Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

SPRINGFIELD, 16S6-1886. 271
public affairs has ever to this Day Done much Honour to the
Inhabitants and established a just Veneration for their leading men
should by Means only of the supposed or Real Indiscretion and
Mistakes of a few persons be Reduced to the necessity of a Divi-
sion." The committee then proceeded to make a separation more
ditiicult by deciding that while the Connecticut river should be the
dividing line, the lands on the west side in the *' Great and General
Field " should be taxed in the town where the owners thereof live ;
that the public buildings should belong to the town in whu-li they
fell by the division ; that no other division should be made, but if, on
further consideration, the new arrangement did not prove satisfactory,
that the Third and Fifth Parishes should be erected into districts.
This report was rejected with great alacrit}-, and the kettle
simmered until November 2, Avheu the west side made a vain attempt
to get the grammar school transferred over the river for tlie winter.
Motions to hold the town-meetings on the west side, and to set up
Longmeadow as a district, were also Aoted down. At the January
town-meeting (1774) the new party put through a motion giving the
west parish a share of the town-meetings. A committee, headed by
Benjamin Day, was chosen to explain to the General Court the
nature of the several petitions praying for divisions of the town.
Tlie Third Parish was voted a district, and the meeting adjourned for
three days to the west side. We will let the records tell the rest of
the narrative : —
At a Lawful! town Meeting of the Inhabitance of the town of Springfield Jan''
the 20 : 177+ holden by Adjournment from the 17 of sd Jan' to Recive the Report
of their Comittee —
Voted to Accept the Keport of the Committee appointed to Draw up Instruc-
tions for the Agents and that they prefer to tiie General Court the answer of the
town to the several petitions praying for a Division thereof which is as followeth
—
We the Subscribers lieing appointed by the town of Springfeild a Committee
to Draw up Instructions for the Agents to prefer to the General Court relating