X/J^^ M:^i:NrE A FIELD FOR IMMIGRATION. lEMOEIAL JOHN A.. ]?OOR 1861 Printed by order of the Senate. AUaUSTA: STEVENS & SAYWARD, PRINTERS TO TUE STATE. 1861. ERRATA. " read $262. " "them" read men. " "works" read work. " "Lanbek" read Lanark. II "our" read an. " "and" r3ad amid. " "g-eology and" read geological. " "Kathadin" read Berkshire. " "Solomite" read Dolomite. " "Marty" read Quartz. " "manufactures" read manufacture. " "manufactures" read manufactories, " "65,661" read 62,661. " "31,2U,856" read 31,n4,635. " "27,496, lot" read 2Y,n4,'782. " "Chyde" read Clyde. " "powers" read power, strike out "to." for "Missisqua" read Missisquoi. strike out "it." for "selfishness" read supineness. MEMOEIAL JOHISr A.. POOR IN BEHALF OP THE EUROPEAN & NORTH AMERICAN RAILWAY CO,, A. ST^TE POLICY , FAVORABLE TO • IMMIGEATION, AND THE ENCOUEAGEMENT OF MANUFACTURES. 1861. 4;"^ oiJ ^ Printed by order of the Senate. AUGUSTA: STEVENS & SAYWARD, PRINTERS TO THE STATE. 1861. MEMORIAL. To the Honorable the Senate and the House of Bepresenta- iives of the State of Maine, in Legislature assembled : The undersigned, in behalf of the European and I^orth American Railway Company, and, as a citizen of Maine, respectfully asks such aid to that enterprise as will insure its early completion, and such measures of State policy as will invite immigration, promote the more rapid settlement and sale of the public lands, and the fuller development of the material resources of the State. The State of Maine, from the extent of its territory, — its geographical position, — its physical geography, and its geological structure, has all the elements essential to an independent empire. By a development of its resources, it can sustain a population, at a rate per square mile, equal to that of the most densely populated countries of Europe — Belgium, Saxony, or the British Isles. Scot- land, the lowest of these in relative population, averages 136 persons to the square mile; Ireland, 192; England, 332; Saxony, 372; Belgium, 382. A density of population equal to Scotland, would give Maine 4,310,196 ; as great as Ireland, 6,099,072; if equal to England, 10,546,352; to Saxony, 11,866,952; or to Belgium, 12.134,612 inhabitants. The recent census gives this State 628,- 600 persons, or about 20 to the square mile. The territory of Maine, was the first, visited by the European navigators, for the purposes of colonization in North America ; and it was a knowledge of the goodly lands, noble rivers, and unrivalled harbors of its coast, that set on foot the plans of French and Eng- lish colonization in the New World. That broad Bay or Gulf pro- jecting far inland, between Cape Cod and Cape Sable, known after- wards as the Gulf of Maine, invited the efforts of Du Monts and Champlain, to plant there an empire, under the government of France, and the still nobler exertions of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 4 EUKOPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY, the father of English colonization in America, to secure to his sovereign so valuable a possession, — the prize, for which the great nations of the old world, Spain, France, Holland and England were contending. To plant the soil of Maine, English colonies were first sent forth, and it was by the merest accident, the loss of two ships by Spanish capture, that Virginia was settled before our own State. The territory between Mount Desert and Cape Porpoise, with its unrivalled fisheries and maritime advantages, and as the natural outlet of the St. Lawrence in winter, was in contention between England and France from 1603 till the overthrow of French power in the New World, by the capture of Quebec in 1759 ; the most important military event in the history of the continent. The fierce contests of rival races and nations for this territory, kept back its early settlement — for the French leagued with the native tribes, spread such a horror of Indian depredations, that emigrants sought the more western and interior portions of New England, and en- couraged there, the growth and expansion of the arts of peace. First settled by the French in 1604, this territory was originally occupied by the most hardy and warlike, of the Indian tribes of North America, who naturally became the allies of the French against the English. When, through the advice of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Leyden flock were invited to America in 1617, as a means of aiding him, in resisting the claims of the French to the possession of the country, the Pilgrims selected that spot which should be most secure from Indian hostilities, (within the limits of their expected grant from the New England Company,) and found it, where the land was too poor to excite jealousy, and the plague, so remarkable in the early history of New England, had previously carried ofl" ita ancient occupants. Here the humble followers of Robinson, under the lead of Carver and Cushman, Bradford and Brewster, sought in the business of fishing and trade with the na- tives, to accomplish their plans, as a trading company, during their limited copartnership. But the oversight ol" Gorges followed them, and they preferred the protection of his company to any ofier of the Dutch, to give them lands further south. Gorges encouraged them also to cultivate the soil, by liberal grants of land to settlers. The shores of Plymouth and Massachu- setts Bay were subsequently sought, over those of Casco and Pen- MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 5 obscot, because they were more removed from the danger of Indian hostilities, and finally became the home of the dominant colony. The cupidity and grasping ambition of the Massachusetts Puritans, over- threw the first well-established government in Maine, and the latter became a Province of Massachusetts colony, from 1652. Maine ostensibly regained her independence in 1820 ; more than two hundred years, however, passed by, before it fully regained in- dependence of Massachuseets, and jurisdiction over its entire terri- tory, by the purchase in 1854 of the remnant of the public lands, retained by Massachusetts, as the price of separation in 1820. The fall of Quebec, and the final extinction of French power in 1759, were by far the most important events in the history of Maine. Its population began rapidly to increase, as soon as French rule was broken, even before the conclusion of the treaty in 1763, and ex- panded, till checked by the political troubles between Great Britain and her colonies. England sought to impose unjust restraints on the colonists, and the resistance by the people of Portland, was punished by the burn- ing of the town in 1775. Finally the thirteen colonies were driven into revolt, and England was left, after eight years war, without a foot of soil, on the continent of America, except that, she had lately acquired from France. Maine at once, and rapidly increased in population and wealth, but new troubles soon arose with Great Braitain. The maritime position of Maine, and the commercial pursuits of her people, brought upon them the brunt of the contest, and they suffered, not only from French spoliation and English aggression, but from the restrictive policy of our embargo and non-intercourse acts. The peace of 1815 failed to bring prosperity, for new difficulties had arisen from the claims of Great Britain to a large portion of our territory. This subject, and the duties of Maine in regard to it, are briefly set forth in the printed Report of a portion of the Committee on Railroads, Ways and Bridges, made to the Legisla- ture of 1860. In that Report it says : " The territory of Maine is so interposed between the interior and the maritime Provinces of Great Britain, as to afford thef most easy and direct communication between them across it. This fact gave rise to the long protracted dispute with great Britain, as to our Q EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. northeastern boundary, at one time threatening to interrupt the friendly relations of the two countries, which was finally settled by the Treaty of Washington, in 1842. The title of Maine to the entire territory claimed by her, was clear and indisputable. The ablest geographers of England admit, that the claim of their government was without any real foundation, ' that it was impossible to make use of any language that could more distinctly and specifically give the title of the whole territory to Maine, than that used in the Treaty of Peace in 1783.' But, in the war of 1812, the British Government was enabled to send troops from Halifax to Quebec, by way of the St. John valley, across our State, in mid-winter, and oppose superior numbers against our forces on the western frontier. It was thereby enabled to real- ize the vast importance, in a military point of view, of the route in the St. John valley, between Canada and New Brunswick. She seized upon this territory, held military possession of it, from that time onward, and refused all terms of compromise, or of accommo- dation, other than those of a surrender to her of the north bank of the St John river. In the Canadian rebellion of 1837, the British troops were landed at Halifax in winter, pushed into Canada across our territory in the St. John valley, and by this means the outbreak was soon sup- pressed. So long therefore as the British Government held her North American Colonies, she seemed determined to hold this key to their possession. The Government of the United States fully admitted the justice of our claim, but omitted to protect our possession of it ; and when Maine attempted to preserve it from spoliation and to extend her jurisdiction over it, the General Government interposed its paramount authority, forced Maine to abandon her attempt to maintain pos- session of it, and assumed the duty of protecting it herself This duty was imperfectly performed, and the country was stripped of its valuable timber, by New Brunswick lumbermen, till finally by the treaty of Washington, in 1842, the United States surrendered to Great Britain the whole territory on the north bank of the St. John river, containing 5,113 square miles. Maine submitted to the paramount authority of the National Gov- ernment, only from necessity, relying on the justice of its claim, for MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 7 redreas ; and on the survey and examination of the territory left to us in the basin of the St. John, a district equal to 5,592 square miles of territory, found that it had been stripped of its most valuable timber, while under the assumed protection of the General Government. For these depredations on our territory, the State of Maine has a just and valid claim on the government of the United States. This claim, it is the duty of Maine to assert, by all the legal and consti- tutional means in her power. This seizure of our territory, and the strip and waste of its tim- ber, embittered the feelings of our people residing near the border, and practically delayed and retarded the settlement of that portion of it that was not in controversy — and for nearly a quarter of a century the most valuable portions of the State, for agricultural purposes, were practically lost to us. The General Government was mainly intent on securing the good will of England, on any terms, and seemed to regard the territory as of no considerable value, even for military purposes ; and when the Kins; of the Netherlands re- fused to discover the highlands, which form so striking a feature in the geography of North America, in any other place than in the bed of the St. John river. General Jackson, then President of the United States, urged the acceptance of that award, and treated the question, as merely one of dollars and cents. He oiFered to give Maine as much land somewhere else, as that taken from us by the award. This was refused by Maine, who finally submitted to a superior power, and consented to the conventional line of 1842, ex- pecting justice at the hands of the National Government. This claim has often been urged, and the Legislature of 1852 asked the General Government to grant aid to a line of railway, that should extend to the Eastern Boundary, and enable us to recover some por- tion of the business and the population that had been lost to us. This claim was not denied and cannot be questioned ; and it now demands the united support of our National and State Representa- tives, in a direct application to the government for its payment. The statesmen of Canada and of England have been better able than those of the United States to appreciate the commanding mili- tary and commercial position of Maine, and the people of Canada have gladly purchased the Portland and Montreal line, having Port- land, in Maine, for their winter seaport. It is creditable to the 8 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. sagacity of our late Secretary of War, the Hon. Jefferson Davis, that he readily perceived the military advantages of Maine — for on learning the fact of a line of railway, connecting Portland with Montreal, he advised the fortification of Portland harbor — for, as he says, ' the possession of Portland harbor commands the entire ter- ritory of Canada above Quebec' " These rivalships, hostilities and border contests, have checked the growth. of our State more than all other causes. Had Maine been afforded the protection of the United States government, according to the terms of the treaty of 1783, there is no doubt she would have more rapidly increased. An uniform increase from 1790 to 1860, equal to that from 1790 to 1810, would have given Maine over 2,000,000 population, or 60 persons to each square mile. The following table shows the population of Maine, by the cen- sus returns of the United States Government : Years. Population. Increase. Ratio of Increase, 1790, 96,520 - - 1800, 153,719 57,199 • 57 1810, 228,705 74,986 50 1820, 298,335 69,630 30 1830, 399,995 101,660 33 1840,* 499,920 99,925 26 1850, 583,190 83,270 16 1860, 628,600 45,365 7 8-10 The following table shows the population of each county in Maine, according to the United States Census of 1860, and the number in the territory, embraced by the present county lines, at the several periods of enumeration, from 1830 to 1860 : 1830. 