網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

L

renewed his application; but the House replied, "It is not Convinient (the Circumstances of the Province Considered) to State Salaries, but to allow as the Great and General Court shall from time to time see Necessary." The Council tried to help Dudley, but the House stood firm not only through Dudley's administration but throughout the rest of the colonial period. Yet Dudley did not give up the fight, but renewed his application at the next session with no better result. At the September session of 1703 he was armed with a special letter from the queen directing the Court to settle "a constant & fixt Allowance to the Govern."2 The House refused, and sent to the queen a long letter claiming that its right to grant money as it chose was derived from the reign of Henry III. "We . . . humbly conceive," added the deputies, "that the Stating of Salaries [is] not agreeable to her Majesty's Interests in this Province, but prejudicial to her Majesty's good Subjects." 3

Dudley did not neglect to present his plight to the Board of Trade, which, though sympathizing with him, did not see "what more can be done at the present,' "4 and later pointed

out that, as his instructions did not prevent his receiving presents, he might so regard the semiannual grants of the General Court." In 1704, however, Dudley renewed his application, and utilized a clause in the last letter from the Board of Trade which contained this distinct threat: "For

1 Records of the General Court (Ms.), viii. 327, November 2, 1702. Ibid. viii. 430, September 1, 1703. In April of the same year the Privy Council voted to send such a letter, "in which it may be intimated that neglect will oblige the Queen to take such remedies as shall be proper" (Register of the Privy Council (Ms.), Anne, ii. 156).

Records of the General Court (Ms.), viii. 10-11.

4 Board of Trade, Colonial Entry Book, New England (Ms.), 40, E. 208. 5 Ibid. E. 330.

it is very unreasonable that the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay should expect that they should be furnished with Stores of War, at Her Majesty's expense, while they of all the colonies in America alone do refuse to settle a salary upon Her Majesty's Governour and other Offices there." Even this threat had no effect; and, though the attempt was renewed in 1705, the House, this time supported by the Council, refused to make any settlement.2

The compensation which Dudley received as governor was five hundred pounds each year, granted in two appropriation bills. Up to 1708 it was customary to grant three hundred pounds at the spring, and two hundred pounds at the fall session; but in that year, a change was made and the appropriation was evenly divided. In like manner, the salaries of the judges and of all the officers depended not on any permanent settlement, but on the votes of the General Court.

Though Dudley failed to gain the assent of the Court in these two instances, yet in general, he was able to carry out his policies. His ability to do this depended upon various causes. Throughout nearly the whole of his administration he was aided by the fact that England and France were at war, and that as a corollary the English and French colonies were fighting against each other. As will be shown later, Dudley had great influence among the Indians, and possessed means of gaining information which enabled him sometimes to forestall an impending attack. His plans for the defence of New England were sound, and, with the expeditions that

1 Ibid.

Records of the General Court (Ms.), viii. 153, September 12, 1705. The whole question is best followed in A Collection of the Proceedings of the Great and General Court. for fixing a Salary on the Governour (Boston, 1729).

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

he sent out against the French colonies, received the enthusiastic support of the colonists. Indeed, he may be said to have raised their expectations too high; for the failure of his expeditions, through no fault of his own, reacted against him almost to the extent of causing his removal. But his policy as a war governor was popular, and even his enemies were forced to depend upon him for their defence. Thus, as the Court found that he was necessary to its safety, its opposition to him declined, and during the last years of his administration he usually found little difficulty in securing the adoption of his measures. As a result of the continual warfare, Dudley had it in his power to reward his supporters with offices and contracts. There is no evidence that the contracts for the army were improperly used; indeed, not the governor, but the General Court appointed the commissary general. A remark of Dudley's, however, quoted by Sewall,1 gives the impression that some of the charges in the "Deplorable State of New England" were not altogether without foundation, and that the governor had used military commissions to strengthen his support.

Aside from these dubious methods, Dudley was able, by his personal tact and charm, to win over more than one of his most bitter opponents, and sometimes, by keeping an open house and setting a lavish table, to gain the support of the country members. There is little necessity for believing all the charges against him that were framed by the colonial politicians in the heat of conflict. Among a certain class, his personal popularity aided him; his family connections assured him the support of some of the influential men in the colony; and it is evident that he was the leader of a

1 Diary, June 13, 1712, Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections, 5th Series, vi. 351.

party on whose support he could rely. He was, moreover, a politician, skilled in parliamentary tactics, experienced both in Massachusetts and in England; and thus from a combination of influences he was able to force a reluctant and even hostile Assembly to carry out his policies.

CHAPTER VI

JOSEPH DUDLEY CAPTAIN-GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS

MILITARY AND INDIAN AFFAIRS

It may well be believed that William III consented to the appointment of Dudley because of the threatening state of affairs in Europe. The death of Charles II of Spain and the prospect of the union of that country with France rendered ineffective the advantage which William had gained in the previous war. The question of the Spanish succession, settled by placing the grandson of Louis XIV on the throne, made war between England and France inevitable, and it hardly needed the recognition of the son of James II as king of England to bring on an immediate conflict. Taught by the experience of previous wars, both countries saw that the American colonies would be involved in the struggle, and both countries made plans for their defence. Lord Cutts urged the Duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of the British forces, to request the appointment of Dudley for military reasons. William Blathwayt, who was highly regarded by the king, as a member of the Board of Trade and clerk of the Privy Council, seconded the nomination of Dudley as being a man likely to gain the assent of the colonists to the military plans of England. The experience of confiding the military operations in the colonies to Englishmen had shown England that the colonists were unwilling to follow such lead: Andros and Bellomont had not fulfilled her hopes, while, on

« 上一頁繼續 »