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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1898)
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Between "the act of October 31, 1803, which made the federal governor sole ruler of the province, and the act of March 19, 1804, which thus establish ed its provisional government, con gress put in force there, in one enact ment, eleven important federal stat utes, by sissple reference to their ti tles (Stat. 8th Congress, Cfa. XIII) Of these, the principal ones had to do with the. coinage; the registration, record, and licensing of vessels; the collection of duties on imports and tonnage; debts due the United States; the title to public lands soH by United States marshals, and establish ing a "branch of the United States bank. The act of March 19, 1804, completed this application of federal statutes to the territory, putting in force there by similar reference to title twenty one other acts, the most important be ing those forbidding filibustering, privateering, seditious correspondence with foreign governments, establiah ing the postoffice, promulgating United States laws, promoting prog ress of the useful arts, relating to patents and copyrights, the authenti cation of records and the Indian trade. By these sweeping enactments the principal laws of the United States were at once established throughout the nerw territory, where they would rarely be felt, execpt as conferring some positive benefit, such as a uni form currency or a prompt postal ser vice. The United States district court, attorney and marshals were charged with the enforcement of these laws; and, so far as possible, the federal administration of the territory was to pay for itself out of its own tonnage and imports duties. In short, the na tional government was to be made as beneficent and as little burdensome to the people of Orleans as possible. To their legislature was left the enact ment of laws which regulate domestic concerns and taxes which pay for them. Meanwhile, until the United States district court should be in operation, there were added to the "despotic" powers of Thomas Jefferson's territo rial governor, "the same jurisdiction and powers," in cases under the United States revenue laws, "given to district and circuit courts of the United States," and the powers of the secretary of the treasury to remit fines in similar cases (act March 27, 1804.) The remaining acts of this session of congress affecting Orleans wera equally benevolent. They provided for a lighthouse at the mouth of the Mississippi (Chap. 49); for the distri bution of United States laws in the territory (Chap. 60); for a survey of Us pHbiic lands and for recording its Spanish grants (Chap. 61). At the next session (March 2, 1805) congress established a representative territorial government for New Or leans Territory, under the provision of the Ordinance of 1787, for the govern ment of the Northwest Territory, ex cepting only the clauses relating to slavery and to descent and distribu tion (which clashed with the civil law). The government, briefly, con sisted of a governor, judges, and some "other officers appointed by the presi dent with the approval of the senate, and a legislature consisting of twenty five representatives ejected by the freeholders of the territory, and a council of five, nominated "by the rep resentatives and selected out o a list of ten nominees by the president. An absolute veto was given to the govern or, and the power to prorogue or t solve the legislature. Thio act went into effect October 1, lb05. The terri torial awtthen existing not inconsist ent with it were confirmed. P'r an additional guarantee of liberal govern ment, however, the act declared in force in the Territorj- all the provisos of the Ordnance of 178 (excepting that abolishing slavery). Many of these, such as the right Of habeas cor pus, were already law there, but were now reaffirmed, and auded to them were the important provisos that no one should be deprived cf life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor tolls be laid on waterways; nor alien landowners be more heavily taxed than residents. The act lastly provided that the ter ritory might have a congressional del egate, with voice but without vote, and might, when the population reached 60,000, apply for statehood un der the usual conditions. Except in one particular considered hereafter, this was practically alt the legislation that congress found requis ite to organize Orleans as a federal territory and set her growing into statehood. A probation of six years followed, during which she was left to work out her own salvation. The result was so satisfactory that in 1811 (chapter 21. Statutes 1811) she was authorized to form a state constitu tion and apply for admission to the Union, and in 1812, with her -boundaries slightly enlarged at the xpense of the territory north of her (Ibid, chapter 57), was taken into the Union as the State of Louisiana (chapter 50. Statutes 1812), less than nine j-ears after 'her acquisition by us as a 'Span ish province. Our first experiment in governing annexed territory had been unequivo cally successful; and its authbrity as to federal power to govern future ac quisitions became final. "Whichever may be the source whence the power is derived," said Marshall, passing up on its subsequent assertion in Florida, "the possession of it is unquestioned" (1 Pet., 564). The one particular in which federal legislation cotinued to affect Orleans territory after the establishment of this provisional government was n the vexed matter of land titles. -The Spanish intendant had "had almost en tire discretion in grantingg or con firming title to lands which might be had by royal patent, local grant, prescriptive user and cultivation, as well as purchase and sale. In addi tion tb the difficult questions thus raised, there were still tougher ones arising out of French grants, made be tween 1800 and 1803. Inasmuch as the federal government succeeded to all the Spanish Crown lands (r'rench re public state lands), it at once took steps (act March 2, lt to determine and establish all existing titles and claims to title, have been platted: and recorded, passed upon by a land com mission, and confirmed or rejected by congress. The task was too vast to be performed with the means or within the time limited by the set. do the period of grace for