ter sessions. Annual sessions of the supreme court were held at Detroit by one of the territorial judges. The common pleas court and quarter sessions continued substantially as before, and with the same judges and justices, who also performed probate duties. Under all the territorial systems all the local officers were appointed by the governor until the latter days of the territory.

Solomon Sibley and Elijah Brush were the earliest members of the bar who came to Detroit. Both came from Ohio. Mr. Sibley filled various important positions, being twice chosen delegate to congress, and was also judge of the supreme court during the latter years of the territory. He was one of the wisest and ablest men that ever lived in Michigan. Colonel Brush was territorial attorney-general. In the early part of 1805 the territory of Michigan was formed, and for the first time we find a course of civil administration that left its mark on the subsequent career of the state. The features of the French system became gradually extinguished, and the whole judicial system became fashioned in accordance with the common law in England.

The supreme court was the only one created directly by the territorial organic law. Justices tried small civil cases, and district courts had general jurisdiction and also looked after probate proceedings. Four districts were created, and a court held in each, at first presided over by a judge of the territory and afterwards by lay judges, a chief and two associates. In 1810 the district courts were abolished and their jurisdiction divided between the supreme court and justices of the peace. Detroit was incorporated before the creation of Michigan territory. It was made a city in 1806. The reign of the governor and judges was distinguished by persistent and disgraceful quarrels among themselves. Judge Witherell was the only one who retained public respect. This state of things continued under Governor Hull's administration, but was somewhat improved under that of General

Cass.

The court displayed learning and ability in its action and decided some important cases, among others one relative to the status of slaves held, before Jay's treaty, within the territory. Under General Cass the political system was steadily modified towards an American mode of procedure. County courts, with original jurisdiction, were established, having one chief and two associate justices, who were usually (although not required to be) laymen, and who were invariably business men. These courts were generally esteemed. In 1817 a court of quarter sessions was created, composed of the

county judges and justices of the peace, and required to look after county business, such as assessing and raising taxes, and organizing townships, the latter to be sanctioned by the governor before becoming operative. In 1818 the people, by a popular vote, decided against having a territorial legislature. County commissioners appointed by the governor afterwards superseded the quarter sessions.

In 1823 a radical change took place. Congress decreed that there should be a territorial legislature in the form of a territorial council. Eighteen persons were to be elected, from which the President was to choose nine, who were to be confirmed by the senate. This body was clothed with general legislative powers. In 1827 the people were allowed to elect their own council without the intervention of the President. In 1823 the building of a court-house was begun in Detroit, under an appropriation of lands made by congress. This was built by Thomas Palmer, father of our present senator, who took the lands for his pay. The building was used by the territory as a court-house and council chamber, and by the state, without any apparent authority, as a capitol, to the exclusion of the courts. After the capital was removed to Lansing it was used for school purposes, the first union school in the state being held there. The present Detroit high school is located on its site.

The judges of the territorial supreme court as finally established by congress, running from 1824 to the time of the admission of the state, consisted of James Witherell, Solomon Sibley, John Hunt, Henry Chipman, William Woodbridge, George Morell of New York and Ross Wilkins of Pennsylvania. When the state was admitted into the Union, Judges Sibley, Morell and Wilkins composed the court. In 1828 circuit courts were created with appellate jurisdiction over the county courts, with concurrent original jurisdiction up to one thousand dollars and exclusive beyond it. Both had criminal jurisdiction. A judge of the supreme court held the circuit court of each county. In 1833 a new system of circuit courts was created, having a circuit judge, who was required to be a lawyer, and two associates, who might be laymen. Any two might act except on trials of felony, when the circuit judge must be present. The county courts were abolished. The old circuit courts, presided over by the supreme court judges, were retained and called superior circuit courts. with appellate jurisdiction over the new ones. Chancery powers were also given to the supreme and circuit courts. The statute conferring this power was drawn up under the direction of Elon Farnsworth, the subsequent chancellor. In 1835 the office of register

of probate, which had exercised some probate jurisdiction, besides recording deeds, was abolished and the powers divided between judges of probate and county registers.

No further changes were made in the judicial system of the territory.

The first legislature under the new state constitution met in November, 1835. At an adjourned session in February, 1836, laws were passed to organize the supreme and circuit courts and a court of chancery to come into existence after July 4, 1836, when the jurisdiction of the territorial courts was to cease.

When the constitution of 1835 was adopted, the territory of Michigan had received so large an increase of population from other parts of the United States that the whole public system had become orderly and adapted to all the conditions of local self-government. Counties, townships, road and school districts and a'l the judicial machinery corresponded substantially with what might be found in New York or New England. In the main, things had been patterned after New York, from which the largest immigration had come. But the territorial officers were always inclined to perpetuate their own early institutions, and as they were of various origins, the result naturally followed that there were some incongruities. New York and Massachusetts were followed more than all the other states, and there are still easily detected systematic portions of legislation traced to those separate sources. Particular statutes were borrowed from all sources.

