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374 well financially because of the high prices that lumber and all products of the farm, needed in California, brought. The people of Oregon were thus supplied abundantly with a money metal. But it was in the form of dust. In this state it was not only inconvenient to handle, but the farmers were being imposed upon in traffic in which it was used as the medium of exchange. Early in 1849 at least two petitions, with numerous signatures, were presented to the Legislature asking for its coinage. One of these petitions gave as reasons for urging this step the fact that there were "vast quantities of gold dust in a manner useless and dead to the community" which must either sell it at a great discount or not sell it at all, and the farmers found it inconvenient and difficult to trade with the article, as but few were provided with scales. Another petition spoke of the "combined monopolizers of the wheat and gold dust trade." A "sure method of curing disease," it said, "is to remove the cause, the cause being scarcity of coined money in the hands of the people, establish a mint for the coinage of gold equal in fineness to the gold coin of the United States and place such safeguards and restrictions around it as they in their wisdom may think necessary."

A bill providing for the establishment of a mint was immediately prepared and passed on February 15, 1849. It received the approval of the Governor the following day. Two members opposed the measure and had their protests entered on the journal. Both speak of it as in violation of the constitution of the United States and that officials would soon be at hand who would be obliged to prohibit its operations. It would thus involve a public expenditure to no purpose. One of the protesters, however, was opposed to it on the ground that it would be "making the territory a shaving machine by only allowing sixteen dollars and fifty cents per ounce." In the act itself the reasons given for