Men for that purpose but such were their unhappy Circumstances at that Time by Reason of the intire failure of the old continental Currency & the State of the New Emission Money that they were absolutely unable to furnish the Soldiers by them engaged with sufficient Sums of hard Money to defrey their Expences from thence to the continental Army tho the greatest Exertions were made for the purpose The Reason of their Failure was the Want of hard Money, there not being at that Time within the County a sufficient Sum of that Money to defrey the said Expences and such was the Embarisment of Trade their Coasts being at that Time unusually infested with British Privateers as rendred them utterly unable to procure hard Money from the places where it circulated which continued nearly Six Months without much Alteration in Consequence of which said Towns also fell & still remain greatly in the Arrear in payment of their Taxes Your Mem° beg leave to mention their service to the Commonwealth of the present War at all other Times said County has been among the foremost in furnishing Soldiers for the Continental Army notwithstanding the Difficulties they have laboured under & that the Circumstances of said County are distressing at present on various Accounts. Your Mem° are of Opinion that the Exaction of Penalties from a People in Distress for not doing what was not in their power to perform would greatly tend to discourage them & so operate to the Disadvantage of the Commonwealth Wherefore your Mem° pray that the peculiar Case & Circumstances of said Towns may be duly considered & that they may be exempted from any Penalties which they may have incurred for not furnishing the Soldiers required of them by said Resolve or that Relief may be granted them in such other Way as the Court in their Wisdom & Goodness may think proper & your Mem° as in Duty bound will ever pray &c

Nath' Wells, Edwd Grow, Simon Frye

Action on Foregoing.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

In the House of Representatives October 30th 1782. On the petition of Nathaniel Wells Esq' and others in behalf of the County of York setting forth that, for the want of a Circulating medium and from other peculiar Difficulties attending them it was not in their power to raise the three months men called for, to serve in the Continental Army July A. D. 1781: tho they used their utmost Exertions to effect the same & praying that the penalty for not raising a part of said men may be remitted to them Resolved that the prayer of said petition be so far granted that a fifth part of said penalty be remitted to the several towns in said County and that the present towns in said County be fined & pay sixteen pounds per man for every man not raised according to the resolve for raising said men and assessed accordingly in the tax next to be issued

Memorial Selectmen of Boothbay.

To the Honorable the Senate & House of Representatives for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

We the Selectmen of the Township of Boothbay beg leave to represent to your Honors the confus'd and irregular manner in which the Town papers ly at present on account of the shift of Officers last March meeting in particular the Treasurer we cannot find any regularity in the Treasurers Books no proper Settlement from the beginning to end of it & the former Treasurer after a lawful Demand of him to Deliver up the receipts & other papers in his hands belonging to the Town has absolutely refus'd, which occasions great inconveniences for which reason we wou'd beg your honors to take the matter into your wise consideration & if your Honors should think proper we would beg that you would grant or

appoint a Committee in Sum of the Neighbouring Towns to inquire into this matter & see that there is a proper Settlement of our Towns Accounts-We wou'd likewise represent to your honors the Obstinacy of your Militia Officers in this Town, they have taken several Fines from men that they Draughted & cou'd not go into the service & have never accounted with the Treasurer for one Farthing since the War which seems to us to be very unjust We wou'd beg therefore that if your honors shou'd appoint a Committee as above that they may be empowered & directed to call the Militia Officers to account Respecting the fines & see that a proper settlement is made. We would likewise represent to your Honors the great inconvenience of having two Companies of Militia in this little poor Town where there is not more than one Company of able bodied Men, having so many Officers screen'd from Draughts comes very heavy on the remainder. We would therefore beg if your Honors think proper to bring the Militia in this Town into one Company

Hoping your Honors will grant this our most ernest petition

We are your Honors Most Obedient Humble Servts

Benja Sawyer
John Alley

}

Major part of the Select men of Boothbay

Boothbay Oct 25th 1782

Memorial James Bowdoin et als.

To the Honorable the Senate and the Honorable the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court Assembled at Boston

The Memorial of James Bowdoin, David Jeffries and James Bowdoin jun" for themselves and others, humbly sheweth,

That your Memorialists have just been accidentally informed, that in consequence of a Petition from Mr Isaac Snow in behalf of the Town of Harpswell in the County of Cumberland, your Honors have been pleased to pass a Resolve, "that the Town of Harpswell be abated five shillings in the thousand pounds of the last valuation, and that the same be laid on a Plantation called West Bowdoinham in the County of Lincoln."

On your Memorialists being thus informed, they procured a Copy of Mr Snow's said Petition, and the Courts doings thereon, and beg leave to observe, that in the said Petition Mr Snow represents "That in the last valuation, the said Town of Harpswell was assessed in an undue proportion with the other Towns in the said County of Cumberland, and therefore prays a Committee may be appointed to inquire into the Premises, and relieve the said Town." Whereupon a Committee of the honorable House was appointed, and on the Second Instant the Resolve aforesaid passed in the House: which appears to be essentially different from what it was as first offered to the honorable house, and probably as first past by them, for it then stood that the same five shillings be laid on a Plantation called Otisfield in the said County of Cumberland. This corresponded with the idea held up in Mr Snow's petition, grounding the prayer for relief on the undue proportion assessed on Harpswell compared with the other Towns in Cumberland. But Otisfield (and doubtless other Towns in Cumberland) not choosing to take any part of Harpswell tax, so lately setled by the last general valuation, and having friends in the General Court, was not subjected to said Tax. This therefore probably induced M' Snow to wish for some other object of taxation in any other County, and it happened very fortunate for him, that a Number of People living adjoining to the West of Bowdoinham in the County of Lincoln, and from that circumstance called West Bowdoin

ham, prepared a Petition to the General Court, and employed Mr Snow (as we are informed) to present the same at the last Sitting: but there not being a sufficient number of Signers, or for some other reason, it was deferred: and a Petition at the present session of the Court has appeared with the names of Thirty two Individuals thereto, including Sons with their Fathers, being the Petition of Benjamin Jaques and others, praying that a certain Tract therein described may be Incorporated; of which petition, and also of Mr Snow's Proceedings in the General Court relative to the Transfer of said Tax, your Memorialists humbly conceive, they ought to have been notified: for your Honours are fully Sensible, that in all Petitions to the General Court, where the Prayer can any way affect the Property or Privilidges of other persons than the Petitioners, it has been the Established Practice of the General Court, founded on the Constitution, and in the highest reason and fitness of things, to order a notification of the adverse party that the Court being duly informed in all Circumstances, might do what would be just between the Parties.

But the said Mr Snow, who is the Representative from Harpswell, have found means of conducting this business in such a covered manner, that we have but just come to the knowledge of it; By which means, in the present case, only one of the Parties has been heard! And the Resolve aforesaid has Subjected your Memorialists property to be taken away on the exparte representation aforesaid; for which Purpose, there is a Clause inserted in the Tax Bill, now under the Consideration of your Honors, laying a Tax of fifty pounds on what is called Herein the New Plantation of West Bowdoinham, and relieving Harpswell of the same Sum.— This having been obtained in such a covered, underhand, and extraordinary manner, the bare mentioning of it, your Memorialists humbly conceive, will induce your Honors to