: oped pass into the territorial stage before being finally admitted as a State or States into the Union. This gradual conferring of full political rights and privileges, however, has not by any means been always followed, some districts having been immediately admitted as States without having passed through the territorial stage. Turning now to the new forms of government erected for the two political divisions into which the Louisiana cession was divided, attention may first be directed to that for the Territory of Orleans. In this Territory executive power was vested in a governor appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of three years. Such governor might or might not be a resident of the Territory at the time of his appointment, but was required to reside within the Territory during his incumbency of office. Provision was likewise made for a secretary, to be appointed by the President for four years, whose duties included, in addition to those usually pertaining to the office of secretary of a commonwealth, that of acting as governor whenever that office should be vacant for any reason. Legislative power was vested in the governor and a legislative council, the latter consisting of, to quote the language of the act, "thirteen of the most fit and discreet persons of the Territory appointed annually by the President of the United States from persons holding real estate in the Territory." For the exercise of the judicial power, provision was made for the establishment in the Territory of an United States. district court, with a district attorney and marshal, and a superior territorial court and such inferior courts and justices of the peace as the legislature of the Territory might from time to time establish. The judges, district attorneys, marshals and all general officers of the militia were to be appointed by the President of the United States. There are a number of features about the system of government thus established that are of more than usual interest. Chief among these is that in relation to the constitution of the body by which the powers of legislation should be exercised and the manner in which this function should be performed. In the first place, it will be noted, the legislature was made to consist exclusively of persons appointed by the President of the United States; secondly, instead of provision being made for two houses of the legislature, the act provided for only one house, but conferred upon the governor practically the function of acting as a second house. The precise provisions regarding this matter are interesting, as by them the governor is made to participate in legislative work in a rather unusual manner. The act thus provided that "the governor by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, or a majority of them, shall have power to alter, modify or repeal the laws which may be in force at the commencement of this act. Their legislative power shall also extend to all rightful subjects of legislation, but no law shall be valid which is inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States or which shall lay any person under restraint, burthen or disability on account of any religious opinions, professions or worship." As is well known, the usual manner in which a governor participates in legislation is through the power conferred upon him to approve or disapprove of the acts passed by the legislature proper. From the provision of the act which has just been quoted, however, it will be seen that the act contemplated that the initiative in the preparation and enactment of laws should rest primarily with the governor and that the function of the legislative council should be merely that of a body whose consent was required in order that the legislation framed by the governor should be valid. The legislative rôles of the governor and the legislature may thus be said to have been quite reversed. The governor was also given the power to convene and prorogue the legislative council whenever he deemed fit. It is unnecessary to point out that in consequence of these provisions almost supreme power and authority was conferred upon the governor in respect to all matters of legislation as well as those in respect to purely executive or administrative acts. But few words need be said regarding the form of government provided for the district of Louisiana. To this part of the original Louisiana Purchase there was given scarcely a vestige of self-government. The government of the district, in fact, was vested in the government of Indiana Territory, the act providing that the executive power in the district should be exercised by the governor of Indiana Territory, and that the governor and the judges of that Territory should have the power to make all laws which they deemed conducive to the good government of the in habitants of the district of Louisiana; provided, of course, such laws were not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and did not interfere with liberty of worship, and to establish such inferior courts as they deemed necessary and prescribe their duties and jurisdiction. This act of March 26, 1804, as has been said, was confessedly but a makeshift to meet immediate necessities. The act itself, in fact, provided that its provisions should continue in effect only during the term of one year and the end of the next session of Congress occurring thereafter. Less than a year afterwards, therefore, or on March 2 and March 3, 1805, there were passed two acts: one providing for a new form of government for the Territory of Orleans, and the other making similar provision in regard to the government of the district of Louisiana. The former of these acts provided that there should be established in the Territory of Orleans a government in all respects similar to that which had been established for the Mississippi Territory, except as expressly modified in a few particulars by the act, which form of government was in turn similar to that which had been provided for the Northwest Territory except that the article relating to the prohibition of slavery was omitted. It will thus be seen that the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory was made the model for the government of the first territory erected out of the domain coming to the United States through the Louisiana Purchase. Although the Northwest Ordinance was thus used as a model, the act of March 2, 1805, as has been said, specified a few particulars in which it should be departed from. These particulars are not of any great interest, but consisted chiefly in describing in more detail the manner of the constitution of the general assembly and its powers and duties. It was thus provided that the general assembly should meet at least once in each year, on the first Monday in December, unless a different day was appointed by law, and that neither the legislative assembly nor the legislative council should adjourn for more than three days nor to any other place for holding its sessions without the consent of the other. It was also provided that as soon as the Territory had sixty thousand inhabitants it should have the right to organize a convention and adopt a constitution, and, upon the proper exercise of this privilege, should be admitted into the Union upon the same footing as the original States. These conditions were in a few years met, and the Territory of Orleans was admitted as a State under the name of Louisiana by an act passed April 8, 1812. The Act of March 3, 1805, relating to the government of the district of Louisiana provided that this district should have the same form of government as that first given to the Northwest Territory with this important difference. In the case of the Northwest Territory the governor and judges had only the modified legislative power of adopting and promulgating such laws of the original States as they deemed advisable; in the case of the district of Louisiana this limitation did not appear, the governor and the judges being given the power "to establish inferior courts in the said territory and prescribe their jurisdiction and duties, and to make all laws which they may deem 43 |