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 sd 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. Prov. N. Hamp GOTHAM ODIORNE Select men 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. Afores and vice admiral of the same, and To the Honble the Councile, and house of represen now sitting in General Assembly. ves The Petition of Sundry His Majesties good Subjects of the town of Portsmouth and N. Castle wthin 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 y 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 h 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, y' 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, wh amounts to just so great a weight of reason, as can be offered in the other case and no more And now we have plainly demonstrated that ye afores 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 we are benefitts lost & money spent wthout 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 fishery who must unavoidably be ruined if s1 bridge be allowed of, for stopping their passage is in Effect tying up their hands, & haling their Shallops ashore. 5 If a bridge be built it will stop y ice & cause it to Jamm together in ye winter season that there will be no passing for y fishing boatts for three or four months in Winter wch is y harvest for fishing, where as tis now never frozen over or Jamed save two or three days together & that in very hard weather. 6 Another unspeakable hardship wch will attend a bridge is y transportation of Hay from ye meadows and marishes where the tides must be attended both by night and day and to pass under a draw bridge or through any such gap as their may be wth a gondela of hay in a dark night & a strong wind or in any other vessel wth so strong a Current as there is beside must needs be a danger too terrible to be thought on. Whereupon we humbly pray no bridge may be allowed as before mentioned and petition's shall ever pray as in Duty bound. The foregoing petition being read In Councile it was voted That The Hearing thereof shall be on Thursday next 10 o'clock A. M. & yt ye parties be notifyed accordingly. Rich Waldron Cler. Con. Jn° Hardeson Benja Foster Thomas Cotton John Sherburn John Jackson John Jackson Jun. Peter Ball Sen. Peter Ball Junr. Joseph Seavey John Davies y" mark of Jno Rowe Abraham Jones Mathew Nelson Jn X Peverly sen Benj Ackerman Sr New Castle's Answer to Sandy-beach Petition. To the Honourable John Wentworth Esqr. Lieut Governour and Command in Chief in and over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire and to the Honourable the Council & Representatives in Gen Assembly Convened at Portsm" in the Said Province. The answer of Hugh Reed, Jo Simson and Daniel Greennough (in behalf of the Inhabitants of that part of New Castle called the Great Island and others adjoining thereto) To a Petition prefer'd to yo' Hon's by Sundry of the Inhabitants of Little Harbour and Sandy beach & Your Respondents Humbly pray that the Prayer of the afores Petition may not be granted for that it may prove to be of very ill Consequence not only to yo respond's but also to the whole Province in Generall. The Inhabitants of Great Island are Geny poor and depend on the fishery for a livelyhood, which is very precarious and uncertain, so y' they are not able to maintain a Minister of the Gospell among them without the assistance of the afores" Petitioners, the want of which will Discourage many of the said Inhabitants and oblige them to remove and go to live Else where and those that will remain will be oblidged to go off of the Island on the Lords day to attend the Publick Worship of God, which in time of Warr will much Expose the Kings Fort on sd Island to the Surprise of an enemy the afores Petition's Saying that they are willing to Contribute to the Subsistance of the ministry during the revd Mr Shurtleffs life or Continuance among us (which is both alicke uncertain) will not avail, for Should their Prayer be granted its very Likely Mr Shurtleff would be so Discouraged as to leave us, but admit he should Continue wth us as long as he lives, yet at his Death (wch we know not but may be before the year comes about) we Shall be Destitute and so Exposed to the afores Inconveniences. Yo' Responds therefore most Humbly Pray That if the afores Petition's be Set off by themselves That they be so in all respects, and that one half of the Land in New Castle be Subjected to bear the Burthen of the Publick Charge for that part Call'd Great Island and the other half to that Part Call'd Sandy beach. Except Some other Expedient may be found for the Comfortable Maintainance of our Minister for The afores Petition' are Possessed of some Thousands of acres of the best Land in New Castle, and yo respond but of a few Hundred and most of that so rocky as not fitt for Tillage, and besides that yo' respond have a great many poor widows to releave all which being Considered by yo Hon yo' respond's doubts not of yo' Hon doing therein according to Equity and good Conscience and will as in duty bound ever pray. HUGH REED JOSEPH SIMPSON DAN GREENOUGH N. B. the Persons markt Thus o against their Names ware Present att the Election and ten Persons more ware Present att the Elect" wch voted for Wm. Frost & Jon Lock but ware not at home when this Petition was carried for them to Sign it. Petition of Sundry of y' Inhabitants of New Castle & Rye To the Honble the House of Representes of the Prov. of New Hampe now Siting at Portsm Yo' Petition's Humbly Shew, That at a meeting of the Free Hold's of the Town of New Castle & Parrish of Rye at New Castle aforesaid on the Second Inst. to Chuse two meet Persons to Represent the Said |