Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 1.djvu/64

52 in strength, material, or obstinacy, he finally sat down. Senator Benton, ever on the alert, immediately moved the passage of the bill. It was carried in a short time, and taken to the President for his signature so that it might become a part of his administration. Thus Oregon became a territory August 14, 1848. It was a very fitting thing that Senator Benton, who had from the first championed the cause, should have the satisfaction of seeing it finished.

The provisions of the bill making Oregon a territory resembled those of other bills of a similar kind in most particulars. The special messengers, J. Quinn Thornton and Stephen L. Meek, had been able to make suggestions which fitted the bill to the peculiar needs of the new territory. *It was notable in being the first bill to set aside two townships of land, instead of one, for the purpose of supporting schools. It recognized the machinery of government already in existence, and endorsed the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, which had already been adopted, in regard to slavery. The transition from the provisional government to the territorial was easily made, and Oregon started out on a new era of existence. The first Governor appointed, Gen. Joseph Lane, referring later in congress to the experience of this time said: "When I arrived there, in the winter of 1848, I found the provisional government working beautifully. Peace and plenty blessed the hills and vales, and harmony and quiet, under the benign influence of that government, reigned supreme throughout her borders. I thought it was almost a pity to disturb the existing relations, to put that government down and another up. Yet they came out to meet me, their first Governor, under the laws of the United States. They told me how proud they were to be under the laws of the United States, and how glad they were to welcome