Excerpt from The Government of Maine, Its History and Administration This book, begun at Bowdoin College, is finished at Brown University. In writing it I have tried to keep in mind the needs of students in high schools and academies, for whose use it is particularly designed, and to avoid overloading the text with relatively unimportant details. I am under obligations to numerous State and local officials for information and assistance in matters relating to their respective offices; to Mr. Edward W. Wheeler of Brunswick, Maine, for light on some points of legal procedure and the organization of the party system in the State; and to Mr. John A. Morrill, of Auburn, for his kindness in furnishing me with advance sheets of his revision of the laws of Maine. For historical data relating to the educational system of the State I have drawn largely upon the annual reports of Hon. W. W. Stetson, State Superintendent of Public Schools, particularly the report for 1900. The texts of a number of documents in the Appendix are reprinted from my "Select Charters," by permission of The Macmillan Company. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Remote and thinly populated, Maine has been insulated from many of the demo-graphic and economic trends of states to the south. But Maine Politics and Government shows how rapidly this situation is changing. In the 1970s and 1980s, Maine?once dependent on agriculture, manufacturing, and maritime trades?underwent extensive commercial development. High-tech businesses and fashionable suburbs, concentrated in the southern counties, began to assert a new political force. The authors of this book view these changes in the context of the state's long history. Although Maine's population and economy have become more diversified, its public policies more complex, and its government more professionalized and centralized, there remains a remarkable degree of stability in political attitudes. And Maine still operates under its original 1819 constitution; the amendments added over time have largely maintained its original structure while allowing for changing conditions. This book illumi-nates the workings of Maine's executive, legislative, and judicial branches and its relations with the federal government, as well as local concerns, without losing sight of the Pine Tree State's uniqueness.