Ohio History Journal

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.          241

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF HON. W. J. GILMORE.

 

DELIVERED AT GREENVILLE, OHIO, AUGUST 3, 1895.

 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I acknowledge the kindness of your committee in giving

me, by their invitation, an opportunity to address you on this

occasion. In coming back to Greenville after an absence of

years, there remain, on this side of the great river that separates

this from a future state of existence, but a few of those warm

friends who welcomed me when I first came to Greenville, forty-

six years ago, as a lawyer "following the circuit," after the man-

ner in vogue with the early lawyers of the state, and not aban-

doned entirely at the time above spoken of by the lawyers of

western Ohio. My connection with the Greenville courts, either

as lawyer or judge, continued for more than twenty-five years.

On my return at present, I meet but one of the numerous

members of the Greenville bar, who were in active practice when

I came to your old court house in a professional way. That

member is John R. Knox, between whom and myself the closest

relations of professional and personal friendship and confidence

have existed for all these years, and it is too late now to reasonably

apprehend a jar between us in the future. However, my friend

seems to be as youthful and active as myself, and if a jar should

unfortunately occur between us, followed by a conflict, the avoir-

dupois of the case will be in my favor, and my object will be, if

possible, to gently "sit down on him," which will settle the racket

between the only remaining members of the Greenville bar of

1849.

But I must not confine my remarks to the members of the

bar alone. In the periods of time that I spent in Greenville, it

was my good fortune to become pleasantly acquainted very gen-

erally throughout the town and country. As it was with the

bar, so it was with the personal acquaintances made when I

first came. But comparatively few of them remain to greet me

to-day. The others have gone. This impresses me with the

Vol. VII.-16.

• 1
 

242       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

idea that I must be a "back number" brought forward for the

occasion. But be that as it may, if time would permit I would

be delighted to mention the names of many of the pioneer women

and men, whom I found here at my first coming, and to testify

to their great worth and excellence in every respect. These in-

troductory remarks may be regarded as smacking of egotism,

but I regard my long acquaintance in Greenville and the country

as justifying what I have said by way of re-introducing myself to

the old remaining pioneers and the descendants of those who

have gone.

The occasion that calls us together is the centennial cele-

bration of the Treaty of Greenville, commonly called Wayne's

Treaty.

The nations of antiquity delighted to be able to trace their

origin back to some fabulous demi-god, of miraculous, mysterious

and perhaps accidental birth, to whom they gave a name, and

to whom they attributed such acts, powers and greatness that in

their opinion elevated him far above the sphere of ordinary mor-

tals. The traditions upon which they relied to establish the facts

concerning their origin were too old to be contradicted by living

witnesses, and hence, were susceptible of being proved to the

ready satisfaction of the populace, by the beautiful but fabulous

legends and stories, which were invented by the genius of the

poets and priests and sung by the wandering minstrels to admir-

ing and appreciative crowds collected on the street corners or in

shady groves; and in this way the courage and patriotism of the

populace were stimulated to such a degree as to render them

capable of performing great deeds in defense of personal rights

and their country.

If it was a pleasure to the ancients to listen to these beautiful

legends and fables, pertaining to the origin of their government,

it ought to be a pleasure to us to familiarize ourselves with the

facts relating to our origin, as well as the origin of our own State,

its organization, its form, its laws, its institutions, and all that

renders it great and good in the sense that places it in the front

rank of states, in the grandest political Union of states that has

ever existed upon earth.

Every important fact connected with our State and preced-

• 2
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.            243

 

ing its organization are now matters of history, open to the in-

spection of all citizens who take an interest in our origin and

development.

A connected sequence of historical facts, taking us back to

the discovery of this continent by Columbus, and to the first set-

tlements of what now constitutes the United States of America,

are all available to the students of history, who are desirous of

knowing the facts that occurred between the time of the dis-

covery and the first settlements, a mere reference to which is all

that can be appropriately or necessarily made on this occasion.

But we are here to celebrate the Centennial of the Treaty

of Greenville.

The occasion is one of such interest, not only to the people

of Ohio, but to those of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wiscon-

sin, which states were all carved out of what is known in history

and in law as the "Territory northwest of the river Ohio." These

states are naturally more deeply interested in the history of this

territory, than are the other states, for the reason that the Treaty

of Greenville was the result of somewhat local causes that had

been operating, and tending to make such a treaty a necessity for

many years.

