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24 Rhode Island and Maine. [1643-9 to grave suspicion and dissatisfaction. In fact it became abundantly evident that the ascendancy of Massachusetts was fatal to all those purposes for which a confederation exists. The chief events which befell New England during the time of the Commonwealth, besides those already mentioned, were the incor- poration of Rhode Island, the annexation of Maine by Massachusetts, and the dealings of the colonists with the Quakers. Though the settlements on the mainland founded by Roger Williams, and those on the Aquedneck founded by Coddington, were still distinct, they were evidently prepared for union, since in 1643 they had sent Williams to England to act as their representative and to secure their territorial rights. This was the more necessary, since the commissioners, in whom the Long Parliament had vested the government of the plan- tations, had made a grant of territory to Massachusetts which would have swallowed up Providence and left the island townships isolated. Williams came back with a grant from the commissioners incorporating Providence, Portsmouth and Newport under the title of Providence Plantations. He also brought a letter to the government of Massa- chusetts reproving them for their previous treatment of Williams and his followers, but not abrogating the grant to Massachusetts. It was not till 1647 that the colonies concerned combined themselves into a community. In that year they established a General Assembly of the whole body of freemen, a governor and a body of assistants, with a court of commissioners from the various towns for certain limited pur- poses. The history of the General Assembly forms so curious a chapter in the history of institutions that it deserves special notice. At first it met in the various towns by rotation. Then, in 1655, a system was introduced whereby every legislative measure was voted on in each town separately, and lost if not carried by a majority in each. This strange and cumbrous system held good till 1664, when the whole constitution was remodelled and an ordinary representative assembly established. The technical name of the colony was the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; but it was more commonly known as Rhode Island, the name bestowed by the English on the island of Aquedneck. We come next to Maine. The outbreak of the Civil War left Gorges little time to attend to the affairs of his colony. He took up arms for the King, fought and was taken prisoner at Bristol, and died soon after. In the meantime one Edward Rigby had laid claim to the soil of Maine under an alleged grant from the New England Company. With the consent of Gorges' and Rigby's agents the dispute was referred to the government of Massachusetts, which settled the matter, in the fashion of Solomon, by dividing the territory and allotting three town- ships to each claimant. The settlers in the townships assigned to Gorges, after two unsuccessful attempts to communicate with his heirs, took their fate in their own hands. In 1649 the inhabitants of Maine