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MAINE , a See also:North See also:Atlantic See also:state of the See also:United States of See also:America, the most north-easterly state in the See also:Union, and the largest of the New See also:England See also:group. It lies between 430 4' and 470 27' 33" N., and between 66° 56' 48" and 71° 6' 41" W. It is bounded N.W. by the See also:Canadian See also:province of See also:Quebec; N. and E. by the Canadian province of New See also:Brunswick, from which it is separated in See also:part by the natural barriers of the See also:Saint See also: The south slope which contains nearly all the mountains and is generally more hilly, has a mean descent toward the sea of about 7 ft. to the mile, the fall being greater in the W., where the mountains are high at the N. and the See also:shore See also:low at the S., and less to the E., where the water-parting is See also:lower and the shore high and rocky. After the uplift which caused the rivers to cut below the See also:general " uplands," and develop well marked valleys for themselves, came the See also:period of the great See also:continental glaciation. The See also:glacier or See also:ice See also:sheet overran all Maine, irregularly scouring out the See also:bed See also:rock to produce rock basins, damming up many river valleys with glacial deposits and completely disarranging the drainage lines. When the ice melted, the rock basins and the dammed-up valleys filled with water to produce lakes. This is the origin of the numerous lakes of Maine, which give it some of its most beautiful scenery, and help to make it a See also:holiday resort in summer. These lakes are about 1600 in number, are scattered in all parts of the state, are especially numerous at high elevations, and have an aggregate area of more than 2000 sq. m. Few other regions have so many large lakes so variously ' This See also:condition results from the fact that Maine and the adjacent region were worn down nearly to sea-level by stream erosion, except certain peaks and ridges inland; then the region was elevated and numerous river valleys were cut down below the general erosion surface formed before. Thus we have a general " upland surface," above which the mountain remnants See also:tower, and below which the rivers have been entrenched.situated, and with such beauty of aspect and surroundings. They contribute largely to a See also:constant See also:supply of water See also:power for which the course of the rivers of S.W. Maine are exceptionally well adapted', many of them abound in See also:trout, salmon, togue, See also:black See also:bass and pickerel; and near them there is still much See also:game. Moosehead Lake (about 120 sq. m.; 35 M. long and from 2 M. to 10 M. wide), on the boundary between Piscataquis and See also:Somerset counties, is the largest in Maine and the largest inland See also:body of water wholly in New England ; the Kennebec River is its See also:principal outlet and Mt Kineo rises abruptly to about 176o ft. above the sea (about 700 ft. above the lake) on its eastern shore. Other lakes, such as the Rangeley Lakes,2 Chesuncook and Twin Lakes on the See also:Penobscot, and the Grand or Schoodic Lakes, in the western boundary at the See also:head See also:waters of the Saint Croix River, equal or surpass Moosehead in picturesqueness. The glacier or ice sheet, above referred to, de-posited till or See also:boulder See also:clay, which was compacted under the enormous pressure of the ice sheet to See also:form the " hard-See also:pan " referred to later. The glaciation is also responsible for the poor See also:soil of most of the state, for, although the rocks are the same crystallines which give good soils further south in unglaciated regions, all the decayed portions of the Maine rocks have been removed by glacial erosion, revealing fresh, barren rock over great areas, or depositing the rather sterile hard-pan as a thin coating in other places. After the uplift came a period of subsidence, during which this region sank one or more thousand feet, allowing the sea to encroach on the See also:land and run far inland into the previously made river valleys. This depression probably occurred during the glacial period, perhaps toward its See also:close, and is responsible for the second most important feature of Maine physiography, the embayed coast. To this subsidence are due the picturesque coastal scenery, the numerous islands and bays, the good harbours and the See also:peculiar coast-line. The shortest distance between the N.E. and the S.W. extremities of the coast is only 225 M.; but, on See also:account of projections and indentations, the coast-line See also:measures not less than 2500 M. The headlands, the deep indentations and the numerous islands in the bays and beyond produce a beautiful mingling of land and sea and give to the whole ocean front the See also:appearance of a fringed and tasselled border; west of the mouth of the Kennebec River are a marshy shore and many low grassy islands; but See also:east of this river the shore becomes more and more bold, rising in the precipitous cliffs and rounded summits of Mt Desert and Quoddy Head, 1527 and moo ft. high respectively. All along the coast-line there are capacious and well-protected harbours, Casco, Penobscot, Frenchman's, Machias and Passamaquoddy bays being especially noteworthy. After the subsidence came another period of uplift, possibly still in progress. This uplift has brought up submarine deposits of sand, &c., to form little coastal plains at some points along the coast, providing good land for See also:settlement and clay for See also:brick and pottery. Further See also:evidence of this uplift is found in old beach lines now well above sea-level. The principal river systems of Maine are the Saint John on the north slope, and the Penobscot, the Kennebec, the Androscoggin, and the See also:Saco on the south slope. The mean height of the See also:basin of the St John is exceeded only by that of the Androscoggin, but the fall of the St John River through the greater part of its course in Maine is only sufficient to give a sluggish or a See also:gentle current. The Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin and Saco have numerous falls and rapids. See also:Fauna.