The states named have, therefore, a common interest in all

matters relating to this territory, that preceded its organization

by the Ordinance of 1787. It will be impossible in the limits of

this address to call attention with particularity to all that is of

interest in this connection. All that can be done, will be to pre-

sent in a general way, the controlling causes by which the terri-

tory and jurisdiction over it was acquired by the United States;

the manner in which that jurisdiction was exercised from the

time it was acquired until by due process of law the people of

the territory organized themselves into the five states named,

with defined boundaries, and were admitted into the Union on

an equal footing with the original states.

It is apparent that the scope of this address must necessarily

be much restricted. Much interesting matter must be omitted.

No effort will be made to preserve the exact chronological order

of the occurrence of controlling events, though an effort will be

made to prevent confusion in these respects. Attention will be

• 3
 

244       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

directed mainly to the territory northwest of the river Ohio, its

defense by the general government against the Indians, and the

battles fought with them, eventuating in the Treaty of Greenville.

We pass by the supposed laws of the Mound Builders, and

the more modern savages, who, history tells us, were in the pos-

session and occupancy of the great Northwest territory when it

was first discovered by Europeans, and whose legends and fables

may have been as beautiful as those of any other prehistoric peo-

ples who have inhabited the earth; but they had no poets to put

them in enduring form, to be sung by the wandering minstrels

for the amusement and education of their fellows, and their oral

traditions have been lost and forgotten.

By the right of discovery and occupation in 1673, France as-

serted her dominion and jurisdiction over all the territory west

of the Alleghenies, from the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the

Mississippi, which includes what we know as the territory north-

west of the river Ohio. France retained dominion over this vast

territory until 1763, ninety years, during which time the Jesuits

and agents of France, in an intelligent manner, made explora-

tions of every part of the territory, much of which they mapped

with a good deal of accuracy. They also established Indian mis-

sions in the territory, especially in the region of the Great Lakes.

They planted settlements therein, principally in the central and

extreme southern portions of it. They also erected and manned

forts at strategic points, generally on or near some navigable

stream or lake, by which they held military possession of the

territory for the French Crown.

At the close of a war between England and France, in which

the sovereignty of this territory was one of the many questions

involved, and which resulted disastrously to France, the latter,

by the treaty of 1763, was compelled to cede to the former all

her possessions in America lying east of the Mississippi river.

This gave England a title by conquest to the ceded terri-

tory, which was annexed to the English Crown, and became sub-

ject to her dominion and laws. She also took military posses-

sion of it. Many of the forts mentioned had been built by

France as a protection against the encroachment of the English

• 4
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.          245

 

colonies, which were partly contiguous to or adjoining said pos-

sessions of France.

After the peace of 1763, the English having no use for the

forts so built by France as a protection against England and her

colonies, abandoned and destroyed all such; and thereafter Eng-

land retained forcible military possession of her lately conquered

territory by means of three forts under the command of English

officers, one of which was at Detroit in Michigan, one at Kas-

kaskia in Illinois, and the other at Vincennes, Indiana. Under

the law of nations, this was a sufficient possession to protect the

claim of England to the territory so acquired from France as

against all others.

The Revolutionary War, which commenced in 1775, was

waged on the part of the colonies for the sole and only avowed

purpose of achieving their independence. They had in the out-

set of the war no declared purpose of conquest.

The boundaries of the colonies became the boundaries of the

respective states after they had become independent, and did not

on the west extend beyond the crest of the Alleghenies.

It is true that after independence was achieved, three of the

states, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, set up claims

to portions of the Northwest territory, by virtue of the terms of

their original colonial grants from the Crown, and on a like

ground Virginia claimed the entire territory northwest of the

river Ohio.

There is no purpose on my part to discuss the merits of

these respective claims, and they are alluded to only for the

purpose of saying that they subsequently became the subjects of

such heated controversies between the states as to endanger the

formation of the Union itself; and that in my opinion the discus-

sions that took place in Congress, on the subject of these claims,

in which men of consummate ability took part, did more to en-

lighten and educate the people of the states, and in an allowable

sense, the states themselves, than any other single subject that

was discussed in Congress previous to the adoption of the consti-

tution that sealed the Union. The discussions had reference to

the principles of our form of government, the rights of the

states respectively, and above all on the necessity of the states

• 5
 

246       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

meeting each other in a spirit of conciliation and compromise in

settling their respective claims in order that the formation of the

Union might be rendered possible.

