hereditaments to adventurers and planters, as should by a commission of survey and distribution executed, be named.

19° Martii, 1628. The said council grant the Massachusetts colony to Roswell and others.

4° Martii. 4° Car. Imi. The grant to Roswell, &c. was by letters patents, confirmed to the said proprietors and others their associates, who were then incorporated with power of government granted to them, and of making laws not repugnant to the laws of England.

The company, in pursuance of this grant of the council at Plymouth and charter from the king, transport themselves and make a settlement upon the said lands, distributing the same from time to time, freely to adventurers and planters, without any rent reserved to the company, yet so that where the said lands were possessed by the natives, the planters did also purchase from them.

May 1657. It is enacted by the laws of the place— That any person who had, by himself, his grantees, or assigns, before the law about inheritances, 14th October 1652, possessed and occupied, as his or their proper right, in fee simple, any houses or lands there, and should so continue without disturbance, let, suit, or denial, legally made, by having the claims of any person thereto entered with the recorder of the county, and such claim prosecuted to effect, .within five years, next after the 20th of that present May, 1657; every such proprietor, their heirs and assigns, shall forever hereafter enjoy the same, without any lawful let, suit, disturbance, or denial, by any other claim of any person or persons whatsoever, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

No claim made of the lands in question within the time limited. In 1685, the pat. of 30 Novris. 14° Jac. surrendered.

Mr. Mason's title, 9th Martii, 1621. Mr. Mason, by grant from the council at Plymouth, under their common seal, to his ancestor, John Mason, claims some ten towns within the Massachusetts bounds of their patent, to be

called Mariana, to hold to him and his heirs, in free and common soccage, &c. subject to the exceptions in the grant to the grand council, yielding a fifth part of all ore found to his majesty, and another fifth part to the council, with a letter of attorney to the chief officer there for the time being, for delivery of possession and seizin to the grantee, Mason, or his attorney.

Note. The grant only sealed with the council's seal, unwitnessed, no seizin endorsed, nor possession ever given with the grant.

10 August, 1622. The said council grant, alien, sell, and confirm to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason, their heirs and assigns, all the lands lying between the rivers Merrimack and Sagadahock.

Note, as in the grant of 1621.

7 Nov. 1629. The said council grant part of the premises to Capt. John Mason, single, and his heirs, extending between the rivers of Merrimack and Pascataqua.

1631. Note as above. The same council did again grant a small parcel of the premises granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. J. Mason, unto the said Sir Ferdinando and Capt. Mason, with about six or seven others, their associates, lying on both sides the river of Pascataqua, upon which lands some settlement was made and some part thereof divided between the said grantees and adventurers after, 1631.

April 1635. Capt. John Mason obtains a new grant from the said great council, of all the lands from Naumkeag river to Patcataqua river, by the name of New Hampshire; at which time all that part of the lands so granted, which are now contained within the bounds of the Massachusetts, were actually distributed to, and planted by the inhabitants of that colony, by virtue of their grants from the said council, anno 1628, 1629.

The whole matter in difference was referred to the two lord chief justices, by his majesty and council.

They, after a solemn hearing of council on both sides, reported unto his majesty: That as to the right of the soil of the Province of New Hampshire and Maine, they

could give no opinion, not having proper parties before them, it appearing that not the Massachusetts company, but the ten tenents had the right of soil and whole benefit thereof, and yet were not summoned to defend their titles.

As to Mr. Mason's right of government within the soil he claimed: Their Ipps. and indeed his own counsel, agreed he had none, the great council of Plymouth, under whom he claimed, having no power to transfer government to any.

As to the bounds of the Massachusetts colony: Their Ipps. have, by their said report, excluded thereout the four towns of Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Hampton, parcel of Mr. Mason's claim, but determined the remainder of his claim to be within their bounds; which report was confirmed by his majesty in council.

