USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. I > Part 37
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Remarks.
In no other part of New-England, had the people devoted themselves so entirely to the peltry and fur trade, as they had within the precincts of this patent. Thirty-four years, it had been well improved by the parent colony ; within which period, her emoluments and net gains must have exceeded considerably in the aggregate, £1,600 sterling :¿ to which is to be added, the price of sale. There was no effort nor intent to establish a plantation upon the river. The government here was of a non- descript character, under which neither the laws nor the rulers were respected ; and many of the residents were transient people and hunters. The colony at New-Plymouth had no surplus population to transplant into these parts ; and though the territory of the patent embraced 700 square miles, there were at this period found within it of white people, not more, probably than 300 souls. Surely it is to be lamented, that the laudable en- deavors, made more than half a century before, to plant a colony within the limits of this territory, should never have been effectu- ally revived ; and that the patent itself, after the sale, was in fact permitted to sink so deep in oblivion, as to exhibit only a few settlements, fewer surveys, § and a small number of the owners' names, for the greater part of an hundred years.
* 1 Mass. Rep. p. 484 -Prop. of Kennebeck v. Call .- This Indenture was: recorded in the county of York, A. D. 1719.
t Sullivan, p. 117, 304. The assignees erected a fort in 1662, at " Mus- quequoite."-[Maquoit.]
# Joseph Bane, says, he was taken captive by the Indians, A. D. 1692, was with them 8 years; learned their language ; they called the mouth of the Kennebeck-river, "Sunkadarunk ;" and the Plymouth trading house was at " Cushenock."-Kennebeck Claims.
§ Some surveys by Heath in 1719; and by Jones in 1731.
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CHAPTER XII.
The statute-law and government of Massachusetts transfered to Maine-Elections of public officers-Courts-County officers- Towns, their duties and powers-The Militia system-General liberties-Particular laws-Marriage-Sabbath-Ecclesiastical affairs-Cambridge platform-Support of the ministry-Heresy, -especially of the Baptists, Jesuits and Quakers-Crimes and punishments-Employments-Humane laws -- Education- Debtors-Taverns-Torture-Taxation and assessments.
THE adoption or subjugation of the western parts of Maine, A. D. 1640 was followed by a train of events, as well as attended by a mul- to 1660. tiplicity of circumstances, unusually important to the Province. Maine con- nected with
A political connexion was formed, which, with some interruption Massachu- lasted about an hundred and sixty-seven years. The territorial setts. jurisdiction, though at first limited, was from time to time, ex- tended ; till it embraced the whole seaboard eastward, even to Passamaquoddy. The laws, regulations and politics of Massa- chusetts were immediately received by the adopted people; and they all became partakers in the administration of civil affairs.
The code of statute-law in that government, formed since the Statute- first settlement of the colony and of late considerably improved, law. was, in a few subsequent years, thought to be quite complete in itself, and in its adaptation to the people's interests, habits and wants .* To become acquainted with this system of political and legal regulations, by which the new subjects of them were to be ruled, was indispensable. For according to an adage of the ' times, no one might be endamaged under color of law or coun- ' tenance of authority, unless in virtue of some legislative enact- ' ment sufficiently published ;' and when the law was defective, resort was directed "to the word of God."+ They also deserve the more consideration and particularity, because, to them are
* Between 1640 and 1660, the General Court completed a system of laws and government, which had become quite perfect .- Hutchinson's Hist. p. 10, 11. t Colony Laws, A. D. 1641, p. 44.
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A. D. 1640 traced the origin and foundation of successive laws and measures, to 1660.
even to the present period.
At the May session of the General Court, in 1654, next after the submission of the western parts of Maine-a committee of three was appointed to examine and arrange all the Legislative laws and ordinances, both written and printed ; and prepare " fit titles and tables for ready recourse to any particular." A vol- ume was afterwards published ;* and the General Court ordered, that all new laws enacted, should, within ten days after the ses- sion closed, be printed, and a copy distributed to every magis- trate, court, and town, within the colony.
System of According to the articles and provisions of the colony char- government. ter, the government was administered by a Governor, Deputy- Governor-council of eighteen assistants, and house of deputies ; -all of whom were chosen by a free suffrage of the people.t
Free suffra- ges.
