Page:Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Volume 1.djvu/456

 442 ///. THE COLONIAL PERIOD petition of the English Quakers against a Connecticut law, was to keep certain aspects of Connecticut's management steadily before the Board of Trade and to lead to what were often serious misrepresentations to the home authorities. In consequence Connecticut got a bad name. In 1704 the colony narrowly escaped having a governor put over it ^ through the authority of the King in Council. But that body evi- dently preferred that Parliament should take the matter in hand, and in 1706 a bill similar to that of 1701 was intro- duced. It passed the House of Commons but failed of pas- sage in the House of Lords. ^ The long list of charges against the proprietary and char- ter governments already on the books of the Board was con- tinually supplemented by additional charges from Congreve,^ of Dudley and Cornbury to the Privy Council. The Council sent it to Northey and Harcourt, the Crown lawyers. They replied advising that a governor be placed over both Rhode Island and Connecticut. This opinion was reported to the Board and was communicated to the agents of the colonies. A hearing was appointed at which they were to state why, in point of law, the Crown should not appoint governors over these colonies during the war. The hearing appointed for Nov. 30, 1704, was put off from week to week until Feb. 12, 1705. In the mean- time Lord Cornbury sent over Gershom Bulkeley's " Will and Doom " to strengthen the case against Connecticut. The work was received Jan. 16, 1705. It is probable that at the hearing the agents were able to show the inexpediency, if not illegality of a military governor, for on the day of the hearing the Council, evidently convinced that the matter could be best attended to by Parliament, directed the Board to draw up a list of charges, which was done, the chief source being the letters of Cornbury and Dudley. The order in Council also in- structed the Board to transmit the list of charges to the Governor of New York and New England. This was done April 18, 1705, and Cornbury was ordered to send copies to Connecticut and Rhode Island, where public depositions were to be made as to the truth or falsity of the charges. {Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, IV, p. 1141.) Upon the evidence thus received the Board based its representation of Dec, 1705, in consequence of which an Order in Council was issued directing the Board to lay before her Majesty the misfeances of the charter governments. (B. T. Journal, 18, f. 153.) This report was sent to Mr. Secretary Hedges. lie in answer sent back a draught of a bill relating to the uniting of the colonies to the Crown. After some alteration, Feb., 1706 (f. 219), this bill was intro- duced into Parliament. B. T. Papers, Proprieties, M. 47; Journal, 18. ff. 177-178, 252, 281; 20, ff. 9, 11. » Palfrey, IV, 368-369. See previous note. » Charles Congreve to the Board of Trade, Dec. 4, 1704. This letter containing a list of complaints against Connecticut was written at the order of the Board. B. T. Papers, Proprieties, M. 49.
 * The Board of Trade sent a representation based on the charges