 676) as amended by the Act of May 7, 1932 (47 Stat. 150), and as
amended by the Act of April 13, 1948 (62 Stat. 170) relating to the admission
to the Union of the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and
Washington, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the second sentence of the
first paragraph of section 11 of the Act approved February 22, 1889 (25 Stat.
676), as amended by the Act of May 7, 1932 (47 Stat. 150), is hereby
amended to read as follows:
"Any of the said lands may be exchanged for other lands, public or private, of equal value and as near as may be of equal area, but if any of the said
lands are exchanged with the United States such exchange shall be limited to
Federal lands that are surveyed, nonmineral, unreserved public lands within
the State, or are reserved public lands within the State that are subject to
exchange under the laws governing the administration of such Federal
reserved public lands."
and that a new paragraph be added immediately following the above, as follows:
"All exchanges heretofore made under section 11 of the Act approved
February 22, 1889 (25 Stat. 676), as amended by the Act approved May 7,
1932 (47 Stat. 150), for reserved public lands of the United States that were
subject to exchange under law pursuant to which they were being administered and the requirements thereof have been met, are hereby approved to the
same extent as though the lands exchanged were unreserved public lands."
and that the present paragraph 2 of section 11 be amended to read as follows:
"The said lands may be leased under such regulations as the legislature
may prescribe." [Public Law 91-463. 84 U.S. Statutes at Large p 987.
Approved October 16, 1970.]
SEC. 12. That upon the admission of each of said States
into the Union, in accordance with the provisions of this act,
fifty sections of the unappropriated public lands within said
States, to be selected and located in legal subdivisions as provided in section ten of this act, shall be, and are hereby,
granted to said States for the purpose of erecting public buildings at the capital of said States for legislative, executive, and
judicial purposes.
Reviser’s note: Section 12 has been amended by Congress as follows:
AN ACT To amend section 12 of the Act approved February 22, 1889
(25 Stat. 676) relating to the admission into the Union of the States of North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, by providing for the use
of public lands granted to the States therein for the purpose of construction,
reconstruction, repair, renovation, furnishings, equipment, or other permanent improvement of public buildings at the capital of said States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That section 12 of the Act relating
to the admission into the Union of the States of North Dakota, South Dakota,
Montana, and Washington, approved February 22, 1889, is amended to read
as follows:
(2008 Ed.)
Enabling Act
"That upon the admission of each of said States into the Union, in
accordance with the provisions of this act, fifty sections of unappropriated
public lands within such States, to be selected and located in legal subdivisions as provided in section 10 of this Act, shall be, and are hereby, granted
to said States for public buildings at the capital of said States for legislative,
executive, and judicial purposes, including construction, reconstruction,
repair, renovation, furnishings, equipment, and any other permanent
improvement of such buildings and the acquisition of necessary land for such
buildings, and the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued for any
of the above purposes."
SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect as of February 22, 1889. [Public Law
85-6. 71 U.S. Statutes at large p 5. Approved February 26, 1957.]
SEC. 13. That five per centum of the proceeds of the
sales of public lands lying within said States which shall be
sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said
States into the Union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to the said States, to be used as
a permanent fund, the interest of which only shall be
expended for the support of common schools within said
States, respectively.