1840. 1850. 1860. Androscoggin, 19,851 22,532 25,748 29,743 Aroostook, 2,399 7,193 12,529 22,489 Cumberland, 52,429 59,620 68,783 75,609 Franklin, 15,938 20,800 20,027 20,574 Hancock, 22,553 28,225 34,025 37,728 *The United States Census of 1840, gives 501,796 as tlie population of Maine, but this included 1,876 persons residing on the north branch of the St. John, which terri- tory and population, fell to New Brunswick by the treaty of Washington of 1842. This reduces the actual population to 499,920. MEMORIAL OP JOHN A. POOR. 1830. 1840. 1850. 1860. Kennebec, 88,829 51,384 58,018 55,660 Knox, 18,421 23,248 28,252 33,122 Lincoln, 25,705 25,791 27,135 27,866 Oxford, 27,528 32,115 35,463 86,700 Penobscot, 22,91)3 46,470 63,536 72,737 Piscataquis, 8,499 13,138 14,735 15,054 Sagadahoc, 14,943 17,169 21,669 21,685 Somerset, 29,666 33,9.2 35,581 36,547 Waldo. 27,108 33,919 38,333 38,449 Washington, 20,140 28,309 38,811 42,555 York, 51,710 54,023 60,098 62,242 399,995 499,920 583,190 628,600 The disclosures of the census disappoint every one. The increase of our population, according to the return, has been but 45,365 from 1850 to 1860, or at the ratio of 7 8-10 per cent, for the last ten years. Estimates based on the returns of polls for 1860, as compared with those of 1850, give us a population of 713,137, or a gain of 22 per cent, in ten years. Comparing the return of scholars between the ages of 4 and 21 years in 1860, with those of previous years, Maine should have had a population of over 700,000 in 1860. Or, by comparing the vote thrown at the September election in 1860, with that of 1840, when our population was 499,- 920, when an equally exciting canvass was in progress, drawing out a full vote, our population should be 677,000. Complaints similar to this have been made in other of the free States ; and in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, a new census, ordered by the city authorities, for this reason, showed the actual population to be over 10,000 more than the number returned by the United States Marshal. The valuation for purposes of taxation has increased from $100,- 087,969 in 1850, to Sl<34,714,168 in 1860, or an increase of 64 per cent, in ten years. 10 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. The following table shows the comparative number of polls, and the valuation of estates for each county, for the years 1850 and 1860: Counties. Polls. Estates. Polls. Estates. 1850. 1850. 1860. 1860. Androscoggin, . 4,447 4,152,502, 6,551 8,230,892 Aroostook, 743 537,483: 2,098 1,856,237 Cumberland, 11,578 16,777,054| 15,098 36,361,035 Franklin, 3,605 2,798 133 4,380 4,285,843 Hancock, 6,487 4,886,368! 7,810 6,520,694 Kennebec, 10, -77 12,143,980 11,684 15,273,355 Knox, . 5,346 4,813,021 7,271 9,463 026 Lincoln, 5,385 4,521,480 6,127 5,897,239 Oxford, 6,560 4,658,875 8,286 7,834,162 Penobscot, 12,624 9,107,660! 14,438 14,524,937 Piscataquis, 2,844 1,841,0831 3,266 2,705,228 Sagadahoc, 4,074 5,576,3651 4,560 10,054,434 Somerset, 6,454 4,935,697i 7,507 7,136,994 Waldo, . 7,100 5,645,6731 8,443 7,740,429 Washington, 7,277 5,252,301, 8,342 7,663,945 York, . 10,509 12,390,3351 13,038 19,135,618 105,490' §100,037,969! 128,899 $164,714,168 The following table gives the increase of polls and increase of estates in each county, from 1850 to 1860, and the ratio of increase of polls and estates for the same period : Counties. Increase of Increase of Ratio of inc. Ratio of inc. polls. estates. of polls. of estates. Androscoggin, 2,104 4,078,390 47 per cent. 98 per cent. Aroostook, 1,355 1,318,754 182 264 Cumberland, 3,340 19,583,981 28 " 116 Franklin, . 775 1,577,710 21 56 Hancock, . 1,383 1,634,236 21 33 Kennebec, 1,407 3,129,375 13 25 Knox, 1,925 4,680,005 34 '• 97 Lincoln, 742 1,375,655 13 30 Oxford, 1,727 3,175,287 26 68 Penobscot, 1,743 5,417,277: 14 59 Piscataquis, 444 864,145 15 " 46 Sagadahoc, 490 4,478,069 12 80 Somerset, . 1,053 2,201,297 16 44 ' Waldo, 1,342 2,094,756 16 36 Washington, 1,128 2,411,644 15 45 York, 2,529 6,745,283 26 " 54 23,409 $64,676,199 22 per cent. 64 per cent. We are without the materials for an accurate estimate of the value of the property in Maine, until the publication of the returns of the census of 1860. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. H The following table shows the polls and valuation of Maine, at the several periods named : Years. Polls. Estates. 1810, 51,938 *$1,443,138 1820, 59,368 20,962,778 1830, 66,986 28,807,687 1840, 86,544 69,246,288 1845, 89,054 67,219,356 1850, 105,490 100,037,969 1860, 128,899 164,714,168 Yet these valuations are merely approximate estimates. The actual value of the property in the State has undoubtedly been at each period far beyond the estimate agreed upon for taxation pur- poses, which has no other object than the equalizing of the taxes between the different cities and towns. The valuation of 1860 is equal to $255 for each inhabitant. In New York the ratio is $400 ; in Massachusetts, $720 ; in England, $1,000-1 Estates. 288,522 338,495 253,464 174,538 168,973 47,611 69,181 102,354 * Valuation— 1810. Polls. York, 9,293 Cumberland, 9,577 Lincoln, 10,093 Kennebec, . 7,398 Hancock, 6,852 Washington, 1,984 Somerset, 2,611 Oxford, 4,130 51,938 $1,443,138 The polls included all free male persons between the ages of 16 and 70, in accordance with the provisions of the statutes of Massachusetts, then in force. fTHB Wealth of England. — There appears to be considerable doubt among the statisticians of England as to what is the real amount of the wealth of their country. Estimates are not wanting, but they diifer so materially, and are based upon such diverse data, that little satisfaction appears to be afforded by their results. Two eminent authorities, however, seem to have secured for their valuation a more than ordinary share of attention. Mr. Edward Capps, author of the "Prize Essay" on the national debt of England, and a writer in the Edinburgh Review, supposed to be an ex- Chancellor of tlie Exchequer, both of whom are in a position to avail themselves of documents not open to the public generally. The independent estimates of these writers show very nearly the same figures ; which is certainly an important confirmation of the accuracy of their calculations. Mr. Capps' figures are however, generally rather higher than those of the Edinburgh Review, and especially those for the commencement of the present century. That writer 12 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. Proof of the low estimates in Maine, is shown, by reference to the valuation of ships. Freighting ships have the same inherent, and the same marketable value in each State. Ships are valued less in Maine than in New York, Massachusetts and other States, and the fact is obvious that valuation returns made for the purposes of taxation, present but an inadequate idea of the actual property of a community or State. But if the valuation is uniforn, no in- justice is suffered. According to the census of 1850, the value of ships built in Maine for that year, was only $2^146,380; those of Massachusetts, $2,711,885 ; those of New York, $6,150,185. BAt on looking at the statistics of commerce and navigation for 1850, it appears that carries his estimates back to the year 1700, when with a population of eight millions, he supposes the wealth of the country, in real and personal property, to have been £615,000,000. In the year ISOO, he estimates the total wealth to have been £2,250,- 000,000 ; in 1812, £2,736,640,000 ; and in 1857, £6,000,000,000. The reviewer com- mences his valuation with the year 1803, when he estimates the value of real and per- sonal property to have been £1,803,000,000; he then selects the years 1814, 1845 and 1858, at which periods he supposes the wealth of the country to have been respectively, £2,850,000,000, £4,500,000,000 and £5,975,000,000. Taking for granted the general corretness of these estimates, and distributing the total wealth of the country, we shall find the following results : Year. 1700, 1800, 1812, 1845, 1857, These figures show a remarkable increase in the wealth of the people of England. A century and a half ago, the average wealth was only £77 per capita; at the present period, the wealth per head is £200. It is since Great Britain has become a manufac- turing and commercial country, that her wealth has most remarkably increased. The immense resources of her coal and metal mines have poured a constantly accumulating ■current of wealth into the lap of her people ; whilst each of her colonies has been made a rich tributary to the material progress of the parent country. She has imported a large proportion of raw materials of other countries and fashioned them into merchandise to be redistributed throughout the civilized .world, and has thus been ena- bled to exercise a practical monopoly in many of the largest foreign markets; and this aggressive commercial policy, it is that has given to England her six thousand millions sterling, of property. The Peogress of New York. — While the progress of New York city has been a marked one since the year 1844, that of the interior counties has been greater, viz: from 1844 to 1859 the increase of the county is 134 per cent. All other counties together, 133 per cent. We annex the comparative statement: Population. Total wealth. Wealti 1, per head, 8,000,000 £615,000,000 £77 16,000,000 2,250,000,000 140 18,000,000 2,736,640,000 152 25,000,000 4,500,000,000 180 30,000,000 6,000,000,000 200 MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 13 Maine built 91,211 tons of ships; in the same year Massachusetts built 35,836 tons; New York, 58,842 tons. The Maine ships were superior to those of New York in size ; about the same as those of Massachusetts in average tonnage. The Maine ships built in 1850, 326 in number, average 280 tons per vessel ; those of Massachu- setts, 296 tons ; and those of New York, 264 tons. In 1851 the Assessed value of real and personal estate in the State and city of New York, 1844-1859. Years. New York county. Other counties. Total. 1844, $236,727,143 $363,164,780 $599,891,923 1845, 239,995,517 360,650,578 605,646,095 1849, 254,192,527 411,658,210 665,850,737 1850, 286,061,816 441,432,767 727,494,583 1851, 286,061,816 791,769,814 1,077,831,630 1852, 351,768,396 816,566,841 1,168,335,237 1853, 413,631,432 853,034,758 1,266,666,190 1854, 462,237,550 901,917,075 1,364,154,625 1855, . 487,060,838 915,788,466 1,402,849,304 1856, 511,740,491 918,594,205 1,430,334,696 1857, , 620,545,282 912,764,431 1,433,309,713 1858, 531,222,642 873,685,037 1,404,907,679 1859, 552,008,742 864,282,095 1,416,290,837 Totals, $5,133,254,192 $9,430,309,057 $14,563,563,249 Massachusetts. — The polls, population and valuation in 1850, as compared with those of 1860, were as follows: Polls. Population. Valuation. In 1850, 245,142 994,514 $537,936,995 In 1860, 298,830 1,231,535 897,795,326 Being an increase on polls of 22 per cent., on population of 24 per cent., and on valu- ation of 50 per cent. The per centum of increase in population and value of the several counties since 1850, is as follows : Counties. per cent. per cent. Suffolk, Population, 33i Valuation, 47 Essex, cc 26 « 49^ Middlesex, « 34 " 62i Worcester, " 22 « 36 Hampshire, (C 6 « 33 Hampden, « 12 cc 16 Franklin, " 2 C( 11 Berkshire, it lU « 40^ Norfolk, « 39| " 84^ Bristol, « 23 « 68^ Plymouth, « 16 " 52 Barnstable, " 2 " 42 Dukes, " Decrease, 3 ■•' Increase, 71| Nantucket, (C 271 « Decrease, 15| 24 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. Maine ships averaged 304 tons each, those of Massachusetts 810 tons each, those of New York 835 tons. In 1852 the Maine ships averaged 810 tons each, those of Massachusetts 298 tons, of New York 402 tons each. In 1855 Maine built 396 vessels, averaging 645 tons each — an aggregate of 215,904 tons. Massachusetts built 144 ships, averaging 553 tons, or an aggregate of 79,609 tons. New York built 554 vessels, averaging 208 tons each, or 115,281 tons in all. In 1859 the Maine ships averaged 327 tons each, those of Massachusetts 348 tons, those of New York 152 tons. These facts conclusively show that the true value of the ships of Maine, was not stated in the returns of the census of 1850. In 1859 Maine owned 789,846 tons of ships, worth near 140,000,000. But the returns for the State valuation of 1860, made as of the year 1859, only gave 380,825 tons of ships owned, valued in the returns at $9,657,699 — less than one-fourth the true value of our shipping. The following table shows the increase of the population of the State by counties, as returned in the United States census, and the estimated increase in each county, based on the gain of polls as given in returns of polls for 1850 and 1860 : Increase of pop. by Estimated inc. from census of 1860. return of polls 1860. Androscoggin, 3,995 11,685 Aroostook, 9,960 7,498 Cumberland, 6,826 19,616 Franklin, 547 4,285 Hancock, 3,561 7,647 Kennebec, 'Loss 2,358 7,780 Knox, 4,870 10,645 Lincoln, 131 4,108 Oxford, 1,387 9,550 Penobscot, 9,201 9,716 Piscataquis, 319 2,455 Sagadahoc, 16 2,709 Somerset, 966 5,965 Waldo, 115 7,426 Washington, 8,744 6,287 Y'ork, 2,144 18,985 MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 15 According to the census returns, there has been a very slight increase in the agricultural population of the State, and that chiefly confined to the counties of Aroostook and Penobscot. In Cumber- land county the increase has been less than that of Portland, and its suburban districts. In York there has been a loss in the county outside of Saco and Biddeford. In Androscoggin the increase of Lewiston and Auburn is more than that of the entire county. The fol- lowing table, exhibiting the growth of the more metropolitan districts, shows that outside of Penobscot and Aroostook, the increase of population is due to the increase of trade and manufactures : 1850. 