Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/372

 342 W. C. Woodward resulted in the following report of the Legislative Committee upon Ways and Means, which was adopted July 5, 1843, as a means of financing the new government: "We, the sub- scribers, pledge ourselves to pay annually to the Treasurer of Oregon Territory, the sums affixed to our respective names, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of government — Provided, that in all cases, each individual subscriber may at any time withdraw his name from said subscription upon pay- ing up all arrearages and notifying the Treasurer of the colony of such desire to withdraw." 1 Here is a significant western interpretation of the theory of the Social Contract to the effect that the individual may return at pleasure to the "state of na- ture" from which he came. The thorough republican ideas of the framers of the government — their protest against financial obligations and restraint, are thus clearly set forth. 2 One year's trial of the free will offering method of maintaining government was sufficient, however. The Legislative Com- mittee of 1844 amended this provision and laid a light tax, providing that any person refusing to pay taxes should have no benefit from the laws of Oregon and should be disqualified from voting. 3 This rendered the traditional "state of nature" a condition rather than a theory and tended strongly to foster a wholesome appreciation of the blessings of established order. Jesse Applegate, close friend of Shortess who was the chief author of the Organic Law, says there was a political purpose not comprehended by the mass of American settlers in basing the scheme of government upon the Ordinance of 1787 — that purpose being to settle the slavery question west of the Rocky Mountains as the Ordinance had settled it in the Northwest States to the east of them, the anti-slavery provision of the Ordinance being copied in the new document. 4 Whether the 1 Oregon Archives, p. 27. 2"Thie fathers of the American Oregon not only acted upon the idea that all just governments derived their authority from the consent of the governed, but they granted to each citizen the power to judge of how much he was willing to contribute to the support of such government — how much he was willing to be restrained by becoming a part of that government." — Evans, "History of Oregon," Ms., pp. 275, 276. 3Bancroft, Vol. 1, p. 433. 4Applegate, "Views of Oregon History," Ms., pp. 39, 40.