Portland, Oregon - History (part 12 of 18)

William Williams Chapman was born at Clarksburg, Va., .\ugust 11, 1808. .\t the age of fourteen his father died, and he was thenceforward thrown chiefly upon his own resources, although assisted to some e.Ktent b}' a kind brother and faithful mother, .\fter obtaining what information and mental discipline was to be gotten at the public school, he secured a position in the office of the Clerk of the Court, of which the eminent jurist, Henry St. George Tucker, was Chancellor. In these endeavors at self-improvement he was much encouraged, and indeed assisted by a kind lady, Mrs. Sehon, mother of the eminent Methodist minister of that name. He also was given free access to the libraries of the noted members of the bar in that city. Receiving in due time, from Judge Lewis Summers, Daniel Smith and Chancellor Tucker, his license to practice, he at once took up his residence at Middlebourne, Tyler County, Va. The spring following (1832), he was married to Margaret P., daughter of Col. Arthur Ingraham, a farmer of note, and also a prominent public man who served twenty years in the Legislature of the Old Dominion, and afterwards removed to Illinois, but made his last home in Iowa, where he died.

In the autumn of 1833, Mr. Chapman went to McComb, McDonough county, Illinois, and in the spring of 1835 moved out to Burlington, in the "Black Hawk Purchase" now a part of Iowa. Those were early times for even the Mississippi States, and this region was then reckoned as a part of Wisconsin, and was attached to the Territory of Michigan. It may be inferred that Mr. Chapman was a man of mark, with a penchant for forming a new society, or he would never have been in that new couutr}-. This presumption is confirmed by the fact that we find him the next j-ear appointed prosecuting attorney by John S. Horner, acting governor ol Michigan. In 1836 he was appointed by President Jackson United States Attorney for the Territory of Wisconsin, established upon the admission of Michigan as a State. The most exciting litigation at the time was with reference to "jumping" laud claims. The settlers had a court of their own before which jumpers were tried, and b}' it summarily ejected from their hold, if found guilt)\ Mr. Chapman proved to be on the side of the settlers, defending a bodj' of them before the court. Military ofiicers and men, including Gen. Taylor, afterwards President, and Jefferson Davis, his son-in-law, used in those days to come around sometimes to remove ' 'squatters, ' ' as the settlers were contemptuously called. That was before the present land laws, and the public domain was opened to legal settlement only as thrown open by proclamation of the President, who sometimes proceeded upon the idea that new land should not be settled up until all the "offered" land was occupied; while the settlers preferred to live and take land where they pleased. On account of his friendship, the Iowa settlers were willing soon after to, and did send j\lr. Chapman as delegate to Congress.

In 1836, he removed to Dubuque, and in 1837, removed back to the neighborhood of Burlington. In 1838, Iowa was set apart as an independent Territory, through the efforts of G. W. Jones, a delegate from Wisconsin, and upon the election held September 10, Mr. Chapman was found to be successful over three other candidates. In Congress he became very active. The first bill prepared by him was for the opening of a military road from Dubuque through Iowa Cit}' to the southern bound of the State, for another to run from Burlington west, and for still another to run east and terminate at De Hague, a place in Illinois. It was essential to get this latter road in order to cross the extensive low bottom lands on the east or Illinois side of the Mississippi River, which were flooded during the summer freshet. On account of the opposition of Van Buren to internal improvements in the States, Chapman omitted to mention in his bill that De Hague was in Illinois, and the President not being aware of this fact signed the bill, contrary to his own policy of noninter-state improvement.

In 1836, at an election in Dubuque count)-, Wisconsin Territor}-, now a part of Iowa, Mr. Chapman, then twenty-six years of age, was elected Colonel of the Militia by a most flattering majority, which was particularly gratifying to him from the fact that his acquaintances had made him believe that they were all voting against him. Some told him that he was too young and inexperienced, and he overheard others saying: "It won't do, he is too young, "etc.; but when the votes were counte.l and he found that he had received the almost unanimous support of electors of his township, he too, felt able to enjoy the joke. His commission as Colonel, issued December 2, 1836, is signed by H. Dodge, Governor of Wisconsin Territory, and attested by J. P. Horner, Secretar3-. He qualified December 30, of the same j-ear by taking the oath of office before Warner Lewis, "a justice of the peace in and for Dubuque county. ' '

The act creating Iowa as a Territory fixed the Northern boundary of Missouri as the southern boundary of Iowa. One point determining this line was the Des Moines Rapids. Missouri, anxious to acquire a large tract to the north, claimed that these rapids were in the Des Moines River, while Iowa claimed that the rapids meant were those in the Mississippi River, above the mouth of the Des Moines, bringing the line some twentj- or thirty miles further south. Governor Lucas, of Iowa, advising with Col. Chapman, promptly occupied the disputed territory with Militia, in order that Missouri might not be first on the ground, as it would be difficult to oust a State from her actual holding, while a territory might be easily cut up. Missouri hastened to send up her troops, but found the field already in possession of Iowa. Chapman rode out, advised a stay of all proceedings, and urged that the contestants should await the action of Congress and of the Supreme Court. Missouri felt reasonably confident, as she had Benton and Linn in the Senate, and three able men in the House at Washington, while Iowa had but one unknown delegate. But when the contest before Congress came. Chapman was able to present a mass of testimony to the House, from the writings of French missionaries and others, showing that the Des Moines Rapids were in the Mississippi River. Seeing the case going against them, the Missouriaus hastened to get a bill into the Senate in their favor, and Dr. Linn was pushing this measure with all the vim of his great abilities. It was then, as it is still, unparliamentary for a member of one House to interpose in the proceedings of the other, but Chapman, although but a young man, felt no hesitancy in honoring this custom in the breach, and sent a written communication to the Senate, protesting against the action of Senator Linn in bringing forward the question of boundary in a body where Iowa had no representative, and referred them to the fact that this question was then pending in the House. .\s a result of this communication, action in the Senate was stayed.

While the decision was still in suspense private overtures were made from the Missouri members to persuade the Iowa delegate to let go his hold, and Benton proposed to Chapman, if he would yield, to grant .great favors and an early admission of Iowa into the Union. But in reply to all of this Mr. Chapman could only say that he was entrusted by the people of Iowa to hold their line as claimed b^' them, and this view eventually prevailed.

Col. Chapman was the first man in Congress to propose a permanent pre-emption law. In former times there was no regular or legal waj- for the settler to acquire public land wherever he might choose in the United States territory and it was customary for Congress to pass a bill from time to time granting existing settlers the right to pre-empt the lands which the}' might have occupied. This was a cumbrous, and in many cases a dilatory way of granting title to settlers, and tt was while a" bill to grant a special pre-emption was before Congress, that Col. Chapman proposed a standing law providing for pre-emptions to be a permanent arrangement for prospective as well as actual settlers. The idea was novel, and met with some ridicule, but it has long been so much a part of the land policy of the Government that it . seems as if it must be almost as old as the statute book itself

In 1844., Col. Chapman was chosen a member of the State convention to prepare a constitution for Iowa. In that body he originated the measure to transfer in the face of the act of Congress the grant of five hundred thousand acres of land to the State for internal improvements for the use of schools. Such a proposition was then unheard of, but has become the policy since followed by all the new States. He also proposed the measure providing for the election of judges which was then wholly an innovation, and although there has been much question of its wisdom, it is a policy that has extended wholh' over the West and to the East in many instances. Col. Chapman is himself a firm believer in the usefulness of the plan, for while the judges are thus more subject to the entanglements of politics, thej' are also more immediately responsible to the people, and are removed from executive or legislative patronage.

Although having accomplished so much for the young State of Iowa, and having become so well known among her citizens, with a large future opened to his enterprise and ambition, he was led by a spirit of adventure, and perhaps even more by the instiuct that his greatest strength was in establishing and formulating principles for future States, to seek a new field where political and business forces were yet in embryo, and determined upon Oregon as the most promising field for his endeavor. The choice has been most fully justified by the result.

On the 4th of May, 1847, from Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa, Col. Chapman and family set out for their journey across the plains to Oregon. The family consisted of himself and wife, and seven children. Nearly 100 emigrants started in the train with Col. Chapman. The long journey of over six months, replete with dangers and hardships, came to an end on November 13, 1847, when Mary's River was reached near what was then called Marj-sville, now Corvallis, Benton Countv. The party at that time consisted of the Chapmans, Gilberts, Starrs and Belknaps. Being anxious to see the seat of Oregon, and especially to make the acquaintance of the leading men of the young settlement. Col. Chapman, shortly after his arrival, made a trip on horseback to Oregon City, or the Falls, as it was then called. At this quaint little capital, and then indeed the metropolis of the region west of the Rocky Mountains, were congregated Oregon's early heroes. Here he met and formed a pleasant acquaintance with Judge S. S. White, Col. B. Jennings and Gov. Abernethy. From them he learned pretty much all of the history and prospects of the young commonwealth, and with his aptitude for formulating a distinct policy, foresaw almost from that moment his own future work in our State. He at first decided to make his home at the Falls, but was finally induced by Dr. Wilson, of Salem, to make that place his residence.

