This enumeration of voters indicated a probable total population of almost, if not quite, 70,000. The figures are of exceeding interest as showing definitely the small beginnings of communities which have since become so powerful in population, wealth and achievements. The largest county in point of population was Ross, and Chillicothe, its county seat, doubtless seemed to the men of that day as destined to become a city of great consequence. The smallest was Franklin, and the county seat, Franklinton, has since become a small part of the "West Side" of Columbus. The name of Columbus did not appear on the map until nine years later. Trumbull County was the fifth in population, and Cleveland, already located within its borders, was then almost entirely unknown. Montgomery County had 526 voters—the great City of Dayton is surrounded by it. Hamilton County had fewer people than Ross—but Cincinnati was in it. More than twenty-five years later 362 - HISTORY OF OHIO Toledo had a population of less than 100. It was then in an Indian reservation, and not one white voter was reported as residing in it. There was a vigorous discussion in the House of Representatives over the request of Governor Tiffin concerning the Louisiana Territory, and the resolution commending its purchase was passed by the closest possible vote—fifteen to fourteen. It did not give him authority to send the regiment asked for "to take possession of the lately ceded territory should the officers of the Spanish Government either refuse or delay to give it up." It merely said that "the measures taken by the Government of the United States to secure to the citizens the free and uncontrolled navigation of the Mississippi River, and to obtain the right to and possession of the Province of Louisiana, merit the approbation of this assembly." And even after the adoption of this very mild expression of approval, notice was given by two members that a protest against the action would be filed for record on the journal. This protest, signed by thirteen members, was so filed. In it they declared that it was "inconvenient, useless, and absurd for a legislative body, convened for useful, necessary legislation, to confer faint and unavailing encomiums on the constituted powers for performing that which they are required to do by constitutional application." It is easy to believe that the thirteen legislators had some reason for their protest other than the one they gave, but the records do not throw any further light on the subject. On December 24th (they did not adjourn for the holidays in those early times) Governor Tiffin sent a special message to the Houses transmitting for ratification or rejection a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It referred to the method of electing the President and Vice President. The action of Congress submitting this amendment to the state legislatures had resulted from the difficulties incident to the contest of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr after the election of 1800. Each of these men had received seventy-three electoral votes, and the contest thus thrown into the Congress had created a dangerous situation. The original Constitution gave the presidency to the candidate receiving the highest number of electoral votes, and the vice presidency to the one receiving the next highest number. The amendment now proposed would require each elector to vote for one for President and for another for Vice President. The submission of this constitutional amendment to the Ohio Legislature precipitated another controversy, and the bill to ratify it was passed in the House of Representatives only after considerable difficulty. In the committee of the whole House it was recommended that the amendment be rejected, and the vote in the session which followed was a tie—fourteen to fourteen. Subsequently the vote was reconsidered, the bill recommitted to the committee for some changes, and it was finally passed by a unanimous vote.1 An act was passed creating "Livingston" County. It was carved out of territory contained in Washington and Fairfield counties, but before final action on it the name was changed to Muskingum. The county seat was Zanesville, which later became the capital of the state for a time. By an act of February 3, 1804, aliens were empowered to own and hold real estate in Ohio. Glowing reports of the fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate and the wonderful opportunities offered to acquire independence in the new state, had spread not only through the 1 - The legislative procedure with reference to this amendment was as follows: In the previous session, April 16, 1803, a resolution was adopted instructing Ohio's senators and representatives in Congress to favor the submission of such an amendment. By an act of the General Assembly the amendment was ratified December 30, 1803; and by a resolution the governor was requested to forward a copy of the act to the speaker of the House of Representatives of the Unitdd States. In recent years ratification has been by resolution alone, which is forwarded to the secretary of state of the United States. ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 363 East, but also in Europe. Many foreign immigrants were arriving—most of them of a highly desirable quality—and this law enabling them to buy land was recognized as being for the best interests of the state. Under it many thousands of English, Scotch, Irish and German farmers became settlers, and they were welcomed on the same footing as native Americans. The courts were now functioning, and it became necessary to enact a law that would make sure that lawyers were competent to practice in them. On. February 4th of this session, the legislators took steps to that end. The act then passed provided that a candidate for admission to the bar should appear before any two judges of the Supreme Court, who examined him orally, or appointed others learned in the law to act as examiners. If it appeared that he was a citizen of the United States, if he produced a certificate of good character from some practicing attorney of the state, and