It laid the county tax, appointed road overseers, directed the expenditure of county money, and performed many other administrative duties. A third rank of courts was the ordinary county court, in some colonies called a superior county court. It was held by judges appointed by the governor or elected by the assembly. In this court was tried the large majority of criminal and civil cases. A civil case is one that concerns property and a criminal case is one that has to do with a crime. Here a jury must be called if it was demanded by one of the parties. Above the county court was a high court to which appeals were made. It corresponds to our state supreme courts. It was held by judges of high station. The highest court of all was held by the king, to whom every man might appeal his case if he did not like the decision of the courts in the colonies. But the expense of making the appeal to the king was great. It meant that the man making the appeal and his witnesses must go to England; and by this means it came about that only rich men could make such appeals.

QUESTIONS

I. What colonies had royal governors? What power had such governors in lawmaking? How did the king have power over lawmaking? Describe the governor's authority over the militia. How did his appointments increase his influence? What officials did he appoint other than military? Describe his right to nominate certain officers. What was the nature of the instructions sent to a royal governor? Describe the power of proprietary governors. Why was he less respected than a royal governor? What was the position of a governor elected by the assembly? In what colonies was the governor chosen in this way? Was the governor of any colony elected by the people? What was the relation of the goverDescribe the life in the capital of

nor to the social life of the colony? Virginia.

II. What was the council? How were the members selected? What was the social importance of the members? What side did the council take in the dispute over the power of the king? How was the council appointed in Massachusetts?

III. Describe the two houses of a colonial legislature. Who might vote? Did all vote who had the right? Compare the vote of colonial times with the vote of present times. What was the upper house? What were its powers in lawmaking? How did the council defend the interests of the king? What were the results? Describe the office and power of the speaker.

What was the
What was the
What officers

IV. Why did the king not supervise the colonies in person? To whom did he leave the duty? Describe the purpose of the board of trade. Did the board understand the real needs of the colonies? Describe the position of colonial agent. On what was Franklin's reputation as a scientist founded? How did it help him serve the interests of the colonies? V. Name three forms of local government. What was the origin of the Virginia county? Into what colonies did it extend? center of county life? How large was a typical county? position of the sheriff? How was the militia organized? did it have? Describe the musters. What was the center of the New England town? How was it governed? What did the selectmen do? Describe the mixed form of local government. How did it originate? In what colony was it most developed? In what ways has it survived? VI. What grades of colonial courts can you mention? Describe the lowest. What was its duty? How was it held? How were the justices of the peace appointed? What was the court of quarter, session? What business did it do which was not judicial? What was the county superior court? How was it held? How were the judges selected? What is the difference between civil and criminal cases? What was the court above the county court? What kind of business went to it? What judicial authority had the governor? What kind had the king? Why was appeal to England difficult?

SUGGESTED TOPICS

The Salary of the Massachusetts Governor; Governor Shirley of Massachusetts; Governor Tryon of North Carolina; Colonel William Byrd as a Member of the Council.

CHAPTER XI

THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Position of

of men,

THE American revolution occurred because two groups one in England and one in America, wished to do exactly opposite things. The king, ministers, and parliament wished to the king rule the colonies for the advantage of the merchants and other people in Great Britain. They thought the colonies owed obedience to the mother country, forgetting that the day comes when every child is so large that he cannot be directed solely by the commands of his parents. They thought, also, that the king and parliament could make such laws and other rules for the colonies as the former thought wise. The king was very sincere and did not understand why the colonists thought their liberties would be lost if they did as he wished. Parliament and most of the British people agreed with him.

Two things stand out in all the replies of the colonists to the king. One was the conviction that America would some day be a

Position
of the
Americans

great nation, but that it could not be great if it existed for the advantage of the mother country. The other was the belief that they had as much right as the people of England to make the laws under which they lived. It is true that they had never entirely made their own laws; for all that the assemblies did was liable to be defeated by the governor or by the king, who could annul laws; but the colonists grew yearly more and more confident that there were some things that not even the king should have a voice in. They thought that if they gave in on these points, they would never cease to be the tools of the king and the British merchants.

In 1763 the war with France came to an end and Canada was handed over to England. From Georgia to Maine the inhabitants joyfully celebrated when they received the news; for A new they knew no more Indians raids would fall upon them colonial from Canada. At that moment they were very loyal to program Great' Britain. Suddenly came an announcement which changed all their joy into anxiety. Two harsh laws had passed parliament (1764) and another was threatening. One was a law for the more rigid collection of duties in America. At the same time the "molasses act," a law so bad that the government had not tried to enforce it, was revived and instructions given for its execution. A second law provided that an army should be kept in America, whose expenses were to be paid out of the revenues collected at the colonial ports. Putting the two laws together, the colonists concluded that an army would be sent over to watch them and that it would be supported by money collected from the Americans themselves.

HALER

Stamps issued under the stamp act

The third law was a stamp act, providing that stamps must be affixed to newspapers The stamp and legal documents. act The stamps would be sold by the king's officers and the proceeds would go into his treasury. It was not passed at once, but was only suggested, with the statement that it might be passed later. Meanwhile the colonies were invited to say what form of taxation they would like better than a stamp tax. Grenville, the British minister, promised to give due attention to any suggestion from the Americans. He waited a year, but all he heard from the colonies was the declaration that parliament had no right to lay taxes on them. Both he and parliament took this for defiance and met it by passing the stamp act in 1765.

Everywhere in the colonies were now heard words of wrath.

Otis

The men who were most prominent in the assemblies took the lead in declaring that the stamp act would be resisted in all possible Henry and ways. Meetings were called, and the young men formed themselves into societies called the "sons of liberty." Two men did much to arouse the people, Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and James Otis, of Massachusetts. They were both great orators and painted in vivid pictures the fate of the colonies when bound hand and foot and forced to pay taxes at the command of England.

From hot words the "sons of liberty" turned to violent deeds. The offices of the agents appointed to sell the stamps were beViolent re- sieged, the officials themselves were hooted on the sistance streets, windows were broken, and the agents so threatened that they preferred to resign office rather than take further risk. When the day came for the law to go into force, there was nobody to sell stamps, except in South Carolina and Georgia, where the people showed their disappointment by refusing to buy or use stamps. Any one could see that if the act was enforced, it must be at the point of the bayonet; and for such a course the king was not ready.

The stamp aet congress, 1765

While these things were happening the colonies called what became known as the "stamp act congress." It was a meeting of delegates from all the colonies but New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia; and from these four colonies came words of sympathy. The meetingplace was New York, and the year was 1765. Petitions were prepared and sent to the king asking for the repeal of the stamp act, and resolutions were adopted declaring that parliament had no right to tax the colonies. The congress was the first step of the colonies to act together against England. The petition sent to London was written in respectful terms, but it was a firm protest against what the colonists considered a wrong.

The firm stand taken in America opened the eyes of the king and his ministers. They did not think it worth while to make