The Minnesotian. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1851-1852, 1852-03-20
WHAT WE HAVE DONE.


by act of Congress, approved March Sd,
l849, only three years and few weeks
anterior to thi. date. The retiring adj
ministration of Mr.. Polk approvedthe act,
but it was left to the new executive to fill
the Offices. 1t could not be expected,
that amid the general scramble for places
incident to the time, the requisite quality
Of official material to set the new Terrific
rial government properly in motion, would
be selected in every particular, from the
heterogeneous stock piled pin confusion
about the warehouses of the national cap
ital. Some mistakes were made, of course |;
but by accident we got the right man for
Governor, and as bad as our Judiciary is
in some particulars, it might have been
worse. At the end of nearly the third
year Of our existence, after the all trou-
bic and turmoil of putting the machine in
running order was over, the President
gave us the man for Secretary we should
have had at the outset, or some one else
Of like character and qualifications. But
let this all pass.
Let US see what we have done. a mass
of loose and hastily considered legislation,
which had come down to us from the old
Territories of Michigan and Wisconsin,
stood as our municipal law. 1t was scat
tered over the land in series Of badly
printed, yellow covered pamphlets, COM
plete SETS of which were as rare as Chris
tan bibles in China. The first Legisla-
ture undertook to remedy the defect as
far as possible, by re-enacting some of the
more general laws of daily use; but they
succeeded very partially. The second
Legislature met amid storm of local po-
itical excitement. A faction which had
reared the motto Of ''rule or ruin," came
into that body, determined to carry out the
words engraven upon its insignia. But,
much to its chagrin, it turned out that
majority of both branches We're guided by
better counsels; and even some of the
members who joined in its political cru
SADIE against the majority, had the honesty
and magnanimity to second the efforts of
the Governor and his friends, in taking
hold of the work to prepare a code Of
laws for the people. Among those, we
must, in simple justice, name James S.
Norris, who, with all his sins and ridicu-
lous political antics, was a Woodworking.
careful, practical legislator. No other
member of the joint judiciary COM
mittee of the two houses, save Mr.. Burk-
leo. Of the Council. and Mr.. Brun-
SOC. Of the House, ever gave two hours
attention in the committee room, during the
framing of the entire code. The asser-
ton of New York paper, that John w.
North was the man who did the whole
or most of the work, made doubtless at
the modest request Of that gentleman him
self, we have never regarded as of sufi-
cient importance to contradict.
As the session progressed, the efficient
commissioners laborcd necessarily, and
produced with unexampled rapidity, chap
ter after chapter of the new code. The
majority of the Legislature had confidence
in their integrity; and owing to that con-
iidence-which subsequent experience
has proved was not misplaced-it was
not necessary to give the revision the
customary attention, in its passage through
the various stages of enactment. Gu,
whole system of municipal law was re.
vised and re-enacted, and in addition man,
new and original reforms were introduced
which were bold experiments for a youns
community, such as ours, 10 attempt
One Of them was the new rule of evi
dence, which has since been adopted b,
Old England herself. Owing to the vic
lent manner in which this feature of III
Revised Statutes has been assailed by
small portion of the bar and bench G
Minnesota, we have felt it our duty t
give the opinions Of some Of the leadin
London presses in regard its efficacy. l
this number, we publish an article upo
this head from late number of the En-
aminer.
The code was got through with b
the end Of the session, much to the relic
Of the Governor, the working majority 9
the Legislature, and all good citizens VIII
labored to advance the interests and we]
fare of the whole people, against the sci
fish and reasonable schemes of faction
BY the most laborious and untiring exer
tions of few citizens, the code wa
nr;nfed and rlaced in the hands ne a.