USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 15
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"Section 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an attorney for said territory, who shall continue in office four years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States, and who shall receive the same fees and salary as the attorney of the United States for the present Territory of Washington. There shall be a marshal for the territory appointed, who shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless
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sooner removed by the President of the United States, and who shall execute all processes issuing from the said courts, when exercising their jurisdiction as Circuit and District courts of the United States; he shall perform the duties, be subject to the same regulations and penalties, and be entitled to the same fees as the marshal of the District Court of the United States for the present Ter- ritory of Washington and shall, in addition be paid $200 annually as a compen- sation for extra services.
"Section II. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief justice and associate justices, attorney and marshal, shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The governor and secretary to be appointed as aforesaid, shall, before they act as such respectively, take an oath or affirmation, before the district judge or some justice of the peace in the limits of said territory, duly authorized to administer oaths or affirmations by the laws now in force therein, or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to support the Constitution of the United States, and faithfully to dis- charge the duties of their respective offices, which said oaths, when so taken. shall be certified by the person by whom they shall have been taken; and such certificate shall be received and recorded by the said secretary among the exec- utive proceedings ; and the chief justice and the associate justices, and all civil officers in said territory, before they act as such shall take a like oath or affirma- tion before the governor or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the territory, who may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation shall be certified and transmitted by the person taking the same to the secretary to be by him recorded as aforesaid; and afterwards the like oath or affirmation shall be taken, certified and recorded in such manner and form as may be prescribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of $2,500, the chief justice and associate justices shall receive an annual salary of $2,500, the secretary shall receive an annual salary of $2,000; the said salaries shall be paid quarter-yearly from the dates of the respective appointments, at the treasury of the United States; but no payment shall be made until said officers shall have entered upon the duties of their respective appointments. The members of the legislative assembly shall be entitled to receive $4.00 each per day, during their attendence at the sessions thereof and $4.00 each for every twenty miles traveled in going to and returning from said sessions estimated according to the nearest usually traveled route, and an additional allowance of $4.00 per day shall be paid to the presiding officer of each house for each day he shall so preside. And a chief clerk, one assistant clerk, one engrossing and one enrolling clerk, a sergeant-at-arms and doorkeeper may be chosen for each house ; and the chief clerk shall receive $4.00 per day, and the said other officers $3.00 per day, during the session of the legislative assembly; but no other offi- cers shall be paid by the United States: Provided, That there shall be but one session of the legislative assembly annually, unless, on an extraordinary ocas- sion, the governor shall think proper to call the legislative assembly together. There shall be appropriated annually the usual sum to be expended by the gov- ernor to defray the contingent expenses of the territory, including the salary of the clerk of the executive department ; and there shall also be appropriated annually a sufficient sum, to be expended by the secretary of the territory, and
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upon an estimate to be made by the secretary of the treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses of the legislative assembly, the printing of the laws and other incidental expenses; and the governor and secretary of the ter- ritory shall in the disbursement of moneys entrusted to them, be governed solely by the instructions of the secretary of the treasury of the United States, and shall, semi-annually, account to the said secretary for the manner in which the aforesaid moneys shall have been expended and no expenditure shall be made by said legislative assembly for objects not specially authorized by acts of Con- gress making the appropriations, not beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects.
"Section 12. And be it further enacted, That the legislative assembly of the Territory of Idaho shall hold its first session at such time and place in said territory as the governor thereof shall appoint and direct; and at said first ses- sion, or as soon thereafter as they shall deem expedient, the governor and legis- lative assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the seat of government for said territory at such place as they may deem eligible: Provided, That the seat of government fixed by the governor and legislative assembly shall not at any time be changed, except by an act of the said assembly duly passed, and which shall be approved, after due notice, at the first general election thereafter, by a majority of the legal votes cast on that question.
"Section 13. And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the house of representatives of the United States, to serve for the term of two years, who shall be a citizen of the United States, may be elected by the voters qualified to elect members of the legislative assembly, who shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the delegates from the several other territories of the United States to the said house of representa- tives; but the delegate first elected shall hold his seat only during the term of the Congress to which he shall be elected. The first election shall be held at such time and places, and be conducted in such manner as the governor shall appoint and direct ; and at all subsequent elections the times, places, and manner of holding elections shall be prescribed by law. The person having the greatest number of legal votes shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected, and a certificate thereof shall be given accordingly. That the Constitution and all the laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory of Idaho as elsewhere in the United States.
"Section 14. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in the said territory shall be surveyed, under the direction of the Government of the United States, preparatory to bringing the same into market, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each township in said territory shall be, and the same are hereby, reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools in said territory, and in the states and territories hereafter to be erected out of the same.
