USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Plymouth > History of Plymouth, New Hampshire; vol. I. Narrative--vol. II. Genealogies, Volume I > Part 18
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In response to precepts issued for the election of delegates, a convention to revise the constitution assembled in Concord the first Wednesday in September, 1791, of which Samuel Livermore of Holderness was the president. Plymouth and Rumney then con- stituted a representative district. The delegate was Dr. John Rogers of this town. A journal of the convention is found in Volume X, State Papers. Dr. Rogers voted in the affirmative, and in a minority upon the propositions to increase the number of senators and to eliminate the words " Shall be of the Protestant religion." He voted with the majority in striking out the provi- sions requiring the chief executive to preside in the senate and to substitute the name of governor for president of the State. The
203
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
amended constitution was twice submitted. The vote of Plymouth on the second submission was eleven for adoption and fifteen against.
The constitution of 1783, amended 1792, was the fundamental law of the State until the amendment of 1851. At frequent inter- vals the people were given an opportunity to order the calling of a convention for revision and continued for many years to vote decisively against the proposition. The following are the dates of the act submitting the question of calling a convention, the date of the town meeting in Plymouth, and the vote of the town: -
December 13, 1799
March 10, 1800
Yes 0 No 94
June 11, 1806
March 10, 1806
Yes
0 No 83
June 24, 1813
March 8, 1814 Yes 1 No 58
December 11, 1820
March 13, 1821 Yes
34 No 20
January 5, 1833
March 12, 1833
Yes 34 No 49
July 6, 1833
March 11, 1834
Yes 41 No 78
July 1, 1837
March 13, 1838
Yes 75 No 85
June 19, 1844
November 4, 1844
Yes 39 No 114
July 10, 1846
March 9, 1847
Yes 54
No
2
July 7, 1849
March 12, 1850
Yes 158
No 58
In March, 1850, for the first time in many years, the State voted in the affirmative. There were 28,877 votes for and 14,482 against calling a convention. The convention assembled and organized at Concord, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1850, with Frank- lin Pierce, president, and Thomas J. Whipple, secretary. Rev. William Nelson was the delegate from Plymouth, serving with credit to himself and honor to the town. Fifteen amendments were submitted for approval or rejection by the people. The vote upon the proposed amendments was taken March 11, 1851. Every amendment was rejected by the voters of the State. The vote in Plymouth upon the several propositions was: -
1 Amendments to bill of rights 38 yes 188 no
2 Biennial Election of House of Representatives &c.
19 210
3 Thirty Senators biennially elected
26
200
4 A lieutenant governor, biennially elected
27 202
5 Biennial elections and sessions 13 216
204
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
6 Many changes in the appointment and election of officials
27 yes 200 no
7 Trial Justices
34
195
8 Abolition of religious test and property qualification 33 196
9 Legislative submission of proposed amendments 31 196
10 Election by the people of judges and attorney general 17
211
11 Superintendent of public instruction created
18
209
12 Commission of agriculture created 13
22
205
14 Abolition of Executive Council
33
194
15 Several minor amendments jointly submitted
22
202
The constitutional convention reassembled April 16, 1851, and proceeded to canvass the vote of the State upon the several pro- posed amendments. None having been approved, the convention resubmitted the eighth and ninth amendments. By a division of the eighth there were three propositions submitted to the people. The vote was taken throughout the State March 9, 1852. The vote of Plymouth follows: -
1 Abolition of the religious test 55 yes 19 no
2 Abolition of property qualification 29 48
3 Legislative submission of proposed amendments 30
31
The second proposed amendment only was approved and rati- fied. The vote of the State was 15,297 for ratification and 5,799 opposed.
