Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

the necessities of life and gain the credit of our country." Capt. Sargent and John Clifford, were chosen to attend the convention at Concord, for the purpose of adopting some plan regarding this. In October following Mr. John Lane, Lieut. Samuel Towle, Lieut. Jacob Worthen, Mr. Caleb Brown, Mr. John Clifford, Lieut. Benjamin Bachelder and Edward Robie, were chosen to state prices on those articles which had not been named by the convention, and also to carry into execution its recommendations. All means were taken by the people of Candia to aid the government; men, money and rations, were voted with great cheerfulness, and no people were ever more willing and desirous to maintain their full share of the credit and welfare of the whole country

their votes, their instructions, show that they acted with a knowledge of the great events in which they were concerned.

About this time there was a growing dissatisfaction with Mr. Jewett. There was much difficulty in regard to his removal, owing to the mode in which the civil contract between pastor and people was made; there were several offers to Mr. Jewett to induce him to ask a dismission, without success. Reference was once made to Judge Weare for a settlement, and by his advice committees were chosen for mutual conference, and agreement if possible; finally after many plans, the matter was referred to the Hon. Matthew Thornton, with some others and settled. The Parish paid certain

[ocr errors]

elaims of Mr. Jewett and he agreed to leave the ministry in the place. Time has left us nothing in regard to the merits of the controversy which will justify any

comments.

In May 1781, a meeting was called, for the following among other purposes: "to choose one suitable person to represent them in Convention at Concord, on the first Tuesday of June next, to aid in forming a plan of government," and to see if the Parish would intrust a sum of money which had been contributed, to the hands of the deacons that they might procure preaching. The first named object was negatived-the second agreed to. January 7th 1782, deacon Nathaniel Burpee being moderator, it was voted that deacon Stephen Palmer, deacon J. Hills, and Mr. Eleazer Knowles, should be a committee "to treat with the Rev. Mr. Prince, concerning the term of time he will preach with us, and on what condition." After this vote there was an adjournment of ten minutes, when the committee reported that “Mr. Prince would preach with us six or seven years for the improvement of the Parsonage, and a hired hand six months each year, putting the buildings and Parsonage in repair." An agreement was entered into with Mr. Prince accordingly. On the twenty-first day of the same month, a vote was taker on the reception or rejection of the plan of government drawn up at Concord. There were sixty-six votes against, and none for it, A committee of seven was

then chosen to draw 66 up some reasons" upon upon the plan of government and send to the convention at Concord. Lieut. Abraham Fitts was made a delegate to present these reasons, to the convention. In cold weather the town meetings were held at Col. Carr's tavern, there being no way of warming the meeting house, so that many of these deliberations took place there. The judg ment and wit of the freeholders may have been considerably sharpened by occasional draughts of the Colonel's good cheer. Another meeting was called in relation to the form of a State government, to the cus tomary notice for which was appended this postscript:

It is desired, if you have any regard for your own! good, or the good of your posterity, you would universally meet on said day."

The architects who constructed the Parsonage house, or the mason who built the chimneys, did not do it on the most scientific principles, so that the occupant was subjected to that unpleasant thing, a smoky

house. And it follows that the chimneys had to be rebuilt a vote having been passed for the pur pose. In July 1783, some action was taken in regard to finishing galleries in the meeting house, and it was directed that the committee should build a pew in the front galleries from pillar to pillar, for the use of the singers. Here were those ancient tunes performed, the productions of Billings, of Whitaker, of Clarke, and of Kendall. One can almost now hear the fugitive strains

chasing one another, pursuing and pursued, though thể whole compass of the vocal pipes from the deepest base to the shri rele.

Somewhere about this time, steps were taken by the authorities of the tv. to erect at some suitable place within is Imite, that most proper and desirable of puble edifices, a pound, whose high walls and impregnable gate, should be a terror to all evi disposed, and unruly cattle such as were in the habit of rambling unprofitably about the roads, or devising predatory incursions into the newly sown grass land, or the lariant corn fields of the unlucky farmer. For this worthy object, Lieut. Abraham Fitts, Col. John Carr, and Mr. John Clay were chosen a committee, with full power to act in the premises. It was voted that it should be built of timber; if so, it must one day have been rebuilt, for the only thing of the kind existing of late years, was of stone; and in the furor of modern improvement, its very foundations have been removed to make way for sheds, so that where the cattle of a former generation did penance for their misdoings, the horses of to day, are sheltered from the noon-day sun, or the winter's eoid, while their masters hard by tend church, or deliberate on affairs of State. Col. Carr was the first pound keeper, and became to bad cattle what the tithing-man of yore was to naughty little boys at meeting. The office was held in the family until the dismantled walls of the rustic prison ceased to be of use to the town;

and indeed, since my recollection it served only to afford greater facilities, in reaching the cherries which grew near it.

About this time the monetary affairs of the country were in a very bad state, and what with the scarcity of silver and gold, and the depreciated value of paper moneyour good people were almost at their wits' end, while the low price of every thing the farmer had to sell, and the high price of every thing he was obliged to purchase, contributed greatly to his embarrassment. The people of Candia, however, bore it as well as they could, and contented themselves with instructing their representatives how to act in regard to the matter in General Court.

Some time in the year 1789, the engagement of the Parish with the Rev. Mr. Prince, having terminated, a Mr. Howe was hired to preach for six months, on trial; at the expiration of this time, no agreement was made with him by the Parish, and the Rev. Jesse Remington commenced preaching. At a meeting held in 1790, it was voted to give him a call to the ministry, if he would accept their terms, which were as follows: "To give Mr. Remington the use and improvement of the Parsonage lot and buildings, during his ministry among us, and sixty pounds lawful money, annually, and likewise twenty cords of wood yearly hauled to the Parsonage house, eight or twelve feet long. Said wood is to be cut and hauled to the Parsonage house, or where

« ZurückWeiter »