1750 they pha formed an assembly and passed votes for their common purposes. Towns. From these different forms of familiar local government the colonists chose those best suited to their own conditions. New Englanders were settled in compact little communities; they liked to live near the church, and where they could unite for protection from enemies. They preferred the open parish assembly, to which they gave the name of "town meeting." Since some of the towns were organized before the colonial legislatures began to pass comprehensive laws, the towns continued, by permission of the colonial governments, to exercise extended powers. The proceedings of a Boston town meeting in 1731 are thus reported:— "After Prayer by the Revt mr John Webb, Habijah Savage Esq' was chose to be Moderator for this meeting "Proposed to Consider About Reparing m' Nathaniell Williams His Kitchen &c "6 'In Answer to the Earnest Desire of the Honourable House of Representatives "Voted an Entire Satisfaction in the Town in the late Conduct of their Representatives in Endeavoring to preserue their Valuable Priviledges, And Pray their further Endeavors therein "Voted. That the Afair of Repairing of the Wharff leading to the North Battrey. be left with the Selectmen to do therein as they Judge best—” The county was also organized in New England, but took on chiefly judicial and military functions, and speedily abandoned local administration. In the South the people settled in separate plantations, usually strung out along the rivers. Popular assemblies were inconvenient, and for local purposes the people adopted the English select vestry system in what Counties. tice and Her han tion vote I wer Mixe syste Sta the Cou tive erni peo busi no 3750.] Local Government. 13 they called parishes. The county government was emphasized, and they adopted the English system of justices of the peace, who were appointed by the governor and endowed with large powers of county legislation. Hence in the South the local government fell into the hands of the principal men of each parish without election, while in New England it was in the hands of the voters. In some of the middle colonies the towns and counties were both active and had a relation with each other which was the forerunner of the present sysMixed system. tem of local government in the Western States. In New York each town chose a member of the county board of supervisors; in Pennsylvania the county officers as well as the town officers became elective. Whatever the variations, the effect of local government throughout the colonies was the same. The people carried on or neglected their town and county business under a system defined by colonial laws; but no colonial officer was charged with the supervision of local affairs. In all the changes of a century and a half since 1750 these principles of decentralization have been maintained. form. 7. Colonial Government. Earlier than local governments in their development, and always superior to them in powers, were the colonial General governments. In 1750 there was a technical distinction between the charter governments of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, the proprietary governments of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, and the provincial governments of the eight other continental colonies. In the first group there were charters which were substantially written constitutions binding on both king and colonists, and unalterable In some The land except by mutual consent. In the second group some The participation of the people in their own govern- CO a ex le vi la m Ex C C go by ΤΗ alt ele als at of an ing CO up ass Jud we and CO qu rai aga Pro 1750.] Colonial Government. 15 council as well as of an upper house. The governor was a third part of the legislature in so far as he chose to exercise his veto power. The only other limitation on the legislative power of the assemblies was the general proviso that no act "was to be contrary to the law of England, but agreeable thereto." Executive. The governor was the head of the executive department, sometimes a native of the colony, as Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and Clinton of New York. But he was often sent from over seas, as Cornbury of New York, and Dunmore of Virginia. In Connecticut and Rhode Island the legislatures chose the governor; but they fell in with the prevailing practice by frequently re-electing men for a succession of years. The governor's chief power was that of appointment, although the assemblies strove to deprive him of it by electing treasurers and other executive officers. He had also the prestige of his little court, and was able to form at least a small party of adherents. As a representative of the home government he was the object of suspicion and defiance. As the receiver and dispenser of annoying fees, he was likely to be unpopular; and wherever it could do so, the assembly made him feel his dependence upon it for his salary. Colonial courts were nearly out of the reach of the assemblies, except that their salaries might be reduced or withheld. The judges were appointed by Judiciary. the governor, held during good behavior, and were reasonably independent both of royal interference and of popular clamor. The governor's council was commonly the highest court in the colony; hence the question of the constitutionality of an act was seldom raised since the council could defeat the bill by voting against it, it was seldom necessary to quash it by judicial process. Legal fees were high, and the courts were the most unpopular part of the governments. H L 4759 wer aro English statutes. 8. English Control of the Colonies. In Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the governor was not appointed by the Crown, the colonies closely approached the condition of republics; but even in these cases they acknowledged several powers in England to which they were all subject. First came English law. It was a generally accepted principle that all English statutes in effect at the time of the first colonization held good for the colonies so far as applicable; and the principles of the common law were everywhere accepted. Second came the Crown. When the colonies were founded, the feudal system was practically dead in Eng land; but the conception that the Crown held The Crown. the original title to all the lands was applied in the colonies, so that all titles went back to Indian or royal grants. Parliament made no protest when the king divided up and gave away the New World. Parliament acquiesced when by charter he created trading companies and bestowed upon them powers of government. Down to 1765 Parliament seldom legislated for individual colonies, and it was generally held that the colonies were not included in English statutes unless specially mentioned. The Crown created the colonies, gave them governors, permitted the local assemblies to grow up, and directed the course of the colonial executive by royal instructions. Parliament. The agent of the sovereign in these matters was from 1696 to 1760 the so-called Lords of the Board of Trade and Plantations. This commission, appointed by the Crown, corresponded with the govern ors, made recommendations, and examined colonial laws. Through them were exercised the two branches of Eng lish control. Governors were directed to carry out a spe< Means of control. cified specified classes of laws If the con vet "O rela pro ofte thu pas sta try but for tro ma littl Onl nie 165 hor twe by rig nie ned dis An for Оп |