seven. He did not give to the House of Representatives the privilege of asking opinions from the Supreme Court, but restricted that right to the Governor and Council and to the Senate. He provided that the Senate, and not the Governor and Council, should hear causes of marriage, divorce and alimony "until the Legislature shall by law make other provision." All officers of the militia were to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Council. This, too, was changed by the Convention, thus making, according to Mr. Adams, the second material change in his draft, that concerning the absolute veto of the Governor being the first.[1]
The New Constitution Submitted and Accepted
On the 2d of March, 1780, the Constitution[2] was finally agreed to and submitted to the people, together with an address defending and explaining the document. The Convention then adjourned, to meet on the 7th of June, at the Brattle Street Church in Boston, where the votes for and against the adoption of the Constitution were to be counted. A two-thirds vote was required for adoption, and it having been ascertained that the requisite number of votes bad been obtained, a resolve was adopted for carrying the Constitution into effect and the Convention dissolved on the 16th of June.
The first General Court under the new frame of government met at the State House in Boston on the 25th of October of the same year. It consisted of two hundred members. The condition of the country was still unsettled and serious opposition tended to frustrate the proper workings