—The See also:animal See also:life of Maine shows a mixture of See also:northern and See also:southern forms, and very little that is peculiar as compared with surrounding regions. The state has moose, caribou and See also:deer, especially in the northern part. The black See also:bear, See also:wolf, catamount, See also:wolverine, See also:wild See also:cat, See also:fox, See also:beaver, racoon, See also:marten, See also:sable, See also:woodchuck, See also:skunk, See also:otter, See also:mink, See also:rabbit and See also:squirrel are also found. Geese, ducks and other water See also:fowl frequent the lakes and bays in the migratory See also:season, and eagles, gulls, See also:hawks, kingfishers, owls, .See also:plover, See also:woodcock, " See also:partridge " (ruffed See also:grouse), See also:robins, orioles, bobolinks, blue birds, swallows, sparrows, and many other insectivorous birds are See also:common. In the inland waters salmon, trout, togue (Salvelinus namaycush), pickerel and bass abound; along the shore there are lobsters, clams and scallops (See also:Peden irradians) ; and off the shore are See also:herring, alewives, See also:mackerel, See also:cod, See also:halibut, See also:haddock, smelts, See also:hake, See also:menhaden, porgies and porpoises. The game in the North See also:Woods attracts large See also:numbers of sportsmen during the autumn season. See also:Flora.—Maine was formerly covered with forests, principally of white See also:pine and spruce, but mixed with these were some See also:hemlock, tamarack, See also:cedar, and, on the south slope, See also:birch, See also:poplar, See also:oak, See also:maple and See also:beech. See also:Chestnut and See also:walnut are rare and are found only near 2 This name is applied to a See also:chain of lakes (the Rangeley, or Oquossoc, the Cupsuptic, the Mooselookmeguntic, the Molechunkamunk or Upper See also:Richardson, the Welokenebacook or Lower Richardson, and the Umbagog) in Franklin and See also:Oxford counties, in the western part of the state; the Umbagog extends into New Hampshire and its outlet See also:helps to form the Androscoggin River. These lakes are connected by straits, have a See also:total area of between 8o and 90 sq. m., and are from 1200 to 1500 ft. above the sea. They are sometimes called the Androscoggin Lakes. the south-west border. In 1900 about 21 % of the state's area was cleared, and much besides had once been cleared, but not being suited to agriculture had become reforested. Of See also:fruit trees the See also:chief is the See also:apple. The See also:plum, See also:cherry and See also:pear also thrive. The See also:peach grows well only in the south-west near the border. See also:Species of See also:grape, See also:gooseberry and See also:currant are native, and others are cultivated with See also:advantage. The See also:blackberry, See also:raspberry, blueberry and See also:strawberry grow wild in profusion throughout the state. Climate.—The climate of the state is moist and, for its See also:latitude, See also:cold. Extremes of temperature are not so great as farther inland in the same latitude; for the summer heats are tempered by the sea and the cool north winds, and the See also:winter cold is so constant as to be less severely See also:felt than the changing temperature of more southern districts. The summers are See also:short, there being only about 41 months between frosts even in the southern sections, and the mean summer temperature is about 62° F. The mean winter temperature is approximately 2o° F., and the mean See also:annual temperature for the entire state is 42° F., that for the north slope being about 5° F. less than that for the south slope. Although the temperature remains See also:pretty steadily below the freezing point for at least three months of the See also:year, many of the harbours remain unobstructed; for the tides and the prevailing off-shore winds break up and drive off the ice. The precipitation is about 42 in. annually, and is distributed very evenly throughout the year, io–I! in. of See also:rain or its See also:equivalent in See also:snow falling each season. During 41 months about 44% of the precipitation is in the form of snow; but the snow-fall varies from about 60 in. on the coast to more than 100 in. on the north slope. The winds are variable; at no season of the year is it usual for them to See also:blow from the same direction for many days in See also:succession. But, with the exception of those from the west, they are maritime and consequently moisture-bearing. In summer, especially in the latter part of it, the cool and moist N. or N.E. winds often cause a considerable part of the state to be enveloped in See also:fog for several days in succession. Agriculture.—The soil is for the most part glacial See also:drift, containing a large mixture of clay with sand or See also:gravel, and the sub-soil is mostly " hard-pan," i.e. mingled clay and boulders which have been so much compressed by glacial See also:action as to make the mixture hard and ledge-like. Except in the valley of the Aroostook and along the Kennebec, the Penobscot, and some other rivers, the soil is generally unfit for cultivation, there being too little See also:alluvium mixed with it to make it fertile. In the Arroostook valley, however, is the largest undivided area of good arable land in all New England, the soil being a deep, porous, yellow See also:loam well adapted to the growth of cereals and to See also:market gardening. The most sterile regions are on the mountains and along the coast. Because of, the cold climate, the large areas in which there is little or no good arable land, the growing demand for See also:timber land, and the large and constant supply of water-power afforded by the principal rivers, agriculture in Maine, as in all the other New England states except See also:Vermont, is a smaller See also:industry than manufacturing; in 1900 there were 87,932 See also:people engaged in manufacturing and only 76,932 engaged in agriculture. Only 32.9% of the state's land area was in that year included in farms, only 37.9% of this See also:farm land was improved, and only 16.3% of the improved land was in crops other than See also:hay and See also:forage. Nevertheless, as indicated by the unusually large proportion of farmers who either own their farms or pay See also:cash See also:rent for them, farming usually is profitable. The number of farms in 1900 was 59,299; of these 18,644 contained between 50 and See also:loo acres and 17,191 contained between See also:ioo and 175 acres, the See also:average See also:size being Io6.2 acres; 54,263 (or 91.5 %) were operated by their owners, 775 were operated by part owners, 2030 by cash tenants, and only 745 by See also:share tenants. Beginning with the middle of the 19th See also:century, the increasing competition of the more productive soils of the West, the growth of See also:urban population in the state, and the number of summer visitors effected the reforesting of much poor land and the more intensive cultivation of the better arable land. The cultivation of cereals, for example, has given way to a marked extent in nearly all the farming districts except in Aroostook county to market gardening, dairying, and See also:egg and poultry See also:production. The number of See also:dairy cows increased from 157,240 in 1890 to 183,000 in 1908, and the annual production of See also:milk increased from 57,969,791 gallons in 1890 to 99,586,188 gallons in 1900. The number of other neat See also:cattle (180,878 in 1900; 151,000 in 1908) decreased during every See