Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 5 (of 8): The English and French in North America 1689-1763
History
Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 5 (of 8): The English and French in North America 1689-1763
America -- Discovery and exploration; America -- History; United States -- History
In the mean time, the appointment of Admiral Sir Charles Hardy as
governor had relieved De Lancey for a time (1755-57) from the cares
of the administration. Sir Charles allowed himself to be led by his
lieutenant-governor, and therefore the affairs of government went on
as smoothly as of late, excepting that the assembly made occasional
issues upon money bills, though that body was little inclined to press
their levelling principles too strongly against their old friend, the
lieutenant-governor, now that he was the adviser of the executive.
Sir Charles proved less fond of the cares of office than of the sea,
and after two years’ service resigned, to hoist his blue admiral’s
flag under Rear Admiral Holbourn at Halifax. De Lancey had therefore
to assume once more the government on the 3d of June, 1757, which he
administered, with little to disturb the relations between the crown
and the assembly, down to the time of his death, on July 30, 1760.
This event placed his lifelong adversary, Cadwallader Colden, in the
executive chair, first as president of the council, and a year later as
lieutenant-governor.
The policy of the royal representative was now very quickly changed.
The acquiescent bearing of De Lancey in his methods with the assembly
gave place to the more peremptory manner which had been used by
Clinton, whose friend Colden had always been. The records of the next
few years, during which Monckton, who was connected with the Acadian
deportation, was governor, show but the beginning of that struggle
between prerogative and the people which resulted in the American
Revolution, and a consideration of the immediate causes of that contest
belongs to another volume.
* * * * *
The history of Pennsylvania, down to the appointment of Governor
Blackwell in 1688, has been told in a previous chapter.[480] The
selection of John Blackwell for the governorship was an unfortunate
one. A son-in-law of the Cromwellian General Lambert and a resident
of puritanical New England, he must have shared more or less in the
hatred of the Friends’ religion, so that his appointment to govern a
colony settled principally by this sect most likely arose from Penn’s
respect and friendship for the man and from his inability to find a
suitable Quaker willing to accept the office. Within two months after
his arrival, he had quarrelled with his predecessor, Thomas Lloyd,
then keeper of the broad seal, and the rest of the council. Shortly
after this he succeeded in breaking up the assembly, and before he had
been in the province one year he became convinced that his ideas of
governing did not meet with the approbation of the people, and returned
to England, leaving the administration in the hands of his opponent,
Lloyd.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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