Expenditures. 45 



of this land was still retained by Connecticut. This region was 

 several hundred miles away from Connecticut and its great distance 

 made it difficult for the state to maintain law and order there. For 

 that reason, the settlers on this land desired that the jurisdiction 

 be transferred from the state to the United States. Accordingly, 

 at the October session of 1797, the general assembly authorized 

 the Connecticut senators in congress to endeavor to effect a transfer 

 of jurisdiction.^ Congress, however, was slow in accepting such a 

 transfer and Connecticut did not gain her point until April, 1800. 

 Congress then voted that if within eight months Connecticut should 

 "by a legislative act renounce forever, for the use and benefit of 

 the United States and the several individual states who may be 

 therein concerned respectively and all those deriving claims or titles 

 from them or any of them," all jurisdictional and territorial right 

 to all lands west of the present east bounds of New York, the United 

 States would cede to Connecticut the territorial right to the Western 

 Reserve.2 Two things are to be noticed in this act. In the first 

 place, the United States agreed to cede to Connecticut the "terri- 

 torial" right to the Western Reserve instead of accepting from 

 Connecticut the jurisdiction over this territory. Congress had never 

 directly allowed Connecticut's claim to this land and Connecticut's 

 territorial and jurisdictional rights were based on the same claim. 

 By this act the United States agreed to cede the territorial right 

 and indirectly implied that the nation retained the jurisdiction 

 which, in the opinion of the federal government, Connecticut did 

 not really have to transfer. The second important point to notice 

 is that in order to receive the benefit of this act Connecticut must 

 renounce all claims, both territorial and jurisdictional, to all lands 

 west of the eastern boundary of New York. This covered the land 

 which the state had ceded to Halsey and Ward in return for the 

 erection of the state house. Again the Connecticut leg'slature had 

 a difficult problem to solve. The state had sold the Western Reserve 

 for one million two hundred thousand dollars, payable in the fall 

 of 1800, and was already drawing interest on the principal. Its 

 title to the land had been disputed and if, by any chance its claim 

 should be overthrown, the above sum could not be collected as a 

 permanent school fund and the state might be compelled to return 

 the interest money already received. Congress now offered to give 

 Connecticut an indisputable title to this land, but on condition 



1 Private Acts, vol. v, p. 783. 



^ Acts of Congress, 6 congress, 1 session, chap. 38. 



