Daily Richmond times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1849-1850, 1850-07-08

ana Is not true That Iowa was part OF the North
West Territory. Mr. Bolts has overlooked an act
published in the same volume, from which he makes
several citations, and which would have in
formed him that Iowa is part of a territory West
of the Mississippi, whichwas transferred, in 1884,
to the Territorial government of Michigan. AS
the act is short, we quote it in full for Mr. Bolts
benefit
An act to attach the territory Of the United States
West OF the Mississippi river, and North OF the State OF
Missouri to the territory of Michigan.
Be ii enacted &c. That 40 that part of the territory
Of the United States bounded on the East by the Mis-
sisspp river on the South by the State of Missouri,
and line drawn due West from the North West corner
of said State to the Missouri river the Southwest
and West by the Missouri river, and the White Earth
river, falling into the and the North by the
Northern boundary of the United States shall be- and
the hereby is for the purpose Of temporary govern
ment, attached to, and made part Of the territory OF
Michigan, and the inhabitants therein shall be entitled
to the privileges and immunites and be subject to
the same laws, rules and regulations, in all respects, as
the other citizens OF Michigan territory.
APPROVED, June %, 1884
This act shows that the territory west of the
Mississippi river, out of which Iowa was formed,
was not originally part of Michigan Territory
In 1884, when the act was passed, the old North
West Territory consisted of the States of Ohio.
gan. By an act of April l6, 1914, the western
boundary of Illinois Chen Territory was er-
tended to the Mississippi, and ibis boundary the
State Of Illinois still retains Until 1894, there
fore, the Mississippi was the extrene western
limit of the States and Territory formed out of the
old North West Territory and, of course, the ter
ritory from which Iowa was afterwards formed
~, ~
But, apart from these acts of congress, no por-
ton of the history of the country is more notori-
Gus than the fact that the Mississippi river, from
its source down to the point where the Louisiana
line crosses it, was the western limit of the Uni
ted States, until the territory West of it was pur
chased from France by the treaty of 1903. 1t was
definitely fixed as the boundary between the Br-
fish and French possessions by the celebrated
treaty of 1868, generally known as the "Treaty
of Paris" We cannot just now, lay our hands
upon full copy of that treaty, but it is sufficient
for our purpose to quote from reliable authority
the following abstract of part of the sixth articles
By the sixth article it is stipulated that the confines
between the donions of Great Britain and France on
the continent of North America shall be rreyocabv
fixed by line drawn along the middle Of the river Mis-
from thence by line drawn along the middle OF this
river and OF The lakes Maurepas and Poutchartrain
the sea-" list vol Hinon's His and Top of the u
81 e.
The constitution of the State of Virginia, adopt
ed June 80, l776 expressly recogpissel the eoun-
dairy thus established by the treaty Of Paris, as
| blridSlg upon her he g1zss section, after cedina
to Maryland, Pennsylvania, NORTH and South Ca
rolina, all her claim to the territories granted by
their respective charters, has the following clause
1.-The Western and Northern extent of Virginia
shall in all other respects, stand fixed by the charter
OF hing James the first, in the year thousand six
hundred and nlne and by the public treaty of ace be-
taoeen the courts Of Great Britain and France in The
year one thousand seoen hundred and sirtv-three',
When Virginia, by her acts of cesson OF 1871
and 1888. yielded to the Confederation all her title
to the territory Northwest of the river Ohio"
she of course yielded only what her constitution
had declared was bounded on the West by the
Mississippi, according to the treaty of Paris. In
her final act of 1888, ratfying the terms proposed
by Congress, she distinctly contracted that the
Western State in the said Territory shall be bound
ed by the Mississippi" &c.
To renderthe narrative complete, we NAV add,
that the province of Louisiana, purchased of
France in 1903, was, by the act of March 26th,
1904, divided into TWO territories. That act first
created SHE territory Of Orleans" lying south of
the Mississippi territory and of the 33d parallel;
and, secondly, provided that ''the residue of the
province of Louisiana, coded to the United States.
shall be called the District Of Louisiana" The
same act attached the "District of Louisiana to
the Territorial government of Indiana. By the
act of March Sd, 1906, separate Territorial 90
vernment was organized in the District or Terrific
ny of Louisiana By the act of June, 1912, its
name was changed to the Territory of Missouri,
which was admitted as State in 1921. The act
of June 23d, 1884, above cited, transferred all the
territory West of the Mississippi and North of
the State of Missouri to Michigan 1t next con-
sttuted part of Wisconsin, and in 1888, became
the Territory of Iowa. When Iowa was made
State in l945, large portion of this territory was
left North of its Northern boundary This por-
ton, together with considerable region East of
the source OF the Mississippi was, in lS47 or .,
organized as the Territory of Minnesota.
Mr. Bolts and our readers will now see that
however ready we might be to acknowledge an
error committed IN undertaking to correct him, no
such acknowledgment would be pertinent in this
instance We shall not employ farther space in
determining whether we have "fallen into some
what common but very gorgeous error" or who
has really committed $50 inexcusabe a mist AXE"
as to state incorrectly the origin of one of the
States of this Union. We commend Mr.. Bolts
to a somewhat closer study of the "United States
statutes at large" and of the puhlic traat;ao rolo
ting to the territorial limits of the country.
The Democratic Anti COMPROMISE MEETING.
AN anonymous Democratic correspondent has
sent us communication, complaining of our ar
ticle, in which we said we had been informed that
at tho Democratic meeting against the Cornpro.