USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 37
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3. For any reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground for the im- peachment of the judges of any of the courts, the governor shall remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the legislature ; but the cause or causes for which such removal may be required, shall be stated at length in the address.
4. The legislature shall provide by law for the removal of justices of the peace, and other county and township officers, in such manner and for such cause as to them shall seem just and proper.
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ARTICLE IX .- Militia.
1. The legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the constitution and laws of the United States.
2. The legislature shall provide for the efficient discipline of the officers, com- missioned and non-commissioned, and musicians ; and may provide by law for the organization and discipline of volunteer companies.
3. O hicers of the militia shall be elected or appointed in such manner as the legislature shall from time to time direct, and shall be commissioned by the governor.
4. The governor shall have power to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the state, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.
ARTICLE X .- Education.
1. The governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the legislature, in joint vote, shall appoint a superintendent of public instruction, who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law.
2. The legislature shall encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, scientifical, and agricultural improvement. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this state, for the support of schools, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, shall be and remain a perpetual fund ; the interest of which, together with the rents of all such unsold lands, shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of schools throughout the state.
3. The legislature shall provide for a system of common schools, by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each school district at least three months in every year ; and any school district neglecting to keep up and sup- port such a school, may be deprived of its equal proportion of the interest of the public fund.
4. As soon as the circumstances of the state will permit, the legislature shall provide for the establishment of libraries, one at least in each township ; and the money which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines assessed in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws, shall be exclusively applied to the support of said libraries.
5. The legislature shall take measures for the protection, improvement, or other disposition of such lands as have been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the United States to this state for the support of a university ; and the funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other source for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund for the support of said university, with such branches as the public convenience may hereafter de- mand for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, and as may be au- thorized by the terms of such grant : And it shall be the duty of the legisla- ture, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanen security of the funds of said university.
ARTICLE XI .- Prohibition of Slavery.
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever be introduced into this
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state, except for the punishment of crimes of which the party shall have been duly convicted.
ARTICLE XII .- Miscellaneous Provisions.
1. Members of the legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, except such inferior officers as may by law be exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirm- ation : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of this state; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of - -- according to the best of my ability." And no other oath, declaration, or test, shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.
2. The legislature shall pass no act of incorporation, unless with the assent of at least two-thirds of each house.
3. Internal improvement shall be encouraged by the government of this state ; and it shall be the duty of the legislature, as soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascertaining the proper objects of improvement in relation to roads, canals, and navigable waters ; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law for an equal, systematic, economical application of the funds which may be ap- propriated to these objects.
4. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appro- priations made by law, and an accurate statement of the receipts and expendi- tures of the public money shall be attached to and published with the laws annually.
5. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature ; but the legislature may by law authorize the higher courts to grant them, under such restrictions as they may deem expedient.
6. No lottery shall be authorized by this state, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed.
7. No county now organized by law shall ever be reduced, by the organiza- tion of new counties, to less than four hundred square miles.
8. The governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor general, shall keep their offices at the seat of government.
9. The seat of government for this state shall be at Detroit, or at such other place or places as may be prescribed by law, until the year eighteen hun- dred and forty-seven, when it shall be permanently located by the legisla- ture.
10. The first governor and lieutenant governor shall hold their offices until the first Monday of January eighteen hundred and thirty-cight, and until others shall be elected and qualified ; and thereafter they shall hold their offices for two years, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.
11. When a vacancy shall happen, occasioned by the death, resignation, or removal from office of any person holding office under this state, the successor thereto shall hold his office for the period which his predecessor had to serve, and no longer, unless again chosen or reappointed.
ARTICLE XIII .- Mode of amending and revising the Constitution.
1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or house of representatives ; and if the same shall be agreed to by a
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majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the legislature then next to be chosen ; and shall be published for three months previous to the time of making such choice : And if in the legislature next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to eich honse, then it shall be the duty of the legislature to admit such proposed amend nent or amendments to the people, in such manner and at such time as the legislature shall prescribe : and if the people shall approve and ra- tify such mendment or amendments by a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature voting thereon, such amendment or amend- ments shall become part of the constitution.
2. And if at any time two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives shall think it necessary to revise or change this entire constitution, they shall recommend to the electors at the next election for members of the legislature, to vote for or against a convention : and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors voting at such election have voted in favor of calling a convention, the legislature shall at its next session provide by law for calling a convention, to be holden within six months after the passage of such law ; and such convention shall consist of a number of members not less than that of both branches of the legislature.
NOTE XIII.
