Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-27

Mailed by Foster Milburn CO., BuffaIo, y.
Y. Sole agents for the United states.
Remember the name Doans and take no
substitute
errors are reproduced, but no new ones
made, We brought out recently, as one
Of these reprints, the temporary laws of
the Province of New Hampshire, of 176l, of
which only one complete copy was known
to exist. and that was in the Connecticut
state library. The next best was in the
New Hampshire State library, but it lack
ed three pages and the State Of New Hamp-
shire in having 1t reprinted from type
some years before, had concealed the fact
that the pages were missing by leaving
of the catch-word at the bottom of the
last printed page.
The way political geography connects
itself with these law books is significant.
From 1881 to 1S0O the Northwest territory
WAS then erected out of that part which
j. west of the meridian of the present
eastern boundary of Indiana. In 1873 OHIO
was made a State, and the eastern half
of the lower pcnnsular of Michigan was
turned over to Indian Territory, thus Civ
ing it all The Northwest Territory except
ohio. In 1901 that part Of Michigan east
of Lake Michigan was made a territory
and Indiana then included, besides her
present limits. Illinois and Wisconsin, the
upper pcninsuar of Michigan, and that
Part of Minnesota which is east of the
Mississippi river. In 1890 a division was
again made at the present eastern bound
AIRY of Illinois and Illinois Territory was
created, including what is now Illinois
and Wisconsin. and the part Of Minnesota
previously referred to. In 1916 Indiana,
and in 1915 Illinois, were admitted as
States, and the remaining parts of the
Northwest Territory were given to Michi-
gan Territory. When Michigan was ad-
mitted to the Union in 1886, its present up
per peninsuar was given to it in recon-
pense for the strip taken from its south
ern boundary given to Ohio and Indiana,
in contravention of the Ordinance of 1857,
which fixed the northern boundaries of the
States to be formed out of the southern
part of the Northwest Territory, at line
drawn at the parallel of the southern bend
OF Lake Michigan. The following of the
letter Of the great ordinance would have
given Chicago to Wisconsin and South
Bend and other northern Indiana towns,
and Toledo. to Michigan. Ohio did not
want to lose an important lake port. and
this brought about the Toledo war be-
tween Ohio and Michigan. There was
some politics back of this, II was
/ thought wise to add a northern strip to
Illinois and Indiana to offset the pre-slav-
cry sentiment of the southern and earlier
settled parts of these States, largely peo-
pied from the South.
when ouiSiana was purchased in 1903
it was divided into two governments The
/ first WAS called the Territory of Orleans,
and it had about the same boundaries as
the present State of Louisiana. The rest
was called the District of Louisiana, and
was not regarded by Congress as entitled
to u separate government, and was at
| tached, for governmental purposes, To
the then Territory of Indiana which at
that time included Illinois and extended
to the Mississippi river and hence was
contiguous to the Louisiana District.
William Henry Harrison, governor and
the three judges of the Indiana Territory,
constituted the legislative body for the
! District of Louisiana from 1874 to 1906, and
passed laws which were printed at Vim
ccnnes in 1901 by Elihu Stout, the first
| Indiana printer. There are only four or
! Ave copies of this book in existence. In
! 1SD1 Congress decided to give the District
of Louisiana a government of its own. Its
capital was made at St. Louis, and the ap-
! pointed governor and the appointed judges
constituted also the legislative body OF
! the territory. There was a first and "A
second grade of territorial government in
those days. Territories which did not have
enough inhabitants to justify an elective
Legislature were of the first grade, and in
them the governor and the judges passed
the laws. In the second grade, where pop
uaton did not justify two the legislative
body had but one House.
In 1872 the name of the territory Of
| Louisiana was changed TO the territory of
Missouri. In 1919 the part lying between
what is now Missouri and Louisiana
! (Which had been admitted as a State in
/ 1Sl2) was set apart as the territory of Ar
kansas, but with "A larger extent west
ward than the State of that name was
! given when admitted in 1886 The next
change was the admission of Missouri as
Atata In 70, IA.
souri, COMPROMISED All the rest of the
Louisiana purchase, the vast territory
north and west of Missouri, was left en-
TREY without local government until 1894
when that part of it east of the Missouri
river, and east of the tributary of that
river called the White Earth now in
North Dakota. was attached to the then
territory of Michigan; thus joining part
of the Louisiana purchase TO part of the
/ Louisiana purchase west of Arkansas
Missouri ana the Missouri river was still
left without local government, and re-
manned so until the famous Kansas
I Nebraska act of 1854.
| In 1896 the state of Michigan was adj
mitted and the territory of Wisconsin
! created, including all of the territory OF
Michigan except the present State, and
| therefore extending from Lake Michigan
to the Missouri and White Earth river
IN 1898 the territory of Iowa was set off
ledNlNS 10 w WISCONSIN,, DcSlueS lis present
extent, the part of Minnesota east of the
Mississippi river and of "A line drawn from
It's head-waters to the international
boundary line, but Wisconsin was cut
down TO its present bounds when it was
admitted ia lS4S, having still earlier lost
the upper pcninsular, on the northeast
and the part given to Illinois on the south
This territory OF Iowa remained with this
extent until 1916. when Iowa, after q
struggle with Congress like, but more sue.
ccssful than that of Michigan, was adj
mitted to the union with its present
boundaries The territory north of Iowa
and east of the Missouri was without loca
government until lS49, when Minnesota
was was created as a territory 1t includ
ed that part of the two Dakotas east OF
the Missouri river.
"'rhe laws of the Northwest Territory
prior to 1900, and the laws of Indian Terri
tory prior TO 1909, were as much laws OF
Illinois as were ever the laws of Illinois