In 1618, there were internal changes in the Virginia Company that led to the resignation of Sir Thomas Smith as treasurer, and to the election of Sir Edwin Sandys as his successor. This roughly corresponded to changes in company policy toward the administration of the colony and to intensified efforts to develop Virginia. It led to the abolition of martial law, to the establishment of individual property ownership, and greater freedom and participation in matters of government. Virginia already enjoyed a high degree of religious freedom due, perhaps, to the fact that a number of company officers were strongly under the influence of the puritan element within the Church of England. This, together with the fact that Virginia was not settled purely for religious reasons, caused less stress to be put on absolute uniformity in church matters. Sir George Yeardley, recently knighted, returned to Virginia as governor in April 1619, and was the first spokesman in the colony for the new policy toward Virginia. In England it had been ably advanced on behalf of the colony by Sir Edwin Sandys, the Earl of Southampton, and John and Nicholas Ferrar. Soon after his arrival, Yeardley issued a call for a representative legislative assembly which convened at Jamestown on July 30, 1619, and remained in session until August 4. This was the earliest example of our present system of representative government in America. The full intentions behind the moves that led to this historic meeting may never be known. It seems to have been an attempt to give to the Englishmen in America those rights and privileges of Englishmen that had been guaranteed to them in the original company charter, rather than a planned attempt to establish self-government in the New World on a scale that might have been in violation of English law and custom at the time. Whatever the motive, the significance of this meeting in the church at Jamestown remains the same. This body of duly chosen representatives of the people has continued in existence and its evolution leads directly to our State legislatures and to the Congress of the United States. DEVELOPMENTS, 1619-24. Another significant development of 1619 was the sending by the company of maidens to Virginia to be wives of the settlers. Although many women were already established with their families in the Jamestown colony, the company recognized that homes and children for all the men would be conducive to established family life and permanent residence. Under this new project, the first maidens arrived in May and June 1620. Others followed, as ships brought more and more young women seeking their fortunes in Virginia.