itical life of the colony
centered in Charleston, from which a direct trade was carried on
with London.

[Illustration: %An old Maryland manor house%]

Labor on the plantations of Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia was
performed exclusively by negro slaves and redemptioners.

%101. Civil Government in the English Colonies.%--If we arrange the
colonies according to the kind of civil government in each, we find that
they fall into three classes:

1. The charter colonies (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island).

2. The proprietary colonies (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland).

3. The royal, or provincial, colonies (New Hampshire, New York, New
Jersey, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia).

The charters of the first group were written contracts between the King
and the colonists, defined the share each should have in the government,
and were not to be changed without the consent of both parties. In
colonies of the second group some individual, called the proprietary,
was granted a great tract of land by the King, and, under a royal
charter, was given power to sell the land to settlers, establish
government, and appoint the governors of his colony. In the third group,
the King appointed the governors and instructed them as to the way in
which he wished his colonies to be ruled.

With these differences, all the colonies had the same form of
government. In each there was a legislature elected by the people; in
each the right to vote was limited to men who owned land, paid taxes,
had a certain yearly income, and were members of some Christian church.
The legislature consisted of two branches: the lower house, to which the
people elected delegates; and the upper house, or council, appointed by
the governor. These legislatures could do many things, but their powers
were limited and their acts were subject to review: 1. They could do
nothing contrary to the laws of England. 2. Whatever they did could be
vetoed by the governors, and no bill could be passed over the veto. 3.
All laws passed by a colonial legislature (except in the case of
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland), and approved by a governor,
must even then be sent to England to be examined by the King in Council,
and could be "disallowed" or vetoed by the King at any time within three
years. This power was used so constantly that the colonial legislatures,
in time, would pass laws to run for two years, and when that time
expired w