2D SESS.] The Question as to the Territory of Wisconsin. (JANUARY, 1849, although one of very great use to the country. | consideration seems to me to be entirely proThe original amendments proposed by the committee had been printed, but the amendment which he had just presented did not come from the committee, and he did not propose to have it printed at all. He did not wish to embarrass the committee, and he thought it his duty to offer the amendment in the Senate, in order that they might decide upon it as they might deem best. In regard to the section that had just been read, and upon which he had made a few remarks, he would say, that although it had been considerably altered from that reported from the committee, it was much the same thing in substance as the corresponding section that had been printed. The alterations which had been made, had been rendered necessary by the late treaty in regard to postal arrangements which have been entered into between this country and Great Britain. In the section reported by the committee, he would remark, | the foreign postage had been stated at twentyone cents. That was the sea postage, and it left the inland postage in this country and other countries to be regulated by the laws here and the laws there. But an arrangement having been made between this country and Great Britain in relation to the inland as well as the sea postage upon letters passing between the two countries, it had been thought best that all foreign postage rates should be made uniform, and in consequence the amendment to establish the uniform rate of twenty-one cents upon all letters sent to or received from foreign countries had been proposed. Mr. WESTCOTT. I would inquire of the Chair whether the amendments that were reported by the Post Office Committee last week have been adopted? The VICE PRESIDENT. These amendments have not been adopted. The question of their adoption is now pending, and also upon the amendment offered by the Senator from Connecticut. Mr. NILES. Mr. President, I would say to my friend from New Jersey, (Mr. DAYTON,)| and others, that I desire to get the action of the Senate upon the amendments, and, if they are adopted, I shall not object to the postponement of the bill in order to have it printed as amended. This is a subject which every one must see depends very much upon the arrangement and perfection of its details. We had the subject under consideration nearly the whole of last session, and it has been discussed and debated in full; and, as the merits of the whole bill depend upon the details, I would like to get these amendments acted upon, as the committee wish to get the bill and amendments before the Senate in a connected form, and that has been my sole object to-day. Mr. PEARCE. Mr. President, there are some amendments to this bill to which I shall be opposed; but the particular amendment under VOL. XVI.-19 | per. That amendment relates to the postage of letters sent by sea, and has received the approbation of the whole Postage Committee. I believe the Senator from Connecticut has explained that, by the postal arrangements with Great Britain, certain rates of postage have been imposed upon letters sent or received by the British mail steamers, or by our own mail steamers, to and from Great Britain. The only object of the amendment proposed by the Senator from Connecticut, is to equalize the rates of postage upon all letters sent by sea. It is manifest and proper that we should not have one rate of postage where letters or papers are sent to or received from Great Britain, and another rate upon letters and papers which come from or are sent to other countries beyond the sea. The only object of this amendment is to equalize the rates of postage in all such cases. It seems to me that this is very proper, and cannot be liable to any manner of objection. The Senator from New Jersey cannot, I think, object to the amendments being acted upon in committee, and then printed for the use of the Senate. Mr. DAYTON, (interposing.) I have no objection to that. The amendment to the amenament was agreed to. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY, January 18. Mr. MULLIN moved to add, at the end of line 491, an appropriation of the same amount ($10,500) for the same officers, &c., of the Territory of Wisconsin, as is included in the bill for the Territory of Oregon. Mr. HALL, of Missouri, (on a pro-forma amendment to the amendment,) said it appeared to him that this was the most extraordinary effort which had ever been made to organize a territorial government. A proposition had been before the Senate since the early part of the last session of Congress, to organize the Territory of Nebraska, and both Houses of Congress had refused to pass such a bill. But here was an effort made to introduce into the civil and diplomatic appropriation bill an item, which, per se, established a territorial government over Minnesota. Now, was it proper to introduce a proposition of this kind into a general appropriation bill? Gentlemen could not relieve themselves of the difficulty by saying that the Territory of Wisconsin existed by law; and on the contrary, he thought it was absolutely certain that no such territorial government did exist. Congress had authorized the people of Wisconsin to come into the Union as a State; they had come in; and Minnesota, the part which had been stricken from the former Territory of Wisconsin, he apprehended, could not be called a Territory, JANUARY, 1849.] Territory of Minnesota. without a law of Congress declaring it to be a Territory. He conceived that this was nothing more nor less than an attempt to establish a territorial government in an