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Transition from Dutch to English Rule 723 separate courts were retained, with no general sessions for the whole territory.' It will be seen from these few facts that the political develop- ment of the Delaware settlements from the times of the Dutch until the establishment of Penn's and Markham's "frames," was contin- uous. There was no attempt to force New England customs upon the inhabitants ; and if the effort had been made it could not have succeeded. The English simply continued the local courts of the Dutch, and as the population of the settlements increased, the power and authority of the courts developed. The three divisions of the river settlements appeared at an early period ; they were adopted as the basis for the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts ; and upon them at a later day the county court system and county organization of Pennsylvania were based. We have now made the circuit of the territories taken by the English from the Dutch, and have noted the manner in which the Dutch and English institutions acted upon each other. We have seen English governors placed over a population made up of Dutch, Swedes and English ; we have watched attempts to trans- plant New England institutions bodily into New Netherland ; and we have followed English officials, who with definite English poli- tical experience in mind, have come into contact with Dutch prac- tices. The outcome is an interesting one, and naturally one which is a resultant of the several forces at work. Dutch, English and New England elements are seen in the result, combined with new features derived from the peculiar conditions of the country. The product is not altogether Dutch nor altogether English, much less is it drawn entirely from New England. The degree to which the several elements entered into the ulti- mate constitution was determined, among other causes, by geo- graphical conditions, and principal among these conditions was the grouping of population according to nationalities. English forms and New England practices were introduced first into Long Island, where the population was overwhelmingly English by race and at- tached to New England by sympathies. In New York City, on the other hand, in spite of a large influx of Englishmen, the Dutch practices of local government, if not the titles of officers, were retained until 1653, and not entirely abandoned after that date. Up the Hudson we have noticed a gradual extension of the English laws, which was accompanied by the entrance of many English settlers into the river lands. On the Delaware, the English institutions were more largely influenced by the Dutch and Swedish cus- 1 .V. Y. Col. Doc, XII. 564, 575, 581, 591.