102 History of Hing/tam. 



The Poor and School Fund. 



The following is from the report of the Auditors to the town, 

 April 30, 1879 : — 



" The foundation of the Poor and School Fund was laid in the action of 

 the proprietors of the undivided lands in Hingham, who, at a meeting held 

 April 9, 1788, 



" ' Voted, That all the Proprietors' ways and undivided lands he given up 

 to the town for their use and benefit forever, on the conditions following, viz.: 

 That a highway be laid out, beginning at the Northerly end of the road 

 leading from Thomas Cushing's house, to extend North 27 degrees West, 

 and four rods in width, till it comes into the town road leading from 

 Great Plain. Also that a road be laid out, beginning at the Northwest 

 corner of the road leading from Elisha Lane's shop, to extend North 49 

 decrees West, three rods in width, till it comes into the aforesaid road, and 

 that the land between the two roads aforesaid be reserved for a Burying- 

 place, and that no building be erected upon the said Training-field or 

 Burying-ground. 



'• ' That the town accept the aforesaid roads and all the Proprietors' 

 ways, and repair them as other Public roads, if necessary.' 



'•These lands were held by the town, no part being sold until 1818, 

 when, by a special act of the Legislature, entitled ' an act to authorize the 

 town of Hingham to sell real estate,' the inhabitants were empowered at 

 any legal meeting to appoint ' a committee of three discreet freeholders,' 

 who should have power to sell and pass deeds of any and all parcels of 

 land held by said inhabitants. The second section of this act is as follows, 

 viz. : — 



" ' Be it further enacted that the money which shall be received for the 

 sale of said lands, after deducting all expenses which shall be incurred in 

 the transaction of the business, shall constitute a fund, the interest of 

 which shall be applied exclusively to the support of the Public Schools 

 and the maintenance of the poor of said town. And the Selectmen and 

 Treasurer of said town for the time being shall be trustees of said fund 

 and place the same at interest and apply said interest, as received, to the 

 purposes aforesaid.' 



"By an act passed in January, 1819, the provisions of the above-named 

 act were extended ' to all lands within the said town of Hingham held 

 by the original proprietors in common and undivided,' and given to the 

 town by the vote above quoted. The last sale was made in 1864, and 

 the amount received for lands sold to that date, after deducting expenses, 

 appears to be $9,738.70. This sum has been loaned to the town, the 

 trustees holding the Treasurer's note for the amount, the same bearing 

 interest at 5 per cent." 



There never was a strict compliance with the provisions of the 

 act in devoting the interest directly to the support of the schools 

 and the poor, except in the last year of the existence of the fund, 

 although the town apparently had the benefit of an annual amount 

 of interest credited to the fund. The fact that this interest was 

 annually credited as money received for the purposes named in the 

 act probably did not affect the amount of appropriations for the 



