The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface
• Introductory Essay
• New Hampshire: 1: [agreement of the Settlers At Exeter In New Hampshire]
• 2: General Laws and Liberties of New Hampshire
• Massachusetts: 3: [agreement Between the Settlers At New Plymouth] (the Mayflower Compact)
• 4: [plymouth Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity]
• 5: [the Salem Covenant of 1629]
• 6: [agreement of the Massachusetts Bay Company At Cambridge, England]
• 7: [the Watertown Covenant of July 30, 1630]
• 8: [massachusetts Election Agreement]
• 9: The Oath of a Freeman, Or of a Man to Be Made Free
• 10: [the Massachusetts Agreement On the Legislature]
• 11: [cambridge Agreement]
• 12: [dorchester Agreement]
• 13: [cambridge Agreement On a Town Council]
• 14: [massachusetts Agreement On the Legislature]
• 15: The Oath of a Freeman
• 16: [salem Oath For Residents]
• 17: [watertown Agreement On Civil Officers]
• 18: [the Enlarged Salem Covenant of 1636]
• 19: [plymouth Agreement]
• 20: [pilgrim Code of Law]
• 21: [dedham Covenant]
• 22: [the Massachusetts Body of Liberties]
• 23: [the Combination of the Inhabitants Upon the Piscataqua River For Government]
• 24: [massachusetts Bicameral Ordinance]
• 25: [massachusetts Ordinance On the Legislature]
• 26: The Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts
• 27: [massachusetts Ordinance On Legislative Procedure]
• 28: [towns of Wells, Gorgiana, and Piscataqua Form an Independent Government]
• 29: [the Cambridge Agreement of October 4, 1652]
• 30: [puritan] Laws and Liberties
• 31: [an Act of the General Court]
• Rhode Island: 32: [providence Agreement]
• 33: [government of Pocasset]
• 34: [newport Agreement]
• 35: [the Government of Portsmouth]
• 36: Plantation Agreement At Providence
• 37: [organization of the Government of Rhode Island]
• 38: [warwick Agreement]
• 39: Acts and Orders of 1647
• 40: Charter of Providence
• 41: [general Assembly of Rhode Island Is Divided Into Two Houses]
• Connecticut: 42: Plantation Covenant At Quinnipiack
• 43: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• 44: Guilford Covenant
• 45: Structure of Town Governments
• 46: Fundamental Articles of New Haven
• 47: [connecticut Oath of Fidelity]
• 48: Capitall Lawes of Connecticut, Established By the Generall Court the First of December, 1642
• 49: The Government of Guilford
• 50: New Haven Fundamentals
• 51: [majority Vote of Deputies and Magistrates Required For the Passage of Laws In Connecticut]
• 52: Connecticut Code of Laws
• 53: Preface to the General Laws and Liberties of Connecticut Colony Revised and Published By Order of the General Court Held At Hartford In October 1672
• 54: [division of the Connecticut General Assembly Into Two Houses]
• New York: 55: [a Letter From Governor Richard Nicolls to the Inhabitants of Long Island]
• 56: Charter of Liberties and Privileges
• New Jersey: 57: Fundamentals of West New Jersey
• Pennsylvania: 58: Concessions to the Province of Pennsylvania
• 59: Charter of Liberties and Frame of Government of the Province of Pennsylvania In America
• 60: An Act For Freedom of Conscience
• 61: [pennsylvania Charter of Liberties]
• Maryland: 62: Orders Devised and Published By the House of Assembly to Be Observed During the Assembly
• 63: Act For Establishing the House of Assembly and the Laws to Be Made Therein
• 64: An Act For Church Liberties
• 65: An Act For Swearing Allegeance
• 66: An Act What Persons Shall Be Called to Every General Assembly and an Act Concerning the Calling of General Assemblies
• 67: An Act For the Liberties of the People
• 68: [maryland Toleration Act]
• Virginia: 69: Articles, Laws, and Orders, Divine, Politic, and Martial For the Colony In Virginia
• 70: [laws Enacted By the First General Assembly of Virginia]
• 71: Constitution For the Council and Assembly In Virginia
• 72: [laws and Orders Concluded By the Virginia General Assembly]
• 73: Act Relating to the Biennial and Other Assemblies and Regulating Elections and Members In North Carolina
• South Carolina: 74: Act to Ascertain the Manner and Form of Electing Members to Represent the Province
• Georgia: 75: Act to Ascertain the Manner and Form of Electing Members to Represent the Inhabitants of This Province In the Commons House of Assembly
• Confederations: 76: [the New England Confederation]
• 77: [the Albany Plan of Union]
• 78: The Articles of Confederation
• 79: [william Penn’s Plan of Union]
• 80: [joseph Galloway’s Plan of Union]

