Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/377

Rh are all well aware. The precious metals are very scarce in this country and by most persons not to be had. What shall be the legal tender is an important question for you to decide. If all the articles produced, raised, and manufactured in this country are made legal tender, no person will sell anything he has to dispose of unless there is a special contract drawn up designating how and in what manner the seller is to receive his pay, this will cause much inconvenience to both parties. Wheat in my opinion should be the only article used in this country as a legal tender in addition to gold and silver, it is at present the staple article of our country, can be procured by all the settlers in abundance, can be readily disposed of by the merchants and others, and is not a perishable article." The fundamental legal tender act of early Oregon was passed at this session. It provided that, "in addition to gold and silver, treasury drafts, approved orders on solvent merchants, and good merchantable wheat at the market price, delivered at such places as is customary for merchants to receive wheat at, shall be a lawful tender for the payment of taxes and judgments rendered in the courts of Oregon Territory, where no special contracts have been made to the contrary." Treasury certificates or scrip were already receivable for dues to the Government. These remained throughout the period of the Provisional Government a legal tender for all dues to or from the Government.

After two years (December, 1847) so much of the general legal tender act as made orders on solvent merchants, wheat, and treasury drafts a lawful tender in payment of judgments was repealed. The Governor was still favorable to the retention of wheat as a legal tender but the Legislature excluded it. The form of the legal tender legislation made it apply directly only to judgments and not to original transactions of trade. This had its shortcomings in actual