Freemen only were voters ; and as early as May 1631, it was ordained, that none other than church-members should be freemen ; and that they only, after 1636, might be elected to any office civil or military. Yet the severity of the law was miti- gated towards the eastern people upon their submission ; and church-membership was never a prerequisite in Maine, to qualify and entitle a man to the privilege of free suffrage. All who were admitted freemen took the oath of allegiance, either at the annual Court of Elections in Boston, or in the County Courts, where their names were recorded by the clerk, and transmitted to the Secretary of the colony ; who kept lists of all the free- men, in the registry of the General Court.}
Public Off- cers.
The Governor, Deputy-Governor, Major-General of all the militia, the Country-Treasurer, the Secretary, Admiral, and two Commissioners of the United Colonies§ were called " General Officers," and were annually elected by the freemen at large, on the last Wednesday of May. ||
On election days, the Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assis-
* 1 Mass. Rec. p. 200.
+ They all sat together till A. D. 1644; when the Council and House separated ; and each had afterwards a negative upon the other .- Winth. Jour. p. 323,-Chalmers, p. 166.
# In May, 1666, the names of the freemen were by law sent to the clerks of the shires, and the County Courts authorized to admit freemen, 3- Mass. Rec. p. 224.
§ These were chosen by the General Court, till A. D. 1646. || Patent,
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tants chosen the preceding year, and the Deputies newly elect- A. D. 1640 ed, held a session together, usually in a meeting-house of Boston, to 1660. where they received from each freeman of the colony present, a Election. General written ballot for the candidates, only one being voted for at the same time. In the exercise of this franchise, the voters advanced through one aisle or avenue, and laid their ballots upon the table, departing through another .* Such freemen as did not choose to attend, were permitted to give their votes in their respective towns, to their deputy in the constable's presence ; which, being sealed, were transmitted to the election-table, with a list of the freemen's names who had so voted.+ Generally, the person's name voted for was upon the ballot ; sometimes, however, a candi- date was put in nomination, when a ballot marked was counted for him, and a blank ballot against him.
In the choice of Assistants, there were some peculiarities. Assistants. The freemen of every town were convened, the first week in every April, by the constable ; when they voted for any num- ber of Assistants, they chose to have, never exceeding eighteen, The whole were examined by the Governor and Council early in May and published ; and those who had the greatest number of votes were declared to be in nomination. On the day of election, the name of each candidate on the list was severally announced, and the freemen voted by way of corns and beans ; the former being counted for him and the latter against him. The freemen who exercised the right of suffrage at home, voted in the same manner for Assistants, transmitting their votes, sealed and labelled, to the election-table, For thirty years, only fourteen were annu- ally chosen ; the number was then increased to eighteen ;} and they, the Governor, and Deputy-Governor, were collectively de- nominated " Magistrates."
The Deputies or Representatives to the General Court were elected by towns. No town could send more than two. If it atives. contained not above 20 freemen, it could elect one only ; if less than ten, it was allowed none, though it might join in voting for Deputies with the freemen of the next town. Great latitude was given in the selection of candidates ; for a town might elect any freeman within the colony, its representative ; and these choices
* Ogilby, p. 163. t Col. Laws, A. D. 1636, p. 42.
# After August, 1661, eighteen were annually chosen.
Represent-
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A. D. 1640 of non-residents were frequent. But no one could be a Deputy to 1660. who was " unsound in the main points of the christian religion, " as held forth and acknowledged by the generality of the pro- " testant orthodox writers."*
Under the colonial charter, the whole number of deputies in any one year, never exceeded 52, nor were less than 25 ; and Maine at no time after the connexion, returned more than four, or possibly five, though a greater number of towns were at dif- ferent times represented.
The Judici- ary.
The Judiciary power was vested in three tribunals, 1. the Court of Magistrates, or Assistants ; 2. the County Courts ; 3. the single magistrate's or three Commissioners' Court.
Superior Court.
The Court of Magistrates, constituted of the Governor, Dep- uty-Governor and Assistants, was the highest judicial tribunal in the colony ; having jurisdiction of all capital crimes, cases of divorce, and appeals from inferior courts. Their sessions were semi-annual, in the spring and autumn, and always in Boston. A jury was empanneled as early as May, 1631 ; and after 1634, the freemen in their respective towns and plantations chose their jurymen, ¿ as they did their municipal officers.