In February, 1848, he with his family reached Salem, where they were furnished quarters in the lower story of the Methodist, or old missiouar\- academj- building, and were treated as members of the doctor's famil}'. In this place he remained for some time, although school was kept in the upper story of the building.

With the facility of the pioneer, he turned his hands to manual work, and as spring came engaged in making a garden, and also righted the fences that enclosed the big field upon a portion of which the State House now stands. He also picked . up as rapidly as possible the threads of legal activity in the State, attending during the spring and summer several terms of court, held under the auspices of the provincial government by Judge Eugene Skinner. The last of these was on Knox's Butte, in Linn County, and became memorable for its abrupt adjournment from the report of gold in California.

Mr. Chapman was no less interested than the rest, and although not excitable, made speedv arrangements for the comfort of his family during fall and winter, and in a party containing also Mr. .\lanson Hiuman, of Forest Grove, J. B. McLane, of Salem, and Mr. Parrish, of Linn County, packed across the mountains to the mines on the Sacramento. The whole of Oregon was moved, and this little party had swelled to a considerable army by the constant aggregation of other little parties on the way; but before Sutter's Fort was reached the company broke up into little bands scattering out in all directions to the gulches and bars of Northern California. Some of these early settlers were lost to our State forever, going nobody knows where in the world, while others, having made little fortunes, came back to Oregon to spend their days in peace and plenty, and to assist in making our State the glory of the Northwest.

After mining with good success until autumn Mr. Chapman made a somewhat indefinite tour to San Francisco, with an eye to the establishing some kind of a center of trade or society, thinking a little of forming a combination with Sutter to build a city at Sacramento; but he discovered that the quick mind of Judge Burnett had already grasped the idea and seized the position. At San Francisco he remained a considerable time, and was about to visit the other mines of California, but meeting with Gov. Lane, who was on the waj- from Washington, was persuaded b\' him to come on to Oregon. He arrived in February or early JIarch, 1849. Proceeding at once to his home in Salem, he was soon elected representative to the first territorial leoislature chosen and convened upon the order of the new governor. During this session he was appointed to draft a code of laws, but under a technical construction of the organic law this act was declared void.

At the end of the session in 1849, he decided upon a removal to Oregon City and remained there for a short time, but upon a close examination concluded that this could not be the place for the seaport emporium and consequently- made a thorough exploration of the lower Willamette to the Columbia, with the result that he concluded Portland to be the place where transportation by land and by ships could most readily meet. He found Portland built on a section of land owned by Gen. Stephen Coffin and Mr. D. H. Lownsdale and in this claim he bought a third interest. Although Portland had a natural advantage, her success as the chief city depended upon her making use of that advantage, and only by showing an enterprise equal to that of a dozen other rival places could the favor of nature be turned to account. Mr. Chapman, with his family and household effects was "bateaued" from Oregon City to Portland on the first day of January, 1850, and in the spring and summer following cleared and erected upon the block upon which the county courthouse now stands a frame building for a residence and with his family dwelt therein until the fall of 1853.

The town proprietors of Portland, as Messrs. Coffin, Lownsdale and Chapman were called, at once engaged in all enterprises which the}- deemed calculated to advance the interests and prosperity of Portland as the commercial metropolis of Oregon.

The period which immediately followed Col. Chapman's arrival in Portland has been so thoroughly treated in another part of this volume that it is only necessarv to refer to it, should the reader desire to gain a full idea of the important work carried through by Col. Chapman and his associates, in laying the foundations of the city. The purchase of the Gold Hunter, the founding of the Oregonian, the opening of the Canyou Road, the enlargement of the town plat and the improvement of the streets, were enterprises which Col. Chapman urged forward, liberally expending his time and money to insure the growth and prosperity of the city. The struggle to maintain the embryo city was not an easy one. Prospective towns with powerful backing sprang up and contested every inch of the wa\'. How the proprietors finallv triumphed over every rival is an interesting story which is fully related in preceding pages. The hard blows aimed at Portland by rival points on the Columbia and Willamette were all met and parried by the energy and foresight of the proprietors. Col. Chapman leading in every contest and allowing no personal sacrifice to stand in the way of the city's growth and development. For valuable service at this critical period of Portlaud's history, no one is entitled to a higher meed of credit.

The important part he bore in the long legal struggle over the title to the Portland laud claim is a subject treated of in a separate chapter in this volume and needs not to be entered upon here.

In the fall of 1853, becoming impressed with the profit to be made in the cattle business. Col. Chapman acquired the Hudson Bay improvements at Fort Umpqua, in what is now Douglas County, and although retaining his interests at Portland and continuing in the practice of law, removed to the Fort with his family, himself returning to Portland about once a month to see to his interests in the cit}'. -\t his new residence Col. Chapman continued to improve and cultivate his farm and herd his cattle.

In the fall of 1855, while Col. Chapman was attending court at a distance from home, news was brought that there was a great Indian uprising on Rogue River, with depredations committed between Jacksonville and Cow Creek. This was the beginning of the war of 1855-6. Under the proclamation of the Governor, Col. Chapman began at once to gather a company, of which he w'as elected captain. No sooner was this responsibility laid upon him than he went to Portland, riding day and night to procure arms for his men, and returning took from his own farm, wagons, mules and horses for the equipment of the company. Proceeding thus by forced marches toward the seat of war at the Little Meadows, stopping at Roseburg only long enough to be mustered in in proper form as Company I, of Major Martin's battalion, he proceeded expeditiously to join the main command.

At the assembling of the officers at the Meadows, Col. Chapman advised that the Indians be pursued and thereby held together, and protested against withdrawing the forces. He also favored the building of a fort and leaving a strong garrison, being impressed with the belief that if the forces were withdrawn the Indians would at once scatter out and fall upon the settlement, while if tliey were followed and pursued and held together, the}' would be prevented from perpetrating outrages. A inajorit_v of the officers differed with him and by their decision the troops were withdrawn. His foresi""ht, however, was but too teribly verified by the massacres committed soon after the tioops were \%-ithdrawn. During the winter that followed the movement of troops was of little concern, and the forces were reorganized. Lamerick was chosen Brigadier General by the Legislature and appointed commander of the 2d Regiment of Oreo-on Volunteers. At an election John Kelsey was chosen Colonel and Mr. Chapman, Lieutenant Colonel. James Bruce, than whom there was never an abler or better officer, or one more intelligent or more ready to carry out a command to the letter, was chosen Major of the 2d or Southern battalion, and Latshaw, an able and energetic officer. Major of the 1st or Northern. At a council of war held soon after the forces were gathered together, to decide upon a plan of campaign. Col. Chapman, basing his opinion upon the experience of the last year, advised to press the Indians and unite them as closely as possible, compelling them to concentrate at some point, probablv at the Meadows. This place, the fastness of the Indians, was a rocky cliff, or bluff, on the south side of Rogue River, opposite a wide strip of clear meadow lands. To cross the meadows, and ford the swift and dangerous river in the face of an enemy concealed among the rocks and trees was an impossibility. Col. Chapman, tlierefore, advised that a force, the Southern battalion, be sent down the south side of the river by way of the Port Orford trail to attack the Indians from the rear of their stronghold, and another force, the Northern battalion, be sent to co-operate on the north side, and if the Indians fled across the stream to be there to meet them. Ev this strategy' the enemy must be crushed between the two battalions. This suggestion was adopted, and at the request of Gen. Lamerick, Chapman reluctantly consented to take command of the Southern battalion with headquarters at Vannoy's ferry. At once he began concentrating his forces, which were scattered at various places in Southern Oregon, and soon set out with a battalion immbering over three hundred men, all hardy, sturdy soldiers, good fighters, and mostly miners. Movinjj- to Hay's, on Slate Creek, where the Indians had left tracks by recent depredations, scouts were sent out to find the enemy, and it was soon ascertained, as was anticipated, that the savages had concentrated in the presence of the large force coming after them, and had retreated to their great stronghold opposite the Big or Lower Meadows. This was a point a little below their place of defense of the previous year, which was called the Upper or Little Meadows, and was a stronger position, being better defended on the north. Returning to Vannoy's, preparations for a sinmltaneous movement were made. The men were dismounted, only animals sufficient for the commissary were allowed, and the expedition on both banks moved forward. There was a point on the Port Orford trail known as Peavine Camp, high on the ridge, not far from the JVIeadows on the south side, to which Chapman was to repair with his force, and from this point watch the trail below on the north side, at a place where it came down to Rogue River, that he might ascertain the movement of Lamerick and the Northern battalion, whose force would be visible there as he went by. Reaching Pea%'ine, Chapman waited some time in the snow, which still hung on the high ridge, but failed to discover his superior, and at length was told that his flag had been seen on the I'pper Meadows. Scouts were sent ahead and found the Indians in force under the bluff opposite the Lower Meadows, and all preparations were made for an attack, the men being eager for the work; but just at this juncture a message was received by Col. Chapman from Gen. Lamerick that he had learned that it would be impossible for Col. Chapman to reach the Indians on the south side and ordering Chapman and his battalion to cross the river to the north side and join him. Chapman and his men were annoyed at this intelligence and command, and for a time thought seriously of disregarding the order, but upon consultation, it was decided not to make the attack but to rejoin Gen. Lamerick, which they did. At the Meadows, considerable fighting was done across the river. Major Bruce was ordered, by Gen. Lamerick with a small command, to cross the river, but was unable to cross in the face of the Indians. This led Col. Chapman to plan a movement by which the Southern battalion was to go down on the south side of Rogue River, and the Northern battalion to go down on the north side, which he partially carried out, but it was broken by the order of Gen. Lamerick (before mentioned) to join him on the north side. At length the Indians chose to leave their camp. Then an advance across the river was made, when Gen. Lamerick found them gone and occupied their deserted camp. Gen. Lamerick then made an order for the army to retire from the further pursuit of the Indians; part to Illinois River, part to Jacksonville and part to other places. On the same da\- before these orders were put into execution. Col. Chapman seeing that if these orders should be carried out the whole plan of the campaign would be broken, the Indians left free to destroy the lives and property of the settlers, and the volunteers left with the same unsatisfactory results as after the unfruitful campaign of the year before, urged Gen. Lamerick to build a fort near by, to hold and keep the Indians in check. At this suggestion the General took offense, but said he would refer the matter to a council of war. At this council Chapman was called upon to explain his views, which were at once endorsed bj- every member of the council and it was decided to erect a fort, which immediately was done. It was named Fort Lamerick. Major Latshaw was placed in command here, and the remaining troops were sent to various points. Lamerick went to Jacksonville and Chapman to Roseburg. Latshaw, a brave and vigilant officer, soon reported to Col. Chapman that he had found the Indians on John Mule Creek, and was only waiting orders to attack them, and asked also for a supply of provisions. Chapman at once issued the order for an attack and sent off the provisions. In pursuance of Col. Chapman's order. Major Latshaw promptly attacked and defeated the Indians, and by this blow and the timely aid he gave the regular army then coming up Rogue River, the war was ended. The Indians surrendered to the United States troops, having some natural distrust of the settlers and soldiers amongst whom they had been pillaging and murdering.