if he showed in his examination that he was properly qualified, he was admitted to practice. The judges evidently took great care to see that incompetents were not admitted, and the bar of Ohio became famed for its brilliance at an early date in its history. It was in the act of February 18, 1804, that the first tax was levied. It was an assessment on real estate exclusively—the original and probably the only "single tax" law in Ohio. There was comparatively little personal property and probably no "intangibles" at all. The land was divided into first, second and third quality, and assessed uniformly according to the three qualities of value. As time went on this system proved unsatisfactory, and methods of taxation became a vexing problem to both legislators and taxpayers, as it has been ever since. Many amendments were made to the law within a very few years. Imprisonment had long been regarded in England and America as the only proper punishment for debtors, and Ohio, of course, made no exception to this practice. But reading of an Ohio enactment, dated February 17, 1804, then accepted as a matter of course but in some details very repulsive to the modern mind, discloses that debtors were not expected to associate with other prisoners and that special provision was made to keep them segregated while in confinement : "There shall be erected in each county a good and convenient courthouse, and a strong and sufficient jailor prison, for the reception and confinement of debtors and criminals, well secured by timber, iron bars and grates, bolts and locks, and also a pillory, whipping post and so many stocks as may be necessary for the punishment of offenders and every jail so to be erected shall consist of not less than two apartments, one of which shall be appropriated to the reception of the debtors, and the other shall be used for the safe keeping of persons charged with, or convicted of, crimes." The first general road law, passed after Ohio became a state, bears the date of February 17, 1804. It was amended and strengthened by a similar act passed almost two years later. Evidently the Assembly held some night sessions, for we find among the appropriations one "To Edward Sherlock, door keeper, for six pounds of candles furnished for the use of the senate, one dollar and fifty cents." The period of kerosene lamps would not arrive for many years yet, to say nothing of illuminating gas and electricity. Adam Betz, door keeper of the House of Representatives, also received an appropriation of $3.25 for fire wood and candles, and one Robert Parish was paid the large amount of $57 for fire wood used in both the House and Senate. The General Assembly thought the state could get along during the next fiscal year with an expenditure of $20,215.38, based on estimates made by its officers, and it appropriated that amount. But it really needed only $18,859.83, and there was a surplus left in the treasury at the end of the year. Already the raising of cattle and other livestock had begun in some 364 - HISTORY OF OHIO parts of the state. The remoteness of the settlements from the markets made the price of grain so low that it could not be sold at a profit, and the best disposition that could be made of it was to feed it to cattle. In this year of 1804 the first herd of cattle ever sent out of Ohio was driven over the mountains to Baltimore by George Renick, of Ross County. The business then commenced soon to grow to large proportions, and such drives became quite common. Bull's Tavern, in New York, where the drovers always stopped when in that city, became a household word in the backwoods of Ohio. THIRD LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 4, 1804, to February 22, 1805 As before noted, the state constitution required annual elections of all members of the Lower House of the General Assembly, but the senators were elected for two-year terms, half of them each year. At the first session selection had been made by lot of those for one-year and those for two-year terms. When the third session began all members of the Senate had been elected for two years. A number of senators were new, and a corresponding number had disappeared. Similar changes had occurred in the House at the second session. But in both Houses many were still there who had been present from the first and some of them continued to return for a good many years thereafter, by reelection. Many of the ex-members were on later rosters of other officials, particularly on the lists of judges. The speaker of the Senate was Daniel Symmes, but he later resigned and was succeeded by James Pritchard. In the House of Representatives Michael Baldwin was again speaker. Governor Tiffin's annual message recommended that the Legislature should give to the state an entirely new criminal code, the statutes in that respect being much confused by conflicts between the old territorial laws and those under the new state government. He also strongly urged measures to promote education. Both of these recommendations led to important enactments. The Legislature was notified that one of the men whom it had appointed a judge in Muskingum County was not a resident of the state and could not take the office. Not important to history, but interesting as showing the newness of things. Probably the man's name, even, was utterly unknown to any member of the body which had appointed him. Matters pertaining to slavery occasionally occupied attention. One of these now came up. The Legislature of Massachusetts had adopted a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which would apportion to the slave states a number of congressmen based purely upon the number of free white inhabitants, and not including "three-fifths of all other persons"—meaning slaves. The placing of the amendment as part of the Constitution would have greatly reduced the number of congressmen from the slave states. This resolution adopted by the Massachusetts General Assembly was sent to the legislatures of other states, including Ohio, for approval and endorsement. But a joint resolution of the General Assembly at Chillicothe, adopted by a vote of twenty-seven to one in the House, and by eleven to two in the Senate, declared it "inexpedient" so to amend the Federal Constitution. Ohio was not yet ready to enter upon any radical measures in opposition to the slave-holding power. The action was duly certified to the Legislature of Massachusetts. The presidential election of 1804, the first in which Ohio had participated, had occurred in November, and Governor Tiffin officially notified the General Assembly that William Goforth, James Pritchard and Nathaniel Massie had been elected to cast the electoral votes for this state. They were, by formal resolution, allowed the use of the hall of the House in which to hold their sessions. They cast their votes for Thomas Jefferson, whose second term began the following March. ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 365 There was much ado over proceedings to impeach William W. Irvin, one of the associate judges of Fairfield County, who was accused of "a high misdemeanor and neglect of official duties." From the records it would appear that the only definite charge against him was that he had "absented himself from the court, in consequence of which all further proceedings in said court for that term were finally stayed, and after waiting for his return until the third day of the term aforesaid, and he not appearing, the president judge was necessitated to adjourn said court." It is curious to note the importance attached to this case. Judge Irvin was summoned to appear before "The High Court of Impeachment" members of the Senate, on the 5th of the following December—eleven months in the future—during which interval it is presumed the proceedings in the Fairfield County Court would have to be suspended. The trial then lasted two weeks, and was participated in by all the members of the General Assembly, the House as prosecutors and the Senate as judges. Judge Irvin was declared guilty, and he was removed from office. There seems no way of accounting for this great waste of time over what must have really been a comparatively trivial case. The official printer for the state was one N. Willis, now as during the two years previous. The year of this session he did not have the printing of the laws finished as early as he had been ordered to do by the Legislature, whereupon he was "called on the carpet." His excuse for the delay was that he had found that he needed more paper than he had expected, and that when his supply was exhausted it required several weeks to procure more. One can imagine the troubles of a man trying to get quick deliveries of print paper in Chillicothe in 1804. At any rate, the investigating committee found his explanation reasonable, and a full report of the inquiry was spread upon the journal of the Senate. Under the territorial regime preliminaries had been taken looking to the foundation of a university at Athens, but up to this time the project had made no progress. The governor now sent to the Legislature a report, made by Gen. Rufus Putnam, of sales of "house and out lots" surveyed by him from the lands, "upwards of 11,000 acres," appropriated to the university. The money realized on this sale amounted to $2,223.50, the average price of "house lots" being $44.33, and of out lots 39 cents. Judge Return Jonathan Meigs now resigned from the supreme bench, and the Legislature elected Daniel Symmes, speaker of the Senate, in his place. Judge Meigs' resignation was necessitated by his appointment to do important work for the United States in the St. Charles district of the northern part of the Louisiana Territory. His departure from Ohio at this time was the cause of future troubles for him, for it enabled enemies to prevent him from becoming governor of Ohio four years later, after he had been elected to the office, on the ground that he was no longer a citizen of the state. The pioneer character of the times was indicated in a long discussion concerning wolves and panthers which were very numerous. No means were found for eliminating them at the time, but important legislation upon the subject was passed later. During this session three more new counties were created—Highland, Athens and Champaign, and Scioto County was enlarged. Governor Tiffin's recommendation of an entirely new criminal code was fully complied with. The Crimes Act of 1805 consisted of thirty-eight sections. By comparison with legislation in effect 100 years later that first code appears barbarous, but at the time it became law it was regarded by many as too lenient and as conceding too much in the direction of mercy. The death penalty was inflicted for five different crimes—treason against the state, murder, rape, malicious maiming, and arson with malice where life was destroyed or put in peril. 366 - HISTORY OF OHIO Manslaughter, strange to say, could be atoned by paying a fine of $1,000 and going to prison a maximum of two years. Attempted assault upon a female incurred a penalty of thirty-nine lashes "on the bare back at the whipping post," two years' imprisonment, and a fine of $1,000. Arson without malice, and where life was not shown to be in danger, incurred full restitution of the value of property burned, a fine of $1,000, and not more than two years' imprisonment. Maiming without malice, as in an affray, was punishable by a fine of not exceeding $1,000 and imprisonment not exceeding two years. This was intended to discourage slashing with knives, gouging out eyes, biting off ears and noses, etc., in rough and tumble fights. The penalty for committing perjury was a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment for not less than twelve months, besides disfranchisement and denial of right to hold office or serve on a jury. Refusal to testify was also made a penal offense punishable by a fine of $100, or imprisonment not exceeding six months. It was by these two provisions that the courts were expected to be able to get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, on any and all occasions. A fine of $1,000 and disfranchisement forever were to be meted out to bribers. Forging, counterfeiting and altering bills, credits, notes, etc., subjected