different persons to rune the Dividing line between Portsmouth and that Deed of Thomas Wiggans Esq' to his son Andrew Wiggans; The Town having no Dispute beyond the Bounds of that Deed which Deed is conformable to the Patten of Edward Hilton and associates aforesaid; And your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever pray, &c.

Portsmouth, Jan. 3a, 1733-4.

HEN: SHERBURNE

Petition of the South Parish in Portsmouth. To his Excellency Jonathan Belcher, Esq. Governor & Commander in chief in & over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire in New England, the Hon his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives for said Province, in General Court convened, the 31st Day of January, Anno Dom. 1739.

The Petition of James Clarkson, Esq' Thom Wright & Daniel Pierce Merchts all of Portsm° in said Province, a Committee of the South Parish in Portsm" afores, and as agents for & in behalf of the said Parish:

Humbly sheweth :

That there has been for some considerable time a difference subsisting between the North and South Parishes in said Town respecting the settlement of their Parishioners and the removal of certain persons from one Parish to the other & the Taxes to be paid by such persons toward Parish charges:

That sundry persons that have removed from the attendance of the Public worship in the North Parish afores and have settled themselves or constantly attended the said worship in the South Parish afores for some considerable time past, have notwithstanding been rated or taxed toward the charges of the said North Parish, & so in consequence of such removal have been obliged to pay both;

That the greater part of those who have so removed have been induced thereto by a Prospect of Better accommodations for themselves & families in the meeting-house they have removed to, and think it a hard case that they must purchase those accommodations by paying a double Tax;

That those persons have not been able (tho' it has been several times requested) to obtain a regular dismission from the said North Parish, nor have the Parishes at any meetings, or by their delegates (tho' Essays have been made) been able to come to any terms of composition relating to the Premises;

That the said South Parish conceives the Rule & Method by which new parishioners have been & still are to be settled in said Parishes, is such as gives the said North Parish (which is much the superior for numbers & riches of its Inhabitants) greatly the advantage, and that therefore it is highly reasonable that a new and more equitable Rule for that purpose should be establish'd & the former suspended.

Wherefore your Petitioners humbly Pray that a Law may be now enacted agreeable to a, Vote of the Honorable the House of Representatives for said Province, of the 15th of Nov 1738, Respecting the premises (and herewith exhibited) excepting only a clause in said vote Relating to such young men as should settle on the Estates of their fathers &c. But that the settlement of such persons should be determined by the same Rule therein proposed for the settling of other young men in the said Parishes & strangers that shall come to settle in the said Town; or that such other methods or Rules of fixing Parishioners in the said Parishes may be established as this Hone Court in their great Wisdom & Goodness shall think equitable & just between the said Parishes.

And your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c.

JAMES CLARKSON
THOMAS WRIGHT
D. PIERCE.

Feby. the first 1739. In the House of Representatives: The within Petition Read & voted, that the Petitioners serve the Wardens of the North Parish in Portsmouth with a copy of this Petition at the Petitioners charge, and that they appear to be heard Tuesday the 12 Currt to shew cause why the prayer of the Petition may not be granted, if the General Court is then sitting; if not then to appeare the third day of the sitting of the Gen' Assembly next Sessions. James Jeffry, Cler. AssTM

In Council, Feby 6th 1739-40.

Read and concurr'd.

Richd Waldron, Secy.

I assent to the above votes,

J. BELCHER.

Feb 6, 1739-40. In the House of Representatives, Feb 7th A. D. 1739-40. Upon reconsidering the above Vote of the House: Voted, That the Petitioners serve the Wardens of the North Parish in Portsmouth with a copy of this Petition, and the above order.

James Jeffry, Cler. AssTM

Feby 8th 1739-40.

Assented to

J. BELCHER.

In Council, Feb 15h 1739-40,

Read, and on motion made by the Respondents, and the Petitioners

being heard in answer to the sd motion,

Voted That the consideration of the Petition be suspended till ye next session of the general Court

R. Waldron, Secy.

Remonstrance of Portsmouth Selectmen.

To his Excellency Jonathan Belcher Esq. Governor & Commander in Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Hon his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives for said Province, In General Court Convened, Jan 31, 1739.

