eral Provinces, to hear and determine the Dispute of the boundary lines betwixt the Provinces of the Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire-when the Committee for the Province of Mass Bay consisting of the most eminent Gentlemen of their General Court with two of the most noted Lawyers in new England laid their Claim before the Commissioners, of their Northern boundary line, they could extend their Claim no farther northward than three miles north of Merrimack River, & which is the Southerly boundary of Masons Grant, of New Hampshire from ye Council at Plymouth and as the Towns of Salisbury Almsbury Haverhill Dracut and Methuen bordering on merimack river northward boundaries extended more than three miles north from Merrimack River, to Save the Property of the Inhabitants of those Towns within their Limitts as they were then bounded, that Committee for a valuable. Consideration purchased the land within the limitts of those Towns, which lay without their line of Jurisdiction, of three miles north of Merrimack river, of John Tufton Mason as the right heir of his Ancestor Capt John Mason and Proprietor of his lands in N Hamp-and had Masons Deed recorded in the Records of New Hampshire, about the time of Trial Of the boundary lines of Jurisdiction betwixt the two Provinces was before Commissioners & before the Determination of the boundary lines was ever made, the Government of the Massachusetts Bay at their Expence for some purpose respecting his being Sd Proprietor of the lands in New Hamp Sent John Tufton Mason to London with Sufficient certificates of his being Proprietor of the Sixty mile grant of Lands in New Hamp' to his Ancestor Capt John Mason, and of his being the right Heir and Proprietor of those lands, at this time and Occasion The Government of Massachusetts bay, never applyed to ye Heirs of Allen for their Right in Masons Grant in New-Hampshire, or of Usher's Heirs who purchased of Allen or any Person holding the land in the right of Allen or his Heirs-The Right & Title of Allen was then as well or better understood in the Government of the Massachusetts Bay, as any time Since-who by their Transactions with John Tufton Mason have fully manifested the opinion and Sense of that Government that John Tufton Mason being then the right Heir and Proprietor of the lands in New Hampshire granted by ye Council of Plymouth to his Ancestor Capt John Mason-About the year 1744 The Government of New-Hampshire was in treaty with John Tufton Mason Esq' about purchasing the Lands he Claim'd in N Hamp and afterwards proposed to purchase of the Purchasers Now Props of Mason's Claim, at which transactions his Title was fully acknoleged by ye Government of N. H, but In the year 1746

John Tufton Mason Esq' Sued a common Recovery in the Court of Common pleas held at Portsmouth in the Province New Hampshire, to dock the entail of the lands in New Hampshire, devised in the Will of Capt John Mason his Ancestor-which was effected, and he put into possession of the lands in a fee Simple Estate-After docking the Entail by his Deeds he conveyed all his right to those lands in New Hampshire, excepting one thirtieth part which he reserved to his own use, to Sundry persons and those purchasers possessed the Same quietly and unmolested by any demand of the Crown or having their boundaries ascertained by the order & direction of Government of New Hampshire, nor had any Person in Allen's Right or any other made any Claim of the lands they purchased of J. T. Mason Esq, for near forty years, till within a twelve month past some of Allens Heirs have published a pretended Claim to the lands in New Hampshire that was Capt John Mason's-many Petitions from Persons of the Massachusetts, and New-Hampshire being made to the Proprietors holding the lands in New Hampsh' under John Tufton Mason Esq' for Townships &c they granted many Townships to ye Petioners within their Claim in which the Grantees and their Heirs have quietly enjoyed their Grants under the Protection of Government many years and made many & great Improvements in them by reducing a Wilderness to fruitfull fields beneficial to themselves and this State, but the Grantees are now alarmed by a Stale Claim of Allens Heirs. how groundless that Claim is in the Opinion of the ablest Counsell in Massachusetts & New Hampshire & not being on any Solid foundation to support it's Title may appear by the above Sketch of it's State-and as long as the Constitution of the Civil Government of this State shall continue, there is no danger of Estates being So long possessed and improved under so good a Title as the Grants made by the Proprietors of the lands purchased of John Tufton Mason Esq' in New Hampshire which Title has been approved by Goverment Massachusetts Bay and of New Hampshire, and the ablest Counsellers in Law both of those Governments but if miletary Methods are to be used by Allens Heirs to establish their Claim to lands in New Hampshire, another Constitution must take place in this State than that we have, and then no Property can be Safe, it being reported that four Generals. of the Militia of New Hampshire are engaged to Support the Claim of Allens Heirs; and a number of Agents are employed to go from town to town to inveigle Persons to purchase the Lands of the Proprietors at a Small part of their Value, these Agents may be justly esteemed Barrators more especialy by the People, whom they attempt to deceive by Subverting Right & Property of a con

siderable of the State of N Hamsh'-any persons who shall enter upon the land of the Proprietors which they purchased of John Tufton Mason Esq' in New Hampshire either by grant or purchase under y Claim of Allens heirs, may rely on their being prosecuted as Trespassers.—

[History of the Title, and Caution.]

[Masonian Papers, Vol. 2, p. 88.]

