northwest, he should vote for the amendment of the gentleman from St. Croix. He was well aware that the popular will was probably in favor of as great an acquisition of territory as that proposed by the committee still he should be governed in his vote by the dictates of sound policy and the wishes of the people of the valley of the St. Croix. Their wishes he could know only through the member representing their interest, who tells us they are not only opposed to the line as established by Congress, but opposed to being incorporated into the future state of Wisconsin. And very good reasons are offered for this feeling. That valley we are informed is cut off in a great measure by a broad strip of barren country, from the settled and tillable portions of the southeast and must ever maintain but a difficult communication with them. They are a community by themselves, having no common interest with the southern and eastern portions of the territory, and would seem naturally to belong to a new territory or future state on the northwest. This should be a potent argument with the convention, for surely we cannot wish to incorporate a community entertaining these feelings. They would ever be productive of dissatisfaction and ill feeling. But there are motives of policy which should not be forgotten, and he hoped the convention would be guided by these, rather than by the mere desire of extending our territory. Now if that region is made a portion of the state, of course a political organization would of necessity have to be kept up, and that, too, at the expense of the other portions of the state; for surely many years would elapse before sufficient revenue would accrue from that region to keep up this organization. In the meantime the support of their organization would be a tax upon the rest of the territory entirely disproportioned to the benefits accruing. The same argument would apply with equal force to the region lying between the line proposed by the amendment and the coast of Lake Superior. He did not see what great advantage was to be gained by including that coast, which would not be had just as well without it, commerce between the states and territories being entirely free. The country bordering on the northwest line would reap every advantage as well in one case as in the other. It is, then, a question of policy whether this extension will ever be of practical benefit, or whether it will not involve unnecessary burdens upon the state treasury, to say nothing of including a people who will always be dissatisfied with the alliance. He would be governed entirely by what would be

our best interests and the desire of the people of that remote region. Mr. Rountree proposed the following substitute: "Section 1. It is hereby ordained and declared that the state of Wisconsin 'doth consent to and accept the boundaries' prescribed in the act of Congress entitled 'An Act to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union,' approved August 6, 1846, as hereinafter mentioned, and for the purpose of obtaining admission into the Union, which said boundaries are as follows, to wit:

"Beginning at the northeast corner of the state of Illinois, thence running with the boundary line of the state of Michigan through Lake Michigan and Green Bay to the mouth of the Menominee River; thence up the channel of said river to the Brule River; thence up said last mentioned river to Lake Brule; thence along the southern shore of Lake Brule in a direct line to the centre of the channel between Middle and South Islands in the Lake of the Desert; thence in a direct line to the headwaters of the Montreal River, as marked upon the survey made by Captain Cram; thence down the main channel of Montreal River to the middle of Lake Superior; thence through the centre of Lake Superior to the mouth of St. Louis River; thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the same above the Indian village according to Nicolet's map; thence due south to the main branch of the St. Croix; thence down the main channel of said river to the Mississippi; thence down the centre of the main channel of that river to the northwest corner of the state of Illinois; thence due east with the northern boundary of the state of Illinois to the place of beginning.'

"Provided, however, That the admission of this state into the Union according to the boundaries as above described shall not in any manner affect or prejudice the right of this state to the boundaries which are 'fixed and established' for the fifth division or state of the Northwestern Territory in and by the fifth article of compact in the ordinance of Congress for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, passed July 13, 1787, and by an act to divide the Indiana territory into two separate governments, approved the eleventh day of January, 1805, and by the admission of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan into the Union, which boundaries are as follows, to wit: on the south by a west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan

to the Mississippi River; on the west by the Mississippi River from the point where the said line intersects the middle of said river to its source, and thence due north to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude; on the east by a line drawn from the said southerly bend of Lake Michigan through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States; and on the north by the said northern boundary.

"Section 2. The question which has heretofore been the subject matter of controversy and dispute between the territory of Wisconsin and the state of Illinois respecting the northern boundary line of said state, and with the state of Michigan respecting the western boundary line of said state, it is hereby proposed and agreed by the people of the territory and state of Wisconsin shall, unless Congress shall assent to the boundaries as herein claimed, be referred to the Supreme Court of the United States for adjudication and settlement; and the state of Wisconsin doth hereby further agree to the commencement and speedy determination of such suit with either or both of said states of Illinois and Michigan as may be necessary to procure a final decision by the said Supreme Court upon the true location of said northern and western boundaries.

