WHEREAS, By 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, it was among other things provided that when the Constitutional Convention for North Dakota and the Constitutional Convention for South Dakota, which by said act were duly provided for and authorized, should assemble and organize as in said act provided, it should be and become the duty of said Convention respectively to appoint a Joint Commission to be composed of not less than three members of each Convention, whose duty it should 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 public records, and also, to 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,

WHEREAS, The said Constitutional Conventions of North Dakota and South Dakota having been duly elected and assembled and organized in pursuance of and as provided in said act, did, as therein required and provided for the purposes therein specified, appoint a Joint Commission consisting of not less than three members of each Convention, to-wit: Seven of each Convention as follows, to-wit:

E. W. Camp, B. F. Spalding, Alex. Griggs, Andrew Sandager, W. E. Purcell, Harvey Harris and J. W. Scott, appointed by the Convention of North Dakota; and,

A. G. Kellam, V. T. McGillycuddy, Henry Neill, E. W. Caldwell, William Elliott, Charles H. Price and S. F. Brott, appointed by the Convention of South Dakota; and

WHEREAS, The said Joint Commission so appointed and composed having duly assembled at Bismarck, as by said act provided, and being now and here so assembled, and having as such Joint Commission duly and carefully considered the several matters which by said act are referred to them for disposition and agreement, do now adopt and confirm the following agreement, compact and convention, that is to say:

Article I. 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 or South Dakota.

Article II. 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.

Article III. Upon the taking effect of this agreement all the right, title, claim and interest of the Territory of Dakota in and to any public institutions, grounds or buildings situate within the limits of the proposed State of North Dakota as such limits are defined in said act of Congress, shall vest in said State of North Dakota; and 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, 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.”

Article IV. Upon the taking effect of this agreement, all right, title, claim and interest of the Territory of Dakota in and to any public institutions, grounds or buildings, situate within the limits of the proposed State of South Dakota as defined in said act of Congress, shall vest in said State of South Dakota. And said State of South 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.

Article V. 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 00

Bonds issued on account of the North Dakota University at Grand Forks, North Dakota, the face aggregate of which is................................... 96,700 00

Bonds issued on account of the Penitentiary at Bismarck, North Dakota, the face aggregate of which is........................................................ 93,600 00

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 Insane at Yankton, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is............................................. 210,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the School for Deaf Mutes at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is.................................... 51,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the University at Vermillion, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is......................................................... 75,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the Penitentiary at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is......................................................... 94,300 00

Bonds issued on account of the Agricultural College at Brookings, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is............................................... 97,500 00

Bonds issued on account of the Normal School at Madison, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is......................................................... 49,400 00

Bonds issued on account of the School of Mines at Rapid City, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is............................................... 33,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the Reform School at Plankinton, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is............................................... 30,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the Normal School at Spearfish, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is......................................................... 25,000 00

Bonds issued on account of the Soldiers’ Home at Hot Springs, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is..................................................... 45,000 00

Article VI. Each State shall receive all unexpended balances of the bonds which it so assumes, whether such balances have been covered back into the Treasury or not.

Article VII. All furniture, fixtures, provisions, appurtenances and appliances, tools, implements and other movable property of the Territory of Dakota situate in or used in connection with any of said public institutions, grounds or buildings, shall become and be the property of the State or Territory in which such grounds, buildings or institutions may be situated, except as herein otherwise specifically provided.

Article VIII. In case of loss in whole or in part of any of the property of the Territory of Dakota prior to the taking effect of this agreement, the State in which such property would have vested if the same had not been destroyed, or in which such property so injured shall vest, shall receive all sums payable upon policies of insurance issued upon such property; and if loss, not covered by insurance occurs on any of such property, would vest on the taking effect of this agreement.

Article IX. Upon the taking effect of this agreement, all unearned premiums of insurance shall vest in the State or Territory in which the property insured thereby shall vest.

Article X. The States of North and South Dakota shall pay one-half each of all liability now existing, or hereafter and prior to the taking effect of this agreement incurred, except those heretofore or hereafter incurred on account of public institutions, grounds or buildings, except as otherwise herein specifically provided.

Article XI. Each of said States shall succeed to all rights of the Territory of Dakota upon contracts for public works within such State or upon bonds given to secure the performance of such contracts.

