one thousand feet; white-oak pipe staves, three pounds per thousand; fish, two ryals under price current: To be paid at the usual places for delivering rate and pay; and that the selectmen in the several townes do forthwith perform the duty of their places, in the making such rates and committing them to the respective constables, to be immediately collected, and the same to be transmitted to the treasurer of the Province upon the Province charge. By order, R. CHAMBERLAIN, Sect. To the much honored Council and President, now assembled at Portsmouth, in the Province of New-Hampshire, this 8th day of March, 1681-2. Your poor and very humble petitioner desires and humbly begs that some clemency and mercy may be afforded towards him. It hath been his unhappy case to do that for which he is justly called in question, and doth own that justice must be served against all pity. But the end being to knock down vice and to produce virtue, hopeth your petitioner may be a subject of such favor as to be spared so far from the exaction of his demerits as may give him room and time to show himself better. If your honors please to exact the utmost of what he is able to do, he must endure the sentence to his capacity, and not complain. But such a sense he hath of his will and desire to do better, that he hopes your Honors' favor towards him will return with glory to God and his people. To pay the sum required he cannot. To be sold runs him upon extremities. Therefore he begs your Honors' lenity, as far as God may move your hearts. Your humble petitioner and humble servant, Vera copia, from the original on file. Teste: [C. Pap., Reg. office.] THOMAS THURTON. R. CHAMBERLAIN, Clerk Council. New-Hampshire, [P. Rec., B. 1, p. 51.] Whereas it is the constant practice in Jamaica, Barbados and other his Maj. plantations, upon the arrival of every ship or vessell, that the master or commander doth forthwith repair to the Gov and give him an acct. of such matters as shall be demanded of them relating to his Maj' service and ye good of the place: It is therefore hereby ordered by the Gov' and Council that upon the arrival of every ship or other vessel into this River or other Port in this Province, the master or commander thereof do with all diligence repaire unto the Honle, the Gov. of this Province, to give information of all such matters as may any way relate to his Maj". service and the good peace and security of the Province. And hereof all persons concerned are required to take special notice and conform themselves accordingly as they will answer the contrary. Date the 1682. R. C., Clk. Coun. Commission of Edward Cranfield. [Coun. and Assem. Rec., pp. 41-55.] CHARLES THE SECOND, by the grace of God King of England, Whereas our colony of the Massachusetts alias Massathusetts Bay, within our dominion of New-England, in America, hath taken upon themselves to exercise a government and jurisdiction over the inhabitants and planters in the towns of Portsmouth, Hampton, Dover, Exeter, and all other y towns and lands in our Province of New-Hampshire, lying and extending itself from three miles northward of Merrimack river, unto the province of Maine, not having any legal right or authority so to do, which said jurisdiction and all further exercise thereof we have thought fit by the advice of our privy Council, to inhibit and restrain for the future, and do hereby inhibit and restrain y * Cranfield's Commission was dated May 9th, 1682; 34 yr. R. Charles II. same; and whereas the government of that part of our said Province of New-Hampshire, so limited and founded as aforesaid, now is, and remains under our immediate care and protection; to the end therefore, that our loving subjects the planters and inhabitants within the limits aforesaid may be protected and defended in their respective rights, liberties and property, and that due and impartial justice may be administered in all cases, civil and criminal, and that all possible care may be taken for the just, quiet and orderly government of the sameNow, KNOW YE, that we, reposing especial trust and confidence in ye prudence, courage and loyalty of you, the said Edward Cranfield, Esq., out of our especial grace, certain knowledge, mere motion, have thought fit to constitute & appoint you our Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of all that part of our province of New-Hampshire within our dominions. of New-England, in America, lying and extending itself from three miles northward of Merrimack river, or any part thereof, unto our province of Maine ; and we do hereby require and command you to do and execute all things in due manner that shall belong unto your said command and the trust we have reposed in you, according to the several powers and directions granted or appointed you under this present commission, and the instructions herewith given you, or by such further powers and instructions as shall at any time hereafter be granted or appointed you, under our signet and sign manual, and according to such reasonable laws and statutes as now are or hereafter shall be made and agreed upon by you, with ye advice and consent of our Council and the Assembly of our said province and plantation, under your government, in such manner and form as is hereafter expressed; and we do hereby constitute and appoint Robert