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your Excellency never will Give a commission to a man that wants it for no other end than to Revenge and Git mony by it. Therefore I Beg your Excellencys favour that John Hall nor non for him may prevail in that Respect.*

I am your Excellencys most Humble
& Devoted Servant

His Excellency Governor Wintworth

Relative to the Alewive Fishery, 1776.

John Goffe

Province of New Hampshire-Hillsborough ss

Derryfield Feb' the 5th Day 1776—

This may Certifi the Members of the Gennaral Assembly in and for said province, that the Alewive fishery in Great Cohas Brook in said Derryfield would be of Great Service to the Inhabitants of Said Town, and Likwayes to the Inhabitants of the Adjasent Towns, alowing that the Incumbrance Ware Removeed which are on said Brook, therfor We Your Humble Peteceners, prays that Your Honners, would take the following Articuls by us Signed unto your Searous Concedration

1ly that all Incumbrances on said Brook be with all speed Removeed in order that said fish may have a free Liberty to pass and repass at all proper Secons in said Brook from Merrimack River to Massapeepek Pond

2ly that no seen neat be put in to the Mouth of said Brook or Near to it in order to cach Aney of said fish, and that no scoop neat poot or wire be put in to said Brook, in aney part within sixty Rodes from the mouth of said Brook, under the paneltyes of paying three pounds for each fish Cached within said. Bounds

3ly our Disire is that the said fish may have free liberty to pass and repass in said Brook for the Insuing year without molestacion that they May increase their nomber, under the above like penelty.

*Colonel Goffe in his statements has reference to the sharp practices carried out at the dual town meetings held in March, 1766. See Records, page 112.-ED.

4 that there be Men chosen and sworn to Inspact and see that the above Articuls be Ubserved, and that they may have full power of Substitution to prosecut all and Every affenders of said articuls to fineal Judgment and Execution, and your petitioners as in Dyt Bound Shall Ever pray

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James Boyes
Moses Watt
Ephraim White
Thomas McCleary
Joseph Patterson
Joshua thompson
William Lyons
Isaac Brewster
Robert Colom

John Anderson
Will Duncan
Thomas Holms
Robert Moor
Sa" Clark
Sam" Allison
William Gregg
Robert Dickey

Samuel morison

James Mac Murphy
John Archibald
Robert Hodgert
Josiah Duncan

Daniel Runnels
James Doack

John Erving

Andrew Mack

George Duncan Jun

[An act was passed by the legislature, March 23, 1776, entitled "An act to promote the Increase of the Fish called Alewives in Great Cohass Brook in Derryfield," which contained the following provision:

"And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that each & every Person, owning or improving any Mill Dam on said Brook, shall from the first day of May to the fifteenth day of June in every year from & after the passing & during the continuance of this act keep a sluice open in each Dam, to the end that the said Alewives may pass & repass into & from the said Massabesec Pond, without interruption and in failure thereof every Person being owner or improver of such Dam or Dams as aforesaid, shall forfeit & pay for every offence the Sum of Ten Pounds."*

*The fishing at Amoskeag soon became of so much importance as to be deemed worthy of legislative protection. As the inhabitants increased in the adjacent towns, the demand for fish increased, and in the fishing season there was a constant throng of fishermen at the falls, day and night, so that the people of the town fancied that such a continued draft upon the fish would soon destroy them. Accordingly, they applied to the legislature for the enactment of a bill for the protection of the fish by limiting the time of taking them and many other restrictions. The application was successful. In 1776, the legislature passed the first "fish act" for the protection of fish in the Merrimack.-C. E. POTTER.

Relative to being classed for Representative, 1780.

State of New Hampshire

To the Honble the Council & Gent" of the Honble House of Representatives in Gen' Assembly at Portsmouth convened 13th October 1780.

The humble Petition of the several Persons whose names are hereto set, and subscribed, Inhabitants of Derrifield in the County of Hillsborough, and State aforesaid.

Sheweth That pursuant to plan of Government, the said Town of Derrifield was annexed to Goffestown, for the purpose of chusing annually a person to represent them in General Assembly which Union has turned out to be a great Grievance and highly inconvenient to Derrifield.

That Your Pet's conceive Goffestown to consist of 100 families, and therefore not needing the Aid of Derrifield, whilest the latter contains little more than 50 families, And consequently in every Choice as aforesaid must (if the Inhabitants cod possibly be present) be overpowered by numbers, and outvoted And therefore not fairly represented.

But may it please Your Honors, so it is, that frequently the said Inhabitants of Derrifield cannot be present at such Choice as the same is by precept always at Goffestown & at a time of Year when many times they cannot pass the River Merrimack without peril of their Lives.

That your Pet" are sensible, that they cannot stand alone in representation, but as they are informed by their Neighbors, Inhabitants of Litchfield, that they also conceive themselves to be under Circumstances somewhat similar to the above, with respect to Nottingham West, and that they also are about to apply to Yo' Hon" for relief

Your Pets for the Causes aforesaid, pray leave to bring in a Bill, whereby they may be declared Seperate from said Goffestown and joined in future to said Litchfield for the purpose aforesaid.

And shall ever pray &c

Jonathan Russ
John Shelden

Select

men

Samuel Moor

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