120 



COLORADO. 



the public-school fund of the State shall 

 consist of the proceeds of such lands as have 

 heretofore been, or may hereafter be, granted 

 to the State by the General Government for 

 educational purposes ; all estates that may 

 escheat to the State ; also all other grants, 

 gifts, or devises, that may be made to this State 

 for educational purposes. 



The General Assembly may require that 

 every child of sufficient mental and physical 

 ability shall attend the public school, between 

 the ages of six and eighteen years, for a time 

 equivalent to three years, unless educated by 

 other means. 



The General Assembly is required to pro- 

 vide by law for an annual tax, sufficient, with 

 other resources, to defray the expenses of the 

 State government. Section 3 of Article X. 

 provides that " all taxes shall be uniform upon 

 the same class of subjects within the territorial 

 limits of the authority levying the tax, and 

 shall be levied and collected under general 

 laws, which shall prescribe such regulations as 

 shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all 

 property, real and personal: provided, that 

 mines and mining claims bearing gold, silver, 

 and other precious metals (except the net pro- 

 ceeds and surface improvements thereof), shall 

 be exempt from taxation for the period of ten 

 years from the date of the adoption of this 

 constitution, and thereafter may be taxed as 

 provided by law. Ditches, canals, and flumes, 

 owned and used by individuals or corporations 

 for irrigating lands owned by such individuals 

 or corporations, or the individual members 

 thereof, shall not be taxed separately, so long 

 as they shall be owned and used exclusively 

 for such purpose." 



The property of the State, counties, cities, 

 towns, and other municipalities, and public li- 

 braries, are exempted from taxation, and, un- 

 less otherwise provided by law, lots and build- 

 ings thereon, used exclusively for religious 

 worship, for schools, and strictly charitable 

 purposes, and places of burial of the dead, are 

 exempted. For the purpose of defraying the 

 expenses of the State a tax is provided for, not 

 in any case to exceed six mills on the dollar, 

 with restrictions that when the valuation of 

 property within the State shall amount to 

 $100,000,000, the rate shall not exceed four 

 mills, and when the valuation shall amount to 

 $300,000,000, the rate shall never thereafter 

 exceed two mills on each dollar of valuation. 

 Corporations and corporate property, real and 

 personal, are required to share the burdens of 

 taxation, and the power to tax the same is 

 never to be relinquished or suspended. 



A State Board of Equalization is created, con- 

 sisting of the Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, and 

 Secretary of State, whose duties are to equalize 

 and adjust the valuation of real and personal 

 property among the several counties, and the 

 Board of County Commissioners in the respect- 

 ive counties are constituted County Boards of 

 Equalization, whose duties are to equalize and 



adjust such valuations within their respective 

 counties. 



The Legislature is prohibited from lending 

 the credit of the State in aid of any corpora- 

 tion, either by loan or becoming a subscriber 

 to any stock, or a joint owner with any party, 

 except in case of forfeitures and escheats. 



The constitution has denied the General 

 Assembly the power to create corporations, or 

 to extend or enlarge their chartered rights by 

 special legislation, or to make such rights and 

 privileges irrevocable ; but in case it shall be 

 found that the exercise of such rights and priv- 

 ileges proves injurious to the people, then the 

 General Assembly shall have power to alter, 

 revoke, or annul such charters, when that can 

 be done without injustice to the corporators. 

 It hcs declared that railroad corporations shall 

 be liable as common carriers, and that, to avail 

 themselves of the benefits of future legislation, 

 they must subject themselves to all the pro- 

 visions and requirements of the constitution. 

 It has forbidden the consolidation of parallel 

 and competing lines, and of all unjust and 

 unreasonable discriminations between indi- 

 viduals in tlieir business with such corpora- 

 tions. 



Provision is made for the establishment and 

 maintenance of the office of Commissioner of 

 Mines, who is to be appointed by the Governor 

 for four years. 



A State census is to be taken in 1885, and 

 every ten years thereafter. 



The new State government was inaugurat- 

 ed November 3d. The message of Governor 

 Routt shows outstanding warrants and other 

 liabilities to the amount of $50,000 ; resources 

 from delinquent taxes and from taxes available 

 January and July, 1877, $73,000, leaving $23,- 

 000 to meet the current expenses of the State 

 till 1878. To provide for the present exigency, 

 a tax-levy of three mills was recommended. 



By the act of Congress, September 4, 1841, 

 each new State on being admitted is granted 

 500,000 acres of land for the purposes of in- 

 ternal improvement. The enabling act also 

 grants to the State fifty sections " for the pur- 

 pose of erecting public buildings at the capital 

 for legislative and judicial purposes;" fifty other 

 sections " for the purpose of erecting a suit- 

 able building for a penitentiary or State-pris- 

 on ; " seventy-two sections " for the use and 

 support of a State University ; " and twelve salt- 

 springs, with " six sections of land adjoining," 

 for the use of the State : making in all, with 

 the 500,000 acres first mentioned, 655,160 acres. 

 The Governor recommends that the Legislature 

 appoint five gentlemen to locate these lands, 

 and urges that they be withheld from sale for 

 a few years, to avoid the error of most of the 

 Northwestern States, of too hastily placing 

 their lands in the market, thus losing the ad- 

 vantages arising from the natural growth and 

 improvement of the country. 



The first election for State officers was held 

 October 3d, when the following (Republicans) 



