Page:The formative period in Colby's history.djvu/24

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is granted a township of land, six miles square, to be laid out and assigned from any of the unappropriated land, belonging to this Commonwealth in the District of Maine, under the same restrictions, reservations and limitations as other grants, for similar purposes are usually made.—The same to be vested in the Corporation of said Institution, and their successors forever, for the use benefit and purpose of supporting said Institution, to be by them holden in their Corporate capacity, with full power and authority to settle, divide, and manage the same tract of land or township, or any part thereof, or to sell, convey or dispose of the same for settlement only, and to no one person a larger quantity than one thousand acres, in such way and manner as shall best promote the welfare of said Institution, the same to be laid out under the direction of the Committee for the sale of Eastern Lands, and a plan or plans thereof returned into the Secretary's office. (K)

Although the word "Institution" has been substituted for the word "College" in the title, this bill is practically the same as that submitted in 1812, and is still essentially a college charter. The slight changes which should be noted are these: Changes in the individuals named as incorporators in section two; change in the eleventh section giving the legislature the power to increase, alter, limit, or annul any of the powers granted; a grant of one township of land, in place of the four townships given by the previous bill. The petitioners seem to have believed that by substituting the word "Institution" for "College" and making the further concessions noted, they might appease the opposition and secure an institution with full collegiate powers under another name. Their hopes however, were ill-founded.

As had been the case the previous year, there was no opposition in the Senate, as the endorsement makes clear:

The action of the House was not delayed, for the bill was disposed of on the following day. The record reads thus:

A separate slip contains a draft of the above amendments and one other which was also adopted: