Jenks' Portland gazette. Maine advertiser. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1802-1803, 1803-01-31
Scr ibis Gazette.
To a RUsTIc OBSERVER.

SIN,
IHAvE pcrufcd yonr attempt 10 detea
the errors, and expolc the partiality Of certain
ffatcments, SC. reipt Cling the county az York,
pubifhcd in the Portland Gazette. on the
sth OF October, over the fgnature Of n rrsH-
7vilSer tie County of York. Your profefed de-
hgn is truly laudable; but how you have fuc-
oeededfn the execution OF IL, nult be left 10 9TH
ers 10 decide. He. who undertakes 10 correct
the errors OF others, ought TO be very careful
not to commit many more than ne corrects.
AT fri w. had in contemplation to make
lome particular obfervstions on your CIRQUE
Gus and unfair quotations, from what you arc
plezfed to call VS. production, your tortur.
ing, twiaing and grofs milconitrucfioas of
p ain fentences-yofr auibing about the nle
Of the word Jcpsrat, pretending that when <p-
Piled 70 towns It nun mean * or feven, and
not All indefinite number of towns--your de-
llaration that only one town [Phitipf6urg)
had altered their minds ia favor Of n ennebunk,
without noticing that Coxhali had done the
fame-the imbecilty of the arguments which
YOU have adduced to prove that Berwick was
in favor of the removal of the Court from
Keruebunk to Alfred, and to efsbliih ieveral
other points but, upon further confederation,
w. thinks il bea to refer the trctholders In
the county to your performance and VS..
production; by comparing of which, they will
be able to Judge for themf@lves. And az to
yorr inisnuations Of improper dc6gns or Of
wiHful obfcurity of language, and your at
tempt to ridicuic w. by forming abfurd and
ludicrous fylosifms, and then Palming them
upon him; as thefe are very cheap things, and
very handy TO fill up the chain, where truth
and argument arc wanting, you will NOT e.
pea ferrous anlwer to them Therefore
iiall Immediately proceed 10 the confederation
of your aaiements.
The map OF the DiftriGf of Maine, "a far as
relates TO the leveral towns in the county Of
York below great Ofiipcr, is as accurate
as any thing Of the kind, founded upon the
furveys Of twenty dfferens furyeyors, could
reafonaby be expaGfed. However there are
divers errors in that map, fome ariGng from
one caufc and fone from another. 1t is pro-
! babe thar The rules Of ancient mcainre were
obfervra in iome innanres, while in Others
the rules Of exact acknowledgements were appi.
FL. Ana;sht mehfaration is f1ppcicd 10 ex-
coed The Preient at The rate of five Per eenr.
at ka,e W. has difcovered the following err
rors in the map The diffancc from Moulom
river by the meeting houfs. toKcnncbunl. riv-
er, Is laid down IN the map two hundI cd rods
roo florr. Morton river, near he meeting
houie. caeht TO have been laid down half
mile Dr. more further fouth weftwArd and the
Dseting-houfe ovght to have been placed
within one hundred rods of it. Berwick at
the head Is laid down about one mile too
I nlort, perhaps more, reckoning from ftair
falls on the river dividing Maine and New
Il. kit 4.
Arundel, IL .uppotcd TO be laid down three
quarters Of mile too hort, as it ought 70 be
| fix miles according to sncieRt meafsre. A.
/ runJcl ID zoo fllort at tic head. Wells Bay,
| as laid down III the map, wants about a miic
in depth. w fupPcies that many of theic
I errors assel as iome others a'oic from inil-
/ takes IN the furveys CT the river dividing be-
! tween Ncwhamplhire and Maine, or Saco
! river, or both 70 as that there was not fGf-
( foient roonl 10 allow every town IT'S fall mea-
! fore ia the map. As TO the fes COAT, taxing
| all the towns together the map appears to be
! very accurate; bat the roads are laid down
in the map 70 very mac curately, that in calcu-
I lating alliances little or no dependence caa
/ be placed on them. Therefore, w. in his
calculations made allowance for thole errors
| hut you have made no fuoh allowance, bur
| appear, % a. as refpeets Alfred, TO have a.
| dopted various rules, which you have not ap-
| Piled TO HennebUnk. In your firm rule you
have adopted direa diltance from Alfred
to the csater of population, without any
! regard 20 roads which you have applied to
| Biddelorc. In yonr fscond rule you have
| adopted di.ef di(fsncc, and fubfttuted the
CENTER Of territory inlead OF the Center of po-
! puiation which YOU have applied to Arun-
del. IN your third rule YOU adopt the road
I, as laid down in .he map which you apply
10 Berwick, York, sc. in your fourth rule
| (Which is the on.y right one you have hit
| upon) you have adopted the real alliances in
p,flable roads which you have applied 70
the dilfance between Kennebonk and Alfred,
&c. 1t is evident, that w. aimed, in Rating
diitances, to Gate them as they were found to
be, in roads paiIable with hCrfes and carri-
ages with tolerablc convenience, 10 the center
of population Of each town, according to no.
| rizontal mcafurc However, when w. made
his aatement, he did not know of any DAD
Leading from D Adeford to Alfred, faving one
through part OF Marlborough. ard the other
| by Kennebunk and as he luppofcd the road
by Kcnnebunk was the lior,eit and bet, he
ftated the diltance accordingly bur fnee w.
finds that there is a rough road leading from
Biddeford through Cozhall, IN very circuit
Gus manner to Alfred, and in that road the
diltance is about fcventeen miles |; altho that
road is not pa1able with hories and carriages;
yet, in favor of Alfred, he is willing that the
diftanes ihould be Gated at feventeen miles
but not at thirteen miles, the direct diltance
according 10 the map. IF you, Mr.. O. had
made proper allowance for error in the map,
il is fuppofed, you would have lta,ed the d.