Removal Question,1849-50 -The subject of the permanent location of the seat of the State government early occupied a large share of the attention of the first Legislature. The inferior accommodations which had been provided by the people of San Jose, as well as its then unsatisfactory geographical position, created a strong desire on the part of the members of the Legislature and a great number of the people for a change. At first there was a strong sympathy for the project of an immediate removal to Monterey, but as time wore on it died away, and the bills that had been introduced to provide for the removal of the capital to that town were defeated. On January 29, 1850, a resolution was adopted by the Senate, directing the Building Committee to report a bill to provide for the location of the capital at some point on the bays approachable by the largest class of steamers, and distant from any town then laid out.

On February 18th the Town Council of Monterey tendered to the State the free use of the public buildings there for a period of five years. A proposition was made to the Legislature on December 17, 1849, by Stevenson & Parker, for the location of the seat of government at "New York of the Pacific." They proposed to erect upon one of the squares of that city, or upon such other site as might be designated, suitable buildings, of such size as the Legislature might agree upon, for the use of the Legislature, the State officers, and for the Governor as a residence, and to furnish them in a manner that would equal the furniture used in the legislative chambers at Washington. The entire cost was not to exceed $100,000, and the buildings were to be completed by January 1, 1851. The grounds and buildings were to be given to the State, and in case they ceased to be used by the State they were to revert to the original owners. The same parties, on January 17, 1850, proposed further, to have ready by May 1, 1850, suitable offices for the State officers, accommodations for the Supreme Court, and a residence for the Governor, to be used temporarily until the permanent buildings could be erected, and they offered to give security for the performance of the terms of their offer.

On January 30th, James F. Reed, a citizen of San Jose, proposed to donate four blocks, in all 420 by 220 varas, to be selected by the Legislature, from his addition to that town, as a site for the State buildings. In addition, he proposed to give one hundred and sixty-eight lots to be sold at auction, the money from the sale of which was to be applied to the erection of the buildings. If the Legislature concluded that two blocks would be sufficient, he then proposed to give two hundred lots, and in either event the State would get the fee-simple title to the site.

Charles White, on the same day, proposed to donate a tract of land one and one-half miles square, situated about three miles distant from the then legislative hall at San Jose, which land was eligible for building lots and contained building-stone. The State was to reserve sufficient land for public use and sell the balance. One third of the net proceeds from the sales was to go to the State, to be used in proceeds from the sales was to go to White, and the balance to the State, to be used in the erection of the buildings.

On February 4th, John Townsend and others offered, in case the capital should be located at San Jose, to donate to the State about two hundred acres of land in that vicinity, from the sale of which a building fund could be realized.
Munificent Proposition of General Vallejo, 1850¬The proposition of Gen. M.G. Vallejo, however, was the most munificent. On April 3d he proposed to lay out a city upon the Straits of Carquinez, upon grounds to be selected by five commissioners, three to be appointed by the Legislature and two by himself; to grant the State one hundred and fifty-six acres of land, and to donate and pay to the State within two years after the acceptance of his proposition $370,000, to be applied to the erection of public buildings. He asked that his proposition be submitted to a vote of the people at the next general election, and offered to give bonds for the performance of the terms of his contract.

The citizens of Monterey afterward tendered, in addition to their public buildings, all the land that would be needed, together with one thousand acres for a botanical garden or model farm.

Vallejo Selected as Seat of Government, 1850-51 - The committee on Public Buildings reported in favor of accepting the Vallejo proposition, and on April 22, 1850, an Act was passed and approved directing the Governor to submit to the people at the following general election the various propositions that had been made for the location of the capital, and the Surveyor-General was directed to examine the various localities that had been proffered, and report to the next Legislature.

