USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Historical collections of Piscataquis County, Maine, consisting of papers read at meetings of Piscataquis County Historical Society, also The north eastern boundary controversy and the Aroostook War, V. I > Part 18
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*Abbot's History of Maine, p. 431.
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Mr. Greeley returned to the Aroostook and resumed his labors as census taker.
In a short time after this, however, Governor Harvey of New Brunswick, hearing that Mr. Greeley was distrib- uting money to the people,* assumed, without making any attempt to obtain evidence of the facts, that it was done as a bribe to induce the inhabitants to continue their allegiance to the United States.
He therefore ordered Mr. Greeley to be rearrested, and he was lodged in Fredericton jail. i
Governor Dunlap of Maine issued a general order announcing that the soil of the State had been invaded by a foreign power and the militia was called upon to hold itself in readiness for momentary and active service.
A few weeks later, the British authorities, influenced by a message from President Van Buren, again liberated Mr. Greeley, who once more returned to the turbulent Aroostook and remained there until he had completed his services.
That the people of the new State of Maine were actuated by a spirit of patriotism, in vigorously oppos- ing the encroachment of the officials of the Province of New Brunswick, upon what they believed to be their terri- tory ; that the feeling, when the District of Maine was separated from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in 1820, and admitted into the Union of States, was intense and increased year by year, as they saw what they deemed to be their unquestioned rights, trampled upon by the
*This was the famous "distribution of the surplus" under Pres. Jackson which was one of the most notable events of his administration.
+Abbot's History of Maine, p. 431.
#Mr. Greeley was released "without trial or explanation and returned to his home." (Message of Gov. Kent, 1839.)
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province, supported and protected by Great Britain, was bitter and uncompromising, is true.
William King, the first Governor of Maine, in his message to the Legislature, June 2, 1820, refers to the importance of the North Eastern Boundary question, to both Maine and Massachusetts.
Governor Paris, in 1822, expressed "great anxiety," because of the disagreement of the commissioners, under the treaty of Ghent, "in relation to the true boundary, between the United States and the British Provinces," and he again referred to it in his message, in 1824.
In 1825, he also called attention to it, and to the fact "that depredations, to a very considerable extent, have been committed on our timber lands, lying on the Aroos- took and Mawascah and other streams," and that "these depredations were committed by British Subjects."
And in 1826, a considerable part of his annual mes- sage is devoted to this subject.
On January 17, 1826, the Joint Standing Committee on State Lands, made a report to the Legislature, rela- tive to the boundary question accompanied by the follow- ing resolve, which received a passage:
"Resolved, That the Governor, for the time being, be authorized and requested to take such measures as he may think expedient and effectual, to procure for the use of the State, copies of all such maps, documents, publications, papers and surveys, relating to the North Eastern Boundary of the United States, described in the treaty of 1783, and such other information on that sub- ject, as he may deem necessary and useful for this State to be possessed of; and that the sum of five hundred dollars be appropriated to carry into effect the provisions of this Resolve; and that the Governor be authorized to draw his warrants on the treasury for the same, as occa-
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sion, from time to time, may require, he to be accounta- ble for the same.
"Resolved, That the Governor of this State, in con- junction with the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, (provided said Commonwealth shall con- cur in the measure, ) be authorized to cause the Eastern and Northern lines of the State of Maine to be explored, and the monuments, upon those lines, men- tioned in the treaty of 1783, to be ascertained in such manner as may be deemed most expedient."
In 1829, Gov. Lincoln said in his message, "that the decision of the dispute, as to our North Eastern Boundary, is referred to the King of the Netherlands, and while I submit that no reference in such a case, was warrantable, yet there seems to be no objection to the personage selected, for how can he, the subject of impartial history, and not apparently dependent on any advantage from either party, being an umpire between nations, act but as the magnanimous dispenser of justice, who has the power to achieve the most glorious victory by the suppression of the most extreme error?"
When the Legislature of Maine convened, in 1831, the King of the Netherlands had rendered his decision.
An official communication from President Van Buren to Governor Smith, together with a translation of the full text of the award, was transmitted to the Legisla- ture, with a special message by the Governor, who had also devoted a considerable portion of his annual mes- sage to the matter.
A joint select committee was appointed by the Legis- lature to consider the whole subject, who submitted an elaborate and exhaustive report, full of indignation at the findings of the arbitrator, signed by its chairman, John G. Deane.
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It not only attacked the impartiality of the arbitrator, but strongly intimated, that he was not in fact, a sover- eign, within the true meaning of the convention, which clothed him with the power and authority to act.
