The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-02-10

Last evening Enoch Knight, ESQ.,, delivered
at reception Hall, City Building ms lecture
entitled "The Story of the Sta}e OIL NAME 70
an audience representing the best culture OF
the city. Those assembled had been led by
encomiums of good judges to EXPECT something
good. and their expectations came to fulfill
ment The lecture, without effort at fine Ian
pnaoe was a vivid and interesting picture of
the State, its capabilities, its resources, its de-
welcomed wealth, its progress and its encouraging
future Statistics, admirably grouped and pre-
sented were given of the various industries of
Maine, many of which have come to their birth
within the last few years. The lecturers clean
cut, picturesque sentences were fit dress for
the story he had to tell, story that in the
main was new to his audience Shafts of de-
served satire were sent at the croal5ers and
grumblers who are forever disparaging Maine
and pratng of the "Great West The high
est praise that can be accorded to the lecture is
that it sent the audience away prouder of the
State in which they live and more hopeful Of
her political and industrial future.
The lecture opened with the brefest reference
to climate, early settlement and the general
characteristics of first settlers and their de-
scendants up to 1843 when began the new era
for Maine-that time when the power of "cor-
poration hate" was broken by the united action
Of Wings and Democrats, and the law was
framed which has stood till now, and which al
lows holders of corporation stock to limit in
dividual liability, under some conditions This
was the beginning of that intelligence and
thrift which we now see builded upon on all
hon Lot los taffa nf hot
tide of emigration to the West, and even turning
back our people to their first love. The leading
productions of this new time were grouped to-
gether, and especially was it made to appear
that for the first time in our history we
turning our natural " ealth of all kinds to ac-
count. We are no longer content to wear the
cast off garments of dead generations, but we
are finding in our forests and streams new
type of riches which our fathers did not see,
and instead of taking surface products to the
distant and doubtful markets, in their rough,
crude shape, we are giving them new value
by enterprise and skill; for we have learned the
deep meaning of that saying of the ancients.
HE who can use tools can double the years of
his life." The wonderful growth in industrial
productions was shown in the salient points of
our later history and a remarkable showing
made for score of occupations concerning
which the ordinary observer has hardly con-
ception. Contrast was made between the old
droning stage town, with its country store as
the only distributing force, and the modern
working CENTER where market is brought to
productions and where the products of the
earth are made into wealth never possible be-
FORE And here an appeal was made in behalf
OF that true policy which shall unite all our
working interests, making each one minister to
the other, and above all keep the money of the
people at home and save the full fruits that
might come of our greater development Men,
ton was made of the means used to drain our
State of its money and men, and sharp COM
parison was instituted between our real wealth
and tie exaggerated representations that have
been made in behalf of the western lands and
western stocks, and an amusing picture made
of the ancient croaker who despalred of Maine
but put his faith in Northern Pacific. The ice,
turer also showed how much better our farm
and market garden products pay (when we
have the swift hungry local market) than the
growths of the western farms-a showing ell
tirAly fair and conclusive in our favor Exhib-
IL was Haue VI VariouS SpcCiaiteS, ihc 1ue as
ISOLATED dairying interests, the sweet corn cul
ture and the new forms of our fisheries. Pass
ing from these things the lecturer sketched the
vast resources of the State hitherto almost gen.
orally unknown, such as the lime, Stat e. gran
lite and iron productions, which was the inter-
esting and striking portion of the lecture, being
almost entirely new to nine-tenths of the au
dience, no doubt. Reply was made to the OBJ
jections which have been urged against Maine
in the matter of locality and climate, and the
lecturer closed with summary of our conse-
quenre and promise, and plea for that patriot
ic love of home which knows no centre but the
place where we dwell in peace and plenty-the
centre of huuIan prrrP oSa---