County Court.
The County Court was holden by the resident magistrate within the shire, or such other, as the General Court might de- signate ; assisted by four such freemen of worth and intelligence within the several counties, as the towns in their annual meetings might select or nominate, and the legislature approve and put into the commission, called "Associates." Of the five, three formed a quorum, provided one at least was a magistrate. The sessions of this court in Maine, were twice every year. They appointed their own clerks or recorders, summoned juries of in- quest and of trials, and had jurisdiction of probate matters, of all causes civil above 40s, all criminal cases not capital, and others not reserved to the Court of "Assistants."§
The third and lowest judicial court in the colony, had jurisdic- tion of all civil controversies within the county, wherein the sum
* Col. Laws, p. 42-92-98-117 .- 2 Mass. Rec. p. 238 .- A day's absence of a deputy, was fined 20s.
{ In 1654, there were 40; in 1662, only 27. In 1666-7-8, there were none from Maine, though in 1668, there were 50 members. In the next 10 years there were never so many as 50, except A. D. 1671-2, there were 51.
# 1 Mass. Rec. p. 76.
§ Col. Laws, p. 67-86.
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demanded did not exceed 40 shillings, and it might fine in crim- A. D 1640 inal cases to that amount. It was holden by a single magistrate to 1660. without a jury, in the town where he resided .- Three commis- trate's A magis- sioners also, if it were required, were appointed# by the Court of Court. Assistants, or County Court, in towns where no magistrate resid- ed, to determine those small causes; and if any Commissioner was interested, a selectman took his place. Appeals lay from decisions in these petty tribunals, to the County Court.
The County-officers were, 1. a marshal, who was the execu- County Of- tive officer of the county ; 2. the County-treasurer,-both officers. whom were elected annually by the freemen in towns, and 3. the clerk, or recorder of the shire, t appointed by the County Court, who was by an ordinance of 1642, made ex officio the register of deeds, which had previously been recorded since 1634, in town books.
Next to the regulations of counties, we ought to mention those Towns and of towns ; for the original of almost all political measures and cers. their Offi- movements, might at this early period, be traced to the primary assemblies in these municipal corporations. Here the public monies were raised and collected ; officers of trust and honor were voted for ; and the various interests of society promoted and guarded. The town officers in these early times, were, 1. the selectmen, who had in trust, the prudentials of the town and assessed the taxes; 2. constables, whose official ensign was " a black staff," and whose business it was to warn town meetings, collect taxes, serve the smaller legal processes, raise " hue and cry," and take inquests on dead bodies ; 3. clerk of the writs, who kept the town records, signed legal pre- cepts, returnable before single magistrates or town commission- ers, and recorded births and deaths ; 4. surveyors of highways ; 5. sealers of weights and measures ;} and 6, tything-men-all chosen by their townsmen. Among the duties enjoined upon towns, they were required to make and amend their highways and bridges ; and after 1659, to support their poor : also to per-
* This was repealed in 1657, except as to Boston and Yorkshire .- 2 Mass. Rec. p. 332. As to the choice of Associates-Ib p. 32. They were put into the " Commission."-4 Mass. Rec. p. 2-3 .- 2 Hutch. Ilist. p. 32.
¿ His records were made by law, 1650, conclusive evidence .- 2 Mass. Rec. p. 25.
į In 1674, F. Littlefield was indicted at York, for want of scales and weights in his mill as the law directs.
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THE HISTORY
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A. D. 1640 ambulate the town lines once in three years; and as early as to 1660.
1631-5, to procure a standard of weights and measures .*
Militia.
The military was a very important department in the govern- ment. All able bodied freemen and others, who had taken " the oath of residents," belonged to the trainbands. Those, in a town, formed a company ; and if their number were 64, they were en- titled to a captain, subalterns and non-commissioned officers ; otherwise they were exercised by sergeants, or perhaps by a sub- altern. Till 1658, the captain, lieutenant and ensign, were elected by the freemen in town meeting ; afterwards, they were elected by their respective companies ; and in both cases, the choice was presented to the County Court, which either confirmed it, or rejected it and ordered another election.+
-
The soldiery of each county formed a regiment,į which was commanded by a sergeant-major, chosen by the freemen of the same county in town meetings. Each regiment was mustered once in three years : and at the head of all the militia in the colony, was a Major-General, § elected, as previously stated, like the Governor, by the freemen at large. Ensigns and all superior officers, were at a subsequent period, commissioned by the Gen- eral Court.