The next convention was called in accordance with a vote taken in March, 1776. Upon the question of the expediency of calling a convention, the town of Plymouth did not vote March, 1858, March, 1861, March, 1863, November, 1864. At meeting as- sembled Nov. 3, 1868, the town gave 1 vote in favor of calling a convention and 124 against, and in March, 1870, the town voted to dismiss the article of the warrant. March, 1876, there were 64 votes for and 99 against a convention. The calling of a convention was approved by a total vote in the State of 28,971 to 10,912, and the sixth constitutional convention assembled at Concord, Dec. 6, 1876. The delegates from Plymouth were Joseph Burrows and Nathan H. Weeks. Mr. Burrows was one
215
13 Provision for elections by plurality
205
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
of the committee on future amendments of the constitution and an able advocate of several propositions. Mr. Weeks, like his associate, voted for a majority of the proposed amendments. George H. Adams, now of Plymouth, was a delegate from Camp- ton. The convention submitted thirteen propositions, which were voted upon by the several towns March 13, 1877. The vote of Plymouth follows : -
1 Abolition of word Protestant.
87 yes 138 no
2 Trial of small causes
101
124
3 Biennial elections
89
136
4 Amended plan of representation
54
171
5 Twenty four senators
83
142
6 Election of sheriff, registers and solicitors by the people 97
128
7 Abolition of religious test
89
136
8 Town aid to corporations barred
92
133
9 State Election in November
116
109
10 Jury trials of appealed cases
102
123
11 Jurisdiction of Justice's court
89
136
12 Prohibition of removal from office for political reasons 87
138
13 Provision concerning parochial schools
114
111
Eleven of the proposed amendments were approved by the people, and-the first and twelfth were rejected. An act providing for an expression of the people upon the expediency of calling a constitutional convention was approved July 27, 1883. The people refused to call a convention by a vote of 13,036 to 14,120; less than one-third of the voters expressed an opinion upon the prop- osition. The question was again submitted by an act approved Aug. 13, 1885. The vote of the people was taken in March, 1886. The town of Plymouth voted 36 for and 78 against a con- vention. The vote of the State was 11,466 for and 10,213 against. The convention was called, and assembled at Concord, Jan. 2, 1889. The delegate from Plymouth was Hazen D. Smith, who was appointed to the committee on future amendments to the con- stitution. The convention submitted seven proposed amendments. The vote of the people was taken March 12, 1889. The vote of Plymouth upon the several propositions was : -
206
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
1 Legislature to assemble and official year to begin in January
189 yes
41 no
2 Senators and representatives paid a stated salary
197
40
3 Vacancies in senate filled by new election
170
45
4 Speaker of the house to succeed as Governor
183
35
5 The prohibition of manufacture and sale of spiritous liquors
92
167
6 Non-sectarian amendment
99
88
7 Abolition of classed towns in representation
78
103
Five amendments were ratified by the people. The fifth and sixth proposed amendments were rejected. Upon the expediency of calling a new convention for the revision of the constitution, the sense of the people was taken in accordance with an act approved April 1, 1893. The vote was light and the negative prevailed, and with the same result a vote was taken under the provisions of an act approved March 27, 1895. In these two ex- pressions of the sentiment of the people, about one-third of the voters of the State expressed an opinion. The third effort to call a convention was successful. The act was approved March 1, 1899, and the sense of the people upon the expediency was taken at the November election in 1900. Out of a total vote of over 90,000 only 10,571 expressed a desire for a convention, and only 3,287 voted against the proposition. The vote of the people was an expression, and the subsequent rejection of nearly all the amendments was a demonstration that there was no popular de- mand for a revision of the constitution.
The convention assembled in the hall of the house of repre- sentatives, at Concord, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1902. The delegates from Plymouth were Frank W. Russell and Alvin F. Wentworth. Other delegates of Plymouth connections were Frank E. Blodgett of Allenstown, George W. Stone of Andover, John M. Mitchell of Concord, Mortier L. Morrison of Peterborough, Henry Cum- mings of Enfield, Edwin P. Pike of Haverhill, William R. Park of Warren, and Irving W. Drew of Lancaster. Mr. Wentworth was appointed on the committee of organization, and Mr. Russell served on the committee on mode of future amendments. The
207
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
convention adjourned December 19, submitting ten proposed amendments. The vote upon the acceptance or rejection of the several propositions was taken at the annual meeting, March 10, 1903. The vote of Plymouth follows : -
Amendment No. 1.
