The New Jersey Provincial Council was the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the New Jersey Legislature under

colonial rule Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

until it was replaced by the

New Jersey Legislative Council The New Jersey Legislative Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776 until it was replaced by the New Jersey Senate under the Constitution of 1844. History The Legislative Council replaced ...

under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776.

History

The Provincial Council was established in 1702 upon the surrender by the Proprietors of

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and those of West Jersey of the right of government to Queen Anne. Anne's government united the two colonies as the Province of New Jersey, a royal colony, establishing a new system of government. The instructions from Queen Anne to Viscount Cornbury, the first royal governor of New Jersey, outlined a

fusion of powers Fusion of powers is a feature of some parliamentary forms of government where different branches of government are intermingled, typically the executive and legislative branches. It is contrasted with the separation of powers found in presidenti ...

system, which allowed for an overlap of executive, legislative and

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

authority. It provided for a bicameral legislature consisting of a Council and General Assembly. On December 6, 1775, Governor William Franklin prorogued the New Jersey Legislature until January 3, 1776, but it never met again. On May 30, 1776, Franklin attempted to convene the legislature, but was met instead with an order by the New Jersey Provincial Congress for his arrest. On July 2, 1776, the Provincial Congress approved a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, and on August 13 a new legislature was elected, with the appointed Provincial Council being succeeded by the elected

Composition

The Provincial Council consisted of twelve members, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the British crown. With the exception of resignations and those being removed for cause, councillors often served for life. The former provinces of East and West Jersey were reorganized as the Eastern Division and the Western Division, respectively, of the Province of New Jersey. Councillors were apportioned that six would come from each of the two divisions. In practice, however, this was not always followed. Three or more councillors were to be considered a quorum. The governor was to notify the Crown of any vacancies, whereupon they would be filled by appointment. If the membership dropped below seven however, the governor was empowered to appoint as many councillors as would bring membership to seven. These members would then serve until either confirmed or replaced by the Crown. The senior councillor actually residing in New Jersey would, by virtue of his seniority, be President of Council. If there was no lieutenant governor, it was he who would succeed if a vacancy occurred in the Governor's office due to death or absence from New Jersey. In 1733 the Crown decreed that the Surveyor General of His Majesty's Customs would be seated as Councillor Extraordinary, but would be excluded from succession to the Presidency.

Powers

The Provincial Council was the upper house of the colonial legislature, and as such was a predecessor to the modern New Jersey Senate. Laws enacted were to be styled as by the governor, council and assembly. Once approved by both houses and signed by the governor, laws were to be transmitted to London, to be signed or disallowed by the Crown. Gubernatorial appointments, including judges, justices of the peace and sheriffs, were to be made with the advice and consent of the council. Salaries and fees were to be set by the governor with the advice and consent of the council. The Governor and Council comprised the Court of Appeals in civil cases exceeding the value of £100, although any councillor who also sat as a judge of the court from whence the appeal was made was not permitted to vote on that appeal. Cases exceeding £200 could be further appealed to the Crown.

List of presidents

The following is a list of presidents of the New Jersey Provincial Council from the 1702 surrender of government to the Crown to the adoption of the 1776 State Constitution.List from "Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey", date: various (pre 1950) * 1703-04: Lewis Morris, Eastern Division * 1705-08: Andrew Bowne, Eastern Division * 1708-09: Lewis Morris, Eastern Division * 1709: William Pinhorne, Eastern Division Dunlap, William
''History of the New Netherlands, province of New York, and state of New York, to the adoption of the federal Constitution''
New York : Carter & Thorp, 1839. Cf
p.215
/ref> * 1709-34: Lewis Morris, Eastern Division * 1735-36: John Anderson, Eastern Division * 1736-47: John Hamilton, Western Division * 1747-58: John Reading, Western Division * 1758-64: Robert Hunter Morris, Eastern Division * 1764-75:

Peter Kemble Peter Kemble (December 12, 1704 – February 23, 1789) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as President of the New Jersey Provincial Council from 1745 to 1776, the last to hold that office. Biography Peter Kemble was bo ...

, Eastern Division

References

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External links

"The Grants, Concessions and Original Constitutions of the Province of New Jersey", Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer; W. Bradford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1758"The Governors of New Jersey 1664-1974: Biographical Essays"New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature Legal history of New Jersey 1702 establishments in New Jersey 1776 disestablishments in New Jersey Defunct upper houses