[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 166 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WEYMOUTH TOWN MEETINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 22, 1999

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Town of 
Weymouth, in the Tenth District of Massachusetts, which convened our 
nation's first Town Meeting 375 years ago--and which is about to 
convene its last Town Meeting tonight.
  Originally called ``Wessagusset,'' Weymouth was settled in 1622, 
making it the second-oldest town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
After less than a year facing New England's harsh conditions, 
Weymouth's Captain Robert Gorges soon abandoned the settlement, leaving 
those pioneers who remained to reorganize. Out of the desire for self-
government under extraordinary conditions, the Town's citizenry called 
for a ``Meeting of the Inhabitants'' for the purpose of constituting a 
government.
  That first Town Meeting was held in the spring of 1624 on Hunt's 
Hill. Capable citizens were chosen to fill newly-established offices, 
and voting rights were defined. As the meetings continued, all matters 
of public interest were considered and acted upon according to the 
direct will of the inhabitants. The meetings were in effect a 
legislative body, while those who had been appointed as ``townsmen'' 
served as the executive branch.
  Meetings were called whenever any important question required 
action--and that was frequently. Freedom of speech, maintenance of 
personal rights and adherence to the high purpose that in due time 
became incorporated in the Constitution of the United States have since 
animated Weymouth's Town Meetings.
  In the spring of 1624, the Town Meeting was a new venture in 
government, and a new experience for its participants. Over the years 
since, the Town Meeting has developed into a pillar of local democracy 
for which the nation owes a great deal of thanks.
  And now, as the Town embarks on an historic new path, we wish much 
success in advance to its first Mayor, to members of its new Town 
Council, and to the scores of local residents whose vigorous discourse 
has made Weymouth a model of participatory democracy--over the last 375 
years, and into the next millennium.




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