Lincoln telegraph. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1836-1846, 1841-08-19
- oil tital.
TO THE HON. JOHN FAIRFlELD.

tanned an appropriation of $40 900 10 meet and sus
tain the expenses of the civil posse No other ap-
preparation made for this purpose. The
Legislature very wisely deemed this sum ample for
the purposes in view, and when 1t was ascertained
that the civil process Of the state was resisted, and
that the Land Agents force, which in the first iu-
stance consisted Of 200. were not able to sustain
Sheriff Strickland. in the service of the precepts
against the trespassers with which he was charged,
the Legislature deemed that an exigency had arisen
which demanded the employment of military
force instead of civil force, which the Land Agent
was authorized to employ by the Resolve of Janu-
ary oath Although that Resolve was not rescnd-
cd, the powers and duties of the Land Agent as
prescribed by that Resolve, were never extended
and enlarged but on the contrary. the Legislature,
by the Resolve of Feb. goth, 1889, devoIycd the
duty upon the Executive of s;atoning military
force sat The Aroostook, west of the boundary line
as established by the treaty of 1888; and on the 'iv
er 81 John, iffound practicable and appropriated
Eight hundred thousand doars"for the purpose Of
enabling the Executive to carry out tho purposes Of
the foregoing Resolve, and the Resolve passed Jan.
oath, 1885,"
When the Legislative were informed that the
Land Agent had failed to arrest, break up and dis
perse the trespassers the disputed territory, and
that his party resisted in the execution of their
duty, they by their Resolve of Feb. goth, changed
the character of the expedition from the employ
ment ola civil, 10 military force, and transferred
the duty from the Land Agent to the Executive
And the appropriation of $60oG0o was made to ena-
bic the Executive, by the employment of military
force, to protect the public lands and carry out the
purposes of the Resolve of Jan. 24lh. 1889. Could
language have been explicit in prescribing
your duty? You were required 10 carry into effect
the Resolve Of Jan oath, by the employment Of
military forces and it was not till the exlgency had
ceased which required the employment of military
force. that you were authorized to leave the military
posts on the Aroosook and ST John rivers in charge
Of the Land Agent and his posse. BY what author
ity and upon what grounds then did you apply mon
les specifically appropriated TO one expenditure to
another and entirely different !? You had an
unquestionable right TO draw your warrants for
$4,000. for the expenses incurred by the Land
sum and no more appropriated for that SPECIFIC
object, and at that point the expenditures for that
service should have ceased, for to tina, point only
were they authorized and provided for by appropris-
tons by the Legislature. The subsequent appro-
pration was for the employment of military
force, by the Erecutire, to carry into effect the
specific object, which the employment of the civil
posse under the Land Agent had most signay failed
to accomplish Were you in such hot haste that
you could not stop to examine the extent Of your
authority and powers? Or did you suppose it could
make difference to the State how the Ss00,0OO
were expended, provided you got rid of it in tina,
glorious service 70 the ardor Of hot headed zeal
something may be excused, but of the Chief Magis-
trate of the State, calm deliberation, common pru-
dence and sagacity are expected and required. You
were amenable to the law in the discharge Of yvus
Executive duties, as we'll as the humbest Of your
specific object for which they appropriated. to
another object which you might deem of equal inn
portance, was gross and palpable breach of duty.
Bn, were you really entirely ignorant of tbs
effect of your measures, as 10 suppose it could
make no difference to the State, whether the mon
eys appropriated for the emplo, men of military
force, under the Executive, to repel actual and
threatened invasion of the territory of the STATE,
expended in,pursuance Of the appropriation, or
expended in the employment of civil posse
under the Land Agent' The Legislature seemed 10
have more wisdom, and prescribed the course which
you should have adopted and carried out Had you
done so, the whole of the expenditure for the
Aroostook war would have been placed on The
same footing, and should have had our claim on
the General Government for the whole Of that ex-
pepdirure, except the $4,000 appropriated for The
employment Of the civil posse. TWAS through your
short-sighted, lnconsiderae, needless mismanage-
men of affairs that the State is saddled irretreva-
repel actual and threatened invasion of our territory.
when the whole burden should have been thrown
upon the General Government For if the ezgen-
cy justified you in employing military force at all,
it demanded ofyou the employment of mit'ry
force sufficient and adequate to meet the emergency,
That you were exceedingly valorous and billicoss
upon the occasion, will deny. but that you did
not nantes: that sound sense. sagacous and states
man-ike views of the true interests Of the State
which the occasion required, is no less palpable.
do not charge upon you an intentional breach of
official duty in using the funds. which were express
" appropriated to sustain military force, to main