It became necessary at various times during the territorial period to gather together the scattered laws, which had become confused by the careless methods of the first period of governor and judges, and still more so by the independent way in which Judge Woodward and his ally, Judge Griffin, disregarded all laws which they did not fancy. Between the organization of the territory and the adoption of the state constitution there were five different collections published, and of these none prior to 1827 was complete. In 1806 a collection was made, including thirty-four laws passed in 1805, which was accurate as far as it went, but which gave no light concerning the old laws in force. The condition of things was not very favorable for enabling the people to understand the laws. There were very few in the territory who understood English. There were no newspapers, and no other means of spreading intelligence. This volume was printed in Washington and was not published until many more statutes had been adopted, some of which materially altered the former ones. Between

this time and 1816 the changes became numerous and the conflicts. and inconsistencies very great. Of this new legislation much was never published at all, and remained unknown. Most of the acts were not brought to public knowledge for long periods, and many were repealed before anyone ever heard of them. Eighty were never put in print, so far as known, until 1884, when they were published in a supplementary volume to the recent reprint of territorial statutes. Nothing but the healing power of time and the operation of limitation laws has prevented the ignorance of some of these enactments from making mischief.

In 1816 a synoptical arrangement of the substance of the laws supposed to be in force in that year was printed. Very few provisions were printed in full, and several statutes were not found.

In 1820 the condition of affairs was brought to the attention of congress. That body appropriated twelve hundred and fifty dollars, and required all laws in force to be published together, under the supervision of the territorial authorities. At that time William Woodbridge was secretary-afterwards judge, governor and state senator. The result was a well edited compilationthen supposed to be complete-of existing laws, known as the compilation of 1821. The legislative council, which held its first session in 1824, caused the session laws to be published regularly, but it was discovered that acts still existed which were not in print or not known, and litigation frequently arose which brought out surprises. To put an end to this mischief, it was determined to supersede all the existing volumes by a new and complete revision.

On the twenty-first of April, 1825, a resolution was adopted appointing William Woodbridge, Abraham Edwards, John Stockton, Wolcott Lawrence and William A. Fletcher a commission to revise the laws. Asa M. Robinson was afterwards put in place of Mr. Woodbridge, who resigned. The resolution very carefully indicated what rules should govern the work, which were in substance these: All acts concerning the same subject were to be digested into one act. The commission was authorized to follow the principles of existing acts or to make such alterations and additions as should be deemed expedient. Unnecessary acts might be left out, and the deficiencies supplied. The result was to be certified to the legislature for consideration.

The commission prepared what is now known as the revision of 1827, in which, while conforming in most things to the old system, nearly all important measures were put in the shape of new separate

enactments, drawn with skill, and leaving out very few things of consequence. It was enacted substantially as reported, and in order to prevent any further evils from ignorance, it was provided that all acts not therein specified should be repealed. The territory thus had for the first time a complete code of all its existing laws. In 1833 a smaller compilation was published, including some later statutes and some reprints of older ones. Most of the legislation after 1827 was special, but some general laws were passed, the most important of which was a ten-years' limitation law, applicable only to existing cases, and containing no saving clauses. The previous laws had failed to cover the whole ground, and antiquated land claims, with no particular equities, had been used in some cases for extortion.

The first legislature went actively to work to get the new state government into working order.

The courts of record which were provided for were the supreme, circuit and probate courts, with substantially the same powers as the old courts except in equity. A separate court of chancery was established, from which an appeal lay to the supreme court. Pending cases were transferred to the new courts. The judges and chancellor were appointed by the governor and senate for periods of seven years.

The first supreme court consisted of William A. Fletcher, chiefjustice, and George Morell and Epaphroditus Ransom, associate justices. Each was assigned to a circuit. Wayne, St. Clair, Lapeer, Michilimackinac and Chippewa, with the country attached to each, formed the first circuit, presided over by Judge Morell; Monroe, Lenawee, Washtenaw, Oakland, Saginaw, Jackson and Hillsdale formed the second circuit, allotted to Chief-Justice Fletcher. Judge Ransom held the courts in the third circuit, consisting of Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Calhoun and Kent, with attached territory. One term of the supreme court was held annually in Wayne, Washtenaw and Kalamazoo. Terms of the circuit court were held once or more, annually, in each county. Two associate judges were elected in each county every four years to sit in the circuit court, but in case of their absence a judge of the supreme court could sit alone. These associates were not generally lawyers.

Judge Sibley, for personal reasons, did not desire an appointment to the state bench. He was a man of great ability and wisdom, and had universal confidence. He lived to an advanced age.

The chief-justice was an old resident of the territory, who had held