Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1857-03-25
OTTAWA COUNTY SEAT.

Liz. loCdIiOu VI 1hO SsPioo' " ''S~''''t>gO
ty-tho place where the public buildings, SO
much needed; are to be erected-is to be de-
cided BY the vote Of the electors on Monday
the 9Th Of April next 1t win doubtless be a
final decision as it ought to be. Before vot-
ing on that occasion it is properly the duty
of every elector to weigh well the various
considerations which present themselves OF
the subject and compare themlwith the loca7
tions from which they are to select. To aid
the deliberations of our fellow citizens on this
important question we will present a list OF
what we deem points by which to test the
two locations under, consideration and from
which the county is to select
l. Facility of access from those parts Of the
county which are, and which are likely to
continue the most populous ''
II. Proximity to that portion Of the county
where criminal business is most likely to a.
rise -rrf SOL yIG rli
III. Proximity mot only to the residences
of the inhabitants, but to the localities where
men are mostly employed. iag HG
Nv. Convenience in business point of
view: enabling persons when travelling on
county business to transact their own private
business at the same time and without addi-
tional expence. ft
V. Economy in county expenditure.
vi. Convenience for public scrutiny of
the doings of cohnty officers either by the
press or the people.
VII. Proximity to Lawyers and other pro-
fessional men, witnesses &C., necessarily re-
quired in all cases of legal process, to avoid
exrence to litigants and delay in the prose-
cution Of suits in Court.
VIII The convenience ofthat portion ofthe
population most likely to be engaged in cases
of litigation
TX Accommodation for the judges, jurors,
lawyers, litigants witnesses & others at reaso-
nable charges without being subject to the
exhorbitant demands for Board, always made
where there is little or no competition.
x. Proximity to that portion of the county
which pays the largest amount OF taxes and
which has the highest assessment.
These may not be all, but it must be ad-
mitted that they are the principal advantages
which the location selected for a county seat
ought to possess The question therefore
which every voter should decide before ap-
preaching the ballot box next Monday week
is, does Grand Haven or Eastmanvle possess
the greatest number of these advantages? Let
us see:
I. Facility Of access from those parts Of
the county which are, and which are likely
10 continue the most oopulous.-That the
Lake shore is and must continue to be the
most populous part of Ottawa county scarcely
admits doubt. We know it is said that il
is not the richest soil, and that the eastern
portion presents the best inducements to the
farmer. This we freely admit. But this in
stead Of being an argument in favor of the
idea that population will be greatest on the
eastern side of the county is an argument ir
fovor of the very opposite opinion. When
the vast forest of Pine and Hemlock' which
now makes the western portion of the county
attractive to the lumberman is cleared off
and it will be many years before this can bc
done, manufactures will spring up all along
the lake shore. Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit
and other cities with which Grand Haven vii
be in cheap communication will find tina
land and labor can be obtained there cheaper
than in those cities and the cost of freight
being low, all kinds Of manufactures can bt
produced here cheaper, including the trans
portation, than in cities where lots are higf
and living so expensive as to render higl
wages imperitive. And what causes a po
pulation to increase so much as the establish
ment of manufactures? A farmer with I
single family will generally occupy 100 acre
Of land, perhaps more, seldom less. But le
a capitalist take 160 acres of land and star
boundary, a cabinet mandatory, woolei
or cloth works or any Of the numerou
branches of mechanical business for which on
western coast is SO we'll adapted, and what j
the result? A village of thriving and indus
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