1 Quer. Whether Mr. Mason's grant, being only under the council of Plymouth's seal, unwitnessed, and without any entry or record of them any where, without seizin endorsed, and no possession having ever gone along with them, be valid in law, to out about fifty years possession, a title under the government of the Massachusetts, and a purchase from the natives?

[Ans.] I think it is not good, according to the law of England, and New England having no particular law of their own, (to my knowledge,) which differs from the law of England, as to the manner of passing lands I do not see how many of these grants can be good. Or admitting they be good in law:

2 Quer. Whether Mr. Mason be not estopt by the law of the place as above, having not made his claim thereto, within the time prescribed?

[Ans.] If Mr. Mason's estate do lie within the jurisdiction of the assembly who made this law, and that this assembly were rightly constituted, according to the power given by charter, I think Mr. Mason was bound by this law, which I look upon to be a reasonable law, and agreeing in reason with the law of England.

And if Mr. Mason have right thereto :

3 Quer. Whether ought not that right be tried on the

place, ten of the towns claimed by him remaining within the Massachusetts jurisdiction, by the chief justice's report?

[Ans.] I think his right ought to be tried upon the place, for so much thereof as lies within the Massachu setts jurisdiction, liable to such appeal as the charter allows, if it allows any.

4 Quer. Or if triable here, by what court can it properly be so, whether in one of the four courts at Westminster, or upon a special commission, and how, in your judgment, whether by jury or otherwise?

[Ans.] It cannot properly be tried here, by any of the four courts, but according to the law of the place, if it lie within any jurisdiction; and if within none, the king may erect courts to proceed according to the law of Eng land, unless altered by the legislative power of the place. 18 Sept. 1679. W. JONES.

CHAP. LXXII.

Ecclesiastical affairs in New England, from the year 1671 to the year 1685.

THE solemn and awful dispensations of the Almighty towards the people of New England of late, have made all the wise hearted among them fear that he had a controversy with them, having written his displeasure in the dismal characters of contagious sickness, and of the sword of war, as well as other disastrous events and sad calamities. Many endeavours were used, by sundry solemn days of humiliation, to find out the cause why the Lord contended with them. They conceived that personal afflictions did oftentimes come only for probation, but as to publick calamities it is not usually so, as they apprehended, especially when by a continued series of providences God seems to be pleading against a people as he did against Israel in David's time; and as he had seemed to do with them for divers years. At the last, the general court of the Massachusetts saw cause to assemble all the ministers and messengers of the churches within their jurisdiction in a general synod at Boston,

September 10, 1679, to whom these two questions were propounded to debate upon :

Quest. 1. What are the evils that have provoked the Lord to bring his judgments on New England?

Quest. 2. What is to be done that so these evils may be reformed.

In answer to the first, it was determined by the joint consent of the whole assembly, that beside a great and visibly decay of the power of godliness, amongst many professors in their churches, there was likewise too much cause to fear, that several vices, especially pride, intemperance, and worldly mindedness, began to bud forth amongst them, which were the evils that used to bring the wrath of God upon the Gentiles of old; therefore it need not be wondered at, if God should bring sharp afflictions upon the country for the preventing or reform. ing these grosser evils, that so such noisome weeds might timely be rooted out, and not suffered to spread and take place in the garden of God. Accordingly, the said assembly advised, that for the reforming all the forementioned evils, that in the first place, all that were above others in place, would, as to their practice, become very exemplary unto others, it being incident to the people of all ages to follow those that are above them, that so, if any of the sins of the times were found, in any degree, among those, or any of them that were leaders, either as to civil or ecclesiastical order, reformation in them would have an happy influence upon many others, as Moses and Joshua, being to reform others, began with what concerned themselves. So, also, that care should be taken for the revising of the platform of discipline, drawn up by a synod there anno 1648, which might be a good means to recover those that had erred from the truth, and to prevent apostacy for the future, and that by the renewing of covenant, their churches and administrations should be reduced to that their primitive pat

tern.

Furthermore, also, forasmuch as it hath been observed, that some have reflected upon the New English churches for their defect in not publishing to the world