[39]
But in the case of the little colony founded by the Pilgrims of the
Mayflower there was no obstacle. She was now annexed to Massachusetts,
which also received not only Maine but even Acadia, just won from the
French; so that, save for the short break at Portsmouth, the coast of
Massachusetts now reached all the way from Martha's Vineyard to the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. [Sidenote: Plymouth, Maine, and Acadia, annexed to
Massachusetts]
But along with this great territorial extension there went some
curtailment of the political privileges of the colony. By the new
charter of 1692 the right of the people to be governed by a legislature
of their own choosing was expressly confirmed. The exclusive right of
this legislature to impose taxes was also confirmed. But henceforth no
qualification of church-membership, but only a property qualification,
was to be required of voters; the governor was to be appointed by the
crown instead of being elected by the people; and all laws passed by
the legislature were to be sent to England for royal approval. These
features of the new charter,--the extension, or if I may so call it, the
_secularization_ of the franchise, the appointment of the governor
by the crown, and the power of veto which the crown expressly
reserved,--were grave restrictions upon the independence which
Massachusetts had hitherto enjoyed.
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