Puritans were. Natural conditions in Virginia made it better for the
settlers to live apart, so that nearly all their attempts to form cities
and towns failed. The cultivation of tobacco, of course, explains this
to a large extent. The fertile soil and the ease of raising this product
led to the formation of large plantations. The broad rivers made
progress into the interior remarkably easy; and there seemed little
necessity for towns as shipping ports, because ocean vessels could stop
at the private wharves of the various plantations. The rich planters
were most prominent in the social and political life of the colony, and
local government fell under their control.

The Importance of the County.--Now, of the various local
organizations to which the Virginians had been accustomed in England,
the one best suited to their condition in the colony was the county. So
they copied the English county and made it their chief organ of local
government. The principal governing body was the _county court_,
composed of justices appointed at first by the governor of the colony.
The court had both legislative and judicial functions. It managed such
matters as roads, licenses, and taxation; it also tried civil and
criminal cases. Other county officers were the sheriff and the
lieutenant, the latter being commander of the militia.

The Parish and the Vestry.--That part of the Virginia local
government which corresponded to the New England town was the _parish_;
but it is apparent that few functions remained to be exercised in this,
their smallest political organization. The counties were generally
composed of several parishes. The governing body of each was the vestry;
it had charge of church affairs and of poor relief. The members of the
vestry and also the justices of the county court were not elected by the
people, as the town officers were in New England. On the contrary, both