A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt.,: Governor of New England, New York and Virginia, &c., &c. — John Shaqi
A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt.,: Governor of New England, New York and Virginia, &c., &c.Whitmore, William Henry
History
A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt.,: Governor of New England, New York and Virginia, &c., &c.
Whitmore, William Henry
Andros, Edmund, Sir, 1637-1714
It is evident that no person was executed for a political offence, and
that none of the atrocities of Jeffreys or Lauderdale were repeated in
this country. It is equally evident that no one was fined or
imprisoned for non-conformity to the Church of England, and the
contrast with the mother country is entirely in our favor. If the
fees exacted were excessive, a point hereafter to be considered, was
Andros a gainer thereby? From a report made at the time, and printed
in N.Y. Colonial Documents, iv. 263, it appears that Andros was paid a
fixed salary in 1686, of £1200 sterling; in 1687, the same, and in
1688, £1400 sterling, out of the revenue. We have yet to learn of any
claim made against Andros for fees illegally collected or for public
money mis-appropriated. PALMER indeed, in his Impartial Account, makes
a strong defense for Andros on this head. The Council were all old
residents; the Secretary and Collector, who received the greatest
fees, were not appointed by Andros, and indeed Randolph quarrelled
with him. The Treasurer was John Usher, who continued to reside here
after the downfall of Andros, and the Chief Justice was Dudley. It is
hardly probable that Andros was responsible for the appointment of any
of the higher officials, nor should he be justly charged with the
table of fees which was fixed for their benefit by a committee of the
Council.
Reduced to plain statements, the personal charges against Andros seem
to be, first, a zeal for Episcopacy, which led him to insist upon
having a place for Church services in one of the Boston meeting-houses
for a time; and secondly, a rude or insolent carriage towards his
disaffected subjects.
As to the first, the facts are patent, and they do not seem to
constitute a very heinous offence. It was undeniably a great annoyance
to the members of the Old South Church, to have the Governor use the
building for Episcopal services, but as they were held only when "the
building was not occupied by the regular congregation," (PALFREY, iii.
522,) we cannot greatly censure Andros for his course.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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