Chapter XXVI: Section 1: That all laws in force at the adoption of this Constitution

shall, so far as not inconsistent therewith, remain of the same force as if this Constitution had not been adopted until they expire by their own limitation, or are altered or repealed by the General Assembly; and all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims and contracts of the Territory of Colorado, counties, individuals or bodies corporate (not inconsistent therewith), shall continue as if the form of government had not been changed and this Constitution adopted.

SEC. 2. That all recognizances, obligations and all other instruments entered into or executed before the admission of the State, to the Territory of Colorado, or to any county, school district, or other municipality therein, or any officer thereof, and all fines, taxes, penalties, and forfeitures due or owing to the Territory of Colorado, or any such county, school district or municipality, or officer, and all writs, prosecutions, actions and causes of action, except as herein otherwise provided, shall continue and remain unaffected by the change of the form of government. All indictments which shall have been found, or may hereafter be found, and all informations which shall have been filed, or may hereafter be filed, for any crime or offense committed before this Constitution takes effect, may be proceeded upon as if no change had taken place, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution.

SEC. 3. That all property, real and personal, and all moneys, credits, claims, and choses in action, belonging to the Territory of Colorado, at the adoption of this Constitution, shall be vested in and become the property of the State of Colorado.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws to carry into effect the provisions of the Constitution.

SEC. 5. Whenever any two of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State, elected or appointed under the provisions of this Constitution, shall have qualified in their office the causes theretofore pending in the Supreme Court of the Territory, and the papers, records and proceedings of said court, and the seal and other property pertaining thereto, shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of the Supreme Court of the State; and, until so superceded, the Supreme Court of the Territory, and the Judges thereof, shall continue with like powers and jurisdiction as if this Constitution had not been adopted. Whenever the Judge of the District Court of any district, elected or appointed under the provisions of this Constitution, shall have qualified in his office, the several causes theretofore pending in the District Court of the Territory, within any county in such district, and the records, papers, and proceedings of said District Court, and the seal and other property pertaining thereto, shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of the District Court of the State for such county, and until the district courts of the Territory shall be superceded in manner aforesaid, the said district courts and the Judges thereof shall continue with the same jurisdiction and powers to be exercised in the same judicial districts respectively as heretofore constituted under the laws of the Territory.

SEC. 6. The terms of office of the several Judges of the Supreme and District Courts and the District Attorneys of the several judicial districts first elected under this Constitution, shall commence from the day of filing their respective oaths of office in the office of the Secretary of State.

SEC. 7. Until otherwise provided by law, the seals now in use in the Supreme and District Courts of this Territory are hereby declared to be the seals of the Supreme and District Courts respectively of the State.

SEC. 8. Whenever this Constitution shall go into effect, the books, records, papers and proceedings of the Probate Court in each county, and all causes and matters of administration pending therein, shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of the County Court of the same county, and the said County Court shall proceed to final decree or judgment, order or other determination, in the said several matters and causes as the said Probate Court might have done if this Constitution had not been adopted. And until the election of the County Judges provided for in this Constitution, the Probate Judges shall act as Judges of the County Courts within their respective counties, and the seal of the Probate Court in each county shall be the seal of the County Court therein until the said court shall have procured a proper seal.

SEC. 9. The terms “Probate Court” or “Probate Judge,” whenever occurring in the statutes of Colorado Territory, shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, be held to apply to the County Court or County Judge; and all laws specially applicable to the Probate Court in any county, shall be construed to apply to and be in force as to the County Court in the same county, until repealed.

SEC. 10. All county and precinct officers who may be in office at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the full time for which they may have been elected, and until such time as their successors may be elected and qualified, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, and the official bonds of all such officers shall continue in full force and effect as though this Constitution had not been adopted.

SEC. 11. All county offices that may become vacant during the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, by the expiration of the term of the persons elected to said offices, shall be filled at the general election on the first Tuesday in October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, and, except County Commissioners, the persons so elected shall hold their respective offices for the term of one year.

