The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-01-23
"Blue eye, beauty;
Black eye, pick q pie;
Gray eye, gleedy"-


son took measures to make good his gallant
declaration that the Union should be preserv-
ed. We have had to deal with these fellows
once again since Jackson's time, and once
again they have submitted. Let them beware
of the third time. Dq t2Ll'asH hfh s'nae.,3i
-Issh Do blll io II0lED. DDS ~ hain3 Ild
The Rights of Private Property. al
The bill granting additional powers to the
Kennebec Manufacturing Company came be-
fore the House Of Representatives at Augusta
last Friday, and passed to be engrossed by a
vote OF SO to 6. The telegraph has already
reported that Gen. Shepley voted and spoke
against the bill. The following synopsis ofhs
remarks will show that his opposition was
based on clear distinction in law, though
perhaps many readers will believe with Col.
Frye, of Lewiston, that he was Theoretically
right but practically in error" We copy from
the Kennebec journal: ssgtfa 'lt7
Mr.. Shepley, Of Portland, remarked that he
wished to call the attention of the House 10
this bill, which has thus far passed unchallenc-
ed, as it Introduces a new feature in our Iegis-
lation and is the inauguration OF a new State
policy, and enc to which he was altogether
opposed. Heretofore it has been the policy OF
the Legislature to respect the rights OF private
property and to allow compulsory process
tor the purchase and sale of real estate only in
cases where such land is needed Tor a public
use. The right OF Eminent Domain is one
carefully guarded by the onstitution, and
only in the particular class of cases named has
there been any authority given ior a person or
corporation to fefcibly take and occupy lands.
Those uses have been for the laying out OF
roads and public highways, for railroads and
canals so lar open TO the public as to allow any
person to make use ofthem on the payment OF
tolls. The proposition now is to give this
right to private corporation, to invade pri-
vate rights for the erection OF mills. Practi,
cally, the policy is this: If A. b. owns small
mill privilege and his wealthy neighbor needs
or thinks he needs, the site tor a large cotton
factory, he goes to the Legislature and asks
that he may have authority to take, by com
pulsory means, the mill site, on The ground
that he intends to build alarger mill which
will be OF more benefit to the community
That is, that weak and poor man shall be
compelled to sell his property to rich and
| powerful person or corporation, not tor public
but for private purposes, and not, as usual, at
price agreed upon by the parties, but at a
| price determined by referees. 10 this priuci-
pie he was opposed. He earnestly desired the
prosperity OF Augusta and the success of the
enterprise in which it is now engaged; but he
| could not vote to insure it by sacrifice of in
dividual rights. He did not think it necessary
| even; and deemed it tar better that exorbitant
demands should be complied with than that
| this dangerous principle should be admitted
into our legislation. ois1.s .ss sllli s4.g az
In ply to Mr.. Stevens, Mr.. Shepley said he
was sorry the gentleman from Augusta could
not help regarding an opposition to a special
feature OF legislation asked for as an attack OF
the system of manufactures. Because he could
not at once bring his mind to favor new pol
icy OF sacrificing the private rights OF one man
to the desires OF another, that gentleman af-
fects to consider him an enemy TO the manu-.
featuring interests. He brings up the spectre
of Shepard Cary to frighten us. His zeal re-
minded the speaker of scene in the u. s.
Senate when alter a Senator from North Car.
DINA, patheticaliy appealing to his colleagues
not TO pass certain clause in the Kansas Ne.
braska bill prohibiting the Introduction ol
| slaves, mOaned out that be could not take his
poor old "Mammy" with him to Kansas. an.
other Senator, from New Hampshire, well
known for his dry humor, replled that his
| friends did not object to the Senator taking
his old Nanny to Kansas, but they wanted
| to prevent him from selling her after he had
taken her there. So he did not object to the
development of the water power,-he was in
favor OF it,-but he did not wish that it should
be developed by the corporation stealing pri.
vate property. He simply opposed what he
deemed dangerous feature. If the gentle.
man from Augusta could convince him that il
| was fair and equitable measure, he was will
ing to be convinced. Hitherto it has been al
lowed for private corporations to take only
such property as they could purchase at an
| agreed price. Now it is proposed that this
corporation shall be allowed to take it by force
at compulsory price. He spoke at some
| length ON the question whether this is pub
lie use, contending that it was not, inasmuch
as its benefits are not open to all. 1t is pri-
vate corporation proposing to do certain things
for its own private wealth, and it would be as
reasonable to say that the erection OF wool
len mill was public use of property as that
the tailor who made the cloth into clothing
was in public business, and as well grant to
him authority to take a house for shop, or a
hotel keeper to take your dwelling house fol
an inn, tc grant such powerto this company
He quoted from the acts cited by Mr.. Stew
ems as evidence that this principle is not novel
in Maine Legislation. The canal on Orson
Island, which the Penobscot Lumber Asso-
citation was authorized to construct was fol
the general use OF all who had lumber to
drive, and not for the private gam OF private
corporation alone. Ihe drainage law cited
was a general one, and if Tom Snooks was
obliged to let Mr.. Smith build dam across
his land, he could drain through MIR. Smiths
land as well. In the case OF the Presumpscot
Company, he wished to call the attention o.
the House to two facts. He admitted that by
the terms of that charter the rights here ask
ed were partially granted. II he had been Z
member OF the Legislature which gave thu
charter he should have opposed that feature
as strongly as he did this. But it viii be eyi
dent from reading OF the act that the insti
gator OF it was Francis o. j. Smith, he beins
the first named cOrporator; and il appeared
in evidence last year before the Railroad Com
mittee that though the Company had peye
been organized, Mr.. Smith had exercised, II
its name, the powers therein granted. iii,
last section OF the act also shows that though
the extraordinary power was granted it wa
carefully guarded. He read from the charte
to show this. This is not guarded at all. I,
that case, too, the rights OF the property hold
ers were only riparian rights under the oh
colonial ordinance. Here the owners held tn,
fee simple.
The gentleman from Augusta anotes Chic
Justice Shaw to show that the Legislature hat
the right to declare this public use. He hat
never denied the right OF the Legislature t
do so, but questioned the policy and the util
/ ily. III Jnc case lie mas cIteu, the LaWfenct
dam was to improve the navigation of til,
Merimac river as well as to afford water powe
for manufacturing. In this case the dam il
built already ~. -.... .F
The necessity of this bill was also question
| ed All our great manufacturing cities, Lew
iston, Biddeiord, and Saco have been bull
without it and he questioned whethe, ther
was any great demand for this provision now
In conclusion, Mr.. Shepley indicated him
self from the charge Of opposition to mann
factures. He had no defence to make b,,t
gentlemen would look at the record of N
Legislature Of 1880 they would see 10 who's
advocacy was due the existence of some i'm
portant enterprises, and that the cbarne of or
position to manufactures did not come we
rom the kennebtc delegation orany mem
j TO RELIEVE A CoUGH.-This is the seasnl
for colds and colds are the forerunners of con
sumption. Attend seasonably to the first,
| you would avoid the last. For years we have
found the following preparation the best fol
the cure or relief of a cough that we have
ever tried: Take two ounces oi fiaxseed, TWO
ounces stick liquorice, half pound brown su
oar. half pound raisins, one quart Of cider