Article XII. All other bonds issued prior to the taking effect of this agreement upon which a cause of action has or shall prior to the taking effect of this agreement accrue to the Territory of Dakota shall be sued upon by the State of North Dakota, and it is hereby made the duty of said State to sue thereon, and one-half of the penalties or damages collected by said State thereon shall be paid over to the other State, and the costs of such suit or collection shall be borne equally by said States, save as it may be necessary to apply such proceeds otherwise in order to carry into effect the provisions of Article —— of this agreement.

Article XIII. The furniture, fixtures, appliances and appurtenances used in or about, or pertaining to the public offices of the Territory shall be the property of the State within the proposed limits of which said offices are now kept.

Article XIV. The Territorial Library, including such books and volumes as may be added thereto prior to the taking effect of this agreement, shall be the property of the State of South Dakota.

Article XV. One-half of all the Compiled Laws of the Territory of Dakota, Revised Codes, and of all Session Laws, printed Journals of the House and Council of the Legislative Assembly of said Territory (except those composing a part of said library), remaining undisturbed or undisposed of, according to law at the taking effect of this agreement; shall be delivered on demand to the proper authorities of the State of South Dakota.

Article XVI. All arms, ammunition, quartermaster's and ordnance stores distributed to and now in possession of militia companies of the Territory of Dakota shall remain in their possession, and all the right, title and interest of the Territory of Dakota in and to such arms, ammunition and stores shall vest in the State in which the armories or headquarters of such companies shall be situated. All 45-Cal. rifles and ammunition of same calibre stored in the Capitol at Bismarck, and all 45-Cal. rifles heretofore issued to Company F, First Regiment at Bismarck, shall be the property of North Dakota.

Article XVII. All other arms, ammunition; quartermaster's and ordnance stores shall be equally divided between the States of South Dakota and North Dakota.

Article XVIII. All other items of personal property and miscellaneous effects belonging to the Territory, except the Territorial Library, and the Territorial Records and Archives, shall be divided as nearly equally as possible between North and South Dakota.

Article XIX. 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 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 Pacifiic Railroad lands, and the payment of said amounts shall discharge and exempt the State of South Dakota from all liability for or on account of the several matters hereinbefore 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 institution, grounds or buildings of the Territory situated or located within the boundaries of the other State.

Article XX. Neither State shall pay any portion of liability of the Territory arising out of erroneous taxation of property in the other State.

Article XXI. 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 and buildings located within its boundaries on account of the current appropriations since March 8, 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 North Dakota; and all such 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 sums on gross earnings paid into said treasury by railroad corporations since the 8th day of March, 1889, based upon the 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 the property of railroad companies in this Territory,” being Chapter 107 of the Session Laws of 1889 (that is, the part of such sum going to the Territory), shall be equally divided between the States of North Dakota and South Dakota; and all taxes heretofore or hereafter paid into the 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 so much thereof as goes to the Territorial Treasury shall be divided as follows: North Dakota shall have so much thereof as shall be or has been paid by the 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 located within its limits remaining unexpended on March 8, 1889. If there shall be any indebtednes 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 public institutions, grounds or buildings of such State in excess of receipts from counties, municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within the limits of said State as provided in this article; and if there shall be a surplus at the time of such final adjustment, each State shall be entitled to the amount received from counties, municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within its limits, over and above the amount charged to it.

Article XXII. The payment from South Dakota to North Dakota shall be made by South Dakota’s assuming North Dakota’s share of current liabilities at the time of final adjustment, to the extent of South Dakota’s indebtedness under this agreement to North Dakota; and if any balance shall remain due to North Dakota from South Dakota, payment of said balance shall be provided for by the first Legislature of South Dakota.

Article XXIII. Upon the taking effect of this agreement all claims for taxes due the Territory of Dakota shall become the property of and may be collected by the state or territory within the limits whereof the counties are situate against which such taxes stand charged upon the Territorial Treasurer’s books. But this article shall not be held to refer to or govern the disposal of any taxes to be paid by railroad companies which are specifically provided for by Article XXI hereof.

Article XXIV. All other claims and demands of the Territory of Dakota outstanding when this agreement shall take effect, the collection whereof is not hereinbefore provided for, shall be sued upon and collected by the State of North Dakota, and the costs of suits so brought and the amounts collected shall be divided equally between the two States of North Dakota and South Dakota.