They limited the
legislative powers of the colonial assemblies. The question sometimes
came up as to whether some statute made by the assembly was not in
excess of the powers conferred by the charter. This question usually
arose in connection with some particular law case, and thus came before
the courts for settlement,--first before the courts of the colony;
afterwards it might sometimes be carried on appeal before the Privy
Council in England. If the court decided that the statute was in
transgression of the charter, the statute was thereby annulled.[6] The
colonial legislature, therefore, was not a supreme body, even within the
colony; its authority was restricted by the terms of the charter. Thus
the Americans, for more than a century before the Revolution, were
familiarized with the idea of a legislature as a representative body
acting within certain limits prescribed by a written document. They had
no knowledge or experience of a supreme legislative body, such as the
House of Commons has become since the founders of American states left
England. At the time of the Revolution, when the several states framed
new governments, they simply put a written constitution into the
position of supremacy formerly occupied by the charter.
Pages:
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319