Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 14.djvu/271



LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 231

accordingly a letter was dispatched to the Colonel, stating that "we have concluded to move our lines that you can have the claim of land where you desired and I herewith send you the field 'notes of the survey made by your brother who has surveyed forty of our claims in this vicinity and you have our consent to have it recorded in the books of the territory." (See the record of Dec., 1846, made in the name of this Colonel, Sir -named Lawrence Hall, and with regard to these claims sur- veyed by them his brother can testify. ) Being spoken to by the Colonel on the subject, he read the quotation above. The gilded bait was taken and ere the session closed we found him at the head of a committee to draft a memorial to Congress from this legislature, and with his own pen writing the preamble and leading paragraph of the memorial, as follows, "We, your memorialists, are Scotch, English, French and Americans," and after another preliminary remark, continued, "We would re- spectfully ask your honorable body to grant us our lands as we have laid them, having laid them in accordance with the Organic Law." Here would just say I think this is misunder- stood by many as giving a grant of land when if you will look at them it is only a requisition of the territory of any person holding or wishing to hold a claim. Thus was one allured. Another, who liked to toss the brandy bottle, was glad to re- ceive their aid to pass a liquor law, and for and in consideration of which Hudson's Bay Company be the only speculators in liquor. See the liquor license law of 1846. Importers paid no duties but the manufacturer paid $100 for the privilege to make, as they should be charged no duty for importing it but he that distilled should pay his $100 license for their benefit. Another wished to have the company enjoy all the privileges we enjoyed as American citizens, and privileged to throw res- ervoirs across public roads a'nd prevent them from going to the only public mill then in the territory that could grind any quantity of wheat, &c. And during the action of that body the mill had a notice posted on the door and other places near but after their friends thot fit to leave this public mill as it had ever been before, was opposed to grinding the wheat of the people without they would sell 70 Ibs. wheat for about 60 cents and buy flour at three dols. per hundred. McLaughlin's, or, as it was then called, by themselves, H. B. Co. mill, never ground for the people, yet advertised during the time of debate on obstructing the road the member from Vancouver said this H. B. Co. mill was a public mill. By the next day, however, they refused to grind for ind. To conclude the proceedings of