At the general State election held on October 7, 1850, the people voted on the propositions with the following result: Vallejo, 7,477; San Jose, 1,292; San Diego, 14; Monterey, 399; Santa Cruz, 2; Reed's proposition 651; Gilroy, 71; Eureka, 301; Stockton, 6; Sacramento, 160; San Francisco, 25; Benicia, 70; Nevada, 82; Downieville, 150; Hamilton, 10; Yuba City, 14; scattering, 5.
At the opening of the second legislative session, in 1851, General Vallejo and the parties interested with him in obtaining a removal of the seat of government from San Jose to Vallejo, appeared at the former place and exerted themselves to consummate the change. They succeeded in turning a strong current in favor of their project, but the scheme had also an able and energetic opposition. On January 14, 1851, Vallejo presented a communication to the Senate, in which he stated he was prepared to give bonds, with ample security, for the fulfillment of the proposition which he had submitted to the preceding Legislature. On the 16th, the Surveyor-General submitted a report upon the advantages and disadvantages of the different localities proposed for the establishment of the capital, and the report favored a removal to Vallejo. The next day the majority of the Senate Committee on Public Buildings reported in favor of accepting Vallejo's proposition, but George B. Tingley, from the same committee, submitted a minority report on the 20th, in which he vigorously opposed the change and favored San Jose for the seat of government. The majority of the committee reported a bill in accordance with their views, and it was passed by the Senate on the 23d by a vote of eleven to two. The next day Mr. Tingley filed a written
protest against the passage of the bill, upon the grounds that Vallejo could and would pay the $370,000 in State scrip, which was then worth but 50 cents on the dollar, and that the change of the capital would be injurious to the State.

An effort was made in the House to defeat the bill. The citizens of San Jose sent a communication to the Assembly offering, if the capital should be retained at that city, to donate to the State $406,000 worth of land, and to furnish accommodations for the Legislature and State officers free of charge until such time as the State should become able to pay rent. On February 1st the removal bill came up for discussion in the House. The chamber was crowded with interested spectators. After a warm debate, it was passed by a vote of twenty-six to eight. This Act provided that after the close of that session Vallejo should be the permanent seat of government, provided General Vallejo should submit a satisfactory bond, to be approved by the Legislature and Governor, conditioned that he would faithfully carry out the terms of his offer; that he would provide for the space of three years a State House and other offices of state equal to or better than those then occupied, and without expense to the State; and that in case he refused or failed to perform the conditions of his proposition, the law would become void. The Governor approved the bill on the 4th, and on the same day Vallejo submitted his bond, which was approved after a great deal of opposition and discussion.

Vallejo the Capital, 1851 - Governor McDougal caused the governmental archives to be removed from San Jose to Vallejo in June, 1851. General Vallejo was slow in performing his part of the contract, and
in September it was found that the State House and offices were not sufficiently completed to preserve the public records or to accommodate the public business, and the Governor ordered a removal back to San Jose, which was accordingly done. As the time approached for the assembling of the Legislature the question as to where it should meet was much discussed. It was held by some that Vallejo was the seat of government, and that the Legislature would have to meet there at all events, while others claimed that inasmuch as General Vallejo had not fulfilled the terms of his proposition the Removal Act was void, and that San Jose was still the capital. On December 30, 1851, a meeting of members elect to the Legislature was held at San Francisco for the purpose of consulting as to the proper place for holding the . session. Twelve Senators and thirty Assemblymen were present, and after a debate and the reception of the opinion of Attorney-General McDougall that Vallejo was by law the seat of government, it was decided to meet at that place. Accordingly, on January 5, 1852, the third session of the Legislature began at Vallejo. The building provided was of wood. It was afterward destroyed by fire. When the Legislature met, the State House was entirely unfurnished, and the rostrums for the presiding officers had not been built. So uncertain had it been whether the Legislature would meet there that the inhabitants of that city were ill prepared to accommodate the increase to the population. Rooms and beds were scarce and upwards of one hundred persons were forced to seek quarters on board the steamer Empire, on which they had come up. Chairs were so scarce in the town that the members were seated in their halls on temporary benches made of boards placed on stools and nail kegs. It was not until the 8th that a sufficient number of chairs arrived to comfortably seat them. The legislators soon began to complain that their wardrobes were becoming soiled, and that there was not even a washerwoman in town to keep them in clean collars. To add to the discomfort, food of all kinds became exceedingly scarce. Work, however, was prosecuted with energy in the State House, but it was some time before it was in anything like order. A strong disposition was manifested for a removal of the Legislature to some other city that could afford
superior accommodations.

To be continued