greatly to the credit of our ancestors that they purchased most of their lands of the Indians for considerations which were considered at the time fully equivalent. No individuals were allowed to make purchases of them without leave from the General Court, and the purchases were generally made for the use of the colony, or particular towns. In 1682, overseers and tythingmen among the Indians were appointed, and in 1675 courts for them were established. Justice was administered among them summarily, and not according to the strict rules of the common law. Many Indian names are scattered through the records, which are carefully indexed.

From these journals, a knowledge may be obtained of all the principal men who lived in the colony, of the Governors, Assistants, Deputies or Representatives, Selectmen of towns, and other civil officers, military officers, and freemen.

There are lists of all the freemen in the colony at several periods, also records of marriages, births, and deaths. The latter records however are imperfect.

Marriages were never solemnized by ministers, but magistrates were specially appointed for that service.

Most of the lands in the colony belonging to individuals, were originally granted by the General Court, and these grants appear in the records. If there were no other reason for preserving and transcribing the records, the importance of these grants would be a sufficient inducement. It is to be hoped that the time is not far distant, when the legislature will cause the most important parts of these records to be printed, according to the recommendation of the commissioners. It is believed that no appropriation of the public money would be more gratifying to the community. It would be particularly desirable that the whole of the laws should be printed in chronological order. No book would conduce more to illustrate the manners, wants, and sentiments of our ancestors. Our minds would be naturally carried back to those early

ADDRESS OF THE MINISTERS OF BOSTON, &c. 271

periods, and we should have displayed before us in the most striking manner, the difficulties under which our forefathers were struggling, and the remedies provided for their relief.

ADDRESS OF THE MINISTERS OF BOSTON TO THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE.

[THE following Address seems to have been occasioned by a forged letter, purporting to be dated at Boston, 10 July, 1737, and sent to London, which commences as follows: "We have advice by Capt. Hill, who lately arrived from London, that his Majesty has been most graciously pleased to appoint a new governor for the colony of the Massachusetts, which occasioned the most universal joy that ever was known throughout this province, especially among the better sort of people, and the MINISTERS of all sorts, &c." A similar Address was sent to Sir Robert Walpole, and the Earls of Wilmington and Harrington. It probably counteracted for a time the machinations of Governor Belcher's enemies, but they finally succeeded in effecting his removal from the office of Governor in Massachusetts. He retired to Court, and vindicated his character from the unjust charges which had caused his removal, and was afterwards appointed Governor of New Jersey.-J. FARMER to J. Bow DOIN, ESQ.]

May it please your Grace.

WITH all that respect and deference to your name, which the high station, wherein His most excellent Majesty, our most gracious Sovereign, has seen meet to place, and so long continue you, together with those accomplishments, which render you illustrious therein :

We ministers of the gospel, and pastors of churches in His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in and about Boston, crave leave, by the hand of the agents for the Province, humbly to address ourselves unto your Grace, and entreat your powerful favour to the good people of New-England, and to the churches of it, in which the King's person, and family, and ministers are constantly and ardently prayed for, with one heart and voice.

The blessings of his Majesty's reign, which reach

us in these distant parts of his dominion, we hope we have a grateful sense of: In a particular manner we think ourselves bound to bless God, and to thank the King and his ministers, for the continuance of Governor Belcher in the chair over us, by whom the King's good subjects of every denomination are equally encouraged in their duty to God, and to the King. We look upon ourselves obliged humbly to address your Grace in this manner, because we have lately seen in some of the publick prints, what we must call a malicious libel, pretended to be writ from Boston, declaring to the world :

"An universal joy throughout this Province upon the news of his Majesty's appointing a new Governour over us; more especially among the better sort of people, and Ministers of all sorts."

Than which there could not have been published a greater calumny, and more injurious falsehood: and we beseech your Grace to excuse us this zealous vindication of ourselves, and our people, from it.

Sir, that those, who have the high honour to stand about the King, as his ministers, may have wisdom from above for a most righteous and happy administration, is the prayer of, My Lord Duke,

Your Grace's most humble, dutiful,

and obedient servants,

From Boston, in New-England, Dec. 5, 1737.

DUKE OF NEWCASTLE.