also:decade from 1860 to 1900; the number of See also:sheep in 1900 was 427,209 (31.9% less than in 1890), and in 1908 it was 267,000; but the number of horses in 1890 and 1900 was about the same (140,310 in 1900, but only 116,000 in 1908). Hay is still by far the largest See also:crop, the acreage of it and of forage in 1899 being 1,270,254 acres, or 76.5% of that of all crops, and the yield was 1,133,932 tons; in 1907 the acreage was 1,400,000 acres, and the crop was 2,100,000 tons. The acreage of cereals decreased from 187,013 in 188o, when agriculture in Aroostook county was little See also:developed, to 166,896 in 1899, when the cereal acreage in Aroostook county alone was 82,069. Maine potatoes are of a See also:superior quality, and the acreage of this crop increased from 49,617 in 1889 to 1i8,000 in 1907. Sweet See also:Indian See also:corn, cabbages, turnips, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown in large quantities. The fruit crop consists very largely of apples and strawberries (1,421,773 bushels of apples and 1,066,86oquarts of strawberries in 1899). The output of eggs increased from 9,369,534 dozen in 1889 to 13,304,150 dozen in 1899. The most productive dairy See also:section of the state is a See also:belt extending from the south-west corner N.E. entirely across the state and embracing the whole or parts of the counties of See also:York, Oxford, See also:Cumberland, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot and Aroostook. See also:Lumber Industry.—Except in the remote parts, the valuable white pine, for which Maine was long noted, has been cut; but the See also:wood-land of the state was estimated in 1900 at 23,700 sq. m. or 79% of its area. The tendency is for this area to increase, for the See also:establishment between 1890 and 1900 of large See also:paper and pulp See also:mills on some of the principal rivers of the south slope greatly increased the value of forests, especially those of spruce and poplar. The state makes large appropriations for preventing and extinguishing See also:forest fires, and in 1903 established a See also:department of forestry in the university of Maine. Good spruce, which is by far the most valuable timber in the state and is used most largely for the manufacture of paper and pulp, stands in large quantities in the St John, Venobscot, Androscoggin and Kennebec basins. Poplar, also used for the manufacture of paper, abounds in several sections of the south slope, but is most abundant in the basin of the Kennebec. White birch, used largely for the manufacture of spools, is found throughout a wide belt extending across the middle of the state. There is much cedar on the north slope. Oak, maple and beech are rather scarce. A new growth of white pine and other timber is gradually becoming valuable. The value of the timber product increased from $11,849,654 in 1890 to $13,489,401 in 1900, and to $17,937,683 in 1905. See also:Fisheries.—Fishing has always been an important industry in Maine. From 1901 to 1904 inclusive, the average annual catch amounted to 195,335,646 lb, and its average value was $5,557,083• In 1908, according to state reports, the catch was 185,476,343 lti, valued at $3,849,900. See also:Herrings are caught in largest quantities (in 1908, according to state reports, 68,210,800 lb, valued at $450,665), and Maine is noted for the See also:canning of the smaller her-rings under the name of " sardines." In 1908, according to state reports, the take of lobsters was 17,635,980 ib, valued at $I,558,252. Maine markets more clams than any other state in the Union, and the catches of cod, hake, haddock, See also:smelt, mackerel, See also:swordfish, See also:shad, See also:pollock, cusk, salmon, alewives, eels and halibut are of importance. The scallop See also:fishery is becoming more and more valuable. For the See also:protection and promotion of the See also:lobster fishery the United States See also:government has established a lobster hatchery at Boothbay Harbor; and the state legislature enacted a See also:law in 1895 prohibiting the taking of lobsters less than See also:io2 in. in length (one effect of this law being to drive the lobster-canning industry from the state) and another law in 1903 for the protection of lobsters with eggs attached. This latter law directs the state See also:fish See also:commissioner to See also:purchase such lobsters whenever caught and either to liberate them or to sell them to the United States for keeping in a fish hatchery.
Minerals.—The principal See also:mineral products are See also:granite, See also:limestone, See also:slate, clay products and mineral waters. In 1905 Maine held first See also:rank among the states of the Union as a producer of granite, the value of the output being $2,713,795. In 1907 Maine's granite was valued at $2,146,420, that of See also:Massachusetts at $2,328,777, and that of Vermont at $2,693,889. The See also: Black granite was quarried in 1907 at 12 quarries, in York, See also:Lincoln, See also:Waldo, Penobscot and See also:Washington counties. Limestone abounds, especially in the south-east part of the state, but it is quarried chiefly in See also:Knox county. As its See also:colour —blue and blue-black streaked with white=-renders it undesirable for building purposes, nearly all of it is burned into See also:lime, which has become a very important See also:article of manufacture in the city of See also:Rockland; the industry See also:dates back to 1733 in Knox county. In 1907 the quantity of lime burned in Maine was 159,494 tons and its value was $747,947. Slate is quarried chiefly in Piscataquis county, most of it being used for roofing, but some for blackboards; in 1907 the amount quarried in Maine was valued at $236,106. About 1896 some remarkably white and pure feldspar began to be quarried in Androscoggin, Oxford and Sagadahoc counties, but afterwards the spar See also:mined in Maine was of less excellent quality; in 1907 the production in Maine was valued at $157,3334, the total for the entire country being $499,069. Clay is obtaine in various places, and in 1905 the total value of the clay products was $619,294. In Oxford county See also:tourmaline, See also:spodumene (or See also:kunzite) and See also:beryl occur, the tourmaline crystals being notably large and beautiful. Mineral water occurs in many localities, particularly in Androscoggin, York, Cumberland and Oxford counties; the most famous springs are the Poland Springs in Androscoggin county. Most of the mineral waters bottled in the state are chalybeate and slightly alkaline—saline; their average temperature is about 43°. In 1908 27 springs were reported, their aggregate sales amounting to 1,182,322 gallons. See also:Copper, See also:gold alloyed with See also:platinum, See also:iron ore, See also:barytes, See also:graphite and See also:lead occur in small quantities in the state. In 1908 the total mineral product of the state was valued at $7,044,678.
