1780-11-23 (static/transcriptions/1780/11/038.jpg)

1780. 4 Sittings. [Thursday] Nov. 23.

Six Hundred, without reckoning two Companies of Portuguese, who in this Petition are mingled with the English Inhabitants. In passing Road Bills and others of that kind the Numbers for and against it have great weight in England: it must be understood those who have not sign’d this Petition, are for the Bye-Law, for all Persons were invited to join in the opposition by printed hand bills spread about the Town. It is said in Comyns’s Digest and other Books that the Majority of the Inhabitants of a the Town may make By-Laws for the Benefit of the Inhabitants. This Ordinance is for the manifest benefit of the whole Town.
The Petitioners think the Number of Commissioners too few: the Legislative Power of this Country is vested in the Governor General and Council and in this Court, it is therefore for them to determine what number are sufficient, and not for the
/ Petitioners