USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I > Part 24
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1883
William C. Stevens
1883
1887
H. H. Aplin
1887
Attorney-Generals.
Daniel Le Roy
1836
1837
Henry H. Crapo
1865
1869
Henry P. Baldwin
1869
1873
G. R. Osmun
1887
93
TERRITORIAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS.
TERMS
TERMS
BEGAN.
ENDED.
BEGAN.
ENDED.
William Hale
1851
1855
Leverett A. Clapp
1873
1877
Jacob M. Howard
1855
1861
Benjamin F. Partridge
1877
1879
Charles Upson
1861
1863
James M. Neasmith
1879
1883
Albert Williams
1863
1867
Minor S. Newell
1883
1887
William L. Stoughton
1867
1869
R. D. Dix
1887
Dwight May
1869
1873
Byron D. Ball
1873
1874
Isaac Marston
1874
1875
Superintendents of Public Instruction.
John D. Pierce
1838
1841
Franklin Sawyer, Jr.
1841
1843
Oliver C. Comstock, Sr.
1843
1845
Ira Mayhew
1845
1849
Francis W. Shearman
1849
1855
Commissioners of State Land Office.
Ira Mayhew
1855
1859
Digby V. Bell
1844
1846
John M. Gregory
1859
1865
Abiel Silver
1846
1850
Oramel Horsford
1865
1873
Porter Kibbee
1850
1855
Daniel B. Briggs
1873
1877
Seymour B. Treadwell James W. Sanborn
1859
1861
Cornelius A. Gower
1878
1883
Samuel S. Lacey
1861
1865
Herschel R. Gass
1883
1885
Cyrus Hewitt
1865
1867
Theo. Nelson
1885
1887
Benjamin D. Pritchard
1867
1871
J. Estabrook
1887
Charles A. Edmonds
1871
1873
Andrew J. Smith
1875
1877
Otto Kirchner
1877
1881
J. J. Van Riper
1881
1885
Moses Taggart
1885
1855
1859
Horace S. Tarbell
1877
1878
CHAPTER XVII.
LEGISLATURES AND LAWS.
THE first Legislature under English rule was called by proclamation from Kingston, in the name of the king, on July 16, 1792. Lieutenant-governor Simcoe, of Canada, then defined the limits of nine- teen counties. Kent County included the region embracing Detroit, and was to have two mem- bers of the Legislature. In August, 1792, an elec- tion was held, and Wm. Macomb and Wm. Grant were elected as members of the first Legislature of Upper Canada from the county of Kent.
The legislative session began September 17, at Newark, now Niagara, and closed October 15, 1792. The second session began at Newark on May 31, 1793, and lasted till July 9. The third session began June 2, 1794, and closed July 9. The fourth session lasted from July 6, 1795, to August 10, and the fifth from May 16 to June 3, 1796.
Under the Act of Congress of 1787, the Governor and Judges of the Northwest Territory constituted the Legislature. They arrived at Marietta on July 9, 1788, and their first enactments were dated from that place, and published by being nailed on a tree on the banks of the Muskingum. As Detroit was in possession of the English, none of their laws were in force here until after July 11, 1796. The laws of the Governor and Judges were issued from Marietta, Vincennes, and Cincinnati. This last named place was originally called Losantiville; it was so named by Israel Ludlow, one of the original proprietors. As the town was opposite the mouth of the Licking River, he took the first letter of that name, the Latin word os (the mouth), the Greek word anti (opposite), and the French ville (a town), and built up the name, thus rivalling in his ingenuity the linguistic feats of our Judge Woodward. Cin- cinnati was made the seat of justice on January 2, 1790, and in 1795 the Governor and Judges assembled there to revise their former regulations and adopt new laws.
By the ordinance of 1787, as soon as there were five thousand free male inhabitants in the Territory, an assembly was to be elected, with one member for each five hundred free white males. When the number of delegates reached twenty-five, the assem- bly was to regulate the ratio of representation. Having ascertained that there were in the Territory
the requisite number of male citizens, over twenty- one years of age, Governor St. Clair, on October 29, 1791, issued a proclamation, directing the electors to choose representatives to a General Assembly, which he ordered to convene at Cincinnati on January 22, 1799. Three members were allotted to Wayne County, and an election was held on the third Mon- day of December, 1799. Owing to some informality or fraud, another election was deemed necessary, and was held at Detroit, and in other parts of Wayne County, on January 14 and 15, 1799, result- ing in the election of Solomon Sibley, Jacob Visger, and Charles F. Chabert Joncaire. Although the Assembly was to have met on January 22, 1799, its sessions did not begin until February 4.
