Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/211

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 151 of Louisiana, defined the powers of the gov- ernor and three judges, established courts, and made provision for the confirmation of the action of these various bodies. Under the terms of this act, General James "Wilkinson was appointed governor of the territory, Joseph iJrowne of New York was made secre- tary, and James B. C. Lucas, John Coburn, and Rufus Easton were made judges of the court. "Wilkinson, the new governor, was a man about whom there has raged a great deal of controversy. We have seen that he was the commander of the American forces along the Mississippi river and that he had been one of the two commi.ssiouers appointed to receive the transfer of the territory. By some people he was regarded as a very able man. It was "U^ilkinson who denounced Burr, and he was one of the men responsible for Burr's arrest and trial. He did not testify in that case but attended the trial and was ready and even anxious to appear against Burr. It is now known that Wilkinson was for a long time in the pay of the Spanish government. It was his interference that caused Governor Miro to oppose Morgan's plan at New Madrid, and there seems to be no doubt that Wilkinson was for some years, even while in command of the forces of the United States, in correspon- dence with Spanish officials and considering with them a scheme by which the people of the western part of the United States along the Mississippi river, could be induced to throw off their allegiance to the government of the United States and attach themselves to Spain. For his services in these matters Wilkinson seems to have received a pension from the Spanish government, and there is no reason to doubt that he was very well dis- posed toward Spain. His actions as governor of the new territory caused a great deal of antagonism and bitter feeling. He was accused of having tried to speculate in land even while he was governor, he seemed to have been opposed to the Amer- ican settlers in the territory and to have been a friend to the French. He failed also to be able to deal successfully with his subordinates and was in constant trouble on account of differences with the men who served under him. It is said that he became so enraged against Easton, who had been one of the judges of the superior court and was later postmaster at St. Louis, that he refused to allow his mail to be sent through a postofifice over which Easton presided. He engaged in a feud with a number of the officers of the territory ; he seemed to have no tact or ability to manage affairs at all. A very strenuous effort was made to have him removed from office; he was charged with oppression and neglect and with cruel conduct, and the charges against him were pressed with so much violence that finally Jefferson removed him from office on March 3, 1807. Wilkinson was succeeded by Meriwether Lewis. Lewis' name will always be famous on account of his association with Clark on the celebrated expedition sent out by JefTersou to explore the northwestern part of the newly purchased territory of Louisiana. He found affairs in Louisiana in a deplorable state. The people were ho.stile to the government; they were divided into factions, and strife and bit- ter feeling raged everywhere. Lewis was an able man and a diplomat and he very soon established a feeling of respect for himself and the office which he held that went far toward restoring tranquility in the territory. We have seen that the administration of Governor Lewis was successful, he possessed qualities which made him a valuable leader in any community and which enabled him to