[16] _Ibid._, Doc. 23. [17] _Ibid._, Doc. 24. [18] _Ibid._, Doc. 10. [19] _Ibid._ [20] CO5-1314, Doc. 40. [21] _Ibid._, Doc. 14c. [22] _Ibid._, Doc. 9. [23] _Ibid._, Doc. 15. [24] _Ibid._, Doc. 12. [25] _Ibid._, Doc. 7. [26] _Ibid._, p. 23. [27] _Ibid._, Doc. 7. [28] _Ibid._ [29] CO5-1314, Doc. 15f. [30] _Ibid._ [31] _Ibid._, Doc. 17. [32] CO5-1360, p. 424. [33] CO5-1660, pp. 463-465. [34] _Ibid._, Docs. 23, 24. [35] CO5-1360, p. 480. [36] CO5-1314, Doc. 36. [37] _Ibid._, Docs. 43, 44. [38] CO5-1314, Doc. 36. [39] _Ibid._, Doc. 67. [40] _Ibid._, Doc. 46. CHAPTER IX THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF LORDS Though the members of the Council must have been surprised when Nicholson read Secretary Hedges' letter, they did not let it disturb them. They were rid of him, and that was what really mattered. No more could he bully them in the Council meetings, no more could he thwart them in the General Court by packing juries, no more could he ignore them in appointing officers, no more could he insult and revile them. As they sat around the table with the mild-mannered Nott, they realized with satisfaction that his personality was in strong contrast with that of his predecessor. Perhaps it would be easy to control him and keep the power in their own hands. To a large extent this is just what they did. Though Nott was no weakling, he was anxious to live in peace with both Council and Assembly. It was said of him that his "whole study was to do everybody justice."[1] Like other Governors when they first arrived and were unacquainted with men and conditions in the colony, he was dependent upon the Councillors for advice and guidance. Before he could learn the ropes, he died. Since four years elapsed before a new Governor arrived to take his place, the Council remained for half a decade the controlling power in the colony. From August, 1705, to July, 1710, the government was neither despotic nor democratic, but aristocratic. Nathaniel Bacon, Nicholson, Spotswood, and others derided the "mighty dons" of the Council, pointing out that they came from humble families in England. These critics did not stop to consider that it was more to their credit to have won by their own efforts positions of wealth and power than to have inherited them. Virginia itself offered them the opportunity, but it was they who seized it. The group of well-to-do planters whom the Council represented, in the early years of the eighteenth century were far from numerous. "In every river there are from ten to thirty men who by trade and industry have gotten very competent estates," wrote Colonel Quary. "Out of this number are chosen her Majesty's Council, the Assembly, the justices, and officers of the government."[2]