It is interesting, as well as gratifying, to know that the spirit

of compromise prevailed, and that the states directly interested in

the controversy respecting this great territory, with the excep-

tion of some special reservation on the part of Connecticut and

Virginia, which were conceded to be just, in due form ceded to

the United States in trust for the benefit of the people of the

several states all their respective claims to the great Northwest

territory, but for which compromise I am persuaded the Union

could not have been formed and perfected by the adoption of

the constitution, and perhaps the Treaty of Greenville, which

affected so vitally the great territory in question, might never

have been made.

We go back for the purpose of briefly tracing our title to

the great Northwest territory. By the right of discovery and oc-

cupation, France asserted her dominion over all the territory

west of the Alleghenies, from the St. Lawrence to the mouth of

the Mississippi from 1673 to 1763. During these ninety years

the territory that is now Ohio, was subject to the laws of France;

and although these laws left their impression upon the lands in

some localities outside of what is now Ohio territory, they made

no lasting impression here. This may be accepted as evidence

of the fact that when the civilization and laws of the Anglo-

Saxons come in collision with those of Latins, the latter give way.

By the treaty of 1763 between France and Great Britain the

former ceded to the latter all her possessions in North America

lying east of the Mississippi river. This, as before said, gave

Great Britain a title by conquest to the ceded territory, and all

of it, including that portion that is now Ohio, became subject to

her dominion and laws, and remained so till 1783, when she ac-

knowledged the independence of the states in rebellion against

her authority; and the Mississippi was fixed as the western boun-

dary of the territory that was thereafter to be subject to the gov-

ernment and laws of the United States.

But how came the Mississippi to be made the western boun-

dary of the territory acquired by that treaty? It was by the

• 6
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.          247

 

forcible ousting of the English from the territory during the

Revolutionary War, and the taking and holding forcible military

possession of it by Virginia till the close of the war. This made

a holding of the possession of the territory adverse to the Eng-

lish, and this, under the law of nations, gave the United States at

the time of the treaty of peace in 1783, a right to insist that they

hold the territory to the Mississippi river by conquest. This

right was eventually conceded by England, and by the treaty, the

Mississippi was made the western boundary of the territory, to

which England relinquished all claim by the treaty. If England

had still been in foricble military possession of it, at the time of

the treaty, after holding such forcible possession by conquest

from France, it is a very serious problem whether her sovereignty

over it would have been relinquished to the United States. The

latter made her claim through Virginia, whose claim under a

Crown grant has heretofore been mentioned; and it will be

proper now to state how Virginia came into forcible military

possession of the territory. Previous to the revolution in 1774,

the Indians inhabiting Northwest territory and Canada were in

the habit of making raids into the western borders of Pennsyl-

vania and Virginia for the purpose of obtaining scalps and plun-

der from the whites. These raids became so serious that Vir-

ginia determined to put an end to them by war upon the tribes.

A military force was raised and sent against them. In 1775, the

battle of Point Pleasant, on the Ohio, was fought. It was the

most stubborn and sanguinary Indian battle that was ever fought

to a finish on this continent. The Indians were overwhelmingly

defeated. They then sued for peace, and a treaty of peace was

made, with which none of the parties were afterwards satisfied.

The result was that the Indians were peaceable for some two

years, when they again commenced their predatory warfare

against the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Now came to the front one of the most remarkable men of

those remarkable times - George Rogers Clarke. He lived in

Albemarle county, Virginia. He was of large size, to which his

physical strength corresponded. He was mentally a very able

man, and was an experienced Indian fighter and was of un-

doubted courage and determination. The Indians were trained

• 7
 

248       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

and commanded by English officers, and were fitted out, shel-

tered and protected by the English at the forts of Kaskaskia and

Vincennes while prosecuting their wars against the frontiers;

and on their return from their forays, laden with scalps and plun-

der, they were received by the English with demonstrations of

joy and hearty approval. Under these circumstances Clarke was

of the opinion that the Indians could not be whipped adequately

to make them desist from their savage warfare against the fron-

tiers, while they could flee, when necessary to avoid punishment,

to the protection of the British forts above named, where they

were armed and encouraged to continue their depradations on

the whites.

