Petition to the General Court from the Town of Acton

Commonwealth Massachusetts

To the Honourable the Senate and House of Representitives
in General Court assembled

The Inhabitants of the Town of Acton at a Legal Town meeting
on the 12^th Day of June 1786 took into Consideration the embarrass^d
State of Public affairs apprehending that tho' we may be able
to offer nothing new to our Rulers, they would wish to know the Sentements
of the People at large, we therefore Pray for the attention of the
Honourable Court while we State our view of a few matters of grate
importance at the Present Day and Humbly Submit the Same

From a full Conviction that the Present Scarcity of money
and many of our other Difficulties Proceed from the Luxury
and Extravigances of the people we wish Government to take the
most effectual measures to Prevent the importation Superfluities
and to promote Industery frugality and our own Manufactures

and that the People may be the better able to bear the
necessary burdens of the times we Pray that the Strictest
oconomy may be Studied and Practiced in the Conduct of all
our publick affairs if the General Court could be Removed from
the town of Boston to Some Conveniant place in the Country
we concieve it would tend to expedite Busness be less Expence
to the members, and thereby make a Grate Saving to the
State- we are also of opinion that the Saleries of the
officers of the States in General are too high and therefore
ought to be reduced in doing which we presume there will
be no injustice, because money is much better now then
when most of the Saleries were granted- the fees for
Collecting the impost and excise Duties we thing ought not to
be so high there being many Gentlemen fully Competent to
business who would Serve as Collectosr for Less then is
now allow^d- and to afford Some relief to debtors in the
Present Scarcity of money and to Prevent the Grater use?,
Paper money, we are Constrained to be in faver of of a Law
that shall make Real and personel Estate a tender to Satisfy
Executions founded however if possible so as to do no injustice
to Creditors-

and as grate Sufferings have taken place in Consequence
of the pernicious practices of the order of Lawyers we feel the
importance of examining into the evil and give it; as our
Sentiments, that if Justice Cannot be had in our civil Courts without
such extravigant fees to the Gentlemen of the bar as are