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

62 SPRINGFIELD, 1636-1886.
It is hearby declared, —
1. That the said passages in the said oomission (as they are expressed in the
petition) are misrecited, so as the true scope and intention is thereby altered ; as,
1. Whereas the words in the comi^sion are, they are resolved to transplant
themselves, in the recitall it is, to plant themselves. 2. In the comission it is
said that those noble parsonages iiave interest in the ryver, & by vertue of their
patent do require jurisdiction tliere ; in the recitall it is, that wee confesse it be-
longeth to their jurisdiction. 3. In the comission it is p''vided this may not bee
any pjudice to the interest of those noble etc. : in the recitall it is, that nothing
should bee done or intended to the p'dice of the lords, or their intendments.
2. That tiie said comission was not granted upon any intent either to dismise
the psons fro us, or to determine anything about the limits of jurisdiction, the
interest of the lands & o'' owne limits being as then unknowne ; therefore it was
granted onely for one yeare ; & it may rather appeare, by o'' granting such a
comission, & tliier accepting of it, as also that clause, viz, Till some other course
were taken, by mutuall consent, etc. that wee intended to reserve an interest
there upon the ryver, & that themselves also intended to stand to tlie condition of
the first licence of departure given to the most of them, w^'' was, that they should
remaine still of o'' body.
3. For those argumts w*^'^ they draw from those articles certified in the peti-
tion, wee answer, that they were propounded and draweu out onely by some of
the magistrals of each party without any order or alowance of this Court; and
therefore (whatsoever those magistrats might intend thereby) the intend of the
Court cannot be gathered from anything tiierein ; but in those articles w*^'' were
agitated and brought to some issue in o'' Genrall Court, in the 4"' mo 1(538, when
their commissioners were present, Springfeild, then called Agawam was claymed
by the Court (though by occasion of some private speacli &c) to belong to us
and it was then agreed by the Court, and yielded unto by their commissioners
that so much of the ryver of Conecte'^"* as should fall w"' the line of o'' patent
should continew within our jurisdiction (and it was then taken for granted that
Springfeild would fall to us without question) and those articles had then beene
fully agreed on betweene the Court and their commission'**, had there not beene
some question about them granting us free passage up the river, in regard of the
lords' interest (as they alledged).
It is now hearby ordered, that Willi: Pinchen. gent, for this yeare shall hear-
by have full power and authority to govern the inhal)itants at Springfeild ;
;
and to
heare and determine all causes and offenses, both civill and criminall, that reach
not to life, limbs or banishment according to tlie lawes heare established, etc.