indirect way. He would inquire why a territorial government could be established in this manner over the Territory of Minnesota, any more than territorial governments could be established over the Territories of Nebraska, California, or New Mexico? If bills were necessary to establish territorial governments over these, why was not a bill equally necessary to establish such a government over Minnesota? If Minnesota required to have a territorial government, let a bill be introduced and passed, in the usual form, for that purpose; but let them not attempt to sneak a government through in this bill. Mr. SCHENCK moved to amend the amendment by including a similar provision for the Territory of Iowa. He said when the State of Iowa was admitted into the Union, there had been left without the State a much larger territory-a territory three or four times as large as that portion of the former Territory of Wisconsin, which had been left out of the State of Wisconsin. If a Territory was to be erected in this manner; if by admitting a Delegate they drew in a Territory, the example should be followed up by providing also for a much larger piece of Iowa, and now recognizing and providing for it as the Territory of Iowa. Congress would then have two Territories on its hands, without all the trouble of requiring the Committee on Territories to report bills, and those bills to pass both Houses, and be approved by the President, establishing territorial governments, and without the necessity of discussion upon the Wilmot proviso and other vexed questions. A very compendious way of doing the work! It was true, it looked rather preposterous-if any thing done by Congress could be considered preposterous. He meant this with the most perfect respect. He did not think this House could do any thing at which gentlemen ought to be surprised. It had been attempted in this indirect way to admit one Territory (of Wisconsin.) Now, he desired gentlemen to show the difference between the Territory of Iowa and the Territory of Wisconsin. One had organized a State government by the vote of its people; so had the other. In the case of Wisconsin, a small piece of the Territory of Wisconsin was left out of the State; and in the case of Iowa, a piece much larger had been left out. If the one piece was now to be considered the Territory of Wisconsin, so also should the other be considered the Territory of Iowa. He hoped, inasmuch as the House had admitted a Delegate from Wisconsin, they would go on and provide all the necessary appropriations for the support of the territorial government, and that they would make the same provision for Iowa, in anticipa [30TH CONG. tion of thir holding a convention and sending a Delegate. He did this to save the consistency of the House; and following up the amend ment of the gentleman from New York, he moved to add Iowa. Mr. MULLIN modified his amendment by accepting Mr. SCHENCK's amendment thereto. The question was therefore on an amendment making provision for the expenses of the territorial governments of Wisconsin and Iowa. Mr. VAN DYKE moved to amend the amendment by striking out "Iowa." It was no time now (he said) to argue the question whether the Delegate had been properly admitted from Wisconsin, as the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. BOYDEN) was disposed to do. He denied-it was not true that there was any law of Congress embracing that whole territory as a State. The law of Congress which admitted Wisconsin as a State embraced but a portion of what was once, by the law of Congress, the Territory of Wisconsin. But, was it true that there was no such Territory as Wisconsin? There was a law upon our statute book creating the Territory of Wisconsin, and its limits were given. There was also a law upon the statute book carving out from that same Territory of Wisconsin a State, but leaving the balance of the Territory as it stood before. But the act of Congress which carved out that portion of the Territory and made it a State, did not repeal in words or effect the law by which the old territorial government was given to the Territory of Wisconsin. Congress had admitted about half of that Territory as a State, and it was claimed that, in consequence, the former law was annulled; and that, too, without any repealing words-without any antagonism. If this were true, the people residing in that portion of the Territory were outlawed; society was there reduced to its original elements; there were no judges, no sheriffs, no judicial tribunals, and all the laws which Congress had ever given them as a Territory had been abrogated and destroyed, simply because Congress had erected a State out of a portion of that Territory. The question was taken on Mr. VAN DYKE'S amendment to the amendment, and it was rejected. The question was taken, and the amendment as amended was rejected. IN SENATE. FRIDAY, January 19. Mr. DOUGLAS moved that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the bill establishing the Territory of Minnesota. The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senate will now proceed to the consideration of the bill asked for by the Senator from Illinois. Mr. KING. I have not examined the facts connected with this bill to determine satisfactorily 2D SESS.] Territory of Minnesota. [JANUARY, 1849. to myself what number of citizens of the United | House of Representatives at the last session of States are contained within the limits of the Congress. Ever since the adoption of a State country now proposed to be organized into a constitution by Wisconsin, this Territory has Territory. Perhaps the Senator from Illinois been without laws. Whole counties that were can inform me in