Manufactures.—Although Maine has no See also:coal and only a very small amount of iron ore within her See also:borders for the encouragement of manufacturing, yet the abundance of See also:fine timber and the numerous coves, bays and navigable streams along or near the coast promoted See also:ship-building from the first, and this was the leading industry of the state until about the middle of the 19th century, when wooden See also:ships began to be supplanted by those of iron and See also:steel. Until about the same See also:time, when the Maine liquor law was passed, the manufacture of See also:rum from See also:molasses, received in See also:exchange for lumber and fish in the West Indies, was also an important industry. It was not until See also:early in the 19th century that the large and constant supply of water power afforded by the rivers began to be used to any considerable extent. The first See also:cotton See also: It ranked ninth in 1900 and tenth in 1905 in the value of its cotton goods. Portland, See also:Lewiston, See also:Biddeford, and See also:Auburn are the leading manufacturing cities, and in 1905 the total value of their manufactures was 21.5% of those of the entire state. But from 1900 to 1905 the value of manufactures See also:grew most rapidly in Rock-land (especially noted for lime), the increase being from $1,243,881 to $1,822,591 (46.5%), and in See also:Waterville, where the increase was from $2,283,536 to $3,069,309 (34.4%). Among the largest paper mills are those at Millinocket, in Penobscot county, at See also:Madison on the Kennebec river, and at See also:Rumford Falls on the Androscoggin river. Lewiston leads in the manufacture of cotton goods; Auburn, See also:Bangor and See also:Augusta, in the manufacture of boots and shoes; See also:Bath, in ship and See also:boat building; See also:Eastport and Lubec, in canning " sardines." Transportation and See also:Commerce.—The south-western part of the state, including the manufacturing, the See also:quarrying, and much of the older agricultural See also:district, early had fairly satisfactory means of transportation either by water or by rail; for the coast has many excel-See also:lent harbours, the Kennebec river is navigable for coast vessels to Augusta, the Penobscot to Bangor, and railway service was soon supplied for the villages of the south-west, but it was not until the last decade of the 19th century that the forests, the farming lands, and the summer resorts of Aroostook county were reached by a railway, the Bangor & Aroostook. The first railway in the state, from Bangor to Old See also:Town, was completed in 1836, and the state's railway mileage increased from 12 m. in that year to 245 M. in 185o, to 1377.47 M. in 1890, and to 2210.79 in See also:January 1909. 1 The See also:census of 1905 was taken under the direction of the United States census_ See also:bureau, but the See also:statistics for See also:hand trades were omitted. The principal railway systems are the Maine Central, which enters every county but one, the See also:Boston & Maine, the Bangor & Aroostook, the Grand See also:Trunk and the Canadian Pacific. Lines of steamboats ply regularly between the largest cities of the state and Boston, between Portland and New York, and between Portland and several Canadian ports. The See also:foreign See also:trade, especially that with the West Indies and with Great See also:Britain, decreased after 1875, and yet much trade from the West that goes to See also:Montreal during the warmer months passes through Portland during the winter season. The chief exports to foreign countries are textile fabrics, Indian corn, See also:meat, dairy products, apples, See also:paraffin, boards and shooks; the chief imports from foreign countries are See also:sugar, molasses and See also:wool.. Fish, canned goods, potatoes, granite, lime, paper, and hoots and shoes are also exported to foreign countries to some extent, but they are shipped in larger quantities to other states of the Union, from which Maine receives in return cotton, coal, iron, oil, &c. The ports of entry in Maine are Bangor, Bath, See also:Belfast, Castine, Eastport, See also:Ellsworth, Houlton, Kennebunk, Machias, Portland, Wiscasset and York. Population.—The population in 188o was 648,936; in 189o, 661,086; in 1900, 694,466; and in 191o, 742,3712 From '88o to 'goo there was an increase of only 7 %, a percentage which was exceeded in every other state in the Union except See also:Nevada and Vermont. Of the total population of 1900, 599,291, or 86.3 %, were native whites, 93,330 were foreign-See also:born, 1,319 were negroes, 798 were Indians, 119 were See also:Chinese, and 4 were See also:Japanese. Of the inhabitants born in the United States, 588,211, or 97.8%, were natives of New England and 560,506 were natives of Maine, and of the foreign-born 67,077, or 71.8%, were natives of See also:Canada (36,169 See also:English and 30,908 See also:French), and 10,159, Or 1o.8 %, were natives of See also:Ireland. Of the total population, 199,734 were of foreign parentage—i.e. either one or both parents were foreign-born—and 89,857 were of Canadian See also:parent-See also:age, both on the See also:father's and on the See also:mother's See also:side (41,355 English and 48,502 French). The French-speaking inhabitants probably number considerably more than 50,000. They are of two quite distinct classes. One, numbering about 15,000, includes those who became citizens by the establishment of the northern boundary in 1842 and their descendants. They are largely of See also:Acadian stock. The state has established among them a well-appointed training school for teachers, conducted in the English See also:language, the graduates of which render excellent service in the common See also:schools. The other class is of French-Canadian immigrants, who find profitable employment in the manufacturing centres. The See also:colony of Swedes established by the state near its north-eastern border in 187o has proved in every way successful. The Indians are remnants of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes, the Passamaquoddies being a little the more numerous. The Penobscots' chief gathering places are on the islands of the Penobscot river north of Old Town; the Passamaquoddies', on the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay and the See also:banks of the Saint Croix river. See also:Roman Catholics are more numerous than all the See also:Protestant sects taken together, having in 1906 a membership of 113,419 out of a total of 212,988 in all denominations. In the last decade of the loth century the urban population (i.e. population of places having 4,000 inhabitants or more) increased from 226,268 to 251,685, or 11.2%; the semi-urban population (i.e. population of incorporated places, or the approximate equivalent, having less than 4,000 inhabitants) increased from 14,221 to 26,674, or 87'5%; while the rural population (i.e. popu- lation outside of incorporated places) decreased from 420,597 to 416,134, or 1%. The principal cities of the state are: Portland, pop. (1910), 58,571; Lewiston, 26,247; Bangor, 24,803; Biddeford, 17,o79; Auburn, 15,064; Augusta (the See also:capital), 13,211; Water- ville, 11,458; Bath, 9,396; See also:Westbrook, 8,281; and Rockland, 8,174. See also:Administration.—Maine has had but one state constitution; this was ratified in See also:December 1819, about three months before the See also:admission of the state into the Union. It admits of See also:amendment by a two-thirds See also:vote of both houses of the legislature followed by _a See also:majority vote of the electorate at the next 2 According to previous censuses the population was as follows: (1790) 96,540; (2800) 151,719; (181o) 228,705; (1820) 298,335; (1830) 399,455; (1840) 501,793; (185o) 583,169; (186o) 628,274. (1870) 626,915. See also:September See also:election; or, as provided by. an amendment adopted in 1875, the legislature may by a two-thirds vote of each See also:house summon a constitutional See also:convention. From 1819 to 1875 twelve amendments were adopted; in 1875, after nine more were added, the twenty-one were incorporated in the See also:text; and between 1875 and 1899 nine more were adopted. See also:Suffrage is conferred by the constitution on all male citizens of the United States who are at least twenty-one years of age and have, for some other See also:reason than because of being in the military, See also:naval or marine service of the United States, or of being students at See also:college, lived in the state for three months next preceding any election; the following classes, however, are excepted: paupers, persons under guardianship, Indians not taxed, and, as provided by an amendment adopted in 1892, persons intellectually in-capable of See also:reading the state constitution in the English language or of See also:writing their names. State elections were annual until 1897 when they were made biennial; they are held on the second See also:Monday in September in even numbered years, Maine being one of the few states in the Union in which they are not held in See also:November.
