Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/190

172 of this business. Had Thurston been charged by his party to procure the passage of this amendment, the journals of the house would have shown some bold and fiery assaults upon established rules, and proofs positive that the innovation was necessary to the peace and prosperity of the territory. On the contrary, Lane was betrayed by his loyalty to his personal friends into seeming to deny the allegations of his constituents against the judiciary.

The location question led to the regular organization of a democratic party in Oregon in the spring of 1852, forcing the whigs to nominate a ticket. The democrats carried the election; and soon after this triumph came the official information of the action of congress on the location law, when Gaines, with that want of tact which rendered abortive his administration, was no sooner officially informed of the confirmation of the laws of the legislative assembly and the settlement of the seat-of-government question than he issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the legislature to commence on the 26th of July. In obedience to the call, the newly elected members, many of whom were of the late legislative body, assembled at Salem, and organized by electing Deady president of the council, and Harding speaker of the house. With the same absence of discretion the governor in his message, after congratulating them on the settlement of a vexed question, informed the legislature that it was still a matter of grave doubt to what extent the location act had been confirmed; and that even had it been wholly and permanently established, it was still so defective as to require further legislation, for which purpose he had called them together, though conscious it was at a season of the year when to attend to this important duty would seriously interfere with their ordinary avocations; yet he hoped they would be willing to make any reasonable sacrifice for the general good. The defects in the location