Add at the end of article eleven of the Bill of Rights the following :
But no person shall have the right to vote, or be eligible to office under the constitution of this state, who shall not be able to read the constitu- tion in the English language, and to write; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to any person prevented by a physical disability from complying with its requisitions, nor to any person who now has the right to vote, nor to any person who shall be sixty years of age or upwards on the first day of January, A. D. 1904. Yes 239 No 49
Amendment No. 2.
Amend article 47, part second, of the constitution by adding to it the words Provided that no person shall be so nominated and recommended until he shall have been examined and found duly qualified by an exam- ining board appointed by the governor ; so that the said article 47 shall read as follows :
ART. 47. The captains and subalterns in the respective regiments shall be nominated and recommended by the field officers to the governor, who is to issue their commissions immediately on receipt of such recommen- dation ; provided, that no person shall be so nominated and recommended until he shall have been examined and found duly qualified by an exam- ining board appointed by the governor. Yes 138 No 68.
Amendment No. 3.
Amend article 66, part second, of the constitution by striking out the words "and commissary-general " and inserting the words "and the" between the word " secretary " and the word "treasurer," so that the said article 66 shall read as follows :
ART. 66. The secretary and the treasurer shall be chosen by joint ballot of the senators and representatives, assembled in one roomn.
Yes 95 No 100
Amendment No. 4.
Amend article 6, part second, of the constitution so that it shall read :
ART. 6. The public charges of government, or any part thereof, may be raised by taxation upon polls, estates, and other classes of property, including franchises and property when passing by will or inheritance ;
208
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTHI.
and there shall be a valuation of the estates within the state taken anew once in every five years, at least, and as much oftener as the general court shall order. Yes 122 No 91
Amendment No. 5.
Amend article 76, part second, of the constitution by the addition of the following words :
And the general court are further empowered to give to police courts jurisdiction to try and determine, subject to the respondent's right of appeal and trial by jury, criminal causes wherein the punishment is less than imprisonment in the state prison ; so that when amended said section shall read :
ART. 76. The general court are empowered to give to justices of the peace jurisdiction in civil causes, when the damages demanded shall not exceed one hundred dollars and title of real estate is not concerned, but with right of appeal to either party to some other court. And the general court are further empowered to give to police courts jurisdiction to try and determine, subject to the respondent's right of appeal and trial by jury, criminal causes wherein the punishment is less than imprisonment in state prison. Yes 134 No 79
Amendment No. 6.
Amend article 6 of the Bill of Rights by striking therefrom the word "evangelical," and inserting the word Christian in place thereof, and by striking out the word " towns " from said section wherever it appears, and by striking out the word "Protestant;" also by striking out the words " And every denomination of Christians " from the third clause of said article 6, and inserting the words " All religious sects and denomina- tions " in place thereof, so that the same as amended shall read :
ART. 6. As morality and piety, rightly grounded on Christian prin- ciples, will give the best and greatest security to government, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to due subjection, and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propagated through a so- ciety by the institution of the public worship of the DEITY and of public instruction in morality and religion, therefore to promote those important purposes, the people of this state have a right to empower, and do hereby fully empower, the legislature to authorize, from time to time, the several parishes, bodies corporate or religious societies within this state to make adequate provision, at their own expense, for the support and mainte- nance of public teachers of piety, religion, and morality. Provided, not- withstanding, that the several parishes, bodies corporate, or religious societies shall at all times have the exclusive right of electing their own public teachers and of contracting with them for their support and
209
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
maintenance. And no person of any one particular religious sect or de- nomination shall ever be compelled to pay toward the support of the teacher or teachers of another persuasion, sect, or denomination. All religious sects and denominations, demeaning themselves quietly and as good subjects of the state, shall be equally under the protection of the law ; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law. And nothing herein shall be under- stood to affect any former contracts made for the support of the ministry ; but all such contracts shall remain and be in the same state as if this constitution had not been made. Yes 96 No 110
Amendment No. 7.
The word " male " is hereby stricken out of article 27, part second, of the constitution. Yes 84 No 137
Amendment No. 8.