JURISPRUDENCE OF MICHIGAN.
WITHIN the last year, a revised code of local law has been digested under the the auspices of Mr. Fletcher, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Michigan. The immense mass of obsolete law, comprehended in the sta- tutes, which had been increasing in bulk and complexity from the period of the legislation of the old North-Western Territory through the modifications of the territorial government down to the erection of the State, opposed a formidable obstacle to research in this department. By the adoption of the revised statutes, which are modelled on the enlightened system of jurisprudence which prevails in the State of New-York, the citizens of the State are now provided with an accessible and comprehensive body of statute laws, tending to the adminis- tration of cheap and easy justice to all classes of the people. The condition of the legislation of the Territory, when the governor and judges held the power not only to establish but adjudge the same, exhibits a singular phenomenon in the jurisprudential system ; and although a minute account of the operation of that system in Michigan might furnish curious matter for detail, it would not, it is conceived, subserve any very valuable purpose; and, moreover, it belongs rather to the more technical department of legal literature than to general history.
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APPENDIX.
NOTE XIV.
MANY facts connected with the early history of Michigan have been stated on the authority of the splendid work of Charlevoix, published under the au- spices of the French government, and entitled " A General History of New France."
Since the foregoing was written, however, an article has appeared in an American periodical which throws new light upon the first exploration of the North-West. It is a labored and critical examination of contemporaneous records, which may be considered good authority, connected with the settlement of the West. Among those good fathers whose benevolent exertions distin- guished that period, the men who lived on " Indian corn grinded small," and " little frogs gathered in the theadows," the most distinguished was Father Marquette, whose life has recently been written by Mr. Jared Sparks. By this it appears that Marquette, having founded a settlement at Michilimackinac, labored in the surrounding regions until 1673, when M. Talon, the Intendant General of the colony, requested him to start for the discovery of the Missis- sippi. On the 13th of March, 1673, M. Joliet, Marquette, and five other French- men, left that place in two canoes. Passing through Green Bay, and toiling along the rapids of Fox River, they at length came to an Indian village. Here they found a cross, on which were hung bows and arrows, skins and belts, as an offering to the Great Spirit because he had given them a successful chase. On the 10th of June the adventurous party left this village, beyond which no Frenchman had before gone, and soon arrived at the Wisconsin. On the 17th of the same month they came to the Mississippi, on the banks of which they deseried deer and buffalocs. On the waters of the Mississippi they also saw swans floating " wingless," and their canoes were nearly dashed to pieces by some " great fish" which were found in those parts. Marquette and Joliet soon came to a village of the Illinois, where they were treated with hospitality by the savages. Leaving the Illinois, the travellers passed certain rocks, on which were painted monsters, against whom they had been warned upon Lake Michigan by the Indians. Reaching the Missouri and the Ohio, they went down to " Akamsca," where they ascertained that the Mississippi flowed into the sea. From this point they started, on the 17th of July, to retrace their steps, and soon reached the Illinois, and from that, Lake Michigan. " No- where," says Marquette, " did we see such grounds, meadows, woods, buffa- Joes, stags, deer, wild cats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroqucts, and even beavers," as on the Illinois river. Father Marquette afterwards remained on the Illinois in the exercise of his missionary functions until 1675; on the 18th of May of that year, he died on the western shore of the peninsula of Michigan, and was buried near the mouth of the river now called by his name in this state.
A portion of the article, to which allusion is made, is devoted to a considera- tion of La Salle's explorations. On the winter days of 1678, when Lake Erie frozen lay before them like a "plain paved with fine polished marble," La Salle's men built the Griffin, for the purpose of exploring the mouth of the Mississippi. In August, 1679, the Griffin was ready to sail, and she started on her voyage with the sound of Te Deums and the discharge of arquebuses ;
50
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while the Iroquis, who had regarded their operations with jealousy, and who had once attacked the blacksmith of the expedition, looked on with amaze- ment. Thus the voyagers passed across Lake Erie by Detroit, through Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron ; and on the 28th of August arrived at Michilimack- inac. Here La Salle founded a fort. He then went down to Green Bay, where he collected a cargo of furs, and despatched them to Niagara in the Griffin. La Salle, with fourteen men, now paddled down Lake Michigan in canoes marking the shallows by bear skins stuck on poles, and feeding on bears' flesh ; and on the 1st of November, 1679, he founded the old fort upon the St. Joseph River of Lake Michigan ; Hennepin preached patience and courage; and Tonti, the Italian, who was his lieutenant, soon appeared with some good venison ; but the Griffin, which was expected, did not return. Hav- ing placed a garrison of ten men in his fort of St. Joseph, he started from that fort with the remainder, " thirty working-men and three monks."
