NEW JERSEY.

The territory now occupied by New Jersey had been a part of the province of New Netherlands, First Proprietor. and in its northern parts was occupied by a few scattering Dutch families. It was included in the grant made by Charles to the Duke of York, and was by him immediately assigned to Lords Berkeley and Carteret with all the proprietary rights which accompanied the original grant. They took measures to induce emigration; and their concessions were so liberal that in a short time numerous flourishing towns were established by people from the other colonies and from England.

The government which the proprietors set up was to be exercised by a governor and council and The Government. general assembly. The governor was to be appointed by the proprietors, the council by the governor. The general assembly was the legislature. It was to consist of the governor and council, and deputies chosen by the freemen of the towns. This body was to make laws subject to the approval of the proprietary. It had power to constitute courts, to levy taxes, to provide for the defence of the province, and to make annual appropriations for maintaining the government. Thus the privileges for which some of the other colonies struggled for years were granted at the outset ; especially the right to lay taxes, and to control the provincial expenditures. The right to appeal to the proprietor was granted in all cases. Freedom of

conscience and worship was also secured. Local charters of incorporation were given to the various communities, by which they were empowered to make their own by-laws, to choose their own municipal officers, and to hold courts for deciding small causes.

These local governments went at once into operation, and continued without interruption; but Disturbed Adthe provincial government was for a

ministration.

long time in a confused state. The demand of the proprietors for the payment of annual quit-rents met with much opposition, especially from those who had occupied the land previous to the grant to Berkeley and Carteret. Some of the towns refused to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the proprietors; and the meetings of the general assembly were frequently suspended for several years.

Division of the

About ten years from the establishment of the proprietary authority, the province was divided; and the western portion came into the Province. hands of William Penn and several others, who proceeded to exercise the proprietary right of jurisdiction. A government was established, consisting of a governor and council, and an assembly representing the people. This assembly was to have the appointment of all officers except the governor, was to fix salaries, and to levy taxes. Liberty of conscience was allowed; and, in general, the principles of popular government were recognized. The province was divided into "tenths; " and these into "proprieties," each of which chose a representative. Two districts for judicial purposes were established, and courts organized. This part of the province was settled chiefly by Quakers from England and Ireland.

New Government.

East New Jersey soon after came into the hands of the same Quaker proprietors who owned the western province; but the form of government remained essentially the same. Counties were soon established in both provinces, and courts established; and the representa

tives to the assembly came to be chosen by the counties, instead of by the "tenths."

During the first thirty years of the history of the colony, there were continual disputes between the proprietors and the Duke of York, between the successive proprietors themselves, and between the proprietors and the people. There was hardly any

New Jersey becomes a Royal Province.

affairs.

time when there was not more or less confusion in the administration of public

This unfortunate condition was terminated in 1702, when the proprietors surrendered to the crown all their jurisdiction in both provinces. In that year, one royal province was formed, with a governor and council appointed by the crown, and an assembly of deputies chosen partly by counties and partly by some of the towns. A large property qualification was required both for the representatives and for the voters; but this was afterward diminished. Laws made were subject to the negative of the governor, and were to be transmitted to the crown for approval. The governor and council were authorized to constitute courts of justice, and to appoint all judicial officers.

Thus it appears that the new government was much less favorable to the interests of the people than the old had been. The control of the judiciary, of expenPreparation for ditures, and of its own sessions, was taken Independence. from the assembly, and nothing given in their place. New Jersey, like Massachusetts, had less political liberty in the second period of its history than in the first; and it was this very change which prepared the people for complete independence. From this time until the Revolution, the history of New Jersey resembles that of the other provinces. The royal governors

were frequently haughty and exacting, the assemblies sometimes submissive, but more often persistent in resisting what were considered violations of their rights. The people were gradually driven to see that the only security for permanent peace was in independence; and they united readily with the other colonies in securing it.

SUMMARY.

1. The territory between the Connecticut and the Delaware Rivers was claimed by the Dutch, and called New Netherlands.

2. From 1615 to 1621, settlements were made at New York and Albany, under the Dutch West India Company.

3. Political power was wholly in the hands of a director-general and a council appointed by the company. For the first thirty years, the people had no voice either in the local or general administration.

4. The people became dissatisfied with their condition, contrasting it with the freedom of New England ; but their complaints were not heeded.

5. King Charles of England gave the territory to the Duke of York, who took it from the Dutch in 1664.

6. The people obtained no voice in the colonial government until 1683, when a representative assembly was formed, and a charter of liberties granted.

7. On the accession of the Duke of York to the throne of England as James II., the colony became a royal province, and was under the government of Andros.

8. Under William and Mary, the colony came to be

governed in nearly the same manner as Massachusetts; and the people, from this time, were earnest in defence of their political privileges.

9. The territory of New Jersey was granted by the Duke of York to proprietors, who encouraged emigration, and gave to the settlers extensive political powers.

10. The local administration was in the hands of the people, and continued to be so without interruption. Dissension between the proprietors and the people caused the colonial government to be frequently in a confused state.

11. The colony next came under the control of William Penn and others, by whom the people were favorably treated; but the dissension continued.

12. In 1702 the colony became a royal province, governed like the others, and subject to the same encroachments of king and parliament.