living six, some five, and some four miles distant; Therefore are desirous to be a townshipp of themselves, they having never yet been joined to any Town, only having paid taxes sometime to Hampton, sometimes to Exeter; and your petitioners being in a capacity and willing and ready to maintain a minister and school master, within such limited time as your Excellency and Honor shall appoint, they having never had any benefit of a school for the education of their children, by reason of their living a great distance from any school:

May it therefore please your Excellency and Honours to grant unto [P. 301.] your petitioners à Charter for a town to be settled upon Quamscott patent, with such Grants, covenants and clauses as your Excellency and Honours shall see meet; and with the fol lowing bounds, or what other bounds may be thought proper, (to wit) beginning at a rock called Brandy Rock, near Sandy Point, And to run up to the River by the mouth of a creek called Wheel wright's Creek, And to run at each end into the woods, upon a south east line, three miles.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall pray, &c.

Nath' Watson,

Tho. Wiggin,

Benj. Rawlins,

Tho. Wright.

Benj. Palmer,

[P. 302.] The following desire in Obstruction to the said petition was put in at this Board, in hæc verba sequen:

May it please your Excellency,

Wee, whose names are under written, living within the petitioned Bounds of Quamscott, doth earnestly desire that your Excellency and Honours would be pleased to deny the request of those petitioners for a township in Quamscott; as for the generality of the said petitioners are poor people, and several of them according to the best of our knowledge, instead of defraying any town charge, are rather likely to be a town charge themselves— yo' earnest desirers:

In answer to the afore petition of the inhabitants of Quamscott:

The Council do very well commend the good and religious inclination of the subscribers to establish the worship of God amongst them; and direct them to proceed to make a subscription of what sum each man is capable to pay towards the support of a minister annually, and bring the same to the next meeting of the Governour and Council within six months next coming; when they shall be further considered and directed to proceed in their good intentions. Per Order. Cha. Story, Secretary.

5th December, 1709.

Ordered, that Robert Elliott and William Vaughan, Esqrs., be a Committee of this Board to join with two of

the Representatives to examine and audit the Treasurer's accts.

[P. 303.] Province of New Hampshire.

The following of the inhabitants of the South part of Hampton was read at this Board, viz:

To his Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esq., Governour and Comander in Chiefe in and over her Majesty's Province of the Massachu setts Bay and New Hampshire, and the Honourable the members of the Council and Representatives, convened together in General Assembly, now sitting:

The humble address and petition of her Majesty's Loyal and dutiful subjects belonging to the South part of Hampton, in said Province of New Hampshire, commonly called Hampton falls, Most humbly sheweth,

That your petitioners being at that distance from the publick place of the worship of God at the Town, and soe many difficulties in going, and many times no passing over the Causeway by any means, that it hath caused your petitioners to be at the charge of building a Meeting House upon our side of the Town, and have had a minister for some time, and doing all by free contributions our selves; and the other part of the Town being the Major part of the Town, Rates us in the full proportion according to our es tates, to the repairing the Meeting House and parsonage, and to the minister there, which is burdensome to us, and we are not able to settle a minister with us for want of some better settlement in

the matter.

Wee therefore pray that in your wisdom you will grant us some relief in this matter, either that the Town and we on our side may maintain two by raising our Rates in general together, or that we may be freed from the paying to the Town, and have power given us to make a Rate or tax for the subsistance of one with us. James Prescott, Timothy Blake, Sen., Jacob Green,

John Gove,

Nath Batchelder,

Tho. Cram,

Joseph Sanburn,

Sam' Healey,

Nath Wear,

Nath Wear, Jr.,

Timothy Hillyard,

Moses Blake, [P. 304.]

Isaac Green,

Dan' Tilton,

Joseph Swett,

Joseph Case,

Jonathan Mason,

Benj. Fifield,

Benj. Batchelor,
Jonathan Batchelor,
Israel Clifford,
Benjamin Hillyard,

Nath' Sanburn,

James Prescott,

Benja Sanborn,
Sam1 Tilton,
Philemon Blake,
Benj. Cram,
Joseph Tilton,
David Tilton,
Jonathan Fifield,
Enoch Sanburn,
Jacob Clifford,

Zacharias Clifford,

Caleb Shaw,

Wm Brown,

Benjamin Perkins.

Upon a full hearing of both parties in Council upon this petition, the 3a December, 1709, voted that the contract and agreement of the Town of Hampton for the maintenance of Mr. John Cotton, their present minister, be and is hereby ratified and confirmed; And the town directed to proceed for the raising and payment of the same as in all time heretofore; That the petitioners and such others as are joined with them on the westward of Tailor's River,* have power at a meeting once a year for that end, to choose among themselves three persons to be Assessors for raising the

sum of

for the maintenance of such learned and orthodox minister to officiate in the New Church at Hampton, as they shall agree to call to the service there, with the advice of Mr. Cotton, their present minister; that the affairs may proceed with such peace and friendship as becomes religion and good order; And that the Assessment upon the

*[In 1685, " 17th of 11," Henry Dow, Town clerk of Hampton, entered in his diary, as follows: "The number of souls this side of Taylor's river, 495; over Taylor's river "This side" means the north side; "over" means the south side or Hampton Falls.-ED.]

212."

said petitioners and inhabitants on the said Western side of Tailor's River, being signed by the said Assessors, shall be Collected by the Constables at all times, and paid into the minister for his support, as in all other Towns and precincts in this Province.

Past by the Council.

Cha: Story, Secretary.

[P. 305.] Province of New Hampshire.

At a Council and General Assembly held at Portsmouth, by adj', on Monday, the 5th Xbr., 1709.

Present,

His Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esq., Govern', &c.,

Peter Coffin,

Robert Elliot, Esqrs.

Wm Vaughan,

The foll. votes was sent upp from the House of Repre

sentatives, in hæc verba sequen:

Portsmouth, 5th December, 1709. In the House of Representatives, voted unanimously,— That there be four thousand pounds, Bills of credit, raised and brought into the Treasury of this Province, and from thence issued for the payment of the debts of the Province, and that Major Wm Vaughan, Samuel Penhallow, Mark Hunkin, Speaker, Theodore Attkinson, Esq., and Mr. Secretary Story, may be a comittee forthwith to goe to Bos ton to obtain leave of the Goverment there, to impress and perfect the said four thousand pounds in Bills, and to sign the same; unless, which wee rather desire, they can obtain of the Goverment of the Massachusetts to lend us the said sum of four thousand pounds of their Bills, and take secu rity upon our fund, and Act of the Assembly made by this present session for the raising of five thousand pounds in five years next coming, for the support and payment of the