The Remonstrance of the selectmen of the town of Portsmouth in said Province, Humbly Shews

That the Laws of the Province that relate to the admission of new Inhabitants into any of the Towns in this Province & the removal of such persons as obtrude themselves upon the Towns, are very defective in many Respects, so that the good purposes that were even designed by those Laws cannot be attain'd:

That the said Town of Portsmouth from its situation is greatly exposed to the entrance of strangers by sea, from which Quarter many enter & become Inhabitants even in spite of all opposition & often a charge to the town; for the prevention whereof there is no effectual Provision in the said Laws:

That Laws well calculated to remove or Prevent the said Inconveniency would certainly be of general Benefit & would serve the Interest of every town in the Province & the larger Towns in a more especial manner :

Wherefore your Remonstrants beg leave humbly to propose that the Laws already in force Relating to the premises might be perus'd by this Honble Court, or such as they shall appoint to that service & such an additional Act speedily enacted as will be necessary for the purposes afores

Your Remonstrants beg leave further to observe :

That the Town of Portsm' afores in many places of it being built in a compact manner and in some places there are old houses with broken chimneys, ovens &c. and the dwelling in these houses especially in the winter season greatly exposes them to the danger of fire, by which, if they should be consumed whole streets might meet with the same fate.

Wherefore they humbly pray that a Law may now be made authorizing some officer or officers upon request to view such old houses & to determine whether they are in a condition fit to be occupied as Dwelling Houses; and if not to order the

repair thereof at the expense of the Proprietor (so far as shall be necessary for the common safety) or to remove the occupants of such houses, or to take such other measures as this Honble Court shall in their great wisdom & goodness think proper in a case of such Importance; for which your Remonstrants, as in duty bound (in behalf of their Principals) will ever pray &c.

In the House of Representatives, Feby the 14th 1739-40.

The within Mem read, and Voted, That Mr. Hunking Wentworth & Capt. Edwd Hall be a Comittee of this House to joyne with such as the Honbie Council shall appoint to draw up an act relating to the admition of Town Inhabitants; and appointing Committees (or officers) relating to old defective Houses & Chimneys; and for regulating the poor, and putting out such children apprentices as are likely to become chargeable to any town or precinct, or whose parents do not take due care of them.

James Jeffry, Clr. AssTM

In Council Feby 19, 1739-40. Read and Concurred, and Joshua Peirce & Theo': Atkinson Esq' appointed to joyn in the service above.

Richd Waldron, Sec.
Same day assented to,

J. BELCHER.

Answer to a Petition relating to the choice of James
Clarkson, Esq., as representative.

To the Honble the House of Representatives for the Province of New Hampshire, met in General Assembly, Dec 31st 1745.

The Answer of the Selectmen of the Town of Portsmouth in said Province, to the Petition of sundry persons respecting the late choice of James Clarkson Esq' to be one of the Representatives of said Town in General Assembly :

May it please this Hone House-As it was the order of the House that we should be served with a copy of the Petition afores we presume 'twas with Design to hear what we had to say in answer to it, tho' not express'd in the order, & therefore beg leave to answer the said petition in the following method, viz: First, to represent the case as we apprehend the truth of the facts to be, & then to shew why the prayer of

this petition ought not to be granted, for which we pray the patience, attention, & impartial consideration of this Honbl House.

The case was thus:-Pursuant to a precept to us, Wee gave notice to the voters in the usual manner of the time, place & occasion of holding a meeting, which was duly attended; a moderator chosen & then the votes in writing bro't in for a Representative, which were fairly put into a Box standing before the moderator & clerk, by the voters passing by man by man. When all were bro't in, the votes were turned out on a table & counted by the moderator & Clerk. It appeared there were only two candidates, viz. James Clarkson & Joshua Peirce Esq In conducting the whole affair thus far, there was not the least appearance of any disorder or unfair practice. When the counting of the votes was finished & the number of votes for each candidate was known to some, tho' not declared by the Moderator, some of the voters on the side of the Lowest number being disappointed in their expectation, declared their Dissatisfaction, that there was some mistake, & thereupon a Poll was demanded. Here we must observe, all was quiet & still, not the least Dissatisfaction expressed till it was plain how the vote was, & indeed the disparity left no room for doubting, for one of the gentlemen had 114, the other but 81 votes. When the Poll was demanded, the Moderator had recourse to the Law, which gives it. Upon which every person present had free liberty of reasoning & constructing as he tho't fit, & after much reasoning and consultation upon it, the Moderator declared his opinion, That he apprehended the Demandants had no right to a Poll upon the Law & Circumstances of the case & therefore denied, for which he gave his reasons with the denial. This is a brief but true State of the case as we apprehend; and whether this or that made by the Petitioners is Right, will best be discovered upon the evidence.

We come now to the prayer of the Petition, & say it ought not to be granted for the following reasons: First-Because it has neither Law nor Reason to support it; and therefore in the next place, the granting of it would be an infringement upon the legal Rights of the voters & deprive them of their just Liberties & Privileges; And Lastly, It would be an act of Injustice-all which may be easily evinced to the satisfaction of every unprejudiced Judgment.

To the first of these that the prayer of this petition has neither Law nor Reason to support it:-This is a direct negation of what the Petitioners say, and may be made out very clearly as we conceive by considering of the only Law they can be supposed to refer to, which is an Act entitled, "An Act for the better regulating Town & Proprietary meet