Book Description

Excerpt from Chapters on the Early Government of Connecticut, Vol. 3: With Critical and Explanatory Remarks on the Constitution of 1639 The government accepted in the beginning by the planters, according to Dr. Palfrey (i, was found in practice inconvenient, and the commission, when the year had ex pired, was not renewed. But I suspect that inconvenience, merely, was not the motive for non-renewal. Much heavy work was to be done - work requiring the assistance of every able-bodied man - and it is probable that a more popular gov ernment was demanded. An army was to be raised and war material provided, and nothing could be accomplished without efficient organization. So, on the first day of May, 1637, a General Corte (the first in Connecticut), assembled in Hart ford, having two classes Or ranks of members. In the first were Roger Ludlow, William Phelps, Thomas Wells (of Hart ford), John Steele, William Swaine, and Andrew Ward, two from each town, all members of the old commission, Mr. Wells a short time only. They were grave magistrates, and the trusted counselors of the settlements, whose business it doubtless was to represent Wisely the several communities as a whole. They apparently occupied a position in the govern: ment similar to that of the magistrates under the Constitution of 1639. A very brief record does not give all the informa tion we desire on this and other points. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.