Resuming civil life, the Colonel removed in the latter part of 1856 to Corvallis with his famih-. The admission of Oregon as a State was now taking definite form, and it was supposed as a matter of course that the Colonel would be a member of the Constitutional Convention from the Corvallis district. There was, however, at that time, much division of opinion on the subject of slaverj', and what provision in respect to this institution should be inserted in the instrument constituting Oregon a State. A. meeting of the Democratic party was held at Salem, and while returning with a number of his party friends to Corvallis, the subject was broached, and Col. Chapman frankly said that he would be opposed to slavery, as it was a thing that could not be established in such a community, and that a movement to attempt this was uncalled for. He expressed no hostility to the South, but believed that the attempt of such a social change as this policy contemplated would be only evil. From that moment he was dropped and Judge Kelsey was selected for the place. Among those who discarded the Colonel were a number who afterwards became prominent republicans.

During this or the following year, he visited Eugene City, and purchasing extensive farming property, removed hither with his family. While here, occurred the election of Territorial and State Representatives, and he received the nomination to a seat as territorial member. The number of candidates being large, a very lively canvass was conducted, for a part of the time at least the whole legislative ticket stumping together. The Colonel bore a large part of the burden of this work.

As the contest for Senator drew near a strong movement was set on foot to elect Chapman. He would have been a very strong candidate but for a number of reasons, chief among which was his opposition to slavery in Oregon, his party could not allow him the honor. He was also spoken of as a worthy man for the position of United States District Judge. While the party managers were trying to adjust these claims of his friends, and at the same time not injure the party by offending other aspirants for these positions, the Oregon Legislature being still in session, news was received from Washington that the Colonel was appointed Siu-\-eyor General of Oregon, and he himself received at the same time, a letter from Gen. Lane, strongly urging him to accept. Feeling for the General the strongest friendship and personal attachment, he consented to do so, and all the party claims were speedily adjusted.

In 1861, believing it unbecoming to hold office under a President whose election he had opposed, he tendered the resignation of his office, and was succeeded, after some time, by P. J. Pengra.

Dming the fall of 1861, Col. Chapman, with his family, returned to his old homestead in Portland, and in the early part of the year 1862, erected the residence at Twelfth and Jefferson streets, which has ever since been the family home. During the years of his later residence in Portland, the Colonel has practiced law extensively, especially in land matters. He has, moreover, spent a life of energy and a magnificent fortune in his efforts to secure for Oregon its one great desideratum - eastern railroad connections.

Pioneering the way in laying broad the foundations of our State, and contributing by his wise foresight to the material prosperity of Iowa and Oregon in their organic laws. Col. Chapman is also to be credited more than any other man or dozen men in proposing safeguards in matters of railway construftion in Oregon. In 1S63, the first rumble of railroad agitation was felt in the State. To connecft Oregon with the Pacific system then extending across the plains, a bill was introduced in Congress with a land grant subsid}- for a road from a junftion with the Central Pacific Railroad in California, northward to Portland or the Columbia River, and so great was the desire for railroad connedliou that the people of the State were favorable to tlie scheme on any project likely to accomplish the objeift. A meeting was held in Eugene City on the day the surveyors reached that point. Great enthusiasm prevailed and a meeting was called for the purpose of endorsement of the scheme which was then pending in Congress, and the approving voice of the people was of course to be presented to Congress as an aid to the passage of the bill. Col. Chapman happened to be present and learning the objedl of the meeting, and seeing that under the terms of the bill as introduced, the builders would begin at or near Sacramento and continue toward Portland as fast or slow as they pleased; that as they built toward Portland the trade would necessarily run to California, even till they would be in sight of Portland; and that it would inevitabh' work greatly to the disadvantage of Oregon and her commercial metropolis, wherever that might be; he therefore determined upon a remedy, and when the meeting was organized submitted and procured the passage of the following preamble and resolutions:

Whereas, We learn that the surveying party on the contemplated route for the Oregon and California railroad has arrived in the Willamette Valley-, and that the chief engineer, Mr. Elliott, is now on a tour in the lower counties for the purpose of learning facts respecting the route and the means to be obtained in aid of the survey and improvement; therefore

Resolved, That all grants of land and other aids by the Government of the United States, and means to be appropriated, should be expended in equal proportions in Oregon and California, and commencing the work in Portland. Oregon, and progressing southwardly, and at Sacramento, California, progressing northwardly, so that each State and section may derive equal advantages therefrom, while the road shall be in process of completion.

Resolved, That we do herebj- recommend that several organizations be effedled in Oregon for the purpose of receiving the aid of the Government and executing the work within the State.

The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. On Col. Chapman's return to Portland the subje(5l was brought before the people of the city; two public meetings were held and the proceedings of the Eugene meeting were endorsed, with memorials and petitions to the same effecft forwarded to Congress. The result was that the measure was modified as was requested. Senator Nesmith, in his later days, told Chapman that he well remembered the circumstances, and that upon the receipt of the proceedings in Oregon he did just as was suggested, and on the 25th day of Jul)-, 1866, the acTt of Congress passed.

Independent of the advantages that have accrued to Portland, to Oregon, and, indeed, to the whole Pacific Northwest, through the modified provisions of the bill as it became a law, causing the immediate and early construction of the road from Portland southward through the Willamette, Umpqua and Rogue River Valleys, mfusing new life and increased energj' into our people, it inaugurated new and important enterprises, developments and prosperity in Oregon, surpassing the most sanguine e.xpeAations of our people. So that instead of the last spike in the construction of the entire road being driven at Portland, it was driven and celebrated at Ashland , near the southern boundary of our State. Thus, in the very embryo stage of railroad construction in Oregon, Col. Chapman gave the guiding hand and struck the key note for provisions in the interest of his adopted State which will redound to her benefit through all the future.

