between the respective commanders, be paid by the other party, on a mutual adjustment of accounts for the subsistence of prisoners; and such accounts shall not be mingled with or set off against any others, nor the balance due on them be withheld, as a compensation or reprisal for any cause whatever, real or pretended. Each party shall be allowed to keep a commissary of prisoners, appointed by itself, with every cantonment of prisoners, in possession of the other; which commissary shall see the prisoners as often as he pleases; shall be allowed to receive, exempt from all duties or taxes, and to distribute, whatever comforts may be sent to them by their friends; and shall be free to transmit his reports in open letters to the party by whom he is employed. And it is declared that neither the pretence that war dissolves all treaties, nor any other whatever, shall be considered as annulling or suspending the solemn covenant contained in this article. On the contrary, the state of war is precisely that for which it is provided; and, during which, its stipulations are to be as sacredly observed as the most acknowledged obligations under the law of nature or nations. ARTICLE XXIII This treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and by the President of the Mexican Republic, with the previous approbation of its general Congress; and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the city of Washington, or at the seat of Government of Mexico, in four months from the date of the signature hereof, or sooner if practicable. In faith whereof we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and settlement, and have hereunto affixed our seals respectively. Done in quintuplicate, at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the second day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight. In the city of Queretaro, on the twenty-sixth of the month of May, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, at a conference between their excellencies Nathan Clifford and Ambrose H. Sevier, Commissioners of the U. S. of A., with full powers from their Government to make to the Mexican Republic suitable explanations in regard to the amendments which the Senate and Government of the said United States have made in the treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and definitive settlement between the two Republics, signed in Quadalupe Hidalgo, on the second day of February of the present year; and His Excellency Don Luis de la Rosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Mexico; it was agreed, after adequate conversation, respect ing the changes alluded to, to record in the present protocol the following explanations, which their aforesaid excellencies the Commissioners gave in the name of their Government and in fulfillment of the commission conferred upon them near the Mexican Republic: 1st. The American Government by suppressing the IXth article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and substituting the IIId article of the treaty of Louisiana, did not intend to diminish in any way what was agreed upon by the aforesaid article IXth in favor of the inhabitants of the territories ceded by Mexico. Its understanding is that all of that agreement is contained in the 3d article of the treaty of Louisiana. In consequence all the privileges and guarantees, civil, political, and religious, which would have been possessed by the inhabitants of the ceded territories, if the IXth article of the treaty had been retained, will be enjoyed by them, without any difference, under the article which has been substituted. 2d. The American Government by suppressing the Xth article of the treaty of Guadalupe did not in any way intend to annul the grants of lands made by Mexico in the ceded territories. These grants, notwithstanding the suppression of the article of the treaty, preserve the legal value which they may possess, and the grantees may cause their legitimate [titles] to be acknowledged before the American tribunals. Conformably to the law of the United States, legitimate titles to every description of property, personal and real, existing in the ceded territories are those which were legitimate titles under the Mexican law in California and New Mexico up to the 13th of May, 1846, and in Texas up to the 2d March, 1836. 3d. The Government of the United States, by suppressing the concluding paragraph of article XIIth of the treaty, did not intend to deprive the Mexican Republic of the free and unrestrained faculty of ceding, conveying, or transferring at any time (as it may judge best) the sum of twelve millions of dollars which the same Government of the U. States is to deliver in the places designated by the amended article. And these explanations having been accepted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Republic, he declared, in name of his Government, that with the understanding conveyed by them the same Government would proceed to ratify the treaty of Guadalupe, as modified by the Senate and Government of the U. States. In testimony of which, their Excellencies, the aforesaid Commissioners and the Minister, have signed and sealed, in quintuplicate, the present protocol. A. H. SEVIER. ACT FOR ADMISSION OF CALIFORNIA-1850 a [THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION] An Act for the admission of the State of California into the Union. Whereas the people of California have presented a constitution and asked admission into the Union, which constitution was submitted to Congress by the President of the United States, by message dated February thirteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty, and which, on due examination, is found to be republican in its form of gov ernment: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the State of California shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, until the Representatives in Congress shall be apportioned according to an actual enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, the State of California shall be entitled to two Representatives in Congress. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said State of California is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that the people of said State, through their legislature or otherwise, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands within its limits, and shall pass no law and do no act whereby the title of the United States, to, and right to dispose of, the same shall be impaired or questioned; and that they shall never lay any tax or assessment of any description whatsoever upon the public domain of the United States, and in no case shall non-resident proprietors, who are citizens of the United States, be taxed higher than residents; and that all the navigable waters within the said State shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said State as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as recognizing or rejecting the propositions tendered by the people of California as articles of compact in the ordinance adopted by the convention which formed the constitution of that State. Approved, September 9, 1850. a An act of March 3, 1849, extended the revenue laws to California and erected a collection district therein. Congress having failed to pass a bill establishing a territorial government in California, which was presented in 1849, and two bills establishing a State government there, which were presented in 1849 and in 1850, passed this act for the admission of California as one of the United States, which was approved September 9, 1850. A subsequent act of Congress, approved September 28, 1850, provided. "That all the laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable shall have the same force and effect within the said State of California as elsewhere within the United States." CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA-1849*a We, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution. ARTICLE I DECLARATION OF RIGHTS SECTION 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. SEC. 2. All political power is inherent to the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. SEC. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate forever; but jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law. SEC. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. SEC. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its suspension. SEC. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained. SEC. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. SEC. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep with the consent of Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny under the regulation of the legislature,) unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial in any court whatever the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil * Verified from "The Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of the State Constitution in September and October, 1849." Reported by J. Ross Browne, Washington. Printed by John T. Towers, 1850. Appendix, pp. III-XL. Also by the Laws of California, 1849-1879. Also by the text printed in Vol. I, pp. 5-11, of "The Debates and Proceedings of the California State Constitutional Convention of 1878-9." a This convention was framed by a convention called by General Riley, U. S. A., as provisional governor, which met at Monterey September 1, 1849, and adjourned October 13, 1849. The constitution submitted by them to the people was ratified November 13, 1849, receiving 12,061 votes against 811 votes. actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offence; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. SEC. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. SEC. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the legislature for redress of grievances. SEC. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. SEC. 12. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be kept up by this State in time of peace; and in time of war no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years. SEC. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner to be prescribed by law. SEC. 14. Representation shall be apportioned according to population. SEC. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, in any civil action on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud; and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. SEC. 16. No bill of attainder, er post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed. SEC. 17. Foreigners who are, or who may hereafter become bonafide residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property, as native-born citizens. SEC. 18. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State. SEC. 19. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized. SEC. 20. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court. SEC. 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. |