lines of Jefferson's Ordinance of 1784, from which it differed, among other things, in providing for the immediate abolition of slavery. As the act applied only to territory north of the Ohio, and as, moreover, it contained a provision for the return of fugitive slaves, the Southern States offered no opposition, and it was adopted by the unanimous vote of the States.

Oregon was acquired by purchase from France in 1803. (See Annexations I.) Its southern boundary was defined by the Treaty of 1819 with Spain (see Annexations II.), and its northern boundary by the convention of 1846. (See Northwest Boundary.) It was organized as a Territory, including what are now Washington and Idaho Territories, in 1848. On February 14, 1859, it was admitted to the Union. The capital is Salem. The population in 1880 was 174,768, and in the last census (1890) 313,767. Oregon is entitled to only one seat in the House of Representatives, and has three electoral votes. It is Republican, though not by large majorities. (See Electoral Commission.) Its name is of Spanish origin, and means "wild thyme." (See Governors; Legislatures.)

Oregon Boundary. (See Northwest Boundary.) Orleans, Territory of. (See Territories.)

Ossawattomie Brown; or, John Brown, of Ossawattomie.-A name which John Brown acquired while in Kansas. His sons had settled near the village of Ossawattomie, in that State, and here he joined them. (See Brown, John.)

Ostend Manifesto.-The expeditions of Lopez in 1850 and 1851 to assist the Cubans in their revolutionary plans, and Secretary of State Everett's declination in 1852 to engage with France and England in the proposed Tripartite Treaty (see Filibusters and Tripartite Treaty), attracted much attention to the question of annexing Cuba to the United States. President Pierce in 1854 directed our ministers to Great Britain, France and Spain-James Buchanan, John Y. Mason and Pierre Soulé-to meet and consider the subject. Accordingly they met at Ostend,

in Belgium, whence they adjourned to Aix la Chapelle. From this place, in October, 1854, they addressed a letter to our government declaring that the purchase of Cuba would be advantageous, both to Spain and to the United States, but urging that if the island could not be acquired by purchase it was advisable, and would be justifiable for our own protection, to seize it. This dispatch is known as the Ostend Manifesto and was chiefly the work of Buchanan. No practical results followed. In 1856 it was denounced by the Republican platform and not defended by the Democratic. But the latter party in 1860 advised the acquisition of Cuba by purchase.

Our Country is the World-Our Countrymen are all Mankind.—One of the mottoes of the abolition newspaper, The Liberator. (See Abolitionists.)

Our Country, Right or Wrong.-At a dinner in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1816, Commodore Stephen_Decatur gave the following toast: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong."

Our Federal Union, It Must be Preserved.-On April 13, 1830, a dinner was given in the city of Washington in honor of Jefferson's birthday. One of its objects was, if possible, to commit the Democratic party to the doctrine of nullification. The regular toasts had been adapted to that end, but when they were over a call on Jackson for a toast of his own, drew out the above.

Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor. These are the closing words of the Declaration of Independence, which is from the pen of Thomas Jefferson.

Our Own Evarts. A name by which William M. Evarts, of New York, is known.

Pacific Blockade is a blockade enforced while there is no war existing between the blockading and the blockaded countries. It is hardly justified by international law, but is sometimes employed as a coercive measure by a powerful nation against a weak one.

Pacific Mail Subsidies. (See Subsidies.)

Pairs. An agreement between two members of a legislative body, that would have voted on opposite sides of a question, for each to abstain from voting, is called a pair; the result is thus left unaffected and one or both of the members is enabled to be absent.

