The Lower House. 371

General Assembly agreed to, an Act was formally passed by the Gov-
ernor, on the 12th of March following, For Establishing the House of
Assembly, and the Laws to be made therein, viz.
Whereas the King's Majesty, by his Letters Patent, hath given
and granted full, free, and absolute Power and Authority, to the
Lord Proprietary of this Province, to make and ordain any Laws,
appertaining to the State of this Province, by and with the Advice,
Assent, and Approbation of the Freemen of the same, or of the
greater Part of them, or of their Delegates, or Deputies, and to that
End, to assemble the said Freemen, or their Delegates, or Deputies,
in such Sort, and Form, as to the said Lord Proprietary should
seem best; by Virtue hereof several Writs, or Summons, have been
directed to certain Gentlemen, to appear personally at this Assembly,
and to the Rest of the Freemen, inhabiting within the several Hun-
dreds of this Colony, and the Isle of Kent, to Elect their Delegates,
or Deputies, in their Names and Stead, to be present at the same; and,
accordingly, all the Freemen of the said several Hundreds, and of
the Isle of Kent (some few excepted) have Elected certain Persons
to that End; and the same, their Election have subscribed and re-
turned upon Record, and their said Delegates, and Deputies, are now
assembled accordingly : Be it therefore Enacted and Ordained, by the
said Lord Proprietary, and with the Advice, Assent, and Approba-
tion of the Freemen, and of the Delegates, and Deputies, assembled
at this present Assembly, that the said several Persons, so Elected and
Returned as aforesaid, shall be, and be called, Burgesses, and shall
supply the Places of all the Freemen, consenting or subscribing to
such their Election, in the same Manner, and to all the same Intents
and Purposes, as the Burgesses of any Borough in England, in the
Parliament of England, useth to supply the Place of the Inhabitants
of the Borough whereof he is Elected Burgess; and that the said
Gentlemen, and Burgesses, and such other Freemen (not having
consented to any the Elections as aforesaid) as now are or shall be
at any Time assembled, or any Twelve or more of them, whereof the
Lieutenant-General, and Secretary of the Province, to be always
Two, shall be called the House of Assembly, and that all Acts, or
Ordinances, assented unto, and approved, by the said House, or by
the major Part of the Persons assembled, and afterwards assented to,
by the Lieutenant-General, in the Name of the said Lord Proprietary,
and shall be adjudged, and established, for Laws, to all the same
Force, and Effect, as if the said Lord Proprietary, and all the Freemen
of this Province, were Personally present, and did assent to, and
approve the same."

From this Time, to the Year 1649, the Assemblies were called,
after the same Manner, with this Difference, that sometimes the
Governor would require a Hundred, or District, to send only One,
or Two Delegates, and at other Times, Three, Four, Five, or Six ;
but the Members of his Lordship's Council were always particularly

L.H.J.
Liber No. 49
Dec. 15

p. 210