After all has been said relative to these momentous matters, and when all the wheat is separated from the chaff of personal vaunt as to each one's share in the upbuilding of the superstructure of our Statehood and commercial relations, the name of Colonel Chapman will tower above them all, couspicuous for foresight, and undaunted perseverance - quailiug not before numbers and power - vmtil the object of his effort was attained. It illustrates a character which never admits failure, and as

Wliile the Colonel thus kept his eye vigilanth' upon the process of railroad construcflion in our State and determined that corporate abuses should, so far as possible, be forestalled by adequate legislation, he was no less watchful of our commercial interests, with reference to navigation of our rivers and improvement of legislation for the sake of securing conneiflion by ship with foreign ports. A member of the legislature of 1868, his attention was dire<5ted to the faft that our commerce with European and Atlantic ports were suffering greatly from lack of towage at the mouth of the Columbia river. As membsr of a committee to examine the causes and propose a remedy for this unhappy condition he found that from the experience of Captain Corno, some years previous, it was deemed unremunerative to operate a steam tug upon the bar. He, therefore, prepared a report setting forth this facfl, showing, also, that it was not lack of water so much as lack of wind that had led to disasters at this place, and calling attention to the fact that so long as the mouth of the Columbia was considered dangerous by shippers, it would be avoided, or at all events, excessive rates would be charged, which fell with double severity upon the people of Oregon; not only compelling them to pay high tariffs on all their imports, but particularly compelling the producers to pay the added charges upon all exports. He pointed out that the wheat of Oregon was then taken in steamers to San Francisco and while the price in Portland was but seventy cents per bushel, in San Francisco it was a dollar and eight cents per bushel. He urged that this condition was working disastrously to the agricultural interests of the State, and proposed as a remedy that a tug boat be secured for the bar by means of a State subsidy. He reported a bill providing for a powerful steam tug boat, sufficient for towing vessels across the bar in all weather when it could be crossed by the best class of steamers or sailing vessels: with proper approval and license of United States inspectors. To secure such a tug boat the bill provided a subsidy of thirty thousand dollars to be given in five successive years; it directed that the license of all pilots, except those of the master of the tug boat and of the pilots employed upon her, should be revoked; and that the fees for towing and piloting sail vessels should be reduced to the rate of eight dollars per foot for the first twelve feet of draft, and ten dollars for any excess - the same as for piloting steam vessels. This was a reduction of twenty-five per cent. To prevent exorbitant rates of pilotage and of towage on the river from Astoria to Portland, the tug was allowed, in case of absence of employment on the bar, to tow to Portland, at rates to be fixed by the Pilot Commission, keeping, however, a sufficient pilot boat always near the bar in case of need.

The operation of this bill, which was passed almost unanimously, was most beneficial. Bv Captain Flavel, of Astoria, the tug boat was furnished, and it was but a few years before our large commerce spnmg up between the Atlantic and European ports and Portland.

But important as was Col. Chapman's part in the foregoing events, his contest with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, surpasses them all. It shows the capacity of one sharp, strong mind to rout a powerful combination of financiers and legislators, and reflects a credit upon the unofficial strategy- and statesmanship of Oregon, which ought to be known fully in all our borders. But, strange to say, this action, by which the prestige of Oregon was secured, is almost unknown. It is known that the Northern Pacific somehow once got a staggering blow, by which her contemplated monopoly of the Pacific Northwest, was completely broken. But so quietly was the blow given, and so little did our knight care to blow his trumpet, that none knew where the thrust came from. Col. Chapman was, in the years alluded to, one of the most earnest to get a railroad for Oregon to the East, and knew fully the whole political and financial situation with reference to it, as well as having a complete grasp topographically of the region to be traversed. The following will remind and infonn many of the hard work he did in behalf of Portland and the whole State of Oregon, and gives a concise history of important legislation.

The first charter was granted to the Northern Pacific Railroad about the year 1864, together with a land grant, but without authority to issue bonds or mortgages. As an argument with Congress, it was to be built on the subscription to stock. When their bill was before Congress, it was proposed that the people of Oregon have a land grant for a railroad from Salt Lake to Portland; but to negative this, the Northern Pacific agreed to, and did add a branch to Portland. The main line was to run near the northern boundary of the United States, across the Cascade Mountains, and the Branch, down the Columbia to Portland. After several failures, in 1870, the company having conceived the idea of antagonizing Portland and her trade, got a bill before Congress for an extension. Or, rather, it was a joint resolution. It was an unparalleled ambiguity and deception. It provided that the main line be transferred to run via the Columbia Valley to Puget Sound, and the Branch, across the Cascade Mountains to Puget Sound. In a joint resolution of the year previous. Congress granted an extension of the branch and the right of way for it from Portland to Puget Sound, but positively and expressly refused the right to issue bonds or mortgage. Now, by this joint resolution of 1870, the main line being authorized to run via the Valley of the Columbia, it was to be noted that this valley was on both sides of the river, and the road could therefore be legally located on either side. Instead, therefore, of its taking the place of the branch, on the south side to Portland, as Congress and our Congressmen supposed it was to be located, after surveying everywhere, and on both sides of the river, it was located on the north side of the river, ignoring Portland and the branch line it was intended to embrace.

As soon as the joint resolution was published, before any survey was made. Col. Chapman informed the citizens of Portland that it was the intention to locate the road north of the river and leave Portland out, so that Portland would lose not only the original branch granted expressly to and for Portland, but also the main line intended by Congress to take its place. The people were incredulous. In 1871, Col. Chapman being in attendance upon the Supreme Court of the United States, procured from the commissioner of the general land office a copy of the map of the location of the road on the north side of the river, attested by the commissioner's own signature.

This great wrong to the people of Portland and Oregon is the foundation of Col. Chapman's war upon the Northern Pacific Company from that daj' to the present. Not only so, but a fraudulent deprivation of Portland and Oregon of both the branch and main line, was a source of great wrong and inconvenience to the public, and has given rise to unending controversy.

But the wrong to Portland and Oregon was not the only one committed by authority of that ambiguous resolution. The United States was cheated out of millions of acres of public lands in this wise. First, the transfer of the main line by way of the

Columbia to Puget Sound, increased its length one hundred and forty miles on a line where Congress said in the joint resolution of 1869, there should be no land grant, bonds, or mortgage. The increased length of one hundred and forty miles, with a width of fortj' miles, equaled five thousand, six hundred sections, or three million five hundred and eighty-four thousand acres. But this is not all. The line from Portland to Wallula, two hundred and fourteen miles, upon this transfer from State to Territory, was increased by twenty sections per mile, or four thousand two hundred and eighty sections, two million seven hundred and thirty-nine thousand two hundred acres. Furthermore, the whole laud graut of two hundred and fourteen miles between Portland and Wallula, has for many years been withheld from settlement.

To return to the subject of the road on the south side of the Columbia, between Portland and Wallula: After the land grant for this road was taken away from Portland by the joint resolution of 1870, the public being in great need of the road, from Portland up the Columbia River, some of the citizens of Portland, including Col. Chapman in the number, inaugurated measures for the construdtiou of a road from Portland to Salt Lake. Part of the line was surveyed, and at times the prospedls were very favorable. On one occasion, when their bill in the house was progressing under favorable circumstances, the Credit Mobilier broke out and crushed all railroad bills. There were several contests with the Northern Pacific Company after they had taken from Portland the branch grant under pretense of giving them the main line, and then taking the main line also.

The most noted and telling of these contests was one late in the seventies, when Col. Chapman, in one of his unceasing efforts for the promotion of the interests of Oregon and Portland, prepared, and had introduced in the United States Senate, a bill in aid of the Portland, Dalles and Salt Lake Railroad. At this date such had become the opposition to further land grants to railroads that an original grant w'as impossible. This bill, therefore, provided for the construction of the Portland and Salt Lake roads upon the Columbia, as a common road for the Northern Pacific and Salt Lake line, to be built as a common road with the land grant then tied up idle on the north side of the river. It further provided that the Northern Pacific should build this common road, but if they failed to commence the road at Portland within ninety daj-s, and to prosecute the work diligently, the Salt Lake company, or any other company building that line, might build it, but it should, nevertheless, be a common road for both. There were provisions for the construdtion of the Salt Lake road after leaving the Columbia River. The bill was referred to the railroad committee of the Senate. Col. Chapman having drawn the bill appeared alone in its behalf while the great attorneys and others appeared for the Northern Pacific in opposition to the bill. On behalf of the Northern Pacific the point was made that their road was only construdled to Bismarck, and they could not construdl a road on the Columbia River until they should reach Ainsworth, or Snake River. Still they could assign no reason why another company shoidd not build the road on the Columbia, if when built it was to be a common road for both the Northern Pacific and Salt Lake lines. The propositions of the bill were so fair that the committee reported it to the Senate and recommended its passage.