A Committee of the Proprietors of the Lands purchased of John Tufton Mason Esq' in New Hampshire in April last published in the New Hampshire Gazette a caution to-Persons against purchasing or entering upon the lands of said Proprietors within their claim, under colour of pretence of the stale claim of the Heirs of Samuel Allen Esq. Notwithstanding that caution, according to report some heirs of Allen, or their Agents have given, or sold sundry parcels of land of said Proprietors, under the pretended Title of Allens; and some persons have accepted their Grants, and others have been inveigled to make purchases of the land at very low rates. To prevent therefore the deception from increasing, and unwary persons from purchasing and entering upon the lands of said proprietors, and for quieting the minds of those, who hold their possessions by grants of the Proprietors, a brief State of the right and title of the Claimers under the Heirs of Samuel Allen Esq' to Lands in New Hampshire, and that of the purchasers from John Tufton Mason Esq' is presented. In respect to the Title claimed by Allen's Heirs it is declared, that John Mason of London Esq' the original Grantee of the Lands in New Hampshire from the Council at Plymouth in the County of Devon in Great Britain, by his will devised said Lands in New Hampshire to his Grandchild John Tufton, and to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and for want of such issue, to Robert Tufton his Grandchild, and to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and required that they should alter their Surname and take the Surname of Mason which they accordingly did. In the year 1690, John and Robert Tufton Mason brought common recovery in the County of Kent in Great Britain, to dock the entail of the lands in New Hampshire, devised in the Will of their Grandfather John Mason Esqr. In the next year 1691, John and Robert by one deed sold to Samuel Allen Esqr those lands in New Hampshire. A few years after John the elder brother died without issue; Samuel Allen Esqr was commissionated Governor of New Hampshire and came to his Government

about the year 1700; and in a few years he died in New Hampshire leaving one son Thomas and four daughters. In 1706, Thomas Allen sold to Sir Charles Hobby one fourth part of the lands in New Hampshire which his Father purchased of John and Robert Tufton Mason. About twenty five years past a Gentleman arrived here as Attorney to the heirs of Sir Charles Hobby to take care of their interest in the lands Sir Charles purchased of Thomas Allen: upon enquiry and examining Allen's title, and the Title of the purchasers from John Tufton Mason Esq' the agent acknowledged the Title under Allen could not be supported, relinquished his pursuit, and went off. Governor Allen and his son Thomas had conveyed the greater part if not the whole of the land they claimed in New Hampshire: However it does not appear that any part of the land which Allen purchased of John and Robert Tufton Mason in New Hampshire, is held or possessed by any person in the right or title of Allen, or of those to whom Allen or his Heirs had made a conveyance of their right; nor could it be holden against the heirs in tail of John Mason Esqr after the decease of John and Robert his grandsons: as the Fine and Recovery sued in the County of Kent in Great Britain, could not bar the entail of Lands in New Hampshire in New England: and more especially when the Court in New Hampshire was subsisting before the year 1690 where it must have been sued in order effectually to dock the entail of those lands in New Hampshire.

The mention of one reason will suffice to shew the absurdity of supposing that Recovery to be effectual. The Law makes it necessary that the Sheriff of the County where the common recovery is sued should put the Party recovering into possession of the premisses; and the Sheriff of the County of Kent in Great Britain had surely no authority to put any one into possession of Lands in New Hampshire in New England; a place rather out of his Bailiwick!

In respect to the right and title of John Tufton Mason Esq' to the lands in New Hampshire, which the Proprietors claim by purchase from him, some facts are alledged to evince that he was the right Heir and Proprietor of those Lands, which the Heirs of Allen pretend to claim. In the tenth year of the Reign of George the second, 1737, a Commission issued under the Great Seal of England constituting principal Gentlemen of several Provinces a Court to hear and determine the disputes respecting the boundary Lines betwixt the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire. The Committee of the Province of Massachusetts Bay consisted of the most eminent Gentlemen of their General Court and of two of the greatest Lawyers in New England. When that Committee laid their Claim of the northerly boundary Line of the Province of Massachu

setts Bay before the Court of Commissioners, they claimed as their north boundary line a line no farther northward than three miles north of Merrimack River; which Line was also claimed by the Committee of New Hampshire as the southward boundary line of the Province of New Hampshire; and was also a boundary of Mason's Grant. The Townships of Salisbury, Almsbury, Haverill, Dracutt, and Methuen, bounding southerly on Merrimack River, and their northern Boundarys extending much more than three miles north of Merrimack River, as the Massachusetts Bay could not claim or exercise Jurisdiction more than three miles north of Merrimack River, and those five Townships being bounded and settled by that Government, they were desirous of confirming the property of the Soil in those Townships to the Inhabitants that lay northward of their line of Jurisdiction, and within the bounds of those five Townships. To accomplish that Intention they had recourse to the Heir and Proprietor of Mason's Grant from the Council at Plymouth of the Lands in New Hampshire; And applied to John Tufton Mason then resident at Boston as that Heir and Proprietor; who for a valuable consideration of Five hundred pounds conveyed his right to the Land within the bounds of said five Townships containing many thousand Acres to the Massachusetts Committee; and his Deed was recorded in the Records of New Hampshire. The Court determining the boundary Lines betwixt these Provinces rendered their Judgement in that cause, from which Judgement both Provinces appealed to the King in Council. About that time the Province of Massachusetts Bay at the expence of the Province sent John Tufton Mason to the Court at London, on some other purpose than respected the boundary Lines of the Province, furnished with sufficient Certificates of his being the right Heir and Proprietor of the Lands in New Hampshire, granted by the Council at Plymouth in Great Britain to John Mason Esqr. The Government of Massachusetts Bay made no Application for the purchase of Lands in those five Towns to the heirs of Allen, or to any person to whom Allen, or his heirs had made a Conveyance of the whole, or any part of the Lands in New Hampshire, within the Grant to Mason: Although at that time the pretended Title of Allen to those Lands was at least as well understood by the Government of the Massachusetts Bay, as by any persons at any time since. That Government by their transactions with John Tufton Mason have fully manifested their opinion and sense that John Tufton Mason was the right heir and proprietor of the Lands in New Hampshire, granted to his Ancestor John Mason Esqr.

John Tufton Mason being in London in the year 1739 when John