An upper house or council, as it was called, was created, consisting of five persons, selected by the President and confirmed by Congress, from persons nominated by the Assembly. This first council con- sisted of James Findlay, Jacob Burnet, Henry Van- derburg, David Vance, and Robert Oliver.
On the creation of the Territory of Indiana, Judge Vanderburg, who lived within its limits, lost his seat in the council ; Solomon Sibley, of Detroit, was ap- pointed in his place, and Jonathan Schiefflin was elected Sibley's successor in the Legislative As- sembly. The delegates from Wayne County, at the first session of the second Assembly, on November 23, 1801, consisted of Charles F. Chabert Joncaire, George McDougall, and Jonathan Schiefflin. It is a curious fact, illustrating the pliant principles and politics of that day, that Schiefflin and Joncaire, both of whom served under Governor Hamilton, and joined with the Indians in killing and scalping the white inhabitants in the Territory, were afterwards elected to represent in the Territorial Legislature the very regions they had ravaged.
As late as May, 1797, Jonathan Schiefflin had officially declared himself an English subject, and affirmed that he did not intend to become an Amer- ican citizen.
After the nomination of ten persons as councilmen by the Assembly, it was prorogued by the governor, until September 16, 1799, at which time he ordered it to assemble at Cincinnati. When the Assembly convened, there was present only one member of the
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LEGISLATURES AND LAWS.
council, Jacob Burnet, and but four representatives,- Messrs. Goforth, McMillan, Smith, and Ludlow. By September 24 the rest of the members had ar- rived, and both houses organized, and continued in session till December 19, when, having finished their business, the governor, at their request, prorogued the Assembly until the first Monday of the follow- ing November. After the closing of the session, on August 20, 1798, Congress passed a law removing the seat of government from Cincinnati to Chilli- cothe, and on November 3, 1800, the Assembly met at that place.
On November 23, 1801, the General Assembly again met at Chillicothe, continuing in session until January 23, 1802, when it was adjourned by the governor, to meet at Cincinnati on the fourth Mon- day of the following November. The proposed re- moval of the seat of government did not please the inhabitants of Chillicothe, and some of them attacked the house at which the governor and Mr. Schiefflin were boarding. The member from Detroit pro- duced a brace of pistols, and the mob soon dispersed. Before the Assembly again convened, Congress, by law of April 30, 1802, attached what is now Michi- gan to Indiana Territory. The law, however, did not take full effect until certain conditions were com- plied with, and these were not fulfilled until March 3, 1803.
Under Indiana Territory, no Legislature was provided for until called by proclamation of Gover- nor Harrison. He fixed January 3, 1805, as the time for holding an election for members of an As- sembly, to meet at Vincennes on February I. The proclamation did not reach Wayne County in time, and no election was held, and no representatives sent. Other representatives assembled, and on February 7, 1805, they elected ten persons, whose names were to be forwarded to the President, from which number he was to select five to constitute the council. Among the ten names sent were those of James May and James Henry of Detroit. President Jefferson declined to select, as he was unacquainted with the persons, and left the selection to Governor Harrison. Meantime, by law taking effect June 30, 1805, Michigan Territory was created. The gover- nor and the three judges, who were constituted the Legislature, met on July 4, 1805, and organized for business.
The first law passed and published by them was dated July 9, 1805. It described and adopted a seal for the Territory. The laws adopted by the Gover- nor and Judges, prior to May, 1806, were adopted as a whole at that time. Most, if not all, of them had been drafted by Judge Woodward, and were designated as "the Woodward Code." They were printed in Washington, and on June 18, 1807, Judge Woodward wrote to the Secretary of State that "the
laws of the Territory had just arrived, and that hitherto there had been but one copy in the Terri- tory, and of the Northwestern and Indiana laws there is not a complete copy in the Territory."
In view of their official position, the disregard of the Sabbath by the Governor and Judges is especial- ly noticeable. On Sunday, February 26, 1809, one of the judges introduced a bill, which was read three times and passed; other sessions were also held on the Sabbath.
Many of their sessions were held in Richard Smyth's tavern, on Woodward Avenue, near Wood- bridge Street. There was constant disagreement and trouble between Governor Hull and Judge Woodward; and on all points of difference, the vote generally stood Hull and Bates, or Witherell, against Woodward and Griffin. Judge Woodward also dis- agreed with Stanley Griswold, the secretary of the Territory. On March, 17, 1808, he wrote as follows concerning the governor and the secretary:
I have found it embarrassing and almost an impossible task to avoid the enmity of their respective adherents, according as I happen to be successively suspected of favoring the one or the other. The only mode I could adopt was to avoid, as far as prac- ticable, particular intercourse with both. For sixteen months past I have had no intercourse whatever with the secretary, and for about eight months none with the governor.
