Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 10.djvu/16

 One of Gov. Wcntworth's Last Official Acts.

��ONE OF GOV. WENTWORTH'S LAST OFFICIAL ACTS.

��I send you a copy of an original document which I have sent to the New Hampshire Historical Society. The wording of the document makes it quite a curiosity. The entire docu- ment is in the governor's hand-writing, and it is attested by no secretary. It is one of the governor's last official acts. He attempted to exercise no authority in the state after July, 1775. Who this Stephen Peabody was, I have no means of knowing. It was Nathaniel Peabody, of Atkinson, who was the member of the Continental Congress ; and Oliver Peabody, of Exeter, who was the state senator for raanv years. Please search the list of representatives from Amherst in Revolutionary times, and you may find that it was in the ca[)acity of repre- sentative that he gave offence to the

governor.

JOHN WP:NTWORrH.

Chicago, Ills.

��Province of \ New Harnpsldre j

��SEAL

��George the Third by the grace of God of Great Brit- ain, France and Ireland King de- - — r— ' fender of the faith

&c To the Sheriff of our County of Hillsborough in our Province aforesaid, greeting

Whereas We by and with the ad- vise of our trusty and well beloved John Wentworth, Esquire, Our Gov- ernor and Commander in Chief in and over our Province aforesaid did nom- inate and appoint Stephen Peabody of Amherst in our said County of Hillsborough, Gentleman, to be a Coroner witliin our said County to do all those things which by our

��Commission to him given and the Laws in force within our said Prov- ince he as a Coroner is authorized to do and perform to which appointment the said Stephen Peabody was after- wards sworn. And whereas it now appears to us not to be consistent with Our Honor and the good of our Subjects of our said County that the said Stephen Peabody should be any longer continued in the said office ; We do therefore by and with the ad- vise of our aforesaid John Wentworth, Esq, our Governor and Commander in Chief as aforesaid hereby super- sede the said Commission and appoint- ment of the said Stephen Peabody to the office of a Coroner within our said County of Hillsborough and do for- bid his acting therein for the future to every intent and purpose and hereby declare any and every such acts to be null and void.

You are therefore hereby required to make known to the said Stephen Peabody this our will and pleasure and make due return hereof and of your doings therein into the Secre- tary's office of our said Province on or before the thirtieth day of April next.

In Testimony whereof we have caused the seal of our said Province to be hereunto affixed, Witness our aforesaid Governor and Commander in Chief the twenty fourth day of March in the fifteenth year of our reign, Annoque Domini 1775.

J WENTWORTH.

Hillsborough s.s. April 5 — 1775. Pursuant to this precept to me direct- ed I have made known to the within named Stephen Peabody as I am herein commanded by sending the same to him.

BENJAMIN WHITING,

Sherif.

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