USA > Maine > Maine Public Lands 1781-1795 : claims, trespassers, and sales > Part 16
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107. Proposed clause with Mass. Resolve, March 20, 1784, Chap. 164.
108. Boston Gazette, dates as indicated.
109. Mass. Resolve, July 9, 1784, Chap. 103; joint committee report with this resolve.
110. Report of Committee, Oct. 18, 1784, with Mass. Resolve, Nov. 11, 1734, Chap. 84.
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from navigation. The two towns laid out at the head of the Penobscot tide were also discussed. In case anyone wanted to know more than this he was told where to apply. Six hundred advertisements in boradside 111
form were also printed in addition to the newspaper spreads.
The November 1784 resolve outlining a general standard of pro- cedure stipulated that the Committee should continue to notify the people that the lands were being liad out, and, when this had been completed, that they were ready for sale. 112
The legislation setting up the land lottery specified that it 113
should be well and effectively advertised.
Following the reorganization of the land program in 1788, the Committee inserted a long ad in several of the papers, stating that land was to be sold, giving an account of its many advantages and prospects (for example, " ... the fairest prospect that this country will, in a few years become the principal source from whence the Westindia Islands will draw their supplies"), listing the things that had been done to make the country attractice -- the allocation of a town for a public seminary, the reservation of lots for public use, and an exemption from
111. Eastern Lands, Deeds, I, 50-52, Feb. 10, 1785; receipt for advertising State lands in Nov. 1784, March 1, 1785, Eastern Lands, Box 1; Committee Report, Mass. Senate Document 285, March 8, 1785. 2 112. Mass. Resolve, Nov. 5, 1784, Chap. 45. 113. Mass. Resolve, Nov. 9, 1786, Chap. 40.
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state taxes for ten years, and telling where to make application.
Although there may have been several factors responsible for the response, an indication of the effectiveness of the efforts of the Com- mittee to publicize the availability of Maine land may be seen in their report of June 1, 1785. At that time trespassers had applied for about 100,000 acres -- lands on which they had settled -- and others had made
application for about 330,000 acres altogether. 115
Some stated in their application for land that they had seen the Committee advertise- 116
ment.
It has been seen that an office was established in Boston to facilitate contact between the Committee and potential customers or their agents, and that the members of the Committee also saw many 117 people at their (Committee members') homes. In fact one reason for Jarvis's appointment was that he lived in Boston where he was readily accessible.
114. Advertisement in Cumberland Gazette, July 3, 10, 17, 1788, and quoted from June 19, 1788, Chronicle in Taylor, A Memoir of His Honor Samuel Phillips, LI.D., pp. 368-370.
115. Committee Report, June 1, 1785 in Erstern Lands, Deeds, I, 58-61.
116. e.g. Noah Miller to Committee, May 20, 1784, Eastern Lands, Box 10; Abraham and Lewis Ogier to Committee, May 20, 1784, Eastern Lands, Box 10.
117. See earlier, pp. 60-62.
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As previously mentioned, knowledge of the unsettled sections of the District of Maine was very scanty. This fact made buying land there a difficult venture. For the average man to contract for a tract there was somewhat similar to the position of most of us today. should we find outselves buying a quarter section of Africa's interior. The decision of the General Court to abandon the practice of making allowances for bogs, mountains, and other unusable terrain, and sell townships just as they came made it less certain that one would get complete satisfaction 118 for his money. Naturally, before one made any binding commitments he wanted to get more detailed information. It was possible to do this in one of two ways. He could inspect the area at first hand or send an agent to do so, or he could study the information supplied by the surveyor.
In March of 1785 the Committee reported to the General Court that some people had shown an interest in the land offered for sale but were waiting for the snow to leave so they could see exactly what it was 119 like before making a final decision. The requests that buyers made for an option period in which to make an inspection further attests to
118. This decision set forth in Mass. Resolve, July 9, 1784, Chap. 103.
119. Mass. Senate Document 285, March 8, 1785.
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the fact that they were anxious to see the land.
The Land Committee appreciated this need and consistently complied 121 with these requests. Indeed, if it knew or suspected that a customer wished to go along with the surveyor on his tour, it made it a point to inform the man as to the time the surveyor was going to begin 122
his taak.
