of Land as we have Discrebd in a plan Which will gratly Releve us from our present Difficulties and help us to a Comfortable Injoyment of gosple prevelidges Wee your Humble Petitioners therefore pray that your Excellency and Hon's would Releive us as in your great Wisdom Shall Seem Meet and your Petitioners as in Duty Bound Shall In Council December 16, 1756 read & ordered to be sent down to the Honble Assembly Theodore Atkinson Secry Province of In the house of Representatives Dec 16th 1756 This Petition being read Ordered That the petitioners be heard thereon, the third Day of the Sitting of the General Assembly next after the 15th day of Jan's next Ensuing & that the Petitioners at their own Cost & charge Cause the Select men of Dunstable to be Served with a Copy of sa Petition & this order of Court thereon to appear & Shew Cause if any they have why the prayer thereof should not be Granted In Council December 17th 1756. read & Concurred Province of Theodore Atkinson. Andrew Clarkson Clerk In the house of Representatives Jan 21st 1757 This being the day appointed to hear the within Petition and the Select men of Dunstable by their Petition to the General Assembly of the 14th Instant desireing that the hearing thereof might be put of to a further Day for the Reasons in s Petition mentioned & the petitioners making no objection Resolved that the hearing thereof be put off till the 2d Day of the Sitting of the General Assembly next after the first Day of April next & all persons Concerned are hereby Required to Govern themselves accordingly Andrew Clarkson Clerk Province of Sitting of the General Assembly Next after the 20th day of June next & that the petitioners Serve the Selectmen of Dunstable with a Copy of this order of Court In Council Eodem Die read & concurred Theo. Atkinson Secy. Andrew Clarkson Clerk Province of Petition relating to another hearing. To His Ex B. Wentworth Esq Gov' &c. The Hone his Maj Councill & House of Representatives in Gen' Assembly Conveined at Ports° &c. The Remonstrance of the Select" of Dunstable in Answer To The Petition of Sundry Inhabitants of Dunstable and the Select" of Holles for setting of Certain Lands with the Pet's that Belong to Dunstable to the Town of Holles Humbly Sheweth That Tho the Order of Court pass'd in Council 17th of Dec' Last Directing That the Select" of Dunstable Shou'd be Served with a Copy of the Pet" & Order of Court thereon Nottwithstanding the Pet's have delayed to lett y Responds know any thing of Such Pet" and Order untill the Eleventh day of this Instant Jan and the hearing to be the third day after the 15th Instant, if the Court Shou'd be then Sitting (the contrary of which we cou'd not know) The time being so short the Select Could not by Lawfull Warning Assemble the town to know their minds before the time of Hearing which we Humbly Conceive they ought by no means to be abridged off. Wherefore we Humbly pray (that unless Their peti" be withdrawn or Dismissed without day that there may be a further day for Hearing thereon, and Inasmuch as 'tis probable if the town Resolve to appear and make answer there will be Occasion of Sundry Surveys and Measures to be taken, the clerer to descover the Truth of the facts alledged in their pet" which cannot with convenience be done till the Spring & besides the Hardship it would be for Such a Scattered town to Assemble Soner than march meeting Since that is so near, & in the mean time y Pets can Suffer no great Ill convenience) That the Hearing may be assigned Some time after the first of may next Which is Humbly Submitted by y' Excy & Hon's most Obedat Servts Dunstable Jan 14th 1757. J. BLANCHARD Select of Dunstable Petition against annexation to Hollis. To His Excellency B. Wentworth Esq' Capt. Gen' Gov" of the Province of New Hamp" &c & the Hone His Majestys Council. Whereas Sundry Inhabitants of Dunstable & the town of Holles Joyning with them have Petitioned y' Excellency & Hon Praying the s Inhabitants that are Petitioners may be with Their Lands Sett to Holles, and afterwards in the same Petition pray that they may be annexed to Holles with about 2500 acres of Land (as they say they Have described in a plan) and further pray for Relief as to you shall seem meet And shew as the Grounds of their Compl' their Distance from our meeting house that it was not sett to accommodate them & that seemingly they are Only Regarded to get their money е Off which the Selectmen of Dunstable had notice by Order of His Majestys Councill & the Hon' The Assembly to shew cause if any they had Why the prayer Thereof Shou'd not be granted. Therefore the Subscribers Agents of the Town of Dunstable Begg Leave to answer & Shew That by the Charter of Incorporation a Reservation is made to his majesty his Heirs & Successors, of the Power of Dividing the same when it shall appear necessary and Convenient for the Benefit of the Inhabitants-accordingly their application was to y' Exey & Hon"-How that Petition came to drop down to the Lower house, or they order in a Thing they had no Lawfull cognizance of Wee cannot tell-that in the present case nothing can lye before them to Determine and