SEC. 14. That the lands granted to the Territories of
Dakota and Montana by the act of February eighteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, entitled "An act to grant lands
to Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming for university purposes," are hereby vested in the States of South
Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana, respectively, if such
States are admitted into the Union, as provided in this act, to
the extent of the full quantity of seventy-two sections to each
of said States, and any portion of said lands that may not have
been selected by either of said Territories of Dakota or Montana may be selected by the respective States aforesaid; but
said act of February eighteenth, eighteen hundred and
eighty-one, shall be so amended as to provide that none of
said lands shall be sold for less than ten dollars per acre, and
the proceeds shall constitute a permanent fund to be safely
invested and held by said States severally, and the income
thereof be used exclusively for university purposes. And
such quantity of the lands authorized by the fourth section of
the act of July seventeenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-four,
to be reserved for university purposes in the Territory of
Washington, as, together with the lands confirmed to the
vendees of the Territory by the act of March fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, will make the full quantity of
seventy-two entire sections, are hereby granted in like manner to the State of Washington for the purposes of a university in said State. None of the lands granted in this section
shall be sold at less than ten dollars per acre; but said lands
may be leased in the same manner as provided in section
eleven of this act. The schools, colleges, and universities
provided for in this act shall forever remain under the exclusive control of the said States, respectively, and no part of the
proceeds arising from the sale or disposal of any lands herein
granted for educational purposes shall be used for the support
of any sectarian or denominational school, college, or university. The section of land granted by the act of June sixteenth,
eighteen hundred and eighty, to the Territory of Dakota, for
an asylum for the insane shall, upon the admission of said
State of South Dakota into the Union, become the property of
said State.
SEC. 15. That so much of the lands belonging to the
United States as have been acquired and set apart for the pur(2008 Ed.)
pose mentioned in "An act appropriating money for the erection of a penitentiary in the Territory of Dakota," approved
March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, together
with the buildings thereon, be, and the same is hereby,
granted, together with any unexpended balances of the moneys appropriated therefor by said act, to said State of South
Dakota, for the purposes therein designated; and the States of
North Dakota and Washington shall, respectively, have like
grants for the same purpose, and subject to like terms and
conditions as provided in said act of March second, eighteen
hundred and eighty-one, for the Territory of Dakota. The
penitentiary at Deer Lodge City, Montana, and all lands connected therewith and set apart and reserved therefor, are
hereby granted to the State of Montana.
SEC. 16. That ninety thousand acres of land, to be
selected and located as provided in section 10 of this act, are
hereby granted to each of said States, except to the State of
South Dakota, to which one hundred and twenty thousand
acres are granted, for the use and support of agricultural colleges in said States, as provided in the acts of Congress making donations of lands for such purpose.
SEC. 17. That in lieu of the grant of land for purposes of
internal improvement made to new States by the eighth section of the act of September fourth, eighteen hundred and
forty-one, which act is hereby repealed as to the States provided for by this act, and in lieu of any claim or demand by
the said States, or either of them, under the act of September
twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and fifty, and section
twenty-four hundred and seventy-nine of the Revised Statutes, making a grant of swamp and overflowed lands to certain States, which grant it is hereby declared is not extended
to the States provided for in this act, and in lieu of any grant
of saline lands to said States, the following grants of land are
hereby made, to wit:
To the State of South Dakota: For the school of mines,
forty thousand acres; for the reform school, forty thousand
acres; for the deaf and dumb asylum, forty thousand acres;
for the agricultural college, forty thousand acres; for the university, forty thousand acres; for State normal schools, eighty
thousand acres; for public buildings at the capital of said
State, fifty thousand acres, and for such other educational and
charitable purposes as the legislature of said State may determine, one hundred and seventy thousand acres; in all five
hundred thousand acres.
To the State of North Dakota a like quantity of land as in
this section granted to the State of South Dakota, and to be for
like purposes, and in like proportion as far as practicable.
To the State of Montana: For the establishment and
maintenance of a school of mines, one hundred thousand
acres; for State normal schools, one hundred thousand acres;
for agricultural colleges, in addition to the grant hereinbefore
made for that purpose, fifty thousand acres; for the establishment of a State reform school, fifty thousand acres; for the
establishment of a deaf and dumb asylum, fifty thousand
acres; for public buildings at the capital of the State, in addition to the grant hereinbefore made for that purpose, one hundred and fifty thousand acres.
