Claiming that whenever a vestry failed to present their minister to him for induction, he had the right to fix him on them for life by collation, Nicholson appealed to Sir Edward Northey, Attorney General of England. Northey's opinion supported him fully, and in triumph the Governor sent copies to all the vestries. But he met with one rebuff after another. We "do not think it proper, neither are we willing to make presentation for induction," replied one vestry. Another declared that the word induction sounded very harsh in their ears, and as for collation they hoped the Governor would not try it. And Nicholson, realizing that, if he should, the vestry would refuse to pay his appointee his salary and so starve him out, was forced to let the matter drop. Despite his efforts for the clergy, the Governor managed to change the friendship of the man who was so largely responsible for his appointment into bitter hatred. Blair turned against him because he took over many functions rightly belonging to the Commissary and tried to make himself head of the Church. "He has invaded almost all ... parts of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction," Blair complained, "such as convoking the clergy, ... appearing himself in their meetings and proposing the subject matter of their consultations, ... requiring of some ministers canonical obedience to himself as their bishop, taking upon himself to turn out ministers."[4] This was followed by an attempt to take out of the hands of the Councillors the control of the military forces of the colony. In the summer of 1701, when England was on the verge of war with France, word reached Virginia that a French fleet was preparing to sail for the West Indies. Claiming that there was danger that they might attack Virginia, "being an open and defenseless country," Nicholson organized a new force to resist them. He ordered the captains of militia to pick out every fifth man in their companies, "being persons young, brisk, fit, and able to go out to war," and organize them into bands of thirty, mounted and fully equipped.[5] Thus the militia, who were largely under the command of members of the Council, were to be superseded by a new force under Nicholson himself. The people became alarmed when it was rumored that he was trying to persuade the English government to keep a standing army in America with himself as Captain General. If he succeeds, men told each other, we may as well bid goodbye to liberty, for then he will carry out his threats of taking and arming all our servants, of bringing the Burgesses with ropes about the necks, and daring the Assembly to "deny him anything."[6]