vote against it for it is not Likely that you will be Called upon to serve as Constable Soon; and I will pay your parte of that Tax and any further your Deponent Saith not Stephen Tuttle we the Subscribers do afferme that we ware present at the adjournment of the Said meeting and did hear the moderator make the proposals of paying the parte of his the said Stephen Tuttle Tax if he would not object against the giving the Constables Ten Dollers p' year for there Services in the office of Constable pus [4-125] Philip Clement [Return of Ratable Polls, 1783.] Persuant to a Voate of the asembly we have Number'd all the Male Poals of Twenty One years of age and Upwards paying for them Selves a Poll Tax within Our town acording to the best of Our Judgment and finde One Hundred and Sixty Eight Henerey Blasdele Selectmen of State of New Hampshire Hillsborough ss Goffstown Goffstown Dec' the 18: 1783 the above named Henerey Blaisdel & Joshua Martain apeard and made to the above by them Signed befor Robert McGregore Just Peace [4-126] To Alex' Walker Town Clerk of Goffstown Sir Please to Begin the Town Meeting this Day as Soon as may be Conveniantly, and let the Voters be Qualified in So Doing You will Oblige us the Subscribers Inhabitants of Goffstown March 3d 1783 John Richerson timothey Johnson Jeams Eaton true Sargent Moses Little 斷語 [4-127] [Warrant for Town-Meeting, 1783.] State of New Hamp' Hillsborough To mr Issaches Ring one of the Constables in Goffes Town in Said State Greeting You are hereby Required in the name and by the authority of the good people of Said State to warn the Freeholders and other Inhabitents Quallified by Law to Vote in Town meetings to meet at the meeting house in Goffes Town on munday the third Day of march next at ten O Clock in the forenoon then and their to act on the following articles Is To Chuse a moderator to Regulate Said meeting 2ly To Chuse all Town officers for the Insuing year as the Law Directs 3 To See if the Town will allow the Select men their accompts and others that may be brought before the Town 4 To See if the Town will Give the Constables their pole Tax the year past 5 To See if the Town will Raise money for a School the Insuing year and how much 6 To See how much money the Town will Raise to Defray Town Charges the Insuing year and Likewise to Repair High Ways To See if the Town will make aney adition to the wages Set by the town in Building the new bridge accross the River near Job Dows 8ly To See if the Town will Sell the School Right or aney part thereof to Suport a School in this Town for which this shall be your Sufficient warrant Given under our hands and Seals at Goffes Town this fiftinth Day of Febuary 1783 Henry Blasdell) Select Sam Kennedy men Alexdr Walker Town Clark [4-128] [Protest against Action in Town-Meeting, 1783.] We the Subscribers Inhabitence of Goffestown do hereby Enter our protest against any thing that may be Acted in Ă Meeting to be holden in Said Goffestown this thirteenth Day of October AD 1783 as the Warning is not Legal [4-129] [Trouble between the Congregational and Presbyterian Parishes, 1783.] State of New Hampshire To the Honourable the Council & Gentlemen of the Honourable House of Representatives in General Assembly at Concord convened the Seventeenth day of December Anno Dom: 1783 The humble petition of the several persons Inhabitants of Goffstown in the County of Hillsboro' and State aforesaid whose names are hereunto set and subscribed, Sheweth, That the said Goffstown consists of two seperate and distinct Parishes, one of them distinguished by the name of the Congregational Parish, the other the Presbyterean. That on the first Monday of March in the present year (the day appointed by Charter to hold their Annual Meeting) two of the Selectmen, the Town Clerk, and a few of the Inhabitants met (without having previously warned the said last Parish) opened the Meeting, and proceeded to choose a Moderator, Town Clerk and Selectmen by hand Votes, and here your petitioners beg leave to observe that amongst those few who voted several were not quallified for that purpose according to lawThat afterwards, when the Inhabitants were generally assembled at their usual time of attending and before the said new Officers had taken their several Oaths of Office, ten of the Inhabitants of said Town who were qualified Voters, moved the Moderator, to put it to Vote by polling, to see if the Inhabitants then present were content with the transactions of that Meeting or not, but the Moderator refused to put it. That a petition (herewith exhibited) was then signed by more than twenty of the Inhabitants legual Voters and delivered to the Clerk desiring him to open the Meeting again; and to let the Voters be qualified, but this was also refused. We then entrd a protest against the proceedings of the Meeting, as being illegual in our opinion and amongst the rest, they had Voted a gratuity to the two Constables of said Town of Ten Dollars each without the least hint thereof in the warrant. That the said Town Meeting being adjourned to the 24 day of the same month, another petition was signed and delivered to the Clerk to the same purport as above mentioned, but the same petition was again rejected and the Clerk refused to deliver it Back to the petitioners, but told them they might have a Copy. That they then entred a second protest against said Meeting-That the said Selectmen afterwards called another Town Meeting without warning the said distinct Presbyterian Parish and the same was held on Monday the 13 day of October, where they also voted to raise 700 Dollars to defray a pretended Debt of said Town on account of Beef and Rum, notwithstanding a sufficient Sum of money had been voted & assessed before that time to answer the same-and your Petitioners again, protested against said Meeting and voted not. That the said Selectmen since have called another Meeting for the purpose of choosing a Representative and without warning the said Presbyterian Parish of said Choise, have elected a man to represent them in General Court, said Meeting was held on Monday the 8th day of December Instant and your Petitioners entered a protest against said Meeting and Voted not. Therefore your Petitioners have taken the liberty of laying before your Honours the Difficulties they labour under, and shewing how hard they have struggled in a legual way in Defence of their Rights and Priviledges. We petitioned the Commitee of Safety as early as April but without effect. The same petition was preferred to the Honourable Council and House of Representatives at their June Session but without its desired effect afterwards we petitioned the same Honourable Court in October when a day of hearing was appointed and an Order of Court given thereon, but before the day commenced the said Court desolved yet as the matters of Complaint are still increasing, and as your petitioners & others are obliged to submit to a party, headed by some person full of Craft, Cunning & Design Your Petitioners humbly hope that your Honours will be pleased to interpose in their behalf in this day and that the said petition and papers belonging thereto which is now in the Office together with this petition be taken into your wise consideration and that all the said arbitrary Proceedings may be declared null & void, or give such other remedy, as to you in your great wisdom shall seem most meet, and Your Honours petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray We whose names are under written beg leave to inform Your Honours, that we signed a petition to the Honourable Court that was met at Concord last June, certifying our contentment with the transactions of our last annual meeting, being urged thereto by designing men but on further consideration of the matter and seeing the managments of the Town Officers since that time now pray your Honours to grant the prayer of the within petition Ebenezer Hadley Ephraim Wright Thomas Guy [On another petition of the same import, dated Oct. 28, 1783, are the following names :—ED.] [4-130] [Protest against Proceedings of Town-Meeting.] Goffes Town March ye 3 1783 To Alexdr Walker Town Clerk we the Subscribers do hereby Enter our protest against the proseeding of this meeting as the Said meeting appears to be Illegal and pray that the Same may be Entered in the Town Book Caleb Little Sam" Eaton Nathan Shed Joseph Buswell |