SEC. 12. The provisions of this Constitution shall be in force from the day on which the President of the United States shall issue his proclamation declaring the State of Colorado admitted into the Union; and the Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Territory of Colorado shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices after the admission of the State into the Union, until the qualification of the officers elected or appointed under the State government; and said officers, for the time they may serve, shall receive the same compensation as the State officers shall by law be paid for like services.

SEC. 13. In case of a contest of election between candidates, at the first general election under this Constitution, for Judges of the Supreme, District, or County Courts, or District Attorneys, the evidence shall be taken in the manner prescribed by Territorial law; and the testimony so taken shall be certified to the Secretary of State, and said officer, together with the Governor and Attorney General, shall review the testimony and determine who is entitled to the certificate of election.

SEC. 14. The votes at the first general election under this Constitution for the several offices provided for in this Constitution who are to be elected at the first election, shall be canvassed in the manner prescribed by the Territorial law for canvassing votes for like officers. The votes cast for the Judges of the Supreme and District Courts and District Attorneys shall be canvassed by the county canvassing board in the manner prescribed by the Territorial law for canvassing the votes for members of the General Assembly; and the County Clerk shall transmit the abstract of votes to the Secretary of the Territory, acting as Secretary of State, under the same regulations as are prescribed by law for sending the abstracts of votes for Territorial officers; and the aforesaid acting Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, or any two of them, in the presence of the Governor, shall proceed to canvass the votes, under the regulations of sections thirty-five and thirty-six of chapter twenty-eight of the Revised Statutes of Colorado Territory.

SEC. 15. Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the several senatorial and representative districts as established in this Constitution, until such districts shall be changed by law, and thereafter by the qualified electors of the several districts as the same shall be established by law.

SEC. 16. The votes cast for Representatives in Congress at the first election held under this Constitution, shall be canvassed, and the result determined in the manner provided by the laws of the Territory for the canvass of votes for Delegate in Congress.

SEC. 17. The provision of the Constitution that no bill, except the general appropriation bill, introduced in either House after the first twenty-five days of the session shall become a law, shall not apply to the first session of the General Assembly; but no bill, introduced in either House at the first session of the General Assembly after the first fifty days thereof, shall become a law.

SEC. 18. A copy of the abstracts of the votes cast at the first general election held under this Constitution, shall, by the County Clerks of the several counties, be returned to the Secretary of the Territory immediately after the canvass of said votes in their several counties; and the Secretary, Auditor, and Treasurer of the Territory, or any two of them, shall, on the twenty-fifth day after the election, meet at the seat of government and proceed to canvass the votes cast for members of the General Assembly, and determine the result thereof.

SEC. 19. The General Assembly shall, at their first session, immediately after the organization of the two Houses, and after the canvass of the votes for the officers of the Executive Department, and before proceeding to other business, provide, by act or joint resolution, for the appointment, by said General Assembly, of electors in the electoral college; and such joint resolution, or the bill for such enactment, may be passed without being printed or referred to any committee, or read on more than one day in either House, and shall take effect immediately after the concurrence of the two Houses therein, and the approval of the Governor thereto shall not be necessary.

SEC. 20. The General Assembly shall provide that after the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, the electors of the electoral college shall be chosen by direct vote of the people.

SEC. 21. The General Assembly shall have power, at their first session, to provide for the payment of the expenses of this Convention, if any there be then remaining unpaid.

SEC. 22. All recognizances, bail bonds, official bonds, and other obligations or undertakings which have been, or at any time before the admission of the State, shall be made or entered into and expressed to be payable to the people of the Territory of Colorado, shall continue in full force, notwithstanding the change in the form of government; and any breach thereof, whenever occurring, may, after the admission of the State, be prosecuted in the name of the people of the State.

_Done in Convention_, at the City of Denver, Colorado, this
fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six, and of the Independence of the
United States the one hundredth.

_In Witness Whereof_, We have hereunto subscribed our names.