These resolutions closed as follows :
"Whereas, By the convention of September, 1827, an independent sovereign was to be selected by the gov- ernments of the United States and Great Britain, to arbitrate and settle such disputes as had arisen, and the King of the Netherlands was pursuant to that convention selected the arbiter, while an independent sovereign, in the plentitude of his power, exercising dominion and authority over more than 6,000,000 of subjects :
"And Whereas, By the force of the prevalence of liberal opinions in Belgium, the Belgians overthrew his power and deprived him of more than half of his dominions and reduced him to the former dominions of the Stadtholder, leaving him with the empty title of the King of the Netherlands while he is only the King of Holland, and thereby increasing his dependence upon Great Britain for holding his power even in Holland, which from Public appearances, he held from a very doubtful tenure in the affections of the Dutch.
"And Whereas, The King of the Netherlands had not decided before his Kingdom was dismembered and he consented to the division, and his public character had changed, so that he had ceased to be that public char- acter, and occupying that independent station among the sovereigns of Europe contemplated by the convention of September, 1827, and which led to his selection.
"Therefore Resolved in the opinion of this Legis- lature, That the decision of the King of the Nether- lands, cannot and ought not to be considered obligatory upon the government of the United States, either on the principles of right and justice, or of honor.
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"Resolved Further-for the reasons before stated, That no decision made by any umpire under any circum- stances, if the decision dismembers a state, has or can have, any constitutional force or obligation upon the State thus dismembered unless the State adopt and sanc- tion the decision."
At the session of the Legislature of 1831, an act was passed to incorporate the town of Madawaska, including territory southward of the river St. John, and the dis- puted territory northward* of that river.
In 1832, Governor Smith, in his annual message said: "In the month of October last, information was received that a number of the inhabitants of Madawaska had organized themselves into a corporation, chosen municipal officers, and subsequently a representative; and that in consequence of these acts, the lieutenant- governor and other authorities of New Brunswick, accom- panied with a military force, had proceeded to Mada- waska, and arrested a number of American citizens, who were carried to Fredericton, and there imprisoned.
"Though the measures adopted by the inhabitants, voluntarily organizing themselves into a corporation at that place, then claimed to be under the actual juris- diction of the Province of New Brunswick, were unex- pected by me, and undertaken without my knowledge; yet, as they acted in territory known to be within the limits of Maine, and in obedience to the laws and con- stitution, I considered that they were entitled to the aid and protection of their government.
"Immediately, therefore, on receiving evidence of these transactions, they were communicated, together with all the circumstances in relation to them within my knowledge, to the Department of State of the United
*Now Upper Madawaska in the Province of New Brunswick.
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States, with a request that the proper measures might be adopted by the General Government to procure the release of our citizens, and to protect the territory of our State from invasion. Upon the receipt of this com- munication, though the proceedings of the inhabitants of Madawaska were considered to be a breach of the arrangement made with the British Minister, for preserv- ing the state of things as it then existed on both sides, till a final disposition of the question, those measures were promptly adopted by the President, which resulted in the release of our citizens from imprisonment, and rendered further proceedings on the part of this State, in reference to that object, unnecessary."
A special committee was appointed, to which was referred that part of Governor Smith's message that re- lated to the North Eastern Boundary. Among its members appear the names of Reuel Williams and Nathan Clifford. They submitted the following resolves :
"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States does not invest the General Government with unlimited and absolute powers, but confers only a special® and modified sovereignty, without authority to cede to a foreign power any portion of territory belonging to a State, without its consent.
"Resolved, That if there is any attribute of State Sovereignty which is unqualified and undeniable, it is the right of jurisdiction to the utmost limits of State Terri- tory; and if a single obligation under the Constitution rests upon the Confederacy, it is to guarantee the integ- rity of this territory to the quiet and undisturbed enjoy- ment of the States.
"Resolved, That the doings of the King of Holland, on the subject of the boundary between the United States and Great Britain, are not a decision of the question submitted to the King of the Netherlands; and
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that his recommendation of a suitable or convenient line of boundary is not obligatory upon the parties to the submission.
"Resolved, That this State protests against the adoption, by the Government of the United States, of the line of boundary recommended by the King of Holland as a suitable boundary between Great Britain and the United States; inasmuch as it will be a violation of the rights of Maine, -rights acknowledged and insisted upon by the General Government,-and will be a prece- dent which endangers the integrity, as well as the inde- pendence, of every State in the Union.
"Resolved, That while the people of this State are disposed to yield a ready obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States, they will never consent to surrender any portion of their territory, on the recom- mendation of a foreign power.
"Resolved, That the Governor, with advice of Council, be authorized to appoint a competent agent, whose duty it shall be, as soon as may be, to repair to the City of Washington, and deliver to the President of the United States a copy of the preceding Report and these Resolutions, with a request that he will lay the same before the Senate of the United States; and also deliver a copy to the Vice President, to each of the Heads of Departments, and to each member of the Senate, and to our Representative in Congress.
"Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, and our Representatives requested, to use their best efforts to prevent our State from being dis- membered, our territory alienated, and our just rights prostrated, by the adoption of a new line for our North Eastern Boundary, as recommended by the King of Holland.
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"Resolved, That the agent to be appointed by the Governor and Council, be instructed to cooperate with our Senators and Representatives, in advocating and enforcing the principles advanced, and positions taken, in the foregoing Resolutions, and in supporting all such measures as shall be deemed best calculated to preserve the integrity of our State, and prevent any portion of our territory and citizens from being transferred to a Foreign Power."
Governor Dunlap, in 1834, notes that this question is still unsettled, but considers that the way "is now open for the ultimate attainment of our rights," inasmuch that the President of the United States had announced as the policy of the national administration, in negoti- ations with foreign powers, to "submit to nothing that is wrong."
In the years 1834, 1835 and 1836 the Governors' messages refer to it only as "yet being in an unsettled state," but in 1837, Governor Dunlap regrets that he has "received no information to warrant the opinion that a speedy adjustment is expected," and asserts that "our soil and our sovereignty have been invaded."
A joint committee at this session of the Legislature was appointed to investigate and report. John Holmes was its chairman on the part of the House.
Their report of ten pages was one of the most search- ing that had been made, and they submitted the follow- ing resolutions :
"Resolved, That we view with much solicitude the British usurpations and encroachments on the north- eastern part of the territory of this State.
"Resolved, That pretensions so groundless and extravagant indicate a spirit of hostility which we had no reason to expect from a nation with whom we are at peace.
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"Resolved, That vigilance, resolution, firmness and union on the part of this State, are necessary in this state of the controversy.
"Resolved, That the Governor be authorized and requested to call on the President of the United States to cause the North Eastern Boundary of this State to be explored and surveyed and monuments erected according to the Treaty of 1783.
"Resolved, That the cooperation of Massachusetts be requested.
"Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, and our Representatives requested to endeavor to obtain a speedy adjustment of the controversy.
"Resolved, That copies of this report and resolutions be transmitted to the Governor of Massachusetts, the President of the United States, to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress and other Senators in Congress, and the Governors of the several States."
When the Legislature of 1838 had assembled, the people of Maine had become exasperated, for since the adjournment of the last Legislature, the depredations and trespasses upon territory that was in dispute, also upon portions of territory to which the title of Maine was practically undisputed, had increased to an alarming degree.
The province people, evidently fully supported by their officials and the government of Great Britain, had never before been so arrogant, defiant and insolent in extend- ing by force and unlawful means, their alleged jurisdic- tional rights, as during the years then drawing to a close. The conditions were acute and the situation serious.
The Whigs had gained the ascendancy in Maine and had elected Edward Kent, governor. Governor Kent was an able lawyer and a profound jurist, and was for
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many years after, one of the ablest, members of the Supreme Court of this State. He had informed himself fully of the complex conditions and had given the whole matter careful consideration, hence, his elaboration of it in his annual message is such a lucid history of the events to that time, and the rights of Maine as viewed from a conservative and judicial standpoint, that copious extracts are herein made from it. Among other things he said :
"Constitutional Law is the broad and ample shield under which a whole people rest in security and peace. Like the atmosphere in which we move, it presses with immense, but equal and balanced power, to sustain the body politic. It protects the infant in its cradle and the magistrate in the seat of Justice. It gives the conscious- ness of security and safety to the unarmed and the peace- ful, and is more than bolts and bars in guarding every man's castle-his own domestic hearth. The weak fear not the strength of the powerful, and the poor and despised tremble not at the oppressor's frown. To such law every good citizen bows in cheerful submission, and with ready acquiescence, for it is but the embodied expression of his own sovereignty. But when, instead of the law of legislation, we have the law of the strong- est, and, instead of judicial and executive administration, the summary inflictions of an infuriated mob, stung to madness by temporary rage, savage, remorseless and irre- sponsible, excited by some imagined insult or real injury, or perhaps by the expression of obnoxious and unpopular sentiments-we have a state of society at which the boldest may well tremble, and the most ardent despair. * * * * *
"It is certainly a remarkable fact, that fifty-five years after the recognition of American independence by Great Britain, and the formal and precise demarkation
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of our limits, in the treaty of peace, the extent of those limits, and the territory rightfully subject to our juris- diction, should be a matter of dispute and difference. I feel it to be my duty, in this my first official act, to call your attention to that vitally important question, the true limits of our State, and to express to you and the people my views of the claim set up by a foreign State to the rightful possession of a large part of our territory.
"I do not intend to enter into a historical detail, or an elaborate argument to sustain the American claim on our North Eastern Boundary. The whole subject has been for years before the people, and our rights, and the grounds upon which they rest, have been ably main- tained, and clearly set forth, in our formal documents and informal discussions.
