Capt. Odiorne brought up a vote to this board from ye house of representatives for ye makeing ten thousand pounds bills of creditt, &c., wch was concurred wth in Councill and is as follows: Whereas there is great want of a medium to carry an end ye trade and commerce of this Province, & for encouragemt of which, Voted, That ten thousand pounds Province Bills be emitted and printed for ye use aforesaid, on a fund of ye Estates of this Province, & that it be lett out for twenty-three years to come, and that every town (if they see cause) have its proportion, according to the last Province rate, and to be sett at five per cent for twentythree years; each p'son paying five pounds yearly & every year, for twenty-three years, shall acquit him and heirs, &c. forever both of ye Principal & interest; & that a committee of both houses be appointed and impowered to manage this affair, both in making, signing and letting out this money; and that all orders by them made be observed by each town, and that ye first year's interest be paid in hand towards ye defraying ye charges of sd committee in making and printing said Bills; and yt ye committee be allowed reasonable satisfaction for their care and pains therein, and that no p'son be allowed to take more than three hundred pounds, & none less than ten; and that land security be given for double the value of ye mony so lett, & if any p'son neglecting or refusing to pay ye five pr cent yearly, and every year as abovs, in such case the land so mortgaged for ye mony lett shall become forfeited to the committee for ye use of ye Province, and it shall be in ye powr of the committee to make sale thereof by way of outery, wch sale shall be good in law to all intents and purposes wtsoever, any law or usage to ye contrary notwithstanding-the Commitee retaining the over plus of wt such land sold for to ye mortgager, his heirs or assigns, and that no p'son be suffered to have more than three hundred [P. 48.] pounds of the Province mony, at one time, (unless ye whole committee agree thereunto), and that every person paying at any time ye Principal and interest shall take up his security, & that it be paid in this Prov: Bills. Read three times and past by a vote of ye Representatives. Joseph Smith, Clerk. Jan. 24th 1716-7. Eodem die. In Councill. Voted a concurrence with ye foregoing Vote. R. Waldron, Cler. Con. Capt. Odiorne brought a vote to this board from ye house of representatives, for a committee to draw up ye Act abt printing y° ten thousand pounds, &c., which was concurred wth, and is as follows: Voted, That Col. John Plaisted, Esq., & Capt. James Davis be a committee to joyn wth two of ye upper house for drawing up y Act abt bills of Creditt to be stamped, &c.; Jos. Smith, Clerk. Jan. 24, 1716-7. Eodem die. In Councill. Voted, That Theo. Atkinson and Rich Wibird, Esq., be of a Committee to joyn wth ye Gentl" above for the service abovesaid. R. Waldron, Cler. Con. Adjourned to tomorrow, 10 o'clock A. M. Pro. N. Hamp'. At a Gen1 Assembly held at Portsm3 by adjourm1 Jan. 25, 1716-7. Present, His Excellency Sam' Shute, Esq., Gov', Mark Hunking, Geo. Jeffrey and Shad. Walton, Esqs., were sent down to the house of Representatives, to recommend to them ye consideration of printing fifteen instead of ye ten thousand pounds voted to be printed, &c. [P. 49.] The Clerk was sent down to the house of represen tatives with a vote of Councill abt Capt. Westbrook's laying out a train field in ye Plains, &c. Adjourned to 3 o'clock P. M. Pro: N. Hamp'. Met according to adjorm'. Present as before. John Denison, Esq., p'ferred a Petition to this board directed to ye Gen' Assembly in behalf of & signed by Mr. Daniel Rogers of Ipswich, to have a special Act past, allowing ye Petitioner review an action at law agst ye commoners of Hampton. * Mr. Daniel Rogers was minister of Ipswich, Mass. The Clerk was sent down to the house of representatives wth a vote for laying out a new high way from Portsmo to Hampton. The Clerk was sent down to ye house of representatives to call them to this board in order to a conference. The House of Representatives sent a memb' of yt house (viz.), Majr Wear, to this board to pray to know upon what head ye conference was to be. Upon which ye Governor commanded their attendance at ye Council Chamber. They came accordingly & conferred abt ye Committee for letting out ye new mony. Capt. Walker brought up ye following votes to this board concurred wth in ye house of Representatives (viz.), a vote abt Capt. Westbrook's laying out a train field, &c., a vote for repealing ye Act for making land and tenements lyable to ye paymt of Debts, and a vote abt ye distribution of ye Law books. In Councill. Voted, That if Thos. Westbrook, Esq., shall (for an accommodation of drawing up ye militia of town or Province) lay out or cause to be laid out, six acres of land suitable & accommodable wth ye land already laid out at ye Plains in Portsm°, betwe en Brewster's & Sherburn's, to be to ye use of the Publick as abovesd forever, that then & in such case, after sa confirmation, he, the sd Westbrook, shall forever hereafter have the liberty of keeping the only Publick house there, either by himself or another, paying to his majestie, [P. 50.] his heirs and successors, twenty shillings pr. annum. Jan. 25th, 1716–7. In Councill. R. Waldron, Cler. Con. Whereas there is an Act of ye Gen' Assembly of this Province, entituled an Act for making land and tenements lyable to ye paymt of debts; & whereas the time limited in sd Act for ye redemption of any land or tenement after an execution is leveyed on the Same is seven years, wch is of very p'necious consequence & a great damage to the creditor, &c., Voted, That sa Act be repealed & that ye time of redemption shall be no more than two years in ye room of seven. Jan. 24th, 1716–7. R. Waldron, Cler. Coun. 25th. Voted a concurrence wth ye above. In Councill. Jos. Smith, Clerk. Voted, That ye Law books be distributed among ye severall towns of this Province in proportion according to their last Prov: tax, except two books weh shall be for ye use of ye Govt & Councill & house of representatives. R. Waldron, Cler. Coun. Jan. 24th, 1716-7. 