The Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1818-1824, 1819-07-20
FOR SEPARATION.


Maine wealth sufficient to maintain ssp..
rate gosernment Before show The asIir-
, ma,iVe OF this proposition to be a5undantly
tue, canuo, fcrbear comment upon The
language OF the opposition. Reasoning |
| canpo. cell it--and had such mere decIama-
non appeared in the Argus upon any other
subject, il would very Justly be called g dtni-
ocronc slang" refer to the terms OF sep
ara,ion, as disclosed in The late act upon
that subject. The opponents say, .. it
regards oqF portion OF Inc public properly,
II is nothing" meagerness itself" They
would have it, that the whole Common
wr-i1a, Is rich even 10 ovet flowing in pecu
Aiasy means !; and in the same breath, that
her treasury is actually insoiOcnt, and til at
Maine will have noth,ng to receive, but
will have one third of the deficit 10 pay, az
Ter We are separated. Now sir, it is fact
a moral Certainty, that we shall receive for
one Sd part nearly 100000 dollars, and
which these very opponents well know. or
may know, if they viii inquire. at the hroher
source of Information uton this subject and
IN Case our claim against the u. >. on &C.
count of expenses du,ing the late war is
allowed, and we tederalisis say, tina, il ought
and will De dkogued, we shall receive SOC, 900
dofs. matchmaking total 81 haJf a NTH on
dollars.
As 10 our resources -four million acres
OF wild lands, q. least, we have; saw at
keast, because the better opinion is, that one
halfof oil the wild Isnds will not fall short
OF 8 million acres. 1t was for our interest,
and the Maine representatives in the iegis-
lature well knew it, not TO magnify The
quantity of land it had been, we should
not have had sett off TO US, for one quarter
part of the public buildings in old Massa-
chusetts, great quantity, which with Our
quarter OF the lands, would have been suili-
Client TO make up one half of the whole
quantity. Hence the wisdom and sound
policy 10 reduce the quantity in forming an
estimate eli the lands
But, sir, we have no doubt, Is million
acres wild lands In Maine belonging to the
Commonwealth, one half of which will be
ours; the opposition estimate them at this
In Mr.. Greenleafs statistical view OF
the District Of Name, he says, from the
best calculation, they will not fall short OF
that quantity. This little book discovers
great research and ability, in the author,
upon this subject, and is we'll worth the
attention OF all, who deny the resources Of
the District, s. are SO prone TO undervalue
every thing in Maine. How shall We be
able to sell any of our waste and fertile
tracts of lands? Upon this subject Mr..
Gteenleat says, the rapidly and extent Of
the sales ioduced The legislature in the year
1895 10 suspend the power OF selling except
so tar, as 10 complete the contracts, then
made From 1885 TO 1912 The Common
wealth sold of the public lands 4,08o,292
acres at the very low price, even then, OF 90
CTS. per acre upon an average, amour ting
to SSlS 69I,l4. Beside these sales, the
Commonwealth have made other grants 70
a very great amount. Mr.. G. further SAY ;,
" almost every enterprise o. public nature
has claimed and very generally received, a
liberal share of Legislative patronage in
grants OF Eastern lands" lhesc grants
every body knows were made "with the
right OF selecting, at the Onion Of the gran
fees, on, fany of the unappropriated lands :
OF course they chose the best, they could
find. The whole quantity granted in this
way by Massachusetts is l274,693 acres.
This, It will be remembered, has been Civ
en- away, aud with that, which has been
sold makes the whole amount of land alien
ated by the Commonwealth within about 50
years, Five million three hundred and six
" thousand, nine hundred and eighty five
acres, which, at 90 cts. per acre, amounts
10 One million, Seventy two thousand, one
hundred aud ninety seven dollarS-one half
of which sum, more than half a million of
dollars would have belonged 10 us. But it
will be SAID, that part of these grants was
for the promotion of literature and science
in the endowment OF academies, and litera-
ny ins'itutoDs':-be ii so but DO these
academies and other institutions benefit the
common and lower classes of people for
whose interests the opposition profess SO
great concern? suitable number OF
them, at proper distances, | admit 10 be
very desirable: bur the multiplicity Of them
al present defeats the very objects OF their
institution they depreciate 10 mere COM
mon schools.-but give 10 our acadc mics
all their desired importance do they bsne-
FL the common class OF people in Maine !
NOT in the lras. degree. The mode OF
obtaining grant of township. or half
township ofland, for an academy is this -
individuals engage TO furnish the means Of
erecting building, providing piece OF
land Tor its accommodation &C. they then
apply 10 the legislature for grant Of
portion of our wild lands 10 be located,