Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/166

158 ROBERT CARLTON CLARK registration of land claims. The clause 4 of the old act that was intended to deprive McLoughlin of his claim at the Falls of the Willamette is dropped.*? By another measure the north- ern boundary of the territory over which the provisional gov- ernment claimed jurisdiction was fixed at the Columbia River.* 8 This shows an unwillingness to encroach upon the Hudson's Bay Company. Provision was also made and agreed to by the Canadians, for supporting the government by taxation and de- priving those who refused to contribute of any right to vote or to receive protection from the government. The form of the executive was also changed and provision made to elect a governor at the next annual election. So important were the changes made in the Organic Laws and Articles of 1843 by the legislative committee of 1844 that something like, a new constitution was then made. It was under these new articles of compact and agreement that the Canadians and British sub- jects south of the Columbia joined with the Americans in constituting a government. From the new facts herein first presented showing how the Canadians were led finally to join with the Americans in form- ing a temporary government for the Oregon territory it is now clear that the movement of 1843, participated in by only a "part of the people" must not be considered as anything more than one of several steps in the direction of setting up a constitutional government. The first of these steps had been taken in 1838 when the American element elected magistrates for themselves ; the second in 1841 by the selection of a larger body of officers ; the third in 1843 with the placing of the government on a more definite constitutional basis. But until 1844 the British and Canadian citizens held aloof and were only brought into the union in that year under the circumstances described. By this fourth step a government embracing all the inhabitants and 47 General and Special Laws of Oregon, 1843-1849, 77. It is worth while noticing that the Methodist mission had been disbanded and its land and property distributed to its individual members so that there was no reason to retain the proviso of clause 4. 48 General Laws, 74. In the next session, Dec., 1844, changed again to 54 40', but in taking the census the sheriff was not required to go beyond the Columbia. Ibid, 72.