Maumee express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1837-1838, 1837-10-21

saw proper)after it was ascertained that
the line here spoken of did not embrace
the mouth Of the Maumee river. AS
soon as Ohio became an Independent state
she extended her jurisdiction as far north
as the most northery cape of the Miami
Bay" which for some years afterwards
was not objected to by Michigan, as her
population at that time was but small,
and the territory, which has since be-
came in dispute, was not regarded by her
as a very valuable acquisition to either
party. Toledo at this period was not
known, the ground on which this won.
derful city now stands was called Port
Lawrence.
In those days the taxes on real and
personal property were much less in Mi
chigan than in Ohio; and one of the set
tiers of Port Lawrence, who has since
figured very conspicuously in the 1ole-
do war, actually resisted the laws Of O.
hio, and solicited the protection of Michi.
gan. Jeremiah, when he breathed forth
his lamentations said, 81 called upon thy
name, o Lord, out of the low dungeon"
and this same major Stickney was
compelled in few years afterwards,
when he found it little more advanta-
geous for his pecuniary concerns, to be-
come an inhabltant of Ohio than longer
support the laws of Michigan-to cry out
to Governor Lucas, "here am peeping
through the gates OF loathsome pris-
on"
Time at length revealed to both Mich
igan and Ohio the great resources of the
Maumee and then came the struggle of
who should possess the little strip Of
land, which but few years before was
hardly conceived worth contending for.
Michigan, on her part, claimed the prop
erty by right of possession, and also on
the ground that no legislative action had
been had on the subject by Congress
whereby the ownership had devolved
on Ohio. The question on the part of
Michigan was purely matter Of right
and wrong. Not so with Ohio. A large
number of wealthy influential men, Iiv-
ing in & out ofthe State, who had purcha-
sed property where Toledo now stands,
foresaw that by agitating the question
Michigan might be deprived Of the ter
ritory in dispute, and large sums ofmon-
ey realized out of the sale Of their city
lots. The reader who is acquainted with
the geographical situation of Toledo,
will, perhaps, ask why property would
become more valuable having this terri
tory in Ohio than in Michigan. The rea-
son is very obvious. At the time this
question was in agitation the termination
of the great Wabash and Erie Canal
was not decided upon, and the owners of
Toledo property we're aware that by
getting into Ohio, some undcrhanded
game could easily be played whereby
the State might be duped into the unne-
cessary expense of constructing fifteen
or twenty miles of worthless canal, for
the sake Of gratifying them in their swim
ding propensities. Such has been the
final conclusion of their great flourish OF
trumpets and tin horns. Not only those
who were the original proprietors of the
town property of Toledo have realized
handsome fortunes, out Of their specula-
tions, but others were found corrupt
enough to "take the responsibility"
the Wabash and Erie Ca
nal, for the express purpose Of advan-
cling their own personal interest. Wei
do not say that all of them acted upon
this principle, but we do know that part
of them are heavily interested in Toledo
and Manhattan property. How are
these speculations to prove advanta-
geous in the endl BY spending several
thousand dollars of the peoples
money to create kind of superficial val
ue 10 their lots. This has been brought
about by men in high authority, and I
Michigan by the means has lost the best {
natural harbor on Lake Erie, all for the
sake of gratifying their own selfish mo-
lives. Perhaps some will be inclined to
dispute these statements, but look at the I
state of this public work. Look at Maui
NEE, one Of the finest rivers in Gods r
world-a river whose bosom is daily a
ploughed by the largest steam and sail t
vessels that float on the waters of Lake G
Erie; and then look at one of its banks t
md there behold man, mere pigmy as
t were, QTDIGoING A DITCH IN c
TO thwart the original designs 1
If the Almighty. The only Importance u
hat appears to be attached to this work, n
It the present time, is its completion .
between Manhattan and the foot of the 4
'apids. The entire line between the d
lead of the rapids and the Indiana state v