History of New England (Historiography)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER XL At Shirley's departure, Lieutenant-Governor Spencer Phips became Chief Magistrate of Massachusetts. His administration, which lasted four years, was, like the administrations of other lieutenant-governors, unmarked by vigorous measures, whether on his own part or on that of the Legislature.1 He was the nephew and adopted son of Sir William Phips, and, at the death of Belcher's friend, Lieutenant-Governor Tailer, had succeeded him in that office.2 When Governor Shirley went abroad, he left incomplete a negotiation with the eastern Indians, whose good behavior was not sufficiently secured by the pacification which had been made in Europe. Commissioners appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor ? Sir William Pep- mo perell, Thomas Hutchinson, James Otis, and two Oct. i6. Oti, crs ? rnet delegates of the tribes at Falmouth, and renewed the treaty made by them with Dummer, a quarter of a century before.1 1 Shirley would not have gone tenure of appointments to judicial away from Massachusetts, had he office should be only for that time, not judged that for the present there (Minot, History, I. 112.) was nothing material for a governor 2 Spencer Bennett took his uncle's to do there. He expected to be name by an Act of the General Court, absent but a short time; and when June 23. 1716 (Province Laws, II. he went, he advised Phips to do little 66.) Hutchinson says (III. 174) as Chief Magistrate beyond keeping that Belcher would not admit Phips the place swept and garnished for to sit in Council without an election himself against his return. Among as Counsellor, and accordingly the other things ho recommended that, records of that bodv do not show unless when unavoidable, offices fall- him to have been ever present at its ing vacant should not .