The Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1818-1824, 1819-07-20
f" INDEPENDENCE OF MAINE"
or me art Of Liuiny ty our ait


INDEPENDENCE OF MAINE"
or ME arr q Aviay BY our .sits.
MR.. SHIRLEY,
have lately found out what's meant by the
" independence Of Maine" which has become
very common expression among certain class Of
men. The meaning is this, that Maine shall
give up her property to Massachusetts, and live
oy her wits. Now in one sense It is very an ie-
pendent thing 10 live by visit frees the
mind from any anxiety about the loss of property
this is the case with an individual, and why
should il not be % with a state?
The separation law appears to me to be rare
specimen OF the Ingenuity ofthose who are to et-
feet the : independence Of Mainen i'll under
stand It right, are still to hold very close
fellowship with our old companion hassachu-
sets, who is to be as familiar among US, as
family companion, and to go snacks with us, and
large snacks too, as fully and as freely she ev-
or has, and little more 50. Not In every par
t,ct ar indeed, for we are to have the enchanting
society Of the Penobscot indians all to ourselves,
and that too for the mere trhe of two or three
thousand dollars year. and some little presents
which are not worth naming.
But then Massachusetts, is to have very fine
plantations among us, and to keep up good I'M
Outstanding with US without charging us any
thing for il. This will be very gracious; and we
Il
in such good society, 50 long as we have the
blessed privilege Of ltrmg By our ,otts.
| Now should not have understood what this
/" independence Of Maine' means if l had not
had the good luck TO look into that learned, and
| able and humorous competition commonly CALI
ed the separation law, and to have observed
some ingenious comments upon it by certain
great critics, who, for want of better name (and
they could hardly get a better have subscribed
their performance in this manner PORTLAND JU-
LIZ 1Sl9.-The figures 10 this admirable perfor-
nance, both rhetorical and numerical, are high
| ly sparkling. Ii it had been written in poetry
and set to the tune of the :. Governors Coach
| am persuaded it would have been great aid
\ 70 Us in hung By o1r ariis. II would then have
taken the popular name of the : Governors
Coach" and commanded great audience at an
| exhibition, " tickets so cents--chidren hall
price"
There Is no computation however in this per-
! formance of the net yearly value Of an Indian
although there are some elegant touches in rela-
ton to paupers; and believe no after rea-
4 ding it will have the assurance to deny that a
pauper is pauper. Yet there can be no great
hazard in assuming the fact that hale, able
| bodied Indian of the niusculne gender m y be
4 fairly valued at the price of a bears skin, and a
| Papocse AT the price OF 2 mink skin. This value
| is derived from the art Of hunting and forms a
| part Of the grand mass Of means secured to US o!
living by our wits. In this particular it is very
clear Massachusetts, has not acted with her ac-
customed policy. beg leave here, upon the
above assured value (and certainly no man of
! candor will deny its correctness) to make state
ment, showing the comparative value between
the indians and the public property in Massachu-
sets. II will be proper however before going
into detail to state that male indians only are
| be brought into the computation for it is well
| known that the females cannot with any propri-
ETY. be considered in the reckoning; and candor
! iorbids that | should assume any disputable
! ground on this important subject.
therefore proceed first to the value Of the In
| dams by the following computation -
| 5000 able bodied at $4,000 bear
'k Pap snnes say 10000, mink do. $4,000
/ fetal, 100000
I 1t Is needless to go further into detail any
| one can finish the proposed comparison /; and all
| intend to prove " this calculation Is that the
! Indians are great bargain. They appear to be
1 worth, on the above computation just a million
| and a half annually, and the man that presumes
| to deny it ! pronounce to be an incorigible
Ounce.
! The criticism before alluded to has proved ey-
cry thing else that is necessary on this important
1 SUBJECT, III tney nave mauB no uiSLdhe III lIlSll
rules of arithmetic--that is to say II they have
| kept to the good old rule Of the Brunswick Con-
| yentien, then they are clearly right upon the
| great doctrine of ''the Independence Of Maine"
| or the art Of living by our wits. ...
The criticism is q master piece on every SUBJ
iect it touches. II speaks OF our fellow citizens,
having il in their power 10 make fortunes as it
were AZ dash, bv only voting rightly ON the
question Of : the ependsnce Of Maine."-
Certainly. can doubt it \. Fortunes are
70 be made by single vote-great fortunes,
AS to myself do not much expect that stand
in niger estimation than some other Of my fellow
citizens. | an humble man, aad If it were
not TO crafty my frends rather than myself |
should decline being candidate for Office. Yet
ifmy Eeilowoitizens from The specimens of calcu-
iations and computations which have here Civ
en- should insist on my humble services. should
consider ungratefli to decline their confidence.
They may therefore always command my feeble
services IN the work of figures DC. 10 conf JUNCTION
and good fellowship with = Portland July 1919.
A MAN OF FIGURES,
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