Among the curiosities of the legislation of this period was the passage of an Act on September 14, 1810, "To regulate the internal government and police of the several districts of the Territory of Michigan." It provided for the election of five selectmen, or councilors, in each district, with power "to provide for the support of the poor, for the maintenance and repair of roads and bridges, and, generally, for the internal government and police of the district, for the education of youth, and for these and other purposes shall levy and collect rates and taxes." Under this Act, Richard Smyth, Gabriel Godfroy, Sr., Peter Desnoyers, Augustus B. Wood- ward, and James McCloskey were elected for the district of Detroit, on October 8, 1811, and in 1812 the same persons were serving, except that H. J. Hunt had taken the place of A. B. Woodward.
The Governor and Judges seemed to have a morbid fear that some of the old English laws would remain in force, and therefore, at intervals of every few years, a new Act was passed, abolishing. either specifically or generally, all Acts of the English Parliament. An Act of February 21, 1821 (page 800, section 12, of Volume I. of Territorial Laws), repeals "so much of any law, or supposed law, as might operate to require four knights girt with swords to be on the jury for the trial of the issue, joined in an action of right, be, and the same is abolished, abrogated, and repealed." An Act of May 11, 1820 (page 586, Volume I.), abolished trial by battle, and this was again specifically abolished
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LEGISLATURES AND LAWS.
by law of February 21, 1821 (page 802). As late as April 12, 1827, a law gravely provided that "the benefit of clergy shall be, and the same is hereby abolished." The term "clergy," originally limited to ecclesiastics, had long been construed to mean any person who could read, and all such, at one time, were exempt from capital punishment. Be- tween 1820 and 1824, a few laws were adopted, and printed in pamphlet form.
The following judges, with the governor, or the secretary of the Territory as acting governor, consti- tuted the Legislature : 1805 to November, 1806, A. B. Woodward, F. Bates, John Griffin; November, 1806, to October, 1808, A. B. Woodward, John Griffin; October, 1808, to June 7, 1824, A. B. Wood- ward, John Griffin, James Witherell. The following persons acted as secretaries to the governor and judges in their legislative capacity: 1805 to 1807, Peter Audrain ; 1807 to 1814, Joseph Watson ; 1814 to 1817, Geo. McDougall; 1817, John Stockton ; 1818 to 1823, A. G. Whitney ; 1823 to 1825, E. A. Brush.
Many of the doings of the Governor and Judges were so utterly devoid of justice and such a mock- ery of government that the inhabitants, almost en masse, were enraged and disgusted. There is
abundant evidence that the picture of their mis- doings could scarcely be overdrawn. So intolerable did their action become that John Gentle, in 1807, published in The Philadelphia Aurora and Pittsburgh Gazette a series of articles detailing the grievances of the people in language that was far from being of the tenor the author's name might indicate.
These articles criticized not only the doings of the Governor and Judges as legislators, but also their court proceedings and their actions as a Land Board; and intimated that they were controlling for their own pecuniary advantage the lots in the city and the Ten-Thousand-Acre Tract, and that the Detroit Bank was a scheme designed to further the same object. Governor Hull and Judge Woodward especially were charged with intrigue, deception, and untruth; and the charges were apparently proven. It was believed by many of the people that Hull was in league with Aaron Burr, and that his design was to impoverish the people and drive them out of the Territory, that his plans might be more easily carried out; some even affected to believe, or did believe, that the burning of the town the day before the arrival of the Governor and Judges was a part of their conspiracy.
It was claimed in the articles of Mr. Gentle, and also in other published articles, that Governor Hull fabricated stories of Indian attacks and excited false alarms, in order to divert the thoughts of the people from his wrong-doing.
It does not appear that Governor Hull made any published reply to the articles of Mr. Gentle ; he cer-
tainly did not in the paper which contained the charges. In 1808 Judge Woodward replied in a series of articles published also in the Pittsburgh Commonwealth. His defence consisted chiefly in attributing the articles to spite, caused by the rejec- tion of the author's claim for a donation lot, and in denying that he was in any way interested in lands. The records, however, show that, if not then inter- ested, he soon after became an extensive owner of real estate in this region; and though a desire for retaliation may have incited the articles of Gentle, their truthfulness, at least in the main, must be con- ceded. Judge Woodward made no attempt to defend Governor Hull; on the contrary, he intimated strongly that the governor was interested in the Detroit Bank, as a matter of speculation, and conceded that he had been precipitate in erecting fortifications and stockades.
