The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-05-10

ter IroA "assiFnie, 0ieahlngs and Gossip.
Fourth Pdge-Flag of My Country: One q
the Dogs.
The Rochester and Nashua Railroad.
The citizens of Nashua have gone through
severe contest, on the proposition to subscrib,
$2OO,OOO to the stock of the above railroad
The Nashua Telegraph says that when til,
question was submitted to the citizens, in or
der to get at a popular expression on the ques
ion, "the business men of the city, as gen
eral thing, and the young men almost without
exception, voted the straight Railroad Ticket
The voters from the suburbs, and the SLOW
coach brigade generally, carried the negative
t icket." Since this strong popular expression
in favor of the enterprise, we understand that
there has been a desperate struggle In respect
to the matter. Our information is, that the
meeting, last Wednesday, of the board OF AL
dermen was one of intense interest the
friends and opponents of the measure crowd
ing the city hail to its utmost capacity. Since
the public meeting, which foreshadowed GER
tain success to the enterprise, there has been a
powerful and active opposition from railroad
influences centering in Boston, and an equal
determination on the part of the owners OF
two large and wealthy manufacturing corpor-
atoms, located at Nashua, but owned in Bos-
ton, to defeat the measure. . RESPONSIVENESS
have been circulated, and we should Judge
from the following card which appears in the
Nashua Telegraph, that undue influences had
been resorted to:
To the Editor of The Nashua Telegraph: If the
Nashua and jackson Manufacturing Compa-
mics are to control the affairs of this city,
against the wishes of a majority of the voters,
it is quite time the people should know it. 1t
is said, and upon good authority, that Mr.. Am
DRY, the Treasurer of those corporations, has
issued his mandate to the agents requiring all
the servants OF the Companies in the City
Government to go against aiding the Nashua
g. Rochester, Railroad by the city s subscribing
10 the stock. Is this soa 1T it is, then will the
independent voters of the city take care that
their important interests shall be entrusted
only to hands that are not bound to obey the
behests OF their masters in Boston. They will
also take care that hereafter those corporations
shall pay the full proportion OF the public tax
es upon the surplus 81 100000 of capital now
held by them untaxed.
A CITIZEN AND TAXPAYER.
The matter seems to have been fully discuss
ed at the meeting, which showed great feeling,
and in some instances personal remarks were
made The remonstrance which had been
gathered since the public meeting, was far be-
hind the affirmative vote in favor of the public
loan, but when presented it was introduced by
the remark that it was as long as the moral
law" The Mayor remarked that "he hoped it
was as good" 1t was charged and denied during
the evening, ''that the emple yees of the COM
panies bad been unduly influenced 1t is a
significant fact that three of the aldermen are
overseers in che mills, and that these three per-
sons, with one other, constituted the entire
vote that was cast against the loan.
2 The friends of the measure relied upon the
vote of Alderman Shedd of Ward Is, who had
expressed himself in favor of the enterprise
but before the ballot he said that he should
vote against the resolution. This declaration
called forth the following remarks from Alder
man Tilton:
am ready to keep the faith with my fellow
members, hardly one of whom has not init
mated to me- in language that admitted of no
misunderstanding, that he would abide by the
vote of the majority of the people of this CITY,
am astonished at the bubble of the gentle
man from Ward 8, who has said to me that be
was wiling to abide by the vote of the people,
and that any man who was not willing 10 do
his duty acds not honest. (Sensation.)
MI. Shedd was an overseer in the mills
During the discussion Mayor Otterson call
ed Aid. Pierce to the chair, and taking the
floor made cogent and earnest appeal for the
resolution. He said The could no longer refrain
from entering into the discussion. He could
not pass by in silence the language Of the rem
onstrants and the language of the gentleman
from Ward B, which reflected most uniustly
upon him and upon those who acted with him
at the time the vote was taken All he had
done had been prompted by single purpose to
secure fair and honorable expression, and he
did not believe that any man could honestly
say that it was unfair. He did not attach
much weight 20 the remonstrance, for large as
it was, it was considerably less than the af-
frmatiye vote east by the people. 1t was no
difficult matter to get up remonstrance, or
petition for almost any purpose. Every pos
sible bugbear had been held up to influence
people to sign the remonstrance For himself
he had subscribed to the stock of the Nashua
and Rochester railroad; with perfect faith in
is success, and he only reg cited that he was
was not able to subscribe more. We all know
that we cannot get individual subscriptions to
build the road. We simply ask the city to
end us its credit, and there can be no doubt
that The road will fully compensate the city for
the risk it runs
When the %ote was taken six aldermen
voted in the affirmative, and four in the
negative. Our information is that the friends
of the enterprise are still at work and conf
dent of success. Has the city of Portland
any sympathy with Boston capitalists and in
terests, in an attempt to crush out an effort on
the part of Nashua to reach Portland and the
East? This great undeveloped enterprise with
which the Portland and Rochester Railroad is
so intimately identified, is attracting the atten-
ton of railroad men, and promises to be of
immense importance to Portland. An inyes-
tigation of the matter is only necessary 20
produce conviction. The Nashua people are
still confident as is seen by the following ex-
tract Cannot this city help them by extend
ing her aid towards the completion of the
Portland and Rochester railroad to Rochester:
ALMOST VIoroRY.-The friends of the
railroad enterprises came so near success last
night, in the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. :,
and made such marked progress, that we feel
very well satisfied with the result to- day. To
come within one of winning a contest is en-
oouragement enough to reckon on a sure thing
the next time. The vote last night, instead
OF settling the question adversely, lust served
to place it where it can be better handled here
after. We are glad TO learn, we do to-day,
that some of the gentlemen who voted against
the resolution are ready to support PROPOSE
ton that will more fully meet there views.
They desire to subserve the best interests of
the city, and we are confident that they will be
met more than half way by those who feel that
the abandonment of these enterprises would
be calamity to Nashua. 1t is always darkest
just before day, and we are confident that some
Of our venerable opponents will live long
enough to smell the smoke" f,the locomo-
tive that will run over the Nashua and Roch-
ester Railroad.
The EQUAL RIGHTS AssocIATIoN.-On
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next
week the American Equal Rights Asso-
cation will be in session in New
York Lucretia Mott, who will be a CEN
-tennaIian, we believe, if she lives four years
longer, will preside. Among the speakers
Henry Ward Beecher, Frederick Douglass,
Anna Dickinson, Theodore Tilton, Rev. o. B.
rockingham, Amelia Bloomer, Ernestine L.
Rose and others are announced If George
Francis Train and Daniel Pratt are not there,
too, then "chaos is come again. 1t is the
curse of such meetings that all the crazy ego
lists of the country are sure to intrude them
selves, to bring reproach and contempt upon
what would otherwise be most valuable con-
sultation in the interest of progress.
The WELSH fasting dIRL.-The case of
the welsh girl who is said to have tasted for
Two years Is exciting much attention at the
hands OF the English press, and if the state