CLOSING THE SALE
When lands were sold at private sale, as most of them were, each transaction was subject to bargaining between Committee and buyer.
The principal factors that had to be agreed upon were the price, the kind of money to be paid, the amount of the installments, the periods at which they fell due, the number of settlers the purchaser was required to place on the tract and the speed with which that had to be done, the interest rate, and the security required. The records show that these factors varied from case to case.
120. e. g. Samuel Dutton to Committee, Feb. 7, 1792, Eastern Lands, Box 17; Stephen Conant to Committee, Feb. 4, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8, and Cormittee memo, Feb. 25, 1794 (on separate sheet); Page to Committee, March 1, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8, and Committee's note added thereto; Isaac Thompson to Committee, Feb. 2, 1795, Eastern Lands, Box 8, and Committee's note added thereto.
121. Ibid; Titcomb to Jarvis, March 30, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 52.
122. e.g. Cony to Jarvis, April 21, 1792, Eastern Lands, Box 17; Wells to Jarvis, Sept. 2, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
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123
The General Court resolves directed that the Committee should get the highest price for the lands that they could or that they should sell them in a way that would best further the interests of the Commonwealth. Phillips once wrote to Jarvis, when the latter had suggested a one price policy except for exceptional pieces whose circumstances made them particularly valuable, that he thought the idea had merits, but they 124 had not been granted authority to proceed on that principle. As a matter of fact, the joint committee upon whose report the resolve of July 9, 1784 was based had suggested that a price be affixed upon the 125 lands at which they would most likely be sold. However, the resolve directed the Committee to get as much as it could, as has been mentioned.
The Committee arrived at its idea of the value of the land in different ways. The chief source of information was the reports of the 126 surveyors or of observers it hired to examine a tract. The reaction of other settlers also was taken into consideration in at least one case. The people in New Pennycook and Phips Canada, had passed over a certain
123. Mass. Resolve, July 9, 1784, Chap. 103 (most it could get) ; Mass. Resolve, March 26, 1788, Chap. 80 (best interest of State); Mass. Resolve, Oct. 26, 1784, Chap. 22; Mass. Resolve, Oct. 26, 1784, Chap. 23 (to sell for such price as they think it worth); Mass. Resolve, Nov. 11, 1784, Chap. 84 (most it was able to get).
124. Phillips to Jarvis, Oct. 23, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
125. Report of joint General Court committee with Mass. Resolve, July 9, 1784, Chap. 103.
126. e.g. Simon Frye to Phillips and Wells, Sept. 1, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
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tract to lay out their claim, and this, it was felt, might indicate that 127 the tract in question was of inferior value. A third test of value used by the Committee was the demand for the land. For instance, after it had sold Jackson and Flint two million acres, the demand for land went up, and the Committee accordingly raised its price on the remainder 128 at its disposal. The amount of land involved in a sale was on one occasion, at least, a factor considered in setting a price. A party bought one square mile of territory and the Committee wrote that the 129 smallness of the piece would justify the price it had set.
The procedure by which the Committee reached its decisions has been 130
discussed. All matters were usually decided by majority vote, generally
at a meeting. There are a number of memoranda in the archives covering agreements made with land buyers, on which is written the names of 131
three or more Committee members present at the time. There is also
a memorandum of decisions reached at a Committee meeting in June of 1787. 132 Included are decisions on prices. However, the members did
127. Phillips to Jarvis, Oct. 23, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17. 128. Report of Land Committee, March 20, 1793, Mass. Senate Document 1676.
129. Jarvis to Holman and Waters, Nov. 17, 1788, Eastern Land, Box 17.
130. See earlier, pp. 54-55,
131. e.g. Wm. Brooks to Committee, May 5, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8; John Blunt to Cony, Jan. 14, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 8.
132. Committee Minutes, June 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 46.
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exchange opinions between meetings by letter, and sometimes gave their approval or disapproval of some point in this way.
As a matter of actual practice during the latter years of the period, the Committee, apparently without the consent of the General Court but not against its will, authorized Jarvis to engage any land not previously sold by him or the Committee as a whole. This was done to prevent confusion, and also undoubtedly to expedite matters so that customers would not have to wait for an answer to an application for a .
meeting of the Committee as a whole. Jarvis was undoubtedly given the power because his residence in Boston placed him in a central position. It is uncertain just when this agreement was made, but Wells wrote about 133 it in a letter to an applicant in April 1789.
