Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 1.djvu/23

Rh terms of which the laws of Canada were extended over English subjects operating in the country to the south. Provision was made for justices of the peace, before whom cases were brought, and, if sufficiently important, were sent to the courts of Canada. In this way, then, did the English government follow its subjects, and become the first real civil government exercised in the country, although it was exercised in the interests of only part of the inhabitants. England had found away to look after her subjects without violating the strict terms of the treaty of joint occupancy.

The office of justice was held by officers of the fur trading company, whose power and prestige was thus increased. The history of government for about twenty years is summed up in the person of one man, Dr. John McLoughlin. The exercise of authority by that masterful character of early times still lives in the minds of the oldest pioneers, and has found expression in many of the records which constitute the sources of Oregon's history. Although the official agent of the English company, a Scotchman by nationality, a Catholic in religion, and loyal to all the interests he represented, he was a man of too large a mold to be anything other than the instrument of justice and good order for all classes of people who might come within the bounds where his jurisdiction was exercised. "From 1823 to 1845 he was the controlling power in the country, and did more than any one else to preserve order, peace and good will among the conflicting and sometimes lawless elements of the population." Autocratic in his methods and strict in the enforcement of justice, he was yet kindly and merciful. His tours about the country to settle any