676 



OREGON. 



Incorporating Albany. 



A bill preventing discriminations, etc., by railroad 

 companies. , 



To create a State Board of Agriculture, to promote 

 the agricultural and other interests of the State, and 

 to encourage immigration. 



Morrow County is taken from TJmatilla ; Gilliam, 

 from TJmatilla and Wasco. 



Regulating the sale of opium, and suppressing 

 opium-dens and opium-smoking. Opium can not be 

 sold without a physician's prescription. . 



Women are given the right to practice law. 



During this session there was a memorable 

 contest for the United States senatorship. The 

 Legislature was divided politically as follows : 

 Senate, 17 Republicans and 13 Democrats; 

 House, 35 Republicans and 25 Democrats; 

 joint ballot, 52 Republicans and 38 Demo- 

 crats. The Democrats supported James H. 

 Slater for re-election, though changing at 

 times to other candidates. The Republicans 

 failed to agree upon a candidate, but the 

 greater number of them supported Solomon 

 Hirsch. When the Legislature adjourned, 68 

 ballots had been taken, without result. The 

 Governor called an extra session for Nov. 9, 

 which met and remained in session until the 

 24th. On the 18th John H. Mitchell, Repub- 

 lican, was elected United States Senator by a 

 vote of 55 (38 Republicans and 17 Democrats), 

 to 20 for James H. Slater and 13 for George 

 H. Williams (Republican). 



Financial. The estimated expenses for 1886 

 are $277,996.38. There were received during 

 the year from sources other than taxes of 

 1884, $277,996.38. The total amount of tax- 

 able property in the State for 1884 was $78,- 

 776,011, showing a decrease this year of $1,- 

 687,317. The State levy of 1884 was 5^ mills, 

 showing a decrease this year in the State taxes 

 of 1 T V mill on the dollar. 



Population. The following is the population 

 by counties according to the census of 1885, 

 as published in the Portland " Oregonian " : 



* Estimated. 



t Exclusive of 4,220 Chinese. 



The "Oregonian" says that the work of 

 taking the census is done by county assessors, 

 and is always carelessly and never fully done! 

 Omissions are at least 15 per cent., and in 

 sparsely settled districts even more. The re- 

 turns from Baker County were destroyed in 

 the burning of the court-house. The popula- 

 tion of the State in 1880 was 174,768. The 

 figures for the different counties by ages do 

 not altogether correspond with the table above. 



Agricultural and Industrial. The census of 

 1885, Baker County wanting, affords the fol- 

 lowing figures: Pounds of wool, 9,165,830; 

 number of sheep, 1,636,929; hogs, 202,612; 

 horses, 165,909; mules, 3,591; cattle, 373,- 

 247; acres under cultivation, 1,243,456; bush- 

 els of wheat raised, 8,233,719 : oats, 6,247,300 ; 

 barley and rye, 1,694,614; corn, 275,077; tons 

 of hay, 377,822 ; pounds of butter and cheese, 

 3,286,923; hops, 2,547,378; tobacco, 13,207; 

 bushels of flaxseed, 14,262; potatoes, 2,650,- 

 284; apples, 2,005,373; prunes and plums, 

 150,306; barrels of salmon, 3,316; cases, 483,- 

 594; kits, 404; baskets of oysters, 3,155; tons 

 of coal, 29,600; ounces of gold-dust, 14,965; 

 pounds of silver, 100; feet of lumber, 169,135,- 

 716. The coal was mined in Coos County; the 

 gold, in Grant, Josephine, Union, and Coos 

 Counties chiefly; the silver, in Grant County. 



Mortgage Tax Law. The constitutionality of 

 this law, which had been called in question, 

 was passed upon in the case of Crawford w. 

 Linn County, decided by the Supreme Court 

 of the State, on Jan. 23. The Court decided 

 that, within the meaning of the Constitution, 

 the act is not a special law, and does not pro- 

 duce inequality. It is, therefore, constitution- 

 al and valid. 



Columbia River Improvement. A convention, 

 called the Columbia River "Water-way Conven- 

 tion, was held at the Dalles on Dec. 2, to de- 

 vise plans and united action for securing aid in 

 the construction of locks at the Cascades and 

 Dalles on Columbia river, so that the river 

 may be opened to free and uninterrupted navi- 

 gation. It put forth a memorial to Congress, 

 and, after resolving itself into a permanent or- 

 ganization, adjourned to meet at Walla Walla, 

 Washington Territory, on the second Wednes- 

 day of October, 1886. The improvements 

 would provide facilities for water transporta- 

 tion to an extent of country embracing not 

 less than 25,000 square miles of land. The 

 Government of the United States has expended 

 upon the work of constructing a canal and 

 locks at the Cascades $955,000, and it is esti- 

 mated by the United States engineer in charge 

 that $750,000 more will so far complete that 

 work as to make it practicable to pass boats 

 through. The tonnage over the bar at the 

 mouth of the Columbia river, for the year end- 

 ing September, 1885, was 869,943 tons. 



Portland Commerce. The following statistics 

 are for the years ending July 31. For 1884-' 

 the arrival of wheat, and of flour reduced t 

 wheat, represents 246,162 short tons of wheat, 