The See also:governor is the only executive officer of the state elected by popular vote. There is no See also:lieutenant-governor, the See also:president of the See also:Senate succeeding to the See also:office of governor in See also:case of a vacancy, but there is a See also:council of seven members elected by the legislature (not more than one from any one senatorial district), whose See also:sole See also:function is to advise the governor. The governor's See also:term of office is two years (before 1879 it was one year); and the constitution further directs that he shall be at least See also:thirty years of age at the beginning of his term, that he shall be a native-born See also:citizen of the United States, that when elected he shall have been a See also:resident of the state for five years, and that he shall reside in the state while in office. His power of See also:appointment is unusually extensive and the See also:advice and consent of the council (instead of that of the Senate as in other states) are required for his appointments. He appoints all See also:judges, coroners and notaries public, besides all other See also:civil and military See also:officers for whose appointment neither the constitution nor the See also:laws provide otherwise. The governor is See also:commander-in-chief of the state See also:militia. Any See also:bill of which he disapproves he can within five days after its passage prevent from becoming a law unless it is passed over his See also:veto by a two-thirds vote of each house of the legislature. He and the council examine and pass upon election returns; he may summon extra sessions of the legislature, and he may See also: Members of each house are elected for a term of two years: one senator from each senatorial district and one to seven representatives (one for a population of 1,500, and seven for a population of 26,250) from each township, or, where the township or See also:plantation has less than 1,500 inhabitants, from each representative district, according to its population. There is a new reapportionment every ten years, counting from 1821. Every senator and every representative must at the beginning of his term have been for five years a citizen of the United States, for one year a resident of the state, and for three months next preceding his election, as well as during his term of office, a resident of the township or district which he represents; and every senator must be at least twenty-five years of age. All See also:revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives, but to such bills the Senate may propose amendments provided they relate solely to raising revenue. Other bills may originate in either house. In September 19o8 a constitutional amendment was adopted providing for See also:referendum and initiative by the people. Any bill prdposed in the legislature or passed by it must be referred to popular vote before becoming law, if there is a referendum See also:petition therefor signed by 10,000 voters; and a petition signed by 12,000 voters initiates new legislation. At the head of the department of See also:justice is the supreme judicial See also:court, which consists of a chief justice and seven See also:associate justices appointed by the governor and council for a term of seven years. When it sits as a law court, at least five of its justices must be present, and it holds three such sessions annually: one at Augusta, one at Bangor, and one at Portland. But only one of its justices is required for a trial court, and trial courts are held two or three times a year in each county for the trial of both civil and criminal caseswhich come before it in the first instance or upon See also:appeal. In Cumberland and Kennebec counties there is a superior court pre-sided over by one justice and having extensive civil and criminal See also:jurisdiction; and in each of the counties there are a See also:probate court for the settlement of the estates of deceased persons and courts of the trial justice and the justice of the See also:peace for the trial of See also:petty offences and of civil cases in which the See also:debt or damage involved does not exceed $20. The principal forms of See also:local government are the town (or town-ship), the plantation, the county and the city. As in other parts of New England, the town is the most important of these. At the See also:regular town See also:meeting held in See also: By the laws of Maine the property rights of a wife are approximately equal to those of a See also:husband. A woman does not lose nor a See also:man acquire right to property by See also:marriage, and a wife may manage, sell, or will her property without the assent of her husband. She may even receive as her own the See also:wages of her See also:personal labour which was not performed for her own See also:family. In the See also:absence of a will, bar or See also:release, there is no legal distinction between the rights of a widower in the See also:estate of his deceased wife and those of a widow in the estate of her deceased husband. The grounds for See also:divorce in the state are See also:adultery, See also:impotence, extreme See also:cruelty, See also:desertion for three consecutive years next preceding the application, See also:gross and confirmed habits of See also:intoxication, cruel and abusive treatment, or a husband's gross or wanton refusal or neglect to provide a suitable See also:maintenance for his wife. Under the laws of Maine a householder owning and occupying a house and See also:lot may hold the same, or such part of it as does not exceed $500 in value, as a See also:homestead exempt from See also:attachment, except for the See also:satisfaction of liens for labour or material, by filing in the registry of deeds a certificate stating his See also:desire for such an exemption, provided he is not the owner of an exempted lot See also:purchased from the state; and the exemption may be continued during the widowhood of his widow or the minority of his See also:children. A considerable amount of personal property, including See also:apparel, See also:household See also:furniture not exceeding $loo in value, a library not exceeding $150 in value, See also:interest in a See also:pew in a meeting-house, and a specified amount of See also:fuel, provisions, tools or farming implements, and domestic animals, and one fishing boat, is also exempt from attachment. Maine was the first state in the Union to enact a law for prohibiting the See also:sale of intoxicating liquors. An See also:act for restricting the sale of such liquors was passed in 1846; the first prohibitory act was passed, largely through the See also:influence of See also:Neal See also:Dow, in 1851; this was frequently amended; and in 1884 an amendment ' An unincorporated township containing less than 200 inhabitants may, on the application of three resident voters, be organized as a plantation, but does not pay state or county taxes unless by See also:special legislative order. Other unincorporated districts, especially islands along the coast, are called " grants," " surpluses," " gores " or " tracts. to the constitution was adopted which declares the