Existing comment:
Disallowance of Colonial Statutes
The British government regarded the colonies' new democratic institutions with caution. In order to control the colonies' legislative assemblies the king's primary council of advisors, known as the Privy Council, reviewed all laws passed by the colonies. The Privy Council confirmed or disallowed new legislation, a power that it exercised from the 1660s until the end of the colonial period. Disallowance of a statute meant that the statute was effectively repealed from the time the Privy Council rendered its decision. Typically the Privy Council sent handwritten notices to the colonies ordering any required changes in the law. This item is the only known printed notice of disallowance.
Laws of His Majesties Province of the Massachusetts Bay. Boston: Bartholomew Green and John Allen, 1701. |