Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1859-05-20
$50 A YEAR IN ADVANCE.

|
her of passengers will be more than twenty
five thousand. know, sir, that allowance.
are TO Re made. understand that this road
will not at once be extended 10 Woodstock
and until that is done it will not command
30 much of the Provincial traffic and travel.
| know that portion of this population il
remote. know that part is French; but,
sir, these drawbacks are compensated by che
great amount Of business transacted in that
great basin BY those not resident in that
country. The amount of freight from Aroos-
took and TO Aroostook will be largely, an
excess over either Of the roads Of which !
have srcLon. How much cannot tell and
no one can until the experiment is fairly
tried. This railroad will multiply popula-
tion, trade and traffic immensely up the val.
ley of the Mattawamkeag and in Aroostook.
Mr.. Speaker, twenty-five millions uf dol
lars are invested in railroads between Bangor
and Boston, and all of this capital deeply in.
terested IN the construction Of this link be.
tween Mattawamkeag and the boundary
Sixty millions of dollars are invested in Can
ada and in the Grand Trunk in this State,
and they who represent this capital are in
terested that this link shall be speedily COM
pleted.
Sir, when the first division OF this trunk
line extending from Milford to Mattawam-
keag has been completed by the people of the
East and put into successful operations they
have done all it was the design and scope Of
this bill they should do. understand, sir,
that there is not much risk, but that the
second division of this road will earn the
thirty-6ve thousand annual interest to be
paid the State to meet the interest on her
bonds. But whatever that risk may be,
whether more or less, the first division can
not and ought not assume it. BY the bill
the first division is mortgaged to the STATE
for the payment of it. But whether the
company will proceed to build the second d.
vision and receive from the State her bonds
is optional with them. Before they will
consent to do so they ought and must receive
suitable guarantees from other parties inter
ested IN the construction Of this link that
its net earnings shall amount to thirty-fve
thousand dollars annually. The first division
is holden to the State for the payment of this
annual interest; but to the railroads who are
to receive the benefit OF this immense travel
from these lower Provinces belongs the duty
to guarantee the first division that the sec
ond shall earl the thirty-hve thousand dol
lars from the start. This the railroads from
Bangor to Boston and the Canadian rail
roads can easily do and will readily do. It,
would probably be amply sufficient if these
roads would carry the passengers which pass
over the second division at cost until it Was
demonstrated it would pay.
1t is well known that the actual cost Of
transportation of passengers is one-half cent
per mile. To illustrate. If the sec nd d.
vision shall receive five dollars for the trans
portation Of a passenger from the boundary
to Boston but one dollar and twenty cents
out of that sum shall be Iaid to the other
roads. Sir, know from high authority,
both in this State and out Of 1t, that this ar
rangement can be made, and if that il not
sufficient that other reliable guarantees will
be given. This work, sir, must and will go
on.
Mr.. Speaker. it is undeniably true that
the land upon the great rive which sur
round New England Is superior 70 that with
in her borders. There is o wide difference
between the fertility Of the land on the Hud-
son, the St. Lawrence and the St. John, and
that of New England which slops directly
towards our coast. Here it IS OF granite for
nation strown up high above the level Of
the sea- There, except upon portion OF
the Hudson, it is Of limestone nnd slate for.
nation and far less elevated. Lake Erie has
an elevation Of only two hundred and fifty
teet above the sea- and the valley OF the St
Lawrence below the Lake is far lcss. We all
understand the influence of high elevation
upon climate and temperature. Humboldt,
an undisputed authority, estimates an eleva-
ton Of two hundred and seventy feet equiva-
lent 10 degree Of latitude. To this hc
L. 81 "a oI. l.
country, Prussia, which is further North
than Aroostook. The basin of the st. John
approaches on the Northwest near that OF
the St. Lawrence, and its soil partakss Of
some of its general features. The mean ele-
vation OF the valley of Aroostook is not
more than FIVE hundred feet above the level
OF the sea. while that Of Oxford, franklin
and Somerset is more than one thousand
feet.
When you pass the watershed which di-
vides the flow OF the water between the St
John and the Penobscot you find the charac-
ter of the soil changed. You find it what is
called the secondary formation and resting
on slate and limestone. This quality no,
only imparts fertility but warmth n the
soil.
So much has been said and written upon
the character and fertility Of the soil o
Aroostook that need not occupy your time
in enlarging upoa this topic. In point o,
fact and in the estimation Of the public it i.
| the garden ef New England.
Examine the present position Of Aroostook *
wiun .ur, .s...ss ~ its advantages for innr.di-
ate settlement and the influence "r y rail
road wouiI - i;krly to exert in giving
! strength and rapiditv to 1t. ir ,.e p ~.rla
! OF Aroostook had been laboring for the las,
, twenty years to prepare it for that purpose
its present advantages could not hav. been
much improved That portion of it which
lies East ofthe seventh range line is rndoubt.
edly as whole the best land. Obs.rve that
a highway from the South line of the county
extends about one hundred and Fifty miles
to the Northern boundary of the State. .thenc.
Easterly along the same boundary about for.
ty-tiye miles until it intersects with another
road running southerty near our f E,sterr
boundary to Houlton, and from thence to
the place of beginning, forming almost MI
oblong square entirely surrounded by Roads
This part Of Aroostouk including the land on
the two hong sides contiguous to and conve-
nent to these roads contains about four tl,on-
sand five hundred square miles on about thr,t
millions of acres. This square has other
roads penetrating it in various directions
with towns, Villages and settlements scatter
ed over it.
I The emigrant is not compelled to go re-
mote from the comforts and conveniencs o
civilized life. With this railroad tn. prin-
cipal town in that county is within six hours
OF tide water and in direct line towards tn,
great markets oil the country. The position
| Of this country will be most commanding -