ilRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE. 169 



elects the old settler to congress, or the legislature. In the 

 congressional district where we live, and in which there is a 

 majority of one thousand six hundred and upwards, opposed 

 to this administration, yet Jeremiah McLene of the other par- 

 ty, was repeatedly elected to congress, in this same district. 

 General McLene was an old settler, and the warm friend of 

 all the people of the district, of all parties. So of Major Wil- 

 liam Oliver of Cincinnati, he was recently elected over an 

 opponent where the numerical strength of the political par^ 

 ties in the county would seem to indicate a very different 

 result. These are the remains of that pure and disinteres- 

 ted friendship, of our Ohio "olden times." 



As we have already stated; St. Clair was unpopular, and 

 the people were tired of his arbitrary way of doing business. 

 By the census of 1800, we had forty^two thousand inhabi- 

 tants and our people seriously applied to congress for admis- 

 sion into the Union, as a state. To this application serious 

 opposition was made, but DeWitt Clinton, in the United 

 States senate, contended powerfully and effectually for us. 

 In the other house, we had good friends, and our application 

 prevailed there also. This law was enacted on the 30th day 

 of April 1802. 



From the landing of Rufus Putnam and associates at Mari- 

 etta, it was more than fourteen years to the passage of this act of 

 congress. The people eagerly seized the occasion, to elect 

 delegates to a convention to frame a constitution. At Chilli- 

 cothe, on the first day of November 1802, the convention 

 met, elected Edward Tiffin president, and Thomas Scott sec- 

 retary. On the 29th day of its session, having finished 

 their labors, the convention adjourned without day. 



Our constitution was never submitted to the people, for 

 either their approval or disapproval. 



But it was submitted to congress for their approbation, and 



on the 19th day of February 1803, that body passed an act 



entitled " An act to provide for the due execution of the laws 



of the United States, within the state of Ohio." By this act 



22 