manufacture of intoxicating liquors and their sale, except for medicinal and See also:mechanical purposes and the arts," forever prohibited. By the law enacted for enforcing this See also:prohibition the governor and council appoint a state liquor commissioner from whom alone the selectmen of a town, the See also:mayor or aldermen of a city, are authorized to receive the liquors which may be sold within the exceptions named in the amendment, and the selectmen, mayor or aldermen appoint an See also:agent who alone is authorized to sell any of these liquors within their jurisdiction and who is forbidden to sell any whatever to minors, Indians, soldiers and drunkards. But the law labours under the disadvantage of all laws not vigorously sustained by general public sentiment, and is grossly violated. For the most part it is executed to the degree demanded by local sentiment in the several municipalities, thus operating in practice much the same as a " local See also:option " law. The law looks to checking the demand by pre-venting the supply; and since habitual reliance on the stringency of law tends to the neglect of other influences for the removal of evils from the community, the citizens seem to absolve them-selves from personal responsibility, both for the See also:execution of the law and for the existence of the evil itself. There has been a strong See also:movement for the See also:repeal of the law, and the question of prohibition has long been an important one in state politics. The See also:death See also:penalty was abolished in Maine in 1876, restored in 1883, and again abolished in 1887. Penal and Charitable Institutions.—The state penal and reformatory institutions consist of the state See also:prison at Thomaston, the state (reform) school for boys at South Portland, and a state See also:industrial school for girls at Hallowell, established in 1875 and taken over by the state in 1899. The two schools are not places of See also:punishment, but reformatory schools for delinquent boys (from 8 to 16 years of age) and girls (from 6 to 16 years), who have been committed by the courts for violations of law, and, in the case of girls, who, by force of circumstances or associations, are " in See also:manifest danger of be-coming outcasts of society." The prison is in charge of a See also:board of three inspectors and a See also:warden, and each of the other two institutions is in charge of a board of trustees; the inspectors, warden, and trustees are all appointed by the governor and council. Convicts in the prison are usually employed in the manufacture of articles that are not extensively made elsewhere in the state, such as carriages, See also:harness, furniture and brooms. The inmates of the state school for boys receive instruction in farming, See also:carpentry, tailoring, See also:laundry See also:work, and various other trades and occupations; and the girls in the state industrial school are trained in housework, laundering, dressmaking, &c. Paupers are cared for chiefly by the towns and cities, those wholly dependent being placed in almshouses and those only partially dependent receiving aid at their homes. The charitable institutions maintained by the state are: the military and naval See also:orphan See also:asylum at Bath, the Maine institution for the See also:blind at Portland, the Maine school for the See also:deaf (established in 1876, and taken over by the state in 1897) at Portland, the Maine insane See also:hospital at Augusta, the Eastern Maine insane hospital at Bangor, and a school for the feeble-minded (established in 1907) at West Pownal, each of which is governed by trustees appointed by the governor and council, with the exception of a part of those of the orphan asylum, who are appointed by the See also:corporation. Besides the strictly state institutions, there are a number of private charitable institutions which are assisted by state funds; among these are the See also:eye and See also:ear infirmary at Portland, the Maine state See also:sanatorium at See also:Hebron for the treatment of See also:tuberculosis, and various hospitals, orphanages, &c. The See also:national government has a branch of the national See also:home for disabled volunteer soldiers at Togus, and a marine hospital at Portland. See also:Education.—The school-district See also:system was established' in 1800 while Maine was still a part of Massachusetts and was maintained by the first school law passed, in 1821, by the state legislature; but, beginning in the next year, one town after another received the See also:privilege of abolishing its districts, and in 1893 the system was abolished by act of the legislature. A state board of education, composed of one member from each county, was established in 1846, but for this was substituted, in 1852, a commissioner of schools for each county, appointed by the governor, and two years later a state See also:superintendent of schools was substituted for the county commissioners. County supervision by county supervisors was tried in 1869-1872. Since these several changes the common school system has been administered by towns and cities subject to an increasing amount of See also:control through enactments of the state legislature and the general supervision of the state superintendent. The town officers are a superintending school committee of three members and a superintendent. The members of the committee are elected for a term of three years, one retiring every year, and See also:women as well as men are eligible for the office. The superintendentmay be elected by the town or appointed by the committee, or towns having not less than twenty or more than 'fifty schools may unite in employing a superintendent. In cities the committee is usually larger than in towns and is commonly elected by wards. Since 1889 each town and city has been required to furnish text-books, apparatus and supplies, without cost to the pupils. The minimum length of the school year is fixed by a statute of 1893 at twenty See also:weeks; the average length is about twenty-eight weeks; A compulsory education law, enacted in 1901, requires the attendance at some public or approved private school of each See also:child between the ages of seven and fifteen during all the time that school is in session, except that necessary absences may be excused. For the maintenance of the common schools each town is required (since 1905) to raise annually at least fifty-five cents per capita, exclusive of what may be received from other See also:sources, and to this is added the proceeds of a state tax of one and a See also:half mills on a See also:dollar, one-half the proceeds of the tax on savings banks, a 6% income from the permanent school fund (derived mainly from the sale of school lands), and state appropriations for the See also:payment in part of the superintendence in towns that have united for that purpose. Any section of a town may establish and maintain a high school provided there be not more than two such schools in one town, and the state makes appropriations for the support of such schools equal to one-half the cost of instruction, but the maximum grant to any one such school is $250.