"I will not trespass needlessly upon your time and patience by a recapitulation. If there is any meaning in plain language, and any binding force in treaty engagements-if recognition and acquiescence for a long series of years on the part of Great Britain in one uni- form expression and construction of the boundaries of her Provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia, is of any weight, then the right of Maine to the territory in dispute is as clear and unquestionable as to the spot upon which we now stand. It requires, indeed, the exercise of charity to reconcile the claim now made by Great Britain with her professions of strict integrity and high sense of justice in her dealings with other nations; for it is a claim of very recent origin, growing from an admitted right in us, and proceeding, first, to a request to vary our acknowledged line for an equivalent, and then, upon a denial, to a wavering doubt, and from thence to an absolute claim.
-
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"It has required and still requires, all the talents of her statesmen, and skill of her diplomatists, to render that obscure and indefinite, which is clear and unam- biguous. I cannot for a moment doubt that if the same question should arise in private life, in relation of the boundaries of two adjacent farms, with the same evidence and the same arguments, it would be decided by any court, in any civilized country, without hesitation or doubt, according to our claim.
"But Great Britain was anxious for a direct communi- cation between her provinces. She sought it first as a favor and a grant. She now demands about one third part of our territory as her right.
"The pertinacity and apparent earnestness and confi- dence with which this claim is urged, in the very face of the treaty, and the facts bearing upon the question, have been increased, I fear, by the probably unexpected forbearance, if not favor, with which they have been received and treated by the American authorities. It can hardly be a matter of surprise that the claim is pressed upon us, when instead of standing upon the treaty-plain, definite and capable of execution as it manifestly is-our own General Government has volun- tarily suggested a variation of that line, certainly in their favor, by running west of the due north line of the treaty, and there to seek the highlands; thus yielding up the starting point, the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, and throwing the whole matter into uncertainty and con- fusion. Fortunately for us, the English negotiators, thinking, probably, that a nation which would yield so much, would probably yield more, declined the proposition, unless other concessions were made. The remarkable adjudication made by the arbiter selected under the treaty, resulting merely in advice, the move- ment on the part of Maine, in 1832, in the negotiation
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to yielding up the territory for an equivalent, the appar- ent apathy and indifference of the General Government to the encroaching jurisdiction by New Brunswick, her unopposed establishment of a wardenship over the terri- tory-the repeated incarceration of the citizens of Maine, for acts done on this her territory, almost with- out a murmur of disapprobation or remonstrance, and the delay of the President to run the line as authorized by Congress, have all, I fear, served to strengthen and encourage the claim, which was first put forth with doubt and argued with many misgivings.
"The commission and arbitration under treaty having failed, and our ultra liberal offers either declined or neglected, the parties are turned back to their rights and their limits under the treaties of 1783 and 1814.
"But in truth, the only question in dispute, or about which there was any difference between the two govern- ments, until since the last war and the last treaty, was to which river was the true St. Croix of the treaty. This being settled, and its head or source fixed, (as it has been) the line is to run due north to the south line of Canada, and the northwest angle of Nova Scotia. That line should be run without delay, as authorized by Congress.
"We warrant the information and the facts; we wish to examine the heighth of land which divides the waters flowing into the St. Lawrence from those running into the Atlantic, and ascertain its elevation and character. We wish to have our land marks placed on our exterior limits, and maintain our own.
"We wish to test the truth of the assertion, that there is no northwest angle of Nova Scotia, and no such dividing heighth of land as the treaty contemplates, by a correct and scientific examination on the face of the earth. Surely rights of examination, which are secured
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to individual claimants, are not to be denied to sovereign States.
"Our situation in relation to this question, owing to the peculiar nature of our government and institutions, is interesting, viewed either with reference to the foreign power with which we are at issue, or our own General Government. Our right and title, clear and perfect as we believe them to be, are, it must be admitted, subjects of dispute, and the first and great question is, how is this dispute to be settled? The line disputed is the Eastern boundary of the United States and of the State of Maine. The General Government is the only power which by the constitution can treat with a foreign government, or be acknowledged or known by that government, in negotiations. Maine acknowledges the right of the General Government to establish the line, according to the terms of the treaty of 1783, and claims a performance of that duty without delay. But whilst she concedes that power, she insists with equal confidence upon the position, that no variation of the treaty line, no concession of any part of our territory, and no con- ventional line can be granted or adopted, without the consent of this State.
"Whatever territory is included within the line run- ning from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia west- wardly along the highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean, to the northwestern- most head of the Connecticut river, and the line running directly south from said angle to the established source of the St. Croix, is within the State of Maine.
"If there is a dispute as to the location of that angle, and those lines-that question, and that question only, is to be settled by the general government.
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