"Section 15. And be it further enacted, That until otherwise provided by law, the governor of said territory may define the judicial districts of said ter- ritory, and assign the judges who may be appointed for said territory to the several districts, and also appoint the times and places for holding courts in the several counties or subdivisions in each of said judicial districts, by proc- lamation to be issued by him; but the legislative assembly, at their first or any
OREGON
WASHINGTON
NEVADA
BOISE
NEZ
SHOSHONE
MISSOULA
ALTURAS
BEAVER
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DEER LODGE
UTAH
MADISON
JEFFERSON
CHOKEALL
DOMINION - OF CANADA
COLORADO
OGÁLALA
BIG HORN
PAWSON
-.
.
.
T
NEBRASKA
SOUTH DAKOTA
NORTH DAKOTA
1
1
SKETCH OF IDAHO AND ITS COUNTIES IN 1864
-.
YELLOW STONE
PERCE
OWYHEE
IDAHO
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subsequent session, may organize, alter, or modify such judicial districts, and assign the judges, and alter the times and places of holding the courts, as to them shall seem proper and convenient.
"Section 16. And be it further enacted, That all officers to be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, for the Territory of Idaho, who by virtue of the provisions of any law now existing, or which may be enacted by Congress, are required to give se- curity for moneys that may be entrusted with them for disbursement, shall give such security at such time and in such manner as the secretary of the treasury may prescribe.
"Section 17. And be it further enacted, That all treaties, laws, and other engagements may by the Government of the United States with the Indian tribes inhabiting the territory embraced within the provisions of this act, shall be faithfully and rigidly observed, anything contained in this act to the contrary notwithstanding; and that the existing agencies and superintendencies of said Indians be continued with the same powers and duties which are now prescribed by law, except that the President of the United States may, at his discretion change the location of the offices of said agencies or superintendencies."
CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES
The boundaries as defined in Section I of the Organic Act included all of the present states of Idaho and Montana and all of Wyoming except a small rectangle in the southwest corner, which was attached to Utah. This gave the Territory of Idaho an area, in round figures, of 320,000 square miles. In 1864 the Territory of Montana was cut off, and in 1868 the Territory of Wyoming was organized. In 1870 the boundaries of Idaho were fixed by act of Congress as they are at present, to wit :
"Beginning at a point in the mid-channel of the Snake River where the northern boundary of Oregon intersects the same; thence down the channel of the Snake River to a point opposite the mouth of the Kooskooskia, or Clear- water River; thence due north to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude; thence east along that parallel to the thirty-ninth meridan of longitude west from Wash- ington ; thence south along that degree of longitude to the crest of the Bitter Root Mountains; thence southwardly along the crest of the Bitter Root Moun- tains to its intersection with the Rocky Mountains; thence southwardly along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to the thirty-fourth degree of longitude west from Washington; thence south along that degree of longitude to the forty- second parallel of north latitude; thence west along that parallel to the eastern boundary of the State of Oregon; thence north along that boundary to the place of beginning."
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED
On March 10, 1863, just a week after approving the Organic Act, President Lincoln appointed the following officers for the Territory of Idaho: William H. Wallace, governor; William B. Daniels, secretary; Sidney Edgerton, chief justice ; Samuel C. Parks and Alexander C. Smith, associate justices. Three days later he appointed D. S. Payne, United States marshal. The office of
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United States attorney was not filled until February 29, 1864, when George C. Hough was appointed to the position.
WALLACE'S ADMINISTRATION
William H. Wallace, the first governor of Idaho Territory, had been the delegate in Congress from the Territory of Washington, his term expiring on March 4, 1863, only six days before he was appointed governor of the new territory. Apparently he was in no haste to "set the machinery of government in motion," as he did not arrive in Idaho until in July following his appoint- ment, and not until September 22, 1863, did he issue his proclamation calling an election for members of the Legislature and a delegate to. Congress-the election to be held on the last day of, October. The proclamation also appor- tioned the representatives to the various counties and districts, divided the ter- ritory into three council districts and apportioned the seven members of the council provided for in the Organic Act-three to the first district, two to the second, and two to the third. The first district included all that portion of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains and north of the Salmon River ; the second, that portion west of the Rocky Mountains and south of the Salmon ; and the third, all that part of the territory east of the Rocky Mountains.
Immediately after this proclamation was promulgated, the people of the territory girded on their armor for their first political campaign. Governor Wallace, who had already had a taste of political life in the national capital and doubtless found it more congenial than being the chief executive of a new territory on the frontier, announced himself as a candiate for delegate to Con- gress and began "pulling the wires" to secure the republican nomination.
In as short a time as possible after the proclamation of the governor had been circulated over the territory, both the republican and democratic parties held conventions to nominate candidates for delegate to Congress. The re- publican convention met at Mount Idaho, a little settlement on the trail between Lewiston and Florence, not far from the present City of Grangeville. William H. Wallace received the coveted nomination and soon afterward resigned the office of governor.
