﻿THE 
  ISLANDS 
  OF 
  BERMUDA 
  

  

  17 
  

  

  same 
  body 
  which 
  met 
  in 
  a 
  parish 
  church 
  

   in 
  St. 
  George 
  three 
  hundred 
  years 
  ago. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  no 
  people 
  I 
  know 
  in 
  this 
  hemi- 
  

   sphere 
  who 
  have 
  shown 
  the 
  same 
  love 
  of 
  

   the 
  past, 
  the 
  same 
  adherence 
  to 
  the 
  old- 
  

   time 
  traditions, 
  as 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  this 
  

   Lilliputian 
  domain, 
  which 
  had 
  its 
  origin 
  

   in 
  the 
  wrecking 
  of 
  the 
  Sea 
  Venture 
  under 
  

   Sir 
  George 
  Somers. 
  The 
  same 
  tribes 
  

   exist 
  under 
  same 
  names 
  as 
  prescribed 
  in 
  

   the 
  charter 
  of 
  James 
  I 
  of 
  1615. 
  

  

  The 
  survey 
  which 
  fixed 
  the 
  division 
  

   lines 
  of 
  those 
  tribes 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  an 
  able 
  

   surveyor, 
  Norwood, 
  before 
  1620. 
  He 
  di- 
  

   vided 
  the 
  island 
  into 
  eight 
  parishes, 
  and 
  

   in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  parishes 
  there 
  was 
  an 
  "over- 
  

   plus," 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  called, 
  of 
  nearly 
  300 
  acres 
  

   which 
  Governor 
  Tucker 
  took 
  possession 
  

   of 
  and 
  on 
  which 
  he 
  built 
  a 
  house. 
  The 
  

   historian 
  suggests 
  that 
  this 
  incident 
  would 
  

   have 
  been 
  called 
  a 
  job 
  in 
  modern 
  days. 
  

  

  In 
  1662, 
  Norwood, 
  the 
  Surveyor, 
  pre- 
  

   pared 
  a 
  careful 
  map 
  showing 
  the 
  shares 
  

   and 
  their 
  ownership, 
  which, 
  as 
  General 
  

   Lefroy 
  says, 
  are 
  preserved 
  in 
  a 
  well 
  

   drawn 
  map 
  and 
  constitute 
  the 
  Domesday 
  

   Book 
  of 
  the 
  islands. 
  

  

  The 
  parishes 
  vary 
  much 
  in 
  population. 
  

   Some 
  are 
  small 
  in 
  number 
  of 
  people 
  and 
  

   are 
  much 
  over-represented 
  in 
  the 
  as- 
  

   sembly, 
  but 
  the 
  people, 
  though 
  often 
  

   urged, 
  will 
  not 
  remove 
  the 
  old 
  landmarks. 
  

  

  The 
  history 
  of 
  no 
  other 
  self-governing 
  

   colony 
  can 
  be 
  so 
  clearly 
  traced 
  as 
  Ber- 
  

   muda, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  none 
  other 
  is 
  its 
  

   intimate 
  family 
  history 
  of 
  its 
  early 
  days 
  

   made 
  so 
  familiar. 
  For 
  this 
  we 
  are 
  indebted 
  

   to 
  the 
  happy 
  circumstance 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  

   records 
  of 
  the 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  Governor 
  

   and 
  council 
  in 
  the 
  assizes 
  of 
  the 
  general 
  

   sessions 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  general 
  assembly, 
  

   which 
  had 
  been 
  for 
  near 
  a 
  century 
  mere 
  

   bundles 
  of 
  old 
  papers 
  in 
  the 
  custody 
  of 
  

   the 
  clerk 
  of 
  the 
  council, 
  were 
  examined 
  

   by 
  General 
  L. 
  H. 
  Lefroy, 
  Governor 
  from 
  

   1 
  87 
  1 
  to 
  1877, 
  and 
  were 
  by 
  him 
  compiled. 
  

  

  General 
  Lefroy 
  supplemented 
  these 
  rec- 
  

   ords 
  with 
  others 
  from 
  the 
  Mother 
  Coun- 
  

   try 
  and 
  arranged 
  them 
  all 
  in 
  chronolog- 
  

   ical 
  order, 
  with 
  helpful 
  comment 
  and 
  pre- 
  

   liminary 
  digest. 
  So 
  successful 
  was 
  he 
  in 
  

   his 
  work 
  that 
  the 
  staid 
  Assembly 
  of 
  Ber- 
  

   muda 
  assumed 
  the 
  heavy 
  expense 
  of 
  

   publishing 
  the 
  two 
  large 
  volumes. 
  

