During the brief time which the Plymouth
Council held the " Great Charter for New Eng-
land," they made several grants of land within the
District of Maine, which, through all subsequent
revolutions of government, have been generally
respected and upheld. One of these subordinate
grants was the " Muscongus," or " Lincolnshire
Patent," to Beauchamp and Leverett, in 1629.
This patent embraced land between the Muscon-
gus and Penobscot rivers, and contained, by esti-
mation, nearly a thousand square miles. Its area
exceeded that of several of the principalities of
Europe. It included the whole of the present
counties of Knox and Waldo, except the terri-
tory of a few towns. Subsequent surveys added
a portion of Penobscot County. For this immense
tract of land no consideration was demanded or
paid. A fifth part of aU the gold and silver ore
found on the premises was reserved to the king,
and rights of government were also retained. In
other respects, the powers of the patentees were
complete. No subjects could have received an es-
tate of a higher nature, or be clothed with more
exclusive privileges. The lands and islands, the
rivers and harbors, the mines and the fisheries,
were all under their absolute control. Without
license, no one could shoot a bird, fell a tree,
or build a hut. The patent was a commercial



V Google



78 GENERAL SAMUEL WALDO.
monopoly, " open, notorious, exclusive, and ad-
verse."

To the suggestive question, what induced the
Plymouth proprietors, without money and -without
price, to surrender this large territory, an answer
may be given by referring to recent bestowals of
our national domain in aid of public improvements.