Although Jarvis was given the power by the rest to make agree- ments with buyers there were apparently a few isolated cases in which 134 other members made such a decision singlehandedly. Cony once wrote that he had given some prospective purchasers all the encouragement any one Committee member could, and asked that no applications made to Jarvis for land in that area be acted upon until the next Committee meeting. 135 At other times Committee members made singlehanded agree-
133. Wells to James Webb, April 3, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 17. 134. e.g. Wells to Jarvis, July 17, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
135. Cony to Jarvis, March 14, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 52.
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ments with buyers on condition that the transaction be approved by the 136 Committee as a whole.
As previously stated, the customer was given a chance to inspect the land in order to get an idea of its value. After both sides had studied the situation, an attempt was made to reach an agreement. Undoubtedly this was often done without difficulty, but in some in- stances there was a certain amount of negotiation.
In some cases customers stated the price they would be willing 137 to give, or at least had a preconceived idea of what they would pay. In his ambitious undertaking which resulted in his contract for a third million acres, Knox wrote to Jackson he was willing to pay fifteen or twenty cents an acre "if after having tried all your powers at nego- 138
tiation you should fail to obtain it at a less price." One pro- spective buyer told his agent that he would like to have him "obtain the committee's [lowest price and send me the price and then I can 139 give you further directions."
136. e.g. Phillips to Jarvis, Jan. 7, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18; Cony to Jarvis, Dec. 31, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
137. Flint and Reed's application for land north of Sandy River Lower Township, undated memo, Eastern Lands, Box 52; Titcomb to Jarvis, Aug. 8, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 52.
138. Knox to Jackson, Dec. 17, 1791, William Bingham's Maine Lands, ed. Allis, p. 59.
139. William Tupper to George Tyler, [notation in other hand- writing on outside of paper says it was received Jan. 26, 1789 , Eastern Lands, Box 8, In addition to asking for the price of land he also asked his agent to "Please procure black silk for a woman's [long apron?], one barrel of flour and ship it to Stephen Jones, Machias."
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Potential purchasers often pointed out reasons why the price should be low. Sometimes they took occasion to say that the land was of generally poor quality but that if the price were right it would suit their 140 particular needs. One man whose application for land was in the north- western sector of the state pointed out that much of it lay behind the Bingham million acres on the Kennebec and the nature of that contract [probably the fact that the required settlers could be anywhere on the tract instead of so many on each six mile square section] rendered his proposed purchase less valuable than it would have been had the Bingham 141 contract been like the others. On other occasions the individuals pointed out, as a reason for setting a low price, the great service the 142 settlement they proposed to make would be to the State. Nathan Jones, a prominent figure in the Gouldsborough sector of Lincoln County, offered to do some road building for the State. He said he would be willing to be paid in land if that were necessary, and then added that he would do the work for the lowest possible price, and therefore ex- pected to be asked as low a price for land as had been charged for any 143 in the county.
140, e.g. John Blunt to Cony, Jan. 14, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 8; Wm. Brooks to Committee, May 5, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8 ..
141. Jesse Williams to Jarvis, Jan. 19, 1795, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
142. e.g. Clark, Ives, & Green to Committee, Sept. 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8.
143. Nathan Jones to Phillips and Committee, Dec. 31, 1790, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
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Of cours, the Committee had a price of its own in mind. Phillips once wrote that he thought that two shillings would be a satisfactory 144
price "if the applicants will give no more." In 1787 Enoch Adams and his associates were in the process of buying some state land. At Phillips's request Simon Frye went with Adams and others on a tour to inspect the site and make an estimate of its value. Frye's verdict was that if they paid two hundred pounds a township in government securities with exception of payments in specie for surveying and in- 145
specting, they would be giving full value. Wells wrote Phillips that although he had a high opinion of Frye he thought this was a gross underestimate. He, personally, would consider one thousand pounds a minimum, and that only under the condition that the contractors would 146
agree to "settle it in a short time". When Phillips read this he told Adams he thought the Committee would not take less than one thou- sand pounds, and he was not sure this would be accepted. What a jolt this must have been to Adams if Frye had confided his estimate to him. Phillips then sent this letter to Jarvis with a letter of his own in which he said among other things he thought the applicants would pay one thousand pounds in state securities but he could not "determine, or
144. Phillips to Jarvis, Oct. 23, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17. 145. Simon Frye to Phillips and Wells, Sept. 1, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
146. Wells to Phillips, Sept. 8, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
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147 A
even conjecture," whether they would pay the cost of surveying.
later letter from Phillips shows that twelve hundred pounds was agreed 148
upon. There are, too, still in existence, a number of written proposals 149
drawn up by the Committee.