From this point they dropped down the Illinois. La Salle soon arrived at a village which appears to have been the present site of Rockfort, Illinois, at an Indian settlement. In this region he built the fort Creve Coeur. The winter thus wore away ; and finding that the Griffin did not make her appearance, La Salle despatched Father Louis Hennepin, and M. Dacan to explore the sources of the Mississippi, and they started upon their voyage on the last day of February, 1680.
The second voyage of La Salle, for the discovery of the Mississippi, it is alleged by this writer, commenced upon the Illinois River in January, 1683. This is stated on the authority of Tonti. On the 7th of February they reached the Mississippi, and on the 9th of April they came to its mouth.
On the 24th of July, 1684, La Salle again sails for America from Rochelle ; and his assassination took place, according to Joutel, on the 20th day of the month in 1687, near the mouth of Trinity River, according to the map in Charlevoix. By Joutel's account, La Salle was a man of science and accom- plishments, although haughty, arbitrary, and severe towards his men, in a degree which cost him his life. By the people whom La Salle sent out, the forts of Kaskaskia, Kahokia, and Peoria were founded. As he also laid the foundation of the fort on St. Joseph River, and also of that at Michilimackinac, his name deserves an important place in the annals of Michigan.
INDEX.
A.
Algonquins, side with the French, 12 ; their character, 15.
Argenson, Marquis, appointed Gover- nor of Canada, 16. Avangour, Baron, appointed Governor of Canada, 16. Allegan, County of, 290. Agriculture in Canada, 30.
B
Barclay, Commodore, commands a fleet on Lake Erie, 210. Boat Songs, Canadian, 64.
Bellestre, Commandant of Detroit, 92.
Black Swamp, road of, recommended, 230.
Boundary Line, disputed with Ohio, 237.
Branch, County of, 285.
Berrien, County of, 287.
Barry, County of, 290.
Buffaloes on shore of Lake Erie ; ac- count of, by La Hontan, 48; by Charlevoix, 50.
Bassett, Henry, Commandant of De- troit, 161.
Brock, General, takes Detroit, 197.
C
Cass, Lewis, Governor of Michigan, 219 ; his exploring expedition. 222. Cartier, Jacques, arrives at Montreal, 3.
Celoron, Commandant of Detroit, 338. Champlain, Samuel, founds Quebec, 6 ; Governor of Canada, 15.
Company of New France surrender their charter, 17; of West Indies organized, 17.
Courcurs des Bois, 30; their charac- ter, 54. . Foxes, their battles, 46. Frenchtown, battle of, 205.
Currency, Canadian, 32; of Michili- mackinac, 318.
Charlevoix, P. F. X. de, sent out from
France to Canada, 49 ; his descrip- tion of Lake Erie, ibid ; of Detroit, 50 ; of an Indian Council at Detroit, 51 ; of citrons in Michigan, 253. Clinton, Dewitt, establishes Erie Ca- nal, 231.
Clinton County, 292.
Constitution of Michigan established, 241.
Chippewa, County of, 292.
Coutume de Paris, law of Canada, 27. Cadillac Antoine de la Motte, founds Detroit, 40 ; first grant by, 336. Chippewas, allies of the French, 41.
D
Detroit founded, 40; attacked by the Ottawas, 42; by the Foxes, 43; taken by the English, 97 , attacked by Pontiac, 106 ; surrendered to the Americans, 167 ; destroyed by fire, 170; re-taken by the English, 197 ; restored to the Americans, 213.
De Louvigny, Commandant of Michi- limackinac, attacks the Foxes, 46. Du Buisson, Commandant of Detroit, 44.
Duquesne, Marquis, signs an order for Detroit, 339.
De Peyster, Commandant of Detroit, 140.
E
Erie, Lake, La Hontan's description of, 48; naval battle of, 211; canal established, 231. Eaton, County of, 290.
F
Frontenac, Count de, appointed Go- vernor of Canada, 18.
French emigrants of Michigan, 53.
Fur trade, French, of the lakes ; La
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INDEX.
Hontan's account of, 64 ; English, 127. Francis I., his colonization of Canada, 331.
G
Gallatin, Albert, cited about the In- dians, 308 ; his agency in establish- ing land surveys, 320.
Green Bay, French settlement there, 39.
Greenville, treaty of, 226 ; cited, 340. Governors of Michigan, 248.