Shortly after, an article appeared in a morning paper of Washington City, stating that all differences between the Oregon people and the Northern Pacific were settled, and the bill was to be re-committed to the Senate Committee, and be amended to suit the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. This was wholly new to Col. Chapman, who was thus referred to as the "Oregon People," and besought to appear before the committee in opposition to the new arrangement, but was refused. The bill in the interest of the Northern Pacific was reported back to the Senate, and Chapman sent to the Senate a written protest against the bill as amended. This protest was sent to the printer without being read, and the bill was taken up and passed in its absence. This was one of the most extraordinary and unjustifiable transactions, taken all in all, known among men having any claim to honesty and fair dealing. But the fraud was not complete until the bill should pass the House of Representatives, to which it was then sent and placed on the Speaker's table.

It would be supposed that under the circumstances Col. Chapman would have submitted to the result and abandoned the contest, but not so. Far-seeing, full of energy-, foresight and feeling that the interests of Portland and Oregon were at stake, he never lost sight of his object. He never was out of the House of Representatives one minute while the bill was pending.

The Speaker took up the bill to refer it to a committee, knowing that Chapman could meet it in open house. A certain man objedled, and it went back on the table. Chapman concluded that it was the intention of this man when it would be his turn and in order, to move to suspend the rules, and pass the bill without debate. He ascertained from the Speaker's list of members to be recognized to move to suspend the rules, where this man stood, and when he would be reached, and then wrote a scathing review of the bill, and had a sufficient number for all the members printed and sealed up, and purchased a suflScient number of envelopes, not failing to be in his seat everj- moment the House was in session. In the evening previous to the day when by Chapman's calculation this man of the Northern Pacific would move to pass the bill under a .suspension of the rules, Chapman invited the vice-president of the Northern Pacific to his room in the hotel where both lodged, to effect compromises, but the vice-president was so confident of success that he would consent to nothing. After he left. Chapman put the printed articles into the envelopes all ready for the next day. Next morning with his documents in hand he visited the House and just as the House was about to meet, when too late for consultation, he placed prominently in view upon each member's desk a sealed envelope containing one of these printed reviews, on the theory that the member would want to see what was inside first. The letter was scarcely read, the House was in business order, and, as calculated, the Northern Pacific man was on his feet talking loudly in a firm voice, "Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Northern Pacific Railroad bill."

It required a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules and pass the bill. The vote was taken, and instead of a two-thirds vote for it, there were two-thirds against it, and the bill was lost. Chapman, solitary and alone, against the officers, attorneys, and lobbvists, came out victorious, and Portland still held the fort. After the battle a courteous recognition took place between Colonel Chapman and Mr. Wright, president of the Northern Pacific. After the vote was announced, Chapman went out at the front door of the hall and started away, but advancing a few steps, for some reason turned back, when Mr. Wright came out of the hall door facing him and advancing with an outstretched arm and the sorrowing words, "O, Colonel, how could you have hit us such a slap over the face?" To which Chapman replied, "All is fair in war."

The result of this victory was that the Northern Pacific was deprived of obtaining and holding the right of way and control on the south or Portland side of the Columbia, until their road, then completed to Bismarck, should reach Snake River, when without building on the south side thej' would by the branch which they transferred to Portland, build across the Cascade Mountains to Tacoma, still holding the right of way and the land grant unbuilt upon, exactly as they have done with the main line on the north side of the river. It was foresight of such intention and action by the Northern Pacific Company, that induced Colonel Chapman to insert in his Senate bill that was re-committed, the provision that the Northern Pacific company might build the common road on the south side of the Columbia, if they "would begin within ninety days and prosecute the work diligently; otherwise, the Salt Lake Company- might build it."

Another important result of this signal vidlory was that the way was left open and straightway seized upon, and the road was built by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

During his long career of public life and private enterprise. Col. Chapman enjoyed the comfort, pleasure, encouragement and assistance of a wife, who was "a verjhelp indeed." Her life was one of the utmost fidelity to everj' sentiment of duty, through all the trials and privations of frontier life, and of pioneering in a new world; she was a faithful companion, a hospitable neighbor and a loving wife and mother. Mrs. Chapman lived for upwards of twentj^-seven years at her home in Portland, where she died in 1889, in the seventy-fourth year of her age.

Of the eleven children of Colonel and Mrs. Chapman, six are living. The venerable father still resides at his old homestead, which is part of the original " Portland Townsite," and of the portion of his own and Mrs. Chapman's donation land claim, which was set off" to her by the United States Government. His mental vigor has never failed him, and although an attack of paralysis, resulting from over exertion in preparing for and conducting an important land case, in November, 1888, rendered his right limbs almost useless; he otherwise has good health and is gradually' recovering the use of his limbs, notwithstanding he is now in the eighty-second year of his age.

This record shows that the life of Col. Chapman, has been throughout, the life of an active, useful, far-seeing and courageous man. It has been a life spent largely for public purposes, and its fruits through all time will remain no small part of the heritage of the people of the Northwest.

CORBETT, Henry \V. The writer who seeks to portray the life and advancement of a people - no matter how far he maj' be under the control of theories pointing otherwise - must at last come to the individual and seek his best material in the lives and records of those by whom the works he would describe have been performed. Thus biography becomes not merely a side light to history, but the very essence and vitality of historj- itself In the storj- of the man of affairs you tell that of his times as well. Viewed thus, it does not need be said that the true story of Portland cannot be told as we have tried to tell it in these pages without proper reference to the men whose varied lines of effort have touched almost everj- material interest of the city as well as many reaching far beyond its boundaries.

Conspicuous among the men who have influenced the current of public events, who have shaped the destiny and made the city of Portland the commercial and financial metropolis of Oregon, is Henry Winslow Corbett. During forty years he has been an important fadlor in the development which has been steadily going on in the Pacific Northwest, and it is but simple justice that a faithful record of the part he has borne in this great work should be preserved as an example for the guidance and emulation of coming generations.

He was born at Westborough, Massachusetts, February 18, 1827, and is the youngest son in a family of eight - six of whom reached maturity. His parents were Elijah and Meliuda (Forbush) Corbett. His ancestors, who settled in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, were Normans, and traced their descent from Roger Corbett, who was a niilitar)- leader under William I, in the conquest of England, gaining distincftion and lands for the part he bore in the struggle. William, the eldest son of Roger, was seated at Wattesborough, while his second son. Sir Robert Corbett, had for his inheritance the castle and estate of Caus, with a large part of his father's domain. The latter's son, also named Robert, accompanied Richard I to the seige of Acre, bearing on his coat of arms two ravens, which have since been the crest of his descendants.

It is not the purpose to trace in this sketch the genealogj- of the family from its ancient source. Suffice it to say that many achieved distinction in politics, the church and in the learned professions, while one of the descendants on the maternal side is a member of Parliament at the present time. The Corbetts in America are lineal descendants of this ancient and honorable family, as the family record at Mendon, Massachusetts, clearly indicates.

The father of Henry Winslow Corbett was a mechanic, and at Westborough established the first edgedtool manufadlory in that part of Massachusetts. He subsequently removed to Washington county, N. Y., where he continued his manufa(5luring business until forced to abandon it on account of failing health. He then settled in Cambridge, in the same county, and engaged in the hotel business and farming until his death in 1845. He was a man of progressive ideas and possessed much mechanical ingenuity. Both he and his wife were consistent Christians and by precept and example exerted a most wholesome influence upon the lives and characters of their children.

The boyhood of the subject of this sketch was passed in Washington county, N. Y., where, until he reached the age of thirteen 3^ears, he received an ordinary common school education. At the age named he commenced his business career in a store at Cambridge, where he remained two years and during that time attended the Cambridge Academy. He then returned home and after a short term at school, secured a clerkship in a store at Salem, the county seat. At the end of a year he went to New York cit)-, and secured a clerkship in the dry goods store of Williams, Bradford & Co., serving seven years in that business. During this period he became firmly established in the confidence of his employers, and in OAober, 1850, they furnished him the necessar)' capital to ship a general line of merchandise to Portland, Oregon, by way of Cape Horn on the bark Francis and Louise. He arrived in Portland, March 4, 1851. At this time the embryo city of Portland contained about 400 inhabitants and five small stores; stumps of trees were standing on Front street and back of First street stood the virgin forest. He secured the rental of a frame building then not fully completed, on the corner of Front and Oak streets, at the rate of $125 per month. He removed his goods to the second storj' of this building before it was completed, his customers being obliged to ascend a flight of stairs. "At night," said Mr. Corbett to the writer, "I slept in the store and when I was ready to retire I pulled the stairs up after me." It was amid these rude surroundings that Mr. Corbett began his business career on the Pacific Coast. He applied himself to his work with all the zeal and earnestness which have ever charaiflerized him and within fourteen mouths disposed of his entire stock of goods, the net profit of his venture amounting to the sum of 120,000 with which he returned to New York, but bafore leaving he became associated with Robert and Fiuley McLaren, who were to continue the business in Portland. He remained in New York one year and during this time continued to ship goods to his partners in Portland. He then determined to make Portland his home, and some months after his return dissolved with his partners and established the business in his own name. He continued to do a general merchandise business until 18G0, when he changed to a wholesale hardware business. In 1871 he consolidated with Henry Failing and established the firm of Corbett, Failing & Co., which has since occupied the first place among the mercantile houses of the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Corbett's mercantile operations, great and successful as they have been, represent but feebly his capabilities and achievements in the business world As soon as he had gained a fair financial start in his adopted home, he began to take a prominent part in those enterprises which he saw were needed to develop the resources of the country. He first turned his attention towards the improvement of transportation facilities on the rivers, becoming interested in steamboating. He was also among the first to advocate the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and while in the Senate, labored zealously for the project, although he had no personal interest to subserve in so doing. After the failure of Jay Cooke, to carrj^ the undertaking through, he assisted in the re-organization of the company by taking a pecuniar)- interest in the enterprise, and from that time until its co:npletion, was one of its most active promoters. In the winter of 1865-6, Mr. Corbett secured the government contract to carry the mail between San Francisco and Oregon. The line, some 640 miles in length, he stocked with four-horse stages, and successfulh- continued the business until his election to the United States Senate, when he relinquished his contract, believing his relation to the business incompatible with his duties as a public servant.

