General History of Connecticut, from Its First Settlement Under George Fenwick to its Latest Period of Amity with Great BritainPeters, Samuel
History
General History of Connecticut, from Its First Settlement Under George Fenwick to its Latest Period of Amity with Great Britain
Peters, Samuel
Connecticut -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Connecticut -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
By authority of the Charter, the freemen chuse annually, in May, a
Governor, a Deputy-Governor, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and 12
Assistants, and, twice a year, two Representatives from each town.
These, being met, constitute the General Assembly, which has power to
make laws, provided they are not repugnant to the laws of England, and
enforce them without the consent of the King.
The General Assembly meets in May and October without summoning. By it
the colony has been divided into six counties, viz. Hertford,
Newhaven, New-London, Fairfield, Windham, and Litchfield; and these
subdivided into 73 townships and 300 parishes.
Each town has two or more justices of peace, who hear and determine,
without a jury, all causes under 2_l._
Each county has five judges, who try by a jury all causes above 2_l._
Five judges preside over the superior court of the province, who hold
two sessions in each county every year. To this court are brought
appeals from the county courts when the verdict exceeds 10_l._ appeals
from the courts of probate, writs of error, petitions for divorce, &c.
The General Assembly is a court of chancery, where the error or rigour
of the judgments of the superior courts are corrected.
The General Assembly, and not the Governor, has the power of life and
death.
The courts of probate are managed by a justice of peace appointed by
the General Assembly.
Each county has its Sheriff, and each town its constables.
By charter the Governor is Captain-general of the militia. Fourteen
Colonels, 14 Lieutenant-Colonels, and 14 Majors, are appointed by the
General Assembly. The Captains and Subalterns are elected by the
People, and commissioned by the Governor.
The ecclesiastical courts in Connecticut are: 1. The Minister and his
Communicants; 2. The Association, which is composed of every minister
and deacon in the county; 3. The Consociation, which consists of four
ministers and their deacons, chosen from each Association; and always
meets in May, at Hertford, with the General Assembly. An appeal from
the Consociation will lie before the General Assembly; but the clergy
have always been against it, though with less success than they
wished.--The General Assembly declared “Sober Dissenters” to be the
established religion of the province.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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