J. C. WILSON, _President_.

H. P. H. BROMWELL,
CASIMIRO BARELA,
GEORGE BOYLES,
W. E. BECK,
BYRON L. CARR,
W. M. CLARK,
A. D. COOPER,
H. R. CROSBY,
WM. H. CUSHMAN,
ROBERT DOUGLAS,
L. C. ELLSWORTH,
C. P. ELDER,
F. J. EBERT,
W. B. FELTON,
J. M. GARCIA,
DANIEL HURD,
JOHN S. HOUGH,
LAFAYETTE HEAD,
WM. H. JAMES,
WM. R. KENNEDY,
WM. L. LEE,
ALVIN MARSH,
WM. H. MEYER,
S. J. PLUMB,
GEO. E. PEASE,
ROBERT A. QUILLIAN,
A. K. YOUNT,
WILBUR F. STONE,
W. C. STOVER,
H. C. THATCHER,
AGAPETA VIGIL,
W. W. WEBSTER,
G. G. WHITE,
E. T. WELLS,
P. P. WILCOX,
J. S. WHEELER,
J. W. WIDDERFIELD,
LEWIS C. ROCKWELL,

Attest:

W. W. COULSON, _Secretary_.
HERBERT STANLEY, _1st Assistant Secretary_.
H. A. TERPENNING, _2d Assistant Secretary_.

ORDINANCES.

In conformity with the requirements of an Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled “An Act to enable the people of Colorado to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of said State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,” approved March 3, A. D. 1875, on behalf and by the authority of the people of the Territory of Colorado, this Convention assembled in pursuance of said Enabling Act, at the city of Denver, the capital of said Territory, on the twentieth day of December, A. D. 1875, does ordain and declare:

_First_--That an election shall be held throughout the Territory of Colorado, on the first day of July, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, for ratification or rejection of the Constitution framed and adopted by the Convention.

_Second_--At said election the Constitution framed and adopted by this Convention, shall be submitted to the people of the Territory for their ratification or rejection, and all persons who are then qualified electors under the laws of the Territory, shall be qualified to vote upon the ratification or rejection thereof.

_Third_--Said election shall be held at the several places in the several wards and precincts throughout the Territory, appointed for the holding of elections under the laws of the Territory, and shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the laws of said Territory regulating elections. The judges of elections, appointed under the laws of the Territory, in each of said wards and precincts, shall act as the judges of said election, and vacancies in the board of judges of any ward or precinct shall be filled, and clerks of election shall be appointed, in the manner prescribed by said laws: _Provided_, That no law requiring a registration of voters shall apply to said election, and any qualified elector may at said election vote at any ward or precinct in the Territory. Whenever any person shall present himself to vote at said election, and either of the judges shall suspect that such person is not a qualified elector of the Territory, or if his vote shall be challenged by any elector who has previously voted at the said election, then before the ballot of such person shall be received, he shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: “You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are a resident of ---- county, in the Territory of Colorado; that you have resided in this Territory six months immediately preceding this election; that you have, to the best of your knowledge and belief, attained the age of twenty-one years, and have not voted at this election.”

_Fourth_--Each elector voting at said election shall deposit in the ballot-box a ticket, whereon shall be printed or written the words “For the Constitution,” or the words, “Against the Constitution,” or other equivalent words.

_Fifth_--The acting Governor of the Territory shall, within thirty days after the adjournment of this Convention, issue his proclamation for said election, to be held in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance; and the Secretary of the Territory shall, on or before the fifteenth day of May, A. D. 1876, make out and transmit to the sheriff of each county a notice in writing of said election, together with a copy of this ordinance.

_Sixth_--The votes cast at said election for the adoption or rejection of the Constitution, shall be canvassed in the manner prescribed by the laws of the Territory of Colorado for canvassing the votes at general elections; and the returns of said election shall be made to the acting Governor of the Territory, who, with the Chief Justice and the United States Attorney of said Territory, or any two of them, shall canvass the same, and if a majority of the legal votes cast shall be for the Constitution, the acting Governor shall certify the same to the President of the United States, together with a copy of said Constitution and the Ordinances adopted by this Convention.