25th, concurred wth by ye House of representatives. Joseph Smith, Cler. Adjourned till to-morrow, 9 o'clock, A. M. Pro: N. Hamp". At a Gen' Assembly held at Portsm” by adjournm', Jan. 26th, 1716–7. Present, His Excellency Sam' Shute, Esq., Gov2, His Hon' George Vaughan, Esq., Lt. Gov', Mark Hunking, Rich Gerrish, Theo. Atkinson, Geo. Jeffrey, Esqs. Rich Wibird, Esqs. Tho. Westbrok, The Clerk was sent down to the House of representatives with a Petition p'ferred to this board by Mr. Denison, in behalf of Mr. Daniel Rogers; also wth a vote of Councill there about. [P. 51.] The Councill Answer to the Gov's Speech was this day read at ye Councill board, as followeth: May it please your Excellency : It is wth inexpressible joy, yt after the serene conduct and administration of Col. Dudley, our late Gov', we can see yo' Excellency now sitting at ye helm of affairs in this Province. And we cannot but adore ye divine Sovereignty in directing his most gracious Majesty to establish one over us who is every way so agreeable & so well accomplished to rule and govern. Your Excellency's noble conduct while in ye field of Battle, your bravery and courage in defence of British liberties, &r Protestant interests, wth ye many other illustrious virtues transparent in you, do seem to us as so many guarantees under God of our future tranquillity. And when we consider ye peculiar steps of Divine Providence in bringing his most sacred Majesty to ye imperial throne of Great Britain, & since that, by enabling him victoriously to trample on the necks of his unnatural enemies, we doubt not but ye Same Providence will so establish him & his most noble progeny, as that the Royal scepter may never depart ye most illustrious house of Hanover. In a peculiar manner we acknowledge your Excellency's great care & zeal in recommending to us ye extirpation of vice & promoting of virtue, weh by divine assistance we shall endeavour to effect, & as much as in us lies, accommodate ye Small divisions that have of late happened, yt so unity may be increased, ye name of God honoured, & our most Holy Religion advanced. And as to that important article of preserving pine trees for ye supply of his Maj'ties Royal Navy, we shall henceforward esteem it our Duty more narrowly to observe & by all means prevent such destruction thereof as has been of late. As to ye support of yor Excellency while in the Governm', we no ways doubt but ye House of representatives will take effectual care thereof, being assured yt in every respect you'l study to advance our religious & civill Interests. Signed in presence & pr. ord of Jan. 25, 1716-7. ye Councill. Pr. R. Waldron, Cler. Con. [P. 52.] Capt. Walker brought up Mr. Rogers' petition p'ferred to this board, pr. Mr. Denison, together wth ye vote of Councill thereabout, not concurred wth. Capt. Walker brought up a vote to ye board from ye House of representatives for a Committee to lett out ye ten thousand pounds voted to be printed, &c. Five members of the House of Representatives were sent to this board, to bring an address from yt to the Gov wch was read as follows: To his Excellency, Saml. Shute, Esq., Gorr.-in-Chief of his Majties Prov: of New Hampshire, &c. We, the Representatives of his Majties Prov: of N. Hamp', ask leave humbly to inform your Excellency of ye State and condition of this his Maj'ties Prov: the late warrs were very prejudiciall and almost insupportable; many hundreds have fell by the sword; great desolations made; the people ready to forsake out towns, driven from their habitations & scarce capeable as yet to resettle themselves, so that they were cloathed with Poverty; & ye Prov: greatly plunged in debt & cannot come out, and the taxes are extraordinary for many years to come. However, we are chearfully willing to wade through these difficulties & do our utmost for ye support of ye Govermt & Hon' of the Crown by a Support to your Excellency according to our pow'. We ask leave to remonstrate some things wch deeply affect us: 1st. We say that when his Maj'tie first sent a Commission over to sever us from ye Massa, ye Councillors nominated & appointed, resided proportionally in each town of the Prov: and have more or less continued so till now, when some of our experienced, just and good men are laid aside, and ye whole number residing within two miles or thereabt one of another, wch we believe his Majesty was not informed of; wch hath been the occasion of great differences and animosities, & wch may further produce inconvenience, if not timely p'vented, ye Councill consisting principally of merch's & traders, whereby the revenue due to ye Crown by an impost is wholly obstructed. 2nd. And tho' we have endeavoured an impost several times, it has been opposed by those now in ye Councill, so yt ye burthen lyes wholly on ye farmer and labourer, who till of late have lived |