Pennsylvania Boroughs PDF Download

Excerpt from Pennsylvania Boroughs The charter from Charles II. granting William Penn a princely domain to the west of the Delaware river, gave him the authority to "divide the country into Townes, Hundreds, and Counties, and to erect and incorporate Townes into Borroughes, and Borroughes into Citties, and to make and constitute ffaires and markets therein, with all other convenient priviledges and munities." This has been the fundamental clause in the municipal history of Pennsylvania since 1681. It gave Penn the right to perpetuate the institutions already in existence on the banks of the Delaware, or to modify them if he chose, and transplant to the new province other English institutions that he might consider necessary for the well governing of his people. This right he exercised by establishing the county as the largest political division of the province, by modifying the existing town with its court into the township under the authority of the county courts, and lastly by founding towns and villages, which he incorporated into the city and borough. Thus, by introducing the county, the township, the borough, and the city, he fixed the seal of his enduring influence upon the local government of Pennsylvania. The boroughs were established within a few years after the proprietarys arrival, and though they were but a handful during the colonial period, they form the connecting links between their numerous successors and the ancient boroughs of England. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.