20,819 2,082 4,852 Total. 27,753 11. 6,424 Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook, Gain in 10 years, Biddeford, 6,095 Saco, 5,794 Gain in 10 years, Lewiston, 3,584 Auburn, 2,846 ^ Gain in 10 years, Bangor, 14,432 ] Veazie, (new town,) ! -. 7 nrn Brewer, 2,628, f-^''^^^ Holden, (new town,) J Gain in 10 years, Rockland, 5,052 Thomaston, 2,723 South Thomaston. 1,420 Gain in 10 years, Augusta, 1860. 26,342 3,281 5,114 Total. 34,137 6,984 6:226 ( 1^'^^^ . 3,687 ' i 11 401 4,023 \ -^-^'^^-^ . 4,977 16,449 1 ^^^ ^21,030 9,195 2,836 804 J 7,317 3,620 1,615 3,970 \ 22,305 8 227 ' Hallowell, 4,'769 Gardiner, 6,486 Pittston, 2,823 Chelsea, (new town) Manchester, (new town) Farmingdale, (new town) West Gardiner, (new town) Loss in 10 years. The constitution of Maine requires the Legislature to cause an enumeration of the people once in ten years, or oftener. The Leg- islature has heretofore been content to accept the national census, 7,609 ] 2,435 4,477 2,619 1,024 813 896 1,296 21,169 1,136 1Q EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. as satisfactory on this point, but a conviction of the want of accu- racy in the U. S. census, may fairly call for a State census before a new apportionment of Senators and Representatives. The advantages resulting from the geographical position of Maine, have been, as already shown, in a great measure, lost by the acci- dents of its political history. Had the continent been occupied from the first, by only one race, or under a common nationality, the sea- board of Maine must have been the chief seat of its commerce, and the most densely populated of its territory. With the progress of the country, these results will ultimately be reached. The vast expense of transporting the products of the west to the seaboard, will induce the production of the articles of food as near as possible to their market, or place of consumption. From this advantage of position, in addition to her other natural resources, Maine has more of the elements of wealth, than any other State of the Union. A milder climate, and a soil of easier cultivation, more readily invite emigration, but never develop that energy of character, that power of endurance, and that fondness for labor, that are necessary for the highest civilization of the race. Great wealth is rarely accumu- lated in the mere pursuits of agriculture, or where the means of subsistence are most easily attained, or where wages are compar- atively high. A low rate of wages, a stubborn, but retentive soil, and a bracing climate, are all essential to the most thorough development of industry, and the accumulation of wealth. Those sections of the earth are most prosperous, and the people most fully developed, and free, where nature imposes on man the necessity for continuous labor, and yields but slow returns of profit. If we would seek the region, where life is most valuable to each individual of the community, it will be found where the human frame can endure the greatest amount of physical labor, and the imagination is most fully stimulated by the influences of climate and the aspects of physical nature. It is not on the rich plains of Italy or Southern Russia, that the most perfect physical development, or the highest European culture is found ; but rather on the shores of the German ocean or the Baltic, or the mountains of Switzerland or. Scotland. So, in the United States, the rich cotton fields of the South, or the fertile prairies of the West, easily yielding a supply of products. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 17 suited to human sustenance, afford but very few means of enjoyment, compared with those which the abundant wealth, created in the workshops of New England and the other northern States, lavishes upon persistent industry. The native population of the western prairies is far inferior to the hardy pioneers from the mountains of New England and Pennsylvania, who first cultivated them ; and when the western States are so filled, that immigration ceases, the race of them will degenerate, and the habits of society gradually assimilate to the monotony of physical nature * The most rugged of our mountain districts in Maine,, by means of its water power, and its mineral treasures, is capable of sustaining a more dense population than the richest agricultural sections of the west. The bracing climate, pure water and stimulating influence of the wild natural scenery of our mountains, are worth more for the development of art and industry, and the consequent production of wealth, than the spontaneous abundance of the richest cotton or rice fields of the south. Civilization, that is, the improvement of the moral and physical condition of man, may be allowed to have had its origin in a warm climate and fertile soil, where the munificence of nature produces * Malaria. — The main feature of the reverse side of every glowing picture of Western life is found to be the dank, malarious mist of evening. The poison of asps lurks under the rich herbage of the whole land. In the fall, especially after a summer of luxuriant growth, the whole region of air between the Alleghanies and the deserts is highly charged with deadly poisons. The Eastern man, on arriving West, is at first somewhat amused at the care many of the natives take to avoid night air. He finds sturdy old farmers, who look as invulnerable as bronze statues, shrinking in doors when they see the mists of a balmy August evening arising. Being, perhaps, a lover of night scenery, he will defiantly pace for hours after night- fall under the moon. All things around him exactly resemble what he has been used to see about him on pleasant summer nights in the East ; how can there be anything in that delicious air to harm him 1 He cannot believe that nature intended he should be deprived of so great a luxury as star-gazing, or that a simple mist would be the means employed if such were the intention. September comes, and one after another the hardy sons of toil succumb to their old foe. The Oriental begins to brag, believes his constitution can defy all the mists of Florida, Central America, Brazil, and the coast of Africi, to say nothing of those of Indiana. He waxes bolder, and perhaps sleeps on a hay-mow occasionally, to show his hardihood. Ignorant of the fact that in many cases the system resists this subtle enemy more successfully when first attacked than after- ward, he exposes himself until he becomes perfectly saturated with the poison, and then the disease strikes a blow from which he will never quite recover. After one has undergone a thorough seige from the malaria fiend, in whichsoever of ;j^g EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. much and human art little. But this amelioration has travelled slowly, into cooler temperatures and a less productive soil. The same comforts were the products of more labor ; but it was at the Same time found, that the ingenuity of man was indefinite, and might be increased to any extent — which we have still to learn ; and that the liberality of nature was fixed by ascertained limits. As all improvement springs from the laws of nature or the sugges- tions of human ingenuity, it has been found, that a civilization that is dependent on the improvement of the human mind, takes a higher rank than that which arises from the unassisted laws of nature. And this holds true, whether we regard the moral or the physical wants of man. All the great advances made in philosophy and science, have come from a cool and bracing atmosphere. Poetry, painting, statuary and architecture, flourish in temperate latitudes only. All the inventions of man, by which he obliges mechanical power to do the works of human hands, have had their birth in a cool country and on an ungrateful soil — and are the products of free labor. The distinction of the present age above all former ones, is the using of machinery in the place of human drudgery. In the most his protean shapes he may have made his attacl?, the face of nature in the West assumes a different aspect to him. All the grand beauties of the finest scene are marred. He looks forth upon the rich vegetation, which a season of uncommon sunniness and show- eriness has produced, and shudders as he observes the matted rottenness of the under- growth. There, like a snake, lurks the enemy. For ever after the haze of tho Indian summer, wherever met, is less beautiful to his eyes. He has learned that poison arises from the earth in tho evening haze, and no rainbow, or sunset even, can now quite glorify it for him. The ever-present sense of danger from the air becomes a kind of nightmare to him. It seems intolerable that so much beauty should be nullified by an invisible evil. Every spring and fall, throughout vast regions, the one great topic is the Ague; and the worst of it is, that, as people seldom die of tho disease, the victim gets, generally, but little sympathy, even though he be nearly delirious. The Western farmer is con- tinually saying within himself, as he sits shaking through the Indian summer in his large and elegant house, " Whether is it better for us, after all, to bo here making money and enduring these tortures, or to be back on the bare New England hills, or on the Alleghany slopes, earning a living and preserving health 1 " As he sits in the parlor gazing forth, he sees his hundreds of acres of wheat and corn, huge barns and droves of cattle, and in the distance the flourishing town where he has $!50,000 in bank. But he is as sallow as an East Indian, two of his children have died of "shaking chills," and his own constitution is almost broken down. Verily this world is full of compensations. — Philadelphia Bulletin. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 19 flourishing periods of the Greek and Roman Republics, all labor was performed by hand, and articles, on which a great amount of human labor had been expended, commanded almost fabulous prices. As good an article is now produced by machinery, and sold in the market for one tenth, perhaps one hundredth of the sum. The first stimulus is given to civilization by a prolific nature ; but a cultivated human mind, always carries it much farther : and hence it is, that a civilization which depends on human art, is always most perfect. Admitting these premises, Maine must become, at no distant day, to the United States, what Lancaster, Yorkshire and Chester are to England ; Lanbek and Renfrew to Scotland ; the seat of manu- facturing industry. The source of all wealth is labor ; ' ' capital is only concentrated labor," and though human labor may be aided by artificial means, in the form of labor-saving, or labor-doing machines, yet all real wealth is derived from the application of human strength and skill. But there is a limit, to the power of human endurance, even in the most favored conditions of nature, and the experience of the world, shows that the production of wealth is greatest where the human frame is most perfect in its mechanism, and capable of the longest self- sustained exertion. National wealth is only the result of individual prosperity, and individual thrift is the true measure of national greatness. Though society advances more slowly in a high latitude, because more time and labor are required to provide the means of shelter for man and the animals suited to human sustenance from the severity of its winter climate, — yet the civilization of the world has steadily ad- vanced northward. The dreary forests, and terrific climate of Gaul and Germany, were at one time the terror of the Roman legions ; and those regions of Europe, now richest and most densely popu- lated, were inhabited by barbarians at the time of Julius Caesar. The capacity of the human frame for labor is found to be greater in Maine, than in Massachusetts or any State, south or west of it. But it is also lound that our excess of labor, by an enforced attempt to encroach on the period of pleasurable toil, insisting on too many hours of daily labor, only diminishes the power of production. 