the culprit to thirty-nine lashes on the naked back, a fine in double the amount of the forgery, imprisonment not to exceed two years, and disfranchisement forever. Other penalties were imposed as follows : Ordinary burglary—$500 fine and one year in prison. Robbery—Fifty-nine lashes on the bare back (one hundred if convicted a second time), a year in prison and a fine not exceeding $500. Larceny—Fifteen lashes for the first offense and thirty for the second. Receivers of stolen goods received the same punishment. A person challenging another to fight a duel with deadly weapons was fined $2,500, was obliged to give security for good behavior during life, and was disqualified to hold office. If unable to pay the $2,500 fine he was imprisoned for ten years. Any one carrying the challenge was subject to the same penalties. And all this, even though no duel was fought. Undoubtedly the section applying to dueling was placed in the law under the excitement of a wave of public horror which had spread over the whole land after the killing of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr in July preceding the enactment of the Crimes Act. Prior to that time dueling was common in the United States, was indulged in by prominent and highly honorable men, and was regarded as the best possible way of settling personal differences among gentlemen, so long as the "code duello" was strictly adhered to. The death penalty was inflicted by hanging. The executioner was the sheriff of the county in which the crime was committed. It was also the sheriff's duty to lay the lashes "on the naked back at the whipping post." Such was the "mild and lenient law," to which many people objected as not sufficiently severe, provided for the punishment of the criminals among our forefathers in Ohio, in 1805. Perhaps the objectors thought the methods of dealing with criminals in England were the only proper ones to pursue. Not many years before 1805 crime was punished there according to a ferocious code. In his description of the ways in England toward the end of the eighteenth century, Charles Dickens included this sentence : "The hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition ; now stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals ; now, hanging a housebreaker on Saturday who had been taken on Tuesday; today taking the life of an atrocious murderer, and tomorrow of a wretched pilferer who had robbed a farmer's boy of sixpence." ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 367 The first license law was also passed in this session. It applied to ferries, taverns and stores. The principal interest attaches to the regulations of taverns and tavern keepers. They were not permitted, under penalty of a fine of $20 and revocation of license, to allow "any kind of betting, gaming for money or other article of value, either at cards, dice, billiards, bowls, shovel board, fives, or any other gaming device." Nor could they be given a license to sell "wine, spirituous liquors and strong drink" if twelve free holders in the township made objection in writing. This was the original anti-liquor law of the state. And it a tavern keeper sold liquor on Sunday his license would be revoked on Monday—according to the law. This Legislature passed a measure which within a few years proved to be of more importance than any other up to that time. It established the state militia on a firm basis, providing for its organization and discipline. As will appear in its place, without the military force authorized under the law referred to, and others which followed, the War of 1812 would probably have had a different termination. When the Legislature adjourned on February 22, 1805, its members and the people had the satisfaction of knowing that much had been accomplished. A great amount of work had been done in winnowing out the best in the patch work territorial statutes, and in placing the state on a much firmer foundation. Appropriations made by this Assembly still further manifest the primitive conditions of the state. It cost $60 to send the three presidential electors their certificates of election, and their salaries and expenses in coming to Chillicothe to cast their votes for Thomas Jefferson were : "Goforth fifty dollars, Massie (who lived there) twenty-five dollars, and Pritchard sixty dollars." Furniture was cheaper than might be expected even in that day of low prices, considering that it had to be made entirely by hand by skilled workmen. Robert Steele furnished two desks and a table for the use of the General Assembly, and his bill for the three pieces was only $15.25. The majors general, who had spent much time in organizing the militia, were allowed the munificent sum of $75 each for their year's services. Six per cent was made the legal rate of interest for borrowed money, and usurers were to forfeit the full amount of loans made at a higher rate. One-half was to go to the counties where they lived and the other half to the informers. Bets and gaming contracts were made void by the Assembly, and need not be paid. Drunkards making a noise or disturbance were fined $2 ; cock fighting for money was punishable by fines of $10. Any person found on the Sabbath day "sporting, gaming, rioting, quarreling, hunting, horse racing, shooting, or doing common labor, or molesting any religious society" was fined not exceeding $5. But the law included a curious exception in the matter of common labor : "Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent families from traveling, watermen from landing their passengers, or ferrymen from conveying over the water travelers or persons removing with their families on the Sabbath day." Nothing was allowed to impede the progress of the incoming settlers. A law remarkable for its wording was placed on the statute book of this year : "If any person of the age of fourteen years or upwards shall profanely curse, damn or swear, by the name of God, Jesus, or the Holy Ghost, he shall be fined fifty cents for every such offense." It is difficult to understand that it was regarded necessary to pass two of the laws enacted in