Pacific Railroads.-This name is applied collectively to various railroads, as stated below, to which the aid of the national government was extended in order to facilitate railroad connection between the Pacific coast and the remainder of the country. Such communication had long been regarded as necessary to prevent a gradual utter divergence of interests between these sections and consequent ultimate separation. As early as 1846 the scheme had been broached. In 1855 surveys were made, and in 1860 both of the great political parties recommended government aid to the project. In 1862 an act was accordingly passed granting to the companies five sections of public land and $16,000 in government bonds for every mile constructed, the land and bonds for every stretch of forty miles to be turned over to the company only on the completion of such stretch. For different portions of the route the grants of bonds varied, some being as high as $48,000 per mile for the more difficult. On the other hand, all transportation or other service performed for the government was to be applied to its reimbursement for the principal and interest of the bonds so issued. Meanwhile the bonds were to be a first lien on all the property of the company. In 1864 the grant of land per constructed mile was increased from five to ten sections. (See Land Grants.) The stretch of forty miles required to be completed each time before bonds and land on any part of it were granted, was reduced to twenty miles, and the company was authorized to issue bonds not exceeding the amount of the government bonds, the mortgage of the latter in favor of the government to be postponed to that of the new bonds; moreover, it was provided that only one-half of the value of the company's services to the government was to be retained to extinguish the debt; the other half was to be paid in cash

to the company.

The Union Pacific Road was built westward over the mountains, and the Central Pacific Road was built eastward from Sacramento. These two lines were joined, with impressive ceremonies, at Promontory Point, Utah, May 10, 1869. The last tie, of laurel wood, with a plate of silver upon it, was laid, and the last spike, made of iron, silver, and gold, was driven in the presence of distinguished men. The officers of the road, and a large concourse of visitors from East and West were present. Telegraph wires were attached to the last rail, and the last blows were signaled upon bells in Washington and other large cities. In many places large crowds had gathered to receive the first intimation conveyed almost instantaneously over the electric wires, that the great work was complete. When the signal was received in San Francisco and elsewhere all the church bells were rung, and cannon were fired.

In May, 1878, an act, known as the Thurman Act, was passed, prescribing more stringent terms for the repayment of government advances. In addition to the amounts retained out of sums due for government service, the Act of 1862 provided for the payment of five per cent. of the net earnings of the company. The Act of 1878 retained the entire amount due to the companies for government service, one-half to be applied to interest payments, one-half to form a sinking fund for the principal, and it required, moreover, the annual payment of a fixed sum ($850,000 for the Union Pacific and $1,200,000 for the Central Pacific), or so much thereof as might be necessary to make the total obtained by adding the five per cent. of net earnings and the whole of the compensation retained, equal to twenty-five per cent. of the net earnings. The method of computing the net earnings was prescribed, and it was provided that the additional payments thus required were not to be exacted unless the net earnings were sufficient to meet the interest on the bonds prior in lien to the government mortgage.

Panic of 1837 and Wild-Cat Banks.-After the closing up of the United States banks in 1832, and the transfer of its deposits to State banks, there was a great increase in the number of small banks, especially in the South and West, where the influx of population was a constant stimulus to the desire for speculation. The scarcity of capital in those regions made it easy to put in circulation anything that purported to be money. Thus, any enterprising individual could, with a very limited capital, or indeed with no capital at all, open a bank, issue $10,000 or more in small notes, and pass them over in easy loans to land speculators. Another way of playing the same game was to nominally establish the headquarters of a bank in a remote or inaccessible point in the State, say of Georgia or Illinois, where the bills purported to be issued and to be payable. The real place of business, however, for the circulation of the notes of the bank was a distant city, New Orleans, perhaps, or Buffalo. These institutions were called wild-cat banks, and this mode of doing business wild-cat banking. It took only about four years of this method of swindling to bring on the crash of 1837, one of the most painful and prolonged crises in our financial history.

Pan Electric Scandal.-The Pan Electric Company is a company claiming patents which would be valuable if the Bell Telephone patents were declared invalid. The promoters of the scheme are alleged to have distributed some of the stock among Senators in order to secure, if possible, legislation favorably affecting their company. A. H. Garland, at that time Attorney-General, received some of this stock while Senator, it is charged, and when the Pan Electric Company applied to the Attorney-General to begin suit in the name of the United States government for the annulment of the Bell patents, comment was naturally rife. The application was heard by the Solicitor-General, the AttorneyGeneral being on a vacation, and after mature delibera