The democratic convention met at Packer John's cabin, which stood near the present Town of Meadows, in the northeastern part of Adams County. Some writers have stated that the first democratic convention in Idaho was held at Idaho City, the present county seat of Boise County, but the preponder- ance of evidence, as the lawyers say, is in favor of the Packer John cabin. The editor hopes that he will be pardoned for digressing long enough to ex- plain how this cabin received its name. In the fall of 1862, soon after the rich gold strike in the Boise Basin, John Welch, a packer of Lewiston, fitted out a train with a large stock of goods and supplies for the new mines. It was late in the season when he left Lewiston and when he was passing up the valley of the Little Salmon River a heavy fall of snow compelled him to go into winter quarters. With the assistance of his men he built the cabin, in which he stored his goods and then returned to Lewiston to await the coming of spring. As soon as the weather opened in the spring of 1863 he fitted out another pack train, picked up the goods left in the cabin late in the fall before, and arrived in the Basin in advance of any other packers, realizing a handsome profit upon
WILLIAM H. WALLACE First Governor of Idaho
LEGISLATIVE HALLS, FIRST SESSION HELD IN LEWISTON, DECEMBER 7, 1863
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his venture. Welch continued in the business until he became so well known as "Packer John" that his real name has been almost forgotten. It was in the cabin erected by him as an emergency cache for his goods in the fall of 1862 that the first territorial democratic convention met and nominated John M. Cannady as the party's candidate for delegate to Congress.
It was generally conceded that the democratic party was numerically stronger than the republicans in the territory, and the election of Cannady was looked upon as a foregone conclusion. The first election returns supported this view, but about two weeks after the election what purported to be the returns from Fort Laramie came in, showing a majority of over six hundred in favor of the republican candidate. This elected Wallace by a vote of 4,404 to 3,553. As a matter of fact there were not fifty legal voters in the entire Fort Laramie dis- trict. There was a military post there, with probably three companies of troops who, had they all voted would not have amounted to the majority shown by the returns. There was considerable talk of a contest on the grounds of fraud, but nothing was done and Mr. Wallace was allowed to take his seat as delegate.
FIRST LEGISLATURE
The election of Governor Wallace to the office of delegate left a vacancy in the office of governor, which was filled by Secretary William B. Daniels, in accordance with Section 3 of the Organic Act. He issued a call for the mem- bers of the council and house of representatives elected on October 31st to meet at Lewiston on Monday, December 7, 1863. The council, or upper house, in the first legislative session was composed of the following members: First District-Stanford Capps, E. B. Waterbury and Lyman Stanford; Second Dis- trict-Ephraim Smith and Joseph Miller; Third District-William C. Rheem and A. J. Edwards. Nathaniel P. Langford was elected a member from the third district, but for some reason failed to qualify and his place was filled bv Mr. Edwards.
In the house of representatives, although the Organic Act provided for thir- · teen members, only eleven appeared and presented certificates of election. These eleven represented the four counties in what is now the State of Idaho and the two districts east of the Rocky Mountains and were distributed as follows: Boise County-C. B. Bodfish, M. C. Brown, R. B. Campbell, W. R. Keithly and Milton Kelly ; Idaho County-John Wood and Alonzo Leland; Nez Perce County -L. Bacon; Shoshone County -. James A. Orr; East Bannock District-L. C. Miller; Virginia City and Fort Laramie District-James Tufts.
Joseph Miller was elected president of the council on the ninth ballot; J. McLaughlin was chosen secretary; C. D. Kenyon, assistant secretary ; D. D. Chamberlain, sergeant-at-arms; J. C. Watson, doorkeeper. In the organiza- tion of the house James Tufts was elected speaker; S. S. Slater, chief clerk; Benjamin Needham, assistant clerk; P. H. Lynch, sergeant-at-arms; Richardson, doorkeeper. On the ninth Acting Governor Daniels delivered his message to the Legislature. This message was not a long document, but it touched upon almost every point of interest. It recommended the Nevada Code as a guide to the members of the Legislature in the enactment of laws; urged the establishment of a public school system; recommended the passage of an
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act to suppress gambling; and suggested that it might be advisable to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors to Indians. After commenting upon the salaries and per diem fixed by Congress for the territorial officers and members of the Legislature, he said :
"A young territory, whose resources are undeveloped, and without any system of revenue yet in operation, whatever may be her prospective wealth, should not be reckless in her appropriations or profuse in her expenditures; but it should be remembered that parsimony is not economy, and that efficient officers cannot well be obtained without adequate compensation."
