to enter "nolle prosequis," or dismissals of the prosecutions pending in violation of the February act.

All my advice, and even persuasion, was entirely lost. No counsellor in Michigan would accept of the office in either court, for the obvious reason that every man is looking forward to offices under the new Government on the 1st day of November next.

My report to the Department is, that the following prosecutions against Granville Jones, Albert S. McDowell, Elisha Fasset, Samuel Eddes, Platt Card, Benjamin F. Stickney, John Baldwin, William Wilson, and Naaman Goodsell, are stayed until the spring term of the court. They are cases of accepting and exercising office within the disputed territory under the Ohio laws.

At least twenty cases of resistance of the February act process are now pending, though on a general continuance; recognisances forfeited, how

ever.

I wish the Department to understand that the particular course designated by your letter of the 12th was pursued on the 6th of October, with not the least effect.

After indictments found in the above cases, bench warrants were issued, and placed in the hands of the sheriff, with an armed posse. The only alternative left me was filing pardons with a counsel of one of the defendants, as the last resort left me to avert impending collision between the authorities of Ohio and Michigan.

The presiding judge of the court has the above cases for future decision, The Monroe court happened on the 7th October, and continued until the 12th. On the 13th the Ohio election was advertised at Toledo. If that election had progressed, there would have existed great difficulties in this country.

I had the good fortune to assist, by the most advisable means, (in my, opinion,) the Toledo election. Refer to enclosed paper.

At Lenawee but two cases were tried; verdict for the defendant in one, and fine of $100 dollars in the other; pardon executed after judgment in that case; nolle prosequis entered in all the other cases by the district attorney; Fletcher's case, acquittal; Ellsworth's case, pardoned after judg ment. At Monroe I advised a trial of all the cases during the last term; that was refused. One object was to forfeit all the recognisances in all cases, and continue the prosecutions, to avoid the Executive pardon, thereby continuing the difficulty with Ohio in the State Government of Michigan.

If bench warrants had been permitted to be forcibly executed after indictment, the object of the Government would have been expressly thwarted. There could have been no peace, no forbearance, no tranquillity.

If the view of the President, as reiterated in yours of the 8th, is to be modified, I should have the information without delay.

Every thing is quiet, and the people perfectly reconciled to the measures of the Government, save a few.

I have the honor to be,

Your obedient humble servant,

JOHN S. HORNER, Acting Governor in and over Michigan Territory.

Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.

DETROIT, November 7, 1835.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge yours of the 29th ultimo. I have the pleasure of forwarding the enclosed communication from the commissioners of Ohio, to mark and survey the " Harris line.”

A requisition of Stickney has been made of the Governor of Ohio. The above, with the discharge of other duties, heretofore reported, consummates the wishes of Government, as expressed in the various communications filed in the office of my predecessor, to which reference was made by my letter of appointment.

The action of the proposed State Government will be confined, at least until the session of Congress, within its legitimate sphere, though I have had strong reasons to apprehend other more disagreeable and even embarrassing results.

The Legislature have to-day decided to go no further than an election of their Senators.

I have the honor to be,

Your obedient humble servant,

JOHN S. HORNER, Acting Governor of Michigan.

Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, OHIO,

Columbus, October 27, 1835.

GENTLEMEN: You are requested to repair, forthwith, to the northern border of the State of Ohio, and make the necessary arrangement for remarking the northern boundary of the State, as required by the 8th section of the act of the 23d July, 1835. You will be prepared to commence re-marking said line, on the 2d day of November next, and proceed to complete the same as soon as practicable. In the performance of the duty, you will act with such discretion as circumstances may require, but will be careful to complete the work as required by the act aforesaid; and, when completed, you will make your report to me, in writing, under your hands, specifying the time when the work was done. You will, also, make out and certify the accounts of all assistants employed by you, as well as other expenses incurred in the performance of the duty required of you, by the provisions of the act aforesaid.

JONATHAN TAYLOR,) Commissioners to re-mark the

URI SEELF,

W. S. MURPHY,

Northern Boundary Line of
the State.