To the State of Washington: For the establishment and
maintenance of a scientific school, one hundred thousand
acres; for State normal schools, one hundred thousand acres;
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 21]
Enabling Act
for public buildings at the State capital, in addition to the
grant hereinbefore made for that purpose, one hundred thousand acres; for State charitable, educational, penal, and reformatory institutions, two hundred thousand acres.
That the States provided for in this act shall not be entitled to any further or other grants of land for any purpose than
as expressly provided in this act. And the lands granted by
this section shall be held, appropriated, and disposed of
exclusively for the purposes herein mentioned, in such manner as the legislatures of the respective States may severally
provide.
SEC. 18. That all mineral lands shall be exempted from
the grants made by this act. But if sections sixteen and
thirty-six, or any subdivisions or portion of any smallest subdivision thereof in any township shall be found by the
Department of the Interior to be mineral lands, said States are
hereby authorized and empowered to select, in legal subdivisions, an equal quantity of other unappropriated lands in said
States, in lieu thereof, for the use and the benefit of the common schools of said States.
SEC. 19. That all lands granted in quantity or as indemnity by this act shall be selected, under the direction of the
Secretary of the Interior, from the surveyed, unreserved, and
unappropriated public lands of the United States within the
limits of the respective States entitled thereto. And there
shall be deducted from the number of acres of land donated
by this act for specific objects to said States the number of
acres in each heretofore donated by Congress to said Territories for similar objects.
SEC. 20. That the sum of twenty thousand dollars, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated,
out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
to each of said Territories for defraying the expenses of the
said conventions, except to Dakota, for which the sum of
forty thousand dollars is so appropriated, twenty thousand
dollars each for South Dakota and North Dakota, and for the
payment of the members thereof, under the same rules and
regulations and at the same rates as are now provided by law
for the payment of the Territorial legislatures. Any money
hereby appropriated not necessary for such purpose shall be
covered into the Treasury of the United States.
SEC. 21. That each of said States, when admitted as
aforesaid, shall constitute one judicial district, the names
thereof to be the same as the names of the States,
respectively; and the circuit and district courts therefor shall
be held at the capital of such State for the time being, and
each of said districts shall, for judicial purposes, until otherwise provided, be attached to the eighth judicial circuit,
except Washington and Montana, which shall be attached to
the ninth judicial circuit. There shall be appointed for each of
said districts one district judge, one United States attorney,
and one United States marshal. The judge of each of said districts shall receive a yearly salary of three thousand five hundred dollars, payable in four equal installments, on the first
days of January, April, July, and October of each year, and
shall reside in the district. There shall be appointed clerks of
said courts in each district, who shall keep their offices at the
capital of said State. The regular terms of said courts shall be
held in each district, at the place aforesaid, on the first Mon[Vol. 0 RCW—page 22]
day in April and the first Monday in November of each year,
and only one grand jury and one petit jury shall be summoned
in both said circuit and district courts. The circuit and district
courts for each of said districts, and the judges thereof,
respectively, shall possess the same powers and jurisdiction,
and perform the same duties required to be performed by the
other circuit and district courts and judges of the United
States, and shall be governed by the same laws and regulations. The Marshal, district attorney, and clerks of the circuit
and district courts of each of said districts, and all other officers and persons performing duties in the administration of
justice therein, shall severally possess the powers and perform the duties lawfully possessed and required to be performed by similar officers in other districts of the United
States; and shall, for the services they may perform, receive
the fees and compensation allowed by law to other similar
officers and persons performing similar duties in the State of
Nebraska.