20 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. When labor is under an organized system, ten hours a day in a cot- ton factory, or other workshop, yields greater results than a longer period of toll; because any weariness or diminution of physical strength is a draught upon capital. Hence the higher branches of industry, to be carried on with profit, must seek those regions of the earth, where physical exertion is a pleasure, and continuous labor invigorates rather than exhausts the human frame. Within the limits of Maine, we find not only all the attractions of natural scenery, but more of the sources of wealth than in any portion of the United States ; and with the exception of the Lower British Provinces of the continent. New Brunswick and Nova Sco- tia with every possible advantage to possess, — have coal in abund- ance, which we have not, and other mineral treasures in great pro- fusion. If under our government, or sharing our commercial sys- tem, they would soon rank among the most favored States of the Union. * Maine, with her extended and deeply indented seacoast, on the line of favoring winds ; her mountainous regions that distil in pro- fusion, the clear waters that swell its rivers, descending from high elevations, by circuitous courses in a succession of cascades to the ocean — and rich forests, and through a productive soil, may in time rival any region of the globe, in the extent of her manufactures and commerce. Its great and distinguishing natural feature is its water power, surpassing that of any section of the globe of equal extent. Our annual supply of moisture, the great agent in accomplishing the beneficent operations of nature, is uniform, beyond example. Rain falls with extraordinary regularity in the interior, from the eleva- tion of its mountain summits, within the reach of the atmosphere of the sea.* *A series of uniform observations in meterolcgy has been attempted for several years past, at different places in Maine, by instruments furnished at the expense of the State, procured from the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, viz : At Portland, by Henry Willis, Esq. At Steuben, by J. D. Parker, Esq. " Gardiner, by Hon. R. H. Gardiner. " Bluehill, by Rev. S. H. Merrill. " Carmel, by John J. Bell, Esq. " Cornish, by G. W. Gubtill, Esq. " Perry, by W. D. Dana, Esq. " Fryeburg, by Geo. W. Barrows, Esq. Mr. Willis has published full reports of three daily observations of the Baromter, the Thermometer, the Psychrometer, and the Raingauge, All these facts, including the MEMOKIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 21 The drought of Kansas the past year, and the scarcity of water in the upper Missouri, are the result of unfailing natural laws, which must forever render the entire region, east of the Rocky Mountains, and lying west of the 98th parallel of latitude, or about the west line of Minnesota, subject to periodical famine.* The march of civilization northward, though steady and unchang- ing, has always been slow ; while at the same time it was obvious to the most common observer that a warm climate was unfavorable to health, for a large portion of each season, every year witnesses the rapid increase of western and southern travellers to the sea- board of New England during the summer months, and a large part of the incomes of the wealthier classes at the south and the west, is spent away from their homes. It is impossible for any race of men to accomplish the same physical or mechanical results in a warm climate, as in a cool, bracing one. The ship-builders of Maine, transported to Virginia, cannot compete with those left at home, though the latter are subjected to the additional expense of transport- ing timber for their ships from Virginia to Maine. fall of rain and snow, thunder storms, frosts, aurora, meteors, gales, &c., are transmitted monthly to the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, and published, or an abstract of them given. The mean annual temperature at Portland for 38 years, has been 43.21. The amount of rain and snow on a level in Portland in 1837 , was 47 inches; in 1858, 43 inches; in 1859, 43 inches; in 1860, 33 inches. We give the average amount of rain and snow in several places in this country and in Europe: Cambridge, Mass., ..... 38 Marietta, Ohio, 41 Cincinnati, " . 47 St. Louis, Mo , 32 Philadelphia, Pa., 45 Providence, R. I., 28 years, 40 London, . 23 or 24 Liverpool, 34 Rome, 36 Eastern France, . 22 Western France, . 25 British Islands, . 32 Central Germany, 20 St. Petersburg, 16 Returns from various places in Maine published by the Smithsonian Institute, show an average of 42 to 43 inches. * Essay on Meteorology in its connection with Agriculture, by Prof. Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Patent Office Report, Agriculture, 185G, p. 455, 492. 22 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. If Maine to-daj was an independent government, if her millions of revenue paid into the national treasury were applied to the de- velopment of her own resources, she might defy the competition of the world. What Maine imperatively needs at this time, is a minute and ac- curate knowledge of the geological structure of the northern and eastern portions of the State ; and it is matter for regret, that Maine has no geological map, showing its resources and the characteristics of the soil. Those sheets of Greenleaf's Map of Maine, on which Dr. Jackson noted the result of his explorations, and which were expected to accompany his final report, were never published or re- turned to the State Library, on the abrupt termination of his labors, in 1838, after he had explored a large portion of the State. Had Dr. Jackson prepared something like a general view of the geological features of the State, and their relations to those of the neighboring Provinces, in the form of a geological map, the State would, we th,ink, have continued the necessary appropriations to have completed the full survey. To obtain, therefore, an adequate idea of the capabilities of northern Maine, or of its geology, we must resort to the various publications that treat upon the geology of the neighboring States and Provinces, connecting the facts thus obtained with those furnished in the unfinished work of Dr. Jack- son. The most valuable are, the Reports of Sir William Logan, on the geology of Canada ; of Prof Johnston on the Agriculture of New Brunswick, with the accompanying geological map by Dr. Robb ; the more valuable work of Prof Dawson, on Acadian Geol- ogy ; and Dr. Jackson's partially finished geological survey of New Hampshire. Maine, specifically examined, is the geographical centre, and southeastern slope of that section of the continent which is embraced in the Acadian system of geology, which is understood to include the great peninsula south of the St. Lawrence and east of Lake Champlain, containing about 150,000 square miles of territory. That ridge of mountains which extends in a northeasterly direction from the Gulf of Mexico, 100 or 200 miles distant from the Atlan- tic coast, known as the Appalachian chain, sometimes called the Alleghany system, and gives character to the geography of the sea- board States, is cut through by the waters of the Hudson and MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 23 Lake Cbamplain, separating the Acadian Peninsula from the resi- due of the continent. The distance from the mouth of the Hudson at New York to the St. Lawrence at Sorel, following the water- courses, is 387, or in round numbers, about 400 miles. The great- est elevation is only 141 feet above tide-water, and the northern canal from the Hudson into Lake Champlain has changed this pen- insula into an island, the condition in which it formerly existed. It was originally called New England, from the belief of the early settlers that it was an island, like Old England. Maine occupies the southern and eastern slopes of this Acadian peninsula, whose axis of elevation is found upon that elevated rido-e where the waters of the Connecticut, the St. Francis, the Chau- diere, the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, the Penobscot, and the St. John, severally take their rise. The White Mountains at the south- west of the axial ridge, a,nd Katahdin at the east of intrusive rock, are out-crops on the sides, and not the axial ridge itself Dr. Jackson, in his report on the geology of New Hampshire, must have taken only a partial view of this peninsula region, if he would be understood as asserting that the White Mountains are the axis of elevation. The more recent surveys for railway purposes, between the sea-coast of New England and the St. Lawrence, the running of the boundary line under the Treaty of Washington, the explora- tion of the St. John basin, and the now existing knowledge of Aca-* dian geology derived from the works of Sir Wm. Logan and Prof. Dawson, enable us to deduce some general results determining the geology and characteristics of Maine. The Acadian Mountains, which include the entire group east of Lake Champlain and between the St. Lawrence and the sea crop out, into lofty, granitic, isolated peaks on the southern slope, from Mount Washington to Katahdin, a distance of 120 miles. The granite is chiefly found between the sources of the Connecticut and the St. John, extending southward toward the Atlantic shores : Mount Washington reaching an elevation of 6.285 feet; Katahdin rising 5,325 feet above the level of the sea. Various peaks of lesser height rise between these. The general elevation of this axial ridge, between the sources of the Connecticut and the St. John, is from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. There is only a single depression, less than this, between Arnold's river and the Kennebec, where the 24 EUROPEAN AND N, A. RAILWAY COMPANY. ridge sinks down to 1,554 feet above tide water. Lake Umbagog, the lowest of the lakes that form the chief source of the Andros- coggin, fifty miles from the boundary, was found to be 1,258 feet above the level of the sea, by actual measurement, while surveying for the line of the Montreal Railway. The upper lakes of the Androscoggin basin are several hundred feet higher than Umbagog. This Alpine region, extending from the White Mountains to Ka- tahdin, has a direction north of east, in the same general line as the sea-coast, for over one hundred and twenty miles. North, it slopes to the St Lawrence; south, to the Atlantic shore; east, it drops off into the St. John basin ; west, it is cut through by the waters of the Connecticut ; to the west of which is the Green Mountain range, continued in the Katahdin hills, which slope down toward Long Island Sound ; south and west it falls off into Lake Cham- plain and the valley of the Hudson. Minerals of great economic value are found on every side at the bases of this granitic region. Iron ore of the finest quality is found at the extreme southwest, in Salisbury, Conn., near the western base, at Franconia ; at the northeast, in Linneus, and in other sec- tions of the St. John basin. Copper ore is abundant at Leeds and Acton, in Canada ; and the same rock formation continues to Gaspe Bay, and around the northeast base of Katahdin, where copper indications are found. Marbles and sand-stones abound in the val- leys of Lake Cham plain, on the sea-coast of eastern Maine, and in the St. John basin, extending into New Brunswick. Coal is found in abundance in Nova Scotia, and coal measures, yet unworked, abound in New Brunswick. These Provinces form, in some re- spects, a separate geological district, distinguishable from the residue of the Acadian Peninsula, by a remarkable development of their carboniferous and red sand stone systems. Shales are found at Perry, in our State, but its geological structure precludes all hope of finding coal, except possibly in the basin of the Saint John. The geology of Maine is, therefore, easily defined in its leading Q^Hlines, though its economical characteristics, are as yet but little kno\v"'^' The /^ranite formation determines the character of the soil for the western po.^*'^*^^ ^^ ^^^ State, which is drained by the Saco and the Androscc^f^iu • Granite is found on the west branch of the Penob- DO MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. £5 scot, thougli the slate which forms the southern side of the great St. John basin extends around the base of Katahdin. Slate is found in abundance, suitable for working, in the lower part of the Piscataquis valley. The best of roofing slates are quarried at Brown ville.