Grant, first made at Detroit, 336 ; In- dian grant at, 339. Geology of Michigan, 347.
Grand River, report on it, 336.
H
Harmar, Josiah, surprised by the In- dians, 155.
Harrison, William Henry, defeats the Indians and English, 215 ; his sys- tem of surveys, 229.
Hillsdale, County of, 285.
Hennepin, Louis, travels through the Lakes, 19; his eulogy of La Salle, 20.
Hurons, allies of the French, 41. Huron Lake, 263.
Hamilton, Henry, Commandant of Detroit, his capture, 139.
Heckewelder carried to Detroit, 140.
Hudson's Bay Company chartered, 127.
Henry, Alexander, trader of Michili- mackinac, 117.
Hull, William, Governor of Michigan, 170; surrenders Detroit, 197; is deposed, 198.
I
Indian Chiefs carried to France, "7. Indians of Michigan, 306.
Iroquois side with the English, 12; their character, 13; chiefs of, sent to the galleys, 22. Ionia, County of, 291.
J
Jackson, County of, 287. Jesuits, College of, founded at Que- bec, 9; their missionary exertions among the Indians, 57. Joutel, his journal, 394. Jurisprudence, Canadian, 27; French
of Michigan, 55; English of Michi- gan, 135.
K
Kalamazoo, County of, 288. Kalamazoo River, report on it, 366. Kondiaronk, his policy, 23. Kent, County of, 291.
L
La Salle explores the west, and builds the first vessel on Lake Eric, 19; founds fort Michilimackinac, 394 ; fort of St. Joseph, 394 ; his death, 20. La Hontan, Baron, bis description of Lake Erie, 48; his account of the Fur Trade, 64.
Lands, Canadian tenure of, 31 ; of Mi- chigan first brought intomarket, 183. Land Office, first established in Michi- gan, IS2.
Legislative Council, established, 227 ; modifications of it, 231.
Lakes, first account of them, 5 ; their dimensions, 263.
Lake Coast of Michigan, 263.
Lenawee, County of, 285. Livingston, County of, 290.
La Peer, County of, 291.
Lesdiguieres, Duchesse de, addressed by Charlevoix, 49.
M
Mason, Stevens T., Governor of Mi- chigan, 241.
Montreal, its condition in 1535, 4; in 1720. 33.
Mississippi River, discovery of, 19.
Marquette, Joseph, explores the Mis- sissippi, 19 ; his death, 279.
Marquette River, of Michigan, 279.
Michilimackinac founded, 36; de- stroyed, 121.
Mackinaw, Island of, attacked, 216; County of, 292.
Morris, Governeur, first suggests Erie Canal, 231.
Montcalm, Marquis de, defends Que- bec, 82 ; his death, 84.
Michigan, population of in 1811, 181 ; in 1830, 285; in 1831, 236; in 1834, 237; in 1837, 300; general surface of, 249; rivers, 250; soil, 251 ; animals, 253; interior lakes, 253; mincral productions, ibid; roads, 254 ; ancient monuments, 256 ; internal improvements, 262.
397
INDEX.
Michigan Lake, 263. Monroe, County of, 283. Macomb, County of, 284. Menominees, allies of the French, Minivavana, speech of, 118. Marquoit, speech of, 176.
N
North-West, its general features, 313 ; navigable advantages of, 314 ; Ohio, 314; Indiana, 15; Illinois, 316 ; Wisconsin, 316; scenery of the lakes, 3!6.
North- West Company, 127.
North- West Territory organized, 145. Names, Indian, 260.
0
Oakland, County of, 289. Ottawas, Indians, allies of the French, 41. Ottawas, River, early channel of the Fur Trade, 30.
Ohio River, la belle riviere, discovered by La Salle, 77.
P
Pontiac, his first appearance, 91 ; his Confederacy, 101; his attack of Detroit, 106 ; his death, 124.
Perry, Oliver Hazard, his victory on Lake Erie, 211.
Proctor, General, takes Frenchtown, 208.
Porter, George B., appointed Gover- Ursula, Convent of, established, 10. nor of Michigan, 236.
Production of Michigan in 1837, 293. Priests, Catholic, their province, 26. Petition from Detroit in 1753, 338. Potawatamies, allies of the French, 41.
Q
Quebec, founded, 6; its condition in 1684, 32 ; in 1720, 33; surrendered to the English, 83.
R
Roque, Francois de la, sails for the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 6.
Richelieu, Cardinal, organizes the Company of New France, 7. Rogers, Robert, his letter to Uncas, 80; addresses Bellestre, 92; his speech to the Western Indians, 93 ; takes possession of Michigan, 97.
