The Office of Lieutenant-Governor in the States

The first instances of the office of lieutenant-governor in the history of American political institutions are found in the governments of the colonial period, when in its most usual form the colonial government, like that of the trading company, consisted of a governor, a deputy-governor, a council, and a general assembly. The office was permanent, however, in only two colonies, i.e., Connecticut and Massachusetts. In other colonies, it existed only when there was a particular need for it. For instance, Lieutenant-Governor Pownall was sent to New Jersey in order to have a competent person “upon the spot†to act whenever the infirmities of the governor made it “painful and hazardous if not impossible†for him to attend to the affairs of his office.