Without counselling with any one on the subject, Clarke

conceived the bold design of making a conquest of the great

Northwest territory by taking and holding Forts Kaskaskia and

Vincennes, after which the Indians could be driven from the

territory. On submitting his designs and plans to Governor

Henry of Virginia, they were approved, and through his influ-

ence, after much delay and vexation, during which Clarke mort-

gaged all his property to raise money to forward his scheme of

conquest, a force of about two hundred, which was to have been

three hundred and fifty men, was organized and placed under

the command of Clarke. In January, 1778, he marched to Pitts,

burg. where he and his army took boats and commenced the

descent of the Ohio, for a point on the river opposite to Kas-

kaskia, and about sixty miles from its mouth. The delays of

the voyage, from causes incident to those early times and im-

perfect means of transportation, were such that he did not arrive

at the point above indicated until the fall of 1778. As soon as

his boats were secured he commenced his march against Kas-

kaskia. The march was one of great hardships, but his men en-

dured them cheerfully when they saw their commander march-

ing in the front, rifle in hand and carrying his provisions on his

back.

It is almost needless to say that he took the British by sur-

prise and the garrison surrendered without resistance.

This peril then confronted him. Vincennes, which was a

strong military post, under the command of the British Lieuten-

• 8
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.          249

ant Governor Hamilton, lay directly between Kaskaskia and the

frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Clarke, looking facts

boldly in the face, said: "I must take Hamilton, or he will take

me." With him, decision was followed by instant action. With

only one hundred and thirty men, the others remaining to de-

fend the fort, he at once started from Kaskaskia in February,

1789, to march across the country to capture Vincennes. There

is no time now to speak of that terrible march, in which for days

and days the men were constanly wading in water from two to

four feet deep. It is without a parallel in history.

No other man than Clarke could have brought his men

through it, but he did it without the loss of a man, though many

of them were so weak as to require the assistance of those who

were stronger when they reached ten acres of dry land about two

miles from Vincennes.  Even then Governor Hamilton had no

notice of Clarke's approach, and the latter having captured some

Indians with some Buffalo meat, held them prisoners until he

had fed his famished men upon the captured meat. He then

literally waded against the fort and after one day's fighting, it

surrendered.

The Virginians then manned the forts so strongly that the

English made no subsequent demonstration against them, and

thus the former held armed military possession of the territory

until the close of the revolution; and being so in possession,

their right to the territory was admitted in the treaty of peace,

and, as before said, the entire Northwest territory was ceded by

England to the United States by that treaty.

I doubt whether history, taking everything into considera-

tion, shows a parallel to this conquest of Clarke's. It strikes me,

that without this conquest and continued military occupation of

the territory up to the time peace was concluded, neither the

United States nor Virginia had any claim to the territory that

would have been valid under the law of nations.

Perhaps but few now listening to me have ever before heard

of George Rogers Clarke, or know of his great conquests, the

benefits of which we are to-day enjoying throughout the con-

quered territory, which now consists of five free and independent

states, each constituting a star of the first magnitude in the grand

• 9
 

250      Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

galaxy of states composing our beloved Union. By his great

valor and courage, he was instrumental in the extinguishment of

the sovereignty of England over the territory composing these

states. But while the conquest swept away the claims of Eng-

land, it did not extinguish the title of the Indians to the lands

in the territory, which title they acquired and held by virtue of

original discovery and continued occupancy of it, until their title

to a large portion of the territory was extinguished by  the

Treaty of Greenville.

I therefore suggest that on this occasion the memories of

George Rogers Clarke and Anthony Wayne should be associated

and equally cherished by the people of the five great states created

cut of the territory: the one to be remembered as the extin-

guisher of the sovereignty of England over the territory, the

other to be remembered as the extinguisher of the Indian title

to a large portion of the territory by the Treaty of Greenville,

after having conquered a peace that made the treaty a necessity

to the Indians in order to save themselves from extinguishment.

Just one word by way of digression, respecting the two

great men I have just named. As above said, Clarke mortgaged

his property for more than it was worth to raise the money to

equip his little, but great, army of conquest. Virginia recog-

nized the greatness of the services of himself and his men, and

made them a princely donation of lands in the conquered ter-

ritory, in compensation of their services, and which donation was

subsequently recognized and validated by the United States. It

is to be hoped that his men received more benefit from the dona-

tion than did their gallant commander, whose share of the lands

was seized and sold by his creditors to pay the debts he had con-

tracted in equipping his army. He died poor.

The other, General Wayne, died in Erie, Pennsylvania, in

the government service, for want of what, to him, were the neces-

saries of life. I visited his tomb, years ago, and as I approached

it I respectfully uncovered my head, and as I stood there, silently

contemplating the hazardous scenes through which he passed

in his active military life, those that stood in the front line of my

thoughts were the "Battle of Fallen Timbers" and the "Treaty of

Greenville," as they are in your minds to-day.