* Iron ore is abundant ten miles northeast of the Brownville slate quarries ; and extensive works have been erected for its manufacture. The following is a list of the metalic and mineral treasures, best known and of most economic value, already discovered within our territory : I. Metals and their ores. Iron Ore, Bog Iron Ore, Zinc Ore, (Blende,) Lead Ore, (Galena,) Copper Ore. II. Minerals requiring more comjdicated chemical treatment to fit them for use. Uran Ochre, Chromic Iron, Wad or Earthy Mangnese, Iron Pyrites, Solomite, Magnesite. III. Mineral Paints. Iron Ochre, Barytes, Soapstone, Phos- phate of Iron, IV. Materials applicable to jewelry. Jasper, Ribbonned Cherf. V. Minerals for glass-making. White Marty Sandstones. VI. Refractory material. Soapstone, Plumbago. (Black Lead,) Asbestos. VII. Mineral Manures. Phosphate of Lime, Fresh Water Shell Marl. VIII. Grinding and Polishing materials. Whet-stones, Mill- Stone Bock, Tripoli Earth. IX. Materials aj)plicable to common and decorative construc- tion. Roofing Slates, White Granite, Limestone, Hydraulic Lime- stone, Serpentine, Marble, Clay for brick-making. X. Peat. According to the IT. S. census for 1850, the manufacture of Clay * The slate quarries of S. E. Crocker, Esq., in Brownville, commenced in 1845, em- ploy forty to fifty men in making roof slate, producing about 10,000 squares annually. They also have a steam engine and machinery for sawing and planing slabs, mantles, tables, &o. The quarries of A. H. Merrill, Esq., in Williamsburgh, employ twenty-five hands, principally in making roof slate. These slates have been introduced into the Atlantic cities, and found equal, if not superior to Welsh state, or that of any other locality. The high cost of transport by teams, is the only drawback to their large production. With a railway communication to tide water at Bangor, forty miles, this slate would supply the entire demand for the Atlantic cities. 4 26 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. Bricks in Maine in 1850, employed |46,020 of capital, and 324 laborers, costing $88,788, yielding an annual product of |116,016. The manufacture of Lime employed $266,849 capital, 396 hands, costing for labor $149,136, yielding an annual product of $374,- 173. The stone and marble quarries numbered 62; capital em- ployed, $141,144 ; hands employed, 489 ; cost of labor, $179,544 ; value of product, $327,401. Slate quarries, 2 ; capital employed, $55,000; hands employed, 23; cost of labor, $6,072; product, $7,666. These branches of manufactures can be largely increased ; some of them indefinitely extended. The fact that the soil of the earlier settled portions was granitic in character, has caused the common belief that the soil of the State is generally sterile and unsuited to the growth of wheat. But it is found that in much the larger portions of the State, slate and lime- stone predominate ; and the whole basin of the St. John, and por- tions of the Penobscot and the Kennebec are well suited to wheat culture.* The labors of our people have been chiefly directed to the more common pursuits of agriculture, lumbering, ship-building and fishing. With the increase of wealth and population, our mines have been slightly developed, and some progress made in manufactures. Our ability to manufacture for the whole continent has been sufficiently shown already, and the question now arises, how can we make our manufacturing facilities available ? There is sufficient water on the Saco, the Presumpscot, and the Androscoggin, to turn all the cotton mills of the British Isles. The question for the American statesman * The intelligent English traveller and writer, Russell, in his late work on the Agri- culture of the United States, puts down on his grain chart the St. John basin, as the only section of the Atlantic slope, suited to the growth of wheat, east of the Allegha- nies. This great basin has all the qualities and characteristics of soil, of the St. Law- rence basin, being of secondary formation, slate or limestone, and eminently suited to the growth of cereals, potatoes, and root crops. Its climate is milder than that further south, from its generally level character and the absence of high mountains. The St. John is the largest river emptying into the Atlantic between the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, its basin embracing over 25,000 square miles. The trade of this region naturally flows into New Brunswick, though the most valuable portion of the territory lies in Maine. A railway from Bangor to Woodstock or the St. John would draw the bulk of the trade of the St. John to Bangor. Heretofore it has been regarded as chiefly valuable for its lumber. It is more valuable for the purposes of agriculture than the valley of the Genessee. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. £7 to answer is, " Shall we export our great staples, to enrich foreign- ers, or shall we weave them at home ?" It was this question Sir Walter Raleigh proposed to the British public, nearly three centu- ries ago, and the statesmen of this day point, in answer, to the statistics of British industry. The men who govern England are the wisest of their time, though the mass of the population is not so well educated as our own. Their policy is to buy raw materials, cheap for cash, convert these materials into manufactures, and sell these manufactures, on credit, all over the world. The manufacturers of the British Isles pay from 2 to 3 per cent, per annum for the use of capital ; those of the United States, under our system of currency, pay on an average more than four times the price of money in England. Her cheap capital goes all over the world, seizing hold of all the more valuable products, mines and raw materials of every land, which are trans- ported to England in a crude state, and turned into the home work- shops. Hence they re issue, vastly enhanced in value, to absorb the wealth of other nations. The cotton of India is taken up by British capitalists, transported half the circumference of the globe to the mills of Glasgow or Manchester, converted into fabrics, re- shipped to their place of export, and sold to the lords of the soil, cheaper than these last can produce them with their own rude ma- chinery, and the price of labor merely nominal. In the same way are take up the cotton of the Southern States, the wool of Brazil, and raw silks of China and Hindostan, and returned, wrought into every variety of fabric and costume. These goods are exchanged for raw materials, or sold on credit, and the slightest disturbance of trade causes at once a flow of specie to London, as the centre of the commercial system of the world, unless there is a demand for food or raw materials, to meet this indebtedness, as in the present year, from the short bread crops of 1860. The cotton fabrics of England are enhanced over 500 per cent, in value before export; and the price of iron manufactures is often from 10 to 10,000 times the value of the iron in a crude state. The following table shows the imports of raw materials for textile fabrics into Great Britain : / 28 EUROPEAN AND N, A. RAILWAY COMPANY. 1835, 1840, 1845, 1850, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, Hemp, lbs. 72,352,200 82,971,700 103,416,400 119,462,100 136,270,912 142,613,525 169,004,562 184,316,000 Flax, lbs. 81,916,100 139,301,600 159,562,300 204,928,900 145,511,437 189,792,112 209,953,125 144,439,332 Silk, lbs. 4,027,649 3,860,980 4,866,528 5,411,934 7,548,659 8,236,685 12,718,867 6,635,845 Wool, lbs. 41,718,514 50,002,976 76,813,855 74,326,778 99,300,446 116,211,392 129,749,898 127,216,973 Cotton, lbs. 326,407,692 531,197,817 721,979,953 714,502,600 891,751,963 1,023,886,304 969,318,896 1,076,519,800 This table gives only, the imports from foreign countries^ and does not include the home production of wool ; or the chief produc- tion of Ireland, the flax-crop. The value of the British cotton manufactures in 1857, was estimated at $430,000,000, of which more than one half was exported to foreign countries. The fol- lowing table shows the amount of cotton goods imported into the United States : 1853, .... $26,412,243 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 32,477,106 15,742.923 24,337,504 28,114,924 17,574,142 26,026,140 The growth of the cotton manufactures is the most remarkable fact in the history of civilization.* In 1764, the imports of cotton *"The word cotton, which is adopted in all the modern languages of Europe, is derived from an Arab word. The origin of the use of fabrics made from this article dates very far back. In the time of Herodotus, all the Indians wore them; in the first centuries before Christ, there were manufactories of cotton tissues in Egypt and Arabia, but the Greeks and the Romans do not appear to have used them much. The Chinese did not commence cultivating the cotton plant until after the conquest of the Tartars in the thirteenth century, and at that same period cotton tissues formed an important article of commerce in the Crimea and southern Russia, whither they were brought from Turkistan. From the tenth century, the Arabs had naturalized the cotton plant in Spain; and in the fourteenth, the eottonades of Granada surpassed in reputation those of the East. The manufacture of cotton goods in Italy dates as far back as the com- mencement of the fourteenth century, the first establishments being at Milan and Venice. It is presumed that there were at that period manufactories for cotton goods in England, as Deland, who lived in the time of Henry VIII., speaks of some being at Bolton-on-the-Moor, and an act of Parliament of 1552, under Edward VI., mentions the cotton tissues of Manchester, Lancashire, and Cheshire. The cotton manufacture did not acquire any importance in France until 1787, when the French Government estab- lished spinning machines at Rouen; but it was not, however, until under the Empire, that this branch of industry beGa:me flourishing." MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 29 into England, were 4,000,000 pounds; in 1780, 7,000,000; in 1790, 30,000,000; in 1800, 50,000,000; in 1815, 99,000,000; in 1820, 152,000,000; in 1825, 229,120,000 ; in 1830, 266,000,- 000; in 1835, 364,000,000; in 1840, 592,000,000; in 1845, 722,000,000; in 1849, 775,000,000; in 1857, 1,034,342,000. In 1800, the cotton crop of the United States was 35,000 bales; in 1820, 509,158; in 1825, 569,240; in 1830, 996,845; in 1835, 1,254,328; in 1840, 2,177,855; and in 1850, 2,096,706. The following table shows the amount shipped from the southern ports of the United States, and the consumption in the United States, north of Virginia : Cotton shi[ )ped. Consumed i in U. S. 1850, 2,096,706 bales. 613,498 bales. 1851, 2,355,257 485,614 u 1852, 3,015,029 699,603 '' 1853, 3,262,882 803,725 1854, 2,930,027 737,236 1855, 2,847,339 706,452 1856, 3,527,845 • 770,739 1857, 2,939,519 819,936 1858, 3,113,962 595,562 1859, 3,851,481 927,651 1860, 4,675,770 978,043 Cotton exported in I860, to Great Britain, 2,669,432 France, . 589,587 North of Europe, 295,072 Other foreig] a. ports, . - . 220,082 The value of the cotton exported for the last eleven years, as shown bj the returns of commerce and navigation of the United States, is as follows ; Value. Av. price per lb. in cts. 1850, 71,984,616 8. 1851, 112,315,307 12.10 1852, 87,965,732 8.05 1853, 109,456,404 9.85 1854, 93,596,220 9.47 1855, 88,143,844 8.74 30 EUEOPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, 128,382,351 131,675,859 131,386,601 161,434,923 191,806,558 The production of cotton in each State, of 1850, was as follows Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, 10.37 12.84 12.50 12,12 12. as shown by the census 564,429 bales. 499,091 494,774 300,901 192,635 163,034 98,028 64,987 57,945 45,078 3,947 1,669 2,484,531 According to the census of 1850, the number of cotton manufac- tures established in the United States, was 1,074 ; capital employed, $76,032,578 ; cost of material, $37,778,064— employing 35,295 male, and 62.661 female laborers; or a total of 97,956 persons; cost of labor, $17,267,112; value of product, $65,501,687. The value of cotton manufactures as given in the United States Census in each State in 1850, was as follows : ,— Hands employed. — . Value. Male. Female. Massachusetts, 21,394,401 9,592 20,844 'New Hampshire, 8,861, U9 2,915 9,235 Ehode Island, 6,495,9t2 4,84t 5,901 Pennsylvania, 5,812,126 4,283 4,374 New York, 5,019,323 3,379 5,499 Connecticut, 4,122,952 2,665 3,313 Maine, 2,630,616 849 3,072 MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 31 Maryland, 2,021,396 1,212 2,035 Virginia, 1,446,109 1,151 1,578 Georgia, 1,398,056 816 1,291 New Jersey, 1,289,648 739 1,299 North Carolina, 985,411 492 1,372 South Carolina, 842,440 436 676 Ohio, 594,204 268 434 Delaware, 538,439 413 425 Tennessee, 508,481 316 592 Kentucky, 445,639 210 316 Alabama, 398,585 349 397 Vermont, 280,300 123 207 Missouri, 142,900 75 80 District of Columbia, 100,000 41 103 Indiana, 86,660 QQ 79 Florida, 49,920 28 67 Mississippi, 22,000 16 14 Arkansas, 17,000 14 18 $65,501,687 35,295 65,661 The exports of cotton goods, the products of our own manufacto- ries, have been as follows : 1847, . $10,351,364 1848, . 12,774,480 1849, . 11,249,877 1850, . 15,196,451 1851, . 20,136,967 1852, . 18,862,931 1853, . 22,599,930 1854, . 26,849,411 1855, . 28,833,299 1856, . 30,907,992 1857, . 30,805,126 1858, . 27,641,208 1859, . 31,579,008 1860, . 85,455,644 The American people are fond of comparing their progress in population, commerce, tonnage, miles of railroad and material de- nts, with that of the British isles. And the picture is, in 32 EUROPEAN AND N. A, RAILWAY COMPANY, most particulars, flattering to our national vanity. Their popula- tion in 1851, was 27,452,262; that of the United States in 1850, 23,196,876. In numerical population, the United States have surppssed them already, reaching in 1860, 31,274,856. In free white inhabitants the two are nearly equal. The free population of the United States, by the census of 1860, is 27,496,856. Our commercial marine was 5,145,037 tons in 1859, to 4,269,107 tons of theirs.