Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/168



156 SAMUEL ROYAL THURSTON

main unmade which might be beneficial to our our noble and beloved Oregon. So having concluded this much of this memorandum I retired to rest to dream of the land of my choice where was my all my property and my beloved wife and little ones. December 1, 1849.

Today I visited several of the departments and at 8 P. M. called on President Taylor in company with Gov. John P. Gaines. I learned two thousand dollars of the $5000 appro- priation for books had been expended. The remaining $3000 we had paid over by way of draft on the Independent Treasury, to Gov. Gaines who will expend the whole or nearly so in the purchase of books at N. Y. and take them to Oregon with him round the Horn.

We also had paid over to Gov. Gaines the $5000 appropriated for public buildings. This he will take to Oregon and expend in commencing the buildings, relying upon Congress to make further appropriations.

The Government was just upon the point of paying over also to him the $20,600 appropriated by the last Congress to meet the expenses of the first session of the Oregon legis- lature. I objected to this, on the ground that it would not reach Oregon until next July, and urged that draft or drafts be drawn by Gov. on the custom houses at Astoria and San Francisco for the amount, so that the members of the last legislature might receive their pay as soon as possible. I received assurances that this should be done according to my desire.

In my interview with the President he assured me he would do all in his power to favor Oregon. Gov. Gaines and my- self then requested that a war vessel should be ordered to Astoria. He promised it should be done. Then as the "Supply" on board which Gov. and other officers were going, was to stop at San Francisco, we urged him to order the same to Oregon, after discharging what freight she had for S. F. He said he would either do this, or order a smaller vessel to take the government officers and the Oregon stores to Oregon.