The charges of Mr. Gentle seem more than half proven by the lame defence of Judge Woodward, and by his testimony in regard to Governor Hull. In so far as Woodward was concerned, the articles in the Detroit Gazette of October and November, 1822, many of them written by James D. Doty, afterwards Governor of Wisconsin, show that Wood- ward's conduct was so unexampled, so extravagantly illegal, that any one in official position, who, having the power to prevent or expose his action, neglected to do so, must have been either in sympathy with him or cowardly in the extreme.
At the time Mr. Gentle published his articles, there was no paper issued in Detroit. Gentle says he published a portion of one of the articles in Detroit. John L. Talbot, in his sketch of early times, written nearly forty years ago, says this was done by writing each article, which was then "hung out dur- ing the day from the houses, guarded by arms, and taken in at night."
The fact that they were resisted and defied in De- troit greatly exasperated the Governor and Judges. Mr. Gentle was attacked in his own house by some of their friends, but was protected by Mr. Campau. It is stated in the Gazette for November 1, 1823, that he was indicted for libel. "When arraigned, he plead that he was guilty of the writing and pub- lishing, and offered to prove the truth of every fact stated." In those days, however, the truth of a libel could not be given in evidence, and he was found guilty. The majority of the people, however, did not approve of the verdict.
One of his articles says :
A meeting of the citizens of Detroit was again called to draft a memorial to the general government, praying for redress of our grievances. E. B. and G. McD., who still remained neuter, now came forward (or rather were sent forward by the governor), and declared in favor of the people, and by the force of their eloquence changed the intention of the meeting into a resolve that a com- mittee be chosen to draft an impeachment against Judges Wood- ward and Bates, and they had the address to have themselves
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LEGISLATURES AND LAWS.
chosen on the committee, along with James Abbott, J. Harvey, and H. R. Martin. The committee sat at Mr. B.'s, and labored several days, framing the impeachment. All on a sudden, Mr. B. was appointed by the governor treasurer of the Territory, in place of Judge Bates, and G. McD. was appointed clerk of the district court. Progress of the impeachment was then by degrees relaxed, till at last it was totally abandoned.
A memorial, signed by about four hundred inhabi- tants, dated September 1, 1808, was, however, sent to the President, praying for the removal of Hull and Woodward, but it was unheeded.
The Governor and Judges were empowered, by the Act appointing them, to "adopt" such of the laws of the original thirteen States as they deemed best suited to the needs of the Territory. That they violated both the letter and the spirit of the ordinance of 1787 is abundantly evident. Instead of merely adopting laws from some of the original States, they would take the title of the Act from laws of one State and parts of Acts from laws of different States, and this so frequently that the origin of a territorial law could not be traced. The following statement may be taken as almost literally true. They would "parade the laws of the original States before them on the table, and cull letters from the laws of Maryland; syllables from the laws of Virginia, words from the laws of New York, sen- tences from the laws of Pennsylvania, verses from the laws of Kentucky, and chapters from the laws of Connecticut." And many times they did not trouble themselves to make selections from laws of the original States, but used any that they could find. After a full and candid examination of the whole subject, I have no doubt that even the follow- ing statement of Mr. Gentle was true :
Several attempts were made about this time, December, 1806, by the Governor and Judges to revive and introduce, for the well- being and good government of this Territory, that famous code of ancient and provincial laws, by the New England folks, commonly distinguished by the appellation of the Blue Laws of Connecticut.
The governor first presented his version to the Legislature, and after the usual routine of disputation, it was rejected by his asso- ciates, we suppose, for its tyrannical and destructive tendency. But we were, as usual, egregiously mistaken ; for the day following Judge Woodward displayed a second edition, enlarged and im- proved, which covered the surface of several sheets of paper, exhibiting, at one view, the most refined system of barbarity meth- odized that was ever proposed, even by the ringleader of a den of thieves for the government of banditti. The transmigration into this Territory of the aforesaid Blue Laws of Connecticut, revised, enlarged, and improved, " as far as necessary, and suitable to the circumstances of Michigan," excited serious alarm. We went forward in great numbers to the legislative board, and manifested our disapprobation and abhorrence of this diabolical system of subordination by horrid grins and dismal smiles, expressive, although symbolically, of our aversion to, and disbelief in, the doctrine of non-resistance and passive obedience. Finding, by the reports of their spies, that the sentiments entertained by the people out of doors coincided with the grimaces of those within doors, the Governor and Judges deemed it expedient to postpone the adoption of the Blue Laws until a more convenient season.
