Take a New-England selectman, and set him on the highest of our hills, and tell him to look,sharpening his sight to the utmost, and putting on the glasses that suit him best, (ay, using a spy-glass, if he likes,)and make a full report.

But Major Bugbee, to whom the cobbler's wife had been remotely akin, and who was at that time first selectman of the town, took the orphans with him to his house, where they tarried till he found good places for them.

I have received a document, signed by two citizens of a neighboring town, certified by the postmaster and a selectman, and these again corroborated, reinforced, and sworn to by a member of that extraordinary college-class to which it is the good fortune of my friend the Professor to belong, who, though he has formerly been a member of Congress, is, I believe, fully worthy of confidence.

N. jurisdiction, judicature, administration of justice, soc; executive, commission of the peace; magistracy &c (authority) 737. judge &c 967; tribunal &c 966; municipality, corporation, bailiwick, shrievalty [Brit.]; lord lieutenant, sheriff, shire reeve, shrieve^, constable; selectman; police, police force, the fuzz [Sarc.]; constabulary, bumbledom^, gendarmerie [Fr.].

Trace the authority of a school-teacher, a policeman, a selectman, a mayor, or of any public officer, back to some part of your constitution.

There he lived, much respected by his townsfolk, who made him selectman and alderman, and gave him the command of a goodly ship when Sir William Phips made his attack upon Quebec, and found that the old Lion Frontenac was not to be driven from his lair.

The effect of this has been sometimes to cause the discharge of all but the very most skilful and able-bodied; of those who had, by working at less than full pay, been kept out of the poorhouse; and the selectmen of some towns, notably Plymouth, have refused to obey such a vote.

[Footnote 2: In the old town of Plymouth the chairman of the selectmen asked what, he should do under vote of town meeting requiring him to pay two dollars a day for all unskilled labor employed by the town.

In 1766 he was selectman.

The accounts with the former Overseers remain unadjusted to the satisfaction of the Selectmen.

The people of Marshpee, nor the Selectmen knew nothing of this law to distribute the School fund, and our pretended missionary, Mr. Fish, never interested himself in such matters; but our good friend Mr. Hallett, at Boston, thought of us, and laid our claims before the Committee, by two petitions which he got from the Selectmen and from himself, and the Commissioner.

The people of Marshpee, nor the Selectmen knew nothing of this law to distribute the School fund, and our pretended missionary, Mr. Fish, never interested himself in such matters; but our good friend Mr. Hallett, at Boston, thought of us, and laid our claims before the Committee, by two petitions which he got from the Selectmen and from himself, and the Commissioner.

The undersigned are Selectmen and School Committee of the District of Marshpee.

EZRA ATTAQUIN, : Selectmen and School ISAAC COOMBS, : Committee of Marshpee ISRAEL AMOS, : District.

Mr. Fish at first refused to let the Indians go into their own Meeting-house, and the people began to assemble under the trees, when it was proposed for the Selectmen to go and ask for the key, that they might see if Mr. Fish would refuse it.

Soon after this, the Selectmen, one of whom was a member of my church, applied to Mr. Fish respecting holding the Camp-meeting on the parsonage.

To the Selectmen of Marshpee.

I am at liberty to publish here, the following views of the law and the facts in the case, drawn up by legal counsel whom the Selectmen have consulted.

The other five were Indians, two calling themselves Selectmen.

If the pretended Selectmen acted for the Indians, they could only do so by power of attorney to act for all the tenants in common.

All the power their Selectmen had in 1783, was taken away.

At the last session of the court in Barnstable, the Selectmen of Marshpee complained against the white men employed by Mr. Fish, for cutting wood on their common lands.

I received a letter from Mr. Fish some time since, in which he expressed some apprehensions that an attempt would be made by the natives to take possession of the Meeting-house, parsonage, &c. His letter enclosed rather a singular communication, signed by the Selectmen of Marshpee.

* I have thus given my views of the law and the facts, touching the parsonage in Marshpee, in order that the Indians and their Selectmen who have desired legal advice on the subject, may fully understand their rights.

The Selectmen of Marshpee District, are at liberty to make such use of the foregoing, as they think proper.