* In miles of railway in operation, we exceed them, by more than three times their amount. At the end of the year 1860, * Peogress of British Shipping — Rapid Increase. of Steam Tonnage. — The Liver- pool Mercury presents the following review of the shipping interest of Great Britain: It appears from a return just laid before Parliament that ti-e number of British registered vessels employed in the home and foreign trade, has increased from 17,828 in the year 1855, to 19,570 in the year 1859; that the tonnage has increased from 3,990,170 tons to 4,269,109 tons, and that the number of men employed exclusive of masters, has increased from 168,537 in 1855 to 172,506 in 1859, There is therefore, a considerable increase of vessels, tonnage and seamen employed in 1859, but that year is not the best of the series, for in 1858 the number of vessels was 20,071, the tonnage was 4,325,242, and the number of men employed was 177,832. The pressure on the shipping interest, which was no doubt very severe in the year 1859, although somewhat diminished in 18C0 was the cause of the difference. There are fluctuations from year to year, but always a considerable increase if a period of four or five years is taken. It appears however, from this return, that a gre.it change is taking place in the pro- portions between the steam and sailing vessels of this country. As regards the sailing vessels the increase is only from 3,701,214 tons in 1856 to 3,879,592 in 1859; whilst in steam vessels the increase in that period is from 288,956 tons to 389,515. This, it will be seen is a very much more rapid rate of increase. The tendency in the British mer- cantile marine is very strong to substitute the rapid and regular power of steam for the baffling and uncertain power of wind, and this tendency will become still stronger if the experiments which have been tried by the Pacific Ocean Steam Navigation Company in economizing fuel should be as successful as they are expected to be. According to statements made with regard to the result of these experiments, the saving of fuel is from one-half to two-thirds. The increase in the tonnage of the sailing vessels employed in the home trade is from 691,128 to 777,422 tons, whilst the increase in the tonnage of steamers employed in the home trade is from 57,415 to 90,867 tons. There is no increase, but a decrease from 210,114 to 132,768 tons, in British vessels employed partly as home-trade ships and partly as foreign-going ships, whilst in steam vessels engaged in that trade there is an increase from 12,562 tons to 21,123 tons. In foreign-going ships the increase in sailing vessels is from 2,799,972 tons to 277,527 tons. The total increase in sailing vessels is thus from 3,701,214 tons to 3,879,592 tons, whilst the increase in steam vessels is from 288,956 to 388,517 tons. A increase of 100,000 tons of steam shipping is equal to more than an increase of 200,000 tons of sailing shipping, whether we consider the cost of construction or the power of navigation. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR, 33 the United States had 31,168 miles of railway in operation, costing $1,177,993,818, or $37,500 per mile— to 9,140 miles in all the British Isles, costing $1,627,102,594, or $179,000 per mile. The following table shows the amount of tonnage built and owned in the United States, the past ten years : Tonnago built. 1849, . . . 256,5n 1250, . . . 272,218 1851, . . . 298,203 1852, . . . 351,493 1853, . . . 425,572 1854, . . . 535,616 1855, . . . 583,450 1856, . . . 469,393 1857, . . . 378,804 1858, . . . 242,286 1859, . . . 156,602 The following table shows the exports and imports of the United States for the last ten years, the population of the country, and the consumption per capita of foreign goods : Tonnage owned. 3,334,015 3,535,454 3,772,439 4,138,440 4,407,010 4,802,902 6,212,001 4,871,652 4,940,848 5,049,808 5,145,037 Exports — value. Imports — value. Population. Ratio. 1850-1, 218,348,000 216,224,932 23,887,767 8.02 1851-2, 209,658,000 212,945,442 24,604,395 8.00 1852-3, 230,976,000 267,978,647 25,342,526 10.00 1853-4, 278,241,000 304,562,381 26,102,801 10.00 1854-5, 275,156,000 261,468,520 26,885,888 8.79 1855-6, 326,964,000 314,639,942 27,692,461 10.88 1856-7, 362,960,000 360,890,141 28,523,234 11.82 1857-8, 324,644,000 282,613,150 29,378,901 8.50 1858-9, 356,689,000 338,768,130 30,270,268 10.46 1859-60, 400,167,000 361,797,209 *31, 714,635 11.52 ^POPTTLATION OP THE UNITED STATES. Fr&e States. 1850. I860. Increase. Ratio of inc. Maine, 583,235 628,000 45,365 7.8 New Hampshire, 317,976 326,072 8,096 2.5 Vermont, 314,120 315,827 1,607 0.5 Massachusetts, 994,514 1,231.697 237,183 23.7 Rhode Island, 147,545 174,621 27,166 18.4 Connecticut, 370,792 460,670 89,878 24.2 New York, 3,097,394 3,851,563 754,169 24.3 New Jersey, 489,555 676,034 86,479 17.8 34 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. But on looking at the tables of British commerce; their superior- ity is at once apparent. The following shows the value of British imports and exports in sterling currency : Exports. Imports. 1855, . . . £116,691,300 £143,342,850 1856, . . . 139,220,358 172,544,154 1851, . . . 145,569,002 187,646,335 The apparent excess of imports over exports is a curious illustra- tion of the system of valuation, and a fictitious rather than a real measure of value. To the export price must also be added profits. Population of the United States, {Continued.) 1850. 1860. Increase. Ratio of inc. Pennsylvania, 2,311,786 2,916,018 604,232 26.1 Ohio, 1,989,329 2,377,917 397,588 20.1 Indiana, 988,416 1,350,802 362,382 36.7 Illinois, 851,470 1.691,233 839,763 98.6 Michigan, 397,654 754,291 367,637 92.2 Wisconsin, 305,391 768,485 463,094 118.9 Iowa, 192,122 682,002 489,880 254.9 Minnesota, 6,077 172,793 166,601 2690.5 Oregon, 13,294 52,556 39,252 295.2 California, 92,597 384,770 292,173 315.5 • Kansas, - 143,645 - - Total, 13,454,382 18,959,596 5,505,314 40.8 Slave States,— -Non-Cotton States. Delaware, 91,532 112,353 20,821 22.7 Maryland, 583,034 731,565 148,531 25.3 Virginia, 1,421,661 1,593,199 171.536 12,6 North Carolina, 869,039 1,088,342 219,303 25.1 Kentucky, 982,405 1,159,609 177,204 18. Tennessee, 1,002,717 1,146,540 143,823 14.3 Missouri, 682,044 1,231,697 549,653 80.6 Arkansas, 209,897 331,710 121,813 57.1 5,842,329 7,395,015 1,552,686 26.5 Cotton States South Carolina, 668,507 715,371 46,864 7. Georgia, 906,185 1,082,797 176,512 18.3 Alabama, 771,623 995,917 224,294 29. Florida, 87,445 145,694 68,249 78. Mississippi, 606,326 887,158 280,832 46.3. Louisiana, 517,762 666,431 148,769 28.9 Texas, » 212,592 600,955 387.363 182.2 3,770,440 5,094,323 1,323,883 35.1 Total, 9,612,769 12,489,338 2,876,569 29. MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 35 freight, insurance and commissions. The real value of the exports of the imperial government is estimated at over $1,000,000,000 for the past year. The preceding figures and tables show that, while the United States have increased more rapidly than the British Isles, in popu- lation, ship building, commercial tonnage and miles of railway, other facts must be given showing that they have not kept pace with them in the growth of manufactures, especially cotton, though producing the raw material, and having facilities for its manufacture in far Slave Population. 1850. 1860. , Ratio of s Decrease . Increase. Delaware, 2,290 1,805 21.5 _ Maryland, 90,368 85,382 5.5 - Virginia, 472,528 495,826 - 4.9 North Carolina, 288,548 328,377 - 13.7 South Carolina, 384,984 407,135 ■ - 5.9 Georgia, 381,682 467,400 - 25.1 Florida, 39,310 63,846 - 62.4 Alabama, 342,844 435,473 - 29.9 Mississippi, 309,878 479,607 - 51.5 Louisiana, 244,809 312,166 - 19. Arkansas, 47,100 109,035 - 152.7 Texas, 58,161 184,956 - 236.7 Kentucky, 210,981 223,490 - 6.7 Tennessee, 239,459 237,112 1. - Missouri, 87,422 115,619 - 32.3 3,204,313 3,999,853 24.8 Territories. District of Columbia, 51,687 75,321 New Mexico, 61,547 93,024 Nebraska, - 28,893 , Dakotah, - 4,839 Utah, 11,380 50,000 Washington, - 11,624 124,514 263,701 Total population. 23,191,151 31,714,635 Deduct slaves. 3,204,313 3,999,853 19,887,838 27,714,782 Ratio of inc. Increase of population from 1850 to 1860, 8,523,484 36.7 Increase of free population " 7,826,944 39.3 Increase of slave population " 795,640 24.8 3g EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. greater perfection and more abundant profusion. The details of the British cotton manufactures are of deep interest, and deserving of some notice, in this connection. England and Wales had, in 1850, 1,753 cotton factories ; 223,626 looms; 19,173,969 spindles. In 1856, 2,046 factories; 295,590 looms; 25,818,516 spindles. In 1858, there were in Lancashire alone, 1,480 factories; 360,000 looms ; 28,000,000 spindles; em- ploying 400,000 persons. And in England and Wales, 3,046 factories; 700,000 looms; 56,000,000 spindles, employing, 800,000 operatives. In Scotland, the cotton manufacture is of recent intro- duction, but its factories are of unrivalled beauty and fineness. The number of cotton factories in 1837, was 177. In 1850, there were 168 cotton factories; 1,683,078 spindles; 28,564 power looms; 36,325 operatives. In 1857, there 152 cotton factories; 2,041,129 spindles ; 21,624 power looms, driven by 9,961 horse power, of which 7,641 was steam, employing 34,698 hands, of whom 7,609 were males, and 27,089 females. In 1880, the consumption of cotton in the British Isles, was 5,260,000 bales. Of this amount over one-half, or 1,183,800,000 pounds, came from the United States, at a cost of $150,000,000. The manufacture employed 1,500,000 persons, and supported 6,000,- 000 persons. The value of manufactured goods was $660,000,000, about one-half of which was exported to foreign countries. The capital invested in the cotton manufacture in 1858, was $525,000,000; 1860, rising $600,000,000. Valuable as is the cotton crop, as a means of wealth to England and her people, it constitutes but a small item in the aggregate of the productive power of the United States. The entire cotton crop of 1860 was worth 248,000,000. The other staples produced by the agricultural population in 1860, were as follows : Value. $450,000,000 300,000,000 225,500,000" 60,000,000 64,000,000 Sugar, (pounds,) 700,000,000 40,000,000 Products. Bushels. Corn, 750,000,000 Hay, (tons,) 25,000,000 Wheat, 205,000,000 Potatoes, 140,000,000 Oats, 160,000,000 MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 37 Tobacco, - 30,000,000 Other products, - 250,000,000 Aggregate, $1,419,500,000 Add to these the crops of lumber, coal and gold, and the aggre- gate value of our other raw materials is seven times greater than that of cotton. There can be no doubt that the increase of the cotton manufac- ture of the world might have been chiefly confined to the United States, from 1846 to 1860, had the policy of our government favored it. The capital and the operatives might be easily trans- ported from the Severn or the Chyde to the Androscoggin or the Saco, but for legislation adverse to free labor. But the increase in the United States has been comparatively trifling in amount. The census returns of 1860 are not yet published, but by the valuation statistics of Massachusetts, the increase of cotton looms, as re- ported to the Valuation Committee, was only from 32,539 in 1850, to 41,999 in 1860; of spindles, from 1,220,752 in 1850, to 1,694,- 949 in 1860. The increase in Maine has been in a greater ratio, but not in other States. The United States produce at this time all the most valuable raw materials that enter into manufactures, or are suitable for human sustenance ; and it would be far better to invite to our shores the skilled labor of Europe, and the most highly cultivated of its citi- zens and mechanics, in place of the ruder forms of emigration. Instead of this, we have seen the price of labor advance in the British Isles, by the opening our markets to the productions of their workshops. The following table shows the average wages in the Manchester District in 1839, when the hours of work were 11 1-2 hours per day, with the present 10 hour system in 1859 : Cotton Spinning — Weekly Wages, 1839. 