The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

For the New-Hampshire Gazette.

To the Honorable the medical society of
The humble petition of HUMPHRY TROGMORTON
of
Sheweth,

That the expence your honors meant to save to your patients, by
a resolve passed not long since in curtailing the four meetings of the farriers down
to two, annually, has not answered, nor
is like to answer, that salutary end which
your honors proposed. That as your pe-
titioner has a servant man, who, if he
happens to be cut short of, and go with-
out his dinner, is sure to eat a double
Supper to make it up : so your honors
servants, the farriers, can hold their meet-
ings twice as long as they did before--
or can adjourn, which amounts to the
same thing.-That the number of far-
riers have increased in a ratio not pro-
portioned to your honors' patients ; hav-
ing now risen up to the number of forty
odd, instead of twenty five ; and this in
the short Space of two years. That at
this rate of multiplying, in twenty years
more, may it please your honors, they
will be two hundred strong--that then
the expence will be a full match for all
our other expences.--That your honors
patients now have to find bay and oats, for
some horses while they are impounded and
under cure, five months and twenty nine
days, instead of two months and twenty
eight days. That the œconomical vote
which your honors passed above two
years ago, respecting the enclosing pound-
yards, and erecting buildings therein for
disordered horses to tread out corn in, in or-
der to pay for their keeping, currying, &c.
through the unaccountable negligence
of the farriers, has never been carried
into effect, to the great detriment of
your honors patients. That the holding
these farrier meetings is necessary, if it is
for no other purpose than that each district in the place may have a spokesman
there to vote how much money shall be
raised for the service of --, and how,
when and where it shall be laid out and
expended, is not true ; in as much as
the town wherein your petitioner dwells,
have not passed a single vote, in their
meetings, to raise a penny of money, for
these twenty years, and upwards ; but
have always left that matter entirely to
the selectmen, to do therein as they
thought proper ; but have annually had
a check upon said selectmen, by choos-
ing a committee to audit their accounts,
and yet your petitioner never heard of
so much as a single pair of lips being o-
pened against them for mal-administra-
tion in this respect.

Your petitioner therefore humbly
prays that your honors will be pleased
to give order that your apprentices may
take all disordered horses under their care
and charge, where, if they should fail
being cured, that then the said horses may
be carried up to your honors surgeons, at
which place or places it may be done in
a workmanlike manner, and with a great
saving of expence to your honors patients.
Or, your petitioner humbly prays that
your honors will be pleased to restrict
the farriers down to a certain number,
consisting of three, four or even five,
who may be specially named and appoint-
ed to hold these meetings in peace, order,
regularity and decency--and with becoming
sobriety and dignity, and not in that lan-
guid, timid, and ridiculous, half-awkward
kind of confusion, which sometimes attend
town meetings, where almost every person
present is a member.
But if your honors shall think that
neither of these methods will answer—
your petitioner then (and not else) hum-
bly prays, that, instead of the manner
the said farrier meetings are now held,
your honors will be pleased to give your
assent that every animate being in the
district. drest in human form and flesh-
men, women, children and all, may
meet in some convenient place therein,
and hold these meetings themselves.
Your petitioner could demonstrate to
your honors a thousand advantages that
would accrue from this arrangement ; the
principal of which is, that where there
are so many heads, 'twill be next a kin to
impossible for any wrong to be done.
Your petitioner also humbly prays
this honorable Society to take such fur-
ther order respecting the premises as to
them shall seem meet.
And your petitioner shall pray, &c.
HUMPHRY TROGMORTON