January and February. They indicate the presence of a kind of lawlessness almost inconceivable in later times. One of these does not seem to have been looked upon as a crime. It provided that "if any person shall cut, fell, box, bore, or destroy any black walnut, black, white, yellow or red oak, poplar or white wood, wild cherry, 368 - HISTORY OF OHIO white or blue ash, yellow or black locust, chestnut, coffee, pine or sugar tree or sapling," growing on land not his own, without the consent of the owner, he "shall forfeit and pay to the owner for every tree, a sum not less than twenty-five cents nor more than ten dollars," and if it was any other kind of tree than those named he should nay not less than twelve and one-half cents nor more than three dollars each, at the discretion of the court. Trees were certainly cheap in 1804-05. The other law referred to was enacted on February 11, 1805. Under it any person setting fire to a woods or prairie, or allowing fire in his own woods or prairie to pass to those of another, to his injury, was subject to a fine of fifty dollars, and be liable to damages besides on a suit brought by the one injured. It was enacted that debtors could by petition go through insolvency proceedings in the courts and that this person should "forever after be privileged from imprisonment for any debt due and owing by him at the time of filing his said petition." FOURTH LEGISLATIVE SESSION DECEMBER 2, 1805, TO JANUARY 27, 1806 James Pritchard, of Jefferson County, was the speaker of the senate during the session of 1805-1806. John Sloane, also of Jefferson County, was speaker of the House. Sloane was only twenty-six years of age at that time and was at the beginning of a career of importance—Receiver of United States Moneys for some years, colonel of militia in the War of 1812, member of Congress four successive terms, Secretary of State for three years, and United States Treasurer from 1850 to 1855. On the second day the two Houses met in joint session to canvass the vote for governor which had been cast the previous October, and declared that Governor Tiffin had been reelected, having received 4,783 votes with none cast for any other person. Thus he was twice elected governor unanimously—the only instance of the kind in the entire history of the state. The number of votes was very little larger than that of two years before, which indicated even greater apathy on the part of the voters since many thousands had been added to the state's population in the meantime. During the three preceding sessions, as before noted, there had been many contests in the legislature for the right to sit as members. Generally speaking, they were unimportant, and very little time was taken in deciding them. One arose now, however, which created considerable interest, and the record of it is useful as throwing light upon the political methods of those primitive times. William James, of Fairfield County, brought a contest against Robert Cloud, and the committee on privileges and elections devoted some time to its consideration. The returns showed that James had an actual majority of four votes in the county, but that only two of the three judges in each of the Clear Creek and Amanda Township districts had signed the official reports of the vote. The former township gave Cloud four majority and the latter gave James ten. Cloud's majority in the other four townships of the county was two. The clerk of the county court, doubtless a partisan of Cloud, had thrown out the vote of the two disputed townships and had given the certificate of election to Cloud. The legislature took several votes on various technical motions made, but they finally gave the seat to Cloud. Governor Tiffin, for the first time, delivered his annual message in person, which was an unusual proceeding in legislative sessions in the country. And it was so unusual in legislative assemblies of the states and the nation for more than one hundred years afterwards that when President Woodrow Wilson revived the practice before Congress in 1913 it was regarded as almost revolutionary. The officers of the State Government were reelected, but this time there were some real contests for the honors. They were: William ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 369 Creighton, Jr., Secretary of State ; William McFarland, Treasurer of State ; and Thomas Gibson, Auditor of State. Again Ohio was asked to ratify an amendment to the Federal Constitution. This was a proposal that federal judges might be removed from office by a majority vote of both houses of Congress sitting in joint session. The Ohio Legislature approved it, but it did not receive the support of the required two-thirds of the states, and thus failed. The proceeding showed that Congress was indignant over the power assumed by the Supreme Court to decide laws null and void on the ground that they conflicted with provisions of the Federal Constitution. One more county was established- at this session—Geauga, carved from territory included in Trumbull County. The northeastern part of the state was growing in population and many more new counties were erected there during the next few years. Wild animals in the Ohio forests were a great menace to the people, and at various times means of removing it had been discussed in both houses. But the first definite law pertaining to it was enacted December 20, 1805. It authorized county commissioners to offer rewards for the scalps of wolves and panthers, under a flexible scale ranging from 50 cents to four dollars per scalp. In order to collect the reward money the hunter had to show that the killing occurred within ten miles of some white settlement, and the scalps, with ears attached, should be presented to a justice of the peace of the township in which the animal was destroyed, within forty days thereafter. If the wolf or panther was more than six months old the reward was to be not more than $4.00 nor less than $1.00. If less than six months old the amount to be paid might be as low as 50 cents. This law proved to be very effective, although the wild animals were not extinct in the state until