29

[The Cambridge Agreement of October 4, 1652]

The complete text is taken from The Records of the Town of Cambridge (Formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts, 1630–1703 (Cambridge: University Press, John Wilson and Son, 1901), 2: 99–100. The spelling is the same as in the original except that the German s has been transcribed as an English s, where appropriate.

This agreement is simultaneously a reformation of the civil polity and a set of instructions from the town meeting to those individuals selected to act in their name between meetings. The practice of town meetings giving instructions to the elected officers and representatives was a common one in the colonies and was extended to colony-wide, and later state-wide, representative bodies. Often the purpose of the town meeting was to press for specific legislation, but many, as in this case, were designed to formalize fundamental community values and principles to guide the actions of those in government. Once again we see de facto popular sovereignty implied.

At a Genrall meeting of the Towne ye 4th (10) 1652.

Theis prpositions here under written were voted, and joyntly agreed uppon by the Inhabitants, for the instructions to be given to the Townsmen.

That wt eur1 worke or buissines is by order of Court assigned to the Townsmen or injoyned on the Town That the Townsmen shall make due care to effect the same so as may best conduce to a publique good and no damage by neglect thereof

2. That as often as they shall see needfull, they shall giue publique notice to the inhabitants to meet together and wt eur orders or determinations shalbe passed by a publique vote of the Towne, or are already made by the Towne or ye select men, that the Townsmen take due care to execute fullfill and accomplish the same with out respect of any mans person, according to yr best wisdome.

3. That wt eur damage they shall conceiue or apprehend to come to the Towne, by any person with in or with out the Towne by appropriating intruding or damnifying or exceeding there owne due prportion in any wise, any of the Commons, landes or woodes, or other publique stocke liberties or interests of the Towne according to there best discretion they shall prvent and remoue the same.

4. That they take due care for the maintenance and reparation and well ordering of all such thinges wherin the Towne hath a Common interest, as the meeting house Common gates and high wayes, Common heards and ye like.

5. That they make such wholesome orders and impose such Penalties, and duly publish and execute the same as may best effect the execution of the premises.

6. That the necessary charges yt shalbe expended in ye execution of the premises be yearly discharged by an equall rate, made by the Townsmen, and leuied by the Cunstable on ye seurall Inhabitants

7. That The Cunstables giue in a yearly account of wt they receiue of the publique stocke of the Towne by rate or otherwise, and how they haue disbursed the same, the same to be done before ye yearly Election of the Townsmen, and kept uppon Record in a booke fairely written and in case the Cunstables shall faile herein, then to Continue in there office another yeare, except the Towne shall see meet otherwise to dispose.

8. That the Surveyours of the high wayes take due care for the reparation of all the Comon high wayes with in ye towne, and keep uppon Record the names of Such persons as are improued therein during ye yeare, and deliur the same in a list fairely written to the Townsmen then in place at ye end of there year that so no man may be wronged in doing more than his due proportion.

At the same time the buissines about stinting2 ye Cow Comon3 was debated, and by a publicke Vote agreed that it should be refferred to ye magestrates of the next County Cort in Midlesex, to determine wheth [   ] or Cow Common were already lawfully stinted.

also there is chosen for a committe to effect this buissines with the Magestrates by prsenting ye true state of the buissines, mr Joseph Cooke John Bridge, Gregory Stone, Edward Goffe Ri: Jacson and Edward Winship.

[1. ]This reads, “That what our work ...”

[2. ]Making an allotment, apportioning, setting limits to.

[3. ]A cow common was a field or group of fields owned by the town but set aside for anyone to graze his cattle. In effect, it was a town commons.