In 1869, with Henry Failing, Mr. Corbett purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank, of Portland, which had been established four years previously. Its business, however, was then verj' limited, its deposits amounting to about f-tO, 000. Under the new management, it has steadily grown in magnitude until at the present time it is at the very head of the financial institutions of the Northwest, with deposits aggregating over |3, 000, 000, and capital and surplus over |1, 000,000. It is the oldest and strongest National Bank in the Pacific Northwest. Henry Failing has been president ever since they took control, and since his retirement from the Senate, Mr. Corbett has been vice-president.

Numerous are the other business enterprises which have and are still receiving substantial encouragement and pecuniary assistance from Mr. Corbett. He is a director of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, and has always cast his influence in behalf of liberal measures in its management, and to secure the lowest rates of transportation possible with good and quick service. He is also largelyinterested in the Portland Rope Works, Oregon Linseed Oil Works, Street Railway, Oregon Transfer Company and the Oregon Fire & Marine Insurance Conipanv, being vice-president of the last named company. At present he is president of the company which has completed the erection of a magnificent hotel in Portland, only second in size to the Palace Hotel, of San Francisco. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the Portland Board of Trade, and for several years was its president. In all the important measures this body has materially assisted in bringing about pertaining to the commercial and transportation interests of the State, Mr. Corbett has bee:i foremost by his counsel and hearty co-operation. He has also been prominently connected with the Board of Immigration, which has already done much for this section of the LTnion. He is a large owner of real estate in Portland and has erected some of the finest business blocks in the city.

In private enterprises, which have promised to advance the prosperity of the city or to promote the moral and intellectual good of his fellow citizens, Mr. Corbett has responded readily and wisely. His name heads every subscription list to worthy objects. He gave f20,000 towards the erection of the Presbyterian Church; made a liberal endowment for the Children's Home, a most successful institution; contributes largely to the Young Men's Christian Association, the Boys and Girls Aid Society and Sailors' Home; in fact to everything he gives, and so quietly and so modestly that half of his benefactions are not suspected. He seeks opportunity to do good and to be helpful to his fellow citizens and his city. He was reared in the Presbyterian doctrine and for many years has been a consistent member of this denomination, but his sympathy and substantial encouragement go out to all agencies, irrespective of religion or creed, which tend to ameliorate suffering and to improve mankind. In politics Mr. Corbett was originally a whig and a devoted follower of Henry Clay. Upon the formation of the Republican party in Oregon he became one of its leaders and as chairman of the State Central Committee he did valiant service in securing the ascendency of his party in Oregon, and at the convention held in 1860 he and Leander Holmes were elected delegates to the Chicago convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. They were unable to reach the convention in time and Horace Greely represented Oregon by proxies from Mr. Corbett and Mr. Holmes and the two votes, Mr. Greely was thus enabled to cast for Lincoln, backed by his powerful influence, had a most potent effect, if it did not really determine the result in favor of the then comparatively little known statesman who was destined to play such a grand and heroic part in our national history.

Mr. Corbett early foresaw, with the drift of events which preceded and followed the election of Mr. Lincoln, that war between the North and South was inevitable, and from the first intimation of the approaching struggle he became an uncompromising Union man. As soon as the South decided to withdraw from the LTnion he realized the danger of delay, and shortly after Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, while in New York City and conversing with Horace Greely, whose idea originally was to ' 'let our erringsistersdepart in peace;" he boldly said: "It is my conviction that the war should be prosecuted with the utmost vigor to coerce the States that have placed themselves in open hostility to the government." This will serve to show the breadth of his views and the keenness of his insight into the requirements of the emergency of the times. Upon his return to Oregon he put forth every effort to induce all loyal men to combine against the heresy of secession, and as chairman of the Republican State Central Committee strongly advocated the union of the Republican and Douglas or war Democrats. This was, in great measure, successful, and at a union convention held in Eugene City, April 9, 1862, he was strongly solicited to become the candidate for governor, but having no personal ambition in this direction he declined the honor and A. C. Gibbs was selected. So well managed was the campaign that followed that Mr. Gibbs was elected by a majority of 5,000 votes whereas the usual Democratic majority had been 2,500.

While Mr. Corbett continued to take a most active and iniiuential part in maintaining the ascendency of his party during the war period, he was actuated by no personal ambition. He believed the maintenance of the principles and purposes of the party was essential to the preservation of the Union, and his labors were prompted by purely patriotic motives. He never sought or had any special desire for official position, but in 1866, when some of the Republican members of the legislature, who recognized his unselfish labors in behalf of the organization of the party, asked the privilege of using his name as a candidate for United States Senator, in case they were unable to agree upon anj' of the candidates who had already entered the field, he consented, but under the provision that his name was not to be brought forward if it should create discord in the party. After several unsuccessful ballots, when it seemed impossible to secure harmonious action on any candidate, a majorit)- of the Republicans signed an agreement to support Mr. Corbett; informed him of their intention and asked permission to present his name. He then went to Salem, but ascertaining that some of the other candidates were dissatisfied with the proposed settlement of the election, he notified his friends he would not enter the race unless perfect harmony could be secured. But while on his return to Portland he was notified of his election as successor to Hon. J. W. Nesmith.

He entered upon the discharge of the responsible duties of his position in March, 1867. It was at a period when all of the financial heresies which followed the conclusion of the war confronted the nation, and when the vexed questions which arose from the restoration to the Union of the seceding States were still unsettled. On the floor of the Senate he had to contend with some of the most experienced and w'isest legislators, several of whom are still conspicuous in national affairs. Equally a stranger to the Senate and to the laws and usages of deliberate bodies, he applied himself to his senatorial labors with characteristic fidelity and by his votes and speeches made a record which in the light of subsequent events fully demonstrated the wisdom of his course. His thorough practical knowledge of financial affairs permitted him to clearly understand and expose the financial heresies of the period, and to this important branch of national legislation he addressed himself with all the force and power of his nature. His arguments on the resumption of specie payment, funding of the national debt at a lower rate of interest and longer time, and his determined opposition to all plans that savored in the least of bad faith or repudiations, have proven his judgment correct in every particular, not only according to the logic of morals but on the ground of expediency as well.

Mr. Corbett's first speech on national finances was delivered December 13, 1867, in support of his bill to substitute gold notes for legal tender notes, and to facilitate the resumption of specie payments. He strongly condemned the continuance of a system of irredeemable' paper money and showed that the productive industry and commerce of the country were crippled by the artificial, delusive and fickle valuation which such a system occasioned. He declared that a well regulated business basis could not be reached until a return was made as soon and as prudently as possible to a specie basis. He proposed to reach this result by a gradual substitution of gold notes for the then existing legal tenders. In the course of his speech Mr. Corbett said :

" If we would build our foundation strong and permanent we must commence to clear awa}- the rubbish, remove the shifting sands, and dig until we strike the bed rock of specie. Build upon that rock, issue your paper currency upon that, let it be little or much, so that the people can see that there is a paper currency that will draw gold whenever presented. This will be something; it will be a comnlencement. Putting off the day only makes our destruction the more sure. How easy it is to quiet the clamor of drunken men if you will onh' listen to their entreaties for more poison ! Is that an)' reason why we should give it them, when we know it is slowly but the more surely leading them on to destruction ? Sir, the nation is intoxicated! Shall we continue to give them financial poison or say stop until they return to reason ?