many years afterwards. A general law for opening and constructing roads, perhaps the greatest and most pressing need of the settlers, was enacted January 22, 1806. It contemplated the construction of adequate roadways to keep pace with the clearing away of the wilderness. They were to be built partly at state expense. partly by contributions of labor or its equivalent by the able bodied men and partly by the revenues derived from the United States Government, three per cent bonds donated by Congress for the purpose Within a comparatively short time more than one thousand miles of roads were ready. Most of them were fearfully and wonderfully made, no doubt, but that old first road law was the germ from which the marvelous highway system of Ohio has since been developed. The roads first provided for were over the following routes : From New Lisbon to the Muskingum River ; from Salt Creek to the bridge over Wills Creek ; from Lebanon, via Hamilton, to the west line of the State ; from Gallipolis to Athens ; from Cleveland to the portage on the Cugahoga River ; from Lancaster (then officially named New Lancaster) to Franklinton ; from Xenia to the Chillicothe Road ; from Chillicothe to Springfield ; from Todd's Forks to Cincinnati ; from Portsmouth to Chillicothe ; from Hamilton to the mouth of the Great Miami ; from Marietta to the line between Belmont and Washington counties ; and from New Comerstown to Morristown. This made a very fair showing for the central, southwestern, southern and eastern parts of the state, which parts were then most thickly populated. The roads relieved thousands of people from the great hardship of almost complete isolation and inaccessibility. The amount of money appropriated for all this work was $14,725, and the commissioners who had it in charge spent less than $500 over the amount appropriated. It probably required greater struggles and self sacrifices, greater persistence and spirit of cooperative effort, to make these highways than have been required to provide any of those opened since. The state expenditures for this year, as shown by the treasurer's official report to the general assembly, were $28,786.94. The balance in the treasury was $102.22. 370 - HISTORY OF OHIO The appropriations made this year included the usual items for candles, fire wood and furniture, salaries of officers, etc. But a preliminary appropriation was made which indicated very clearly that the members did not have enough ready cash in their pockets to see them through the session. On December 27 they appropriated thirty-five hundred dollars for themselves and their officers "in part of their wages for the present session." The act establishing standards of weights and measures passed this session was an interesting document. It empowered the Governor to procure from the officials of Pennsylvania duplicates of weights and scales adopted by that state, as well as the measures of the foot and the yard, to be used as the official standards in Ohio, and enacted that "the bushel, dry measure, shall contain two thousand one hundred and fifty and two-thirds solid inches, and the gallon of wine measure two hundred and thirty-one solid inches." Duplicates of the official weights and scales and measures were to be distributed among the counties of the state, and it was decreed that, after six months, any person selling commodities by weights and measures less than the standards should forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding ten dollars. The act was passed December 23, 1805. It was repealed February 19, 1808. But for some reason not known, the enforcement of the law was suspended until the beginning of the next session—December 4, 1806. At that time fifteen hundred dollars was provided to cover the cost of putting it into effect. The new road law now passed was a general one, describing in great detail all the steps in determining and constructing the highways. It contained some features which seem curious now. Petitions for new roads were made to the county commissioners, who had surveys and "views" made, and if they did not think it advisable to construct the roads asked for, all the expense of the surveys and views were charged against the petitioners. Under these circumstances purely selfish requests were not often made—the commissioners would authorize only such roads as were "of general and public utility to the citizens of the county at large." On the other hand, people objecting to a proposed road had to pay the expenses of the views and surveys if their objections were over-ruled. The wages paid for the surveys were not great, however, judged by modern standards, since the surveyors received only one dollar and twenty-five cents a day, and chain carriers sixty-five cents a day. Disinterested land owners who did the "viewing" were paid eighty-five cents a day each. Any one who wished to lay out a "cart way" on his own land could do so at his own expense, but must not make the cart way more than twenty feet wide. The labor of making the public roads was performed by white men over twenty-one years old, all of whom were compelled to give one day's labor a year without pay, and to provide their own "necessary and common articles of husbandry" (thus the law described pick and shovel) while doing it. If any man refused to go to work on the road under this arrangement, or if when there he idled his time away, he had to pay $1 "to be recovered by action of debt brought before a justice of the peace by the supervisor of roads, first having made a demand for same." Road taxes were also imposed, in addition to the labor required, but this tax could be worked out at the rate of 67 1/2 cents per day. The road supervisors were allowed by the law to go upon lands which lay along the road, to take loose stones, dig gravel, sand and stone, also to dig ditches there which were necessary to the road, but it was required that in doing this he must do as little damage to the land as possible. He also had to erect posts at the forks of every road, "containing an inscription in legible characters directing the way to the next town or public place on