October 1770?

Humbly Shew the Inhabitants of the Town of Taunton, in the County Bristol that the Great & Genrall Court of this Province have from in their great Wisdom & Care from time to time enacted divers Laws to prevent the destruction of Alewives & other Fish & have endeavoured to regulate the taking of Alewives in such a manner that the Community as much as might be should be equally benifited by them, that the Gen. Court held May 1765 passed a Law forbidding Alewives to be taken any other wise than by Scoop Netts saving an allowance to the sd. Town of Taunton to take em in Taunton Great River 2 days in the week by Seines or Drag Netts allowing 2 to each Town in the County of Bristol after it shall be known that they have been at Middlebory in the Spring of the Year Annually wch. Law is Still in force by a Continuation of the same to the first day of July 1770. The sd. Town of Taunton beg leave476humbly to represent that there are some Circumstances attending sd. Town which they apprehend render that allowance not so sufficient for sd. Town as the Genrall Court might think it was when sd. Law was made which with Submission they suppose might arise from the sd. Town not being appriz'd of the making sd. Law & so the Representative not duly instructed respecting the same. The Alewives have for a number of Years past left the Small River in Taunton call Mill River where they us'd to be taken, with Scoop Netts in considerable quantitys & keep their Course up the great River to Middleborô & Bridgwater cheifly the former, by means whereof very few are taken in sd. Mill River not a quarter Sufficient to supply the wants of the Inhabitants or to pay for taking, that this is not owing to any defects of sd. Town of Taunton in keeping the passage open up sd. Mill River which might be suppos'd to Drive them up the great River to Middleborô for the passage has always been kept as open at said Mill River at Middleborô & not one twentieth part of the Dip Netts there used to scare 'em away, & sd. Town of Taunton have observed sd. Law in every other respect, that the Fish having passed by said Mill River are obliged to go to Middleborô or Bridgwater there being no other place convenient for them to go & are there taken 20 or 30 times the quantity as at Taunton including the 2 days allowance to take with Seines, by Means whereof the Inhabitants of Taunton are put to the trouble & expence of travelling to Middleborô for Alewives & to the hardship of paying Money for 'em out of their own Town. Your Petrs. would further represent that the allowance in sd. Law to sd. Town of two Seines on two stated days of the week is not so great as at first appears for that those stated days may often prove Stormy & it is well known that if the Weather be fair the Fish on some days do not begin to run on others from all which we apprehend it appears that the sd. Town can't enjoy their just proportion of the Fish that are allowed to be taken as the Law Now Stands & that taking the chance of Seasons with great submission we apprehend that if the Town of Taunton were allowed to Seine 6 days in the Week during the running of the Fish they would not get more than their proportion with the Town of Middleborô that on the Whole more would not be taken but only more taken at Taunton & that the silent method of Seining would not have so great a tendency to divert & scare away the Fish as the threshing of Scoop Netts at Middleborô, Your Petrs. would further represent that they apprehend they are intitteld by Nature to at least as great a proportion of Alewives as .the Inhabitants of477Middleborô & on Some accounts more for they are obliged to support two large very expensive Bridges over sd. Great River & by being to take up the same for all Vessel's built at Middleborô & the Towns above there to pass & to put them down again which are often Damaged by the Passing thro of Vessells built in the Towns above & with this incumbrance & their natural title they think it hard to let have the Fish go by their Doors thro the Heart of their Town without Such a regulation of taking 'em that they may get their Proportion of those allow'd to be taken, your Petrs. therefore pray that yr. Exllcy. & Honours would provide for the relief of the Town in the premise & make provision that sd. Town may by allowing the Inhabitants thereof to Seine more days than them by Law.

MS .

1.

The Taunton town meeting of July 9, 1770, appointed Robert Treat Paine, George Godfrey, and Daniel Leonard "to be a Committe to Petition the Great and General Court Respecting the Takeing Alwives and other fish by Seining in Taunton Great River: and for an Enlargement of their Prevelidge Respecting the Same as to the number of Days" (RTP Papers).

Journals of the House of Representatives (47:126) notes on Nov. 1, 1770: "A Petition of the Inhabitants of the Town of Taunton, praying that a longer Time for taking Fish by Seins, may be allowed them." The issue was referred to committee, but apparently was never reported out. The question of alewife fishing was also raised by the towns of Dartmouth, Pembroke, and Bridgewater during the same session.

RTP had drawn up a similar petition while acting as agent for the town in 1767 (RTP Diary, Feb. 2, 6, 1767).