"Forasmuch as it hath pleased the Almighty God, by the wise disposition of His divine providence, so to order and dispose of things, that we the inhabitants and residents of Windsor, Hartford and Weathersfield, are now cohabiting, and dwelling in and uppon the river of Conneticutt, and the lands thereunto adjoining, and well knowing when a people are gathered together, the word of God requires, that to meinteine the peace and union of such a people, there should be an orderly and decent governement established according to God, to order and dispose of the affaires of the people at all seasons, as occasion shall require; doe therefore associate and conjoine ourselves to bee as one publique STATE or COMMONWEALTH; and doe for ourselves and our successors, and such as shall bee ad-joined to us at any time hereafter, enter into combination and confederation together, to meinteine and pre-serve the libberty and purity of the Gospell of our Lord Jesus, which we now profess, as also the discipline of the churches, which, according to the truth of the said Gospell, is now practiced amongst us; as allso in our civill affaires to be guided and governed according to such lawes, rules, orders, and decrees, as shall bee made, ordered, and decreed, as followeth:
§ I. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That there shall bee yearly two Generall Assembly's or Courts, the one the second Thursday in Aprill, the other the second Thursday in September following: The firstshall bee called the Courte of Election, wherein shall be yearely chosen, from time to time, so many magistrates and other publique officers, as shall bee found requisite, whereof one to be chosen Governor for the yeare ensuing, and untill another bee chosen, and no other magistrate to bee chosen for more then one yeare; provided always, there bee six chosen besides the Governor, which being chosen and sworne according to an oath recorded for that purpose, shall have power to administer justice according to the lawes here established, and for want thereof, according to the rule of the word of God; which choyce shall bee made by all that are admitted Freemen, and have taken the oath of fidelity, and do cohabit within this jurissdiction, having beene admitted inhabitants by the major parte of the town where they live or the major parte of such as shall bee then present.
§ 2. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That the Election of the aforesaid magistrate shall bee on this manner; every person present and qualified for choyce, shall bring in (to the persons deputed to receive them) one single paper, with the name of him written in it whom he desires to have Governor, and hee that hath the greatest number of papers shall bee Governor for that yeare: And the rest of the Magistrates or publique officer, to be chosen in this manner; the Secretary for the time being, shall first read the names of all that are to bee put to choyce, and then shall severally nominate them distinctly, and every one that would have the person nominated to bee chosen, shall bring in one single paper written uppon, and hee that would not have him chosen, shall bring in a blanke, and every one that hath more written papers than blanks, shall be a magistrate for that yeare, which papers shall bee received and told by one or more that shall bee then chosen, by the Courte, and sworn to bee faithfull therein; but in case there should not bee six persons as aforesaid, besides the Governor, out of those which are nominated, then hee or they which have the most written papers, shall bee a Magistrate or Magistrates for the ensuing yeare, to make up the aforesaid number.
§ 3. It is ordered, sentenced, and decreed, That the Secretary shall not nominate any person, nor shall any person bee chosen newly into the Magistracy, which was not propounded in some General Courte before, to bee nominated the next election: And to that end, it shall be lawfull for each of the Townes aforesaid, by theire Deputies, to nominate any two whoe they conceive fitt to be put to election, and the Courte may add so many more as they judge requisite.
§ 4. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That no person bee chosen Governor above once in two years, and that the Governor bee always a member of some approved congregation, and formerly of the magistracy, within this Jurissdiction, and all the Magistrates, freemen of this Commonwealth; and that no Magistrate or other publique Officer, shall execute any parte of his or theire office before they are severally sworne, which shall bee done in the face of the Courte, if they bee present, and in case of absence, by some deputed for that purpose.
§ 5. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That to the aforesaid Courte of Election, the severall Townes shall send theire Deputyes, and when the Elections are ended they may proceed in any publique service, as at other Courtes; allso, the other Generall Courte in September, shall bee for making of lawes and any other publique occassion, which concerns the good of the Commonwealth.
§ 6. It is ordered, sentenced, and decreed, That the Governor shall, either by himselfe or by the Secretary, send out summons to the Constables of every Towne, for the calling of these two standing Courts, one month at least before theire severall times; And allso, if the Governor and the greatest parte of the magistrates see cause, uppon any speciall occasion, to call a Generall Courte, they may give order to the Secretary so to doe, within fourteene dayes warning, and if urgent necessity so require, upon a shorter notice, giving sufficient grounds for it, to the Deputys, when they meete, or else, bee questioned for the same; and if the Governor and major parte of the Magistrates, shall either neglect or refuse, to call the two Generall standing Courts, or either of them; as allso, at other times, when the occassions of the Commonwealth require; the Freemen thereof, or the major parte of them, shall petition to them so to doe, if then it bee either denied or neglected, the said Freemen or the major parte of them, shall have power to give order to the Constables of the severall Townes to doe the same, and so many meete together and choose to themselves a moderator, and may proceed to doe any act of power which any other Generall Courte may.
§ 7. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That after there are warrants given out for any of the said Generall Courts, the Constable or Constables of each Towne shall forthwith give notice distinctly to the inhabitants of the same, in some publique Assembly, or by going or sending from howse to howse, that at a place and time, by him or them limited and sett, they meete and assemble themselves together, to elect and chose certaine Deputies to bee at the Generall Courte then following, to agitate the affaires of the Common-wealth; which said Deputies, shall bee chosen by all that are admitted inhabitants in the severall towns and have taken the oath of fidelity: provided, that none bee chosen a Deputye for any Generall Courte which is not a Freeman of this Commonwealth: The aforesaid Deputyes shall bee chosen in manner following: Every person that is present and qualified as before expressed, shall bring the names of such written in severall papers, as they desire to have chosen, for that employment; and these three or foure, more or less, being the number agreed on to be chosen, for that time, that have greatest number of papers written for them, shall bee Deputyes for that Courte; whose names shall be indorsed on the backside of the warrant and returned into the Courte, with the Constable or Constables hand to the same.