Article 82 of the constitution is amended by adding the following : Free and fair competition in the trades and industries is an inherent and essential right of the people and should be protected against all monopo- lies and conspiracies which tend to hinder or destroy it. The size and functions of all corporations should be so limited and regulated as to prohibit fictitious capitalization, and provision should be made for the supervision and government thereof:
Therefore, all just power possessed by the state is hereby granted to the general court to enact laws to prevent the operations within the state of all persons and associations, and all trusts and corporations, foreign or domestic, and the officers thereof, who endeavor to raise the price of any article of commerce or to destroy free and fair competition in the trades and industries through combination, conspiracy, monopoly, or any other unfair means ; to control and regulate the acts of all such persons, asso- ciations, corporations, trusts, and officials doing business within the state ; to prevent fictitious capitalization ; and to authorize civil and criminal proceedings in respect to all the wrongs herein declared against.
Yes 145 No 63
Amendment No. 9.
Amend articles 9 and 10 of part second of the constitution by striking out the word " six," and inserting instead thereof the word " eight ; " and by striking out the word "eighteen," and inserting instead thereof the word " twenty-four ; " and by striking out the word " twelve," and inserting instead thereof the word " sixteen ; " and by adding to section 10 the follow- ing : Provided, that the legislature may authorize contiguous towns, or contiguous towns and wards having, respectively, less than eight hun- dred inhabitants, but whose inhabitants in the aggregate equal or exceed
VOL. I .- 14
210
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
eight hundred, to unite for the purpose of electing a representative, if each town so decides by major vote, at a meeting called for the purpose ; and the votes of towns, thus united, shall be cast, counted, returned, and declared, as the votes for senators are cast, counted, returned, and de- clared ; and the governor shall, fourteen days before the first Wednesday of each biennial session of the legislature, issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen representatives, by a plurality of votes, to attend and take their seats on that day; so that said sections, as amended, shall read as follows :
ART. 9. There shall be, in the legislature of this state, a representa- tion of the people, biennially elected, and founded upon principles of equality ; and, in order that such representation may be as equal as cir- cumstances will admit, every town, or place entitled to town privileges, and wards of cities, having eight hundred inhabitants by the last general census of the state, taken by authority of the United States or of this state, may elect one representative; if twenty-four hundred such inhab- itants, may elect two representatives ; and so proceeding in that propor- tion, making sixteen hundred such inhabitants the mean increasing number for any additional representative : provided, that no town shall be divided or the boundaries of the wards of any city so altered as to in- crease the number of representatives to which such town or city may be entitled by the next preceding census ; and provided further, that, to those towns and cities which since the last census have been divided or had their boundaries or ward lines changed, the general court in session next before these amendments shall take effect shall equitably apportion representation in such manner that the number shall not be greater than it would have been had no such division or alteration been made.
ART. 10. Whenever any town, place, or city ward shall have less than eight hundred such inhabitants, the general court shall authorize such town, place, or ward to elect and send to the general court a repre- sentative such proportionate part of the time, in each period of ten years, as the number of its inhabitants shall bear to eight hundred ; but the general court shall not authorize any such town, place, or ward to elect and send such representative, except as herein provided; provided, that the legislature may authorize contiguous towns, or contiguous towns and wards having, respectively, less than eight hundred inhabitants, but whose inhabitants in the aggregate equal or exceed eight hundred, to unite for the purpose of electing a representative, if each town so decides by major vote, at a meeting called for the purpose ; and the votes of towns, thus united, shall be cast, counted, returned, and declared, as the votes for senators are cast, counted, returned, and declared ; and the governor shall, fourteen days before the first Wednesday of each biennial session of the
211
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
legislature, issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen representatives, by a plurality of votes, to attend and take their seats on that day. Yes 122 No 89
Amendment No. 10.
Add to the constitution the following :
The legislature shall have full power and authority to establish more than one place of public meeting within the limits of any town or ward in the state for the casting, counting, declaring, and returning of votes, and the election of officers under the constitution; to prescribe the manner of warning, holding, and conducting such meetings; and for that purpose to divide any town or ward into voting precincts.
Yes 93 No 104
The total vote of the State regarded the proposed amendments with less favor. The third, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, and tenth propositions were rejected by the people.
212
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
XVI. THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
V OTED to hire Mr. Nathan Ward to preach four days in the township aforesaid this spring."