Recollets, their character, 26.
S
Seminary, Catholic, founded at Sille- ry, 10.
Sault de St. Marie founded, 38.
St. Joseph, fort, founded, 33; St. Joseph River, fort founded, 394 ; sur- vey of river, 372. Steam Boat, first on Lake Erie, 222.
St. Clair, County of, 284.
Shiawasse, County of, 291.
Saginaw, County of, 292.
Superior, Lake, 264.
St. Clair, Lake, 264.
St. Clair, Arthur, Governor of North- West Territory, 148.
Silver found near Lake Superior, 136. Superior, Lake, 136.
Settlements, Spanish, message from, 154.
T
Travellers, French, through the lakes, 345
Thames, battle of the, 214.
Tecumseh, excites the Western In- dians, 174; encounters the Ameri- cans at Monguagon, 194 ; his death, 215.
Tonti, M. de, Commandant of Detroit, 42.
U
V
Verrazzano, Giovanni, his expedition, 2. Van Buren, County of, 288.
W
Washington, George, his advance to Fort Duquesne, 76. Wawatam, his friendly services, 120. Woodbridge, William, his public ser- vice, 230.
Wolfe, General, takes Quebec, 83 ; his death, 84.
Wayne, Anthony, his defeat of the Indians, 161. Wayne County, 289. Wheat, production of, in Michigan, described by Charlevoix, 50.
Wenniway, a chief in the attack of Michilimackinac, 123.
.
ERRATA.
Page 3, line 9, for conjury, read conjuring ; p. 21, 1. 21, for for, read from ; p. 21, 1. 5, for 145, read 155 ; p. 47, 1. 8, for most, much ; p. 47, 1. 19, for buffalo, buffa- loes ; p. 49, 1. 19, for Dutchess, Duchesse ; p. 59, 1. 2, for to be, to have been ; p. 60, note, for A, IV; p. 61, 1. 16, for Pquottlee, Piqn ; p. 61, note, for B., V; p. 101, 1. 32, for Georce, Ecorce ; p. 108, 1. 19, for Cohonnor, Cochon ; p. 104, 1. 22, for gate, gates ; p. 109, 1. 17, for 1646, 1826 ; p. 110, 1. 26, for Melveri, Meloche ; p. 119, 1. 17, for Crocke, Croche ; p. 120, 1. 20, for Powatan, Wawatam ; p. 124, 1. 7, for salt, skull ; p. 128, 1. 15, for 1774, 1794 ; p. 131, 1. 31, for stretched, had stretched ; p. 132, 1. 23, for they, it ; p. 155, 1. 29, for 1792, 1790 ; p. 156, 1. 31, for 1761, 1791 ; p. 201, 1. 23, for amplest, most ample ; p. 201, 1. 25, omit not ; p. 210, 1. 7, for were, was ; p. 212, 1. 33, for langrade, langrage ; p. 213, 1. 12, for and, was ; p. 213, 1. 13, for bulwarks, bulwarks by that ship; p. 216, 1. 25, for diamer, diameter ; p. 217, 1. 5, for collected, collecting ; p. 226, 1. 22, for is, are ; p. 227, 1. 38, for depopulation, depor- tution ; p. 229, 1. 32, for a mile square, a square mile ; p. 229, 1. 33, for numerical or- der, in numerical order ; p. 229, 1 35, for blared, blazed; p. 233, 1. 33, for are, is ; p. 235, 1. 31, for Sheawassu, Shiawassee ; p. 238, 1. 32, for it was provided, provided ; p. 239, 1. 22, for 15, 7 ; p. 246, 1. 12, for was, were ; p 247, L 3, for 520,000, 3,520,- 000 ; p. 251, 1. 24, for is, are ; p. 253, 1. 34, for are, is ; p. 254, 1. 2, for crystalirid, crystalized; p. 255, 1. 12, for present, presents ; p. 259, 1. 28, for has recorded, con- tains ; p. 261, 1. 6, for canals, sands ; p. 261, 1. 22, for free, tree ; p. 264, 1. 12, for denseness, density ; p. 264, 1. 24, for are, is ; p. 264, 1. 27, for are, is ; p. 273, 1. 22, for stone, store ; p. 275, 1. 33, for in, it ; p. 276, 1. 21, for alluviations, deposition ; p. 277, 1. 7, for some, of some ; p. 292, 1. 24, omit be ; p. 316, 1. 17, for flowing, flowery ; p. 378, 1. 20, for limited, united.
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