* * * * *

In conformity with the requirements of an Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled “An Act to enable the People of Colorado to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of said State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,” approved March 3d, A. D. 1875, on behalf and by the authority of the People of the Territory of Colorado, this Convention, assembled in pursuance of said Enabling Act, at the city of Denver, the capital of said Territory, on the 20th day of December, A. D. 1875, does ordain and declare:

_First_--That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship.

_Second_--That the people inhabiting the Territory of Colorado, by their representatives in said Convention assembled, do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said Territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposal of the United States; that the lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without said State, shall never be taxed higher than the lands belonging to residents thereof; and that no taxes shall be imposed by the State on lands or property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States.

_Third_--That this Ordinance shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of the State of Colorado.

* * * * *

BE IT REMEMBERED, That in the Convention of the Representatives of the People of the Territory of Colorado, chosen in pursuance of the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled “An Act to enable the People of Colorado to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of the said State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,” approved March 3d, A. D. 1875, and assembled at the seat of government of said Territory, in pursuance of said Act, on the twentieth day of December, A. D. 1875, after the organization of said Convention, and before proceeding to other business, it was, on the 22d day of December, A. D. 1875.

_Resolved_--That in pursuance of the Enabling Act, and in behalf of the People of Colorado, we in convention assembled, do adopt the Constitution of the United States.

* * * * *

The constitution was submitted to the people and adopted July 1st, 1876, by a large majority. The votes returned stood 15,443 for, and 4,039 against the constitution. This constitution is an admirable production, and reflects great credit on those who framed it. Though not perfect, it contains the excellencies of all the State constitutions so far promulgated, and largely conforms in spirit to the liberality and intelligence of the people for whom it was prepared. President Grant, empowered by Congress, on July 4th, 1876, just one century since the declaration of independence, admitted the new State into the Union by proclamation. Hence Colorado’s title--“The Centennial State.” (The honor of first applying this title to Colorado is due to Capt. R. W. Woodbury, editor and proprietor of the _Denver Times_.)

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT ADMITTING THE STATE OF COLORADO INTO THE UNION.

WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States did, by an act approved on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, authorize the inhabitants of the Territory of Colorado to form for themselves, out of said Territory, a State Government, with the name of the State of Colorado, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original states upon certain conditions in said act specified; and,

WHEREAS, It was provided by said Act of Congress that the Convention elected by the people of said Territory to frame a State Constitution, should, when assembled for that purpose, and after organization, declare on behalf of the people that they adopt the Constitution of the United States, and should also provide by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of said State, that perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and that no inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship, and that the people inhabiting said Territory do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said Territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States, and that lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said State, shall never be taxed higher than lands belonging to residents thereof, and that no taxes shall be imposed by the State on lands or property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States; and,

WHEREAS, It was further provided by said Act that the Constitution thus formed for the people of the Territory of Colorado should, by an ordinance of the Convention forming the same, be submitted to the people of said Territory for ratification or rejection at an election to be held in the month of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, at which election the lawful voters of said new State should vote directly for or against the proposed Constitution, and the returns of said election should be made to the acting Governor of the Territory, who, with the Chief Justice and United States attorney of said Territory, or any two of them, should canvass the same, and if a majority of legal votes should be cast for said Constitution in said proposed State, the said acting Governor should certify the same to the President of the United States, together with a copy of said Constitution and Ordinances; whereupon it should be the duty of the President of the United States to issue his proclamation declaring the State admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states without any further action whatever on the part of Congress; and

WHEREAS, It has been certified to me by the acting Governor of said Territory of Colorado, that within the time prescribed by said Act of Congress a Constitution for said proposed State has been adopted, and the same ratified by a majority of the legal voters of said proposed new State, in accordance with the conditions prescribed by said Act of Congress; and

WHEREAS, A duly authenticated copy of said Constitution, and of the declaration and ordinances required by said Act of Congress has been received by me:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress aforesaid, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Colorado, to entitle that State to admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted, and that the admission of said State into the Union is now complete.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this first day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, and of the independence of the United States of America the one hundred and first.

