been briefly told as follows:--

The town of Hingham had chosen a certain man to be the captain of
its military company, and had sent his name to the magistrates for
approval. Before action had been taken upon the name the town
reconsidered its action, and chose another man to be captain, and
sent in his name. The magistrates were strongly inclined to confirm
and appoint the first and to reject the second. Winthrop was especially
pronounced and for his conduct in the affair Hobart impeached him before
the General Court for maladministration in office. The contest was long
and bitter. Winthrop was acquitted and exonerated; Hobart was censured,
and, with many other inhabitants of Hingham, heavily fined. The town
was thoroughly aroused, supported Hobart to the utmost, and paid his
fine.... Winthrop and Hobart were the representatives of the two parties
into which the colony was forming--the more conservative and the more
radical. The extreme radicals scented in the measures and conduct of the
magistrates, tyranny; and the conservatives deprecated the views of the
radicals as leading to unrestrained action and lawlessness. Winthrop was
a conservative; Hobart was a radical. He said he did not know for what
he was fined, unless it was for presuming to petition the General Court,
and that fine was a violation of the right of petition.

Mr. Hobart was characterized "as a bold man, who would speak his mind."

The story of the contest with the authorities is long and tedious, and
it would not serve the purpose of this article to relate it fully, but
we can see in the brief statement above that, whether the minister and
his people were right or wrong, they had in them that energy, pluck, and
persistency which men who would establish strong foundations of society
and municipal prosperity must have.

Many interesting events in the early history of the town must be passed
over. The complete history is being prepared under the authority of the
town, and he who has curiosity concerning it will, ere long, have an
opportunity to gratify it. Suffice it to say that the town suffered, in
common with all the early settlements, from the Indians, though not
extraordinarily; the usual precautions were taken to prevent assaults,
and considerable attention was paid to the maintenance of the military.
The whole civil history of the town has been one of steady prosperity,
of rather slow growth in populat