ould reenact them for two years more, and so on in order to
avoid the veto. In this way the colonists became used to three political
institutions which were afterwards embodied in what is now the American
system of state and national government: 1. The written constitution
defining the powers of government. 2. The exercise of the veto power by
the governor. 3. The setting aside of laws by a judicial body from whose
decision there is no appeal.

%102. The Colonial Governors.%--The governor of a royal province was
the personal representative of the King, and as such had vast power.
The legislature could meet only when he called it. He could at any
moment prorogue it (that is, command it to adjourn to a certain day) or
dissolve it, and, if the King approved, he need never call it together
again. He was the chief justice of the highest colonial court, he
appointed all the judges, and, as commander in chief of the militia,
appointed all important officers. Yet even he was subject to some
control, for his salary was paid by the colony over which he ruled, and,
by refusing to pay this salary, the legislature could, and over and over
again did, force him to approve acts he would not otherwise have
sanctioned. In Connecticut and Rhode Island the people elected the
governors. This right once existed also in Massachusetts; but when the
old charter was swept away in 1684, and replaced by a new one in 1691,
the King was given power to appoint the governor, who could summon,
dissolve, and prorogue the legislature at his pleasure.

%103. Lords of Trade and Plantations.%--That the King should give
personal attention to all the details of government in his colonies in
America, was not to be expected. In 1696, therefore, a body called the
Lords of the Board of Trade and Plantations was commissioned by the King
to do this work for him. These Lords of Trade corresponded with the
governors, made recommendations, bade them carry out this or that
policy, veto this or that class of laws, examined all the laws sent over
by the legislatures, and advised the King as to which should be
disallowed, or vetoed.

In the early years of our colonial history the Parliament of England had
no share in the direction of colonial affairs. It was the King who owned
all the land, made all the grants, gave all the charters, created all
the colonies, governed many of them, and stoutly denied the right of
Parliament to meddle. But when Charles I. was beheaded, t