each road," and any person defacing or destroying these guideposts forfeited $20 to the supervisor. If any one obstructed a road and ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 371 allowed the obstruction to remain he had to forfeit $10. The supervisors, who had unusual responsibilities on their shoulders, received 85 cents a day wages "and such other compensation as the township trustees shall think reasonable"—and no doubt their ideas of the word "reasonable" were low enough. Such were the beginnings; in 1805 A. D., of the highways which in the following century were covered with asphalt and concrete, at an expense of scores of millions of dollars, on which rolled hundreds of thousands of superb horseless vehicles of which the original road makers could never have dreamed in their wildest flights of fancy. On January 27 of this session an act was passed authorizing the Governor to appoint two commissioners who should act in conjunction with similar commissions from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky to explore the rapids of the Ohio River, near Louisville, and consider means of opening and improving navigation there. They were to determine as nearly as possible the cost of the work and arrive at a conclusion how much of the expense was to be paid by Ohio. This was a highly important matter at that time, and had been called to the attention of the general assembly by official communications from Kentucky. The "Falls of the Ohio," as they were commonly called, were a menace to navigation and hence a great hindrance to the transportation of the products of the four states- to New Orleans. At the session of the following year Kentucky proposed a corporation to finance the necessary improvement and invited Ohio to take shares of stock in it, but the general assembly refused because of restrictions which would prevent Ohio from having as much control in the enterprise as Kentucky. For many years this problem hung on. A great deal of money was spent by a private company to build a canal around the danger point, but it failed, and not until later years was a remedy found. The system of apprenticing children was the subject of legislation during this session, and the law passed was intended to eliminate abuses which had grown up. It was enacted that overseers of the poor, and parents, in "binding or putting out any child as an apprentice or servant," was required to have incorporated in the articles of indenture a provision that such child must at least be taught to read and write. And in case of "misusage and cruelty, refusal or necessary provisions or clothing on the part of the master or mistress," or "misdemeanor or ill behavior or failure to do his or her duty" on the part of the child, the matter was to be taken up before a justice of the peace, who should call in five disinterested free holders to hear all the evidence and determine the matter. They could also hear and determine complaints of masters and mistresses against their apprentices or servants for desertion without good cause. It was not a day when child-labor laws protected defenseless children from abuse and injustice while at work. FIFTH LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 1, 1806, to February 4, 1807 Thomas Kirker, of Adams County, was the speaker of the senate, and Thomas Scott the clerk of this session. Scott had been clerk at every session so far, as he had been of the constitutional convention of 1802. He was a candidate for secretary of state at the preceding session but had been defeated by Creighton. Abraham Shepherd was Speaker of the House of Representatives. This session was filled with stirring and notable events. On the second day Governor Tiffin sent in a confidential message. Its nature was not publicly disclosed and it was considered behind closed doors for several days. When the ban of secrecy was lifted it became known that it related to the so-called conspiracy of ex-Vice President Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, which was then forming. The governor was ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 373 much exercised about it and the legislature took vigorous measures to defeat it and to thwart its execution so far as suppression of its activities in Ohio would do so. What these measures were, and their effect, appear in another part of this history. A resolution was adopted by both houses placing the state on record as opposed to the further importation of slaves from the West Indies or the west coast of Africa, and it was forwarded to President Jefferson and the Congress. The federal constitution (section 9 of the first article) provided that "the migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1.808." This was a compromise arrived at in the constitutional convention after long debate between the delegates representing the slave states and the non-slave holding states. While it was not a mandate to Congress to prohibit such importation in 1808, there had been a growing agitation, now culminating in a demand upon Congress to prohibit the traffic, and hence this action of the Ohio legislators a year before the date when the prohibition could be made. Similar action was taken in many other states, and Congress did prohibit the further admission of slaves at the earliest time at which the constitution permitted it to be done. There was another long trial of impeachment of a judge—this time of Robert F. Slaughter, president judge of the second district. He was charged with misdemeanor in that he failed and neglected to attend the courts of common pleas in the different counties constituting his circuit. The trial began on January 9 and continued from day to day for three weeks. Slaughter was found guilty and removed from office. The House records do not show, or give a hint, why so much time was consumed in the trial, but one can conceive that there was much politics involved. There was a vacancy in the office of United States Senator for Ohio, the term of Thomas Worthington having expired, and Governor Tiffin was elected to fill it, being successful over five candidates before the legislature. 