present at its first meeting-wherefore, in the language of the proclamation, "I, Isaac N. Roop, Governor of the Provisional Territorial Government of Nevada Territory, believing it to be the wish of the people still to rely upon the sense of justice of Congress, and that it will this session, relieve us from the numerous evils to which we are subjected, do proclaim the session of the Legislature adjourned until the first Monday in January, 1860; and call upon all good citizens to support with all their ener gies the laws and Government of the United States." During his gubernatorial term many wise measures were adopted for the better security of the early settlers in western Utah, and quite extensive campaigns carried on against the hostile Indians all along the border. He became very intimate with Gen. Lander, and was joined by him in many of his efforts for the suppression of Indian outrages upon the early settlers.

After the formation of the Territory of Nevada, in 1861, Governor Roop was elected to the Territorial Senate. There he acquitted himself honorably and won the lasting esteem of the entire population of the Territory. In 1862 he became the leading spirit in a movement to join Honey Lake Valley with the Territory of Nevada. For three or four years previous thereto the boundary line between California and Nevada hád been in dispute. During that time many of the citizens of Honey Lake Valley acquiesced in the jurisdiction of Nevada. The Legislature of the Territory passed a bill fixing the boundaries of a new county to be called Roop, so as to include Honey Lake Valley, having its county seat at Susanville. A conflict of jurisdiction almost immediately ensued. The Nevada Legislature thereupon appointed three commissioners, R. M. Ford, Jas. W. Nye and I. N. Roop, to present its memorial to the California Legislature, with a view to obtain a change of the boundary line in accordance with the recommendation of Congress. The Legislature of the State of California refused to grant the request, and two years afterward Governor Roop had the satisfaction of seeing Honey Lake and its adjacent sister, Long Valley, erected into a

separate, independent county government. If he could not succeed in placing his home where it naturally and properly belonged, he had been successful in making it independent of the snows and summits of the Sierras. With this he was partially content, as previous to this time the county seats of the Counties claiming jurisdiction over Honey Lake Valley were separated from it by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which were impassable two-thirds of the year. At an early day, as soon as a Post Office was established in Susanville, he was appointed its Postmaster, which position he held up to the day of his death.

In politics, Governor Roop belonged to the Whig party as long as it had an existence. In 1860 he voted for Stephen A. Douglas. At the outbreak of the civil war in America he heartily espoused the Union cause, and was identified with every movement among his neighbors, to render aid and comfort to the soldier in the field. In 1864 he supported Lincoln, both with his voice and his vote. In 1865 he was elected to the office of District Attorney for the County of Lassen, receiving the entire Democratic vote and nearly two-thirds of the Republican vote. In 1867 he was reëlected without opposition, From his earliest settlement in the country he took a leading part in all measures tending to the welfare of its citizens, and has had much to do toward shaping the affairs of this coast. He was a man of enlarged mind and noble charities, true to his friendships, kind in his disposition, and manly in his character. He possessed the elements of popularity in a high degree, being frank, sociable and courteous, and of unbounded hospitality. Naturally he was a man of quick perception, sensitive, high-minded, and of approved courage. Though owner at various times. of large property, and surrounded with a rude abundance, such had ever been his liberality in dealing, and so numerous his kind offices, that at no time was his condition one of financial independence. He was, moreover, a man of fine physical development, standing nearly six feet high, and well proportioned. He possessed regular features, and an intelligent, cheerful, good-natured counte

nance. His florid complexion and light-blue eyes indicated his active temperament and love of out-door pursuits. He died at his residence in Susanville, February fourteenth, 1869, after an illness of six days. He was buried with Masonic honors, and the following extract from the resolutions passed by the Lodge of which he was a member shows the esteem in which he was held, and finds an echo in every heart that knew him.

"In the death of Isaac N. Roop the Masonic Order has lost an ardent friend, one ever attached to its precepts, one whose heart and hand were ever open to the melting appeals of charity, whose benevolence, knowing no bounds, seemed to embrace the vast sea of humanity, whose generous will extended itself for the good of Masonry, and whose enlarged mind was ever impressed with the controlling tenets, Charity, Relief and Brotherly Love. The benevolent impulses, the charitable disposition, the generous promptings-emanations of a noble heart-the persevering will and manly attributes that adorned the intellect and character of Isaac N. Roop, will ever be deeply esteemed, fondly cherished and remembered by his brethren of Lassen Lodge.

THOMAS H. SELBY.

BY WILLIAM Y. WELLS.

XPERIENCE has shown that municipal affairs are never so faithfully administered as when removed from the control of professed politicians. A familiarity with party tactics, which has generally been deemed the steppingstone to National as well as State official preferment, is not essential to the well-being of a city which requires especially the exercise of common sense, economy, and executive ability. The qualities indispensable to the management of a large commercial firm are not less demanded in the governing head of a community, and the most successful rulers of American cities have been those who were chosen from among business men, irrespective of politics, and solely with reference to honesty and capability. Elected by the right influences, such men have usually been popular while in office, and, retiring, have carried with them the confidence and esteem of their fellow-citizens.

An illustration of this is found in the present Mayor of San Francisco, who has been for twenty years the head of one of her first commercial houses. Mr. Selby was born and educated in New York city. He was for some time a clerk with A. T. Stewart, having entered that establishment at the same time with the afterwards celebrated Cyrus W. Field. At the age of nineteen he was elected, after an exciting campaign, a director of the Mercantile

Library Association, of which he and his young friend Field were members.

On attaining his majority he commenced business for himself, in New York, and at twenty-five was a partner in an establishment with upwards of forty employés. After a few years the house, yielding to the financial pressure of that period, suspended; and its affairs having been temporarily arranged, Mr. Selby, taking upon himself the entire burthen of its debts, joined the tide of humanity then setting towards the Pacific Coast, with the sole and avowed object of paying off the liabilities of the firm.

Animated by this laudable purpose, the young man landed in San Francisco in August, 1849, and true to his resolve he devoted the proceeds of his business to settling up the indebtedness. The profits of three years of lucrative speculation and trade were thus consumed. Like thousands of others, he had originally intended to return as soon as this obligation had been fulfilled; but, as it became evident that San Francisco was destined to be one of the world's emporiums-a grand commercial centre, with every inducement for a permanent location— he decided to cast his lot in California. In the summer of 1850 he erected a substantial brick building-still standing on the north side of California street, near Montgomery, which was one of the earliest of its kind in the city and attracted much attention at that time as a costly novelty in architecture. Here he established the present house of Thomas H. Selby & Co., and commenced the importation of metals and merchandise, which he has followed until the present time, under the same name and style, in connection with his New York partner, Mr. P. Naylor. One of the most active members of the First Presbyterian Society of San Francisco, he was especially influential in building their church on Stockton street, near Broadway, which was commenced in the fall of 1850. Services had originally been held in a tent, the Rev. Albert Williams officiating. The edifice, completed early in 1851, was destroyed by the great fire of that year, and was rebuilt in the same place. Many of the