Government and Administration of the United States | Page 6

which the right of
settlement, and occupancy of the soil had been obtained from the king,
the colonies had obtained different rights of government, and were
placed under different obligations to the crown. There came thus to be
three types of colonial governments; the provincial or royal, the
proprietary, and charter governments.
#I. Provincial Colonies.#--Those colonies which possessed a provincial
form of government were royal colonies, being governed almost
entirely by England, as she governs many of her colonies to-day. At the
head of each was a Governor appointed by the King of England. He
was assisted by a council, also appointed by the king. The constitution
and laws for this form of government were contained in the
commission and instruction given to the Governor by the English
government. By them the Governor was empowered to summon a
representative assembly. The legislative body consisted, then, of the
Governor, his council, appointed by the king, and a lower house elected
by the people. The Governor had the right of veto, and the power to
dissolve the assembly. The legislature could make laws, provided they
were not repugnant to the laws of England. These laws were subject to
the approval of the Crown. The governor, with the advice of his council,
could erect courts, appoint judges, levy forces, etc. From the highest
courts in all the colonies an appeal lay to the English King in Council.
#II. Proprietary Colonies.#--The English King often gave to
individuals large tracts of land in the New World. In addition to
ownership of the soil, was given in many cases the right to establish

civil government. These proprietors had all the inferior royalties and
subordinate powers of legislation. The proprietor could appoint or
dismiss the governor, he could invest him with the power to convene a
legislature, with power to veto its acts according to his wishes, and to
perform all other powers of a governor. All laws made, those of
Maryland excepted, were subject to the approval of the English Crown.
#III. Charter Colonies.#--Colonies under this form of government were
so called from their possessing constitutions for their general political
government. These written constitutions were charters obtained from
the King, in which were granted to the people of the colony certain
privileges and rights of self-government which the English government
could not justly take away from them. One of the unjust acts that did
much to arouse the colonists to resistance, was the attempt of the
English government in 1774, to annul the charter of Massachusetts by
the Regulation Act. In this act was contained a precedent that (as Curtis
says) "justly alarmed the entire continent, and in its principle affected
all the colonies, since it assumed that none of them possessed
constitutional rights which could not be altered or taken away by an act
of Parliament." The charters were very liberal, granting almost entire
self-government. As in the royal colonies, the executive was a governor,
and the law-making branch a legislature of two houses.
In Massachusetts the governor was appointed by the Crown, and had a
veto power. The Council or upper branch of the legislature was chosen
annually by the lower house, but the governor had a right of veto on
their choice. The lower house was elected by the people. In Connecticut
and Rhode Island the governor, council, together with the assembly
were chosen annually by popular vote, and all officers were appointed
by them. In these two the governor had no right of veto, and the laws
before going into execution did not require the royal approval.
Seven of the original colonies began under proprietary
governments--New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North and South
Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey. Of these, four--New York, New
Jersey, North and South Carolina--became eventually provincial
colonies, and Maryland was at one time a proprietary.

Three of the colonies, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island,
were settled under charters that were never surrendered. Three others,
Virginia, Georgia and New Hampshire possessed charters for a while,
but eventually became royal colonies.
Notwithstanding these diversities of government that have been pointed
out, there were many features common to all the colonies. All
considered themselves dependencies of the British Crown. All the
colonists claimed the enjoyment of the privileges and rights of
British-born subjects, and the benefit of the common law of England.
The laws of all were required to be not repugnant to, but, as nearly as
possible, in conformity with the laws of England. In all the colonies
local legislatures existed, at least one branch of which consisted of
representatives chosen by the people.
The general condition of the colonies at the time of the outbreak of the
Revolutionary War, so far at least as concerns their governments, has
now been given. What were the grounds upon which the colonists
justified their resistance