The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-09-02
Correspondence.


Down East.
GREAT NUMBERING ESTABLISHMENT OF AL
ExANDER GIBsoN-PRovINCIAL FEEL
INN ANENT ANNEXATION.
FREDERICTON, N. B., Aug. %. 1865.
At Nashwauk, three miles from frederieA-
ton, upon an affIuent of the ST. John coming
in from the north aud carrying Voluihe Vi
water equal to the Saco, lives Aiexahuer oio-
son, Esq, the great lumber KING Oh Inc prov
ince. We were allowed to 60 over his ele-
CANT house. finished, frescoed, upholstered
and supplied with bathrooms, library, smok-
ine-room, MUSHROOM, &C., with paintings
and bronze statues, and other luxulies and
conyeniences. We we're hurried from look
ing over Don Quixote with Dore', ilustra-
tiOns, to go and see the mills The dam is
fifty rods from the house. 1t forms an elbow
across the stream. Four gangs under one
roof are built upon its lateral side, and one
gang with large grist mill upon the channel
directly down stream. Here 10000 ieet OF
spruce deals are manufactured daily, about
40 millions a year. Above the dam row OF
piers, solidly built of stone and timber, about
100 feet apart, extend for mile up the mid
die of the stream. The booms are attached
to these enabling logs to be picked out ac-
cording to lengths and sizes all that distance.
Mr.. Gibson owns all the timber lands of val
which he has under lease. His own lots
have not yet been cut upon since his pur-
chase. The water was said to be low, but
the saws were flashing through the qulyerlng
logs at a rate that made the men jump to
keep along with them. There is no expense
after a log falls apart in planks, each one is
thrown upon the table, edged and squared,
and rushes out of the mill over rollers and a
slip into the stream, down which it goes with
its own motion. Men collect them in rats
at the junction and the masted wood boats
the only kind OF craft that prevails on the
river, take them along side of ships loading
for Liverpool in the harbor at st. John city.
In addition to all the immense supply of his
own mills, Mr.. Gibson has this year nearly
all the steam mills upon the main river at
work for him, and when we were there, had
~ ships, whose cargoes might average mil
lion each, loading with deals TOR Liverpool
The slabs and edgings are piled upon car
in the mill, and pushed on tram way down
the river bank, and there dumped upon huge
fires, which consume daily what in Calais OF
Bangor Tor manufacture into lath and wood
would be worth $3.50 and for year $4,000
This Nashwauk property was formerly
owned, and l believe, built by Robert Ran.
kin &C.,, of Liverpool at a cost of 1925, 000
1t did not seem to have been profitable in.
vestment, and from the appearance of the
old store, and the old huts of the mill-men,
one or two of which have not yet been de-
molished, not more advantageous to the la
borers than to the proprietors. A few years
ago it was offered at $4,000 and Mr.. Gibson
who fifteen years ago left st, Stephens, where
he commenced life as a mechanic, though
richer men had looked at and refused it, saw
its capacities and bought it at sight.
he has been able by his energy skill and
prudence, not only to make himself a pala-
tial home, but he has built three other ex-
pensive and commodious houses near his own
for his relatives. The old yellow store has
been remodeled, and new one built with
the dry goods, grocery and book keeping de-
partments each in separate rooms The
third story is hall neatly fitted up for lee
lures and religious meetings. He has large
hotel hard by for the accommodation of his
visitors. At the end of the street is school
house built by him at cost of $25OO
Across the stream are the houses of the mill
men, each family of them having a COW,
what wood they need from the mills, all the
land they care to till, and paying rent for
the whole of but $25 year. Mr.. Gibson
seems TO believe in the good maxim: Lice
and let kce, and in his prosperity has not for
gotten how to help poorer men, and to care
for the welfare of the community by whose
labor he has become wealthy.
No one can visit the maritime provinces
without receiving the impression that their
prosperity depends upon their union with
the New England States, under one govern
ment. By difference of nationality, which
has no basis in the interests. political opin-
ions, business, habits, religion or origin of
tnO wv PCoPiOs, lhCy diC CobpcHcu W Iudiil-
tain commercial and revenue systems as
cumbrous and expensive as they are hos
tile to the real prosperity of each. The bulky
products of New Brunswick and Nova SEQ
ia-spruce lumber, spars, ship knees, wood,
coal, plaster, building stone, potatoes and
hay-will not bear the costly transportation
of long voyages. Boston and Portland are
within forty hours sail of their principal
ports. New England needs every stick of
this timber for building purposes, every ton
of this coal and stone and has money to pay
for them. What God has so effectually join
ed together in the juxtaposition of lands and
seas, it will not long be in the power of fac
titious and mutually destructive political ar
rangements to keep separate
One thing was most manifest, the univer-
salty among intelligent men of the province
OF the conviction that annexation to the
United States is the real solution of all the
commercial and political difficulties in the
way of the prosperity of those people. There
may be deal of loyalty, conservatism and
aristocracy down there but we saw not the
narrowest vein of it. All the sentiment we
came in contact with was democracy as
broad as ours, and just and liberal sentiments
upon revenue, commerce and finance kindred
to those among the most advanced minds in
onr Tinted Cfofas W..