• 10
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.           251

 

Here, in order to mention one other thing of supreme im-

portance in connection with the Treaty of Greenville, I must

again go back a few years, and call attention to other matters

with which the patriot fathers were earnestly wrestling, with fear

and trembling as to the fate of their beloved country whose in-

dependence they had recently achieved. Although they were

still clinging to the "Articles of the Confederation" and the

Congress of the States, held under it, as the sheet anchor of

their hopes, it had become clearly apparent that the ties of the

Articles of Confederation were too weak and inefficient to ac-

complish the purposes of a union of independent states, such as

they contemplated, and for which they hoped and prayed.

No point of time can be more interesting to citizens of the

Northwest territory than that to which attention is now directed.

The war of the Revolution had been brought to successful ter-

mination. The Articles of Confederation were in force, and the

Congress of the States held under it was doing all it could do to

meet and harmonize the conflicting interests and demands of the

states of the Union. The constitutional convention had met in

May, 1787, and was in session at Philadelphia, but it was un-

known what the outcome of its labors would be. The last Con-

gress of the States under the confederation was sitting in New

York, in which only eight states were represented, and it was

manifest that it was about to fall to pieces of its own weight, or

from want of cohesive and coercive powers.

The citizens of the Northwest territory have especial reasons

to look back with reverence and affection upon the congress of

the old confederation; for it was the territories northwest of the

river Ohio that were the objects of its last and most solicitous

care. With its expiring breath it gave to them the "Ordinance

of '87", and in pursuance of its provisions appointed a governor

and three judges, who were to organize a civil government within

its boundaries, and adjourned never to meet again.

Two months afterwards (September 17th, 1787), the con-

vention promulgated the Constitution of the United States which

was adopted and is supreme, but at the time of which we are

speaking the "Ordinance" in its relation to the territories was

scarcely inferior in importance to the constitution itself. Except

• 11
 

252       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

as to the initial and temporary government of the governor and

judges, it contained an announcement of the true theory of

American liberty, and provided everything necessary to the de-

velopment of free and independent states, and for their admis-

sion into the Union on an equal footing with the original states,

and this for the time being was what was best suited to their

condition. It was a code complete within itself.

It will be remembered, however, that the Indian title to the

Northwest territory had not been conclusively extinguished to

any part of it. It is true that by the treaty of Fort McIntosh

the whites claimed that there had been an extinguishment of the

Indian title to a large portion of what is now Ohio; but the In-

dians claimed that the treaty had been made by certain Indians

who had no power to make it, and that it was, therefore, fraudu-

lent and void. Notwithstanding this claim of the Indians, how-

ever, settlers had begun to flock into the territory shortly after

the adoption of the Ordinance, and were being from time to time

attacked, murdered and scalped by the Indians at all vulnerable

points.

The great importance of the Treaty of Greenville, consisted

in the fact, that it in a conclusive way swept away the Indian title

to all the land south or east of the treaty line, and thus gave full

effect to the beneficent provisions of the Ordinance of '87 in

nearly all that portion of the territory that now constitutes the

state of Ohio. But this was not all, the Treaty of Greenville be-

came a precedent, and the principles it established were those,

substantially, that were subsequently applied in extinguishing

the Indian title to the residue of the great Northwest territory,

which is now sufficient in itself to constitute an empire in popu-

lation, and in all things else that constitute goodness and great-

ness in government; lying at the bottom of which are the lasting

effects of the Treaty of Greenville.

It is impossible for me to say on the subjects that I have

above spoken of all that I ought to say upon them, but I hope I

have said enough to show the importance of the Treaty of Green-

ville, which, to the pioneers of the territory, was like the shadow

of a great rock in a desert land, under which they could lie down

and rest in safety, while on their march to empire.

• 12
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.         253

 

Inasmuch as that portion of the territory which now con-

stitutes the state of Ohio was the first to receive the benefits of

the Ordinance of '87 and the Treaty of '95, and was also the first

state developed and prepared for admission into the Union under

their provisions; as showing what occurred in Ohio in respect

to its organization as a territory, its early laws, and admission

into the Union, we give the substance of some of them; and

assuming that what occurred in Ohio in these respects, prob-

ably occurred in substantially the same way in the organization

of the other four states that were formed from the Northwest ter-

ritory, we give those that occurred in Ohio as samples of what

probably occurred in respect to the others.

