in a pet, all voted to adjourn and the adjournment was

carried at their instance, before any business had been transacted, and as a punishment of the contumacious council."

The next attempt, however, was more successful in getting the measure before the people, but it was de- feated by popular vote. The bill was introduced Janu- ary 11, 1854, in the House, by Representative MofRtt. It was referred to a select committee of five, and was passed and then sent to the Council, where after further amendments it was adopted. 12 In the campaign that followed, statehood was opposed by the whig Oregonian, principally on the ground of expense, and was ardently advocated by the Statesman. The election was held June 5, 1854. The vote was 3210 for the constitutional Con- vention, and 4079 against, a majority of 869 in the nega- tive. At the same session of the legislature that passed the statehood bill, a Memorial was adopted and was for- warded to congress as follows:

MEMORIAL

"H. M . 3 . To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled.

"Your memoralists, the legislative assembly of the Territory of Oregon, would respectfully represent that in view of the rapidly accumulating population of our Territory, its numerous and increasing interests, and the inefficiency and anti-republican character of a terri- torial form of government, we believe that the period is at hand when the people of Oregon will desire to ter- minate the existence of the territorial organization by which they are governed, and ask the admission of Ore- gon, as a state, into the Union on an equal footing with the original states. And, therefore, to this end, you are respectfully and earnestly memoralized for the early passage of an act to enable the people of the Territory

12 The bill was House Bill No. 44, H. J. 1853-4, pp. 89, 94, 139, C. J., 1853-4, pp. 82, 94. Laws 1853-4, p. 504. The memorial was H. M. 3, and is in the appendix of the last mentioned volume, p. 40. See as to the Memorial, C. J., 1853-4, pp. 94, 95, 98.