and upon the return day defendant appeared in court with the prisoner, and entered a general demurrer to the petition. Relator bases his right to a release from imprisonment upon the following propositions: First, Article 20 of the constitution of the State of North Dakota, commonly known as the “Prohibition Article,” was never adopted as a part of the constitution; second, Ch. 110, Laws 1890, was not enacted by a legally constituted legislature; third, said chapter violates the constitution of this state and of the United States.
To understand the points made under the first proposition it is necessary to state that the enabling act, approved February 22nd, 1889, under the terms of which North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington became states, after providing for constitutional conventions to formulate constitutions, and the submission of such constitutions to a vote of the qualified electors of the proposed states, provides in § 8 that “at the elections provided for in this section the qualified voters of said proposed states shall vote directly for or against the proposed constitutions, and for or against any articles or propositions separately submitted. The returns of said elections shall be made to the secretary of each of said territories, who, with the governor and chief justice thereof, or any two of them, shall canvass the same, and, if a majority of the legal votes cast shall be for the constitution, the governor shall certify the result to the president of the United States, together with a statement of the votes cast thereon, and upon separate articles or propositions, and a copy of the said constitution, articles, propositions, and ordinances. And if the constitutions and governments of said proposed states are republican in form, and if all the provisions of this act have been complied with in the formation thereof, it shall be the duty of the president of the United States to issue his proclamation announcing the result of the election in each, and thereupon the proposed states which have adopted constitutions and formed state governments as herein provided shall be deemed admitted by congress into the Union, under and by virtue of this act, on an
