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shillings and forty shillings respectively, may be found in the same volume of Archives.

In November, 1868, a few months after the publication of the fourth volume of the Colonial Records of Connecticut, (1689-1706,) I came into possession of a printed copy of our statutes of the edition of 1673, having annexed, in manuscript, the session laws up to 1698. From 1673 to 1696, the hand-writing was that of Secretary John Allyn, and the remainder that of Secretary Kimberly. Subsequently? the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop placed in my hands a similar manuscript by Richard Christophers. These manuscripts further confirm certain acts and orders omitted from the record by the secretary, but restored to their places in the third and fourth printed volumes, on what was regarded as good authority.

In the preface to the fourth volume, (1689-1706,) reference was made to a law to prevent oppression, by regulating prices and profits, passed in May, 1676, which is not on the record, nor printed by Mr. Trumbull. The law is here inserted from the Allyn MS., in order to render this collection of the acts of our legislature more complete. In the Allyn, Stanly, and Christophers MSS., it immediately follows the act restraining excess in apparel, printed on page 283 of volume second, (1665-1677.)

OPPRESSION.

Whereas a great cry of oppression is heard amongst us, and that principally poynted at workemen and traders, which is hard to regulate without a standard prepard both for advance and for pay duely sett as money, It is therefore ordered, that the price of provission be duely sett at each of of Generall Courts annually, according to true intelligence from Boston, for money sold, and then for such pay within six moneths payd, no merchant or trader shall advance above two pence upon the shilling for profit, charge and venture from Boston, or other market of like distance, for goods well bought with ready money; trustings and trifles under a shilling being left to each mans agreement, discression and moderation, according to a good conscience, to deal. All goods as are subject to wast, the wast to be allowed as part of the first price or cost of the goods. And all breaches of this order to be punished proportionable to the value of the oppression, treble to the oppression; one third to be restored to the party oppressed, and the

residue halfe of it to the complayner that shall prove the fact, and halfe to the county treasurie where the offence is committed. And as for those tradesmen whose commodities are partly their own labour, and partly materialls they worke upon, as tañers, shoemakers, smiths and such like, as allso such whose dayes labour cannot ordinarily be knowen how much they dayly effect, as weavoures, taylors and such like, and day labourers, there being great difficulty to regulate the prizes of their ware and worke, this Court, purposeing in season to state orders respecting those things which at present is not attaineable, doe in the interem recommend it to all such tradsemen and labourers to consider the religious end of their callings, which is that receiveing such moderat profit as may inable them to serve God and their neighbours with their arts and trades comfortably, they doe not inrich themselves suddainly and inordinately (by oppressing prizes and wages, to the impoverishing their neighboures and rendering them in great measure uncapeable of convenient subsistance,) live in the practice of that crying sin of oppression but avoyd it.

Recently, I have discovered another manuscript of the Laws of the Territory and Dominion of New England, by which the text of those laws printed in the Appendix to volume III. (1678-1689,) pages 402 to 436, may be completed and corrected in several places.

During the period covered by the volume now published, and, in fact, during the whole of the eighteenth century, many interesting documents, and the greater part of the executive correspondence, which should be found in our archives, are missing. The General Assembly, in May, 1771, desired the Governor to collect such public papers and have them bound, that they might be preserved; and Silas Deane, in 1774, in a letter which is published in the American Archives, 4th series, I. 810, called Governor Trumbull's attention to the public loss and inconvenience sustained by the neglect or omission to preserve them in some public office. Many of these documents are still in existence, and it is much to be regretted that they are not in one place, where they can be easily accessible and freely consulted. STATE LIBRARY, HARTFORD,

April 25th, 1870.

C. J. H.

THE PUBLIC RECORDS

OF THE

COLONY OF CONNECTICUT.

[VOL. IV.]

[1] AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOLDEN AT NEWHAVEN, Осто BER 10TH, 1706, AND CONTINUED BY SEVERAL ADJOURNMENTS TO THE 18TH DAY OF THE SAME MONTH.

Present at this Assembly,

The Honble Major General John Winthrop, Esq', Governour. The Honble Collonel Robert Treat, Esqr, Deputy Governour.

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Representatives present at this Assembly are,

Capt. Cyprian Nickols, Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, of Hartford.
Lt. Thomas Talmage, Mr. Abraham Bradly, for Newhaven.
Capt. John Levingstone, Ens. John Richards, for Newlondon.
Lt. James Bennett, Lt. Joseph Wakeman, for Fairfield.
Capt. Samuel Woolcutt, for Windzor.

Capt. Samuel Eells, Mr. Jonath. Lawe,† for Milford.
Lt. James Treat, Serjt. John Curtis, for Wethersfield.
Capt. Nathan White, Lt. Thomas Ward, for Midltown.
Capt. Richard Bushnel, Lt. Solomon Tracie, for Norwich.

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Capt. Jonath. Sellick, Lt. David Waterbury, for Stanford.
Mr. John Crane, Mr. Robert Lane, for Killinsworth.
Capt. Abraham Fowler, Mr. James Hooker, for Gilford.
Mr. Nehemiah Smith, Serjt. Samuel Fish, for Groton.
Ens. Thomas Tayler, Mr. Josiah Starr, for Danbury.
Capt. John Park, Lt. Daniel Brewster, for Preston.

Mr. Thomas Jud, sen', Mr. Thomas Jud, jun', for Waterbury.
Lt. Samuel Hale, for Glassenbury.

Mr. Joshua Ripley, for Windham.

Mr. John Sherman, for Woodbury.

Lt. James Wells, Capt. John Chapman, for Haddum.
Capt. James Judson, Mr. Ambros Thomson, for Stratford.
Mr. William Malbie, for Branford.

Majr. Ebenezer Johnson, Mr. Samuel Brinsmead, for Derby.
Capt. Thomas Yale, Capt. Sam" Hall, for Wallingford.
Capt. John Higlye, Mr. Sam" Cornish, for Symsbury.
Mr. Ephraim Minor, sen, Mr. Henerie Stephens, for Stonington.
Capt. Thomas Hart, Mr. John Hooker, for Farmington.
Ens. John Sprage, Mr. William Clarke, for Lebanon.
Capt. William Eely, Ens. Joseph Peck, for Lime.

Mr. William Parker, Mr. Robert Chapman, for Saybrook.
Mr. Joseph Platt, for Norwalke.

Joseph Knap, for Greenwich.

Acts and Laws passed at this Assembly.

An Act for exempting the settled Ministers of the Gospel from payment of Rates.

It is ordered and enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authoritie of the same, That all the ministers of the gospel that now are or hereafter shall be settled in this colonie, during the continuance of their publick service in the gospel, shall have all their estates lying in the same town where they dwell, and all the polls belonging to their several families, exempted, and they are hereby exempted an 1 freed from being entred in the publick lists and payment of rates.

[2] || An Act for preventing the unnecessary Expence of Time at the session of the General Assembly, in examining the Lists of Estates of the several Towns.

Whereas by an Act past in the General Assembly holden at Hartford, May the 10th, 1705, it is enacted that the listers in the several towns in this colonie should take due care that the several lists drawn up by them should be transmitted to the General Assembly in October annually:

It is now ordered and enacted by this Assembly, That the

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