Same to

SIR ROBERT WALPOLE, and

EARLS OF WILMINGTON and HARRINGTON.

BENJAMIN COLMAN,

Pastor of the church in Brattle Street, Boston.
THOMAS PRINCE,

Pastor of the South Church in Boston.
WILLIAM COOPER,

A Pastor of the Church in Brattle Street, Boston.
NEHEMIAH WALTER,
Pastor of a Church in Roxbury.
NATHANIEL APPLETON,
Pastor of a Church in Cambridge.
SAMUEL CHECKLEY,

Pastor of the New South Church, Boston.
CHARLES CHAUNCEY,
Pastor of the First Church in Boston.
SAMUEL MATHER,

Pastor of the North Church in Boston.
MATHER BYLES,

Pastor of the Church in Hollis Street, Boston.

ON AUSAMEMOIR OF THE NARRAGANSET TOWNSHIPS.

REV. SIR,

Amherst, N. H. June 2, 1817.

HAVING lately examined some original records and manuscripts, which relate to the Narraganset townships, granted by the General Court of Massachusetts, in 1728 and 1733, I conceived that a communication respecting them might be proper for your Collections. The history of the grants of these townships has been illustrated by no historian whom I have consulted. The only information I find concerning them is given by Douglass in his Summary, and Hutchinson in his History of Massachusetts. The former, in a note to page 424, volume 1, says, "Nine townships were voted, but only seven granted to the descendants of the Narraganset or Pequod war soldiers, 1637, called Narraganset townships."* Hutchinson, (vol. 2, page 299,) in speaking of the grants made about that period, 1727, observes, "the government, under the old charter and the new, had been very prudent in the distribution of the territory."-"But all on a sudden, plans are laid for grants of vast tracts of unimproved land, and the last session of Mr. Dummer's administration, a vote passed the two FRUS appointing a committee to lay out three lines of towns," &c. "Pretences were encouraged, and even sought after, to entitle persons to become grantees. The posterity of all the officers and soldiers who served in the famous Narraganset expedition, in 1675, were the first pitched upon, those who were in the unfortunate attempt upon Canada, in 1690, were to come next." †

The war

Dr. Douglass confounds the Narraganset with the Pequot war. with the Pequots occurred, as he states, in 1637. The Narraganset war, to which the grant of these townships referred, did not occur till 1675.

"Nine townships were granted to the heirs of the militia or soldiers, who went against Canada, Anno 1690, and were called Canada townships. A parcel of these, the furthest up in the country run W. 5 and a half deg. S., across from Merrimac river 35 miles to Connecticut river, as a barrier against the Indians; they VOL. II. THIRD SERIES.. 35

食

It will be my object to give a brief view of the Narraganset grants, a short account of the several townships, and the names of the towns to which they were respectively assigned. In doing this I shall avail myself of the information contained in the records and manuscripts referred to, and such other authentic sources as are within my reach.

*

In June, 1728, the General Court of Massachusetts appointed a committee to lay out two tracts of land for townships, each of the contents of six miles square, in some of the unappropriated land of the province. These tracts of land were granted to the officers and soldiers (or to their lawful representatives) belonging to Massachusetts, who were in the service of their country in the Narraganset war, as a reward for their public service, and in full satisfaction of the grant formerly made them by the Court. Public notice was to be given in the News Letters, and advertisements were to be posted up in every town in the province, notifying the survivors and legal representatives of those who had deceased, to send a list of their names and descents to the Court before the next fall session. The Court appointed a committee to examine "the claims laid before them of rights in the two tracts of land granted to the officers and soldiers who were in the Narraganset fight," who reported that the said tracts of land be granted to the persons contained in a.list which was probably submitted with their report. They also reported, "that the grantees meet at Boston, if the small pox be not there-if it be, then at Cambridge, on the first Wednesday in June succeeding." The report was accepted, 19 December, 1729. The grantees accordingly met at Cambridge, but the Court having revoked their former order, the meeting

are called the double line of towns, whereof No. 3, 8, and 9 are very mountainous, roeky, and stony, not capable of settlement; No. 4 and 7 are the best lands." Douglass. *John Chandler, Edward Shove, Thomas Tilestone, John Hobson, and Samuel Chandler.