PORT MIAMI, November 4, 1835.

SIR: The undersigned Commissioners appointed under, and in virtue of, the provisions of the act of the Legislature, of the 23d of February, 1835, for the purpose of re-marking the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio, as required by the 8th section of the act, beg leave to report:

That, pursuant to the requisitions of that act, they went upon the ground on Monday the 2d of November, 1835, early in the morning, and commenced the work of re-marking said line, from the point where they were

interrupted in April last, to the northern cape of the Maumee bay, and continued their work without interruption until it was fully completed, as required by the act aforesaid, and in strict conformity with its provisions. They caused permanent posts to be set up and marked, as line posts, on the road leading from Sylvania to Monroe, where the line crosses said road, and on the turnpike-road leading from Toledo to Monroe, where the line crosses said turnpike road, about seven miles from Toledo; also, in the Prairies where the mile stations ended; and at the extreme northern cape of the Maumee bay, where they found the willow called for in Harris's field notes, marked as the beginning corner on the cape, which marks are plainly to be seen. They caused a large stone to be set, seven links east of said willow corner, on the cape, marked on the north side with the letters M. T. for Michigan Territory, and on the south with the letter O. for Ohio. These letters we deeply cut in the stone.

We further report, that the line thus run and re-marked, with the aforesaid additional indications, is plain and permanent, easily found, and not to be mistaken.

SIR: In my communication to you of the 29th ultimo, I informed you that the Ohio commissioners were then on their way to complete re-marking the northern boundary line of the State, called Harris's line, and I have now the honor of transmitting for your information, their official report, from which it will be perceived that this work has been done without further interruption from the authorities of Michigan. Having confidence in the assurance of the President of the United States, and the declarations of Governor Horner of Michigan, that the arrangement of the 3d of July should not be violated, the commissioners, unarmed and unattended by any one but the necessary assistants, commenced the work on the 2d instant, according to previous appointment, and on the 4th instant, made out and transmitted to me their official report of the completion of that work (a copy of which is herewith transmitted). Thus has been consummated the duties required of the Executive of Ohio. The laws of the State havebeen fully executed without the aid of force, and I trust that the people of Toledo, against whom the vengeance of the authorities of Michigan appears to have been heretofore directed, will be permitted to remain in peace until Congress shall quiet the pretensions of their oppressors.

In transmitting to you this report, I consider it my duty to state to you, and, through you, to the President of the United States, my entire approbation of the course pursued by Governor Horner since he has been charged with the Executive branch of the government of Michigan Territory. The prompt and efficient discharge of his official duties, as Executive of that Territory, in carrying into effect the instructions of the President of the United States, as specified in the arrangement of the 3d July, has inevitably led to the restraint of the turbulent authorities of Michigan, and thereby

9

avoided an occurrence that might have been deplorable in the extreme. By his prompt and conciliatory course, which was cordially reciprocated by the Executive and other authorities of Ohio, the laws of Ohio have been peaceably and fully executed-the instructions of the President of the United States fulfilled-collision avoided-and this exciting question put to rest, at least, till the close of the next session of Congress.

I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th ult. transmitting a copy of a communication from C. A. Harris, Acting Secretary of War, to you in reply to the suggestions in my letter, of the 16th of October last, relative to the public arms used by the authorities of Michigan, &c. &c. in which he states "that the arms and munitions of war alluded to by me as being in the possession of Ex-Secretary Mason, of Michigan, were not taken from the United States store at Detroit."