The militia were required to train by companies, six times in a year ; and at least two thirds of the soldiers were required to have muskets, and be furnished with bandoleers; the resi- due might serve with pikes, || provided they had "corselets and headpieces."
But all these were only the more prominent features of the system, devised and embraced by the early colonists. They, as emigrants, felt no veneration,-they cherished no love for the
* They were first sealed by those of the Governor's, brought from Eng- land ; and in 1635, each town was required to have a bushel, peck, and the aliquot-weights from 1 lb. to 14; also a " mete yard,"-to be sealed by the standard in Boston, kept by James Pen, the marshal .- 1 Mass. Rec. p. 46- 103. + Col. Laws, p. 42-128 -2 Mass. Rec. p. 371.
# In 1639, there were in Massachusetts, 2 Regiments, and 1,000 men .-- Winth. Jour. p. 176 .- In 1671, there were 6 Regiments including one in Yorkshire.
§ The military, till 1635-6, were under the Governor, Deputy Governor, and nine Commissioners, who could try offenders by Court-martial and put to death .- 1 Mass. Rec. p. 93-142.
!! There were no pikemen iu King Philip's war .- Hutch. Coll. p. 435.
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establishments in the country they had left. Their General A. D. 1640 Court legislated upon almost every subject, which could anywise to 1660. concern the people in the various conditions of life. In 1641, regulations. Laws and when so many sound and liberal provisions received the sanction of the legislature, it was ordained, that 21 years should be the lawful age of all persons for transacting business : and with one general sweep, all impediments to the alienation of property- all feudal or servile burdens, so common in England, were wholly disallowed ; and full liberty given for the conveyance of estates, by deed, will, or otherwise, without forfeiture upon the convic- tion of any crime, or offence whatever .*
Equal rights and rational liberty were the arteries of their whole civil system. Every one was free to hunt in the forests, to fish in the tide-waters and the great interior ponds, and to fowl in either ; and also at his pleasure to remove with his family to any other place. No soldier was obliged to go out of his county to do military duty, nor out of the jurisdiction in actual service. Slavery and bondage were prohibited ; and if any one was holden by purchase, he was to be treated with all the kind- ness prescribed in the Divine law.
Our ancestors, for the sake of freedom in matters of religion, are well known to have emigrated to this country ; and it is not surprising, therefore, that such institutions as marriage and the sabbath,-the subjects of church-establishments, and orthodox faith, should have engaged their early and perpetual attention. New provisions, and those differing from the laws and usages of the mother country, were intended to be drawn from the scriptures. All christian fugitives from famine and persecution were by law to be succored, and have the charities extended to them, as enjoin- ed in the Gospel,-also strangers were to have the same measure of justice as freemen.
Marriage,+ every where a divine and sacred ordinance, was never to be contracted by maidens, without the parents' or guar- dians' approbation. Till that was obtained, all the arts of ad- dress employed in a secret manner, to win a female's affection, were declared by the legislature to be subversive of parental
* Colony Laws, p. 44.
+ Before there was any Colony law, marriage was solemnized by the Governor and a minister of the gospel .- Winthrop's Jour. p. 20. VOL. I. 35
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A. D. 1640 authority and the divine honor, and were actually made a fina- to 1660.
ble offence. The disposal of children in marriage was declared Laws and regulations. to be committed to the care and discretion of parents by God himself. Magistrates, and none other, were authorized to solemn- ize marriages, till 1656, when the power was given also to town commissioners, where no magistrate resided ; yet there was a law as early as 1639, forbidding parties to marry, before their intentions had been published in three public meetings, or posted fourteen days.
The Sabbath, instituted likewise by Divine authority, was esteemed a day of holy rest ; and several strict legislative provis- ions were made for the sacred observance of it. The time limited was from midnight preceding, to that following the day ; attendance upon public worship was enjoined ; absences punisha- ble ; and servile labor, recreation and travelling strictly forbidden.
