New Castle, historic and picturesque . f a year is a partisan of the Mr. Toothacher, from Jerrys Pint and Outalong, is a moresteady-going opponent of every board of selectmen; his generalAiew is that the towns affairs are going to the dogs. He makesno speeches, but he prophecies to a neighbor across the pasturebars, and warms his sarcasms beside the stove of the villagestore. He is always a thorn in the sides of the selectmen. Hewants what he calls a plain statement; he thinks the selectmenhave spent too much money; the taxes are ever too much; theroads are good enough for him;
New Castle, historic and picturesque . f a year is a partisan of the Mr. Toothacher, from Jerrys Pint and Outalong, is a moresteady-going opponent of every board of selectmen; his generalAiew is that the towns affairs are going to the dogs. He makesno speeches, but he prophecies to a neighbor across the pasturebars, and warms his sarcasms beside the stove of the villagestore. He is always a thorn in the sides of the selectmen. Hewants what he calls a plain statement; he thinks the selectmenhave spent too much money; the taxes are ever too much; theroads are good enough for him; the schoolhouse will lastanother year, and his face is set like flint against all imp-ove-ments. He is in great contrast to the class who are alwaysready to vote away other peoples money. Then there is the alien citizen—I mean, not born in NewCastle — who is apt to be of liberal tendencies respecting publicaffairs. His position is difficult. There is the same distinctionhere between the native born and the alien, as there w^as in. INTEBNAL ANNALS 139 Athens or Rome. Residence is nothing; unless of local descentyou find yourself always on the outside of the autocthonouscircle and your disalnlities uuremoved. It is in vain to explainto 3our fellow-citizens that it was not your fault but misfortunethat you were not born in New Castle. Their difficulty is inunderstanding how this could have happened ; and yowr actuallybeing here is, if not suspicious, always a mystery. It often happens that the poll-tax is arrayed against theproperty-tax. Then you will see, on the final vote, the righthand of the younger men, stretched upward full length, in itsbold, moneyless freedom, always affirmative, and nearly ahvaystriumphant; while the hands of the opposition, the conservative,older citizens, are raised timidly only from the elbow. We canleave them to fight it out on this line; their freedom is safe intheir own hands. The town methods of conducting business areclumsy, absurd, informal;
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidnewcastlehis, bookyear1884