" In what do we pay the balance against us ? It is paid in gold or United States stocks. What will be the result when the gold and United States stocks are all exhausted ? Can we then resume specie payment ? I think not. As a war measure the Government had a right to issue its uotes, and make them temporaril}- legal tender for the purposes of carrying on the war; but it cannot be with truth assumed that it was the intention of the Government to substitute this species of currency so as to supercede entirely an international currency, a currency so long recognized by our own countr)-, and the only kind of currency regarded as money by the other great commercial nations with whom we deal. If it had been so contemplated Congress would not have made a distinction in the currency by making the duties on imports payable in gold. It was only intended as a measure of temporary necessity, and it was undoubtedl)' the intention of the Government to return to specie at the earliest practicable moment. While the present state of depreciated currencj- exists, none but unsound, unwise, and ventnrsome traders will invest their money in the products of the countrj- for the purpose of export, with the prospect of finding when they return to our market that what they have brought in return will not bring them as much in gold as the cargo with which they started, in consequence of the depreciation of our currency. Therefore it is a great hinderance and drawback to the increase of our commercial and shipping interests. This legal-tender currency acts, with the consequent cost of exchanging gold for legal tenders and legal tenders for gold, as a protective tariff to foreign countries. It enhances the price of every kind of product to such an extent as almost to preclude our competition with them.

" To expect a continued expansion until every private speculator disposes of his stock, and until every one disposes of his goods on hand that have cost him too high in consequence of a depreciated currency, would be simply ruinous. Each imagines he is losing monej'. The whole trouble lies in the fact that he has estimated legal-tender notes as money, whereas the\- are only a promise to pay at a convenient season, and when he sells those for real money, gold, he finds the legal-tender stock on hand, like his other notes and accounts, will not bring dollar for dollar, and that he must look to his large profits incidental to an inflated currency to supply the deficiency, as he does to his profits on goods to meet his losses on bad accounts.

" The stringency of the times compared with the time when there was a much larger amount of currency in circulation must be attributed to some extent to a transition from an inflated to a sound gold basis, and to a greater extent to the speculation and over-trading of the community incident to the plethoric currency that has existed for the few 3-ears past. Previous to the war we were not able to prevent this over-trading and the results that ensued; neither can we do it now unless we continue to blow up the bubble of our currency aud expand it to suit popular clamor, and if we do so it is only a question of time how long it will float, or how soon it will burst and fall to the ground. Therefore, I appeal to your good j udgment to look beyond the present, look to the future, to the permanent and abiding prosperity of this great and powerful nation. Let not other nations sap the foundation from beneath our feet while we sleep in fancied security upon our beds of greenbacks."

Perhaps Mr. Corbett's ablest speech was delivered on the Funding Bill, February 11, 1869, when in rising to give notice that he would offer an amendment to the bill making the bonds in question, redeemable in coin after twenty years instead often, he turned his attention to the statement of Senator Sherman, of Ohio, who said that for one, he would vote to pay off the five-twenty bonds in legal-tender, "providing the holders do not see fit to exchange their securities for bonds bearing one per cent, less interest than those now held by them." On this point, Mr. Corbett said :

" With such a proposition I cannot agree. The solemn obligations resting upon me as a Senator and the solemn obligation resting upon the Government in this crisis of our financial struggle forbid. A struggle, I sa^-, because it is a struggle with ourselves whether we will pay our bonds, as they mature, in dollars or with our irredeemable notes, made a legal tender under the pressure of war, and, as a war measure, to be redeemed with gold at the close of the war or funded into United States bonds bearing interest that should be equivalent to gold. Why did 3-0U pay seven and three tenths per cent, interest if you considered the principal payable in currency ? Why not have made 3-our interest six per cent.? l'"or the very reason that you regarded the principal and intended making the principal payable in coin, and 3'ou paid the one and three tenths interest over and above the six per cent, to make it equivalent to coin interest upon a debt, to be funded into a six per cent, bond, redeemble after five years, providing you should have resumed specie payment; otherwise, to run until you could redeem them any time during the fifteen years next succeeding. It was doubtless thought that after the five years we could negotiate a loan upon more favorable terms, and we doubtless can negotiate such a loan, providing that we will make the loan paj-able in forty years and redeemable at the pleasure of the Government, after twenty years. The longer the loan the more popular, providing it is with a Government that has always observed its obligations without quibble or question.

" It is not for the present that I speak, but it is that great, grand, and glorious future that I see for my country looming up before me, powerful and mighty as she is to be, destined to withstand, as one day she will, all the governments of the crowned heads of Europe, if occasion requires. I would lay our credit deep and broad, not for one century, but for a hundred centuries. Let us not look too much to our puny selves. We need only look back a hundred years to the march of events, when an American drew the lightning from heaven to see if it could be made subservient to man. Another American takes it up and teaches it to speak, and it is heard a thousand miles distant over distant portions of our country'. Another American takes it up and stretches his electric wires through the vast ocean for thousands of miles, and he makes it talk to all Europe. Need I recall to mind the revolution caused by Fulton, another American, in adapting steam to the propelling power upon the Hudson. Look at your floating palaces upon our rivers; your steamships on the Atlantic; and that magnificent line of ships upon the Pacific and China seas; and yet it is only three-score 3-ears. Look at j-our perfect network of railroads East and West, and all this has been accomplished in a little over thirty years. Therefore let us keep our armor bright and our credit untarnished and look to time, to the great future, as our remedy for this burden. To say that we cannot pay the interest on this debt is folly; there is no such sentiment in the American heart; but, on the contrary, they are determined to do and accomplish what no other nation has the internal wealth and vigor to do. Man}- croakers said that we could not put down this rebellion; the people said, "We will try." All the people now ask is that you should try to pay the debt. As for m^-self I never had a donljt that we could put down the rebellion. Neither have I a doubt but that we can pay this debt in dollars.

"Public credit should be, "like Cicsar's wife, above suspicion." What shall we gain by paying off these bonds in legal -tender notes, and where are we to get these notes? From the sale of the five per cent. United States bonds, when you declare tliat you will pay these five-twenty bonds in legal-tender notes. What do you suppose you will get for your ten-forty five per cent, loan? What you make by dishonoring your six per cent, bonds, you will lose upon your five per cent, bonds. Do vou suppose capitalists will invest in a five per cent, loan, that yovi can repudiate with as much reason as we can in honest}- this six per cent, loan? What amount shall we save in interest per annum if you determine to force people to take the five per cent, in place of the six per cent? It is very easy to calculate it upon Jtl, 610,272, 900. The five-twent\' bonds, at one per cent., amounts to about sixteen millions. The question now arises, can we afford to sell our plighted faith for this sum? M}- proposition is to substitute a twenty-forty loan in.stead of a ten-forty loan. A long loan finds a much more ready sale than a short loan. I propose to give these five-twenty bondholders the privilege of exchanging their bonds for a long loan, bearing interest at five per cent., principal and interest payable in coin, and free from State, municipal, or local taxation. This is an equivalent to a tax upon their income of sixteen and two-thirds per cent. This is a large dedu(ftion.

" When we look to the future of this great Republic, embracing twenty-three degrees of longitude by fift^'-seven degrees of latitude, with all variety of climate, producing the most delicate and delicious fruits of the South, with abinidance of the more substantial productions of the temperate zone and the hardy productions of the North - when we contemplate this vast and varied country, its climate, its production for the sustenance, comfort and luxury of man, the vast resources of all its varied hidden riches of the earth, composing metals for all the most substantial and useful arts of life, with all the most precious metals to tempt the cupidity of man; test the bowels of the earth, it sends forth its fatness in living streams of oil like the perennial fountain; add to these our beds of coal, our forests of timber, our mountains of iron, where is its equal ? Have we the capacity to make them useful - who doubts it ? With all the thousands of inventors, combining the greatest inventive genius of the world, we can outstrip all other nations combined. A population from every land and nation under the suu, a land now happily free from the oppressor's rod, to be rebuilt upon a firm and enduring foundation made sacred and cemented b}- the blood of a million of our noblest sons.

"Therefore, let us not crown this temple, hewn by the sweat of so many brows, reared by the blood of so many brave lads, with the capstone of repudiation. Let us do nothing as a great and noble and suffering people that shall detract from the honor of those that lie silent and cold in their blood-bought graves, with naught but their country's banner over them. To me, Mr. President, my duty is plain; my duty to the men that came forward to supply our suffering army, to succor our noble bo3-s, in the days of the national darkness and despair, and to the capitalists of Germany, of I'rankfort, who took our securities, and spewed out the rebel bonds, and gave to us money, the sinew of war, to assist us in maintaining the life of the nation. I need not the example of other nations to tell me what is right between man and man or between nation and nation; it needs not the shrewd argument of a lawyer to tell me what is due to nn' creditor - if there is any one thing that I regard more sacred in life, after my duty to my God, it is to fulfill all my engagements, both written and implied, and nothing shall drive me from this position."

