Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 1.djvu/200

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

192

��EDITORIAL MEMORANDA.

��in 1777, urging his return to the royal cause, promising him particular reward, and saying, " You were the first man in active rebellion," and Livius had fled from Portsmouth. Sullivan became Ma- jor-General, and governor of his State. Winborn Adams, also of Dover blood, was Lieutenant-Colonel when he met his

��death at Stillwater. Alexander Scammel, of that Durham party, was Adjutant- General of the army when he fell at Yorktown. Demeritt, Griffin, Bennett, Chesley, Noble and Durgin, of that ex- pedition, all did service in the army of the Revolution.

��We will esteem it a favor on the part of those subscribers for the Monthly who wish prosperity for our enterprise (and this we trust includes them all), if they will call the attention of their friends and acquaintances, at home and abroad, to the publication. As yet but a small proportion of the residents of New Hampshire, and a vastly smaller pro- portion of the former residents now having their homes elsewhere, are aware of the existence of such a publication as the Granite Monthly. A word of sug- gestion and information in this direction on the part of each subscriber will re- sult in a material increase of the subscrip- tion list— always an encouraging circum- stance to the publisher, and in turn re- sulting in some degree at least to the ad- vantage of his patrons.

The consumption of coal in the towns and villages of our State increases large- ly from year to year. In some places, where six years ago none at all was used, many hundred tons are consumed an- nually, and it is safe to say that during the coming winter the quantity of coal burned in New Hampshire, aside from railroad and manufacturing purposes, will be double that of any former winter. This happens in large degree, from the fact that coal is cheaper than wood, even with the high rates of freight that are paid for its transportation. A ton of good coal is generally considered worth two cords of the best wood for heating purposes, while in all the cities and larg- er villages of the State, one cord of wood costs about as much as a ton of coal. This comes about from the fact that most of the wood within easy access of the

cities and villages has been cut aAvay, and nearly all that comes into market has to be brought several miles by teams,

��which necessarily adds largely to th e cost. A question, therefore, well worth consideration, is whether or not much of the land now under cultivation within easy access of our large towns could not be made to yield a greater relative profit in the growth of wood. The State Board of Agriculture will do well to consider this question.

��Next to the press and the pulpit the lyceum or lecture platform is, or should be. the most important source of popular instruction. That the lyceum has been abused or misused — that the public have been humbugged by the palming off upon them of worthless trash at high prices, under the name of first-class lec- tures — is no argument against the in- stitution itself, any more than the circu- lation of unreliable or pernicious news- papers and the delivery of flashy or sen- sational sermons are arguments against the maintenance of the press and the pul- pit generally. It is true that the people have been imposed upon in this direction, as they have been in a thousand others, and will continue to be to a greater or less extent. The public at large, as well as individuals, must learn by experience, and they are coming to know better and better from year to year, who among the the great array of professional lecturers are really worthy of their patronage, as they are also coming more generally to appreciate the real value of the lecture system. We are pleased to observe, that, notwithstanding the general hard times, there is to be a more extended pat- ronage of lectures for the coming win- ter in our State than in any previous sea- son, while for the most part the selec- tion of lecturers is more careful and ju- dicious than heretofore.

�� �