1 He resigned as governor, which placed Thomas Kirker at the head of the State Government by virtue of his being speaker of the senate. At this session two more counties were set up—Miami and Portage. The general assembly now began a system of establishing "commissions" to take charge of many affairs of a purely personal nature. In the first days of the state it had found time to supervise such affairs itself, but as population increased and private interests grew much more varied, it found it necessary to deputize and empower commissions for the purpose. Divorces, handling of estates, the care of widows and minor heirs, the administration of properties in other states belonging to residents of Ohio—these and many other interests were handled by the commissioners. Eventually, through the great multiplicity of them, complications arose which made the system impracticable. The problem was finally solved by the establishment of a uniform system under which the courts were given charge. The Burr-Blennerhassett episode, introduced at this session by the Governor, as above related, became one of enormous interest to the officials and the people. However exaggerated the fear, or however mistaken most of the suspicion, an important result was the hurried passage by the legislature of an act "to prevent certain acts hostile to the peace and tranquility of the United States within the jurisdiction of this state," and making it the duty of the Governor to execute the law by force of the state militia. But the operations of the militia demonstrated its raw inefficiency and lack of discipline. The military department of the state had been established but a short time. It had officers appointed by the state authorities, but it now became evident that a much better organi- 1 - Following is the vote by which Tiffin was elected: Edward Tiffin, 25; Philemon Beecher, 12; Return J. Meigs, Jr., 2; Tom Tuffs, 1; Tom Konkey, 1. 374 - HISTORY OF OHIO zation was necessary, and vigorous measures were taken to that end by the legislature. This was of pressing importance for another reason. The people of the United States were coming to believe that Great Britain desired to recover her lost possessions in America, and Ohio felt that strong military preparation was necessary for a war when it should come. The general assembly was eager to take all measures necessary for this preparation by encouraging the citizen soldiery and providing for drill instruction and improvement in their condition as prospective fighters against the invaders they expected. The war which came six years later found Ohio ready and able to give a splendid account of herself. The State had now arrived at a time when its law making body could take up some matters not absolutely essential to the immediate, pressing needs of the people. One of the mose striking features of the legislation which began in this session of 1806-07 was the promotion of religious societies, churches, colleges, academies and libraries. These received a large measure of attention. On January 27, 1807, "The Society of The St. John's Church in Worthington, Ohio," was created by a direct state law. It was declared a body politic, to be perpetual in succession, "subject, however, to such alterations and restrictions as the legislature may from time to time think proper to make." All the duties of the officers of the church were set forth in great detail in the statute. It is a curious example of a church established by the state. This law was followed almost immediately by several others setting up organizations under the same kind of state supervision. "The Alexandria Society- of Granville," "The First Religious Society of Marietta," "The Red Oak Presbyterian Church," "The University of Cincinnati," "The New Town Library Company," of Hamilton County, "The Chillicothe Academy," "The Worthington Academy"—all these were provided for by separate direct laws enacted by the general assembly which detailed the regulations governing them. But the management of them was in the hands of the incorporators named in laws. These names included many of the most prominent men of the day, and this early interest in religious and educational institutions reflects more clearly than anything else could have done the high character and fine aspirations of the men who took upon themselves the building of the state. But many of these same men entered into a class of enterprises which were later regarded as immoral and debasing. It is a strange illustration of the fact, noted in all history, that the difference between right and wrong largely depends upon the times, the circumstances and the environments. On February 3, 1807, the general assembly passed "an act to raise money by way of a lottery to improve the Cuyahoga and Muskingum rivers." To carry it out eleven commissioners were provided for, including a number of members of the legislature itself. They were directed to conduct the lottery and thereby raise a net amount of $12,000 for the purpose named. They were required to give bond for the proper accounting of the money received, and were permitted to keep for themselves, as compensation for their work, fifteen per cent of the gross receipts. They were empowered to offer such prizes and in such form, as they deemed proper. All expenses, including advertising and printing, were also to be paid out of the total amount received. The commissioners were highly successful in this lottery ; the good people were ready and anxious to "take a chance." The bank of the Scioto River at Chillicothe needed "saving and repairing," and the general assembly passed another lottery act to raise $12,000 to meet the expense of this improvement. The nine commissioners who were appointed to "put it over" included Samuel Finley, one of the most prominent business men of Chillicothe, William Creighton, Sr., father of the secretary of state, Duncan McArthur, one of the most conspicuous men in the early history of the state, Nathaniel Massie and others of almost equal prominence. They put up the prizes, sold the lottery tickets, took their 15 per cent commission (so far as known to