§ 8. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That Wyndsor, Hartford and Weathersfield, shall have power, each Towne, to send foure of theire Freemen as theire Deputyes, to every Generall Courte, and whatsoever other Townes shall bee hereafter added to this Jurisdiction, they shall send so many Deputyes, as the Courte shall judge meete: a reasonable proportion to the number of Freemen, that are in the said Towns, being to bee attended therein; which Deputys shall have the power of the whole Towne, to give theire voates and allowance to all such lawes and orders, as may bee for the publique good, and unto which the said Towns are to bee bound; And it Is allso ordered, that if any Deputyes shall be absent uppon such occassions, as Governor for the time being, shall approve of, or by the Providence of God, shall decease this life within the adjournment of any Courte, that it shall bee at the libertye of the Governor to send forth a warrant, in such case, for supply thereof uppon reasonable warning.
§ 9. It is ordered, sentenced, and decreed, That the Deputyes thus chosen, shall have power and liberty, to appoint a time and place of meeting together, before any Generall Courte, to advise and consulte of all such thinges as may concerne the good of the publique; as allso to examine theire owne Elections, whether according to the order; and if they or the greatest parte of them, finde any election to be illegall, they may seclude such for present, from theire meetinge, and returne the same and theire reasons to the Courte; and if it proove true, the Courte may fyne the party or partyes so intruding, and the Towne if they see cause, and give out a warrant to goe to a new election in a legall way, either in parte or in whole. Allso the said Deputyes shall have power to fyne any that shall bee disorderly at theire meeting, or for not coming in due time or place, according to appointment, and they may returne the said fyne into the Courte, if it bee refused to bee paid, and the Treasurer to take notice of it, and to estreite or levye as hee doth other fynes.
§ 10. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, That every generall Courte (except such as through neglect of the Governor and the greatest parte of Magistrates, the Freemen themselves doe call,) shall consiste of the Governor or some one chosen to moderate the Courte, and foure other Magistrates at least, with the major parte of the Deputyes of the several Towns legally chosen, and in case the Freemen or the major parte of them, through neglect or refusall of the Governor and major parte of the Magistrates, shall call a Courte, it shall consiste of the major parte of Freemen, that are present, or theire Deputyes, with a moderator chosen by them, in which said Generall Courts, shall consiste the Supreme powere of the Commonwealth, and they onely shall have power to make lawes and repeale them, to graunt levyes, to admitt of Freemen, dispose of lands undisposed of, to severall Towns or persons; and allso shall have power to call either Courte or Magistrate, or any other person whatsoever into question, for any misdemeanor, and may for such cause, displace, or deale otherwise, according to the nature of the offence; and allso may deale in any other matter that concerns the good of this Commonwealth, except election of Magistrates, which shall bee done by the whole body of Freemen; in which Courts the Governor or Moderator shall have the power to order the Courte, to give libbertye of Speech, and silence unreasonable and disorderly speaking, to put all things to voate, and in case the voate bee equall, to have the casting voice: But none of these courts shall be adjourned or dissolved without the consent of the major parte of the Courte. Provided, notwithstanding, that the Governor or Deputy Governor, with two Magistrates shall have power to keepe a Particular Courte according to the lawes established; And in case the Governor or Deputy Governor bee absent, or some way or other incapable either to sitt or to bee present; if three Magistrates meete and chuse one of themselves to bee a Moderator, they may keepe a Perticular Courte, which to all ends and purposes shall bee deemed as legall as though the Governor or Deputy did sitt in Courte.
§ 11. It is ordered, sentenced, and decreed, That when any Generall Courte, upon the occassions of the Commonwealth, have agreed uppon any summ or summs of monye, to be levyed uppon the severall Townes within this Jurissdiction, that a Committee bee chosen, to sett out and appoint what shall bee the proportion of every Towne to pay of the said levye; Provided the Comittee bee made up of an equall number out of each Towne.
The eleven preceding sections were voted or enacted at a General Court, held January 14th, 1638-9, and the following provision was added at the revision in 1650:
Forasmuch as the free fruition of such libberties, immunities, priviledges, as humanity, civility, and Christianity call for, as due to every man in his place and proportion, without impeachment and infringement, hath ever beene and ever will bee the tranquility and stability of Churches and Commonwealths; and the denyall or deprivall thereof, the disturbance, if not ruine of both:
§ 12. It is thereof ordered by this Courte, and authority thereof, That no man's life shall bee taken away; no man's honor or good name shall be stained; no man's person shall bee arrested, restreined, bannished, dismembred, nor any way punished; no man shall be deprived of his wife or children; no man's goods or estate shall bee taken away from him nor any ways in dammaged, under colour of law, or countenance of authority; unless it bee by the vertue or equity of some express law of the Country warranting the same, established by a Generall Courte and sufficiently published, or in case of the defect of a law, in any perticular case, by the word of God."
This was the first step towards a government by the people under a written constitution,1 and if this instrument was not the joint production of Thomas Hooker, John Haynes and Roger Ludlow, many authorities attributing it to the last named on account of his legal training,2 it reflected their sentiments, and they were also instrumental in having it presented and adopted by the inhabitants of the three river towns.
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