The consequence was, that the existence of the Assembly generally depended on its subserviency to the local Governor and a new appeal to the People was made, for the most part, only when the popular branch quarrelled with the Executive. Sometimes only a few months intervened between general elections ; sometimes a year, but usually a general election came about biennially, until the administration of Gov. Hunter, when the Assembly elected in 1716 continued its functions until 1726--a period of ten years and two months. The elections for representatives after this happened, from divers disturbing causes, to be annual until Gov. Cosby's administration, when the Assemblyagain assumed a protracted existence of nine years, vizt: from 1728 to 1737. The leaders in the popular branch seeing this tendency to abuse, by the removal of the representatives from all responsibility to their constituents, determined to remedy the evil, and passed a bill in the session of 1734, declaring that no Assembly should continue more than Three Years. The Council, however, did not act upon it, and when the Legislature again met in October of the same year, the Assembly sent to enquire what had been done with their Bill of the spring. It was, thereupon, taken up and amended by the Council, but as the Assembly refused to concur in these amendments, it was lost, for the Conncil refused to recede from their position. The Assembly, now (Nov. 28), sent an address to the Governor requesting that they may be dissolved, to which Cosby replied, that as it was a part of the prerogative to convéne and dissolve them at pleasure, he was determined to act in the premises as he thought proper, and not as they desired, and in this state of things the session was prorogued. Shortl y after the meeting of the Legislature in the following year, a petition was presented (Noy. 4, 1785) to the House from the citizens of New York, complaining of the long continuance of the same set of representatives, and praying a dissolution.