relation to this matter. once a portion of Wisconsin are now without any law whatever. The public mind has looked anxiously to this session of Congress with the expectation of the establishment of a territorial government. I trust that no opposition will be made to a measure that has been so long pending in both Houses of Congress. Mr. DOUGLAS. In answer to that question, I would state that my impression is, that there are now somewhere between eight and ten thousand people scattered in various parts of the Territory, though aggregated into compact settlements. There are more than the usual number of inhabitants necessary for the establishment of a territorial government. Mr. KING. I am not willing, sir, to throw any obstacle in the way of establishing the laws of the United States over all our people, wherever they may be, provided they are so contiguous to each other that the laws can easily operate upon them. But if a few individuals are located here and there, and scattered over an immense tract of country, the Senator will perceive at once-as the Senator from Illinois himself must be aware that it will be almost an impossibility to establish and carry into execution a territorial government. Mr. WESTCOTT. I would state to the Senator from Alabama that, a day or two since, I had a very interesting conversation with the delegate from Minnesota in relation to this very subject. Contiguous to the falls of St. Anthony, I understand there are about six thousand people located within about one hundred square miles of the territory. This settlement polls some twelve hundred votes, and this delegate with whom I had the conversation was elected' as such by that settlement. There are two or three other settlements, as the Senator from Illinois has just stated, compact in their nature. This delegate has impressed upon my mind the great necessity of having a territorial government for Minnesota by a variety of reasons. Emigrants are crowding rapidly into the Territory, and the inhabitants are building mills of a very important character. They are absolutely making improvements on the rivers, and preparing to make a dam along the side of one of the larger streams. There is no law to affect the action of individuals in this respect; and in fact ever since Wisconsin was admitted into the Union, there have been no laws of any description to regulate the affairs of the inhabitants. I am told there are some forty lawyers practising there, which is a favorable sign as to the resources and extent of the settlement. I am fully satisfied of the necessity for an immediate organization of a government over them. Mr. DODGE, of Iowa. The establishment of this territorial government in Minnesota is a matter of deep interest not only to the inhabitants of that Territory, but to those of my State. There is no existing government or laws now in that Territory. Their establishment has been put off from time to time, without reason or justice, for a long time past. A bill similar to the one presented by the Senator from Illinois almost unanimously passed the Mr. BUTLER. Mr. President, as I understand this matter, part of the territory now called Minnesota formed or constituted a part of the Territory of Wisconsin. The eastern boundary of the territory of Minnesota, separating it from Wisconsin, runs down from the western point of Lake Superior to the St. Croix River. That river, therefore, forms a very valuable and important medium of communication between the settlers in this territory and the more easterly portions of this country, and in that part of the territory I understand there are many inhabitants. They have hitherto been under the protection of the laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, but since the admission of that Territory into the Union as a State, these settlers have been left without any such protection. All that part of the territory called Minnesota lying beyond the line which I have indicated, and extending to the Mississippi, falls under the ordinance of 1787. It is impossible for Congress now to retrocede it, or to compel Wisconsin to take it back. The inhabitants of this territory are now without the protection of law, and they call for such protection perhaps as much as any other portion of the Union similarly situated. About fourteen hundred of the inhabitants are settled upon that portion of the territory formerly embraced within the limits of Wisconsin. Beyond the Mississippi, I believe, there is another settlement upon very good land. Mr. DOUGLAS, (in his seat.) There are two settlements beyond the Mississippi. Mr. BUTLER. Very well; there are two settlements, then. I understand the population is increasing very rapidly, and their judicial matters are becoming more and more complicated every day, and require a political jurisdiction of some kind to be established at once. If there are ten thousand inhabitants in that territory, they certainly demand at least an ordinary territorial government. Mr. KING. I wish the honorable Senator from Iowa to understand that my object was not to oppose the establishment of a territorial government over this country, provided there are a sufficient number of inhabitants in that country to render the establishment of such a form of government over them proper and expedient. I have thought, however, that the movement made to establish such a government there was rather premature; but the statement of my honorable friend from Illinois (Mr. DOUGLAS) that there are some ten thou JANUARY, 1849.] Admission of California. sand inhabitants in that country, and that they are distributed in compact settlements, although distant from each other, has obviated my