Page:Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1st ed, 1833, vol I).djvu/97

 CH. IV.] spirit of the times, it must be acknowledged, that, on the whole, this charter contains a liberal grant of authority to the Province; and a reasonable reservation of the royal prerogative. It was hailed with sincere satisfaction by the colony after the dangers, which had for so long a time menaced its liberties and its peace.

§ 72. In reviewing the laws passed by the Legislature of Massachusetts during its colonial state, the first and most important consideration is the early care, with which the public rights of the inhabitants were declared and established. No man's life, person, honor, or good name was to be affected; no man was to be deprived of his wife or children, or estate, unless by virtue or equity of some express law of the General Court, "or in case of a defect of a law in any particular case, by the word of God; and in capital cases, or in cases of dismembering or banishment according to that word, to be judged of by the General Court." No persons but church members were allowed to become freemen; and all persons o twenty-one years of age were allowed to dispose of their estate by will or any proper conveyance. All conveyances were to be by deed acknowledged and recorded in the public records. All lands and hereditaments were declared free from all fines and forfeitures. Courts of law were established, and local processes provided for. The trial by jury in civil and criminal cases was secured. Wager at law was not allowed but