Mason, Esq., proprietor, Richard Waldron, Thomas Daniell, William Vaughan, Richard Marten, John Gilman, Elias Stileman, Job Clements, Walter Barefoot, and Richard Chamberlain, Esq.,be of our Council of our said province of New-Hampshire, during our pleasure, who are to be assisting unto you with their advice in the management of the affairs and concerns of the government of the said Province of New-Hampshire, in relation to our service and the good of our subjects there; and we do hereby give full power to you, the said Edward Cranfield, after you shall have first taken an oath for the due execution of the office and trust of our Lieutenant Governor and Commander-inChief, in and over our said province of New-Hampshire, which the said Council or any five of them have hereby full power and authority, and are required to administer unto you, to give and administer to each of the members of our said Council, as well ye oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and the test mentioned in the act of parliament made in the twenty-fifth year of our reign, intituled an act for preventing danger which may happen from popish recusants, as an oath for the due execution of their places and trust; and we do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to suspend any of the members of our said Council from sitting, voting, or assisting therein, if you shall find just cause for so doing, and our will and pleasure is, that if by the death, departure out of the said Province, or suspension of any of our Councillors, there shall happen to be a vacancy in our said Council, any five whereof we do hereby appoint to be a quorum, we do hereby require you to certify us, by the first opportunity, of such vacancy, by the death, departure, suspension of any of our said Councillors, that we may under our signet and sign manual constitute and appoint others in their room; but that our affairs at the distance may not suffer for want of a due number of Councillors, if ever it shall happen that there are less than seven of them residing in our said Province, we do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to choose as many persons out of the principal freeholders, inhabitants of our said Province, as will make up the full number of the Council to be seven and no more, which persons, so chosen and appointed by you, shall be to all intents and purposes our Councillors in our said Province, till either they are confirmed by us, or till, by the nomination of other Councillors by us, under our sign manual and signet, the said Council hath above. seven persons in it, and our will and pleasure is, that every member of our said Council, suspended by you or displaced by us, shall be incapable during such vacancy, and after being so displaced, to be a member of the General Assembly, and we do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority, with the advice and consent of our said Council from time to time, as need shall require, to summon and call General Assemblies of the freeholders within your government, in such manner and form, as, by the advice of our said Council, you shall find most convenient for our service and the good of our said Province, until our pleasure shall be further known therein; and our will and pleasure is that the persons thereupon duly elected, by the major part of the freeholders, and being so returned and having before their sitting taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, which you shall commission fit persons under the public seal to administer, and without taking which none shall be capable of sitting, though elected, shall be called and held ye General Assembly of ye Province. And that you, the said Edward Cranfield, by and with the advice and consent of our said Council and Assembly, or the major part of them respectively, have full power and authority to make, constitute, and ordain laws, statutes and ordinances for the public peace, welfare and good government of our said Province and plantation, and of the people and inhabitants thereof, and such others as shall relate thereto, and for the benefit of us, our heirs and successors, which said laws, statutes and ordinances, are to be near as conveniently may be agreeable unto the laws and statutes of this our kingdom of England: Provided, that all such laws, statutes and ordinances, of what nature and kind soever, be within three months or sooner after the making of the same, transmitted unto us, under the public seal, for our allowance and approbation of them, as also duplicate thereof, by the next conveyance, and in case all or any of them, being not before confirmed by us, shall at any time be disallowed and not approved and so signified by us, our heirs and successors under our or their sign manual and signet, or by order of our or their privy council unto you, the said Edward Cranfield, or to the Commander-in-Chief of our said Province for the time being, then such or so many of them as shall be so disallowed and not approved shall from thenceforth cease, determine and be utterly void and of none effect, any thing to the contrary thereof notwithstanding; and to the end nothing may be passed or done by the said Council or Assembly to the prejudice of us, our heirs or successors, we will and ordain that you, the said Edward Cranfield, shall have and enjoy a nega |