History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

proper, as the clmrter, so far from authorizing tiie
assistants to tax all persons living on the company's
lands, did not even empower them to assess the
freemen. Summoned before tlie governor and as-
sistants on the 17th of the same month, there was
" much debate," but being " the weaker party,"
tliey were compelled, says Winthrop, " to make a
retraction and submission." In view of the result
of this contention it seems altogether unlikely that
any retraction was made ; at any rate, Watertown
has reason to be proud of her defence of tiie great
principle of no taxation without representation, for,
only three months afterwr.rd, at the very next meet-
ing of the court, a committee of two was appointed
from each town to confer with tiie court about
raising "a public stock [treasury]," and thus the
popular representative body of the colony originated,
and thus the trading corporation unconsciously
became a representative democracy. The names of
John Oldham and John Masters stand first on this
committee ; while those of Robert Feake, Richard
Browne, and John Oldham appear as the delegates
from Watertown to the first General Court, held
May 14, 163-t.
At a court of assistants, April 12, 1631, a watch
to begin at sunset was ordered at Dorchester and
at "Watertown, and " if any person shall shoot off
a piece after the watch is set he shall forfeit 40 «.
or be whipped." In May, 1634, this watch was reduced
from four to two, and on March 9, 1636-37,
wards were also to be kept on the " Lords Days "
and every person above the age of eighteen
(except magistrates and elders of churches) " shall
be compellable to this service." Every town was
at the same time ordered to have a watch-house.
The meeting-house was sometimes used as a watchhouse,
and also as the depositary of the ammuni-
tion of the town. In 1711 the old school-house
on School-house Hill was ordered to be repaired
for a watch-house. In 1639 the town was fined
for not having a pair of stocks, and ordered to
procure one.
In the early days great importance was attached
to the performance of the duties of citizenship. In
1639 it was ordered that any duly warned freeman
absent from a town-meeting should be fined 2«. 6^/.,
a penalty afterwards increased to 5«. A selectman
absent from the place of meeting " past 9 of the
clock in the forenoon " also forfeited %s. Qd. to the
town. One of the duties of the selectmen was
to take turns, "every man his day to site upon the
WATERTOWN. 439
miscarriages in the time of public services on the
Lord's Day." They were also to take notice of
"sundry persons in this towne who are in their
habits contrary to the law concerning the excess of
apparell," and to see that none " except such as
the law doth allow, do either wear silke goods or
silke scarfes, gould or silver lace, or buttons, rib-
bons at knees or trassed handkerchiefs, upon the
ferfeiture of what penalty the law doth apoynt
which is, that they shall be rated in the country
rate after £200 in the same." Among the early
enactments of the town was one offering a reward of
5*. for each wolf killed in the town ; another affix-
ing a penalty upon whoever " should suffer his dog
to come to the meeting upon the Lord's Day ";
and that ordering that the two fairs at Watertown,
" the one upon the first Friday of the 4th month
the other upon the first Friday of the 7th month
shall be kept upon the trayning place."
At the second meeting of the governor and
assistants September 7, 1630, precautions were
taken in anticipation of Indian attacks, and pro-
vision was made for the support of Captain Daniel
Patrick of Watertown, and Captain John Under-
bill of Boston, both of whom had served in tiie
Low Countries, as instructors in the military art.
Tiie latter had the training of the soldiers on the
south side of Charles River, while Patrick had
charge of those on the north side, at Charlestown,
Watertown, Newtown, and Medford, the men of
the two former towns training together until
1635.
It seems probable that the settlers of Watertown
were more numerous than those of the other towns
planted in 1630, and that this superiority of num-
bers was maintained for twenty years. The ap-
portionment of the early tax levies indicates this.
Her people, like those of Roxbury, soon began
to be overcrowded, and to disperse either to form
new plantations, or to go to other towns already
settled. In August, 1635, it was "agreed by the
consent of the freemen (in consideration there be
too many inhabitants in the town, and the town
thereby in danger to be ruinated) tiiat no forrainer
coming into tiie town, or any family among our-
selves shall have any benefit of commonage or
land undivided, but what they shall ])urchase, ex-
cept that tiiey buy a man's riglit wiiolly in the
town." It was further agreed, " that, whosoever
being an inhabitant in the town shall receive any
person or family upon their propriety that may
gallery to look to the youths that they may prevent prove chargeable to the town shall maintain the
;