There is no passage in the records of Plymouth that illustrates the character of the proprietors and the desires of the early settlers with equal force and clearness. In the culture of their childhood and in the experience of maturer years a community was not complete and the souls of men were not satisfied without the stated ministrations of the Gospel. In a continued expression of this sentiment a church was founded and a minister was settled two years before the organization of the town.
The vote to hire Mr. Ward was passed at Hollis by the pro- prietors April 16, 1764.
The article in the warrant for the meeting was more compre- hensive than the vote, and combined they present ample assurance of an early establishment of a permanent and uninterrupted min- istry in Plymouth. The article follows: -
To see what meathod the Proprietors will Take about Setteling a min- ister at Plymoth and Likewise to see if thay will be at the Cost of Hiering sum Preaching there the year insuing and also to Raise money if there is need to Defray the Charge and to actt and Do aney other thing which may then be thought proper by the Propriators.
With such ample evidence of the early intentions and thought of the men who were forwarding the settlement, the future main- tenance of the ministry is fully assured.
Ensign David Hobart was selected " to wait upon Mr. Ward." In his mission the worthy representative of the proprietors was successful.
213
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
Rev. Henry A. Hazen, in an able and instructive Centennial Discourse, has preserved the testimony of Deacon John Wil- loughby, that Mr. Ward preached two discourses in Plymouth, Sunday, May 19, 1764, and that the text of the morning sermon was Isaiah i. 19: " If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." In the afternoon the text was Luke xv. 24: "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry."
These sermons were preached at the house of Col. David Webster. Mr. Ward wrote the story of his ministry on the tab- lets of the human heart, and whatever record he made of the events of his labors or the history of the church have been lost many years. It is stated in Ward Genealogy, published 1851, that the church of Plymouth was organized April 16, 1764. This date has been accepted as a part of the written history of the church. It was the same day the proprietors, exercising the functions of a parish, voted to hire Mr. Ward to preach four days. This is the oldest church in Grafton County. The next in the order of seniority is the church embracing Haverhill and Newbury, Vt., which was organized in September following.
The next minute in the records upon this subject is a vote, passed at a meeting in Hollis, July 9, 1764, to allow Abel Webster twenty pounds old tenor for boarding Mr. Ward twelve days. This sum is stated in depreciated currency, and was equivalent to about six days' labor. It has been assumed by the students of Plymouth history that Abel Webster entertained Mr. Ward at Plymouth, and that this record of payment for board is evidence that Mr. Ward was twelve days in Plymouth previous to July 9, 1764. It is quite probable that before midsummer of the first year Mr. Ward was in Plymouth more than twelve days, but the vote to pay Abel Webster for his entertainment cannot be accepted as evidence. It is known that Abel Webster did not remove to Plymouth until 1765, and that at a meeting held in February, 1865, he is styled Abel Webster of Hollis.
The first vote of the proprietors was not a proposition to dis-
214
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
cover and procure a minister, but a matured purpose to employ Mr. Ward, apparently known to them, and whose assent had been secured. It is not proven, but it appears probable, that Mr. Ward was in Hollis a part of the year 1764, that the terms of his settlement in Plymouth were arranged there, and that for twelve days at least he was entertained by Abel Webster.
At the same meeting, July 9, 1764, the proprietors " voted to give Mr. Nathan Ward a call to Settel in the work of the Gospel ministry at Plymouth." This meeting was adjourned to Sep- tember 3, when the proprietors " voted to hire two days preaching at Plymouth this fall."
At this date a considerable number of families were perma- nently located in the town. Mr. Ward had preached to them several Sabbaths. He had sat by their rude firesides and had learned from observation the hardships and self-denials of a new settlement. As he preached from the pulpit, they respected the minister. As he mingled with them in gentle sympathy and brotherly kindness, they loved the man. To them a minister had been sent, and they were content. To Mr. Ward the door was opened, revealing to his mental vision the labor of a lifetime. At once the future was secure. If there was any hesitancy on the part of Mr. Ward, or any reservation on the part of the congregation, it has escaped record. From the facts known, the inference is an assertion of perfect harmony and satisfaction.
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