The Committee occasionally gave customers alternative proposals. Sometimes it appraised land in two ways -- either in terms of a specific value in consolidated securities or a lesser value in securities plus an 150 added amount in specie. The people of Butterfield were given a choice in the terms of their payment. The Committee would give them a deed upon payment of half the price and presentation of good security for the rest or it would receive half the price and oblige themselves to give a deed upon receipt of the rest with interest from June 1, 1786. (This proposal 151
was apparently made in June, 1786.)
Not surprisingly the Committee's price was sometimes more than the customers professed to be willing to pay and there are still on record some instances of actual attempts to change original price proposala. For example, one man considered the Committee's price for a tract he had his eye on and replied that he thought "on mature reflection" that
147. Phillips to Jarvis, Sept. 11, 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 17. 148. Phillips to Jarvis, March 28, 1788, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
149. e.g. Memo regarding Jesse Williams's application, (note in other handwriting says Sept. 17937, Eastern Lands, Box 8.
150. Committee Minutes, June 1787, Eastern Lands, Box 46.
151. Memo of proposals regarding Butterfield, [outside notation says June 1786 ], EasternLands, Box 10.
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the price asked was too much but that he would pay twenty-five cents in interest and principle in state notes in place of the twenty-five cents 152
in specie that was the quoted price.
The Committee did go down a little in its price demands at least once. It asked Jackson twenty-five cents for some towns along the coast, 154 153 but sold them to him for twenty.
On one occasion the Committee received a far higher price for land than it had expected because of the offers of customers. Jack- son wrote when applying for the third million acres that the highest price he had heard paid for land in that area was ten cents an acre and therefore, unless some unusual offer was made by someone else, he 155
felt able to offer one cent more than any other bidder. However, it so happened that somebody else offered twenty cents and therefore 156 Jackson had to agree to twenty one cents, which he did.
In order to fulfill the purpose for which it was created the Committee had to do two things. It had to sell the land, and it had to make an honest effort to see to it that the land sold was settled.
152. Peck to Committee, Feb. 7, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 8.
153. Terms of Committee in answer to proposal of Jackson and Flint, (no date), Eastern Lands, Box 15.
3 154. Report of Land Committee, March 20, 1793, Mass. Senate Document 1676, and William Bingham's Maine Lands, ed. Allis, p. 61.
155. Jackson to Committee, March 7, 1792, Eastern Lands, Box 15.
156. William Bingham's Maine Lands, ed. Allis, p. 60.
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Sales would provide money to apply on the public debt, but in them- selves would not rake much of a contribution to the economic growth of the State. The general prosperity would increase only in direct pro- portion to the growth of the gainfully employed population. The region needed ringing axes and flourishing fields; it needed sweaty brows and thinking minds.
