the sites of Newport and Portsmouth. A third
settlement was founded at Warwick, on the mainland, in 1643, by a party
of whom John Greene and Samuel Gorton were leaders. Roger Williams went
to England in the same year, and in 1644 he brought back a charter which
united the settlements at Providence and on Rhode Island in one colony,
called the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The charter was
confirmed by Oliver Cromwell in 1655, and a new charter was granted by
Charles II. in 1663. Under the Parliament charter of 1664 Providence, in
1647, sent a "committee" to Portsmouth to join with committees from other
towns in order to form a government. The fifth "act and order"
established by this convention provided that each town should send a
committee to every general court, and these, like the deputies in
Massachusetts and Plymouth, could exercise the powers of the freemen in
all matters excepting the election of officers. The committee from each
town was to consist of six members.

A peculiar feature of early Rhode Island government was the jealousy with
which the people retained in their own control the law-making power.
Matters of general concern were proposed in some town meeting, and notice
of the proposition had to be given to other towns. Towns which approved
of the proposition were ordered to declare their opinion at the next
general court through their committees. If the court decided in favor of
the proposition a law was passed which had authority only until ratified
by the next general assembly of all the people. The general court was
also allowed to debate matters on its own motion, but its decisions must
be reported to each town by the committee representing that town. A
meeting of the town was held to debate on the questions so reported and
then the votes of the inhabitants were collected by the town clerk and
forwarded with all speed to the recorder of the colony. The latter was to
open, in the presence of the governor, all votes so received, and if a
majority voted affirmatively the resolution of the court was to stand as
law until the next general assembly. This complex method was repealed in
1650, and instead, it was ordered that all laws enacted by the assembly
should be communicated to the towns within six days after adjournment.
Within three days after the laws were received the chief officer of each
town was to call a meeting and read them to the freemen. If any freeman
disliked a particular law h