a delegate to congress. William Henry Harrison, received eleven votes, and was elected. Arthur St. Clair junior, receive ed ten votes for the same office. This was St. Clair's son. Harrison being the secretary of the territory at the time, resigned that office, and the governor took charge of his official papers, until a successor was appointed. Any act, which passed both houses, was sent to the governor, for his approbation. If he approved, it was returned by him, to the house in which it originated, where it was signed by the committee of enrollment, the great seal of the territory was affixed to it, and then it was deposited with the governor, for safe keeping. But if the act was not approved by the governor, be kept it in his possession until at the end of the session, he assigned his reasons for not approving it. In this way, St. Clair retained the act regulating marriages, one regulating taverns, one to create the office of county surveyor, one to take the census of the eastern division of the territory, (all east of the Scioto river,) and all the acts for erecting new counties, or changing the lines of old ones. St. Clair, in true military style, said; in his proroguing speech, "it appears to me, that the erecting new counties, is the proper business of the executive." In assigning his reasons for not approving the erection of the county. of Clark, St. Clair expressed his doubts whether the people in it were able to support a county. And he expressed his belief that nearly every man in the county had signed the petition for it, and their number was only about one hundred. This territorial legislature, which commenced its session on the 16th day of September, continued to sit until the 19th of December, when the governor, in true British style, prorogued them. During this term, of about three months, they passed about thirty public acts, many of them long and complicated From these first laws of the territory, we have derived many of our present ones. Hence the value of Chase's statutes, in which volumes they are collected, and to which, we respectfully refer the reader. Near the close of the session, this general assembly, prepared an address to the people of the territory. It was drawn up by Return J. Meigs, of the ones. house; after passing both branches of the legislature, it was signed by the president of the council, and speaker of the house, and countersigned by the clerk. Jacob Burnet who was a member of the council from Hamilton county, was the most efficient member of this first legislature, northwest of the Ohio river. He drafted the rules by which this legislature were governed, the address to the governor, and the address to the president of the United States. He drafted most of the complicated laws which passed both houses. The amount of his labors, are truly wonderful, when we compare them with the labors of members of our legislature. The amount of useful legislative labors, which were performed by Mr. Burnet, during this session, was greater than is now performed by some whole general assemblies of the present times. These acts of the old territorial legislature, have had their effect on our system of laws, to the period in which this is written. Jacob Burnet was born in Newark, New Jersey, educated at Princeton, in Nassau Hall where he regularly graduated. He studied law one year with Richard Stockton, Esquire; and the remainder of his time devoted to the study of his profession, preparatory to his admission to the bar, was spent with Elisha Boudinot, Esquire. Having completed his classical and legal studies, and on being admitted to the bar, as a lawyer, he immigrated into the North Western Territory, and settled at Cincinnati, in 1796. He immediately rose into eminence in his profession. He attended the supreme court at Cincinnati, Marietta and Detroit, in each year. The judges, and their officers, to wit: Daniel Symmes their clerk, Arthur St. Clair the attorney general, and Mr. Burnet and other lawyers, traversed the country, then a dense forest, without a house, after they had left each town more than twenty miles. These judges, and their officers, traveled on horseback, from court to court, carrying with them, blankets, horse-feed and food for themselves. They camped out at night, in the woods, and there was neither tavern, bridge, ferry nor even a road, in their route. Starting at Cincinnati, they wended their way in October, to Marietta. Returning from thence to Cincinnati, they penetrated through the forests and swamps of the northwest, to Detroit. Having held this court, they returned to Cincinnati. After being a member of the legislature of this state repeatedly, Jacob Burnet was elected a judge of the supreme court of this state, in 1821-2. This station he filled with distinguished ability. From this station, he was transferred to the United States senate, where he exhibited the same traits of character, for which he has always been remarkable-clearness, and depth of understanding, sound reasoning, equable and happy temperament; in fine, for real wisdom, great learning and singleness of purpose. After this first session of the territorial legislature, the seat of government was removed to Chillicothe, where it remained while the territory existed. Here the state constitution was framed, and the state government continued here until 1810, when the "sweepers" removed it to Zanesville. During the remaining