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 to a period. Wherefore your petitioner humbly conceiveth that, rationally, and according to the contract, the said time of probation ought to begin wholly from the time when the whole undertaking was exposed and oflfered to examination, which, as it hath been managed by your Lordshipps, the officers, Surveyor-Generall, auditors, the Atturney-Generall, &c., within doores, soe it might have been alsoe collaterally carried in the field by the five generall trustees of the army, constituted in May, 1655, who had authority and instructions from the army to make inspection into all such matters, and uppon whome your petitioner hath sevarall times called uppon for that purpose, vizt, that they would bring him licence from the Surveyor-Generall to shew them any of his returnes, that soe they might examine the same, which they having not done ought not to lye as a burthen uppon your petitioner only.

3dly. If the time of legall possession, as the meaning of 19th article, be insisted uppon, allthough it bee wholly out of your petitioners power to further or hinder the same, it being wholly in your Lordshipps, whose hands and scales only can make it, and in the partyes concerned to take it, your petitioner offers that it seemes more rationall that the word possession be interpreted to commence from the time when your Lordshipps, by your orders of the 20th and 24th of July, 1655, did assigne over into the hands of the afforesaid generall trustees all the forfeited lands applicable to their satisfaction, allowing them the rents and profitts of the same, according to which computation the time of your petitioners discharge is long since expired.

Soe that, according to the most genuine and most proper interpretations, your petitioner ought to have been discharged in March last; and according to many other of the more probable and discretionary interpretations, he ought to have been discharged long since; and that only, according to one interpretation only, which hath noe ground either in the contract or in the nature of the thing itselfe, his said discharge may bee deferred till about November next. He humbly hopeth that your Lordshipps will be rather guided by those interpretations which are most clear and numerouse, and which the Atturney-Generall, your Lordshipps councill, hath, on the behalfe of the Commonwealth, allowed of, then by that one construction which is the most defective of all others.

Moreover, your petitioner humbly conceiveth that matters of ambiguity ought, in honour and conscience, to be interpreted to his advantage, having