1859. Hours per week, 69 60 Occupations. Engine tender, $5 81 $Y 26 Warehouse boys, 1 69 1 94 Warehouse men, 4 36 5 32 1 69 1 94 2 66 3 39 1 45 1 10 1 57 1 94 81 to 4 36 4 84 to 5 1 94 2 42 1 69 2 18 91 1 21 2 42 3 15 5 81 6 81 38 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. Scutchers, Skippers, Cardminders, Driving frame tenders, Spinners on self-acting mules, Piercers, Doublers, (women,) D offers, (girls,) Jobbers, Overlookers, Of the whole number of operatives, 19 per cent, are men, 50.2 per cent, women, 6.6 per cent, boys, 24.2 per cent, girls. This increase in the price of labor in England has taken place within the last ten years. For the twenty-five years from 1825 to 1850, there was a steady decline in the price of labor ; and by the aid of machinery and mechanical skill every manufactured article declined also in price, from the close of the European war, in 1815, till the new supply of gold and the increased production of cotton, within the last ten years, gave a new impulse to the manufacturing industry of Great Britain. Maine, in common with the whole United States, increased under that policy known as the American system, introduced by Mr. Cal- houn and others, soon after the close of the war of 1812. Had that policy continued till this time, much of the best population of Europe would have been transferred to our shores, and large amounts of its abundant capital planted upon the mill sites of New England and the Middle States. The compromise tariff of 1833 gradually sapped the foundations of manufacturing industry, and public prosperity ; led our people into- those enormous importations of foreign goods, which carried ruin to thousands, and wide spread bankruptcy from 1837 to 1842. The exhausted condition of the National Treasury, caused a return to the principles of this system in 1842. Under that Tariff Act, public credit revived, individual and national prosperity returned, to be again weakened by the re- peal of that tariff in 1846. The unexpected discovery and vast supply of gold from California, postponed the enevitable revolution that followed the repeal of the Tariff Act of 1842 and the enact- MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 39 ment of the tariff of 1846, till 1857, the extent of our indebted- ness to Europe produced the panic and the bankruptcy of that year.* It is believed that large sums of money were contributed in Eu- rope to overthrow the tariff of 1842. Lists have been published in England, and this country also, without contradiction, of the sums raised for the purpose, showing that our public men were in- duced to legislate, or favor legislation favorable to foreign capital, and in opposition to domestic labor. It may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that with the exception of the four years, from 1842 to 1846, the legislation of Congress from 1883 to this time, has been for the benefit of European capital, and against the industry, capital and labor of the United States. A return of the national government to the American system is, of all things, the most needed. In this system we would include the British North American Provinces. They are- in many respects situated like our- selves ; full of raw material and the means of wealth, requiring protection to home industry, against the competition of European labor ; and the introduction of capital into manufactures. Nothing can more clearly show the value of the principle of pro- tection, than the recent example of Canada. Regardless of the remonstrances of the Sheffield manufacturers, or of the intimations of the Colonial office, Canada passed a protective tariff, placing the Imperial government and the manufactures of England on an equal- ity with those of the United States, and all other countries. The effect was soon perceived in a transfer of manufacturing capital, from the United States into Canada. At the Provincial Exhibition, which was opened at Montreal, by the Prince of Wales and the Colonial Secretary, in August last, citizens of the American Re- public saw the productions of Canadian workshops, in every form of industry, precisely similar to those formerly made exclusively on this side of the line. The same hands had produced them ; the * It is a striking fact in the history of the country, that the currency of the United States was in the most perfect condition ever known, at the commencement of the year 1846, just hefore the breaking down of the tariff of 1842. It appears by the returns of the banks for January 1, 1846, that the specie basis of the bank circulation was rela- tively greater than at any other period. The enlargements of the bank circulation Lad been followed by a still greater enlargement of the specie in the banks. 40 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. same capital was employed ; but our citizens had quietly withdrawn that capital and that skilled labor across the frontier. A similar policy, wisely adapted to American necessities, will enable us to recall these, or to bring capital and a full supply of operatives from England and Scotland, to occupy our water powers, and develop our mineral treasures in Maine. It is due to truth to state, that Maine threw away the golden opportunity, by her illiberal policy for many years, and during all that period when the protective policy of the nation would have been most valuable to her. But fortunately, the disastrous results of this shortsightedness, have worked a radical change of opinion, and all classes now favor the policy of encouraging home manufac- tures. But a different sentiment prevailed then in other States, and they secured the capital, thus seeking investment in manufac- tures. Those manufactures of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which Maine rejected, were chiefly planted before the breaking down of the American system. Maine was opposed to this system, but its results are shown in the relative increase of the two States, of Maine and Massachusetts, from 1820 to 1860 : Maine. Massachusetts. Population. Increase. Ratio. Population. Increase. Ratio. 1790, 90,520 378,717 1800, 153,n9 5Y,199 57 423,245 44,528 11 1810, 228,705 U,986 60 472,040 48,725 11 1820, 298,335 69,630 30 523,287 51,247 10 1830, 399,995 101,660 33 610,408 87,121 16 1840, 499,920 99,925 26 737,699 127,221 20 1850, 583,190 83,290 16 994,514 256,815 34 1860, 628,600 45,365 7 8-10 1,231,497 236,983 24 Massachusetts has changed places with Maine, in the rank of progressive States, and actually draws from us our native popula- tion, to swell her numbers and her industry. The increase of Maine has fallen below that ever known in Massachusetts, at the lowest stages of depression, if we may rely on the disclosures of the recent census. Assuming the correctness of the foregoing premises, which no one probably will call in question, the inquiry arises. Can the Legislature of Maine do anything to check the flow of emigration MEMORIAL OP JOHN A. POOR. 4.J from the State, and develop more rapidly its vast natural re- sources ? If one cannot satisfactorily answer this question, he may venture to refer to the example of other communities for instruction and guidance. England, at this time, the great commercial nation of the world — though only a second-rate power, two hundred years ago — prohibited the export of raw material, and protected her man- ufactures by high duties, till she had thereby drawn to her shores, the more skilful artizans of every European nation : — woollen man- ufacturers from Flanders — silk weavers, and w^orkers in chrystals and glass, from France; — makers of watches and mathematical instruments from Switzerland — workers in decorative art from Italy. Having perfected the skill of her laborers, increased their power of production by the aid of machinery, and amassed abundant capital, her manufacturers became a power in the State. They then changed their tactics, sought to make their country the workshop of the world, and invited other nations, especially our own, to join them in the policy of free trade — to enlarge, the market for their manufactures, at the expense of our own. Wisdom on our part, would seem to demand, protection to our own industry, from all foreign manufactures ; till competition at home shall equalize the profits of industry in the working of our raw materials. We ought also to have such an adjustment of our tariff as to favor the produc- tion of those articles that can be profitably produced in the United States. Over $100,000,000 are paid out annually by the people of this country, for manufactured articles, in the form of iron, of earthen ware, of woollen, and cotton fabrics, and other articles that could as well be produced at home. W^e should therefore seek from the action of the United States Congress, such relief, as it can easily give. But the State can do something independent of '"Congress, or tho General Government, as other States have done, to aid in the con- struction of railways, and to invite capital into manufactures. In New York, Massachusetts and other States, where the cost of rail- ways is less per mile than in Maine, and private capital more abun- dant, the State has stepped in to aid private enterprise in the con- struction of railways. New York also built a magnificent line of canal, to facilitate the transit of produce, before the railway had 6 ^2 EUROPEAN AND N. A, EAILWAY COMPANY. come into use, and this policy advanced the population of the Empire State from 959,049 in 1810, to 3,851,563, in 1860. The British Provinces of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, have carried out the chief portions of the finest system of railway in the world, at the public expense, or by government aid ; and are only waiting the action of Maine, to complete the link, in the chain of iron, that shall connect Halifax to St. John and the east — with Maine, Canada and the west. Private enterprize has extended Imes of railway from the western border of this State, to Bangor ; which, with other lines of railway, form an aggregate of 544 miles ; and on which has been expended $19,650,985 of capital, without a dollar of State aid. But the trunk line for the State is yet nearly 100 miles distant from the eastern frontier. The government and people of the Lower Provinces, are prepared to meet us at the boun- bary, on being assured of the completion of our railway to that point. The line of the European and North American Railway of New Brunswick, is already finished, from the city of St. John to Shediac, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 110 miles, and from Halifax to Truro, 61 miles, more than half the distance from Halifax to the boundary of New Brunswick. The carrying out of the line on this side the boundary of Maine, to meet that of New Brunswick, ac- complishes, as Governor Washburn aptly suggested in his late mes- sage, the double purpose of a railway to Aroostook, and the contin- uation of the international line from Bangor to Halifax. The friends of both objects should be one in interest, in feeling and in action. The European and North American Railway is the natural and appropriate extension of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. The plan originated in the refusal of the British government to carry out the Halifax and Quebec Railway project, and was matured in 1850, in advance of the Grand Trunk project, and was the chief inducement for the absorption of the Portland and Montreal Rail- road into that giant undertaking. The Portland and Montreal line was projected and set on foot in 1844. In 1845, the Halifax and Quebec project was started. The Imperial government caused a survey of the line, and held out encouragement for its construction. But in 1850, Earl Grey declined to afford the expected assistance, and the Portland convention was called, which resulted in the plan MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 43 and agreement to carry out the European and North American Railway. The fidelity of the people and the authorities of New Brunswick to their engagements made at Portland, has been fruit- ful of great results, and their line has been extended from the city of St. John, East as far as the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, and will ere long be connected with the Halifax line at Truro, leaving only the line from St. John to Bangor, to secure the completion of the European and North American Railway. The European and North American Railway therefore, though commonly regarded as a local enterprize, aftecting mainly the city of Bangor and the eastern counties, is in point of fact, of more conse- quence to the city of Portland and the western counties, than to any other portion of the State. This will be readily admitted, by those fully acquainted with the geographical relations of the Acadian Peninsula, and familiar with the system of International and Inter- colonial railways built or proposed within it. Portland, with its unrivalled harbor, owes its chief commercial importance to the fact of its being the ocean terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway, and the Packet Station in winter for the Canadian mails. The vessels of the Montreal Steamship Company's line, make twenty-four weekly trips each way annually, between Port- land and Liverpool, and Portland is thereby made a point for the accumulation and distribution of freight to and from Canada, the Lower Provinces and the United States, forwarded to or received from Europe. The future growth and prosperity of Portland depend on its ability to retain its present advantages. As the exporting and im- porting station for the traffic of a line of railway of over 1,000 miles in length, costing when fully equipped, $81,000,000, Portland must eventually assume a high rank among the commercial cities of the United States. If Portland is connected by railway with St. John, New Brunswick, by the way of Bangor, these facilities of communication, in addition to lines of steamers between Portland and St. John, will satisfy the wants of the Lower Provinces, in their intercourse with Canada and the West. But should Portland become indifferent to this consideration, and the city of St. John be induced to