Petition for a tax on certain lands. To his Excellency John Wentworth Esq Captain General, Governor & Commander in Chief in & over his majesties Province of New Hampshire & Vice admiral of the same & The Honourable his Majestys Council & House of Representatives in Generall Assembly convened. The subscribers Inhabitants of New Boston in the county of Hillsborough in said Province, Humbly shews, That when your petitioners settled the Reverend Mr Solomon Moore all the Inhabitants on that tract of Land then called New Boston Addition, joined with us in calling, settling paying &© & we expected would have done so for many years. But they are now by your Excellency and Honours sett off by the name of Frances Town & pay no more with us. 2ly The Roads in New Boston are very numerous & the Land very hilly & Rocky & we have many large Bridges to build & support over large streams. Finally the Province tax the ministers Sallary, the Roads & Bridges, oppress the few Inhabitants many of which are new beginners & advances the none Resident Land Therefore your Petitioners Humbly pray your Excellency & Honours that an Act may be made to tax all the Land in New Boston, Improved & not Improved, Resident and None Resident, The Land belonging to the purchasers of the Patent of John Tufton Mason Esq. Excepted, at one penny Lawful money pr acre pr annum, for six years next coming to be applied to the uses afores1, and your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray & New Boston Oct 25th A D. 1773. William Booyes Thomas Cochran George Cristey Thomas Willson John McMillan Daniel McMillan, Jr William Keler Archibald Mcallester Robert White Alexander Willson William Love Josiah Warren Reuben Smith John Gordon Abraham Cocran James Willson Jr We the above Subscribers authorize & appoint the Honourable Mathew Thornton Esq our agent to present this petition to his Excellency John Wentworth Esq Captain General, Governor & commander in chief in & over his Majestys Province of New Hampshire & the Honourable his Majestys councel & House of Representatives & get the prayer thereof granted if possible and we the Petitioners Beg the Favour of the Hon'ble Mathew Thornton Esq to Except the trust we Repose in him. In Council Jan. 13, 1774. Read & ordered to be sent down to the Honble Assembly Province of New Hampshire. In the house of Represent January 14th 1774. Voted, That the petitioners cause the substance of this petition to be printed in the New Hampshire Gazzette three weeks successively that any person having any Objections may be heard thereon the third day of the sitting of the Gen Assembly next after the 15th of February next. In Council Eodem die. William Parker, Cler. Assem Geo. King. Petition to raise taxes to finish the Meeting house. To his Excellencey Benning Wentworth The proprietors of the Township of New Boston in said Province Most humbly Remonstrate, That the said Proprietors have raised the frame of a house for the publick worship of God in said Town and is not in a capacity to Raise money to compleat and finish the same by which Inability said frame remains uncovered and if it continues so any space of time uncovered will be damaged if not wholy ruined wherefore they pray this Honorable Court to take there case into their wise consideration and enable them to Raise such sum or sums of money from time to time as shall be judged necessary by a majority of votes of said proprietors for the compleating and finishing said House, and any other affairs of said Proprietors (for the benefit of the Inhabitants of said town and proprietors) on each person or persons owning lands in said Townships and to enable said proprietors to sell so much of such delinquent owners of land in said Town (excepting those Rights owned by the purchasers of Tufton Mason Esq claime in said Province) not as yet improved by said purchasers and your petitioners as in duty Bound shall ever Province of Septem 25, 1764, at a meeting of the proprietors of New Hampshir New Boston held at the Dwelling House of Mr Tho' Harwood in Dunstable in said Province, Voted That Mr James Callwell prefer the above petition in behalf of said proprietors and attend the directions of the Generall Court there. Attest Rob' Jenkins, P. Clerk Prov of New Hamp. In Council Jany 8th 1765 Read & ordered to be sent down to the Honble Assembly. T. Atkinson, P Secry. Province of In the House of Representatives New Hamp Jany 9th 1765. This petition being read, Voted, That the prayer