The state maintains five normal schools: that at Farmington (established 1864), that at Castine (1866), that at Gorham (1879); that at Presque Isle (the Aroostook state normal school, 1903), and the Madawaska training school at Fort See also:Kent, each of which is under the direction of a board of trustees consisting of the governor, the state superintendent of schools, and five other members appointed by the governor and council for not more than three years. At the head of the public school system is the university of Maine, near the village of Orono in Orono township (pop. in 1900, 3257), Penobscot county. This institution was founded in 1865 as the state college of agriculture and the mechanic arts; in 1897 the present name was adopted. It embraces a college of arts and sciences, a college of agriculture, a college of technology (including a department of forestry), a college of law '(at Bangor), and a college of See also:pharmacy. The most conspicuous of its twenty-five buildings is the library, built with funds contributed by See also:Andrew See also:Carnegie. In 1908–1909 the university had 104 instructors and 884 students, of whom 113 were in the college of law at Bangor and 420 in the college of technology. The university is maintained with the proceeds of an endowment fund derived chiefly from public lands given by the national government in accordance with the land grant, or See also:Morrill, Act of 1862 (see MORRILL, See also:JUSTIN S.) and from the See also:bequest ($1oo,000) of See also:Abner Coburn (1803–1885); by appropriations of See also:Congress under the second Morrill Act (1890), and under the See also:Nelson Amendment of 1907, by appropriations of the state legislature, and by fees paid by the students. Connected with the university is an agricultural experiment station, established and maintained under the See also:Hatch Act (1887) and the See also: See also:Finance.—The chief sources of the state's revenue are a general property tax and taxes on the franchises of corporations, especially those of railway and See also:insurance companies and savings banks; among the smaller sources are licences or fees, a See also:poll tax, and a See also:collateral See also:inheritance tax. The general property tax for state and local purposes is assessed by local assessors, but their work is re-viewed for the purpose of equalization among the several towns and counties by a board of state assessors, which also assesses the corporations. This board of three members (not more than two of whom may be of the same See also:political party) is elected by a joint ballot of the two houses of the legislature for a term of six years, one member retiring every two years. The state is prohibited by the constitution from creating a debt exceeding $300,000 except for the suppression of a See also:rebellion, for repelling an invasion, or for See also:war purposes; and every city and town is forbidden by an amendment adopted in 1877 from creating one exceeding 5% of the assessed value of its property. But the state was authorized by an amendment adopted in 1868 to issue bonds for the reimbursement of the expenses incurred by its cities, towns, and plantations on account of the Civil War, and these bonds, with those issued by the state itself during the Civil War, constituted the largest part of the state's 'bonded indebtedness. The bonded debt, however, is rapidly being paid; in January 1901 it was $2,103,000, and in January,1999, only $698,000.
See also:History.—During the 16th century and the early part of the 17th, the coast of Maine attracted various explorers, among them Giovanni da Verrazano (1524), Esteban See also:Gomez (1525), See also:Bartholomew See also:Gosnold (1602), See also: The colony established itself at the mouth of the Kennebec river in See also:August, but, finding its supplies insufficient, about three-fifths of its number returned to England in December; a severe winter followed and Popham died; then Gilbert, who succeeded to the See also:presidency of the council for the colony, became especially interested in his claim to the territory under his father's charter,' and in 16o8 the colony was abandoned. In 16o9 the French See also:Jesuits Biard and Masse established a fortified See also:mission station on the island of Mount Desert, and although this as well as the remnant of De Monts' settlement at the mouth of the Saint Croix was taken in 1613 by Sir See also:Samuel Argall (d. 1626), acting under the instructions of the English at See also:Jamestown, See also:Virginia, some of these colonists returned later. In 162o the Council for New England, the successor of the Plymouth Company, obtained a grant of the country between latitude 40° and 48° N. extending from sea to sea, and two years later Gorges and John See also:Mason (1586–1635) received from the Council a grant of the territory between the See also:Merrimac and the Kennebec rivers for 6o m. inland under the name of the Province of Maine. In 1629 they divided their See also:possession, Gorges taking the portion between the Piscataqua and the Kennebec. Numerous grants of land in this vicinity followed within a few years; and in the meantime permanent settlements at York, Saco, Biddeford, See also:Port See also: Moreover, Puritan Massachusetts, which was naturally hostile to the Anglicanism of Gorges and his followers, interpreted her charter so as to make her northern boundary run east and west from a point 3 M. north of the source of the Merrimac river, and on this basis laid claim to practically the whole of Maine then settled. The factional quarrels there, together with the See also:Commonwealth government in England, made it easy for Massachusetts to enforce this claim at the time, and between 1652 and 1658 Maine was gradually annexed to Massachusetts. In 1672 Massachusetts extended her boundary eastward as far as Penobscot Bay. Ferdinando Gorges, a See also:grandson of the See also:original proprietor, brought before See also:parliament his claim to Maine and in 1664 a committee of that body decided in his favour; but Massachusetts successfully resisted until 1677, when the See also: The want of protection during the War of 1812 revived the question, and in 1816 the General Court in response to a great number of petitions submitted to a vote in the towns and plantations of the District the question: " Shall the legislature be requested to give its consent to the separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts, and the erection of said District into a See also:separate state? " The returns showed 10,393 yeas to 65or nays, but they also showed that less than one-half the full vote had been See also:cast. Acting upon these returns the legislature passed a bill prescribing the terms of separation, and directed another vote of the towns and plantations upon the question of separation and the election of delegates to a convention at Brunswick which should proceed to See also:frame a constitution in case the second popular vote gave a majority of five to four for separation; but as that vote was only 11,969 yeas to
10,347 nays the See also:advocates of separation were unsuccessful. But a large source of opposition to separation was removed in 1819 when Congress, dividing the east coast of the United States into two great districts, did away with the regulation which, making each state a district for entering and clearing vessels, would have required See also:coasting vessels from the ports of Maine as a separate state to enter and clear on every trip to or from Boston; as a consequence, the separation measures were carried
by large majorities this year, a constitution was framed by a convention which met at Portland in See also:October, this was ratified by town meetings in December, and Maine applied for admission into the Union. Owing to the peculiar situation at the time in Congress, arising from the contest over the admission of See also:Missouri, the question of the admission of Maine became an important one in national politics. By an Act of the 3rd of March 1820, however, Maine was finally admitted into the Union as a separate state, her admission being a part of the Missouri See also:compromise (q.v.).
