This morning's Boston Globe reports: ===================== In 1629, colonists landed in Salem bearing the Royal Charter of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, granting permission ''for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of Newe England in America." Massachusetts, as we know it, was born. And now, that mother of all real estate contracts, not to mention a foundational document in US history, could be up for sale. The Salem Athenaeum has made preliminary inquiries about selling its copy of the Massachusetts Bay Charter to raise funds for its endowment. Critics fear that the document could end up in private hands or possibly a foreign country. ===================== Full story at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/03/2 1/colonial_charter_may_go_on_sale/ ===================== Chris