They made laws themselves, and frequently passed
them without deliberation. A single judge would draw up a law, and then carry it around to the lodg- ings of the other judges to be there signed. The governor, on one occasion, undertook to sign a law, and publish it, without the requisite majority of the board. The judges pronounced this a violation of the law, and a contest arose. The governor issued an inflammatory proclamation, calling the military to his aid; the judges declared his action calumnious, denounced him for calling for aid from the military authorities, and decided that if they granted the mandamus, requested by the law in question, they would subvert their own decisions. This ended the matter, and the dignity of the court was finally sus- tained. The judges often submerged their dignity and reversed their own decisions, but they had no idea of allowing others to do it for them.
Though the Governor and Judges observed no regular place or time of meeting for official duties, the time for refreshments was duly observed, as the following authentic copy of a bill against the Terri- tory clearly shows :
October 28, 1806.
TERRITORY OF MIGHIGAN.
To James May, Dr.
Six bottles of cyder Sept. 9, for use of Legislature, IS 6s
Six black bottles ...
6d 9S
Three pint tumblers, double flint cut,
LOS LI IOS
Six bottles cyder September 13, for use of " 6s
During the winter of 1808-1809, while Judge Woodward was absent at Washington, under the supervision of Judge Witherell many radical changes were made in the laws, forty-four new Acts were passed, and what was called the Witherell Code, took the place of the Woodward Code. When Judge Woodward returned, he refused to recognize the legality of the Acts passed in his absence, assert- ing that they were not properly attested, and the business of the courts was greatly deranged. In connection with this difficulty, on August 24, 1810, Judge Witherell introduced the following preamble and resolution :
Whereas, by the most extraordinary and unwarrantable stretch of power ever attempted to be exercised by the Judiciary over the Legislature and a free government, two of the judges of the Supreme Court of this Territory, at the September term of said Court in 1809, did declare and decide on the bench of said court, in their judicial capacity, that the laws adopted and published the preceding winter, by the Governor and two of the Judges of said Territory, were unconstitutional, and not binding on the people of the said Territory, under the frivolous pretext that they were signed only by the Governor as presiding officer ; and whereas, by the said declaration and decision of the said judges, the peace and happiness, the rights and interests, of the good people of this Territory have been and are still very much disturbed and put in jeopardy ; and whereas the good people of this Territory, after nearly one year and a half acquaintance with the said laws, have manifested strong wishes that the same, with a few exceptions, should be continued in operation in the said Territory, in order to effect which and remove all doubt on the subject,
Resolved, that the Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, do proceed immediately to sign said laws.
7
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LEGISLATURES AND LAWS.
This resolution was considered and rejected; and for nearly a year there ensued alternate victory and defeat for both parties. Finally Judge Witherell triumphed, at least in part; and many of the laws in question are embraced in the reprint of the terri- torial laws. It should be mentioned here that the severest criticisms were applied to the doings of the legislative board before Judge Witherell was ap- pointed. In 1816, during the administration of Governor Cass, some entire laws, and portions of others, were collected, and printed at Detroit in one volume, and this was designated as the Cass Code. In 1820 they were again collected, and those printed at that time are known as the Code of 1820."
In the winter of 1819, and until November 27, 1820, Judge Woodward absented himself entirely from the legislative board. Judge Griffin took no interest in the revision of the laws and drew up but one statute. He is quoted as having said that the others made a mere drudge of him. The eccen- tricities of Judge Woodward became at length ut- terly unbearable. The people were weary of being governed by four men, none of whom were chosen by themselves. From being restive they became determined. On March 1I, 1822, a meeting was held at the Council House to petition Congress "to separate the judicial from the legislative power, and to vest the latter in a certain number of our citi- zens." A petition was duly drawn up and for- warded, setting forth the fact that Congress had failed to correct or review the acts of the Governor and Judges, except in the single instance of the Act incorporating the Bank of Detroit and praying them to take action in behalf of the people. On October 26, 1822, a numerously signed call brought the citi- zens together in the Council House, and again a committee was appointed to draw up a petition to Congress. The names of the committee were, John Biddle, A. E. Wing, John L. Leib, James McClos- key, A. G. Whitney, Shubael Conant, Richard Smyth, John S. Roby, David C. Mckinstry, Louis Dequindre, Calvin Baker, John Meldrum, John P. Sheldon, Ebenezer Reed.
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