The boundary on the north had not yet been ascertained, and it had long been a subject of dispute between the United States and Great Britain. The treaty of 1783 (Article II.) had defined the north-east boundary of the United States as extending along the middle of the river St Croix " from its mouth in the bay of See also:Fundy to its source " and " due north from the source of St Croix river to the See also:highlands; along the said highlands which See also:divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westernmost head of See also:Connecticut river; thence down along the middle of that river to the See also:forty-fifth degree of north latitude." Great Britain claimed that the due north line was 40 M. long and ran to See also:Mars See also: The See also:Webster-See also:Ashburton treaty of 1842 was a compromise, which allowed Maine about 5500 sq. m. less than she had claimed and allowed Great Britain about as much less than her claim; all grants of land previously made by either party within the limits of the territory which by this treaty fell within the dominions of the other party were to be " held valid, ratified and confirmed to the persons in possession under such grants, to the same extent as if such territory had . . . fallen within the dominions of the party by whom such grants were made "; and the government of the United States agreed to pay to Maine and Massachusetts' "in ' An article in the Act See also:relating to the separation of Maine from Massachusetts stipulated that the lands within the District of Maine which See also:prior to the separation had belonged to Massachusetts should after the separation belong one-half to Maine and one-half to Massachusetts. In 1826 the wild lands of Maine were surveyed and divided between the two states; and in 1853 Maine acquired fromequal moieties " the sum of $300,000 as See also:compensation for the lands which they had claimed and which under the treaty they were called upon to surrender. The long controversy, which is known in See also:American history as " The North-East boundary dispute," was not finally settled however until 1910. It was the Democratic majority in the district of Maine that effected the separation from Massachusetts, and from the date of that separation until 1853 Maine was classed as a Democratic state, although it elected a Whig governor in 1838 and in 1840, and cast its electoral vote for John See also:Quincy Adams in 1824 and 1828 and for W. H. See also:Harrison in 1840. As a result of the See also:slavery question, there was a party disintegration between 185o and 1855, followed by the supremacy of the Republican party from 1856 to 1878. In 1878, of the 126,169 votes cast in the election for governor, See also:Selden See also:Connor (b. 1839), re-nominated by the Republicans, received 56,554; See also:Joseph L. Smith (" National " or " Greenback "), 41,371; Alonzo Garcelon (1813-1906) (Democratic), 28,218; as no See also:candidate received a majority of the votes, the election was left to the legislature.2 The vote of the House eliminated Connor, and Garcelon was chosen in the Senate by a Democratic-National See also:fusion. Again there was no election by popular vote in 1879, and Garcelon and his council, to secure the election of a fusion government, counted-in a fusion majority in the legislature by evident falsification of the returns. On the 3rd of January 188o the Supreme Court declared the governor and council in See also:error in counting in a fusion majority, but on the 7th the governor swore in a legislature with 78 fusion and only two Republican members, and, the governor's term having expired, the president of the Senate, James D. Lamson, became governor, ex-officio. On the 12th the legislative See also:chambers were seized by the Republicans, whose organized legislature was declared legal by the Supreme Court, and who See also:chose as governor See also:Daniel Franklin See also:Davis (1843-1897); where-upon, on the 17th, See also:Joshua L. See also: „ 1830 Samuel See also:Emerson Smith . . . „ 1831 See also:Robert See also:Pinckney Dunlap . . . 1834 See also:Edward Kent . . . . . . . Whig 1838 John See also:Fairfield . . . . . . . Democrat 1839
Edward Kent . . . . . . . Whig 1841
John Fairfield . . . Democrat 1842
Edward See also:Kavanagh (acting) . . „ 1843
See also:Hugh J. See also: . . 1847 John Hubbard . . . . . . 1850 William George See also:Crosby . . Whig and Free Soil 1853 See also:Anson Peaslee Morrill . . . . . Republican 1855 Samuel See also:Wells . . . . . . Democrat 1856 See also:Hannibal See also:Hamlin . . . Republican 1857 Joseph H, See also:Williams (acting) „ 1857 Lot Myrick Morrill . . . . . . ,, 1858 See also:Israel See also:Washburn . . . . . . „ 1861 Abner Coburn . . . . . . . „ 1863 Massachusetts, for $362,500, all of this land still remaining in possession of the latter state. 2 According to See also:Art. V. of the constitution a majority of the total number of votes cast was required for election ; in case no candidate should receive a majority, it was prescribed that the " House of Representatives shall, by ballot, from the persons having the four highest numbers of votes on the lists, if so many there be, elect two persons and make returns of their names to the Senate, of whom the Senate shall, by ballot, elect one, who shall be declared the governor." An amendment, which became a part of the constitution on the 9th of November 1880, provided that a See also:plurality of the total number of votes cast should be sufficient for election. Samuel Cony . . . Republican 1864 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain . . 1867 See also:Sidney Perham . . 1871 Nelson Dingley . . 1874 Selden Connor . . 1876 Alonzo Garcelon . . . . . . Democrat 1879 Daniel F. Davis . . . . . . Republican 1880 See also:Harris See also:Merrill Plaisted .. .. Democrat-Greenback 1881 Frederick Roble .. Republican 1883 Joseph R. Bodwell ll 1887 See also:Sebastian S. See also:Marble (acting) 1887 See also:Edwin C. Burleigh . . . 1889 Henry B. Cleaves . 1893 Llewellyn Powers . L 1897 John See also:Fremont Hill 11 1901 William T. See also:Cobb .. 1905 See also:Bert M. Fernald .. 10 Frederick W. Plaisted Democrat 1911I See S. L. See also:Boardman, Climate, &c., of Maine (Washington, 1884) ; See also:Walton Wells, The Water Power of Maine (Augusta, 1869) ; G. H. See also:Hitchcock, General See also:Report on the See also:Geology of Maine (Augusta, 186,) ; G. H. Stone, The Glacial Gravels of Maine and their Associated Deposits (Washington, 1899) ; T. Nelson See also:Dale, The Granites of Maine (Washington, 1907), being Bulletin 313 of the U. S. See also:Geological Survey; B. F. De See also:Costa, Sketches of the Coast of Maine and Isle of Shoals (New York, 1869) ; H. D. See also:Thoreau, The Maine Woods (Boston, 1881) ; L. L. Hubbard, Woods and Lakes of Maine (Boston, 1883) ; T. S. See also:Steele, See also:Canoe and See also:Camera, a Two Hundred Mile Tour through the Maine Forests (New York, 1882) ; William See also:MacDonald, The Government of Maine, Its History and Administration (New York, 1902); Maine See also:Historical Society Collections (Portland, 1831- ); W. D. Williamson, History of the State of Maine (Hallowell, 1832) ; J. P. See also:Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine (Boston, 1890) and George Cleeve of Casco Bay (Portland, 1885) ; George Folsom, History of Saco and Biddeford, with notices of other Early Settlements and of the Proprietary Governments in Maine (Saco, 1830) ; J. L. Chamberlain, Maine, Her Place in History (Augusta, 1877) ; E. S.Whitin, Factory Legislation in Maine (New York, 1908). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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