I may have been misinformed as to the particular place whence the arms were drawn, but that Mason's troops were part of them armed with United States muskets, and had artillery with them, as well as munitions of war, (which were believed to be the property of the United States,) I have been informed was notoriously the case. This I presume the Secretary of War will not deny in his own name, though they may not have been taken from the United States stores at Detroit." But as the subject of permitting the public arms to be thus used by the people and authorities of Michigan will, as I am informed, be likely to become a subject of inquiry before the House of Representatives, in the next Congress, I deem it unadvisable for me to make further inquiry on the subject, but will observe in conclusion, that the reply of the Acting Secretary of War, of the 23d of October last, to my communication of the 6th of said month, ( a copy of which you transmitted to me,) differs widely from what is generally believed in Ohio to be the facts in the case. In conversation with Messrs. Rush and Howard, in April last, they informed me that the President had ordered the public arms that had been issued by Col. H. Whiting to the authorities of Michigan to be forthwith returned to the Detroit arsenal. This information corresponds with Colonel Bomford's letter to Colonel Whiting of the 2d of April. These were probably returned, under said order, at that time, but we find public arms again in the possession of the people and authorities of Michigan, particularly at the time the attack was made on our boundary commissioners on the 26th of April. This information I obtained from General Haskill, of Michigan, who, I understood, was a member of the Legislative Council of the Territory. General Haskill was introduced to me, at Port Miami, on the 27th of April, the day after the attack was made on our commissioners. He had been despatched by Acting Governor Mason, as a messenger, as appeared by documents which he delivered to me. In the course of conversation with him, I alluded to a report that Governor Mason had broken into the arsenal at Detroit, and taken possession of the United States arms and ammunition. General Haskill, in reply, observed that such were not the facts. He said they did not take the arms by force that Governor Mason applied to the keeper of the arsenal for arms--that the keeper declined issuing them as being without authority from the ordinance department; but at the same time told Governor Mason that if he would take them upon his own responsibility, he might do so, and informed him where he might find the key of the arsenal. General Haskill said that the key was procured by Mason, and that the authorities of Michigan took from the arsenal such arms and ammunition as they wanted.

These were the statements of General Haskill, and I presume they are facts that cannot be controverted. Thus the authorities of Michigan had in their possession, on the 27th of April last, arms and ammunition taken from the United States stores at Detroit; and the general impression in Ohio is that the arms and munitions of war, or a part of them at least, that were in the possession of Ex-Secretary Mason and his invading army, on the 7th of September last, were drawn from the same source; and that these things were done with the knowledge at least, if not by the private special _permission of the Secretary of War. The impression, I confess, I cannot myself resist, from a knowledge of the relation in which the Secretary stands to that Territory, and his active private interference in its behalf, as is manifest by his numerous private letters to gentlemen in Ohio, as well as Michigan, several of which have been submitted for my perusal. In some of these letters the Hon. Secretary deemed it not advisable to appear in this controversy in public, but declared he was doing all he could in a private way. In truth the Hon. Secretary of War is viewed in Ohio as the author of this unfortunate controversy, and that he is the master spirit that has controlled its operation. The evasive reply, from the War Department, to my letter of the 6th of October, on this subject, has made it my duty to submit the foregoing statement.

With great respect, I am your obedient servant,
ROBERT LUCAS.

Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,

Secretary of State United States.

G.

Extract from the argument of Messrs. Gallatin and Preble on the North eastern Boundary, at page 32, on the part of the United States, on the case referred.

"Mitchell's map is acknowledged by both parties to have regulated the joint and official proceedings of the framers of the treaty of 1783. And it has already been observed, that the southern boundary of the province of Quebec, designated for the first time by the proclamation of 1763, was not and could not be laid down on that map, which was published in the year 1755. This acknowledgment is founded on the testimony of the American negotiators, taken at the time when the question "what" was the true river St. Croix, had, by virtue of the treaty of 1794, been submitted to a joint commission. The deposition of John Adams states: "that Mitchell's map was the only map or plan which was used by the commissioners at their public conferences, though other maps were occasionally consulted by the American commissioners at their lodgings."

In a letter to Lieutenant Governor Cushing, of Massachusetts, of the 25th of October, 1784, when Mr. Adams' recollections on the subject were quite fresh, he writes: "We had before us, through the whole negotiation, a variety of maps, but it was Mitchell's map upon which was marked out the whole of the boundary lines of the United States; and the river St. Croix, which we fixed on, was upon that map the nearest river to the St. Johns, so that in all equity, good conscience, and honor, the river next to St. Johns should be the boundary.