714 A. E. McKinlcy The parallelism of the Duke's constable and overseers to the Dutch local court is still more noticeable when it is remembered that the ordinances of the town boards under the Laws must be sanctioned by the court of sessions, and that under the Dutch, local by-laws must be approved by the director and council at New Amsterdam. An inspection of some of the town-records shows, in certain cases, a carrying out of the provisions of the Laws, and a total cessation of administrative activity on the part of the town-meetings after the Duke's Laws were promulgated ;' in other cases, the local board and the town-meeting exercised this power jointly;' and in still other cases, the towns almost ignored Nicholls's efforts to shift power from the town-meetings to the constable and overseers.^ In general, it may be said, that the governor failed in his attempt to crush the town-meetings ; and although the towns for a time gave up a part of their activity, they soon, in the struggle for popular representation, regained their old powers, and the town-meeting became as important a factor in the attainment of representative principles during the years from 1668 to 1683, as it was in the similar, though broader, struggle just one hun- dred years later. The third class of changes instituted by NichoUs in the New England codes which he had before him, included those of a nature foreign to both the Dutch and New England legislation. In some cases they were taken from the precedents of old England, and in others they were entirely new. Among the more important of the latter features was the compulsory renewal of all former land and town grants, and the surrender of the old deeds and patents. This law not only invalidated all old grants, but as it required new sur- veys and the payment of fees for the new patents, it became a fruit- ful source of popular agitation and discontent. Of the English features introduced, the most marked are to be seen in the judicial organization. The English life-holding justices of the peace were appointed; the judicial "ridings," the courts of sessions and of assizes, the high sheriffs and the under-sheriffs, all call up similar English institutions. ' See Easthampton (Vol. I.) and Southampton (Vols. I. and II.) Town Records ; before 1 665 legislative activity of town-meeting had been frequent ; between 1665 and 1668 there is scarcely any such action ; after the latter date, the meetings again become active. "In Hempstead the town-meeting and local board exercise concurrent legislative power both before and after the Duke's Laws. 3 In Huntington {Records, I.) and Southold (Records, I.) the bulk of local legisla- tion is done by the town-meetings ; there is very little record of ordinance power of the town board.
