nities, with the lands annexed, he shall like best; but shall leave the other, with the lands annexed, to be enjoyed by him, who not being his heir apparent, and certain successor to his present dignity, is next of blood.

XIV. Whosoever, by right of inheritance, shall come to be landgrave or cassique, shall take the name and arms of his predecessor in that dignity, to be from thenceforth the name and arms of his family and their posterity.

XV. Since the dignity of proprietor, landgrave, or cassique, cannot be divided, and the signiories or baronies thereunto annexed must for ever all intirely descend with, and accompany that dignity; whensoever for want of heirs male it shall descend on the issue female, the eldest daughter and her heirs shall be preferred; and in the inheritance of those dignities, and in the signiories or baronies annexed, there shall be no coheirs.

XVI. In every signiory, barony, and manor, the respective lord shall have power in his own name to hold court-leet there, for trying of all causes both civil and criminal; but where it shall concern any person being no inhabitant, vassal, or leet-man of the said signiory, barony, or manor, he, upon paying down of forty shillings to the lords proprietors use, shall have an appeal from the signiory or barony-court to the county-court, and from the manor-court to the precinct-court.

XVII. Every manor shall consist of not less than three thousand acres, and not above twelve thousand acres in one intire piece and colony: but any three thousand acres or more in one piece, and the possession of one man, shall not be a manor, unless it be constituted a manor by the grant of the palatine's court.

XVIII. The lords of signiories and baronies shall have power only of granting estates not exceeding three lives, or thirty-one years, in two-thirds of the said signiories or baronies, and the remaining third shall be always demesne.

XIX. Any lord of a manor may alienate, sell, or dispose to any other person and his heirs for ever, his manor, all intirely together, with all the privileges and

leet-men thereunto belonging, so far forth as any colony lands; but no grant of any part thereof, either in fee, or for any longer term than three lives, or oneand-twenty years, shall be good against the next heir.

XX. No manor, for want of issue male, shall be di.vided amongst coheirs; but the manor, if there be but one, shall all intirely descend to the eldest daughter and her heirs. If there be more manors than one, the eldest daughter first shall have her choice, the second next, and so on, beginning again at the eldest, till all the manors be taken up; that so the privileges, which belong to manors being indivisible, the lands of the manors, to which they are annexed, may be kept intire, and the manor not lose those privileges, which, upon parcelling out to several owners, must necessarily cease.

XXI. Every lord of a manor, within his manor, shall have all the powers, jurisdictions, and privileges, which a landgrave or cassique hath in his baronies.

XXII. In every signiory, barony, and manor, all the leet-men shall be under the jurisdiction of the respective lords of the said signiory, barony, or manor, without appeal from him. Nor shall any leet-man, or leetwoman, have liberty to go off from the land of their particular lord, and live any-where else, without licence obtained from their said lord, under hand and seal.

XXIII. All the children of leet-men shall be leet-men, and so to all generations.

XXIV. No man shall be capable of having a courtleet, or leet-men, but a proprietor, landgrave, cassique, or lord of a manor.

XXV. Whoever shall voluntarily enter himself a leet-man, in the registry of the county-court, shall be a leet-man.

XXVI. Whoever is lord of leet-men, shall upon the marriage of a leet-man, or leet-woman of his, give them ten acres of land for their lives; they paying to him therefore not more than one-eighth part of all the yearly produce and growth of the said ten acres.

XXVII. No landgrave or cassique shall be tried for any criminal cause, in any but the chief-justice's court, and that by a jury of his peers.

XXVIII. There shall be eight supreme courts. The first called the palatine's court, consisting of the palatine, and the other seven proprietors, The other seven courts of the other seven great officers, shall consist each of them of a proprietor, and six counsellors added to him. Under each of these latter seven courts, shall be a college of twelve assistants. The twelve assistants of the several colleges shall be chosen, two out of the landgraves, cassiques, or eldest sons of the proprietors, by the palatine's court; two out of the landgraves, by the landgrave's chamber; two out of the cassiques, by the cassiques chamber; four more of the twelve shall be chosen by the commons chamber, out of such as have been, or are members of parliament, sheriffs, or justices of the county-court, or the younger sons of proprietors, or eldest sons of landgraves or cassiques; the two other shall be chosen by the palatine's court, out of the same sort of persons, out of which the commons chamber is to choose.

