maritime frontier of about 500 miles in extent, following
the indentations of her shores, and our interior frontier, bounding on
New Brunswick on the east and the Canadas on the north, is about 600
miles in extent.

Considering this great extent of seacoast, her numerous excellent
harbors, her noble rivers and great advantages for shipbuilding, and
her proximity to the fishing grounds, probably no State in the Union
possesses the natural advantages for carrying on this branch of industry
that Maine does.

It is a fact worthy of consideration that all maritime nations have
looked to their fisheries as the nursery of hardy seamen for the
merchant service in time of peace and for the navy in time of war, and
as a great question of national policy (aside from the inducement to
encourage this branch of business as an unfailing source of natural
wealth) it is deemed worthy of the fostering care of all commercial
nations.

Already the navigation of Maine is estimated at more than 300,000 tons,
and exceeded by only two States in the Union, and her increase annually
of tonnage is greater than that of any other State.

The abundance of building materials, believed to be inexhaustible, her
great conveniences for shipbuilding along her extended seacoast, her
numerous bays, rivers, and harbors, render it highly probable that the
day is not far distant when the maritime interests of Maine will exceed
that of any of her sister States; and if reliance can be placed upon the
statements of a scientific engineer of high respectability and standing,
who has during the past year, under the direction of the government of
this State and our parent Commonwealth, made a geological survey of
a portion of our State, it may be doubted whether the same extent of
territory on the continent contains more real value viewed in all its
bearings (the facilities of quarrying, manufacturing, exporting, and
its influence upon the great interests of the State and nation) than is
contained in our inexhaustible quarries of granite, lime, marble, slate,
etc., mines and minerals in which large and profitable investments are
already made. Some of these branches of business have been carried on
for many years, and others to a large extent are commencing under the
most favorable auspices.

These, together with our agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing
interests, our immense forests of invaluable timber, with a water power
of vast extent and value, givi