At first
the town-meetings seem to have been held only for the election of
officers, but they acquired to a limited extent the power of levying
taxes and enacting by-laws. In 1703 a law was passed requiring each
town to elect yearly an officer to be known as the "supervisor," whose
duty was "to compute, ascertain, examine, oversee, and allow the
contingent, publick, and necessary charges" of the county.[4] For
this purpose the supervisors met once a year at the county town. The
principle was the same as that of the levy court in Delaware. This
board of supervisors was a strictly representative government, and
formed a strong contrast to the close corporation by which county
affairs were administered in Virginia. The New York system is
of especial interest, because it has powerfully influenced the
development of local institutions throughout the Northwest.
[Footnote 4: Howard, _Local Const. Hist_., i. 111.]
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.
1. Describe the early local government of eastern South Carolina.
2. Describe the early local government of western South Carolina.
3. Explain the difference.
4. What effort was made in 1768 to put a stop to lynch law?
5.
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