1

also fifteen rights for themselves, and two for their attornies, all free from taxes until sold, or occupied. Upon this plan the settlements progressed rapidly, and the colony became more tranquil, and supported the measure.

The heirs of Allen took alarm at the measures of the speculators, and revived their claim, and by their advertisements and threats, obstructed the settlements in some measure. In addition to these claims, a new embarrassment sprang up at this time, between the crown and the speculators, in locating these lands. The grant to Mason, was an extent of sixty miles from the sea, upon the east and west, and sixty miles upon the north and south lines, and the speculators claimed an extent of sixty miles from the sea to the centre of the cross line, which should unite the other two lines; this would make the cross line a curve, and the running out this line, opened a new controversy, which continued down to the close of the Revolution.

In the midst of these controversies, sprang up a contention with Massachusetts, about the support of Fort Dummer, which, although upon the west side of Connecticut River, was claimed as within the limits of New-Hampshire, after the boundary line was run out. Massachusetts had built and supported this fort to this time, and New-Hampshire claimed that she should continue to support it, or throw it upon the crown. Here they were at issue. To prevent the adoption of Fort Dummer, several new members who had been elected to the assembly, were rejected by the house, upon a suspicion that they might favour the adoption; which opened a new controversy, that became sharp between the governor and the house; but the pressing exigencies of the war, obliged the governor to comply.

As soon as the war was closed, the governor dissolved this assembly, and ordered new writs of election to be is+ sued, particularly to the rejected towns, and a new assembly was chosen, and the old controversy revived. When

the assembly were convened, and had chosen their speaker, the governor negatived their choice. This opened a controversy which was prolonged three years by adjournments monthly, and prorogations, to the suppression of all the ordinary business of the colony: both parties had taken their ground, and both were firm. This threw the affairs of the colony into confusion; their paper money had depreciated down to fifty for one, this reduced the governor's salary, and all other salaries, one half. The affairs of the treasury were at a stand-the soldiers remained unpaid, the recorder's office had closed, from the failure of his reappointment, and all the business of the assembly was at a stand, because the governor had negatived their speaker. This threw a reproach upon the colony, both in England and America, and they were considered as in a state of actual bellion.

re

In the midst of this confusion, Massachusetts urged her clains, for the repayment of the charges of maintaining Fort Duinmer, and threatened in case of refusal or delay, to indemnify herself, by sequestering a large district of the adjoining wild lands. Parliament, at the same time, claimed that New-Hampshire should redeem her paper money, with the specie paid her by the crown, for the charges of the expedition to Louisburg; but she was not ready, and her agent deposited the money in the Bank of England, where it lay with a loss of interest of nine hundred pounds per annum. The odium of this measure fell on the governor, and on the agent; all which widened the breach and at the same time the Board of Trade summoned Thomlinson, the agent of the colony in London, to attend the Board, when, upon a full enquiry, they justified the governor, as acting agreeable to his instructions, and condemned the house of assembly, and the agent sent out their decision to the governor, with advice to comply with the decision. This advice was not well received; the house sent

out a complaint to his, majesty against the governor, with an intent to remove him, and obtain a man more to their choice for a successor; but the absurdity of the measure defeated itself, and the complaint was never presented.

In 1752, the time of this assembly expired by law, and a new one was chosen in the same manner; they met, with a conciliatory disposition; elected a speaker, who was accepted, and the whole affairs of the deranged colony, were soon restored to their former order, and the money taken from the Bank in England, and vested in the public funds. The controversy about Fort Dummer was settled, and the adjacent lands were granted in townships, upon both sides of Connecticut River, to their former claimants, when under Massachusetts, 1752.

Peace had been restored in 1748, and the settlements were now progressing rapidly: a plan was projectie to extend the settlements upon Connecticut River, as far P as the Cohos; and a party sent out to explore the country, and lay out the townships; but the Indians refuse to sell the land, and remonstrated against the settlement, and it failed for this time. The jealousy of the Indians was however so much alarmed, that they began their ravages upon the frontier settlements, and killed and carried off several settlers, which caused a retaliation, and several Indians were killed;-blood was spilt, and war was renewed; but the government of Massachusetts interfered, and held a conference with the eastern Indians, and sent a present to the contending tribe; which they accepted, and ratified the peace of 1749; and harmony was again restored, 1753.

REMARKS.

Thus we have seen how the corruptions of the human heart, could not suffer the spirit of man to be at rest, even in this favoured land, of civil and religious liberty. God had given to his church in the wilderness, a goodly land;

had driven out the heathen from before them, had prospered, and multiplied them greatly, had enlarged their borders, and multiplied his churches; and above all, had poured out his holy spirit upon this people in copious showers of divine grace, and given them all things richly to enjoy: yet we have seen how unmindful they were of the blessings received. In the colony of Connecticut the churches had lifted up a standard of persecution; and christians of the same denomination, of the same family, and even of the same church and communion, were persecuting each other with all bitterness, wrath, and even malice; and were turning away, and even grieving the holy spirit, by their hard speeches, and contentious lives. In Massachusetts. the same corruptions of the human heart have been witnessed, but not to the same degree, in the churches, as in Connecticut; here their contentions were turned more to their secular affairs, and generally spent themselves upon their governors. In New-Hampshire the affaris of state engrossed all their hearts: involved in a labyrinth of claims and controversies, they found no time to attend to the affairs of the church; God was not in all their thoughts, and he had bestowed upon them no part of that shower of his divine grace, with which he had so plentifully watered the rest of his garden. This contentious spirit in New-England, had hitherto been controuled by the Indian wars, so far as to prevent their drawing the sword upon each other, and destroying the peace of the church and the liberty of the state, by a civil war, which must have ended in a tyranical usurpation; but even these had become ineffectual, and nothing short of the war, which God was about to bring upon them, could have united these discordant interests, and have opened the way for one general co-operation.

CHAPTER XXXII.

CONNECTICUT CONTINUED.-SETTLEMENT OF THE CONTESTED CLAIMS BETWEEN MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT.,

*』;

ONE of the conditions stipulated between Massachusetts and Connecticut, when they settled their boundary line, was that whatever town might fall within the colony of Connecticut, which had been settled by Massachusetts, should be held under their former jurisdiction; but when the towns of Woodstock, Somers, Enfield, and Suffield, which had belonged to Massachusetts, found themselves included within the Colony of Connecticut, they soon felt the difference between a crown governor and a colonial governor, a man of their choice; and expressed their feelings, and their uneasiness, by a memorial to the General Assembly of Connecticut, May 1747, praying to be admitted to their just share of the charter of the colony, and to all the liberties and privileges thereunto belonging. This memorial was favourably received, and commissioners were appointed by the assembly to confer with com." missioners of Massachusetts, upon the prayer of the memorial. The colonies entered into a negociation which spun out two years, without shewing any prospect of accomplishing the object desired; when the memorialists again urged their claims and demands, upon their chartered rights, with so much warmth, that that the colony set aside the conditions stipulated with Massachusetts, with the following resolve-"That as it did not appear that ever the said agreement had received, so it never ought to receive the royal confirmation; and that as the respective govern-' ments could not give, exchange, or alter their jurisdiction; so that the said agreement, so far as it respects jurisdiction, is void and therefore this assembly do declare that