THE VIRGINIA HITLER It was James Blair who was chiefly responsible for the appointment of Francis Nicholson as Governor General of Virginia. Nicholson's hearty support for his plans to found a college and better the condition of the clergy when he was Lieutenant Governor, made the Commissary eager to have him back. So when Andros resigned, he used his influence with the Bishop of London, who was one of the Commissioners of Trade, to have him made his successor. It seems strange that one identified with the interests of Virginia should have foisted on the colony one of the worst Governors in its history. But at the time Blair seems to have permitted the man's good qualities--his undoubted ability, his energy, and his devotion to the Church--to blind him to his many faults. Blair himself admitted this later after he came into violent conflict with Nicholson, and wrote to the Bishop of London in a repentant mood. The new Governor General arrived in Virginia in the winter of 1698. He found that the personnel of the Council had been greatly changed during his absence. But there were several familiar faces in the group which met in the great hall of the residence of the late William Sherwood. Nicholson then announced the King's appointments to the Council and administered the oath required by Parliament to those who were present. One wonders whether Matthew Page and Benjamin Harrison, in their elation at being elevated to the "Virginia House of Lords," suspected that it would involve them in bitter controversy with the Governor, or that they, together with four of their fellow Councillors, would be responsible for his removal from office. There was nothing basically despotic in the program Nicholson outlined for himself. He sought to set the finances of the colony in order by eliminating frauds and demanding a strict payment of quit rents so as to increase the royal revenue. He was determined to uphold the King's prerogative against all assaults by the Council or the Burgesses. He wished to put the colony in a state of readiness to repel any attack by hostile Indians, and to aid other colonies who should become involved in Indian wars. He tried to gain permanent tenure for the clergy so as to give them a degree of independence of the vestries. He planned a new city which was to be the seat of government, with broad streets and charming Capitol and Governor's mansion.