Section 1.
1. Perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship.
2. The people inhabiting this state 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 that said Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United states, provided, however, that the legislative assembly of the state of North Dakota may, upon such terms and conditions as it shall adopt, provide for the acceptance of such jurisdiction as may be delegated to the state by act of Congress; that the lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without this state shall never be taxed at a higher rate than the lands belonging to residents of this state; that no taxes shall be imposed by this state on lands or property therein, belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States or reserved for its use. But nothing in this article shall preclude this state 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 acts of Congress containing a provision exempting the lands thus granted from taxation, which last mentioned lands shall be exempt from taxation so long, and to such an extent, as is, or may be provided in the act of Congress granting the same.
3. In order that payment of the debts and liabilities contracted or incurred by and in behalf of the Territory of Dakota may be justly and equitably provided for and made, and in pursuance of the requirements of an act of congress 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,” the states of North Dakota and South Dakota, by proceedings of a joint commission, duly appointed under said act, the sessions whereof were held at Bismarck in said state of North Dakota, from July 16, 1889, to July 31, 1889, inclusive, have agreed to the following adjustment of the amounts of the debts and liabilities of the Territory of Dakota which shall be assumed and paid by each of the states of North Dakota and South Dakota, respectively, to-wit:
This agreement shall take effect and be in force from and after the admission into the Union, as one of the United States of America, of either the state of North Dakota or the state of South Dakota.
The words “state of North Dakota” wherever used in this agreement, shall be taken to mean the Territory of North Dakota in case the state of South Dakota shall be admitted into the Union prior to the admission into the Union of the state of North Dakota; and the words “state of South Dakota,” wherever used in this agreement, shall be taken to mean the Territory of South Dakota in case the state of North Dakota shall be admitted into the Union prior to the admission into the Union of the state of South Dakota.
The said state of North Dakota shall assume and pay all bonds issued by the Territory of Dakota to provide funds for the purchase, construction, repairs or maintenance of such public institutions, grounds or buildings as are located within the boundaries of North Dakota, and shall pay all warrants issued under and by virtue of that certain Act of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota, approved March 8, 1889, entitled “An Act to provide for the refunding of outstanding warrants drawn on the Capitol Building Fund.”
The said state of South Dakota shall assume and pay all bonds issued by the Territory or Dakota to provide funds for the purchase, construction, repairs or maintenance of such public institutions, grounds or buildings as are located within the boundaries of South Dakota.
That is to say: The state of North Dakota shall assume and pay the following bonds and indebtedness, to-wit:
Bonds issued on account of the Hospital for Insane at Jamestown, North Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $266,000; also bonds issued on account of the North Dakota University at Grand Forks, North Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $96,700; also, bonds issued on account of the Penitentiary at Bismarck, North Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $93,600; also, refunding Capitol Building warrants dated April 1, 1889, $83,507.46.
And the state of South Dakota shall assume and pay the following bonds and indebtedness, to-wit:
Bonds issued on account of the Hospital for the Insane at Yankton, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $210,000; also, bonds issued on account of the School for Deaf Mutes, at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $51,000; also, bonds issued on account of the University at Vermillion, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $75,000; also, bonds issued on account of the Penitentiary at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $94,300; also, bonds issued on account of the Agricultural College at Brookings, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $97,500; also, bonds issued on account of the Normal School at Madison, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $49,400; also, bonds issued on account of the School of Mines at Rapid City, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $33,000; also, bonds issued on account of the Reform School at Plankinton, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $30,000; also, bonds issued on account of the Normal School at Spearfish, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $25,000; also bonds issued on account of the Soldiers' Home at Hot Springs, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $45,000.
The states of North Dakota and South Dakota shall pay one- half each of all liabilities now existing or hereafter and prior to the taking effect of this agreement incurred, except those hereto fore or hereafter incurred on account of public institutions, grounds or buildings, except as otherwise herein specifically provided.
The state of South Dakota shall pay to the state of North Dakota $46,500, on account of the excess of Territorial appropriations for the permanent improvement of territorial institutions which under this agreement will go to South Dakota, and in full of the undivided one-half interest of North Dakota in the territorial library, and iu full settlement of unbalanced accounts, and of all claims against the territory, of whatever nature, legal or equitable, arising out of the alleged erroneous or unlawful taxation of Northern Pacific Railroad lands, and the payment of said amount shall discharge and exempt the state of South Dakota from all liability for or on account of the several matters herein before referred to; nor shall either state be called upon to pay or answer to any portion of liability hereafter arising or accruing on account of transactions heretofore had, which liability would be a liability of the Territory of Dakota had such territory remained in existence, and which liability shall grow out of matters connected with any public institutions, grounds or buildings of the territory situated or located within the boundaries of the other state.
A final adjustment of accounts shall be made upon the following basis: North Dakota shall be charged with all sums paid on account of the public institutions, grounds or buildings located within its boundaries on account of the current appropriations since March 9, 1889, and South Dakota shall be charged with all sums paid on account of public institutions, grounds or buildings located within its boundaries on the same account and during the same time. Each state shall be charged with one-half of all other expenses of the territorial government during the same time. All moneys paid into the treasury during the period from March 8, 1889, to the time of taking effect of this agreement by any county, municipality or person within the limits of the proposed state of North Dakota, shall be credited to the state of North Dakota; and all sums paid into said treasury within the same time by any county, municipality or person within the limits of the proposed state of South Dakota shall be credited to the state of South Dakota; except that any and all taxes on gross earnings paid into said treasury by railroad corporations, since the 8th day of March, 1889, based upon earnings of years prior to 1888, under and by virtue of the act of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota, approved March 7, 1889, and entitled “An Act providing for the levy and collection of taxes upon property of railroad companies in this Territory,” being Chapter 107 of the Session Laws of 1889, (that is, the part of such sums going to the Territory) shall be equally divided between the states of North Dakota and South Dakota; and all taxes heretofore or here after paid into said treasury under and by virtue of the act last mentioned, based on the gross earnings of the year 1888, shall be distributed as already provided by law, except that so much thereof as goes to the territorial treasury shall be divided as fol lows: North Dakota shall have so much thereof as shall be or has been paid by railroads within the limits of the proposed state of North Dakota, and South Dakota so much thereof as shall be or has been paid by railroads within the limits of the proposed state of South Dakota; each state shall be credited also with all balances of appropriations made by the Seventeenth legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota for the account of the public institutions, grounds or buildings situated within its limits, remaining unexpended on March 8, 1889. If there shall be any indebtedness except the indebtedness represented by the bonds and refunding warrants hereinbefore mentioned, each state shall at the time of such final adjustment of accounts, assume its share of said indebtedness as determined by the amount paid on account of the public institutions, grounds or buildings of such state in excess of the receipts from counties, municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within the limits of said state, as provided in this article ; and if there should be a surplus at the time of such final adjustment, each state shall be entitled to the amounts received from counties, municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within its limits over and above the amount charged it.
And the state of North Dakota hereby obligates itself to pay such part of the debts and liabilities of the Territory of Dakota as is declared by the foregoing agreement to be its proportion thereof, the same as if such proportion had been originally created by said state of North Dakota as its own debt or liability.
Amended Jun. 24, 1958, effective Jul. 24, 1958]