OREGON. 



659 



violations of the Constitution by the party now con- 

 trollino- the General Government, in the passage 

 and enforcement of the reconstruction and Ku-klux 

 laws, and the corruption and fraud which character- 

 ize t'lieir administration of every department of the 

 Government, and we pledge ourselves to use all 

 lawful and peaceable means to secure a speedy cor- 

 rection of these outrages and usurpations. 



6. That the freedom, welfare, and rights of the 

 people are superior to the interests of corporations, 

 and should be protected against the exactions of op- 

 pressive monopolists. 



7. That we favor the appropriation of the fund 

 arising from the sale of the swamp-lands to purposes 

 of internal improvements and the aid of common 

 schools. 



8. That the construction of locks at the Falls of 

 the Willamette is a judicious and effective safeguard 

 of the commerce of the Willamette Valley, and we 

 favor legislation to the end that the commerce of the 

 Columbia Kiver may be in like manner benefited 

 and protected. 



9. That the thanks of the people of Oregon .are 

 due our present State administration for its success- 

 ful efforts in securing to the State the grants of land 

 which otherwise would have fallen into the hands 

 of grasping corporations. 



The State election occurred on June 3d. The 

 whole number of votes cast for Representatives 

 to Congress was 25,484, of which Wilson re- 

 ceived 13,167, and Burnett 12,317, making the 

 majority of the Republican candidate 850. The 

 Legislature consisted of 12 Republicans and 10 

 Democrats in the Senate, and 32 Republicans 

 and 17 Democrats in the House. At the pres- 

 idential election in November there were 

 20,138 votes cast, of which 11,820 were for 

 Grant, 7,746 for Greeley, and 572 for O'Oonor : 

 Grunt's majority over Greeley was 4,074 ; over 

 all, 3,502. 



The seventh biennial session of the Legis- 

 lature began at Salem on the 9th of September, 

 and continued until the 23d of October. One 

 of the first things done was to rescind the 

 resolution adopted by the Legislature of 1868, 

 refusing to ratify the fourteenth and fifteenth 

 amendments of the Federal Constitution. A 

 portion of several days was occupied in elect- 

 ing a United States Senator to succeed George 

 H. Williams. John H. Mitchell, who was nomi- 

 nated in a caucus of the Republican members 

 of both branches of the Legislature, was final- 

 ly elected. An act redistricting the State for 

 representation in the Legislature increased 

 the number of Senators from 22 to 30, and 

 that of Representatives from 49 to 60. Among 

 the bills passed during the session were the 

 following : To provide for a Board of Immigra- 

 tion; to appropriate $100,000 for the erection 

 of new Capitol buildings at Salem ; to estab- 

 lish a Reform School at Portland ; to establish 

 a uniform system of schools; to locate the 

 State University at Eugene; to organize the 

 Agricultural College, and provide for its sup- 

 port; to provide for common schools taught 

 in the German language ; to provide for a State 

 geologist ; to provide a school for the educa- 

 tion of the blind ; to prevent frauds in elec- 

 tions; and "to authorize the State to acquire 

 possession of the canal and locks at the Willa- 



mette Falls by lease, and to purchase the same, 

 and to make appropriation therefor." A bill 

 regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors, and 

 making vendors responsible for the damage 

 done by intoxicated persons, was discussed, but 

 finally defeated. The act to encourage immi- 

 gration was vetoed by the Governor, on the 

 ground that it would raise the expenses of the 

 year beyond the income, which is forbidden 

 by the constitution. "The Assembly having 

 taken no action," he said, " to correct our de- 

 fective mode of assessments, or to provide for 

 previous deficits, notwithstanding the creation 

 of a State Board of Equalization, the public 

 revenues will not approximate the appropria- 

 tions within the constitutional limit. This ap- 

 propriation, therefore, cannot be sustained in 

 view of the present condition of the Treasury." 



The election law provides that each elector 

 shall "in full view deliver to one of the judges 

 of election a single ballot or piece of paper on 

 which shall be written or printed the names 

 of the persons voted for, with a proper desig- 

 nation of the office which he or they may be 

 intended to fill." 



If any person offering to vote is challenged, 

 he must be put to oath as to his qualifications, 

 and required to answer certain prescribed 

 questions to establish them. If he refuses, his 

 vote shall be rejected. It is the duty of each 

 judge of election to challenge "any person 

 offering to vote whom he shall know or sus- 

 pect not to be qualified as an elector." 



After the votes have been canvassed, the 

 poll-books and the ballots must be sealed up 

 and sent to the county clerks. 



Some difficulty with the Modoc Indians oc- 

 curred in the valley of the Klamath River, 

 near the California border, in the latter part 

 of the year. By a treaty first made in 1864, 

 and amended in later years, the Modocs had 

 agreed to give up their lands and remove to 

 what was known as the Klamath Reservation. 

 All but a band of about 200, under " Captain 

 Jack," "Black Jim," and "Scar-faced Char- 

 ley," had complied with this agreement, but 

 these not only refused to go upon the reserva- 

 tion, but were guilty of numerous depredations 

 upon the white settlers. In accordance with 

 a recommendation from the superintendent 

 of the reservation, and other prominent citi- 

 zens, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs had 

 in July ordered the removal of these refrac- 

 tory Modocs to the Klamath Reservation. A 

 delegation was sent to their camp on the 25th 

 of November, to request the chiefs to meet 

 the Superintendent on the 28th, at Link River. 

 This they declined to do, and furthermore 

 declared that they would not go upon the 

 reservation. The execution of the order of 

 the Commissioner was then turned over to 

 the military department, and Captain Jackson, 

 with a company of troops, left Fort Klamath 

 for that purpose. He reached the camp of the 

 Modocs, near the mouth of the Lost River, on 

 the 29th of November, where he had an in- 



