Massachusetts Laws of 1648
In the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Old Testament of the Bible was regarded as the book of law. Because of public sentiment and the influence of the clergy, it was the belief that our laws should be drafted by clergymen. But, the laymen in the General Court had a better concept of the needs of the people. Persons like Winthrop, Dudley and Richard Bellingham who were educated in England and had experience with administration of the law were appointed to successive committees between 1635 and 1648.
One early problem that this committee faced was according to our Charter, 'we shall make no laws repugnant to the laws of England'. The laws of England were called Customs and it was best considered which laws 'would be fittest for us'.
In 1641, Governor Richard Bellingham was appointed to peruse all the laws and make recommendations. That year the 'Bodies of Liberties' were established. In 1645, Richard Bellingham was requested to finish 'perusing' the laws. Several persons from each county were chosen to draw up a body of laws and present them to the General Court for consideration.
Chosen for the County of Suffolk were Gov. Dudley, Mr. Hibbens, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Mather, Lieut. Duncan and Mr. Pritchard.
Chosen for the County of Middlesex were Herbert Pelham, Esq.; Mr. Nowell; Mr. Thomas Shepard; Mr. Allen; Capt. Cooke; and Lieut. Johnson.
Chosen for Essex County were Richard Bellingham, Esq.; Mr. Bradstreet; Mr. Nathl. Rogers; Mr. Norton; Mr. Ward; and Mr. Hawthorne.
The committee's work was finished in 1648 and these laws were adopted by the General Court. The Civil War in England had distracted attention from the Massachusetts Bay Colony so that the Massachusetts Laws of 1648 were enacted without much notice.
(Source - 'Laws and Liberties of Mass. 1648') - ET