objections to the immediate establishment of a territorial government over them. I think, however, the remarks of my honorable friend from South Carolina, in regard to having yielded so large a portion of the territory originally belonging to that section of the country, from which five States were to be made, and five only, for the purpose of forming a new and additional State, is an evidence of the liberality of that section of the country in which I live. I am not disposed to oppose the formation of any such States, if of reasonable dimensions, although their formation might be supposed to operate in some degree against what is supposed to be the particular interests of my section of the country. I wish the same feeling actuated other quarters of this Union, in regard to the establishment of territorial governments over sections of the country, where there are at this time ten times as many inhabitants as Minnesota now contains. But such is not the case, and I deeply regret it. Mr. DODGE, of Iowa. Mr. President, I wish to say a few words in reply to my friend from Alabama. We know the Senator from Alabama. We know him well, as one of our best friends. We know him as an enlightened and liberal statesman, who soars above all the petty and sectional prejudices which have wellnigh plunged our country into a civil war. As regards the feelings to which the Senator has referred, entertained in some sections of this Union in relation to the organization of territorial governments over certain Territories, belonging to this country, I can say, for one, that I shall be found voting on all occasions in favor of the organization of governments in our new Territories, being willing to risk the small popularity which I now enjoy in the promotion of what I may consider the general good of this whole country. As to this matter of boundary, I will state that Wisconsin would have gladly retained all that portion of the territory embaced in the ordinance of 1787, which was at first assigned to her. That portion of her territory was not set off because it was the choice of her people, but because the Congress of the United States dismembered her territory, and curtailed her limits. I am sorry that the views of the Senator from Alabama with regard to Iowa and Wisconsin did not prevail at that time. If we have obtained too much elbow room it is not our fault, and if injustice has been done to Wisconsin by curtailing her limits, I hope the same injustice will not be done to Minnesota by cutting off that portion of her territory which was originally embraced in the ordinance of 1787, and thus curtail her just limits and restrict her boundaries. Mr. BADGER. Mr. President, I would inquire of the honorable Senator who reported this bill, what its provisions are? I would like to know if it is similar to other territorial bills [30TH CONG that have been extended to the inhabitants of other sections of our country. I think this is clearly a case calling for a territorial government, but I would like to know how many officers it is proposed to give to these ten thousand people. Mr. DOUGLAS. It strikes me that the provisions of this bill are the same as those of the bill by which a territorial government was extended to Wisconsin when she had not so many inhabitants as Minnesota now has. It provides for precisely the same form of government as was extended to Iowa when she had not so many inhabitants as Minnesota, and precisely the same government as was extended to Oregon when she had about the same number of inhabitants that Minnesota now has, to wit: a territorial government with a small legislative body, a governor, a district attorney and judges, a marshal, and other necessary officers. The bill provides for the simplest form of a territorial government, and does not contain a single peculiar provision. The bill was ordered to its engrossment, read a third time, by unanimous consent, and passed. WEDNESDAY, January 24. Admission of California. Mr. DOUGLAS moved to postpone the previous orders, and to take up the bill for the admission of California into the Union as a State. Mr. NILES. If we take up this bill, we must necessarily postpone the bill that was up the other day relating to the reduction of postage, and which was made the special order prior to this bill. And we all know that if we take up this bill, and enter upon the debate, it will probably consume the whole of the session, and will preclude the opportunity of acting upon the bill to which I have referred. I feel it my duty, therefore, to take the sense of the Senate upon the motion to take up the bill. Mr. DOUGLAS. I trust that the honorable Senator will allow the bill to be taken up at this time. It has been before the Senate since the first week of the session, and has been. postponed from time to time, with the general understanding that it should be acted upon at an early day. I do not think that it is going to occupy so much tine as the Senator imagines. I do not think it is going to take up a great deal of time. I hope at least that the Senator will allow it to be taken up, that we may ascertian whether it is likely that much time will be required for its discussion, and if that be the case, it can from time to time give place to other business, and among the rest to the bill which the Senator has named. I hope that my motion to take up the bill will prevail. The question being put, a division was called for; and no quorum voting Mr. NILES demanded the yeas and nays. The question was again put, and, upon a division, it was decided in the affirmative: ayes 25, noes 11. The bill was accordingly taken up for consideration as in Committee of the Whole. Mr. DOUGLAS. I laid