This expression of opinion on the part of the acting governor opened the way for the Legislature to pass an act providing that salaries, in addition to those paid by the Federal Government, should be paid from the territorial treas- ury, to wit: The governor and the three justices, $2,500 each annually ; sec- retary, $1,500 annually ; members of the Legislature and chief clerks, $6.00 per day; employes of the Legislature, from three to five dollars per day. These additional salaries were paid in territorial warrants, which, when registered, drew IO per cent interest until paid. Considerable criticism resulted from the passage of the act thus increasing salaries, but the law remained in force for several years, when it was rendered ineffective by an act of Congress.
By an act approved on January 29, 1864, the offices of territorial treasurer, auditor and superintendent of public instruction were created; the election of a probate judge in each county was authorized; also a clerk for each county, who was likewise to act as clerk of the Probate Court; a board of three com- missioners in each county; a recorder, who was to be ex-officio auditor and clerk of the board of commissioners; an attorney for each judicial district, and a sheriff, assessor, surveyor and superintendent of schools in each county.
Provision was made for the creation and organization of seven counties west of the Rocky Mountains, viz: Alturas, Boise, Idaho, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee and Shoshone, and ten counties east of the Rocky Mountains, to wit: Beaverhead, Big Horn, Choteau, Deer Lodge, Dawson, Jefferson, Madison, Mis- soula, Ogalala and Yellowstone. Sixty days later all that portion of Idaho east of the Rockies was cut off and erected into the Territory of Montana by an act of Congress. (See also the chapters on County History.)
By the act of February 2, 1864, the sum of $6,244 was appropriated to reimburse Hill Beachy for money and time spent in pursuit of David Renton (alias Howard), James P. Romaine and Christopher Lowry, "who were in- dicted, tried and convicted at the January term of the District Court of the first judicial district of this territory for the murder of Lloyd Magruder, Charles Allen, William Phillips and two others, names unknown."
Among the other acts passed at this session were: A criminal practice act of 433 sections, a civil practice act of 734 sections, and a probate practice act of 334 sections; an act for the better observance of the Lord's Day, which pro- vided that "No person shall keep open any play house or theater, race ground, cockpit, or play at any game of chance or engage in any noisy amusement on the first day of the week, commonly called the Lord's Day," and made viola- tions of the act punishable by a fine of not less than $30.00 nor more than $200. A number of towns and cities were incorporated, the opening of sev- eral highways was authorized, franchises were granted for the establishment
THE OLD L. P. BROWN HOTEL, IN WHICH WAS HELD THE FIRST TERRITORIAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
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of toll roads, bridges and ferries in all parts of the territory, and each county was required to build and maintain a jail.
Secretary Daniels and the Legislature did not work in harmony and toward the close of the session the breach was widened when the secretary announced his intention of giving the territorial printing to a firm in San Francisco, despite the fact that the Legislature had designated Frank Kenyon, publisher of the Golden Age, Idaho's first newspaper, as the public printer. The Legislature was victorious in the controversy and the printing was done at Lewiston. Mr. Daniels' last official action' was to certify the correctness of the session laws on July 1, 1864, immediately after which he left the territory, leaving Silas D. Cochran, a clerk, to perform the duties of secretary until the arrival of C. DeWitt Smith, who was appointed to the office on July 4, 1864, but did not come to Idaho until the following February.
LYON'S ADMINISTRATION
Caleb Lyon, second territorial governor of Idaho, was appointed by Presi- dent Lincoln on February 26, 1864, but did not arive at Lewiston until several months later. He was from the State of New York, where members of his family founded the Town of Lyonsdale, and he always signed himself "Caleb Lyon, of Lyonsdale." J. S. Butler, one of Idaho's pioneer journalists, describes Governor Lyon as "a conceited, peculiar man, who made many enemies and misappropriated much of the public funds," and a newspaper correspondent of that period referred to him as "revolving light upon the coast of scampdom."
Although endowed with an intellect above the average, well educated and a man of some prominence in his native state, he was not the type of man for governor of a new territory, such as Idaho was at the time of his appointment. He possessed a wonderful vocabulary and into his official messages, proclama- tions and other documents he was fond of weaving fantastic sentences and grandiloquent expressions, many of which bordered upon real eloquence. But the people of the territory derived more amusement than instruction from his "spread eagle" phrases and ponderous periods. One of his first official utter- ances after arriving in Idaho was his Thanksgiving proclamation, which will give the reader some idea of his literary style.
PROCLAMATION
"Thanksgiving let us give to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for the foundation, preservation and perpetuation of the Government of the United States against the manifold schemes of wicked men, the attacks of open enemies and the machinations of secret foes.
"Thanksgiving let us give to the God of Battles, who holds the destiny of nations in the hollow of His hand, for victories upon the land, for victories upon the sea and for the blessing of uninterrupted health and fruitful harvests, during a time of great national anxiety and trouble.
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