 As a legislative body , the General Court could make proclamations of law as needed . These laws were not formally compiled anywhere in the early years of the colony ; they were first organized and published in the 1636 Book of Laws . The book was reissued in 1658 , 1672 , and 1685 . These laws included the levying of " rates " or taxes and the distribution of colony lands . The General Court established townships as a means of providing local government over settlements , but reserved for itself the right to control specific distribution of land to individuals within those towns . When new land was granted to a freeman , it was directed that only the person to whom the land was granted was allowed to settle it . It was forbidden for individual settlers to purchase land from Native Americans without formal permission from the General Court . The government recognized the precarious peace that existed with the Wampanoag , and wished to avoid antagonizing them by buying up all of their land . 
