Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/142

 134 F. G. YOUNG. the Oregon Indian war claims is given in the Appendix to this presentation of the territorial finances. Charaateriza&ion of the Public Spirit and Activities of this Period. It was hardly to be expected that the Oregon people of this period would overlook the sums placed to their credit at Washington by the Congressional appropriations for a terri- torial library, for a penitentiary, and for a state house, as well as the annual sums available for salaries of Oregon officials. Yet we shall see that they were slow in availing themselves of even some of these money grants and equally deliberate in accepting and selecting their educational lands. But when it came to putting into operation a financial system of their own for the collection and disbursement of territorial revenues the records indicate that naturally there was still more dilatoriness. The territorial treasury was largely a myth during the first three years of this period. While the wheels of the territorial government were started on March 3, 1849. and the territorial legislature met in its first session on the 16th of Juty following, and regularly thereafter on the first Monday in December of the succeeding years, and while a Territorial Auditor and a Territorial Treasurer were elected at the first session and at each of the following regular annual sessions, nevertheless the first report from either official extant is that of the Territorial Treasurer, dated December 7, 1852. 7 7 On July 20, 1849, the fifth day of the first session, the House of Repre- sentatives requested the Governor "to communicate to the House whether it is likely any report from the Territorial Treasurer or Auditor may be expected; if not, that he he requested to cause such report to be made." Six days later the following reply was received from the Governor: "I have delayed responding to the call made upon me by the House, relative to the reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and Auditor of the Territory, for the purpose of piving time to the gentleman who has charge of the office of the treasury, in the absence of that officer, to make his report. I have the honor of now being able to inform the House, that the report will be complete in the course of this day, and will then be forwarded to the House." However, as the compiler of the printed "archives" did not include the portion of the House Journal covering this date, but reported that it could "not be found," and as search among the MSS. preserved does not disclose it, no light can be thrown upon the condition of the treasury at the opening of the territorial period. As the report of the Treasurer of the Provisional Govern-