upon the Secretary's table the other day a substitute which I proposed to offer for the original bill. I now ask that the substitute be read, and that the vote be taken upon making the substitution of the one for the other, with the understanding that the substitute will be open for amendment as an original bill. The bill proposed to be substituted was read by the Secretary. The question being taken, the substitute was agreed to. Mr. BUTLER. The only difficulty that I have upon the subject is this: I am willing to take up the bill as an original bill, but it seems to me that it would be highly proper that it should go to a committee, to be reported upon in the same manner as all original bills. If there was a reason for sending the original bill to a committee, I think the same reason exists why this should be referred either to the Committee on Territories or to the Judiciary Committee. The VICE PRESIDENT. To which committee does the Senator propose that the bill shall be referred? Mr. BUTLER. It seems to me it ought to go to the Judiciary Committee, the bill being for the admission of a new State into the Union. Mr. DOUGLAS moved to refer the bill and proposed amendments to a select committee. The VICE PRESIDENT. The first motion properly before the Senate is the one made by the Senator from South Carolina, (Mr. BUTLER,) to refer the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. BUTLER. I am opposed to the reference of this bill to a select committee; however, if gentlemen insist upon putting that motion, I will withdraw mine and give place to it. The VICE PRESIDENT. The question before the Senate is upon the reference of this bill and proposed amendments to a select committee. [JANUARY, 1849. MONDAY, January 29. Admission of California as a State. Mr. DOUGLAS, from the Select Committee to which was referred the bill for the admission of California into the Union as a State, reported the following amendment thereto, viz: Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert the following: That Congress doth consent that the portion of the territory of the United States which is included within the following limits, to wit: beginning in the Pacific Ocean on the parallel of forty-two degrees of north latitude; thence east on said parallel to the dividing ridge which separates the waters flowing into the Colorado River from those which flow into the Great Basin; thence along said dividing ridge to the point where it was crossed by Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont, in eighteen hundred and forty-four, as shown on the map of his explorasaid exploration, as shown on the map of said Frétion; thence south-westwardly along the line of mont's surveys, published by order of the Senate in eighteen hundred and forty-eight, to its intersection with the one hundred and seventeenth meridian of west longitude; thence in a direct line to the intersection of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with those of the west range; thence due west to the Pacific Ocean; thence along the coast, including the adjacent islands, to the place of beginning, shall be set apart as the territory of one State, and, upon the fulfilment of the conditions hereinafter contained, the same is hereby declared to be one of the States of this Union, by the name and style of the State of California, upon an equal footing with the unconditional reservation to the United States the original States in all respects whatsoever, with of all right of property in the public domain, and other property ceded to the United States by the treaty of peace concluded with the Republic of Mexico, February second, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, free from taxes, or assessments of any kind by said State, and also the power of disposing of the same, including the right of adjusting all claims and titles to lands derived from foreign Governments, in such manner as Congress shall pre scribe. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the acting governor of the Territory of California, so soon as he shall have been furnished with a copy of this act, to the end that the people may have an oppor The motion was then put and carried. tunity of establishing for themselves a constitution Mr. FOOTE. I wish simply to ask the unani- and republican form of Government for said State, mous consent of the Senate, if it is not entirely shall immediately proceed to lay off the country out of order, to be allowed to refer an amend- embraced within the limits of the proposed State, ment to this California bill, which I shall pre-into convenient districts for the election of delepare, to the select committee to whose charge the bill and proposed amendments have been given. Leave was granted accordingly. The VICE PRESIDENT appointed the following gentlemen as the special committee: Messrs. DOUGLAS, JOHNSON of Mayland, JONES of Iowa, CLAYTON of Delaware, DAVIS of Mississippi, BADGER of North Carolina, and NILES of Con necticut. gates to a convention, for the purpose of forming a State constitution, and shall designate the time and place of holding the election in each district; appoint the officers to conduct the same, and prescribe the mode of making the returns thereof; the several districts, as near as may be, according and shall apportion the delegates, fifty in all, among also designate the time and place for the assemto the number of legal voters in each; and he shall bling of said convention. Every white male citizen of the United States, including those who shall have become such under the provisions of the said treaty with Mexico, being actual residents of the proposed State, and having attained the age of |