period from 1799 to 1803, the territorial legislature annually met, but made not many laws, owing to the extraordinary powers conferred on the governor, by the act of congress of July 13th 1787. The governor was obstinate, and the people disliked him. How far his DEFEAT, while at the head of the North Western Terrritorial army, contributed to his want of popularity we do not know. That doubtless had its effects on the public mind. Settlers slowly came into the country, extending their settlements into the interior, and preparing, in that way, for a change in the form of government. During the time of our territorial pupillage, congress passed an act dividing this country by the Scioto river; all east of that line was to be a territory by itself. Of the western division, the Wabash was its western boundary. St. Clair was accused of getting that act passed, so that he might be the governor of the eastern division during his lifetime. The people informally sent Thomas Worthington to congress to get it repealed. Governor Worthington was successful and got the obnoxious act repealed. We are aware that St. Clair was not the only one, if one, who procured the passage of that act, but, it is not worth the trouble of giving their names. It was promptly repealed, through the agency of Thomas Worthington. During the two or three years between the first territorial legislature and the formation of our constitution, most of the business, usually now done by our general assembly, was done by the governor of the territory. He erected new counties, fixed county seats, and commissioned all the higher officers. He was an active stirring man, and often went over the mountains, but when he returned he issued all sorts of proclamations announcing new acts of legislation, enacted by himself. No man was fonder of exercising all the powers that he had, and no man was less liked than he was by those whom he governed. `But worse than all the other acts of his, he granted large tracts of land in the now state of Illinois, to his near relatives. These acts being utterly void were of no value to the grantees. But we forbear, he is no more. During this period, New Connecticut began to be settled, but the state was, except here and there a little spot, one vast wilderness, with few roads, and still fewer bridges, mills, churches or school houses. What few mails reached the territory were carried on horse back, and they were so carried until after the late war; in 1815, carriages began to be used in conveying the mails and passengers. There being no bridges across the water courses, the mails were not only often thoroughly wetted, but the horses that carried them were drowned, with those who rode them. Only twenty years have passed away since such accidents often occurred in this state. Many articles, such as iron and salt, during the territorial times, were excessively dear and not easily nor abundantly obtained at any price. For a farmer to send an ox team one hundred miles for a load of salt, to the Scioto salt works, where he gave three or four dollars a bushel for the article, and be on his road one month, knee deep in mud, it could not be expected of him to sell it for less than six or seven dollars a : bushel on his return home, to his neighbors. When the carriage of iron cost two hundred dollars a ton from Baltimore to Ohio, that article was dear. As to foreign cloths, they were dispensed with by the mass of the people. The homemade hunting shirt, a cap and mocasins, were not very uncommon in the western country. Those times are passed away and with them all these articles of dress. Our people now dress as well, if not even better, than those of any other state. And as a whole they are quite as able to do so. They work hard and earn the clothes, and use the right to wear them. At the early day we speak of, our houses were logs, not always laid very close together. Before our people had time to clear fields that would produce a harvest, the woods furnished nuts on which their hogs fed and fattened. The wild grasses fed the cattle and horses abundantly, winter and summer. Better beef or sweeter pork, never was tasted, than the wild grasses and the nuts fattened, in almost all parts of this now state of Ohio. Many of our old settlers, mourn the loss of that breed of hogs, which ran wild in the woods, and lived on nuts, acorns and wild roots. The beef too, of that period, the old settlers think, was sweeter and more like wild animals' flesh than ours now is. In this opinion we agree with them. The honey of those days, was made by wild bees. The Indians abundantly procured it, and often sold it to our people. Our sugar was made from the maple tree, and not a few of us even now, prefer it, to that which, at a low price, we now procure from Louisiana. Wild turkeys were abundant all over the woods, and were so easily taken, that they sold in market for only twelve and a half cents each. A good deer sold for one dollar, or even less. Hogs were almost as easily raised as the deer, and thousands were never seen by their owner until with his gun he went out to kill them. * The friendships of those days were pure and disinterested; and no small portion of the pure friendship, now existing in this state, among the people, is found among the old settlers and their posterity. Even in these days of party feeling, this ancient friendship breaks down, all party distinctions and |