Ecclesiasti · cal affairs.
The Church relations, deemed by the primary colonists so high- ly important, were evidently intended to be formed and established upon free and scriptural principles. For it was resolved by the legislature, that " no injunction might be put either upon any church, or its officers or members in point of doctrine, worship or discipline, whether for substance or circumstance, besides the institution of the Lord."* In accordance with this freedom, 'all ' the people of God, who were orthodox in their sentiments and ' not scandalous in their lives, were encouraged by a law, A. D. ' 1641, solemnly to congregate and embody themselves into a ' church estate ; and authorized to elect and ordain their officers, ' provided they were able, pious and orthodox ; and to admit, ' discipline, or excommunicate their members; yet no church ' censure was ever to affect any man's property, civil dignity, of- " fice, or authority.' In this way the churches were purely con- gregational, formed upon principles of equality, and independentt of each other.
But enured as the colonists were in their native country to the connexion of church and state, they knew not how to keep them entirely separate. They said, ' it was the duty of the civil author- 'ity, to see the rules and ordinances of the gospel observed ac- ' cording to the scriptures ;' and they permitted no church to be formed without the approbation of three magistrates.
* Col. Laws, p. 101-2.
+ Hence sometimes called " Independents."
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Through this avenue once opened, a current of legislation was A. D. 1640 continually flowing into the pale of the church ; many ultimately lo 1660. suffering death from its violence. A synod, convened in 1646, at Cambridge, by direction of the legislature, and protracted by adjournments about two years, agreed at length upon a code of ecclesiastical rules, or articles of discipline, among the churches, which were submitted to them and to the General Court. They consisted of 17 chapters, and have been denominated " The Cambridge Cambridge Platform ;"-being subsequently the ecclesiastical Platform. constitutions through the New-England churches, inasmuch as they generally adopted them .*
In connexion with this subject, we may take notice of the pro- visions made by law for the maintenance of an orthodox min- istry. By an ordinance of 1654, after the admission of Maine, in which less attention had been paid to religious instruction than in some other parts-every County Court was ordered to appoint what support a town or congregation should render their minister ; and if it were not voluntarily provided and paid, it was to be assessed and collected like other taxes ;f and all towns were especially required by law, to furnish their respective ministers with ' convenient habitations.'
But to affirm that man is justified by his own works, and not Heresy. by Christ's righteousness, or to deny the immortality of the soul, -the resurrection of the body,-the morality of the fourth commandment,-or the ordinance or authority of magistracy- was harshly denominated, in a law of 1644, to be " damnable heresies," tending to subvert the Christian faith, and to destroy the souls of men. So early was intolerance only another term for what they erroneously considered a part of orthodoxy ; and it is the more remarkable, that the churchmen and legislators of those times should undertake to check, control or condemn the religious opinions of others, since they themselves had so lately come hither for the sake of enjoying freedom in matters of faith, worship and duty.
The heretical sect first assailed by the General Court were the Baptists .- They were found to have originated about a century
* 2 Mather's Magnal. b. v. Ed. 1820-p. 103-203, where the chapters are entire .- 1 Belk. N. H. p. 70-1 .- In some of the articles, " there is an " appearance of liberty and tenderness, but none in reality."
t A. D. 1654 .- 2 Mass. Rec. p. 230.
Baptists.
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A. D. 1640 before, and were declared to be incendiaries in church and state ; to 1660. denying the lawfulness of wars, and the baptism of infants .* In 1646, it was made highly penal for men to withhold their children from that ordinance, or to leave the congregation when they were baptised. One Painter was the first who suffered. Con- victed of a refusal to permit the baptism of his child, he was publicly whipped ; and within twenty years, before the persecution ceased, about thirty were either fined, whipped or banished, and a few were executed.
Jesuits.
Next, the General Court, believing, as they said, the wars in Europe to be chiefly fomented by the Jesuits, devoted to the religion and court of Rome, ordered in 1647, every ecclesiastic of that order, coming within the colony, to be banished, unless he was a public messenger, and even then, if he behaved offen- sively.+ No one is known to have suffered under this law, though frequent attempts were made to seize such of them, as were missionaries among the Indians.
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