SEC. 22. That all cases of appeal or writ of error heretofore prosecuted and now pending in the Supreme Court of the
United States upon any record from the supreme court of
either of the Territories mentioned in this act, or that may
hereafter lawfully be prosecuted upon any record from either
of said courts may be heard and determined by said Supreme
Court of the United States. And the mandate of execution or
of further proceedings shall be directed by the Supreme Court
of the United States to the circuit or district court hereby
established within the State succeeding the Territory from
which such record is or may be pending, or to the supreme
court of such State, as the nature of the case may require:
Provided, That the mandate of execution or of further proceedings shall, in cases arising in the Territory of Dakota, be
directed by the Supreme Court of the United States to the circuit or district court of the district of South Dakota, or to the
supreme court of the State of South Dakota, or to the circuit
or district court of the district of North Dakota, or to the
supreme court of the State of North Dakota, or to the supreme
court of the Territory of North Dakota, as the nature of the
case may require. And each of the circuit, district, and State
courts, herein named, shall, respectively, be the successor of
the supreme court of the Territory, as to all such cases arising
within the limits embraced within the jurisdiction of such
courts respectively with full power to proceed with the same,
and award mesne or final process therein; and that from all
judgments and decrees of the supreme court of either of the
Territories mentioned in this act, in any case arising within
the limits of any of the proposed States prior to admission, the
parties to such judgment shall have the same right to prosecute appeals and writs of error to the Supreme Court of the
United States as they shall have had by law prior to the
admission of said State into the Union.
SEC. 23. That in respect to all cases, proceedings, and
matters now pending in the supreme or district courts of
either of the Territories mentioned in this act at the time of the
admission into the Union of either of the States mentioned in
this act, and arising within the limits of any such State,
whereof the circuit or district courts by this act established
might have had jurisdiction under the laws of the United
States had such courts existed at the time of the commencement of such cases, the said circuit and district courts, respec(2008 Ed.)
Enabling Act
tively, shall be the successors of said supreme and district
courts of said Territory; and in respect to all other cases, proceedings and matters pending in the supreme or district
courts of any of the Territories mentioned in this act at the
time of the admission of such Territory into the Union, arising within the limits of said proposed State, the courts established by such State shall, respectively, be the successors of
said supreme and district Territorial courts; and all the files,
records, indictments, and proceedings relating to any such
cases, shall be transferred to such circuit, district, and State
courts, respectively, and the same shall be proceeded with
therein in due course of law; but no writ, action, indictment,
cause or proceeding now pending, or that prior to the admission of any of the States mentioned in this act, shall be pending in any Territorial court in any of the Territories mentioned in this act, shall abate by the admission of any such
State into the Union, but the same shall be transferred and
proceeded with in the proper United States circuit, district or
State court, as the case may be: Provided, however, That in
all civil actions, causes, and proceedings, in which the United
States is not a party, transfers shall not be made to the circuit
and district courts of the United States, except upon written
request of one of the parties to such action or proceeding filed
in the proper court; and in the absence of such request such
cases shall be proceeded with in the proper State courts.
SEC. 24. That the constitutional conventions may, by
ordinance, provide for the election of officers for full State
governments, including members of the legislatures and Representatives in the fifty-first Congress; but said State governments shall remain in abeyance until the States shall be
admitted into the Union, respectively, as provided in this act.
In case the constitution of any of said proposed States shall be
ratified by the people, but not otherwise, the legislature
thereof may assemble, organize, and elect two senators of the
United States; and the governor and secretary of state of such
proposed State shall certify the election of the Senators and
Representatives in the manner required by law; and when
such State is admitted into the Union, the Senators and Representatives shall be entitled to be admitted to seats in Congress, and to all the rights and privileges of Senators and Representatives of other States in the Congress of the United
States; and the officers of the State governments formed in
pursuance of said constitutions, as provided by the constitutional conventions, shall proceed to exercise all the functions
of such State officers; and all laws in force made by said Territories, at the time of their admission into the Union, shall be
in force in said States, except as modified or changed by this
act or by the constitutions of the States, respectively.
SEC. 25. That all acts or parts of acts in conflict with the
provisions of this act, whether passed by the legislatures of
said Territories or by Congress, are hereby repealed.
Approved, February 22, 1889. [25 U.S. Statutes at Large, c 180 p 676.]
(2008 Ed.)
[Vol. 0 RCW—page 23]
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Washington may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.