construct a line of railway through British territory, to the River Du Loup, the eastern terminus 44 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. of the Grand Trunk Railway, nothing could prevent the transfer of a large portion of the Grand Trunk business designed for, or re- ceived from Europe, by the way of Portland, to some eastern Pro- vincial port, which would then become the Canadian Mail Packet Station ; and the rival of Portland for Canadian and Western trade. The distance from the River Du Loup to St. John is not greater than that from Montreal to Portland, and in the summer months, the Steam Propellers from the Upper Lakes could deliver their cargoes of Western produce at River Du Loup instead of Montreal. Montreal and Portland would at once lose their present prestige, if not suffer largely by the competition of these more eastern ports, on the St. Lawrence and on the Atlantic. The Grand Trunk Railway would also be forced into the necessity of shortening its line from Island Pond to Montreal, by the building of 100 additional miles of railway by the Missisqua valley, to secure any advantage in dis- tance, over its Eastern competitor, from River Du Loup to St. John. All the western counties in this State, therefore, are interested in the success and present policy of the Grand Trunk Railway Com- pany. The intelligent merchants of Portland, fully appreciate the im- portance of connecting St. John and the lower Provinces with Ban- gor and Portland by railway. The Board of Trade of Portland unanimously adopted a Resolution in favor of the passage of the Bill of last year, proposing to grant aid to the E. & N. A. Railway Co., by the transfer to it, of the lands lying on the waters of the Penob- scot and St. John rivers, and the claims of Maine, on the United States government, to facilitate its construction from Bangor to St. John. They have, also, since then, organized a Steamboat Com Tjany, and run a line of steamers between Portland and St. John, touching at Eastport ; which line is now in successful operation. It is 'Portland, therefore, and that portion of Maine directly con- cerned in the business of the Grand Trunk Railway, that is most deeply interested in the successful and early accomplishment of the European and North American Railway. Direct aid from the State, in the form of annual loan and tax, to an amount of $50,000, securing, as it would, an advance of fl, 000, 000 towards the construction of the line — would enable private individuals to finish the line proposed to a point of junction MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 45 with the railway from St. John to the boundary, and to extend it to Houlton, and the St. John river at Woodstock, a branch railroad. The enhanced value of the public lands, by this measure, would, it ia believed, not only meet this annual appropriation, but fully dis- charge the present State indebtedness. Only about 2,000,000 acres of public lands remain — the remnant of a once noble inheritance — and these are of comparatively little present value. But by the construction of the proposed line of railway, they would be quadrupled in value at once; and being brought into market, would attract a valuable population to the State. The policy of granting State aid, direct to the railways, and enjoying the benefits of the rise in the value of the lands, has many claims to favor. But aid in some form or other, by a loan of credit, for which the vote of the people must be had — or by a grant of a portion of the State lands — those lying on the waters of the Penob- scot and St. John, or by an annual appropriation of money, seems to be imperatively demanded by the people of the Lower Provinces and the interests of the State. If other sections of the State, those counties where unsold public lands remain^ may fairly claim a share of the State bounty, it would be just that all enterprises of State necessity, be in the same manner promoted. High taxes are the curse of any people. The dread of taxation is the great check to public enterprise. But if, by this means, you add largely to the means of payment, there is no burden, but the contrary. A large nominal, or relative amount of taxation to each individual, is not the true measure of public burdens ; but the com- parative amount of means of payment, to the taxes raised. In Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, the Hanse Towns, and other European States, the amount of taxation is far in excess of the sums paid in the United States ; yet the burden is less, from the amount of their wealth, or means of payment, their profitable com- merce, and their thriving manufactures. The following table shows the present population, the value of the external commerce, the amount of commercial transactions for each inhabitant, and the annual taxation of each individual, — :of some of the leading nations of the earth : 46 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. Population. Value of Commerce. For each inhab. To each inhab. Great Britain, 28,154,000 1,670,000,000 59 20 12 01 Holland, 3,451,000 320,000,000 92 60 10 95 France, 36,039,000 1,065,000,000 25 40 10 08 Sweden, Norway and Denmark, T,800,000 165,000,000 22 00 6 94 Belgium, 4,585,000 365,000,000 10 00 6 45 Portugal, 3,500,000 44,200,000 12 60 3 60 Spain, 16,600,000 123,000,000 11 60 6 21 Prussia and the Zollverein, 32,t00,000 440,000,000 13 40 5 47 Austria, 39,400,000 362,320,000 8 20 3 45 Russia, 60,123,000 220,000,000 3 60 3 67 The Hanse Towns, 500,000 622,000,000 125 01 - U. S. of America, 31,274,856 161,000,000 24 40 2 45 If we follow this comparison still more into detail, we shall find that the taxation of the people of Maine, for all purposes — national, State, county, city, town, parish and school taxes, will average nearly ^4.00 to each person; in Massachusetts, $6.00, and in the city of New York, $10.00, to each person. And yet so great is the amount of wealth in the places last named, that property is taxed less, in proportion to its value, than in Maine. The increase of population is the great source of wealth, in the United States ; and the increase of wealth is the chief spur to enter- prise, in the newly settled sections of the country. A decline of population, in any place, causes an immediate fall in the price of real estate, as certainly as an increase of population causes an ad- vance of price. This is seen at Lewiston, Biddeford, and other places in the State, where the entire value of the capital invested in manufactures has been imparted to the real estate of the neigh- borhood by the increase of the resident population. It is in the power of the present Legislature to change the condi- tion of Maine from one of threatened decline to that of health and prosperity, without any increase to the public burdens. By ex- empting investments in manufacturing industry employed in work- ing cotton or wool, from taxation, for a term of years, by a State law, millions of money can be drawn from abroad into this channel of industry, without any injustice to the communities where such MEMORIAL OF JOHN A. POOR. 47 capital may be located. Without such investments the progress of business may continue to be slow ; — with them, a new value may be imparted to every species of property in the vicinity. By the appropriation of $50,000 annually to aid the construction of lines of railway to the northeastern frontier of Maine, there would be an addition made to the value of every acre of the 2,000,000 of public lands of the State, and to twice as many more acres, of valu- able farming lands, held by individuals, lying in the upper basin of the Penobscot and St. John rivers. The proceeds of the land office would undoubtedly meet such an appropriation, if limited to the proceeds of the land office not to exceed $50,000 annually; and a rapid sale of the lands might be effected, if assurance was given, of the certain completion of the railway. The easiest method of pay- ing the State debt is to increase the value of the public lands. The vast advantages to the whole State, and to the country, of the com- pletion of the European and North American Railway, are already admitted ; and the earnest advocacy of its claims to State aid, by the present Chief Magistrate, and his predecessors in office, ought to arouse the patriotism of those on whom the responsibility of its success or failure must rest — the members of the Legislature. The appropriation of the claims of Maine on the United States govern- ment, and of the proceeds of the land office, to aid this line, as advised by the Governor,' seem to meet unusual favor. Born to an inheritance worthy of the noblest ambition of any people, the sons of Maine have only to invoke the exercise of the commonest principles of enlightened selfishness, to realise for their State, at an early day, the high destiny that awaits her in the future. Larger than all the residue of New England ; capable of sustaining a population denser than that of Rhode Island or Massa- chusetts; possessing a soil rendered fruitful and productive by culti- vation ; a climate bracing and healthful ; valuable minerals widely distributed over its surface, or beneath its soil; rich forests of timber easily transported to market ; abundant water-power readily brought to the aid of human labor for the production of manufactures ; build- ing materials of all descriptions within her own borders ; navigable rivers, and the means of communication by sea, open at all seasons 48 EUROPEAN AND N. A. RAILWAY COMPANY. of the year; the finest sea-fisheries of the Atlantic shore; a popula- tion, not inferior to that of any other section of the country in physical strength and resource ; enjoying many advantages of moral and intellectual culture ; free from all public burdens in the shape of high taxes ; — what shall prevent Maine from recovering the ad- vantages temporarily lost, by the ignorance and selfishness of former years, and reaching that high position, that political and commercial importance to which in the judgment of all intelligent strangers, she is entitled ? JOHN A. POOR. APPENDIX. STATISTICS OF MAINE. 1850. I860. Square miles of territory, 31,T66 - Population, 583,190 628,600 Increase in ten years, - 45,410 Population per square mile, 18.86 19.28 Ratio of increase per square mile, - 1.42 Ratio of increase in ten years, . - 7.80 Number of acres in the State, 20,330,242 - Number of farms. 46,760 - Number of acres in farms, 4,555,393 - Number of acres cultivated, 2,039,596 - Size of farms in acres, 9t - Value of farms per acre. $12.04 - Number of families, 103,333 - Number of dwellings. 95,802 - Number of scholars, 194,095 243,376 Value of farms, $54,861,748 - Horses and mules, 41,776 54,508 Cattle, .... 343,339 - Sheep, .... 451,577 374,195 Swine, .... 54,578 45,923 Value of stock, $9,705,726 - Value of animals slaughtered. 1,646,773 - Tons of hay raised. 755,889 - Bushels of wheat. 296,259 - Bushels of corn, ... 1,750,056 - Bushels of rye. 102,916 „ Bushels of oats, . 2,181,037 - Bushels of buckwheat, 104,120 - Bushels of barley, 151,731 - Bushels of peas and beans, 7 205,541 " 50 EUROPEAN AND N. A. KAILWAY COMPANiT. STATISTICS OP MAINE , (Continued.) 1850. Bushels of potatoes, . . . 3,436,040 Pounds of wool. 1,364,034 Pounds of hops, 40,120 Pounds of clover seed, 9,091 Pounds of other grass seeds, 9,214 Pounds of beeswax and honey. 189,618 Pounds of maple sugar. 41,140 Pounds of butter, 9,248,811 Pounds of cheese, 213,964 Pounds of flax seed, 680 Pounds of flax, 11,081 Produce of market gardens. $122,381 Produce of orchards. $342,865 Produce of home manufactures, $513,399 Average crop of wheat per acre- -bushel s, 10 Average crop of rye, 11 Average crop of oats, 20 Average crop of corn. 21 Average crop of potatoes, 120 Average crop of barley. 20 Average crop of ha}^, in tons, 1-8 Manufactures. Value. Agricultural implements, . , $259,187 Boots and shoes, 961,556 Bricks, 116,016 Cabinet ware, 164,112 Clothiers, 911,311 Coaches and carriages. 183,854 Cottons, . 2,630,606 Fisheries, 569,816 Gunpowder, 50,240 Hats and caps. 120,415 Iron founderies, , 309,611 Iron rolling. 154,000 Lime, 314,113 Lumber, . 5,812,513 Oil cloths, 259,040 Paper, 119,520 I860. APPENDIX. 51 STATISTICS OF MAINE, (Continued.) 1850. I860. Saddles and harnesses, . $87,5Y3 - Plaster, . 59,283 - Sails, 25i,no - Shingles, 430,656 - Staves and shocks, 438,794 - Stone and marble, 329,401 - Tanners and curriers, 1,701,299 - Tin and sheet iron, 237,405 - Tobacconists, 34,350 - Woollen, 935,883 ^ Unenumerated manufactures, 8,231,933 - Total value of manufactures, . $24,661,057 1850. 1860. Miles of railroad built, . 22Y 644 Cost of construction. $Y, 129,692 $19,600,985 Eeceipts of railroads, . $360,000 $1,500,000 Ships owned, tons, 501,422 739,846 Banks, .... 32 70 Capital, $3,853,650 $7,833,378 Circulation, $2,645,0t2 $4,769,746 Valuation, $100, 037,969 $164,714,168 Average property to each person. $171 STATE OF MAINE. In Senate, February 6, 1861. On motion of Mr. GROSS of Cumberland, Ordered, That 350 copies of the Memorial of John A. Poor, with bill " An act additional in regard to the European and North American Railway Company," be printed for the use of the Legis- lature. JAMES M. LINCOLN, Secretary. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 019 985 389 2 Hollinger Corp. pH 8.5