XXIX. Out of these colleges shall be chosen at first by the palatine's court, six counsellors, to be joined with each proprietor in his court; of which six, one shall be of those, who were chosen into any of the colleges by the palatine's court, out of the landgraves, cassiques, or eldest sons of proprietors; one out of those, who were chosen by the landgraves chamber; and one out of those, who were chosen by the cassiques chamber; two out of those, who were chosen by the commons chamber; and one out of those, who were chosen by the palatine's court, out of the proprietors younger sons, or eldest sons of landgraves, cassiques, or commons, qualified as aforesaid.

XXX. When it shall happen that any counsellor dies, and thereby there is a vacancy, the grand council shall have power to remove any counsellor that is willing to be removed out of any of the proprietors courts to fill up the vacancy; provided they take a man of the same degree and choice the other was of, whose vacant place is to be filled up. But if no counsellor consent to be removed, or upon such remove the last remaining vacant place, in any of the proprietor's courts, shall be

filled up by the choice of the grand council, who shall have power to remove out of any of the colleges any assistant, who is of the same degree and choice that counsellor was of, into whose vacant place he is to succeed. The grand council also shall have power to remove y assistant, that is willing, out of one college into another, provided he be of the same degree and choice. But the last remaining vacant place in any college, shall be filled up by the same choice, and out of the same. degree of persons the assistant was of who is dead, or removed. No place shall be vacant in any proprietor's court above six months. No place shall be vacant in any college longer than the next session of parliament.

XXXI. No man, being a member of the grand council, or of any of the seven colleges, shall be turned out, but for misdemeanor, of which the grand council shall be judge; and the vacancy of the person so put out shall be filled, not by the election of the grand council, but by those, who first chose him, and out of the same degree he was of, who is expelled. But it is not hereby to be understood, that the grand council hath any power to turn out any one of the lords proprietors or their deputies, the lords proprietors having in themselves an inherent original right.

XXXII. All elections in the parliament, in the several chambers of the parliament, and in the grand council, shall be passed by balloting.

XXXIII. The palatine's court shall consist of the palatine, and seven proprietors, wherein nothing shall be acted without the presence and consent of the palatine or his deputy, and three others of the proprietors or their deputies. This court shall have power to call parliaments, to pardon all offences, to make elections of all officers in the proprietor's dispose, and to nominate and appoint port-towns; and also shall have power by their order to the treasurer, to dispose of all public treasure, excepting money granted by the parliament, and by them directed to some particular public use; and also shall have a negative upon all acts, orders, votes, and judgments, of the grand council and the parliament, except only as in § vI. and XII. and shall have

all the powers granted to the lords proprietors, by their patent from our sovereign lord the king, except in such things as are limited by these Fundamental Constitu

tions.

XXXIV. The palatine himself, when he in person shall be either in the army, or in any of the proprietors * courts, shall then have the power of general, or of that proprietor, in whose court he is then present; and the proprietor, in whose court the palatine then presides, shall during his presence there be but as one of the council.

XXXV. The chancellor's court, consisting of one of the proprietors, and his six counsellors, who shall be called vice-chancellors, shall have the custody of the seal of the palatine, under which charters of lands or otherwise, commissions and grants of the palatine's court,' shall pass. And it shall not be lawful to put the seal of the palatinate to any writing, which is not signed by the palatinate or his deputy, and three other proprietors or their deputies. To this court also belong all state matters, dispatches, and treaties with the neighbour Indians. To this court also belong all invasions of the law, of liberty of conscience, and all disturbances of the public peace, upon pretence of religion, as also the licence of printing. The twelve assistants belonging to this court shall be called recorders.

XXXVI. Whatever passes under the seal of the palatinate, shall be registered in that proprietor's court, to which the matter therein contained belongs.

XXXVII. The chancellor, or his deputy, shall be always speaker in parliament, and president of the -grand council; and in his and his deputy's absence, one .of his vice-chancellors.

XXXVIII. The chief justice's court, consisting of one of the proprietors and his six counsellors, who shall be called justices of the bench, shall judge all appeals in cases both civil and criminal, except all such cases as .shall be under the jurisdiction and cognizance of any other of the proprietors courts, which shall be tried in those courts respectively. The government and regulation of the registries of writings and contracts, shall