Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/435



CORRESPONDENCE 407

2 o'clock P. M. company convened; the chairman called to order. The committee submitted the following constitution and rules which were unanimously adopted : 84

CONSTITUTION.

Article 1st. This Company shall be called the New London Emigrating Company for Oregon.

Art. 2d. All persons uniting with company shall be bound by the regulations hereinafter provided.

Art. 3d. All male members over the age of sixteen years shall have the right to vote in the business transactions of the company.

Art. 4th. The officers of this company shall consist of a Captain, Lieutenant, Orderly Lieutenant, Sergeant of the Guard, Engineer and a Committee of Five, who shall be elected each four weeks; except the Engineer and Sergeant of the Guard, who shall be appointed by the Captain.

Art 5th. Captain to maintain good order and strict discipline, and to enforce all rules adopted by this company. It shall be the duty of the Lieutenant to take charge of the cattle and to call out a sufficient number of men and boys not engaged in driving teams to drive and take care of the loose cattle, and he shall be subject to the order of the Captain. It shall be the duty of the Orderly Sergeant to keep a fair roll of the names of all the men subject to duty. It shall be the duty of the Engineer to remove any obstruction in the road and select the most suitable places for encampment. It shall be the duty of the Committee to settle all matters of difference between two or more persons in said company, according to the evi- dence in the case. Any person or persons that may feel them- selves aggrieved at the decision of the Committee shall have the right of appeal to the company, provided that parties in dispute shall not be allowed to vote, and a decision of a ma-

84 It was customary for the emigrant parties to adopt constitutions. One of the emigration of 1844, for instance, was published in the New York Herald in January, 1845, and the author may have seen it, for the two constitutions resem- ble each other in many ways. Ore. Hist. Soc. Quar. 111:407.