"Section 3. This ordinance is hereby declared to be irrevocable without the consent of the United States."

The fifth article of the Ordinance of 1787 reads as follows: "There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor more than five states, and the boundaries of the states, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to wit: The western state in the said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, and Wabash rivers, a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle state shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. The eastern state shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line: Provided, however, and it is further understood and declared, That the boundaries of these three states shall be subject so far to be altered, that if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority

to form one or two states in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And whenever any of the said states shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such state shall be admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever." The act of Congress, approved January 11, 1805, to divide the Indiana territory into two separate governments, recognizes this line as the boundary in that division.

I now propose to accept of the boundaries as prescribed and fixed in the act of Congress of August 6, 1846, to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a state government, with a proviso submitting the question of boundary to the Supreme Court of the United States for adjudication, that being in my estimation the only proper tribunal to decide this important and long disputed question-this being the most favorable time that we shall ever have to procure the proper adjustment of our claims to territory which has been apportioned to our neighboring states, they having sought and obtained admission into the Union, with extended boundaries. Much dissatisfaction is felt in many portions of this territory at the repeated encroachments of our neighboring states.

Now, sir, this question has been agitated by the people ever since the country was settled. At different times and in different ways have there been expressions of the people on the subject, both by public meetings and by committees of the legislature, some of them very able ones. Many very able men have thought that we are right in claiming the northern portion of Illinois, and that we can obtain our right by proper effort. It is not good policy to give up our rights without an effort. It may be urged that by claiming our rights at this time we shall embarrass our admission into the Union. I do not think there is any great force in it. Our entry does not at all depend on our boundaries. Other states have been admitted with unsettled boundaries. It is well known that a long controversy in relation to boundaries has been going on between Missouri and Iowa, which has been but lately settled. Another reason: We are now deciding on the acceptance of the act of Congress defining our boundaries. If we accept it, it cuts off all subsequent claim on our part. If we can get admitted without accepting the boundaries proposed, we had better, and then we may possibly or probably get

our rights hereafter. At any rate we have all to gain and nothing to lose.

Mr. Whiton made some remarks. Mr. Judd followed with some remarks, when the question was taken on the adoption of the substitute and decided in the negative.

The question then recurring on the amendment offered by Mr. Brownell, Mr. Reed said he had voted against the substitute offered by the gentleman from Grant (Mr. Rountree) for the reasons stated by the gentleman from Dodge (Mr. Larrabee). He preferred insisting upon our boundary to the British line. But if it was not the wish of the convention to claim the whole of the territory, but to leave a portion of it to be formed into another state, he should vote for the amendment offered by the gentleman from St. Croix.

Mr. Cole of Grant was surprised at the reasons offered by the gentleman from Winnebago (Mr. Reed) and the gentleman from Dodge (Mr. Larrabee) why we should relinquish the fine valley of the St. Croix. He had been informed by a gentleman in this house -a very intelligent gentleman, and one who he believed was well informed on the subject-that the valley of the St. Croix was one of the most desirable portions of the West; that, in addition to a rich soil and an abundance of timber, it embraced water power sufficient to turn all the machinery in the world. He believed the true cause of this movement was that the people in that region were aware that the valley of the St. Croix was susceptible of a dense population, and that, if set off into the new territory, the seat of government would be located somewhere in that valley. This he regarded as the best evidence of the value of the country proposed to be cut off, and the best of reasons why the convention should not consent to it. He believed the true policy was to retain all the territory we could, especially if the territory was valuable.

Mr. Brownell thought there was a disposition to misrepresent the character of the country within the different proposed boundaries. The country was flat and marshy and contained a multitude of small lakes. The character of the country was such that it was exceedingly difficult to find passable routes for roads. He made this statement for the purpose of setting members right in regard to the value of the country in question. The people whom he represented asked for this boundary solely on the ground of convenience.

Mr. Vanderpoel hoped the amendment would not prevail. The northern boundary had been fixed by Congress, and he thought it