IN the year 1827 a HISTORY of HINGHAM was compiled by Solomon Lincoln, Jr., which was published by Caleb Gill, Jr., and Farmer and Brown, of Hingham.   It was a small volume of one hundred and eighty-three pages, the work of private enterprise, and only three hundred copies were printed.   Many of the copies have been destroyed or lost, or distributed among the families of persons who have removed from Hingham; collectors of rare books have also contributed to make the work still more scarce, and of greatly enhanced money value; so that it has been difficult to secure information concerning the early annals of the town.   Moreover the last half-century has been prolific with changes in our local affairs as important as any in all our previous history.   It therefore became a matter of sufficient public interest for the town to take some action in relation to the publication of its history, and at the annual meeting in 1882 a committee was appointed to consider the expediency of publishing a History of Hingham.   This committee made a report at the annual town meeting, in 1883, recommending "that the town cause a History of Hingham to be prepared and published, and that a committee be appointed to have entire charge of the publication."