270 



HISTORY OF COHASSET. 



a spot of ground of Eight or Ten Rods (the only Spot tlie Town 

 hath at the Cove so calld) which Nature made fit for a Landing 

 place and for that purpose it hath been Improved from the first 

 Settlement of the Town. Now should they continue to hold 

 their right in the same they would enjoy a certain priviledge with- 

 out their Bounds while they ask to hold all within. Should they 

 ask then that the expense of building be refunded to them we 

 say it hath been already, for the Wharf and the landing place 

 Afores^ hath let for more money then the Building of it Cost ; 

 but if there had been none refunded we should judge the asking 

 for it an unreasonable request as the first motion for a Building 

 the wharf was to secure the Gristmill adjoining thereto and in 

 that they will continue to enjoy their former benefit. 



And we ask that they be held to take their Just Proportion of 

 the Public Taxes for the future according to the Last Valuation 

 and the same proportion of the present poor, and in case any 

 who have now removed from the Town of Hingham and have 

 not gained a legal settlement elsewhere should any of them 

 return, that they pay their Proportion of that Expence as afore — 

 All which is Humbly P. 



JOSHUA HEARSEY 

 BENJAMIN LINCOLN Junr 

 JOSEPH ANDREWS 

 JOSEPH THAXTER 

 THEOPH. GUSHING 

 Committee of the Town of Hiiighat/i to make 

 answer to the Second Parish petition 



Hingham March 26th 1770 



These two petitions are remarkably free from personal 

 spites and are fairly clear in their statements of the case. 

 It v^^ill be readily seen that the Hingham argument only 

 trimmed a little off from the CoTiasset pleas without essen- 

 tially weakening them. And, most of all, the desire to be 

 a separate town with the manifest ability to take care of 

 themselves was an unanswerable argument for separation. 

 The espousers of independence were not, however, free 

 from opposition in their own precinct, as we shall soon see. 



