Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/318

226 dale's donation certificate gave him title to the levee; that he claimed all proprietary rights upon it, using, renting and selling portions, and that the city had twice publicly admitted his claim, and had compelled him to pay taxes upon it. Nevertheless, it will always be understood by many that at the beginning, or in the early days, Portland supposed she owned the water front for the public, and that the proprietors had some intention of facilitating commerce and providing against extortion of wharfingers by having a free front for the use of boatmen, farmers and shippers. But whatever rights she had used, she allowed to slip through her fingers.

There was, however, a levee still left. General Coffin dedicated to the city a strip from Jefferson street southward along the river bank to Clay street. He reserved for himself only the right of using it for purposes of ferriage, but afterward sold this right to the city, giving at that time a quit claim to the whole tract. The question what to do with the property was variously agitated at different times before the city council. Recommendations for leasing it for the benefit of the city were incorporated in municipal reports, and suggestions for improvements so as to make it of service to the public, were occasionally made.

It looks quite reasonable at this distance of time, that the people of Portland in 1850 were right in their contentions about the public levee; and that a levee was really the intention of the town proprietors. Why, then, did they abandon that idea? The only explanation that can be given, is, that when Captain Couch made improvements on the water front of his property, he built a covered wharf after the manner of river and seaport towns in New England. And it was at once seen that this plan was better for shipping on this river and at this port than the open ground levee plan.

And because it was better and more convenient for shipping it was seen that Couch would get all the ships to his end of the town and the city would be built down there. And so the townsite proprietors themselves put up the first wharves and docks on the original levee strip, and sold the rights to others to so build.

And thus, by the neglect or lack of foresight of our city pioneers, the levee strip of land, and all its values for public docks, was lost to their city. And now, in 1910, sixty years afterwards, the voters of the city at the late state election, by a large majority vote, authorized a debt in the shape of city bonds, to the extent of $2,500,000, to purchase back from the owners, more or less of this old 1850 levee land, and build thereon public docks. Thus man in all his wisdom, goes stumbling through the world.

It might be assumed from what has been recorded that the people had no protection in the forms of law from any source, or thought they had none, until the United States assumed control of the country. But this is not justified by the record. The provisional government at Oregon City had, upon its organization, promptly passed an act to provide title to land claims, as has been recorded. And although the people had taken that largely on faith, yet the sequel shows that the lawfully organized courts of the United States did afterwards fully recognize and decide the provisional government to be a lawful and legitimate organization, and that its authorization and regulation of land titles must be sustained. On passing upon this question, in the case of Lownsdale vs. City of Portland, decided by Judge Deady in 1861, and in the case of Baldra vs. Tolmie, decided by Chief Justice Williams, in First Oregon Rep. 178, the court holds:

"It is well known that at the time of the organization of Oregon territory, an anomalous state of things existed here. The country was extensively settled and the people were living under an independent government, established by themselves. They were a community in the full sense of the word, engaged in agricultural, trade, commerce and mechanics arts; had built towns, opened and improved farms, established highways, passed revenue laws and collected taxes,, made war and concluded peace.