The small slaveholders were fiercely jealous of their rights, both social and political. From the proud aristocrat they demanded courtesy and respect. And these the aristocrat thought it wise to accord them, for he knew that they constituted an overwhelming majority of the voters. Nor were there anywhere, in the northern colonies or in the West, more ardent upholders of self-government. In the long struggle for liberty it was usually the aristocrats who led the way, but they would have been powerless had they not had the loyal support of the small eastern farmer as well as the western frontiersman. And the climax of this struggle was not distant. Walpole resigned in 1752, and his successors were not inclined to let the colonies become semi-independent little republics. Had their attention not been diverted by European wars, they would probably have come to grips with the colonial governments sooner than they did. At the moment, however, the chief differences between Virginia and the mother country seemed to be economic rather than constitutional. The planters had long protested against the Navigation Acts, but they had in time adjusted themselves to them. To the merchants of England they were tied by the bonds of mutual interest, for they were dependent upon them for transporting and disposing of their tobacco, and for bringing them manufactured goods in return. But there developed various points of difference. And it became a bitter grievance to the planters that when these differences were placed before the British government, the decision always favored the merchants. In fact, so great was the influence of certain traders that at times their recommendations to important posts in the colonies were decisive. Among the best known of these men was Micajah Perry, whose opinion the Board of Trade frequently sought on matters affecting commerce. It was rumored that it was he who persuaded the Auditor General to appoint Philip Ludwell Auditor of Virginia. And when the British government turned down the recommendation of a Governor in filling a vacancy in the Council in favor of one by the merchants, it was deeply resented in the colony. "Your Lordships cannot but be sensible that little regard is likely to be paid a Governor who shall be supposed to have no interest at your Lordships' Board," Gooch wrote in 1747.