Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-02-15

another road that runs down through the
meadow to Tholnaston, and still another road
back Of the mountain.
Now | have described to the House the con
ncction that the people who live upon the
old county road, have, with the business of
manufacturing lime. And you will see that
it is natural that it should be 50. They live
right along by these quarries. They are not
farmers in any proper sense il the word,
They get their living mostly out of the quar-
ricS.
The character of the residents upon the
road on the hack>idc of the meadow is some
what different, They may be said to be. in
some sense of the term, farmers. And still,
there is not one one of them unless | except
Mr.. Jeremiah Tolman. who is petitioner,
there is not one single one of them. az | am
informed. but that in some way or other is di-
rcctly or indirectly connected with the huSi-
ness of manufacturing lime. There are. or
were, until within few years, kilns down in
the middle Of the meadow for the manuiac-
turc of lime, that were dug out of the Quarrics
on the mountain. Some of these people that
lived along on this section back of the mead
ows own kilns and burn rock at the shore.
Some of them are traders. One of them is
our present county treasurer. Jeremiah TOl-
man, is the only one who can, with any pro-
prictv be called Il farmer. He Ia, a farm of
- acres. That i the extent of his farm
During the days Of revenue taxation he was
United States Assessor, and he spent his time
in travelling about our city. with a little car
pet bag on his arm. assessing Us for taxes
That is the way he did his farming. Ever
since | have been in that town do not rec
olloct th" tim" when he was not supplying the
town with milk. and that il the way he now
gets his living.
lpr | oil n IN II +l,,
city If Eockland in this respect, i, differently
situated from any other city in this State. IT
is remarkably different You take the city of
Augusta; city in the midst of township
six mile, square. There is not one farmer
back from the city that has any interest What
ever in what i, going on in the city proper.
He is not engaged in it directly or indirectly.
You cannot find one of them in ,h. great
town that is interested in the business that is
being carried on in the city. He has no part
in it, There j no manufacturing in which he
is interested: nothing Of that kind. They
are purylv and simply farmers. and nothing
clsc. simply coming into town to sell their
produce That is all the business connection
they have. can illustrate it further by tax
ing the town of Camden. There is large
town containing about 40 square miles: and
there are four different villages situated in
the four CORNERS of the town. There are no
two of those little villages that has the slight
est mutualty Of interest or dependence upon
each other Camden Harbor is entirely SEN
arate and distinct by itself, and has no nccrs-
sary business connection with anv other por-
tion of the town. The village of Rockport
in the southeastern section, carries on its
separate and distinct industries of ship build
ing and the harvesting and expectation of ice
The two other villages. in the western part of
tbn hay al bai hus
or the great bulk of it. with Rockland Each
of these four villages has its separate post
offices. separate churches and ministers
have everything that is necessary to set Il
town in operation at once; post-ofiiccs
churches. school system. everything.
But in Rockland it is not so Every single
citizen of Ward T. comes regularly to the
post-ptiice in Ward I. one of the lower wards
and gets his mail every day Every single
church is in the lower wards, and every man
of them in that ward. that goes to church
comes down to the city every Sunday to 90 to
church. There is not professional man of
any kind or description to be found in Ward
:. There are not more than two or three
stores, and there is no compact and organ
lied settlement, as you will see by inspec-
tion. The population is scattered on the
County and the Meadow roads. There il not
a man, it can almost be said. who does not
reside within mile and a half. or. at the
outside not more than two miles from the
post Office.
Now the first position ! take is that
the two sections of the town being mutually
dependent upon each other, and mutually in
terested in everything that conduces to the
prosperity of the whole town. they are of ne
cessity mutually interested in every single
item of expense that is incurred in carrying
it on.
| have another thing to say in relation to
these quarries. The whole valuation of the
real estate of Ward is $3.50 900. The val
uation of the quarres is Sl43. 900. or. sub
stanially. one-half of the entire valuation of
that ward. And gentlemen must bear in
mind that every single pound of lime rock in
that city is located in Ward :. The polls of
the ward are 22j, that is, one-tenth of the
entire polls of the city. The whole of the
polls are e.2G9. The population Of the ward
is probably in the same proportion. that is,
one-tenth of the entire population of the citv
There having been no census recently taken.
it is impossible to tell accurately what the
population is.
Now if we bear carefully in mind the mu-
tual dependence of those two portions of that
city upon each other. how one has the rock
and the other manufactures it, and by the
operations Of both the prosperity of that city
has been achieved. d.--hearing these things in
mind we are prepared to approach the alleged
grievances, on account of which it is claimed
that this ward should be set Off In discus
sing them it may be well, perhaps that
should discuss them in the order in which
they are stated in the paper called the state
ment of facts which was circulated upon
your desks on Monday night
Now. Mr.. Speaker. have to call your at
tention to one fact, and that is. that the whole
burden of the grievance of this ward is that
it has been taxed for expenditures in which it
has no interest. That is the sole and only
ground upon which they claim their right to
he set Off; that they have been taxed for ex-
penditures in which they have no interest
Now | take this position. and il seems to me
it is fair, that if the facts show that they have
a direct interest in all the expenditures of
which they complain, then may safely claim
that their whole case falls TO the ground ;
there is nothing left for it TO stand upon
1t is said in this statement that it is an ah-
stract of a portion of the evidence that was
submitted to the Committee on Towns.
have made inquiry upon that point and say
that that allegation is not true. The. state
ment was simply read by counsel In the open-