filing claims was again and again extended (act Feb. $&, 1806; act April 21, 1806; act March 3, 1807; act March 10, 1812), and the ma chinery of the act made more efficient al less vexations, by the multiplica tion of registry offices anA the em ployment of deputies, to receive and file claims throughout the territory. For two years the acts worked badly, as the) had to cope with chains of title unknown to our laws. At last the act of March 3, 1807, solved the principal difficulty, by allowing the commissioners to decide claims aris ing prior to 1803, "according to t.ie laws and established usages andi cus toms of the French and Spanish! gov ernments." With the adoption of this provision, the worst troubles of the laud commissions ended. On January 22, 1812, the people of the Territory of Orleans adopted a constitution, under the name of the State of Louisiana, framed by a con vention sitting less than two months, whose presiding officer, secretary and more than half of whose members were of French birth or descent, which affirmed and made fundamental law all the liberal provisions estab lished under eight years of federal control, and secured the state from any attempt at clerical meddling by prohibiting (Article IL, section 22; Article HI., section 6) and person ex ercising the functions of clergyman or priest from election to the legisla ture, to be governor, or to hold any office of profit or trust. In eight years a Latin people had so quickly learned the English law that they had made it their own, except where it dealt with immemorial cus tom, and the last section of their constitution- declared how far they had become Americans: "All laws that may be passed by the legislature, and the public records of this state, and the judicial and legis lative proceedings of the same, shall be promulgated, preserved and co& ducted in the language in which the constitution of the United States is written." CHAKLES W.GOULD. In New York Sun, August 21. becoihe flexible 6ne will discover that when one leans over, even to pick something up from the floor, one no , longer does so without invluntarily cntracting the abdominal muscles, un til day by Hay a greater compactness in those regions is gained, and the "stomacli" learns to do the work for itself. Its size in the mean time is re duced. Many persons have gone down several inches in the abdomen by fol lowing no other prescription than ..s. To "hold up your heat" properly, 3011 must learn not to indulge in the contortions of those persons who bend the body backward, throwing the line of the spine out of gear, in their well meant efforts to get -ie head erect. Nothing can exceed the ugliness and the awkwardness, of the result, for the whole body is thrown into abnormal lines. The proper way is this a rule, by the way, which is given by a well known teacher to her pupils a teach er who combines with a know.edge of the body and its laws unusual mental endowments: Feel the ball of your feet as you stand and press the floor; then tip the body backward, using the hip-joint hinges and without bending the spine. The right tip has. been acquired when an imaginary straight line fall ing from the bust would touch the ends of the toes. Then simply uft the head until the eye is -nought to a place where one can look straight out from the pupils and not from under the lids. The eye-level controls the poise of the head and regulates its relation to the spine. Walk retaining the same position, and always letting the chest be in the advance, as though one were really following that. When, this rule is followed a large abdomen is concealed and almost forgotten; it is certainly never obtruded. Harper's Bazar. TOREJUCE THE ABDOMEN. There is an old-fashioned rhyme which it will hurt none of us to re peat and to ponder: Hold up your head and bridle your chin Turn out your toes and your stomacn hold in. "And your stomach hold in: xhat is the crucial test of body excellence, and many there be that fail to meet it. It can never be done until control of the abdominal muscles is acquired, and for this control a difficult one to acquire every effort must be made, and all the mind directed to the effort. Here is one of the roles by wbicu it may be accomplished: Stand in an erect position for half an hour every day and for five or six minutes at a time practice drawing the aodomen in and letting it out. This is one of the hardest of all" things to do, and requires much pa tience. One will be astonished1 to dis cover at first how unresponsive the muscles are, and how next to impossi ble it seems to make one move. uen a little flexibility has been acquired, then hold the abdomen in and lift the chest and draw down the shoulders. Keeping the shoulders down, begin again to contract and expand the au domen. Then begin again, holding in the abdomen, lifting the chest and ' drawing down the shoulders; you will find your whole body straightened as well. Nothings is strained by these movements. When the muscles have BURLINGTON ROUTE EXCUR. SIONS FOR SUMMER OP 1898. Rock Island, III, and return, $1345, national encampment union veterans' union. Date of sale, August 8 and 9. Return limit, August 20. Indianapolis, Ind., Supreme lodge Uniform Rank K. of P. Date of meet ing, August 22. Limit, September 10. Rate to be announced later. Nashville, Tenn ChrUtaiu endeavor annual meeting, July 6 to 11. Limits and rates to be announced later. Omaha and rnturn, 12.20, nations congress retail liquor dealers. Date of sale, August 20 to 27. Return limit, 30 days. Omaha, Neb., and return, $2.20, na tional convention Bohemian turners. Date of sale, August 25 to 30. Return. 30 days. Cincinnati, O., and return, 22 50, G. A. R. national encamptneut. Sale dates and limits to be announced later. GEORGE W. BONNELL, 0. P. T. A., Lincoln, Neb. "I like to pay as I go," said Collar box, boastfully. "Don't doubt it," said the landlord, as he checked off the name on the reg-' ister. "But in this hotel, without bag gage, you pay in advance." Mr. Ardent I cannot understand your mother leaving us so much alone. She must have a great deal of confi dence in you. Miss Quiverfull It is not confidence. It is desperation. "You promise faithfully never to forget me?" said the summer girl pas sionately. "Never!" said the disgusted dry goods clerk. "Is there anything more today." , For club reports, society and theatri cat news, you want The Cocbier . JSL