The review of the state of Virginia that we have just been through briefly mentioned the components of the government of the colony. There was a Governor, who was appointed by the Crown. In the period most of interest to us, this was the Earl of Orkney, who remained in England. He had deputies, successively Spotswood, Drysdale, and Gooch, who were actually in Virginia. Incidentally, Alexander Spotswood often referred to himself as Governor even though his formal title was Lt. Gov. The Lt. Gov. was the executive leader of the government (while Lord Orkney was Governor). The legislative branch was the House of Burgesses, where two Burgesses sat from each county. All legislation passed by the House was sent to the twelve-member Council (appointed by the Crown on recommendations of assorted people). The Council reviewed the legislation, suggested changes, and sent it back to the House. When it was agreeable to all, a signing ceremony was held, where the Governor, the Council, and the leaders of the House met. Tentatively, this was the law, but all laws passed in Virginia had to be approved in England. When we reviewed the actions of the Commissioners of Plantations and Trade, we saw their part in this process. Getting approval in London was by no means automatic. (When Virginia enacted legislation saying that no more convicts could be exiled to Virginia, this was protested by the merchant in England who held the contract to ship the convicts to Virginia. He claimed that he could not fulfill his contract if this law were allowed. On this basis, the law was disallowed.)
The Council was an advisory body like our Cabinet members. They advised the Governor, but did not have any originating executive powers. (When the House was not in session, the Governor, with the consent and advice of the Council, might undertake some action.) The Council did have a legislative role, in that they had to approve all legislation, after it was originated, and might even suggest changes in it before it was approved. They also had judicial powers as the highest court in the colony. The Council was very prestigious, and the positions were highly sought after, especially the Presidency of the Council. The President would be the acting Governor in case the Governor died. Normally, the Presidency went to the Council member who had the most seniority in service.
When the forty-two Germans arrived in 1714, Spotswood wanted to put them on the frontier as guards. He proposed to the Council, and they agreed, that the expense of building a fort and supplying the Germans with ammunition could be paid at the public expense. This much is on the record in the Minutes of the Council. (What is not on the record is that the Governor had paid a significant portion of the transportation of these Germans and they could be considered as his servants. Also, he did not mention that they were settled only a few miles from a purported silver mine, in which he had made an investment of forty-five pounds. Nor did he mention that he was going to take up the land, where the fort was built, as a private patent, but the idea had perhaps not occurred to him yet. As you might gather, it was very important for the Governor to be on good terms with the Council.)
The Colony of Virginia was not troubled by the process of electing the Governor. They did hold elections, though, for the Burgesses.
(15 Dec 00)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.