  

  Of 
  course,- 
  the 
  records 
  are 
  somewhat 
  

   fragmentary, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  sufficiently 
  full 
  

   to 
  bring 
  one 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  this 
  island 
  

  

  community, 
  and 
  to 
  enable 
  us 
  to 
  note 
  their 
  

   customs, 
  their 
  ambitions, 
  their 
  quarrels, 
  

   their 
  religion, 
  their 
  failings, 
  their 
  vices, 
  

   their 
  methods 
  of 
  government, 
  and 
  their 
  

   curious 
  administration 
  of 
  justice. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  said 
  that 
  the 
  general 
  assembly 
  

   and 
  the 
  councils 
  have 
  changed 
  but 
  little 
  

   since 
  they 
  began, 
  three 
  hundred 
  years 
  

   ago. 
  The 
  great 
  change 
  has 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  

   establishment 
  of 
  a 
  separate 
  court. 
  

  

  GOVERNOR 
  ONCE 
  COMBINED 
  EXECUTIVE, 
  

   LEGISLATIVE, 
  AND 
  JUDICIAL 
  DUTIES 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  the 
  Governor 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  unite 
  in 
  his 
  person 
  legislative, 
  execu- 
  

   tive, 
  and 
  judicial 
  duties. 
  He 
  presided 
  

   over 
  the 
  assembly, 
  took 
  part 
  in 
  its 
  delib- 
  

   erations, 
  voted 
  on 
  measures, 
  and 
  vetoed 
  

   them. 
  As 
  Governor, 
  he 
  executed 
  the 
  

   laws 
  and 
  regulations 
  he 
  helped 
  to 
  make. 
  

   Under 
  the 
  English 
  constitution, 
  in 
  the 
  

   royal 
  courts, 
  the 
  judges 
  were 
  appointed 
  

   by 
  the 
  king 
  and 
  acted 
  for 
  him. 
  

  

  The 
  king 
  might 
  sit 
  in 
  the 
  court 
  with 
  

   them, 
  but 
  in 
  fact 
  he 
  never 
  did. 
  In 
  Ber- 
  

   muda 
  the 
  theory 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  courts 
  were 
  

   acting 
  in 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  executive 
  and 
  

   for 
  him 
  was 
  realized 
  in 
  fact 
  ; 
  so 
  that, 
  with 
  

   his 
  council, 
  he 
  administered 
  justice. 
  Sit- 
  

   ting 
  with 
  a 
  somewhat 
  larger 
  council 
  in 
  

   general 
  session, 
  he 
  acted 
  as 
  a 
  court 
  of 
  

   error. 
  

  

  Even 
  after 
  separate 
  courts 
  were 
  estab- 
  

   lished, 
  the 
  Governor 
  and 
  the 
  council 
  con- 
  

   tinued 
  to 
  act 
  as 
  a 
  court 
  of 
  equity 
  and 
  to 
  

   be 
  a 
  supreme 
  court 
  of 
  error. 
  

  

  Now 
  properly 
  much 
  of 
  this 
  has 
  been 
  

   abolished 
  by 
  the 
  establishment 
  of 
  the 
  

   Supreme 
  Court, 
  presided 
  over 
  by 
  a 
  Chief 
  

   Justice 
  appointed 
  by 
  the 
  Crown 
  of 
  Great 
  

   Britain. 
  This 
  Chief 
  Justice 
  is 
  a 
  member 
  

   of 
  the 
  legislative 
  council, 
  and 
  so 
  in 
  sepa- 
  

   rate 
  body 
  acts 
  in 
  a 
  legislative 
  capacity 
  as 
  

   well. 
  

  

  The 
  Supreme 
  Court 
  exercises 
  jurisdic- 
  

   tion 
  both 
  at 
  law 
  and 
  equity, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  

   in 
  certain 
  cases 
  appeals 
  to 
  the 
  judicial 
  

   committee 
  of 
  the 
  privy 
  council. 
  

  

  I 
  asked 
  the 
  Chief 
  Justice 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  

   this 
  appellate 
  jurisdiction 
  of 
  the 
  priw 
  

   council, 
  and 
  he 
  said 
  that 
  in 
  his 
  term 
  of 
  

   some 
  years 
  no 
  appeal 
  had 
  ever 
  been 
  taken 
  

   and 
  perfected. 
  And 
  he 
  could 
  not 
  remem- 
  

   ber 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  island 
  history. 
  

  

  In 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  forms 
  

   of 
  government 
  have 
  been 
  but 
  slightly 
  

   changed 
  in 
  Bermuda, 
  the 
  spirit 
  of 
  con- 
  

  

  