U. S. GRANT.

By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
Secretary of State.

In the spring of this year the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad was completed to Pueblo.

The Republican State Convention met at Pueblo August 23d, and the Democratic State Convention at Manitou, August 29th. Full state tickets were nominated by each convention. Both parties entered upon the campaign not only sanguine, but confident of success. Up to the day of election the most strenuous efforts were put forth to insure victory. On the third day of October, as directed by the Constitution, the election was held. The vote polled was nearly 30,000. The entire Republican state ticket for the executive and judicial departments was elected. John L. Routt was chosen Governor; Lafayette Head, Lieutenant-Governor; William M. Clark, Secretary of State; D. C. Crawford, Auditor; George C. Corning, Treasurer; A. J. Sampson, Attorney General; Joseph C. Shattuck, Superintendent Public Instruction. The Legislature, in both House and Senate, had a Republican majority. In the Senate, nineteen Republicans and seven Democrats; in the House, thirty-one Republicans and eighteen Democrats. James B. Belford was elected Representative for the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses. The Territorial Secretary had ordered an election for representative for the Forty-fourth Congress to be held October 3d, and afterwards an election for the Forty-fifth Congress to be held November 7th. On the third of October the people voted for a representative for both Congresses. The State Canvassing Board received and counted the returns. The Secretary recalled his order for an election November 7th, but an election was held, and Thomas M. Patterson received almost the entire vote. This vote the Canvassing Board refused to count. The next Congress will decide the contest.

At noon on November 1st the General Assembly convened. On November 3d the executive officers were duly inaugurated. Judge Brazee administered the oaths of office. The Governor then delivered his inaugural message to the General Assembly. This message of the first governor of the State of Colorado is a sensible and well-written document. Its statements are accurate and clear, and its suggestions thoroughly practical. He thus addresses the General Assembly: “The people, by their choice, have signified their faith in your wisdom, integrity, and patriotism, and I feel assured that their confidence will not have been misplaced. Upon you, Senators and Representatives, rests the responsibility of making our laws, and I trust that in your legislation you will have a single eye to the promotion of the general welfare. In this object it will be my greatest pleasure and chief aim to co-operate.” In this message it is stated that the present export of gold and silver bullion and ores amounts to nearly $8,000,000 annually, with a prospect of an increase to $10,000,000 in the near future. The total value of real and personal property in Colorado, in 1876, is estimated to be about $100,000,000. Up to 1877 the bullion deposited in the Denver mint amounted to almost $70,000,000 in value. The population of Colorado in 1870 was about 40,000, in 1876, 135,000. In the early part of the session the General Assembly chose two Senators--Jerome B. Chaffee and Henry M. Teller; and three Presidential Electors--Herman Beckurts, W. L. Hadley, and Otto Mears. After a protracted session, the General Assembly adjourned _sine die_, March 20, 1877.

Colorado, on account of its altitude, is quite near that great ocean of positive electricity which envelops the earth about a mile from its surface. It is one of the great electrodes of the globe. All that ascend her high peaks are charged with this subtle element. To this, in a measure, is to be attributed that peculiar bracing and life-inspiring atmosphere for which Colorado is renowned. This atmosphere is dry, pure and clear, and nearly always pervaded with sunshine. The climate therefore possesses great restorative properties, and cannot fail to be a prominent resort for invalids. But besides this, in magnificent and varied scenery Colorado is not excelled by any other land, and in rich resources is unequalled. In Colorado large sums have been expended in imposing school structures, and teachers are liberally remunerated. A spirit of religious toleration that is truly gratifying prevails throughout the State. All creeds are represented, and, in general, well supported. Towns spring into existence and grow with magic speed; mines are developed with much energy; farms show thrift and prosperity; new railroads are projected; the lines of those already built are extending; manufactures increase, though slow in their establishment; and, notwithstanding an occasional exodus, the population steadily advances.

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

ARTICLE I.

SECTION I.

1. All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.