the time; and these courts were soon aban doned, and before their legality could be fairly tested. Berkeley and Carteret, the assignees of the Duke of York, and the first proprietors of New Jersey, by their " concessions," — which formed the first constitution of the Province, and played a most important part in the subsequent history of the State, — granted to the General Assembly the power of creating courts and of defining their jurisdiction. In 1675 the Assembly of East Jersey met, seven years after it had adjourned at the close of its second four-days session in 1668. The very first act passed by this second As sembly was one which provided for the establishment of courts throughout East Jersey. The courts which then existed were merely local, and were the creatures of the people. Now the Legislature took the mat ter in hand, and enacted a law providing for the creation of general courts which should have legislative sanction, with defined juris dictions and settled powers. These courts were of three kinds : first, one for the trial of small causes, to be held in each town once every month in the year, and to have juris diction in cases where the amount in dispute was less than forty shillings. The judges of this court, of whom at least one must be a justice of the peace, might be two or three in number, as the people should determine, and were elected by the voters of the different towns. This court still survives in the Jus tice's Courts of to-day, which were then and are still called courts for the trial of small causes. One merciful feature introduced at this early date is retained to this day in the stay of execution. Another kind of court created by this second Assembly, in 1675, was the County Court, or Court of Sessions, which was re quired to hold semi-annual meetings in each county. The judges of these courts were also elected by the people of the different counties, and from the people. They exer cised both civil and criminal jurisdiction,
and their powers were enlarged as far and as wide as it was possible to be done by the use of words. All " causes actionable " was the term used with reference to actions which might be prosecuted in these tribu nals. This seemed certainly very compre hensive and unlimited. But when it is re membered that at that early period in the history of the colony no very complicated issues could have arisen, the jurisdiction could not have been so very unlimited after all. From these County Courts appeals from judgments for' twenty pounds and over could be made to " the Bench or to the Court of Chancery." What was meant by the " Bench " is not exactly known, but it certainly must have referred to the Court of " Assize," which was the third kind of court created by this Assembly of 1675. This was a provincial tribunal, and was to be held yearly at Woodbridge, or wherever the Governor and Council should direct. It had original as well as appellate jurisdiction, and was the precursor of the Supreme Court as afterward more fully established. Ap peals lay from the Court of Assize to the Governor and his Council, and from them to the King, who was of course the last resort. In 1682, after the division of the colony into East and West Jersey, a change was made in these various courts. The suitors in any case in the courts for the trial of small causes were entitled to a trial by jury. When it is remembered how trivial were the amounts necessarily involved in cases before these tribunals, it will be understood with what reverence this right of being tried by their peers was regarded by the early settlers in East Jersey. This province was then divided into four counties, — Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth, — and it was enacted that the County Courts should meet four times yearly in each one of these coun ties, and the judges were to be the justices of the peace of the several counties, of whom at least three must be present to consti tute a quorum. For the first time a high sheriff was provided in each county, to
