FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 49 



of York which was created by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Lord 

 Palatine of the Province of Maine, in 1640, and the first volume 

 of whose records begins with the court opened at Saco, June 

 25, under the charter of Charles I embraced the whole of Maine 

 until November 2, 1760, when the counties of Cumberland and 

 Lincoln were created by an act of the Provincial Legislature. 



The formation of a Republican Constitution by the people of 

 Massachusetts Bay and the recognition of that Commonwealth 

 as an independent state within three years afterward seem to 

 have inspired in the inhabitants of Maine a desire for a sepa- 

 ration. Indeed, as early as 1778 the Continental Congress had 

 divided Massachusetts into three districts, the Southern, Middle 

 and Northern, the last embracing the three eastern counties of 

 York, Cumberland and Lincoln, which thus acquired a distinc- 

 tive name, "The District of Maine," which it retained until the 

 separation. Twelve years later the First Federal Congress 

 re-established the same division under the National Constitu- 

 tion. 



MAINE BECOMES A STATE. 



By an act passed June 19, the General Court directed the 

 voters of Maine to vote on the question July 24, and if the 

 majority in favor of separation should exceed 1,500, the gov- 

 ernor was authorized to proclaim the result and to direct the 

 towns at the September election to choose delegates to a Con- 

 stitutional Convention. 



August 24 Governor Brooks made proclamation that separa- 

 tion had been carried by the requisite majority of 9,959 to 7.132, 

 and issued his call for a Convention. The delegates chosen the 

 next month assembled in Convention at Portland, October 11, 

 and organized by electing W'illiam King, President, and Robert 

 C. Vose, Secretary. 



The Convention completed the proposed Constitution October 

 29 and adjourned to January 5, 1820, after submitting it to the 

 people in townmeeting to be held December 6, 1819. 



On re-assembling, the Convention found that the Constitution 

 had been adopted by a large majority and announced the result 

 to the people of Maine as did Governor Brooks in his message 

 to the General Court of Massachusetts. The Convention also 

 applied to Congress for admission which was granted by act 



