or any two Assistants, in said Collony, upon the penalty of forty shillings, or imprisonment, at the discretion of the Governor, Deputy Governor, &c. And upon due proof thereof, the said fine of forty shillings to be taken by a warrant to any one Constable from the Governor, &c. Allways provided, the King's Collector, or Deputy Collector, with the Port Master, be excepted, who are permitted at all times, with such persons as they shall think convenient, not exceeding six persons, at the most, to manage such boat as he or they shall see cause to make use of. Allways provided, they follow such orders and instructions as they shall from time to time receive from the Governor.

And it is further enacted, That the Governor of this Collony shall have the Secretary's office for taking of bonds for the performance of the above-recited Act, for the preventing of any persons being transported or imported, or to appoint such persons as he shall think fit. And that the Governor of this Collony shall have full power to set up a Navall Office for his Majesty's service and his own security, the table of fees, to be stated by the Generall Councill.

And be it further enacted, That whereas, there are severall persons that are traders from foreign parts, that doth come to trade in this Collony, with severall sorts of merchandize, to the great detriment of such merchants as live here and are settled, and have their residence now here, all such merchants so coming, or others whatsoever, that doth reside in the Collony for term of one month, shall be liable to all such rates and duties that shall be raised on those persons and goods as others his Majesty's subjects of this Collony, is or may be at, as the authority of this Collony shall in reason think fit.

Be it further enacted and ordained, That there shall be one appointed to take care of his Majesty's fortifications in this town of Newport; and he that is chief officer shall have one or more under him, according as the case requires, to aid him; and that he might have a reasonable sallary allowed him; and that he, the said officer, shall, when any topsail vessell shall come in sight hoist his Majesty's flag in the fortification, and if the said ship or vessell when she comes open with the harbor doth not

strike or lower his or her topsail, that the said officer or any under him, shall fire a shot afore his fore foot; and if the said ship or vessel shall not then strike her topsail, then the said officer, &c., shall fire another shot between the said ship or vessell's masts, or as near as he can over said ship or vessell; and if they strike not then her topsail, the officer shall do his endeavor to sink her. But if said ship or vessell do strike, or lower at the first shot, the master of said ship or vessell shall pay for the first shot six shillings, eight pence; and for the second, thirteen shillings, four pence; and for third, it shall be accounted presumption, and shall suffer what punishment the authority of the place shall think fit, either in person or goods.

And it is further enacted, That the Governor shall have full power to commissionate such officer; and in case of neglect, or misdemeanor, in said officer, to remove him and put another in his room.

And it is further enacted, That the Act made at Portsmouth the 16th day of September, 1690, for all masters of vessells, from the burden of ten tuns and upwards, shall pay one shilling per tun, or one pound of powder, is continued, and shall be in full force and virtue; and the said money or powder shall be paid into the Secretary's office, for the use of his Majesty's fortifications, in the town of Newport, before they have any clearing out of the severall offices; and the said officer to have for his fees the sum of two shillings on the pound; any Act in the Collony to the contrary notwithstanding.

It is ordered by this Assembly, That the deed of Portsmouth Neck, which is now in the possession of the Governor, by order of a former Act of Assembly in this Collony, shall be delivered into the hands of Mr. Jeremiah Clarke and Samuell Cranston, Esq'r, to whom it doth belong.

In answer to the petition of John Davis, of Westerly:

It is enacted by this Assembly, That the said John Davis shall be allowed the reasonable charge that he hath been at for himself and aid, being carried prisoners to Connecticut, out of the Generall Treasury; and that the Governor appoint some ju

dicious person to assist them at Connecticut, who shall be paid for his service out of the Generall Treasury, what shall be thought reasonable by the Generall Councill.

Ordered, That the Acts of this Assembly shall be published under the seal of the Collony, forthwith, at the Collony House, by beat of drum; and that the whole Assembly Acts be Transcribed into copies, and sent to each town in this Collony, within twenty days after the dissolution of this Assembly by the Recorder; and he to be paid out of the Generall Treasury, the sum of six shillings for each copy, and upon publication of this Act of the Assembly is dissolved.

[There are no records of any other sessions of the Generall Assembly for the year 1701.]

Proceedings of the Generall Assembly held for the Collony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, at Newport, the 24th of March, 1702.

Major Samuell Cranston, Governor.
Weston Clarke, Recorder.

At a Generall Assembly of his Majesty's Collony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, held at Newport, the 24th of March, 1701-2, called by a speciall warrant from the Honorable Samuell Cranston, Esq'r, Governor, to the Sheriff of said Collony, bearing date the 19th of February, 1701-2.

Voted, Whereas Walter Newbury, of the town of Newport, deceased, did in his last will and testament make his wife, Ann Newbury, his Executrix to said will, and in said will did give and bequeath to his children, eight in number, a hundred pounds apiece; and in his said will did say and advise, as followeth:

All the remainder of my estate, both reall and personall, I give unto my beloved wife, Ann Newbury; and the said Executrix having made legall proof and approbation before the Ordinary or Town Councill of Newport, that she, the said Executrix, had made disposition of all the personall estate, for payment of debts, which hath not fully acquitted the same; and she, the said Executrix, being desirous to fulfill her husband's will, to pay the legacies, &c., as given in said will and the words being mentioned in said will to her given, without the words her heirs and assigns, it hath much hindered the advantage of advancing the said reall estate, as houses, warehouses, &c., on sale thereof. Therefore for the better enabling of said Executrix for the sale of the said estates, to pay the legacies and performing the intent of said will, that the legacies may be paid:

It is enacted by this present authority, [and] be it enacted, That the said Ann, the said Executrix, hath full power and authority given her to make sale of all, or any part of said reall estate which shall remain to the buyer thereof, on deed given, with warranty on the sale thereof, [and that it] shall be as firm and binding in the law, whereby the Executrix's deeds is so given, as if the words had been in said will; allso given to her, the said Executrix, and her heirs and assigns, forever.

Voted, That a rate or tax, be assessed on the inhabitants of this Collony, for the full sum of two hundred pounds in money, and that by virtue hereof, the respective officers of each respective town in said Collony, do proceed to the assessing, gathering and paying into the Generall Treasury of said Collony the aforesaid sum, according to an Act of Generall Assembly passed at Warwick, the 25th day of October, 1699, and that the same be proportioned on the inhabitants of each respective town proportionably, according to the afore-recited Act.

And be it further enacted, That the aforesaid assessment be paid into the Generall Treasury of said Collony, at or by the last day of June next ensuing the date hereof; and that the same be improved for the use and benefit of said Collony, according to the discretion of the Governor and Councill of said Collony;

and that an account of the disposition thereof be from time to time given to the successive Generall Assemblys of said Collony.

And be it further enacted, That an Act, entitled, None to oppose Generall Assemblys' Acts, be by virtue hereof, repealed and made null and void.

And also be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a certain clause in an Act of Generall Assembly, passed in Newport, May 7, 1701, for the imprisoning the defective persons that shall neglect training or appearing in exercise on the respective training days, by law prefixed, be repealed, made null and void; any Act or Acts, clause or clauses, to the contrary hereof notwithstanding.

Proceedings of the Generall Assembly held for the Collony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at Newport, the 5th of May, 1702.