Chapter 8 - Bellingham and the Revolution

The next meeting on October 28, 1776, addressed the changes going on in the Massachusetts Bay. Article 2 asked "to consider & determine whether the Inhabitants of this town will give their consent that the Present house of Representatives & Counsel should enact such a Constitution and form of Government as they shall judge most conveniant for the good of the People or to ac any other matter or thing proper."
 

Article 3 continued the discussion on paying the soldiers. "to see if the Inhabitants of said town will vote that the hire of the last men that went into the Service should be paid by a rate or to act any other thing relating there to that they may think proper."
 

As in the past when all great subjects came up, the Town acted by "Voted to chuse a committee to draw a form of government and to be laid before the town for their further consideration at the adjurnment this meeting. Voted five men to be a committee to draw the form of government.
 

Leut Seth Hall"
 

(Note the honorific given John Metcalf. Crowner was an old Scotch term for Coroner. Whether this was another of his many duties or if he had the title for another reason is not known.)
 

The Town Meeting could not reach a decision on pay. "Voted to....chuse a committee of 5 men to draw up what is best in their judgement for the town to do conserning the hire of the last men that wen into the Service and to lay it before the town at the adjurnment of this meeting."
 

Committee
 

The committee met and developed a report and a rather unclear idea of what they wanted to occur in government in Massachusetts. Their ideal was one giving the greatest authority to the towns. Distrustful of central government, the document that came out of this committee mirrors that distrust in its fashion. The next meeting on the first Monday in December 1776 adopted their report as follows:
 

"The Answer of the Inhabitants of the town of Bellingham to the Resolve of the Honorable House of Representatives of the State of the massachusetts Bay in New England Dated September 17, 1776 conserning a form of government for this State as Voted in town meeting called in conformity to Said Resolve on due notise for that and held at Bellingham in the 20^th of october & by Adjurnment on the 2^d of December after."
 

"We are of opinion that the Setling a form of government for this State is mater of the Gratest Inportance of a civil nature that we wore ever concerned in and ought to be Proceeded in with the Gratest Caution & Delebiration it appears to us that the late General Assembly of this State in their Proclamation Dated January 23, 1776 have well Expressed."
 

"That Power always resides in the Body of the People."
 

"We Understand that all the males above 21 years of age meeting in each seperate town & acting the same thing and all their acts United to gather make an act of the Body of the People."
 

"We apprehend it would be proper that the form of government for this state to origenate in Each town & by that means we may have the Ingenuity of all the State and it may Qualifie men for Publick Stations which might be Effected if the present Honorable House of Representatives would Devide this state into Districts of bout 30 miles Diameter or les if it may appear most convenient so that none be more than 15 miles from the Senter of the District that ther may be an easy communication between each town and the center of its District & that no town be divided and that every town chuse one man out of 30 of their Inhabitants to be a committee to meet as near the Center of the Destrict as may be, to meet at about 6 weeks after the House of Representatives have issued their ordor for the town to meet to Draw a form of government and the same committee to carry with them the form of government their town has drawed to the District meeting and compare them together & prepose to their towns what alteration, their toown, in their opinion ought to make & said committee in each district adjurn & cary to their several towns & lay before them in town meeting for that end the form of government Said District has agreed toe & the towns agree toe or alter as they see meet after which the District committee meet according to Adjurnment & revise the form of government after which each each District Committee chuse a man or committee to meet all as one Committee at watertown at 12 weeks after the date of the ordor of the House of Representatives for the towns first meeting to draw a form of government which committee of the whole state may be Impowered to send precepts to the several towns in this state to chuse one man out of 60 to meet in Convention at watertown or such tome of Said Districts last sitting the Said one man out of 60 to meet in convention to draw from the forms of Government drawn by Each Districts Committee one form of government for the whole state after which said convention send to each town the form of government they have drawed for the town conformation or alteration & then adjurn notifying each town to make return to them of their doings at said convention."
 

"And at said adjurnment said convention draw a General Plan or form of government for this state so that they as nothing to nor Deminish nothing from the general sence of each town.
 

"And that each town be at the charge of all the men they Imploy in this affair."
 

"the above Except by a vote of town and voted to be published the above ritten in the Publick Print then the meeting was dismissed."
 

The citizens did not want to be left out of the process. Their concern, though muddled, is that they have their say on the new government and that the towns adopt it, not a far off Committee or convention.
 

The discussion of pay to persons enlisting in the army did not get discussed, or at least that discussion was not recorded. The second article on the warrant for a town meeting to be held on April 4, 1777, revived the discussion and led to a clear policy for the Town and its men. The army should be distinguished from the local militia. The Continental Congress wanted men to fight a war in areas outside of New England. The militia was composed almost entirely of area men and was sent to various locales close by for relatively short periods. The latter relied on the Town and State for pay. The Army was paid by all three levels in some form or other.
 

From the article, we can see that there was pressure in the form of Quotas from the Continental Congress to raise men for the Army.
 

"To see what sum or sums of money the town will grant to pay the men that will inlist to make up our coto in the Continanteal Army or to pay prescribe sum other way or method to inlist men that the Inhabitants of sd town shall think proper."
 

The meeting took three votes to settle this question.
 

"Voted that each able bodied man of this town that shall inlist into the Contanental Army and serve theirin after the first year be intitled to receive of the treasures of this town forty shillings pr month to be paid them annually for two years over and above their Contenantal pay for so long as they shall continue in sd service, not to Exceed two years."
 

Voted that those men that inlist into Contenantal army and are paid twenty four pounds at their pasing muster by the town treasurer of Bellingham are not intitled to the forty shillings a month granted by said town in addission to their wages."
 

"Voted that the Selectmen pay the men that inlist in this town into the Contenantal army for the twenty four pounds that the town granted, or in the Name & in behalf of said town give security for the same on interest till paid."
 

Perhaps this did not bring the volunteers forward as expected for one the warrant for the next town meeting on May 8, 1777, the following article appeared:
 

"to see what sum or sums of money the town will grant in addission to what they have all ready granted to those that shall inlist for three years during the war...."
 

"Voted Eleven Pounds in addition to what was voted in aformer meeting to those who shall inlist for three years."
 

The House of Representatives did not accept the ideas of Bellingham on how to adopt a constitution. Rather than committees and conventions, the House decided it was the best body to draw a constitution. The reaction of the Town does not appear to be a happy one, although they were still willing to be represented in that body.
 

The meeting of May 19, 1777 was called to "chuse some person or persons to serve/or & represent them in the next general court to beholden in & for said State and to consider and act what the town may think proper relating to a Late Resolve of the general court respecting a new form of government."
 

Stephen Metcalf was returned to service in the "great and General Court" as in the past, however, as to the Resolves of that General Court: "Put to vote to see if the town will commit the drawing the form of government to the House of Representatives and passed in the Negative Unanimusly."
 

Many other towns must have agreed with Bellingham, for this question was not yet settled and would be back.
 

A question of considerable weight appeared on the next town meeting on May 24, 1777. There were persons not supporting the new nation. Whether any of these "Tories" resided in Bellingham is not shown, however, all towns were required "To chuse by ballot sum person to Procoure & ly before a Court to be erected for that purpose the evidence that may be had of the inimical Disposetion of any of the Inhabitants of this town towards the United States of America"
 

Whether this was in response to a request to all towns from the General Court or whether this was in response to a local problem is not known, although it is more likely the former. The response of the Town Meeting was "Voted to chuse a person to procure & ly before a court to be erected for that purpose the evidence that may be had of the inimical Disposition of any of the inhabitants of this town to ward the United States of America and the town made choice of Ezekiel Bates."