CHAPTER XI. THE COLONIES OF CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND. CONNECTICUT. As in the other colonies, the title to the territory occupied by Connecticut was based upon Grant of Territory. a grant of land from the Council for New England. This was made to its president the Earl of Warwick, who deeded it to a company of eleven persons, of whom Lord Say and Seal was the first named. The limits of the grant were, on the east, the Narragansett River; on the north, a straight line from that river westerly; on the south, the seashore for one hundred and twenty miles; on the west, the South Sea. Within these limits, a number of detached companies settled themselves, but soon became united into two colonies. About 1635 settlers from the vicinity of Boston emigrated to the Connecticut River, and The Conneclocated themselves at Windsor, Wethers- ticut Colony. field, and Hartford. They supposed themselves to be within the territory of Massachusetts; and the General Court granted a commission to eight of the prominent men to govern the colony for one year. These men seem to have administered all the colony affairs for about three years. Sometimes, when special business made it advisable, the towns appointed committees to act with the court. The Constitution. In 1639 all the free planters met at Hartford, and framed and adopted a constitution, which is considered the first instrument of the kind on record. It provided for two general courts annually one for election, where the whole body of freemen were to choose by ballot a governor and six magistrates, or assistants; the other court, for legislation, was to consist of four deputies from each of the original towns, and from new towns according to the population, with the governor and magistrates. The governor had power to convoke the assemblies; but they could only be adjourned or dissolved by vote of a majority of the members. Judicial powers were in the hands of the magistrates. In this instrument there was no recognition of any external authority whatever. The first court held after the adoption of the constitution prepared a bill of rights which in its main provision was based upon Magna Charta. In the same year, each town was empowered to dis Towns. pose of its own lands, to choose its own officers, and order its own local affairs. In each, three, five, or seven men might be chosen annually, who should have power to decide all controversies when the amount at issue did not exceed forty shillings. A town clerk was also to be chosen. New Haven In 1638 a company of persons from England, under the lead of John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, formed a settlement at New Haven. It was a wealthy society, and so united and well disposed that there was no civil, military, or ecclesiastical authority for the first year. Then, at a meeting of the people, it was agreed, that church-members only should be freemen, and they only should choose magistrates. They therefore proceeded to choose twelve men, who of their own number selected seven to begin the church. These seven, called pillars, formed the church out of such individuals as they saw fit. The church so formed, with such members of other churches as desired, constituted the body of freemen; and they elected a governor and four magistrates. Legislative or judicial business was transacted both by the magistrates, and by the general court of all the freemen. Settlements were soon after made at Milford, Guilford, and Stamford; and each town governed itself after the New Haven model. In 1643 these four towns united under a form essentially the same as in the Connecticut Colony. In all, the state was ruled by the church, as in Massachusetts Bay. The two colonies remained distinct until 1662, when a charter was obtained from the king in- The Charter corporating nineteen persons of Connecti Government. cut, with such associates as they might elect, under the title, "The Governor and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut in New England in America." The territory granted them embraced that formerly given to Warwick, and included the towns of the New Haven Colony. There was to be a governor, deputy governor, and twelve assistants, and a house of deputies composed of two members from each town; all elected annually by the freemen. As in most of the other charters, there was a reservation that no laws should be made repugnant to the laws of England. This patent was exceedingly obnoxious to the people of New Haven, who by it would lose their separate existence, and with it the fundamental principle upon which their government was based. The privilege of becoming freemen could no longer be restricted to church-members. For three years New Haven refused to accede to the demand of Connecticut, and maintained its independence; but in 1665 it was obliged to yield, and the charter government went into operation. So completely was the power in the hands of the people that even the Revolution made no change necessary, and this charter formed the only constitution of Connecticut until 1818. Counties. For the administration of justice, courts were held in the counties by the resident assistants, from whose judgment appeals might be made to the Assistants' Court at Hartford, which also had jurisdiction in all capital cases. The pardoning power was vested in the general assembly. The legislation was, in the main, copied from the Massachusetts code, and was not less Legislation. minute in its provisions to promote Sabbath-keeping, chastity, and temperance; but the socalled Blue Laws, with their absurd details, were the invention of a man not in sympathy with the colony, who had returned to England. Suffrage. The right of suffrage was granted to any person twenty-one years of age, owning real estate to the amount of twenty pounds, and recommended by the selectmen of his town as of honest, civil, and peaceable conversation. Providence RHODE ISLAND. As in Connecticut, so in Rhode Island, various isolated settlements were at first made, which soon found it necessary to unite for mutual protection. In 1636 Roger Williams and five Plantation. others began a settlement at Providence. They were soon joined by others; and Williams, who had received a deed from Indian chiefs, divided the land equally between himself and his associates. From the incomplete records of the town, it appears that the people met monthly to determine matters of general interest, but delegated no power except to a clerk and a treasurer. There is a record of an early compact in which the signers agreed to subject themselves "only in civil things" to such orders as should be made by the majority of the masters of families inhabiting the town. This limitation of the civil authority to "civil things is characteristic of all the legislation of this colony. Within a few years (1640), it became necessary to have a more complete civil organization, Early Governand it was determined to choose five" dis- ment. posers," as they were called, to attend to the general business of the town. They were to meet by themselves monthly, and quarterly were to report to the town, and give up their trust for a new election. Instead of making these selectmen judges, as was done in the other colonies, all private disputes were to be settled by arbitrators chosen by the parties to the quarrel, or, if they refused, by the "disposers." Special town meetings could be called at the request of any citizen who was dissatisfied with the action of the selectmen. This was the most completely democratic government in New England. In fact, it was too democratic to work successfully. It allowed too much liberty to individuals, and gave too little authority to the community. In 1638 a settlement was made at Portsmouth, and in the next year one at Newport; both by people from Massachusetts who, like Wil Rhode Island |