Under the system that the Legislature adopted the land was sold to private individuals. These buyers were then required to put a certain number of settlers on this land. The actual number to be placed in each township was never completely standardized. At first it was usually as many as the Committee could persuade the buyers to accept. Phillips put it thus in one instance, "as large a number of reputable families as we 157 can obtain this purchaser's consent to." In 1787 the Committee nego- tiated with a man named Adams and some colleagues and one Holman and his associates for some land. Wells and Phillips each wrote to Jarvis concerning some questions and difficulties involved in these transactions. Wells pointed out that settling thirty families in that remote region was 153 a point warranting special consideration. Phillips said it might be best to sell to Holman at a fairly low rate if the required settling 159
was carried on with vigor. In 1793 Phillips stated his opinion that the settling of families in certain tracts between the Kennebec
157. Phillips to Jarvis, Jan. 8, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18,
158. Wells to Jarvis, Oct. 18, 1737, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
159. Phillips to Jarvis, Oct. 23, 1737, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
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River and the New Hampshire line appeared to be of "material con- sequence," and that a successful agreement on that score might justify starting interest on the payments in July rather than In March, the 160
time of the signing of the contract. However, in the later years of the period there was considerable uniformity in the agreements reached. A customer's interest in the length of his installment periods
is shown in a 1794 letter that expresses a desire that the payments required of the writer should be annual. 161
In its dealings with customers there is reason to believe the Committee was willing to be as cooperative as possible even though 162 Henry Jackson called them "a parcel of old women." ilcwever, the members did bear the interest of the Commonwealth definitely in mind and did not accept any offer that happened to be made. At least twice in its reports to the General Court it stated that no customers had bought at the price it had set, but it still considered its stand a 163 wise one adding once that it was sticking to it.
Once discussions regarding a possible sale had been initiated, the next step was to do all things necessary to close the deal. This
160. Phillips to Jarvis, Jan. 8, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 13.
161. Stephen Conant to Jarvis, Dec. 6, 1794, Eastern Lands, Box 18. 162. Jackson to Knox, Sept. 1, 1791, in William Bingham's Maine Lands, 1790-1820, ed. Allis, p. 56.
163. Report of Committee, Oct. 18, 1734, with Kass. Resolve, Nov. 11, 1734, Chap. 84; Report of Committee, March 20, 1793, Mass. Senate Document 1676. 3
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involved such matters as getting the surveys completed and making final decisions regarding the proposals and counterproposals made. At this point can be found one of the best tests of the efficiency of the Committee in carrying out its work.
Some of the time of the Committee members between their regular meetings was spent in writing to each other asking that certain things be done or reporting what had been done. Tentative agreements might be started at any time, particularly with Jarvis in Boston. If the land in- volved was not in an area already laid out for sale it was necessary to hire a surveyor to do the job. As a rule this was accomplished by writing to Cony or Wells, the two Maine residents of the Committee, who 164 On one occasion that would contact a man in the area to do the job.
seemed to demand prompt action Cony offered to go to see Titcomb. himself 165 upon receipt of necessary information. This may well have been more than he usually did as there is on record one instance of his having 166
hired a messenger to send on such an errand. Once Titcomb was selected to survey a tract bought by Holman and Waters. Both Jarvis and the contractors wrote to him to ask him if he could do it but they got no answer. Therefore, Jarvis wrote to Wells saying that he had ad- vised the contractors to go down to see him, Wells, personally. If
164. e.g. Cony to Jarvis, June 1, 1790, Eastern Lands, Box 18; Cony to Wells, Aug. 17, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
165. Cony to Jarvis, June 1, 1790, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
166. Cony to Wells, Aug. 17, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
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Titcomb could not be contacted at once he suggested that somebody else 167
be employed. Cony was once asked to get a surveyor to lay out a
certain tract, which he did. However, a certain survey was needed so he 168
wrote to Jarvis asking him for it. Unfortunately it did not arrive. Therefore he wrote to Wells telling him of the situation and advising that any necessary information be given one of the company if any of them 169
planned to go with the surveyor. Upon receiving this letter, Wells rushed a letter off to Jarvis saying the prospective purchasers ought 170 to be notified at once as they planned to be present at the survey. He also suggested a good person by whom to send the needed plans. On one occasion the Committee thought a man named Noyes would buy a certain piece of land, but as time went on, he did not come forward to do so. Jarvis suggested to Wells that it might be well for him, Wells, 171 to write the man a note asking for his decision.
POST SALE PROBLEMS
Despite the efforts made to carry out the land sales program in an efficient fashion difficulties still arose -- redress for grievances was asked, disputes flared up, some asked for changes in their contracts,
167. Jarvis to Wells, Sept. 12, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
168. Cony to Jarvis, July 10, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
169. Cony to Wells, Aug. 17, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
170. Wells to Jarvis, Sept. 2, 1793, Eastern Lands, Box 18.
171. Jarvis to Wells, Aug. 3, 1789, Eastern Lands, Box 17.
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and those who bought failed to meet all the requirements laid upon them. It was the duty of the General Court and the Committee to settle these problems.
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