in this answer Shall address our Selves to yr Excy & Hon's only Waving our not being Notefied by Prop' authority if yr Exey & Hons think meet to sustain their Petition Beg Liberty to State the facts & y' Indulgence to hear them thro'. That the town of Dunstable abt 1736 was by act of the Mass's Divided into two Parishes Reserving for the first Or Standing part (being then abt to build a meeting house) Such parcell Only as wou'd Continue & not probable to be sub-divided afterwards The Remainder of what Was then old Dunstable (now Holles monson and part of Merrymac & part of Dunstable,) was made the Second Parish-which then Consisted of abt 70000, acres had an annuall tax of two pence an acre for four years On all the Non-residents Lands to Enable them to Build a meeting house ann settle a minister with an after Tax of near the Same Sum Greatly Exceeding the necessary use for which the Grant was Intended, however they disposed or divided the money That the first Parish 1738 Built & finished a Meeting house at a Large expence. as much as the Choice of officers made by the said Thirty Six Whereof Major Zacheus Lovewell was Chosen Moderator & the s Joseph Blanchard Town Clerk Were agreeable to the Town in Gen' & in which choice two thirds at least of the freeholders & Inhabitants in s town of any proffitable Estates or such as had bin Costomary to Rase did vote in the affirmative, and should a new meeting be called We Imagine it would be only to chose the same persons over again that the Scarcity of Laborers and the Season of the year so much Demand our attention to our business, our Habitations are so scattered that Warning and holding such meeting at this Season would be very Chargeable. That if it might be the pleasure of this Hon. Court to establish and Confirm the sd officers it would free us from these as we apprehend unnecessary Charges, & Quallify us Imediately to do anything necessary for the Publick affairs of sd Town Which is very Humbly Desired &c Petition of Fona Lovewell in answer to Joseph Blanchard's petition. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt. Gen1 & Governour in chief in & over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire & the Hon his Majesties Council & House of Representatives for ye Province in Gen' Assembly Convened May 10th 1748 Jonathan Lovewell of Dunstable in said Province for him self and other freeholders and Inhabitants of Said Town in answer to a Petition of Joseph Blanchard Esq' for himself & others (now lying before this Hone Court) Humbly Shew That in Said Petition is Shewn forth that ye Selectmen of Dunstable by their Warr cal'd a Town meeting in Dunstable to be of Persons Qualifyed to vote on ye 30th day of March last for ye Choice of Town officers for ye Current year that ye Inhabitants Met accordingly and after some Debate about ye Quallifycations of Voters they proceeded to ye Business & that 53 Men assembled who were Quallifyed according to ye Laws by which they had heretofore been Govern'd who divided into two parties 36 in one & 17 in ye other that each party chose a Moderator Select men & all other Town officers-a Double set chosen and Sworn for every office--the evident Consequence of which is the utmost confusion &c By this state of ye Case in their Petition they Grant ye authority of the Selectmen to call the Meeting but don't mention who Govern'd the Parties Mentioned who took their Votes & Determin'd ye Choice or whether there was any officer to Enter & record ye votes or show how the meeting was managedrepresenting y case as if one party had as good right to act as ye other in any manner when the truth of the matter is That the Petitioners in a very Disorderly uncivil manner took yR Selectmens warrant from them and went out of y° house appointed by ye Selectmen to hold ye meeting in and Gathered a Party together some qualified Voters & Some not so and acted like a mobb of madmen in such a manner as never was done in this Province Since it was a Government-the Selectmen all the while proceed to take votes at the time & place appointed to hold ye Meeting when & where a Moderator was the Voters present orderly chosen & ye business of y Town orderly caryed on all town officers chosen & duly Entered by y clerks Duly Sworn as ye Laws & custom of all Towns in ye Government have time out of mind used-which officers your respondents conceive to be ye officers regularly chosen for ye Town & that they ought to Serve in their respective officesThe Petitioners Knew that what they had done was Disorderly yet they did the same with Design to Disturb ye peace & good order of the Town for if they were ye Major part of y voters Qualifyed they might have chosen who they liked best into offices without Snatching up ye warrant and runing out of doors & holding a meeting abroad in the fields where they cal'd by their warrant to hold it the necessity of having officers regularly chosen is evident but the question is whether these Town in General when they themselves & no others have made Petitioners have right to Complain of ye Proceedings of ye all ye Disturbance & Disorders they mention in their Com plaint. were not |