thereof be granted Except the Exception made In the Latter end of the within petition & that the petitioners have liberty to bring In a bill accordingly. Eodm Die. Read & Concurred A. Clarkson, Clerk T. Atkinson Secry. VOLUME V. NEWCASTLE TO PORTSMOUTH. NEWCASTLE. To his Excellency Samuell Shute Esqr. Capt. Generall Gov ernor in chief in & over his majesties Province of New Hampshire & Vice Adm" of the Same and to the Honble the Councill & Representatives Now Conven'd in Generall Assembly for sd Province. The humble Petition of the Inhabitants of the Town of New Castle in s Province Humble sheweth, That Whereas It was Voted in this General Assembly on the 18 day of May 1716 that the Isle of Sholes be obleidged to pay their province Tax in the Town of New Castle, But a proportion for them to pay was not Set, and therefore your humble Petitioners Never took upon them to tax or Lay any Proportion on the Inhabitants thereof: Your Petitioners being a Small number and a poore people, Humbly prays the Same Vote may be renewed and that alsoe this Assembly would Direct, & Say, what proportion the Isle of Sholes Shall pay out of the Province Tax that Is Laid on the Town of New Castle. And alsoe that there may be Authority Given to Assess And Gather the same, & your Petitioners Shall Ever Pray &c. GOTHAM ODIORNE Select men Prov. N. Hamp Petition against a bridge at New Castle. To His Excellency Sam' Shute Esqr. Capt. General and Gov in chief in and over His Majties Prov. Aforesd and vice admiral of the same, and To the Honble the Councile, and house of represenves now sitting in General Assembly. The Petition of Sundry His Majesties good Subjects of the town of Portsmouth and N. Castle whin the Province aforesd, most Humbly Sheweth, That some years since, at the time of our late Gov' Col Dudleys administration, a projection was made, and a scheme laid, for ye building a bridge from great Island, over the main river of little harbour, to the Main land wh project was no sooner budded than nipt, wch prevented its growth, till now tis Sprung up anew, and may if not timely prevented, ripen to a head we may be of lasting ill-consequence throughout ye sd Province especially to the sea-faring part thereof. May it please yo' Excellency and ye honble Gen Assem We would take leave in ye first place humbly to address our selves to you by way of Quere, (viz :) Whether it be not an infringement on ye rights & priviledges of y Gen' Assem. for any town wthin this province to make and pass any Vote or Votes, for y building any bridge, over any navigable river wthin y Same as New Castle hath done, and made a begining thereupon, as is above mentioned, that is to say, to build a bridge from great Island to the main win the afores town of N. Castle w cannot be Justify-able either in law or equity, wthout a Special Act of Gen' Assem for so doing. The reason is plain, for that every navigable river, tho' it may run through any town yet is not y peticular property of that town but of the Prov. in Gen' wherein ye town lyes, So that tis most evident, yt tis a matter y' ought to be before y Gen Assem & not to be proceeded on by y authority of a town vote, for illustration, may we further humbly offer, that if such a proceeding upon Such authority is legale and Justifyable, that then N. Castle & Kittery may as wele unite and joyn together and build a bridge from s N. Castle to s Kittery (if it were practicable) across y mouth of the Great Harbour, because one town lyes on one side, & tother on ye other, w amounts to just so great a weight of reason, as can be offered in the other case and no more h And now we have plainly demonstrated that yo afore town of N. Castle, hath entered upon a matter quite out of its legal reach. Now we will in ye next place as evidently sett forth, that It is as much out of reason that a bridge Should be built at yo place aforementioned, as it is out of ye pow" of N. Castle to build it. I There is a ferry stated over s river, a high way laid out through the first proprietors lands to said ferry, much money expended in repairing a Cassway to s ferry & the ferry house all w are benefitts lost & money spent wout profitt if a bridge be built. 2 All ye Inhabitants of N. Castle pass & repass ferridge free on Lords days and training days & all publick days. 3d The want of a bridge will be a Security in case of a warr. 4 Sundry persons living there and thereabout have Some laid out ye most part, and some ye whole of their estates in |