The above will give a fair idea of Mr. Corbett's power of reasoning. Space forbids our following in detail the detertnined stand he took against all measures which seemed to savor of bad faith or repudiation of any of the financial obligations the government had incurred to carry on the war. In his many speeches in behalf of sustaining the national credit he displayed unusual powers of statement and of close logical argument, and no mere extracts can do them justice. They are recorded in the archives of the national government and history- has already proved the soundness and wisdom of the views they contain. Most of the great financial ideas he advocated have been adopted, and to-daj- our four per cent, government bonds have sold for higher prices than the British three per cent consols, and are considered the best security in the world.

While Mr. Corbett gave much of his time and attention to grave national questions he was by no means unmindful of the needs of the State he represented. When he took his seat, the ocean mail service between Portland and San Francisco had been discontinued. Through his efforts this was speedily restored. Among other local measures which especially received his attention and were carried out, were the removal of obstruction to navigation in the Willamette River, the erection of light houses along the coast and the location of fog whistles and buoys to mark the channel of the navigable streams; an additional customs district with port of entry and bonded warehouse was established; large addition was made to to the appropriations to survey the public lands in Oregon; the headquarters of the Military Department of the Columbia were removed from Washington Territory to Oregon, and an appropriation was secured to erect the Post Office building at Portland. The opening up of new lines of communication and securing greater facilities in the use of old ones were matters of constant thought and care and received all the advantages which his personal influence and extensive commercial experience commanded.

Near the close of his senatorial term an ovation was tendered to Mr. Corbett at his home in Portland b}- his fellow citizens and in the address of welcome his political career was reviewed as follows by the speaker of the occasion; "As citizens of Oregon and perhaps just now better situated than 3'ourself to judge correctly of the sentiment prevailing throughout the State, we congratulate you upon having so prudently and effectually ser\-ed the public that there are few, if any, whether members of the party that elected you, or of the opposition, who express dissatisfaction with your course. The Republicans say j-ou have been true to the principles of the party and faithful to the pledges implied in receiving the office at their hands; the Democrats admit that 3'ou have been no ungenerous opponent; while both agree that your conduct on all occasions has been governed by considerations affecting the welfare of our common country, and not by those of party expediency or personal advantage. Such indoriement and approbation by an intelligent people is high praise in these times of corruption in high places - in these times when it is almost expected that wealth, and social position, and commercial enterprise, and local power, and official patronage, will join in any unholy alliance and adopt anj- means, howsoever corrupt, that may appear necessary to bribe the weak and bruise the strong into lending their aid and countenance to the schemes of ambitious and selfish men for personal aggrandizement and private plunder." This was strong praise but richly deser\-ed,and the historian who records the political period in which he so conspicuously figured will give him a high place among the statesman who left the impress of their work upon the destiny- of the nation.

Mr. Corbett was married in Februarj-, 1853 to Miss Caroline E- Jagger, who died in 1865, leaving him two sons, both bom in Portland, the younger of whom, Hamilton F. Corbett, died a few years ago. The elder son, Henry J. Corbett, about thirty }-ears of age, is assistant cashier of the First National Bank, and has inherited his father's tastes and aptitude for business. In 1867, Mr. Corbett was again married, to Miss Emma L. Ruggles, of Worcester, Massachusetts, a lady of rare character and mind, whose graces and social accomplishments are the best adornment of his home, and make it the center of a charmed and charming circle. Their Portland residence is one of the most attractive in a city noted for its elegant dwellings, while their summer home on the Columbia River, called the " Highlands," is a delightful retreat.

In person, Mr. Corbett is six feet high, straight and spare in figure, but symmetrically formed. Cautious, cool-headed and decided, he is not an inviting mark for the wiles of the schemer or imposter, but he is thoroughly approachable, respectful and considerate toward those whom he meets, and utterly lacking either in the arrogance of small greatness, or in the still more objectionable truckling and assumed honhommie of the small politician. He is thoroughly dignified, and yet his manners are so unassumingly easy that one hardly notices them. Indeed he is a fine type of that well approved manhood in which courtesy, kindness, dignity, culture, honor and charity are most happily blended. To these excellences can be added unswerving integrity, honesty of purpose, purity of thought and act, and those crowning virtues bom of an ever present and controlling moral sentiment. His career shows what can be accomplished by steady and quiet energy, directed by sound judgment and high purpose. His name has been associated with numberless successful enterprises, but not one failure, and he is justly entitled to a foremost place among those who have created, established and maintained the commercial and industrial supremac)' of Portland.

DEADY, Matthew P. Any work professing to describe the representative men of the Pacific Coast would be ver^- incomplete which failed to present a sketch of the life and labors of the distinguished jurist whose name stands at the head of this article. Coming to Oregon in the flower of his early manhood, he has grown with the growth of his adopted State, and strengthened with her strength. His hand and mind are everywhere seen in her constitution, her laws and her polity. Her material advancement has been greatly promoted by his efforts, and his name will ever remain indeliblj' impressed upon her history.

Judge Deady was born near Easton, in Talbot County, Maryland, on May 12, 1824. His parents were substantial and respectable people, his father being a teacher by profession. In 1828, the family removed to Wheeling, Virginia, where the father was employed as principal of the Lancasterian Academy for some years. In 183-i the mother died on her way back to Wheeling from Baltimore, where the family had gone on a visit to her father. In 1837 3'Oung Dead}- removed to Ohio with his father, and spent some years on a farm. He left the farm in 1841, and went to Barnesville, where for four years he wrought at the anvil and attended the then somewhat famous Barnesville Academy, working as well at the forge of thought as that of matter, hammering and shaping to his mind the ores of knowledge, found in the mine of good books. Having completed his apprenticeship, he listened to the promptings of a laudable ambition and determined to read law, a profession that reserves its rewards and honors for those alone who combine great mental power with severe application. Supporting himself by teaching school, he began the study of law in 1845, with the Hon. William Kennon, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, since on the Supreme Bench of the State, and now deceased. In October, 1847, he was admitted to the Supreme Court of the State, and commenced practice in St. Clairsville.

He crossed the plains to Oregon in the year 1849. Here he supported himself during the winter by teaching, and in the spring of 1850, commenced the practice of his profession, and soon became a man of mark in the community. Such was the confidence he inspired that he was chosen from Yamhill County at the June election in 1850, to the lower house of the Territorial Legislature, in which he was an active and leading member during the session of 1850. In 1851, after a severe contest, he was elected a member of the Territorial Council, from the same county, over David Logan, and ser\ed as chairman of the Judiciary Committee of that bodv, in the session of 1851-2, and as presiding officer during the special session of July, 1852, and the regular one of 1852-3.

At this earl}- period of his career he had already won his spurs, and was generally recognized as one of the leading men of the country, both at the Bar and in the Legislature. He was strongly urged in the spring of 1853, as a candidate for Delegate to Congress, but received the appointment of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory, which he accepted and held by subsequent reappointment, until the admission of the State to the Union in February 14, 1859. vSoon after his appointment, he removed to the Southern District, then comprising the country south of the Calapooia Mountains, and settled in the Valley of the Umpqua upon a farm, where still may be seen the fruitful orchards and vines planted and trained bv his own hands during the intervals of judicial labor. Whilst occupying this position, he was elected from Douglas County one of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, that met at Salem in 1857, and formed the present Constitution of the State. Of this body he was chosen president and took an active and influential part in its deliberations and conclusions. In a brief sketch of Judge Deady, written bv the present editor of the Oregonian, it is said, in illusion to the part borne by Judge Deady in the framing of this Constitution: "Many parts of the instrument were either suggested by him or modified by his hand. He procured the insertion of the clause in relation to suffrage, which requires persons of foreign birth to declare their intention to become citizens at least one year before they are allowed to vote; - a measure which is necessarj^ in every State to insure the purity of elections. Others wished to allow the privilege of suffrage to every person of foreign birth who had been six months in the State, immediately vipon his declaration to become a citizen; a policv which opens a wide door for fraud, as it offers an inducement to persons to declare their intention to assume citizenship for the special purpose of voting, and puts it in the power of politicians to make use of them on special occasions to exercise an undue influence in elections. By his efforts, also, the official terms of Justices of the Supreme Court were made six years instead of four. In the convention, there were those who advocated annual sessions of the Legislature and the election of the Governor and officers of the .administrative Department every two years. Judge Deady advocated biennial sessions of the Legislature and official tenures for these officers of four j-ears' duration, and his views were adopted. He was an earnest advocate of those provisions of the Constitution which secure the State against the creation of large indebtedness, prevent the Legislature from lending the credit of the State to any corporation, and prohibit counties, cities and towns from subscribing monej- to corporate bodies, or creating excessive liabilities. Experience has shown that for an infant State these are wholesome restrictions. He opposed those clauses of the Constitution which attempted to prevent the coming of Chinese and persons of African descent into the State, holding that such attempts to restrict intercourse were in conflict with the Constitution of the United States; and it is proper to add that time has fully sustained his position."