Acts, 1796. — Chapter 4. 7 Be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid^ that the said Town of Bethel, be and the same is hereby divided into two distinct parishes to be designated, the East parish and West parish — And tlie following shall be the divide- ing line between said parishes Vizt : Beginning on the Boundaries of EaBtPadBh. South line of the Town at a Tree Marked sixteen, seven- teen, standing on the line between the sixteenth & seven- teenth ranges of Lots, thence to run on said line between the sixteenth and seventeenth ranges to the north line of the town ; And all the Lands in said Town, with the In- habitants thereon east of said dividing line be and hereby are Incorporated into a seperate parish, by the name of the East parish in Bethel. And all the lands in said Town BoundarieBof ^^*'^""*''- with the Inhabitants thereon west of the said dividino; line be, and hereby are Incorporated into a seperate parish by the name of the West parish in Bethel. And that each of said parishes be and are hereby Invested with all the powers, privileges, & immunities, which other parishes within this Commonwealth are intitled.to, or do by Law enjoy. A.7id be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid^ that Benjamin Russell Esqr. be and he is hereby Author- choice of Parish Officers. i.T !• 1 '1 ized, to Issue his several warrants,j_Tjijdirected to some suit- able person in each of said parishes, requiring him to notify and warn the Inhabitants of the parish wherein he lives to meet at the time and place expressed in such warrant, for the purpose of choosing such Parish Otficers as may be chosen in the Month of March or April Annually, And also to transact any other business that may be legally transacted in parish Meetings. Approved June 10, 1796. 1796. — Chapter 4. [May Session, ch. 5.] AN ACT TO AMEND THE ACT "DIRECTING THE MANNER IN WHICH INQUESTS OF OFFICE SHALL BE TAKEN, TO REVEST REAL ESTATE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OR TO ENTITLE THE COMMONWEALTH THERETO." Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives in General Court assembled and by the authority of the same, that in all cases wherein the Legislature hath Attomey- already directed, or shall direct the Attorney General to ITsi'sdJu institute an Inquest of Office in order to revest the title suc'h breaches and possession of any Real Estate in the said Common- p^o'^'gj.*^'"''^ ; 8 Acts, 1796. — Chapter 5. wealth for the breach or breaches of any of the conditions of the leases, grants or other conveyances thereof, it shall be the duty of the said Attorney General, to assign such breach or breaches of conditions, in the information he shall file, as to him shall appear proper ; though there shall be no Act of the Legislature directing or designat- ing the same any thing in the said Act to the contrary. notwithstanding Approved June 11, 1796. 1796. — Chapter 5. [May Session, ch. 4.] AN ACT FOR ESTABLISHING A TURNPIKE GATE ON SUCH ROAD AS SHALL BE MADE AT THE PLACE AND ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT. Preamble. Whei^eas the highway leading through the toivns of Palmer & Western, is circuitous rocky arid inountainous and there is much travelling over the same, & the expence of st7'aitening , making and repairing an highivay through those towns so as that the same may be safe <& convenient for travellers ivith horses <& carriages, ivoidd he much greater than ought to he required of the said towns under their present circumstances Be it therefore Enacted hy the Senate & House of Rep- resentatives in General Court assembled and by the author- Persons iucorporated. ity of the same, that Levi Pease, Ephraim Mower, Nathaniel Gorham, Moses Bliss, Thomas Dwight, Jonathan Dwight, Dwight Foster, John Hastings, David Sexton, Samuel Fowler, Daniel Goulding, Ebenezer Hunt, Samuel Hen- shaw, John Hooker, Erastus Lyman, Joseph Lyman, Levi Lincoln, Pliny Merrick, Ebenezer Mattoon junr. Charles Phelps, Nathaniel Paine, Warham Parks, Ben- jamin Prescott, William Shepard, Levi Shepard, Simeon Strong, Phinehas Upham, Samuel Ward, John Williams, Samuel Flagg, Salem Town, and all such persons as shall be associated with them and their Successors, shall be a Corporation by the name of "The First Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation," and shall by that name sue & be sued, & shall have a common Seal and enjoy all the })rivi- leges & powers, which are b}' law incident to Corporations, for the purpose of laying out and making a Turnpike Road from Western Bridge, near the Upper Mills so called in Western in the County of Worcester, to the County-Road, near the house lately called Scott's tavern in Palmer in.