The Governor and two of the judges appointed by the old

congress, arrived at Marietta on the ₉th of July, 1778, and estab-

lished the first form of civil government within the territory. A

few settlers had preceded them to that point and were literally

encamped in the wilderness.

In confirmation of the maxim that self-preservation is the

first law of nature, on the 25th of July, 1788, they published a

law for regulating and establishing the militia, which was the

first law published in the territory. The third section reads thus:

"And, whereas, in the infant state of a country, defense and pro-

tection are absolutely essential, all male inhabitants of the age

of sixteen and upwards shall be armed, equipped and accoutred

in the following manner: . with a musket and bayonet, or rifle,

cartridge box, pouch, or powder horn and bullet pouch, with

forty rounds of cartridges, or one pound of powder and four

pounds of lead, priming wire and brush, and six flints."

And by the fourth section, amongst other things it is pro

vided that the "corps shall be paraded at ten o'clock in the

morning of each first day of the week, armed and equipped as

aforesaid, in convenient places next adjacent to the places of

public worship, etc.", and the reason given for this was that it

was necessary in order to avert danger.

The salient points of other laws may be noticed for the pur-

pose of contrasting those early times with the present, thus show-

ing the advances in civilization that have been made in our state

• 13
 

254       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

in less than a century. For instance, by a law of September,

1788, the punishment affixed to the commission of crimes, al-

though deemed necessary then, would now be called cruel and

unusual. Treason was punishable with death and forfeiture of

estates real and personal. To the malicious burning of a dwell-

ing house the same punishment and forfeitures were affixed.

Malicious murder was punishable with death. The punishment

for other felonies and misdemeanors was generally by whipping,

never exceeding thirty-nine lashes, and in some cases not ex-

ceeding ten lashes, and sitting in the stocks from one to three

hours was also generally prescribed in addition.

It is interesting to us lawyers to know the fact that the fees

for practicing attorneys were fixed by law, and ranged from one

dollar in the quarter sessions to two dollars in the Supreme

Court, for each case tried and argued. There was no intention

that lawyers should become bloated capitalists.

Assessments for the support of the organized counties were

made in money or specific articles as the assessor deemed best,

and if not paid promptly the party assessed was imprisoned till

the payment was made, or his discharge ordered.

If a single man became indebted and could not pay in cash,

he would, With the consent of the creditor, be ordered by the

court to pay in personal services, not to exceed seven years in

any case. Under like circumstances a married man could not

be required to serve more than five years.

These laws, selected at random as examples of the laws pub-

lished or adopted by the Governor and Judges, are not referred

to in either a querulous or frivolous sense. They have upon

their face internal evidence of the circumstances and necessities

of the people for whose government and preservation they were

made. Much more may be readily inferred from them than is

expressed in their words. They were made in the unbroken

wilderness by pioneers for pioneers. All were to be soldiers.

All were to be honest, and if they were not they were either to

be hanged or whipped out of the country. They had to pay

their assessments, either in corn or cash as the case might be,

or go to jail. There should be no extortioners, and bachelors

were at a discount as compared with husbands.

• 14
 

Address of Hon. W. J. Gilmore.          255

 

So far this sketch is intended to direct attention in a gen-

eral and historical way to some of the laws affecting in a greater

or less degree what now constitutes Ohio territory, from the

time of its occupation by Europeans, down to the point at which

we have arrived. One of the provisions of our first constitution

is here quoted: "That a frequent recurrence to the fundamental

principles of government is absolutely necessary to preserve the

blessings of liberty."

This enunciation of a great principle pertaining to civil gov-

ernment is as true to-day as when it was announced nearly one

hundred years ago. Startling and significant events have oc-

curred in the meantime, affecting us as a state and as a people;

endangering not only Ohio, but our Union itself. But by cling-

ing and adhering to the great principles upon which our govern-

ments, federal and state, are founded, and resorting to the strong

arm of the military power, only when required to do so solely for

their preservation against military force brought against them

and intended for their destruction, we have been able to main-

tain our civil governments in all their pristine beauty and vigor,

and the states formed from the Northwest territory have also

reaped rich harvest from the seeds that were planted when the

Treaty of Greenville was made. And to slightly paraphrase the

words of a great statesman, let us say "that if we are not stricken

with judicial blindness we will cling to our constitutions and

treaties, as the mariner clings to the last plank when night and

tempest close around him."

• 15