The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-01-17
0Qerklg Minnesotian.
MONDAY MORNING, JAN. 12, 1857.
Minnesota Historical SOcictyThe In-
troduciOry Lecture of the Season.

troduciOry Lecture of the Season.
We have already referred, in genera
terms to the address Of JAMES w. TAYLOR
ESQ., of this city, before the Minnesota His
torical Society, and proceed to redeem ouI
promise of further sketch.
The speaker commenced by statement
that under recent charter the Society en-
tered upon an enlarged sphere of usefulness.
Hitherto the collation. of the early annals OF
the Territory had been its principal object
now an additional duty was imposed, to cul-
tivate among the citizens of Minnesota q
knowledge of the useful and liberal arts,
science and literature. The munificence of
the Legislative Assembly, in providing for
the tasteful publication of the Annals of
Minnesota, would doubtless be requited by
active exertions on the part of the Society,
to cooperate with the public authorities in
all measures which provided for the intellec-
tual progress of the state. A school SYSTEM
4 geological investigation and kindred legs-
lation, We're cited as illustrations of such
joint action.
In the selection Of a topic for the evening,
Mr.. TAYLOR remarked, that the organization
of the sources of the Mississippi into a state,
which is soon to occur, had suggested the
physical aspects of that mighty stream with
its affluents, as theme not inappropriate.
But his second thought had diverted him
from the geographical purpose to line of
discussion more political in its nature. The
immediate borders of the Mississippi would
soon pass within the protection OF state SOW
ereignty, Oouisiana was admitted in 1912
and Minnesota would be in l857) and the
propositions now coming forward to create
new states to the westward, with bounda-
ries far exceeding the average of other
Western States, viz, $4,000 square miles.
was one which deserved the gravest conside-
ration of every western citizen.
At this juncture the speaker INDUCED
himself in what seemed to us quite fanci
full episode of allusion to the battle of New
Orleans, whose anniversary was passing at
the moment, and in rather mythical eulo
gy Of Andtcw Jackson, as the q" incarnation
of Western life and character" He seemed
to regard that affair over the cotton ramparts
of New Orleans, as quite " "dynastc
event as not only conquest of the Mis-
sissippi, and its far-cxtended asin, but as
sealing the ascendancy of the United States
over the entire circuit of the Mexican Gulf
We confess that this outburst Of transcen-
dental Jacksenism seemed to us in rath, L
questionable taste and that the speakers
comparison of New Orleans with Marathon
and Waterloo, in the control of future
events, was rather cxtravagant but the di-
gressicn had the merit of brevity and led
Immediately to the chief topic of the lee
ture.
This was proposition illustrated by Col
tons large map of the United States, color
ed and lettered for the purpose, that Con-
gress should divide our entire territorial
area into twenty-nine new states (including
a division of California into three, and OF
Texas into five states), and that as rapidly
as these subdivisions were opened to settle
ment by the Indian and Land Departments
of the country, that the settlers shoul be
authorized to frame temporary governments,
and in all respects to administer their own
affairs, without federal appointments, until
the population reached 100000, when the
right to frame permanent constitution, and
to admission as member of the Federal
Ci:ion should be secured. We observed on
the map of the United States, as Mr.. TAY-
LoR would revise it, that the basin of Lake
Superior constituted one state-the valley of
the Red River Of the North another-Min-
nesota, south of 46 deg, and extending
west, SO as to include 100 miles upon the
Missouri at its southwestern angle, third
while the country from the Missouri to the
Pacific, including small portion of Western
Minnesota, would be organized into six
states, to wit, Dakota, Arrikara, Upsaroka.
Jefferson, Wallawalla, Umatilla, Oregon and
Washington. We do not think the lectu-
rer was very mellfuous in his selection of
names. For instance, he would divide Cali
fornia into Shasta, California and Mojave-
Utah Territory into Helvetia, Deseret, Utah
and Yampa-New Mexico Territory, into
Colorado, Zuni, Gila and New Mexico
Texas. into Nueces, Llano, Guadaloupe,
Brazos and Texas-Southern Nebraska, into
Laramie and Nebraska, and Kansas into
Huerfano and Kansas-presenting twenty
nine new organizations, which, with the
thirty-one States already recognized, would
make a confederacy Of sixty States between
the two oceans.
1t was contended, that such measure
was an exact transcript of the Jeffersonian
Ordinance of 1884, which was in force until
(. klS1, and established similar division OF
lie eastern half of the Mississippi Valley
into seventeen states, instead of the present
organization into nine states, with similar
provisions for the self-deyelopment of the
embryo communities.
The speaker rapidly considered the proba-
BILE objections to his scheme of new States
He admitted that the region west of lonei-
tiie 80 to the Sierra Nevada of California
would never sustain dense communities