PROCEEDINGS OF THE PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FROM JANUARY 1, 1679, O. S., TO DECEMBER 22, 1680; JULY 6, 1681, TO SEPTEMBER 8, 1681; NOVEMBER 22, 1681, TO AUGUST 21, 1682; OCTOBER 4 TO OCTOBER 14, 1682. Taken from Manuscripts in Possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society and in the English Archives. NOTE. The early records of the President and Council of New Hampshire, as given following, cover a period of nearly three years, including the administrations of John Cutt and Richard Waldron, the first two Presidents of the province. These records are in two parts, and are obtained from far different sources. The first division, consisting of the records from January 1, 1679, O. S., to December 22, 1680, covers nearly the entire administration of John Cutt, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire's first provincial President. John Cutt was advanced in years when he received his royal appointment; and although the population of the province was at that time. very small, consisting of the inhabitants of only four towns, he did not long survive the cares of the organization and administration of even so small a government. He died March 27, 1681. In regard to the spelling of the name, Cutt or Cutts, a short sketch of President Cutt in Vol. III., Farmer and Moore's Historical Collections, says, "When Major Cutt, a descendant, was at the siege of Louisbourg, he met with an English officer by the name of Cutts. Upon becoming acquainted they found themselves related, having sprung from the same family originally. After this, Major Cutt added an s to his name, which was also done by all his relatives in Portsmouth." The manuscript from which the copy of this division was taken is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, to which we are indebted for the privilege of its use. It is printed in Vol. XVI. of the collections of that society, together with an introductory sketch by Mr. Charles Deane, to whom we owe the discovery of the manuscript, and, by courtesy of the society, we are enabled to reprint Mr. Deane's sketch of the discovery and probable history of this valuable document. In the publication of these records in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Mr. Deane made the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation conform to modern usage, and all abbreviations, except those occurring in names of persons, were spelled out. While this method makes the meaning clearer, and the subject more intelligible to the ordinary reader, it does not convey an accurate idea of the original to the student of history, or to a man in any degree familiar with ancient manuscripts. The copy here presented was taken from the original manuscript, and, as has been our custom in the publication of ancient documents, every particular of the original has been reproduced in print so far as type will allow. The second division of these records consists of three sections, the first covering the period from July 6, 1681, to September 8, 1681; the second, November 22, |